One of my favorite part of Armada is actually the Squadron interactions. I know some people dismiss them but they can actually be quite lethal and also a big risk.

If you opponent can dispatch your squadrons easily, you are essentially giving them free points to where they can kite you for a few turns and win the game. Right now I feel this is what hurts as the imperial player seeing that until wave 1 hits, at 180pts you are taking 4-5 squadrons of TIEs.

I feel wave 1 will actually bring a bit of squadrons back. Right now errrbody is talking about the 3 VSD, 7 Vette builds. Now those are good and seem good, but will they work against an opponent who took a couple long range ships and Y-Wings or TIE Bombers? Maybe but your ships have to respect those squadrons. Their ships will plink away at your shields, and then the bomber runs can do a lot of damage. I am confident and a little hopeful that squadrons will be good enough to break up ship spam. If this happens all new plethora of questions arise. Mostly, what will be the best way to clear enemy squadrons fast and efficiently.

Personally, I'm an Imperial at heart, also most of my meta seems to be YAY rebels which makes me super depressed. things like Escort (see x-wing) seems good. I plan to get 1 or 2 TIE advanced into their squadrons, and then adding in TIE Fighters to trigger swarm. On top of that the Imperials have a little ace called Soontir Fel. So they are forced to attack the Advanced's and Soontir can do Auto damage to them. I have not worked out the points just yet, but I will be specializing my squadrons to be about 60pts of anti squadron tech and then the last 40pts of TIE Bombers to start. This will give me a good balance, and mix and hopefully will swing the fights in my favor. I wont be all in on squadron fighting, but I also won't be useless against them.

In short, I think squadrons will become an essential part of Wave 1 as they bring a lot of utility and "answers" to your fleets. With scenarios rewarding squadron play I do think that as the game flushes out and people play more you will see at least a few squadron stands in every fleet just for the scenario presence.

I am interested to hear your thoughts or even dojo with the new squadrons when Wave 1 hits. Have you been looking at how you want to spend those 100pts? How have you mix and matched the fighter types to answer certain questions/keep your bombers safe?

-Bergz

I guess your approach to imperial squadrons is probably one of the main ways to go. As an Imperial, all your squadrons are specialiced towards one purpose, which is nice as you are paying no 'generalist tax' and will point-for-point be more efficient - but only at the one role for which the craft is built. Your main stay, the TIE fighter, is also pretty nimble and will die in droves once rebells field more than one or two ships with two anti-squadron dice. So my first approach will probably be all TIEs with one or two advanced for the escort, no named fighters besides howlrunner - you just HAVE to bring her if you field swarms, especially since the advanced can keep your enemies fighters from downing her early. Not sure about bombers though - to me its probably leave them at home or bring four with a corruptor to alpha strike any rebell cap that might try a flanking move. Same with the interceptors, I will give them a try now and then but dont expect too much from a 3-hp craft in a flak-heavy environment.

In my opinion its much more convenient for rebells to bring as much squadrons as possible then it is for imperials. Almost all their fighters are bombers, have good HP and even the dedicated bombers are doing good against squadrons. If playing rebs, I will probably almost anytime bring the max allowance on squadrons as there are good chances to win air superiority - especially when bringing flak advantage. The rebs imho also have superior upgrades available two support squadrons, with Yavaris, Adar Tallon and galant heaven..

So in short,

Imps - TIE swarm to shield my caps, TIE advanced to escort the swarm, either no bombers or four with corruptor and expanded hangars.

Rebs - 1/3 of allowance as fighters, X-Wing heavy with wedge,and a named Neb-B escort+Adar.

Once wave 1 hits I think squadrons will be a lot harder to ignore. Dedicated bombers are going to add a lot of firepower against unprotected ships. Why add one dice with concentrate fire when you can add 4 black dice with a squadron command? It might be easy to flank a star destroyer from behind but I bet you would think twice if there were 3 TIE bombers waiting for your corvette.

Any competant Rebel player is going to know how to stay out of arc of your star destroyers so I think we're going to see VSD used as a hard point or an area of denial piece. After tieing down rebel escorts it will be just a matter of funnelling their ships into bomber ambushes.

