I am a new player to Xwing but am not new to miniature games in general - I played Pirates CSG extensively until it was discontinued and I'm finding that a lot of the same principles apply to Xwing. I've only played against my brother using ships he owns so I haven't actually invested in any sets of my own yet. I've been using an online Xwing squadron builder to learn about as many of the abilities as possible and figure out what sets I want to buy.

So here's the list I've been working on (XXB). I'm six points over budget and need some help figuring out what to take off.

Biggs + R2F2 + Hull Upgrade = 31

Wedge + R7T1 + Outmaneuver = 35

Keyan Farlander + Heavy Laser Cannon + Opportunist = 40

Total Points: 106

My idea here is that I have two extremely heavy hitters who will be screened by Biggs' ability to draw fire. I'm accepting that Biggs isn't going to survive - I just want him to buy time for Wedge and Keyan to mow down the opposition. To that end I have R2F2 to give me another evade dice and Hull Upgrade for another hitpoint. Wedge will likely be moving last and shooting first with his high Pilot Skill. Assuming he starts in a firing arc he can use R7T1 to target lock the enemy ship, then use the free boost to get out of the enemy firing arc and set up his shot. If the movement works out, Outmaneuver stacks with Wedge's ability and lets me remove two of the targets evade dice when I attack. If Wedge makes it to within range 1 he will be rolling four attack dice with the Target Lock reroll against a defender with two fewer evade dice. Wedge's attack should force the target ship to remove evade/focus tokens to avoid hits - that's where Keyan comes in. Opportunist triggers since the enemy ship doesn't have any evade/focus tokens and also gives Keyan a stress token. I'm hoping the rules allow me to then spend that stress token after I roll to use Keyan's ability to change focus rolls to hits (dat synergy).

I would fly into battle in formation, with Wedge out in front to pick up as many enemy firing arcs as possible, and with Biggs and Keyan bringing up the rear. Ideally I would get Biggs behind an asteroid.

So back to the points issue - I can keep one of these three: R2F2, the Hull Upgrade, and Outmaneuver. Thoughts? My initial impulse is to strip down Biggs.

I think you are making a few assumptions about the game that may or may not be as easy to achieve as you believe.

For example, R7-T1 may allow you to boost, but such a move is unlikely to both avoid the enemy's firing arc AND keep him in Wedge's firing arc (it might do one or the other, but almost never both). For that reason, I don't think either upgrades on Wedge are going to be useful.

Secondly, an opponent is not going to just willingly let you get easy shots on the same target with Wedge & Keyan. I mean, perhaps you might get them sometimes, but a common tactic when facing higher pilot skill foes like your list, is to just have vulnerable ships move to the place where you are likely to put your ships causing a 'collision'. This leaves your ships without actions and without shots on the ship you are touching. Its a very easy way to avoid the sort of focussed fire you are trying to achieve with this list.

Lastly, R2-F2 is not a significant increase in survivability for Biggs. Often just taking a focus action provides as much protection as the extra green die (even though you can only use focus once and the extra green die from the droid applies to any or all shots on Biggs). Generally speaking, even though it is likely Biggs will die before the match ends, you want to limit some fire on him so that he doesn't get killed too quickly --- allowing the occasional shot on your other ships by keeping Biggs far back forces your opponent to split their fire and keeps all of your ships alive longer.

When considering Opportunist, Wes Janson is a great pilot to include because his ability gaurantees that your opponent will not have that annoying focus or evade token to stop your ability from activating. You might want to put him in place of Wedge, or perhaps even Biggs. Wes with Veteran Instincts, Wedge with Opportunist and Keyan with Opportunist is a pretty scary list with its high firepower (although it lacks in defense). However, Wes is only available through the Rebel Transport, so that might not be an option for you.

If I were to run a list with the pilots you included, I would prefer something along these lines:

Biggs

Wedge w/ R2 & Predator (or push the limit if you do not have access to predator)

Keyan w/ Heavy Laser, advanced sensors & Push the Limit

This follows the list design principle that you should make your toughest ship also your hardest hitting ship and your most likely to die ship the cheapest.

My 2 cents! Whatever you decide, welcome to the game and good luck!

I really think you should get rid of all the upgrades on Biggs since he is going to die anyway. No need to sink more points into him.

Edit: I like the R2 and push the limit idea from the above poster as well. Target Lock/Focus is the best possible thing you could have for maximizing your killing power.

Much thanks for the feedback! I'm still figuring out how movements and abilities play out on the table as opposed to on paper - I'll keep practicing with my brother and tinkering with fleets until I decide what sets I want to buy!