Hello everyone! First off a disclaimer, this is going to be a HUGE article discussing many different points. I will do my best not to ramble.

My Background

I am a relatively new X-Wing player, but I just placed 2nd at the regional tournament in Tacoma, Washington. I want to share a little bit about my story and list, and more about how and why I used it to win most of my games. First off, I made the transition from Warhammer Fantasy in January, and I haven't looked back! The last 6 months have been a great learning experience for me. However, there is one thing I miss a lot from my Warhammer days: The forum. It was full of wonderful articles written by great generals that helped teach me how to build lists, deploy, engage, and everything involved with playing competitively. I want to provide that same service for this community in hope that it will push the game to better levels of diversity and skill.

The "Meta Killer" List

Head Trauma

Airen Cracken with Squad Leader

4 Bandit Squad Pilots with Concussion Missiles

1 Bandit Squad Pilot with Ion Pulse Missile

I built this list to combat Fat Han and Phantoms, because it wasn't too long ago that they were truly dominating the tournament scene. Since the decloak change phantoms have dropped from the meta, and only Fat Han (and Dash and Chianeau) remain. The goal with the list is to alpha strike your target with 1-2 missiles in the first turn of engagement. I don't know the exact math, maybe MajorJuggler or another mathwinger can crunch the numbers, but a Concussion Missile shot with a focus token does at least 3 hits over 90% of the time. You don't have to be a math wizard to see that 4 of those will wreck any ship's day, even Soontir or Whisper, or double droid Falcon. The beauty with this list is the synergy that it creates, both through upgrades and targeting. I will cover why I built this list, and how I thought of it in more detail below, as well as how you can make your own "Meta Killer" list that suits your taste and play style.

Building a Meta Killing Squad

Alright, before you have a chance at placing in a tournament, you have to have a solid list! Everyone knows that, and I am going to talk about the two elements that every player should think about when building a list. Upgrade Synergy and Targeting Synergy.

Upgrade Synergy

When you think of synergy, this is usually what comes to mind. These are pilots like Cracken, Kyle Katarn, Dutch, Garven Dreis, and many other ships (mostly rebels). It is also upgrade cards, like Fleet Officer (which I have never seen used), or the IG-88 title. This synergy usually involves directly supporting one ship with another. This is a very basic concept, and has been around since Wave 1. I don't want to get into too much detail on this in general because it has already been well documented and experienced. In the current meta, we see this with action economical builds like Double Droid Han, or Lone Wolf on Chiraneau because of his pilot ability.

My list uses upgrade synergy with Airen Cracken and Squad leader to pass actions. The problem with munitions on low PS ships is that they often can't get a TL on at the right time. Moving at PS8 helps Cracken solve that, but it isn't a foolproof solution, as PS 9 and 10 is fairly common at the top tables. However, this setup absolutely rocks against lists like BBBBZ or 4Y BTL Agromech jousters. Against their low PS, I can fire two missiles with a focus, which I can expect a total of about 7 damage from. I have killed to Y wings in a single turn (with help from the other 4 ships shooting), and the effect makes people scared. I love it.

Another way to build upgrade synergy is through the upgrade slots on a single ship. This can be picking a ship that will only ever do 1 or 2 actions, so taking action-independent upgrades, like predator, lone wolf, C3PO, and others. If you plan on ramming Oicunn into your opponent, you might want Daredevil and Dauntless to either hit twice, or make sure that one hit connects. This why Fat Ships are awesome, but it is also why "skinny" ships can be awesome, too, because if you get too many points sucked into one ship, it becomes one huge pile of MOV.

I want to talk about with this list and why I chose concussion missiles. These have been around for forever, and it is hilarious how many times I have to explain what they do. For those of you that don't know, they are a 4 attack, range 2-3 missile that require a target lock to shoot. When you fire them you can change one blank to a hit. The obvious synergy here is to fire with a focus token, so that you get to modify both blank and eye results on the dice. This is the crux of my entire build, and usually results in 3-4 damage from range two or three. I love it. This means that each of my Concussion Missile Bandits is only 16 points, and after I shoot my missile I can continue to harass and kill fat ships with low agility with impunity because the MOV margin will be small.

Targeting Synergy

This is something that most top players have an inherent knack for, and what I find to be the big separation between the top caliber players and the middle level. This is when, either by list building or actions, you make it hard for your opponent to know which ship to shoot at. The reason I use the word synergy here is that your ships need to support each other in this, and usually your opponent's "best" move will benefit you in some way.

Targeting Synergy occurs with my list in every game. I have 4 Z95s that are 16 points each, and do all of the heavy lifting. If the enemy kills them before they fire their missiles, I lose. Simple as that, unless I have heroic dice. Each one of those concussion missiles is a huge "SHOOT AT ME" sign. However, when I roll up to range 3, and all of my bandits have a focus token, and Cracken passes a TL to two of them. Who do you shoot at? Cracken is making all of the pain happen by passing actions, and he has no tokens for defense! Surely he is the best target. Also, Cracken is 21 points, which is the most valuable ship I have for scoring points for MOV. When this happens, my opponent inevitably eats 2 missiles, and several other shots, and might kill Cracken. More often than not, Cracken survives with no shields, and maybe one damage. On the next turn I have three ships that are dead to me. Cracken usually flies away and passes another TL (Squad Leader works range 1-2). Meanwhile, the ships that have shot their missiles move in aggressively to block and get range 1 shots if possible. The other ships fly slowly and prepare to fire their missiles. Who do you shoot now? Cracken is almost dead, but there are 2 more missiles coming in... If they hit, bad things will happen. But Cracken is almost dead! No matter which target my opponent chooses, I have won, because I have shot my missiles and have good positions on the table.