Squadrons are going to be no less important for the Rebels. The B-wing is the most interesting piece for me. With 2 dice for 14 points, it's going to be hard to ignore yet at 2 speed it's going to have a hard time catching up to even the slowest ships. I think what's going to happen is that B-wings are going to be used to add heavy fire power to rebel frontal assaults which is unheard of in core-only games. Executing a frontal assault using B-wings is going to rely heavily on escort frigates to clear fighter screens and well timed squadron commands to pounce on the SD. A well timed execution with 2 B-wings and Yavaris could potentially deal 8 dice worth of damage.

Of course this is all speculation. I think a fleet with 9 A-wing squads escorting Gallant Haven and some nebulons would be interesting to play with. With 5 speed each squadron command is throwing black dice daggers from across the board and if you maneuver your ships right you can pass these daggers back in forth in a deadly game of monkey in the middle.

Once wave 1 hits I think squadrons will be a lot harder to ignore. Dedicated bombers are going to add a lot of firepower against unprotected ships. Why add one dice with concentrate fire when you can add 4 black dice with a squadron command? It might be easy to flank a star destroyer from behind but I bet you would think twice if there were 3 TIE bombers waiting for your corvette.

Any competant Rebel player is going to know how to stay out of arc of your star destroyers so I think we're going to see VSD used as a hard point or an area of denial piece. After tieing down rebel escorts it will be just a matter of funnelling their ships into bomber ambushes.

Squadrons are going to be no less important for the Rebels. The B-wing is the most interesting piece for me. With 2 dice for 14 points, it's going to be hard to ignore yet at 2 speed it's going to have a hard time catching up to even the slowest ships. I think what's going to happen is that B-wings are going to be used to add heavy fire power to rebel frontal assaults which is unheard of in core-only games. Executing a frontal assault using B-wings is going to rely heavily on escort frigates to clear fighter screens and well timed squadron commands to pounce on the SD. A well timed execution with 2 B-wings and Yavaris could potentially deal 8 dice worth of damage.

Of course this is all speculation. I think a fleet with 9 A-wing squads escorting Gallant Haven and some nebulons would be interesting to play with. With 5 speed each squadron command is throwing black dice daggers from across the board and if you maneuver your ships right you can pass these daggers back in forth in a deadly game of monkey in the middle.

I agree and well said.

I think its going to be very interesting for sure and the squadrons will be a game within the game, that may actually be the more important game for a while.

Throwing out my thoughts, also formed in the dark so take it for what it's worth...

Howlrunner is just a no brainer for TIE screens, but I also think Soonter's ability makes him pretty close to auto also. Parking him and another TIE or Int in front of Howlrunner means both have counter2 with the Howlrunner boost, plus the Baron makes Rebs decide to either strike him and potentially waste an attack due to his defensive tokens, or just take a free hit before a counter attack. I also like Mauler with his free hit just while moving, but not as much as the other two.

I'm still not sold on these nine A-wing squadron ideas I see popping up. I just don't see how any Reb list of Squads can't be X heavy, it is just too balanced a fighter to not take. It does everything well without any weakness, can be used to hunt ships as a Bomber or hunt Bombers as a fighter or can even escort Bombers as an Escort. Just too solid to ignore for the non-Bomber A-wing or too slow B-wing or the solid but not sexy Y-wing.

Personally I think an A heavy build would excel, sure they lack bomber, but they have Black dice which makes them get the same # of hits against ships as X's, but with no Critical Effect. They are 3 points cheaper, faster, and better at anti-squad duty (Counter just destroys enemies).

I actually hadn't thought of using B-Wings as escorts into close range, but that is an incredibly useful tactic for Assault Frigates (who want to bisect the enemy fleet, allowing them to fire from both their side arcs), add in Gallant Haven and your enemy has some serious choices to make about targets.

Plus in Wave 2 all that Black Dice the rebels get will just love to be escorted by B's (Both Mon Cal ships have black dice I seem to recall, with the frigate having tons and the Cruiser [home one] having a few).

Personally I think an A heavy build would excel, sure they lack bomber, but they have Black dice which makes them get the same # of hits against ships as X's, but with no Critical Effect. They are 3 points cheaper, faster, and better at anti-squad duty (Counter just destroys enemies).

