Howdy ya'll. So, I'm obsessed with Psycho Tycho these days, and that means that I really am building a 67 point list to put him in. With the change to 75min rounds, I started thinking about 4 A wing lists, and how much fun I could have with those ships flying around. This is the first iteration I came up with, but I'm not quite sure I like it enough to even test it out.

Jake w/ VI, AR, AT

Tycho w/ PTL, DD, EI

Green w/ PTL

Green w/ PTL

Total 99pts (All with CR)

Sadly, I'm 1 point short of going with 3 prototypes. I consider Jake w/ VI as a necessity if I'm running him, so that leaves me with 44 points, so it's going to be a 4 ship build. From there, the step up to Greens w/ PTL makes sense, though I could always drop one down to a Prototype and put a Procket on Tycho/Jake.

But the load out on Jake is where I'm having issues. I don't really want to put PTL on him since the dial of the A is great when you're not stressed. But at the same time, I feel like the F+E is necessary for an end game ship. For now, I'm deciding to leave it off since I have it on the Greens. But then what should I put on Jake with the 4 points remaining? Some thoughts I've had - Outmaneuver, Predator, Lone Wolf, PTL, AR+AT, AT plus AT on a Green.

Any ideas on how to refine it? I could always drop the Greens down to Prototypes and free up 5-10 points, but I would think that I would want to put a Procket on Jake/Tycho as the first thing, so that doesn't really change the load out.

I have a friend that has put the hurt on with some a-wings and predator combo, and predator with their 2 attack dice almost always delivers 2 hits or crits. and focus up for defense. Heres a quick little build

98 Point

Tycho Celchu

-Chardaan Refit

-Autothrusters

-PTL

Green Squadron Pilot x3

-Veteran Instincts

-Chardaan Refit

-Autothrusters

-A-Wing Test Pilot

-Predator

imo, the A-wing as a ship just doesn't have the offense to justify auto-thrusters. Given it's piddly 2-dice attack and very decent defensive stats, I'm happy if it's getting shot rather than any other ship type, most of the time.

about the only A-wing that merits thrusters is outmaneuver + ptl Jakes, who can sort of compensate for the lack of dice by removing an opponent's green (also, it's the only way you'll ever beat fat han 1v1)

V.I is nice, but with the phantom errata there's far less emphasis on it than there was before and even with it the A-wing just lacks the dice to do any damage to arc dodgers without prockets or outmaneuver.

apart from that, Tycho just isn't going to do any sort of damage relative to how expensive he is. You could lop off EE without losing much, at the very least.

Might be fun to experiment with calculation (I know I'd take a PTL + Calc green over a rookie any day)

Veteran Instincts is probably a good idea on jake even with the phantom 'nerf'. His ability to dodge arcs is easier when he moves last. Having said that, 4 ships with 2 attack each is simply not enough firepower to deal with certain builds, like elite interceptors and dual aggressors. You probably want to fit outmanoeuvre in there somewhere or take a couple proton rockets...

I really enjoy Psycho Tycho - he's a lot of fun and his movement shenanigans can really take opponents by surprise, but he's a bit pricey for what he brings to the table. As Fickle said, dropping EI might be a way to get another proton rocket or something....

the fun thing about PS 7 Jakes is that people keep forgetting he's an A-wing and not just budget Soontir

so many blocks, especially thanks to the barrel-roll

and... if the Protos splat, theyre just 15 x2 points. no big deal.

I consider Jake w/ VI as a necessity if I'm running him, so that leaves me with 44 points, so it's going to be a 4 ship build. From there, the step up to Greens w/ PTL makes sense, though I could always drop one down to a Prototype and put a Procket on Tycho/Jake.

V.I is nice, but with the phantom errata there's far less emphasis on it than there was before and even with it the A-wing just lacks the dice to do any damage to arc dodgers without prockets...

Veteran Instincts is probably a good idea on jake even with the phantom 'nerf'. His ability to dodge arcs is easier when he moves last. Having said that, 4 ships with 2 attack each is simply not enough firepower to deal with certain builds, like elite interceptors and dual aggressors.

Precisely what I was going to say, but with better explanation, and I hadn't considered its helpfulness in letting him move last. I would only add that even with VI, Jake still won't get to shoot first on any Imps with PS 8 or above and VI (e.g., Whisper), so other than preventing him from being blocked, it's not gonna do much for you, IMHO.

We had a guy, and I'll be honest up front that he never won a tourney but has always made the cut with this group, ran the following A wing group.

4x

Green Squadron Pilot (19)

A- Wing Test Pilot (0)

Chardaan Refit (-2)

Push The Limit (3)

Outmaneuver (3)

Auththrusters (2)

I have flown:

The Terrible Eh's (Canadianism)

Green Squad + Chardaan + Predator (or PTL) x 2

Prototype + Chardaan x 4

Lots of fun. Straight line across the deployment zone with both greens center of the line. Make it two flanking elements consisting of 1 green and 2 prototypes and you can just zoom around the board.

I have a new respect for A-wings after flying this squad.