This synergy can be made with almost any list, and we see it commonly with Paul Heaver's World's list. The 3 Z95s are bait. Go after them and Han will tear you apart piece by piece. However, if you ignore them, you're going to be taking an extra 6 to 9 red dice from them, and they will try their best to block and be annoying. This is a beautiful piece of Targeting Synergy art.

You can build this into any list to make it perform better. Just because a B wing may be mathematically superior, doesn't mean it is always the best choice. Sometimes you need to trick your opponent into thinking that they want to kill a ship, simply because it provides you with the situation you need to win. For example, when the Raider comes out, Soontir and Vader are going to be the best of friends. Assuming that you spend between 70-75 points on the pair and really deck them out, you have a strange 25 point gap left over... What the hell is 25 points good for for imperials? A Royal Guard Pilot with PtL would be most people's answer, or perhaps some Tie Fighters? Unfortunately, opponent doesn't really care who he kills first, because all ships have the same role (well Tie Fighters don't but the interceptor does). Some may like that, but I personally find that you need to diversify your squad to reap the full potential of each ship. Which, is why I would take a ship that your opponent really wants to take out first that will deliver some pain before it goes down. Vader and Soontir in the end game? Yes please, I will take that win. Thank you! In this situation I would take a fully loaded out Bomber, or a Sigma Squad Phantom because they can lay out some serious hurt, but won't ruin your path to victory if they are removed first.

Throwing 4 red dice, or some of the nasty pilot abilities (Palob, Biggs, and Howlrunner spring to mind) is something that no ship wants to face, so you have a very simple job. Keep your threat alive for as long as possible and deal as much damage as possible before it goes down. Engage with your "target" ship at Range 3, or take defensive actions while being more aggressive with your end game ships. This will make your opponent confused, and they might second guess themselves. Just try it on yourself. What would you rather shoot? Vader with TL Evade at range 2, Soontir with Evade Focus, or a Scimitar Bomber (or perhaps punisher) with 2 proton bombs, a focus, and a cluster missile? Chances are most will go for the "easy" kill. That bomber or other high threat target will scare the bejeesus out of your opponent, and you will get the situation that you wanted, Soontir and Vader in the end game. That makes any matchup a little bit easier, regardless of what your opponent has.

Alright, now that you have built your awesome "Meta Killing" list, your next job is to study your opponent.

How to kill Primary Weapon Turrets (PWTs)

There have been countless threads on this forum complaining about PWTs. I am so sick of them. PWTs are strong, yes. They are annoying because they "don't have to fly well" (I have never flown one, but I can see that you have to work really hard to plan your engagement), yes. This is not new information. The key to slaying these ships is to figure out what they want to do, and don't let them do it. This comes in a few different times during a match. I will talk about each in turn, but in short, this is what I have found to be where people lose the game against PWTs.

1. Turn Zero - Obstacles and ships
2. Engaging the enemy on your terms
3. Planning ahead
4. Overcoming defensive abilities

Turn Zero - Deploying Obstacles and Ships

This is where it all happens. Everything in the match hinges on where the asteroids are, and where your ships are. If you get this wrong, you just made the game that much harder to win. I think a lot of people know this in theory, but fail to understand it in practice. Here are some rules to follow that will help you see why they are important.

Rule 1: Use asteroids. Dash doesn't care about debris clouds at all, and most ships don't either, for that matter.

If I were playing Super Dash and Corran, and you took even one debris cloud, I would be stoked. The goal here is to keep your ships alive. If you have 4 (roughly equal) ships, and one of them lands on a rock, you have only lost 25% of your firepower for that round. If your opponent is a Fat Han, and he lands on a rock, that is the majority of his firepower out of that combat phase.

Rule 2: Put all of the asteroids as close as you can. Make one big, nasty blob of death that your opponent will avoid with his life.

This rule may seem like a bad idea, but if you follow the logic on Rule 1, it makes perfect sense. You have now created a "no-go" zone. No large based ship with half a brain would willingly fly through an asteroid field, do you know the odds of survival?? The next level of this plan will freak a lot of people out. Don't be afraid to use this "No-Go" zone at any moment. I faced Fat Han in both the final 8 and final 4 of the Tacoma, Washington regional. The 8 game was unique in that I flew right into the asteroid field. On purpose. That move won me the game, essentially, on turn 3, the first round of engagement. The rule of thumb for fighting swarms is to make them fly through the asteroid field to get at you. If you know that is what they want, do it before they're ready, and you will catch them off guard.

Rule 3: Deploy in the corner closest to the asteroids.