I actually hadn't thought of using B-Wings as escorts into close range, but that is an incredibly useful tactic for Assault Frigates (who want to bisect the enemy fleet, allowing them to fire from both their side arcs), add in Gallant Haven and your enemy has some serious choices to make about targets.

Plus in Wave 2 all that Black Dice the rebels get will just love to be escorted by B's (Both Mon Cal ships have black dice I seem to recall, with the frigate having tons and the Cruiser [home one] having a few).

Unless I'm mistaken, the Black Die has two blanks, two Crits, two hits with Crits, and two hits. No Bomber means it will get hits on four of eight facings for a 50% accuracy.

On the other hand, the Blue die has no blanks but two Accuracy facings which are as good as a miss when rolling only a single Blue Die, it also has four Hits and two Crits, meaning the X and Y-wings as Bombers are hitting 75% of the time versus a ship and will also inflict Crits a third of the time it gets a hit.

It's not a huge advantage, but it is an advantage. We're talking nine generic A-wings versus seven generic X-wings or six X and two Y-wings.

My bad, Red die for the X-wing, not a Blue. So it hits or Crits (and a double tap on one) 5/8ths of the time, while the Y and B both get one (or two for the B) Black dice.

Throwing out my thoughts, also formed in the dark so take it for what it's worth...

Howlrunner is just a no brainer for TIE screens, but I also think Soonter's ability makes him pretty close to auto also. Parking him and another TIE or Int in front of Howlrunner means both have counter2 with the Howlrunner boost, plus the Baron makes Rebs decide to either strike him and potentially waste an attack due to his defensive tokens, or just take a free hit before a counter attack. I also like Mauler with his free hit just while moving, but not as much as the other two.

I'm still not sold on these nine A-wing squadron ideas I see popping up. I just don't see how any Reb list of Squads can't be X heavy, it is just too balanced a fighter to not take. It does everything well without any weakness, can be used to hunt ships as a Bomber or hunt Bombers as a fighter or can even escort Bombers as an Escort. Just too solid to ignore for the non-Bomber A-wing or too slow B-wing or the solid but not sexy Y-wing.

Soontir is strong and I can see him doing great in conjunction with a TIE advanced. there is just a small conflict on the TIE/In concept which keeps me from auto including him - 3 HP on a squadron with counter. The scatter token is nice, however 3-4 blue dice roll at least one accuracy result quite reliably, so there goes my token. Also, have to admit I am pretty sold on howlrunner as the buff is just too good, and otherwise like to keep it all generic squadrons for my first tries.

For the rebells I 100% agree with you, the X-Wing is a pretty stable workhorse with no major flaws, so expect him to be the mainstay force in most fleets. Will probably just add in the 2 Y-wings from the box, as they are cheep reliable bombers that can take a few hits.

Throwing out my thoughts, also formed in the dark so take it for what it's worth...

Howlrunner is just a no brainer for TIE screens, but I also think Soonter's ability makes him pretty close to auto also. Parking him and another TIE or Int in front of Howlrunner means both have counter2 with the Howlrunner boost, plus the Baron makes Rebs decide to either strike him and potentially waste an attack due to his defensive tokens, or just take a free hit before a counter attack. I also like Mauler with his free hit just while moving, but not as much as the other two.

I'm still not sold on these nine A-wing squadron ideas I see popping up. I just don't see how any Reb list of Squads can't be X heavy, it is just too balanced a fighter to not take. It does everything well without any weakness, can be used to hunt ships as a Bomber or hunt Bombers as a fighter or can even escort Bombers as an Escort. Just too solid to ignore for the non-Bomber A-wing or too slow B-wing or the solid but not sexy Y-wing.

Soontir is strong and I can see him doing great in conjunction with a TIE advanced. there is just a small conflict on the TIE/In concept which keeps me from auto including him - 3 HP on a squadron with counter. The scatter token is nice, however 3-4 blue dice roll at least one accuracy result quite reliably, so there goes my token. Also, have to admit I am pretty sold on howlrunner as the buff is just too good, and otherwise like to keep it all generic squadrons for my first tries.

For the rebells I 100% agree with you, the X-Wing is a pretty stable workhorse with no major flaws, so expect him to be the mainstay force in most fleets. Will probably just add in the 2 Y-wings from the box, as they are cheep reliable bombers that can take a few hits.