Most top players do this anyway. If you want to have any hope for engaging the enemy on your terms, you have to use this boundary to your advantage. Deploying in the corner will give you a corridor to travel along the board edge before you enter the rocks. Most PWTs win big by flying over their opponent. If you are in the rocks they can't do that without a miracle maneuver, or you have no idea what is on their dial By deploying close to the rocks and potentially flying through them, (when you need to, more about this later) you are essentially giving your opponent the open side of the table. Most sane pilots will enjoy that and happily fly forward into clear space. However, in 4-5 turns, when things really start to happen, that clear space is going to be behind them, and they are going to be left with a range 2 corridor around the outside of the giant space rock blob of death

Engaging the Enemy on Your Terms

This is just a fancy way of saying "Know what will kill you, and don't let that happen." From what I have experienced, there are 2 ways to engage the enemy in X Wing: Joust or Chase. Every Fat PWT with an engine upgrade wants to fly really fast around the edge of the board, and make you chase them so they can kill your ships one at a time. Jousting is what X wings do. Arc Dodging is a weird mix of the two, and doesn't really fit in either because it means running away sometimes, but re-engaging on purpose later. I'm going to ignore those for now and just talk about the other two, which might as well be named Chasing and Not Dying.

Chasing

Everyone on this forum has chased a fat turret and died. Let's be honest. In my final round of swiss, I faced a netlist Chiraneau Soontir. I knew I needed missiles to chew through Chiraneau's hull quickly, but I also knew that with only 2 attack dice and no repositioning abilities, my Z95s would struggle against Soontir in the End Game. This list has great Targeting Synergy. In this game, I tried to chase Chiraneau. However, he disengaged with his large base and boost, so I tried to engage Soontir instead. After switching back and forth a couple of times (and even trapping Soontir in 4 arcs at range 2, with tokens!) I was doomed to fail. I kept trying to chase, and when you try to chase a fat PWT and an arc dodger, you die. I was tabled, 100-0. I had only done 3 damage....

I learned my lesson from this game, however, and I was lucky enough to squeak into the elimination rounds as the 31st seed out of 32. Sweet deal.

I think the only ships that can chase Fat Han and come out on top are Brobots. The HLC will get him eventually, and Autothrusters will mitigate a lot of damage. Really, this is IG-88C's favorite matchup, so if you are going to face Han, go for B and C, and get some Mangler and HLC action on them, respectively (for targeting synergy, naturally).

Jousting/Being patient

For this example, we are going to fast forward to my match in the final 4. I was facing a very experienced player flying Fat Han (3PO, MF, Lone Wolf, EU), and a Wild Space Fringer with Outrider and a Mangler... Maybe Recon Specialist as well, I can't remember. I started this game in the bottom right corner, and my opponent deployed opposite. I followed the above 3 rules of deployment, except that my side of the asteroids was more open, because I wanted to force my opponent to me. We were both at 100 points, I won initiative, and knew that if I didn't engage at all, I would advance on the tie breaker I didn't expect that to happen, it was just nice to know. I proceeded to fly 4 straight, 2 straight, and then 3K, and 2 Straight, 3K back again. Why was I doing this? Because each turn I set my dials, my opponent was drifting nearer and nearer. The WSF started on his side of the board, and between the 1 turn and barrel roll, was moving very, very slowly. I knew he had to come to me eventually, and that time did indeed come. Han, on the other hand, was skirting around the other side of the asteroid field, doing circles around one of them, daring me to chase him through the rocks. Dumb idea. Finally, the opportunity showed itself, and after doing my second approach from near my starting position, I zoomed forward out of my 3K with a 2 bank (I love that that is green on the Z95). This got me into range of his WSF, who hadn't moved yet because I took initiative. Everyone TL'd. Now I just needed him to fly out of range, and then whenever he entered, he would be eating a TL+F Concussion missile, aka 4 hits, from each of my 4 heavy lifters. Beautiful. Instead of flying back down the table edge to his deployment zone, he did a 1 hard turn and barrel rolled behind a rock. The second he announced that, I knew it was a mistake. I figured my Ion Pulse Z was in range 3, and he was facing directly at the board edge. I shot, ion'd, and didn't shoot with anyone else because there was no point. At this point Han couldn't play cat and mouse anymore, and flew through a slightly more open lane through the asteroids. He hit one, but was out of range anyway (but he took one damage, yay!)

Because I waited and waited (I took a couple of shots from range 3, sometimes through rocks from the WSF and Han), I was able to seize a moment that was advantageous for me and take the win. It turned a very challenging list into a very manageable list. For reference, the other top 4 match, between dual decimators and Super Dash Corran, was over before I did a single damage to anyone. A lot of people would freak out about that, but my list was designed to kill ships quickly, and the more time that was wasted, was the fewer Z95s that would die, making my MOV win more likely. The fact that the WSF got ion'd off of the board was just icing on the cake. He was trying to be tricky by making me bite and chase, but he forgot, or didn't think I had range to ion him. Errors happen when you've been playing for 4-5 hours straight, and this was just one of those errors. If you're patient, they will usually happen.