Soontir with TIE Advances and probably Mauler Mithel will be my load out for sure. Soontir can just deal auto damage for a round or 2, and then you can fire the mauler missile and be like these X squadrons take an auto point. Add some TIE Bombers and i think it will be a good balanced squadron load out to start out.

Howlrunner is just a no brainer for TIE screens, but I also think Soonter's ability makes him pretty close to auto also. Parking him and another TIE or Int in front of Howlrunner means both have counter2 with the Howlrunner boost, plus the Baron makes Rebs decide to either strike him and potentially waste an attack due to his defensive tokens, or just take a free hit before a counter attack. I also like Mauler with his free hit just while moving, but not as much as the other two.

While Howlrunner boosts Fel's Counter 2, she does not boost his auto-damage. Attacking Howlrunner instead of Fel will still only result in 1 damage from Fel's ability.

Throwing out my thoughts, also formed in the dark so take it for what it's worth...

Howlrunner is just a no brainer for TIE screens, but I also think Soonter's ability makes him pretty close to auto also. Parking him and another TIE or Int in front of Howlrunner means both have counter2 with the Howlrunner boost, plus the Baron makes Rebs decide to either strike him and potentially waste an attack due to his defensive tokens, or just take a free hit before a counter attack. I also like Mauler with his free hit just while moving, but not as much as the other two.

I'm still not sold on these nine A-wing squadron ideas I see popping up. I just don't see how any Reb list of Squads can't be X heavy, it is just too balanced a fighter to not take. It does everything well without any weakness, can be used to hunt ships as a Bomber or hunt Bombers as a fighter or can even escort Bombers as an Escort. Just too solid to ignore for the non-Bomber A-wing or too slow B-wing or the solid but not sexy Y-wing.

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

The A-Wing may also be a better interceptor with its higher speed and counter 2 which makes it far more likely to get the jump on enemy fighters. Adding a 2 point discount over the X-Wing just sweetens the deal. The only clear advantage I see to taking an X-Wing is they have more health and can help fulfill the precision strike mission.

Edit-X-Wings are good for escorting B-Wings, not sold on escorting Y-Wings just because it seems a bit odd having the more expensive ships escorting Y-Wings. Then again you could almost re-create escort with an A-Wing by jumping the enemy fighters with speed five before they engage your bombers.

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

Expected damage of the X-Wing = [ 3 * (1 hit result ) + 1 * (2 hit result) + 2 * (1 crit result) ] / 8 = 0.75

Expected damage of an A-wing = [4 * (hit result) + 2 * (hit/crit result but we ignore the crit)] / 8 = 0.75

In this case it would. Granted, the X-wing has a 1 in 4 chance of dealing a critical effect as well.

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

Expected damage of the X-Wing = [ 3 * (1 hit result ) + 1 * (2 hit result) + 2 * (1 crit result) ] / 8 = 0.75

Expected damage of an A-wing = [4 * (hit result) + 2 * (hit/crit result but we ignore the crit)] / 8 = 0.75

In this case it would. Granted, the X-wing has a 1 in 4 chance of dealing a critical effect as well.

Not a real math person but wouldn't the percentage for rolling the double hit have to be factored against all the other die facings? You only have a 1 out of 8 chance of rolling that particular die facing. You can just answer with a simple no, just curious.

So the A-Wing is no slouch in ship combat and the X-Wing is better at ship combat than I originally thought it was. Yay.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

Yes, the stats do work that way, for the average at least.

H = Hit, A = Accuracy, C = Crit, B = Blank, HH = Hit Hit, HC = Hit Crit

The average is simply the sum of all the parts divided by the number of parts. So the average damage for Red with Bomber is H(1) + H(1) + C(1) + C(1) + A(0) + B(0) + B(0)+ HH(2) = 6 / 8 = 0.75

The average damage for Black without Bomber is H(1) + H(1) + H(1) + H(1) + HC(1) + HC(1) + B(0) + B(0) = 6 / 8 = 0.75

What you're thinking of isn't covered by the average, it's covered by the standard deviation. For example, if a purple die was a d2 with HH and B, the average damage would also be 1, but you're never going to deal 1 damage with it.