Planning Ahead

This seems like a dumb category to add, but I have to have it because people just don't think about where they're going to be in 4-5 turns. I won games because I planned engagements, and took a sacrifice on 1 or 2 turns to have an advantage later. In the above example, my top 4 game, Han flew in and successfully got me to bite for the chase. However, in the 2 turns between me ioning his WSF off of the board and Han engaging, I split my swarm out of formation. Ship 6, who had fired the Ion Pulse, was now dead to me. He left formation and I flew him to cover a possible exit for Han, but the one that I thought wasn't as good. Han did indeed go the other way, and ended in arc of 3 ships with TL on him, and a focus. He boosted out, which I anticipated, which put him in arc of Cracken and ship 3. Cracken shoots, passes a TL to ship 3, who then fires with TL+F and does 2 damage after shenanigans. (Guessing zero with Lone Wolf, getting an evade, and then re-rolling the blank to get an evade to successfully dodge 2 damage... Talk about shenanigans!) Regardless, I now had another ship that was at full health, but dead to me (in terms of staying in formation, needing arc, and all of that other stuff that matters). He did a weird 2 turn, ship 6 did something else, and my pack of 3+ Cracken continued the chase, pushing Han into the corner (which sounds an awful lot like coroner, which is how it works out for Fat Ships.) Because I had disengaged the chase with two ships and moved about 2 turns ahead of where Han was going (remember, there is a giant blob of death in the middle of the table), I was able to set those two up to block, or at least be range 1. As it turned out, after a hard turn and a K turn from ships 6 and 3 into positions where I thought a 3 bank would bring Han, he landed right in between them with nowhere to boost because there was a rock and two ships, with range 1 arcs on him. Not being able to boost, and flying around the outside also meant that my chasing ships (who were doing 2 and 3 hard turns from the outside of the asteroid field) were able to finally get range 3 arcs. They all fired, Han died, I won.

I know that my list is unique in that it has a lot of ships to block with, and hard targeting decisions for my opponent, but really, this situation will benefit any ship. Knowing when to break off (sometimes before they even engage to begin with!) is pivotal to success against arc-dodging fatties. It was only because I deliberately turned my ships past where I thought Han would end up that I was able to prepare to get him 2-3 turns later. As they say, "IT'S A TRAAAAP!"

I swear the wall of text is almost over!

Overcoming Defensive Abilities

This is part list building, part flying. I build this into my list with missiles that do 4 damage under the right circumstances. Some people do it through raw dice, like BBBBZ, BTL Y Wings, or true swarm with Zs or Ties. Some people do it through control, like Panic Attack stresshogs and tactician, or a lot of Ion Cannon Turrets. That is a good option as well.

Regardless, you have to pick a list that, when the time comes, can do the heavy lifting to take the fatty off of the table. If you can't kill it, you cant win. The game is that simple. If your 6 spice runners just don't have the punch, no matter how you fly, you might just have to think of something else to fly, or different upgrades to use. Most of these deal with upgrade synergy, and I just want to list a couple of options I have been thinking of that I haven't seen people use yet:

• Control + Outmaneuver: Ion or stress to make sure the enemy can't turn around, then hammer them with attacks that reduce agility. This works best against C3PO because he can't trigger it unless he rolls dice. Laugh at the shiny golden god's face as you chase him down (one of the few 'normal' builds that should chase a falcon). If you want to be really mean, try running Outmaneuver on a stresshog X wing, Eaden Vrill with HLC Outrider, and Jan Ors. If you can fit something else as well, go for it... Oh, so much funny. 6 Dice attacks every round... Maybe try to make room for Biggs, HAHAH! * Edit: Not enough points to do well, but you could do: Vrill, HLC; Gold, BTL, Stressbot, ICT, Jan Ors, ICT, Outmaneuver, Moldy Crow... I like that combination...

• Ion Pulse Missiles: These beautiful little nuggets of love are greatly undervalued. For the low, low price of 3 squad points you can change how those stupid large ships think about skirting around the outside of the table. Take two of them on 2 Z95's for the low, low price of 30 points and you can fly Han from a 'safe' position to off of the map. Did I mention you don't have to spend a target lock to fire them? At range 3, your target still only gets to use printed agility because it is a secondary weapon. How hard is it to chase a large ship, even with EU if it is ion'd? So easy a cave man B wing could do it. In my top 16 game at the Tacoma Regionals I flew my Z with this straight at Oicunn, who was trying to make me chase, while the rest of my squad did a hard turn to smash his escort. Z95 connects with missile, and Oicunn is now 2-3 turns away from saving his friends. I won that game because Oicunn couldn't help, because an Ion Pulse Missile made him slow. Winning.

• Swarms: A lot of people have said that swarms are dead, but really, swarms are an answer to literally every list in the meta right now. Whether it is bug-zappers, or ordnance like mine, or a traditional Tie Swarm, they all are powerful. The beauty of the swarm is in the engagement, and if you can be patient and plan your engagement, you will come out on top more often than not. Only IG-88A likes to see a swarm on the other side of the table, which sucks because he is so popular right now.... Flying a swarm will make you better at playing this game, and will help you think about X Wing on a deeper level than "How many red dice can I throw" or "How much stuff can I do independent of actions".

Targeting Synergy and Creativity:

I just want to reiterate this point one more time. The reason why the top lists are the top lists is because you don't know who to shoot at. Yes, Fat Han is great, but if he flew with escort that died too quickly (like X wings, or even B wings against some opponents), he would have a worse MOV and wouldn't do as well. Taking "worse" ships to make your opponent target the one you want them to will make you win. The regional win in Arizona was a great showcase of that, and I hope that my performance at the Tacoma Regionals cements the belief that it doesn't matter what you fly, it matters why and how you fly it. A Mangler Syck or two could be the lynchpin of a squad. You probably wouldn't mindlessly push them towards the enemy, because they would get blown up, but that is the case with any ship. A mangler syck has a unique strategy and approach, and that will change depending on the other ships in the squad. The same goes with every ship that FFG has released. They are all different, and they all can serve unique roles, down to individual pilots.

I hope what I wrote was helpful, and you learned something from my experience.

Oh, and as always, fly casual.

-Gersun

A very good read! Although I have never chased a turreted ship (i'm still relatively new to the game) there was one time I flew my A-wing to close to a Decimator that was being rammed consistently.

Tl; dr

(For now- it'll be lunchtime reading tomorrow- and I'm looking forward to it. )

The meta right now is still one of two things: Swarm or 2 High PS ships.

I'm having lots of success with 2 PS 1 Star VIpers w/ Autothrusters and Kath because of this. Block them, out fly them, force bad exchanges. Only control lists are giving me trouble right now with this build. Even then, if the dice go my way, I end up on top.

Haven't finished yet, but that point about having no bad targets for the enemy is a really good one. I never really feel like my lists are done until I can't even decide who they should shoot first.

I don't know the exact math, maybe MajorJuggler or another mathwinger can crunch the numbers, but a Concussion Missile shot with a focus token does 4 hits like 90% of the time.

With Focus:

0 hits: 0% (free blank to hit!)

1 hit: 0.39% (4 blanks!)

2 hits: 4.68%

3 hits: 21.09%

4 hits: 73.83% (1 or less blanks)

Average hits rolled: 3.68

Without Focus:

0 hits: 0.39% (4 eyeballs!)

1 hit: 8.98%

2 hits: 31.25%

3 hits: 40.625%

4 hits: 18.75%

Average hits rolled: 2.68

MajorJuggler, thanks for the math. I will edit that to say at least 3 hits.

Stone37, props for taking a unique list! I feel like Starvipers are one of the most under-examined ships in the game, and I think that your list does a good job of figuring out uses for them. Autothrusters makes them annoying targets for turrets at the end of the game, especially because you can focus to give yourself great odds on defense, and then if you don't need the focus you have the chance to use it for offense. I think Kath is the obvious target because she is so dangerous, so I would be curious to see what would happen if you switch out a Starviper for an HLC Scyk, or even one of the named HWKs to make your opponent think about who to target first. Especially if the ship is putting out a decent amount of hurt or inconvenience. Palob is hard to do justice for that point value though... Maybe we can think of a better option as a community

If anyone else has a unique list that they want to share, please do so! This tactica will only be more helpful if we start a discussion about building strong lists that we can test against the meta.

I love Z swarms! Thanks for sharing this!

I was going to play a Han/Jake build at the upcoming tournament to prepare for GenCon, but now I want to fly my swarm again!

I usually fly Tarn or Jake with my Zs, but here is a Missile Z list I was considering before:

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:53:-1:-1:

Thoughts? Yours is better though. Hand out a couple TLs after the enemy is close-by.

_{I too was at the Tacoma regionals. I usually try to buck the meta but I relented for that event and brought Rear Admiral Cheerios and Fel. I didn't end up facing you however}

_{The other list that I usually bring to tournaments and that does very well in the current meta game is Krassis Trellix w/ HLC and rebel captive paired up with x2 Royal Guard Pilots w/ PtL and Autothrusters. Kills big turrets very quickly and can still out-PS swarms.}

I love Z swarms! Thanks for sharing this!

I was going to play a Han/Jake build at the upcoming tournament to prepare for GenCon, but now I want to fly my swarm again!

I usually fly Tarn or Jake with my Zs, but here is a Missile Z list I was considering before:

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:53:-1:-1:

Thoughts? Yours is better though. Hand out a couple TLs after the enemy is close-by.

I actually like your homing missile list a lot! Having 5 of them has the potential to do more damage than my list can put out, and the numbers on a basic shot without Focus are actually better for the Homing Missile I think. Regardless, you can wreck some people's day with this, and I think that it is worth a go! I would deploy spread out though, and force some chases so your opponent either has to chase the injured Zs to get points, or sit in Range 1 to not get shot with missiles. I could see that list have a grand 'ol time if flown correctly.

Your post was a breath of fresh air. Thank you for sharing. These are exactly the type of posts that people should be sharing/reading.

I too have tried looking for combinations that work against the current meta, and am currently trying out a couple of lists that have shown to be effective. I'll try explaining one in your terms of "Upgrade Synergy" and "Targeting Synergy":

Kavil (36)

Y-Wing (24), Blaster Turret (4), Unhinged Astromech (1), Push the Limit (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Black Sun Soldier (16) x 4

Z-95 Headhunter (13), “Hot Shot” Blaster (3)

Upgrade Synergy: I've seen Kavil builds here and there, but most try the autoblaster approach. I find that getting into R1 with a Y-Wing is pretty tough, so I went with the Blaster Turret option. To give Kavil a bit of mobility, I slapped on an Engine Upgrade and Unhinged Astromech. The result is a Y-Wing that can outfly some of the most maneuverable ships in the game. The added bonus of the out of arc shot is a nice touch, as I can swoop in to face the enemy, and boost out of their arc, and them out of my own, to get an even more effective shot.

For my Z swarm, I opted for the Black Sun Soldier, which is PS3, reducing the effectiveness of Predator, and to also gain a PS advantage against common swarm builds with PS1 or PS2 ships. I decided to slap on Hot Shot Blasters on all of them. I think the swarm tends to be the strength of the build. The hot shots allow me to be aggressive with the swarm, and hunt down priority targets, without worries of having them dodge my arcs at the last minute, setting up blocks in the meantime to deny actions and set up further attacks.