The X-Wing is less consistent than the A-Wing. It has a standard deviation of 0.4375 vs the A-Wing's 0.1875. Stats was 10 years ago, so I can't remember exactly how to convert these results into anything more meaningful than the 68%/95%/99.7% of a standard bell curve, but hopefully that makes some sense.

Edit: What this means for you as a gamer comes down to this. Do you want consistency or possibility of higher damage? The A-Wing will only ever deal at most 1 damage. 4 A-Wings will result in 3 damage, on average. 4 X-Wings will also result in 3 damage, on average. However, while the A-Wings can never go beyond 4 total damage, the X-Wings can theoretically hit 8. It's incredibly unlikely, but possible. At the same time, the X-Wings are also more likely to do less than the 3 average damage than the A-Wing.

Long story short, if you rolled red and black die 1,000 times, you should come out with the same damage output. Each individual roll, however, will vary more with the red die than the black. So, consistency (probably getting 3 damage each turn) or less consistent burst damage (maybe getting 5 from the X-Wings 1 turn, and 1 the next).

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

Yes, the stats do work that way, for the average at least.

H = Hit, A = Accuracy, C = Crit, B = Blank, HH = Hit Hit, HC = Hit Crit

The average is simply the sum of all the parts divided by the number of parts. So the average damage for Red with Bomber is H(1) + H(1) + C(1) + C(1) + A(0) + B(0) + B(0)+ HH(2) = 6 / 8 = 0.75

The average damage for Black without Bomber is H(1) + H(1) + H(1) + H(1) + HC(1) + HC(1) + B(0) + B(0) = 6 / 8 = 0.75

What you're thinking of isn't covered by the average, it's covered by the standard deviation. For example, if a purple die was a d2 with HH and B, the average damage would also be 1, but you're never going to deal 1 damage with it.

The X-Wing is less consistent than the A-Wing. It has a standard deviation of 0.4375 vs the A-Wing's 0.1875. Stats was 10 years ago, so I can't remember exactly how to convert these results into anything more meaningful than the 68%/95%/99.7% of a standard bell curve, but hopefully that makes some sense.

Thanks for the info. My X-Wing experience tell me that people will eventually switch to the A-Wing then just because its more reliable. People will do anything to lessen the dice impact.

A-Wings sure seem appealing. Dice hate me with a passion legendary even in hell.

anything to reduce that please.

But let's not forget 'escort', that should mean the X-Wing is a ship you'll see often.

(as you should. See it often I mean )

lessening the dice impact is absolutely essential in these games (but moreso in X-wing, where there's more dice )

however, the impact of critical hits against cap ships makes me think that the Bomber advantage could well be worth the loss in speed and consistency, esp if you're still running Big-D. It's an actual trade-off, similar to the CR-90 A vs B (range vs consistency) rather than a no-brainer. With upgrades such as Gallant Haven, I think we'll be preferring the sturdier X-wings.

I don't know if Escort is going to be all that great, truthfully, unless those Y/B-wings (especially Bs since they're actually more expensive and especially Keyan) really win me over An aggressive A-wing push tangling/murdering enemy squadrons would probably be more impactful than that special ability.

lessening the dice impact is absolutely essential in these games (but moreso in X-wing, where there's more dice )

however, the impact of critical hits against cap ships makes me think that the Bomber advantage could well be worth the loss in speed and consistency, esp if you're still running Big-D. It's an actual trade-off, similar to the CR-90 A vs B (range vs consistency) rather than a no-brainer. With upgrades such as Gallant Haven, I think we'll be preferring the sturdier X-wings.

I don't know if Escort is going to be all that great, truthfully, unless those Y/B-wings (especially Bs since they're actually more expensive and especially Keyan) really win me over An aggressive A-wing push tangling/murdering enemy squadrons would probably be more impactful than that special ability.

I'm with you on the escort ability. Why would I use an x-wing to protect my b-wings when I could just get another b-wing for the same price?

I think escort is good with B-wings, specifically because the X-wing costs 1 point less

Plus, the B-wing is slow and prone to getting jumped. The X-wing is slower than Ties, but not nearly as slow as the poor B and the 4 dice make a massive difference over the 3 (far more likely to pewpew ties out of the space sky). At the very least, if you can't avoid engagement you'll spare your superior bombers the brunt of the attrition while they're tangled with Ties.