Targeting Synergy: With this particular list, the choice is between the Z-swarm, and Kavil. I tend to start my matches much more aggressively with the Z-swarm than Kavil, to set up the alpha strike and bring in Kavil for clean up. Even so, if I find that the opponent wants to go after Kavil first, he can very quickly get out of dodge (all those green 3's plus boost makes for a very fast/unpredictable Y-Wing). This can have your opponent fruitlessly chasing a ship which they thought they could trap, while my swarm is laying down the pain with 8-12 dice.

Overall, I like this list because of the versatility. Essentially, I have a swarm/turret, and a turret/arc dodger. This can create confusion for the opponent on how to fly against it, as the ships fly differently than what is standard. So far I'm 11-3 with it, having faced some "meta" lists, and 4-0 at a competitive tournament, so its strong enough to face a gauntlet. More practice will be necessary to fine tune strategies against some particular lists.

Hey Gersun

Firstly thank you for taking the time to write out that article. Some excellent points that I wish to address. It really rung true for me as I’m also a long time warhammer player and have transitioned in February but like any player have dreams of greatness. I’ve also written several articles on forums for Warhammer so am very keen to eventually do the same when I gain enough experience. Were you successful on the Warhammer tournament scene and totally out of interest did your warhammer armies influence your play styles in X-wing at all?

Alright, before you have a chance at placing in a tournament, you have to have a solid list! Everyone knows that, and I am going to talk about the two elements that every player should think about when building a list. Upgrade Synergy and Targeting Synergy.

Great comment however it doesn’t mention an easily overlooked skill and that is the skill of the person behind the ships flying the list. A great list is nothing in the hands of a poor pilot and equally so a ‘poor list’ is much better when flown by a superior player. Rookie pilot right here!

If you plan on ramming Oicunn into your opponent, you will probably want an engine upgrade to either hit twice, or make sure that one hit connects.

I’m curious if you could clarify this for me? I didn’t think the engine upgrade boost action allowed you to move into contact with an obstable or another ship?

This synergy can be made with almost any list, and we see it commonly with Paul Heaver's World's list. The 3 Z95s are bait. Go after them and Han will tear you apart piece by piece. However, if you ignore them, you're going to be taking an extra 6 to 9 red dice from them, and they will try their best to block and be annoying. This is a beautiful piece of Targeting Synergy art.

Totally out of self interest here, any clues as to how/what you would include in a TIE Defender list for a synergy build? I’ve got a bit of a love affair with this ship and even though I like to think I’m using it correctly and it’s the users piloting skill that’s letting the list down I would gladly accept any guidance and examples

This is where it all happens. Everything in the match hinges on where the asteroids are, and where your ships are. If you get this wrong, you just made the game that much harder to win. I think a lot of people know this in theory, but fail to understand it in practice. Here are some rules to follow that will help you see why they are important.

Great rules! I’m certainly one of those who know this in theory but for whatever reason I choose to rush/ignore it. You’ve mentioned previously you don’t fly the big ships, is that because of the valid strategies behind the asteroid placement and use?

I learned my lesson from this game, however, and I was lucky enough to squeak into the elimination rounds as the 31st seed out of 32. Sweet deal.

So what would have changed if you had a re-match for that game or are you adamant some lists purely have little chance against others?

Regardless, you have to pick a list that, when the time comes, can do the heavy lifting to take the fatty off of the table.

There perhaps lies my problem, I’m flying ‘themed’ lists as opposed to ‘efficient’ lists that are taking full advantage of the synergy you’ve written about. Are you primarily a rebel ship player?

Thanks again for your fantastic article, I’ve certainly gained some insight from it and look forward to applying it to my next game especially the asteroid placement. Certainly looking forward to your responses if you have the time.

Jimmyrut, thanks for the detailed reply! I will try to respond in order.

• I have won a team warhammer tournament, and I would say that I am a strong player. I can beat players that go to Masters as much as they beat me, regardless of matchup (I play an all-comers High Elf list)

• Flying well is definitely the key with any list. I had 5 knockout round games on Sunday, and I don't recall landing on a single asteroid. I had several get very close, but for the most part, the best decision is usually more conservative. That being said, you have to learn your maneuvering tricks, like how many bases banks and turns equal, and how you can judge where you will end up. Also, other things like how the large asteroid is a good friend of the 3 turn, and how the small asteroids match well with the 2 turn template.

• I think you're right on Oicunn, now that I think about it you can only use Daredevil to double-ram a ship. Engine upgrade is no good! Good catch, I will edit that out.

• I love the Tie Defender as well! In fact, I am working on some lists for it right now. At the moment though, Biophysical is the king of the Defender, check out his results at this recent regional here . I will post my list(s) once I think about them a little more. Vessery is my favorite though, so pairing him with other ships that like to TL is the way to go. The new Advanced fix and Vessery will be great friends

• I don't like flying the big ships because I enjoy flying multiple ships. Swarms are my favorite, followed by 3 ship ace lists. If I flew a large ship, it would be the Eaden Vrill I posted in the OP.