The problem is that every other non-character squadron is cheaper than the X and you'd probably prefer they get hit (Counter As, 6 health Ys) than the Xs

The dynamic shifts heavily with character squadrons, though. Defensive tokens are nice, but blue dice are fairly decent at negating them to the point where the best defense is just not letting them get hit. Keyan and (to a lesser extent) Dutch both seem like good candidates for an escort. Luke and Wedge would be, but can't be for obvious reasons

lessening the dice impact is absolutely essential in these games (but moreso in X-wing, where there's more dice )

however, the impact of critical hits against cap ships makes me think that the Bomber advantage could well be worth the loss in speed and consistency, esp if you're still running Big-D. It's an actual trade-off, similar to the CR-90 A vs B (range vs consistency) rather than a no-brainer. With upgrades such as Gallant Haven, I think we'll be preferring the sturdier X-wings.

I don't know if Escort is going to be all that great, truthfully, unless those Y/B-wings (especially Bs since they're actually more expensive and especially Keyan) really win me over An aggressive A-wing push tangling/murdering enemy squadrons would probably be more impactful than that special ability.

On the topic of Gallant Haven, A-Wings turn into little monsters when fighting other snubfighters. Negating 1 damage per turn makes "Counter" obscene.

lessening the dice impact is absolutely essential in these games (but moreso in X-wing, where there's more dice )

however, the impact of critical hits against cap ships makes me think that the Bomber advantage could well be worth the loss in speed and consistency, esp if you're still running Big-D. It's an actual trade-off, similar to the CR-90 A vs B (range vs consistency) rather than a no-brainer. With upgrades such as Gallant Haven, I think we'll be preferring the sturdier X-wings.

I don't know if Escort is going to be all that great, truthfully, unless those Y/B-wings (especially Bs since they're actually more expensive and especially Keyan) really win me over An aggressive A-wing push tangling/murdering enemy squadrons would probably be more impactful than that special ability.

On the topic of Gallant Haven, A-Wings turn into little monsters when fighting other snubfighters. Negating 1 damage per turn makes "Counter" obscene.

but they're already little monsters, they're just ungodly slow with gallant haven

imo, speed 5 is a huge advantage to throw away with gallant haven whereas the X-wing's lower speed (just high enough to match the AF's max speed) and higher damage potential (Both versus squadrons and ships) makes them more efficient with that title

The A-Wing may actually be a better all around fighter than the X-Wing. When it comes to anti ship dice, the black dice actually has a better chance of doing one damage than the X-Wing's Red dice with bomber (2 blanks and one accuracy on the red die, only two blanks on the black die, and crits don't exist without a hit icon on the black die so lack of bomber isn't really a detriment). Granted the X-Wing will give you better quality damage with critical effects but it is less likely to do damage in the first place.

Average damage output for Bomber Red vs non-Bomber Black is actually the same because of the Red die's HH result. Both have a total of 6 damage available to them on the die. The black die will be more consistent (only results are 0 or 1 damage) compared to the red die's expected output of 0, 1, or 2.

Math question...would the statistics really work that way since the X-Wing is less likely to land a hit in the first place?

-Edit - maybe I should rephrase that as the X-Wing is more likely to roll a blank (or accuracy)...

Expected damage of the X-Wing = [ 3 * (1 hit result ) + 1 * (2 hit result) + 2 * (1 crit result) ] / 8 = 0.75

Expected damage of an A-wing = [4 * (hit result) + 2 * (hit/crit result but we ignore the crit)] / 8 = 0.75

In this case it would. Granted, the X-wing has a 1 in 4 chance of dealing a critical effect as well.

Maybe I'm misremembering this, I don't actually have the dice in hand, but doesn't the Black die have 2x Hits 2x Crits 2x Hit+Crit and 2x Blank? Everyone here that is taking major exception to my A-wing bash keeps assuming the chance for a hit is equal at 75%, but if the A-wing's Black Die is actually =[2*(hit result)+2*(Hit+Crit)]/8=0.5

Again, I'm going by memory and pics off a Google search, but i clearly remember Black having the Crit only results.