• If I had a rematch against that Soontir Chiraneau build I would pretend like I wouldn't engage at all for a few turns, like I did in the top 4 match. Doing a straight, a k turn, a green, and a k turn again to come back to where I started would be fine as long as it brought Soontir closer to a position I could block and kill him in with 2, maybe 3 missiles. Then it would be scaring Chiraneau away. I made the mistake of chasing in that game, and my ships were arc-dodged and killed one at a time. The problem was in the way I played, not in my list being weak or my opponents being overpowered.

• I am a sucker for themed lists (see a Z swarm with missiles for evidence) and I don't think that a list having a theme and being competitive are mutually exclusive at all. I think to be competitive you need to have a balance of roles for your ships to play, like Soontir and Chiraneau, or Cracken, the Ion Pulse Z, and the Concussion Zs. The greater diversity of tools you bring to the table, the more types of lists you can beat. Flying 4 of one thing can be awfully 1 dimensional and boring, hence why I don't rate BBBB(Z) very highly. Some of my favorite ships are: Tie Bombers, A Wings, Tie Defenders, and X Wings. I fly the Z95s because I love this list. I also have a soft spot for Tie Fighters, especially Dark Curse

What lists are you currently trying with Defenders?

If you plan on ramming Oicunn into your opponent, you will probably want an engine upgrade to either hit twice, or make sure that one hit connects.

I’m curious if you could clarify this for me? I didn’t think the engine upgrade boost action allowed you to move into contact with an obstable or another ship?

I'm not the OP, but I can answer this. The short answer is that boost doesn't allow you to ram another ship. The more interesting answer is that Daredevil does allow you to, but you need EU to get boost so that Daredevil doesn't damage your own ship. It's not a tactic I've seen used to much success, but maybe that is due to the players

Thanks for posting this. I've often looked at Concussion Missiles when considering ordnance. Good to see someone put them to use.

What do you think about a Tie Bomber squad with CMs and Jonus? Too few ships? Not enough actions?

Thanks for the replies Gersun.

That’s interesting on the Warhammer armies, a HE/TK/OK player myself. Are you registered on any of those relevant forums such as Ulthuan?

On topic:

I think currently my piloting skills need a little tightening up but not so much in terms of misreading the game or hitting ships/obstacles but more going with my gut as opposed to spending 2 minutes completely over analysing and then realising my first thought would have often been the best choice. Similar to warhammer if you can make your opponent react to your movements you’re putting a good foot forward to win.

Can you clarify what you mean about the 3 turn on the large asteroid and 2 turn on the small etc?

That’s great about the TIE Defender. Indeed Biophysical has the title currently, I’ve tried his list but once again I didn’t do it any justice and I get a bit shirty at copying other people’s lists so I need to come up with something original rather than his loadout. I do love the Ion Pulse Missiles however as they keep those big ships honest but I hate flying 2 tooled up ships that are essentially fairly fragile.

On Vessery I’ve thought about running him with either a Decimator or Lambda shuttle but I’m unsure as to what else to put in the list. Lots of interesting opportunities for the TIE Defender and as per usual never enough hours in the day to play the game and do the much needed testing.

Your re-match details intrigue me. The movement combination you’ve listed I’m literally going to go home and look at it on the table just to get a clearer picture in my head and an understanding of what it would achieve. I think perhaps I always fall into the trap of trying to do something in terms of damage every single turn rather than taking my time even if that means flying away from the enemy and re-grouping.

I think perhaps that Dual Defenders don’t bring enough roles to the table as you’ve mentioned even though Biophysical is a clear exception to the statement. Whenever I’ve run Dual Defenders and got absolutely smashed and I got back over the game details in my head I can’t see any alternative to defeating the enemy. Classic example was last week facing off against Soontir and Oicunn. I either have the option of trying to get hits on Soontir which admittedly it was the first time I’d ever played against him so didn’t know he was ‘that’ good or focus on the Decimator in which case I’m more than likely copping fire in the backside as Soontir would be taking full advantage. Very frustrating time for me! J

I’ve ran Dual Defenders, Triple Defenders, etc but I wouldn’t note I’ve had consistent success. I do test my Dual Defenders all the time against a list with Chewie and 2 x HLC B-wings which is a tough ask but at least I know where I stand…..

Great responses!

I wish i could like the OP more than once, an excellent write up.

A good read, with actual tactics! Thanks.

I agree with the O.P. 100%. I want to re-iterate that practice is incredibly important. It's what gives you an edge against meta-lists that might otherwise have an efficiency advantage against you. As long as your squad is decent, having a plan to deal with a wide range of meta squads can turn a 2-3 run into a 4-1 run. Chances are that most players haven't given much thought about how to deal with things like a 6-Z ordnance squad (or a dual TIE Defender squad). This is worth something.

I practiced against myself a ton on Vassal offline. You could do table-top games vs self as well, but it takes a lot longer. It gave me a pretty good understanding of how lots of meta lists work and how my list needs to approach them. It is critical to have some of this experience when planning to take on powerful mainstream squads. I do know that during the KC Regionals, I was rarely surprised by my opponent's moves, and this made it much easier to keep my HLCs pointed in the right direction.

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! I spent a lot of time thinking about this article over the past weeks, and I'm glad it is actually helpful.

Can you clarify what you mean about the 3 turn on the large asteroid and 2 turn on the small etc?

If your small ship is trying to fly around these obstacles, those maneuver templates are the ones to use. If you just set them down on your kitchen table you will see that the 3 turn can safely get you around the big asteroid. I will try to get a picture up from my top 4 game. My opponent's mind was blown when I flew that maneuver with a ship that was almost touching the 'roid already. I needed to get my arc on Han, and a 2 turn would have been a better move because he was trying to fly past me, but it would have put me on the rock. The shape of the 3 turn and big asteroid just work well together. Same goes for the smaller guys and the 2 turn template.

I practiced against myself a ton on Vassal offline. You could do table-top games vs self as well, but it takes a lot longer. It gave me a pretty good understanding of how lots of meta lists work and how my list needs to approach them. It is critical to have some of this experience when planning to take on powerful mainstream squads. I do know that during the KC Regionals, I was rarely surprised by my opponent's moves, and this made it much easier to keep my HLCs pointed in the right direction.

That is awesome!

When I first started playing this game I took some advice from this forum; people said to lay out a dense asteroid field on the table and practice flying through it. I ended up setting up an obstacle course, with static ships in it that represented where my enemy could be, which helps you look at the table objectively and think about planning a couple of turns in advance.

I also like to fly against myself, and that really helped me learn all of the dials, and what maneuvers certain ships love to do. Like Interceptors doing the 2 hard, or YT1300s doing a 3 bank, and so on.

Congrats on your regionals performance! Thank god for players like you who instead of whining about the game actually are taking the time to practice and find ways around it!

MajorJuggler, thanks for the math. I will edit that to say at least 3 hits.

Stone37, props for taking a unique list! I feel like Starvipers are one of the most under-examined ships in the game, and I think that your list does a good job of figuring out uses for them. Autothrusters makes them annoying targets for turrets at the end of the game, especially because you can focus to give yourself great odds on defense, and then if you don't need the focus you have the chance to use it for offense. I think Kath is the obvious target because she is so dangerous, so I would be curious to see what would happen if you switch out a Starviper for an HLC Scyk, or even one of the named HWKs to make your opponent think about who to target first. Especially if the ship is putting out a decent amount of hurt or inconvenience. Palob is hard to do justice for that point value though... Maybe we can think of a better option as a community

If anyone else has a unique list that they want to share, please do so! This tactica will only be more helpful if we start a discussion about building strong lists that we can test against the meta.

I've tried other ships, other than Kath. Rolling 5 red dice with Predator (at R1) is just killer though. I often get my opponents to shoot Kath for a round or two, then she leaves the engagement. This leaves two full health Starvipers (often in better positions to attack) to draw fire. Then, by the time my opponent has adjusted, Kath is back in the mix.

I am thinking about replacing Kath with two Thug Y's equipped with Ion turrets to see how that list would play.

**Great threat and OP btw.

Lando Calrisian is a PWT that, with Nien Numb and Engine Upgrade, can pass off two actions at PS7 with room for VI to push it to PS9. On the other hand with that build he's a minimum 49 points. How to fill out the list?

I'm thinking Nera Daniels with Advanced Protons and deadeye- with Lando along, she can get a PS9 barrel roll and target lock into Soontier and overload his arcdodging with 5 hits, but I'm open to other ideas.

I love Z swarms! Thanks for sharing this!

I was going to play a Han/Jake build at the upcoming tournament to prepare for GenCon, but now I want to fly my swarm again!

I usually fly Tarn or Jake with my Zs, but here is a Missile Z list I was considering before:

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:17:-1:-1:;64:53:-1:-1:

Thoughts? Yours is better though. Hand out a couple TLs after the enemy is close-by.

I actually like your homing missile list a lot! Having 5 of them has the potential to do more damage than my list can put out, and the numbers on a basic shot without Focus are actually better for the Homing Missile I think. Regardless, you can wreck some people's day with this, and I think that it is worth a go! I would deploy spread out though, and force some chases so your opponent either has to chase the injured Zs to get points, or sit in Range 1 to not get shot with missiles. I could see that list have a grand 'ol time if flown correctly.

Just played against a Fel, Dark Curse, AP x4 list. I was worried going in, but did what you said and won! Fel fell to three Homing Missiles from R3, then an AP and DC fell before he decided to call it. I just lost 1 Z, and two others had 1 damage.

Good game DarthRootBeer!

Great read, given me a few things to think about.

I know I rarely think that far ahead when playing, so have been know to fly straight at the enemy and have some range 3 exchanges, but then find myself faced with either taking some range 1 fire or be completely out of position. Need to get that sorted out, although my last tournament I did grab 2nd place, so I've been improving.

I'm taking part in a tournament next month where I play one faction in rounds 1, 3 & 5 and then another faction in 2 & 4. I have my trusty 3 x B's with FCS and Manglers + Prototype refit A-Wing for one squad. But for my other squad I want to use my Scum, specifically my M3's. So I have come up with the following:

Guri - Virago, FCS & Autothrusters (35)

Serissu - Stealth Device (23)

Laetin - HSI & Mangler (24)

Cartel Spacer - HSI & Flechette Cannon (18)

I think it gives the opponent a difficult choice between going for Serissu who buffs everyone's defence, Laetin who has a nasty mangler shot and Guri who is probably my 'ace'. The biggest worry I have is that it's a little fragile.

The other bonus is that not only am I using M3's which I love, but also that they rarely see tournament play.

Any advice or changes that people think may be needed?