If we are talking rock-paper-scissors, the usual cycle I see is this:

No squadrons > Fighters > Bombers > No squadrons

For instance, if you are in a meta where people are taking lots of imperial ships without fighters, I would suggest the following list as a thought experiment:

AF MKII B - Dodonna, Adar Tallon

Neb B Escort - Raymus, Yavaris

CR90A (with or without Leia, depending on how you feel about your bid)

Keyan Farlander, Luke Skywalker, 3x B-Wings

Running ships with no fighter support into close/medium range at this list is an experience roughly akin to sticking one's junk in a hornet's nest and thrusting vigorously. If you arrange your fighter screen so that your opponent has to bumble through it to get to your ships (especially Yavaris, don't let that die early), depending on setup they are eating somewhere between 6 black dice + 3 blue dice to 10 black dice + 5 blue dice in a single turn from just your bombers. You also have ships to fire!

Did I mention every single one of those ships also has bomber, so they crit with Dodonna, and some have re-rolls or the ability to ignore shields (which I have not factored in)?

For those running in metas where people think no squadrons are a smart thing to do, I suggest this kind of counter-list until people learn there is a reason to bring a balanced list.

I see zero squadron fleets as the Magic equivalent of red burn decks. You're gonna be ineffective against your opponent's squadrons so you focus fire on his ships with your superior numbers and/or upgrades hoping to do enough damage to give you the win. As the game drags on, the effect of enemy squadrons will start to tell on your ships so you resort to stuff like offensive ramming before you lose to attrition.

If you have any specific any ship list strategies you can add to:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/181296-viable-tactics-for-beating-an-all-ship-fleet/

That would be awesome.

I've run a no squadron list (4xGlads) for 8 games now. Won 6, Lost 2. Small sample size but I don't see a problem with it.

You get hurt once or twice during the game. Meanwhile I have 2 GSD's vs 1 AF/VSD and tear it apart. Once the 'carrier' is down the squadrons can't keep up and shoot. Plus 4 ships has advantages in many scenarios and with going 1st/last and 1st again.

It's not unbeatable, but certainly playable.

I've run a no squadron list (4xGlads) for 8 games now. Won 6, Lost 2. Small sample size but I don't see a problem with it.

You get hurt once or twice during the game. Meanwhile I have 2 GSD's vs 1 AF/VSD and tear it apart. Once the 'carrier' is down the squadrons can't keep up and shoot. Plus 4 ships has advantages in many scenarios and with going 1st/last and 1st again.

It's not unbeatable, but certainly playable.

Herein lies a great advantage: having more ships than your opponent AND going first. The double activation with Demolisher...

I recently picked up a 4th GSD for a no-squadron list since 3 of them with a small fighter screen has worked very well for me. Have not had a chance to play the 4-GSD list yet. A fully-upgraded Demolisher is the best thing since sliced bread.

Just this past week I played a no-squadron Rebel list in 2 games, won both. 2 games can't be considered a thorough test of any list but it's a good start. Admittedly going 2nd with Opening Salvo has a huge plus against a no-squadron Imperial fleet for the first win. The 2nd was against a newer Imperial player who had a significant amount of points sunk into squadrons but made some mistakes and didn't play his bombers right. None of my ships were lost in either game.

My Rebel no-squadron list:

AFMkIIA: Mon Mothma, Raymus Antilles, Electronic Countermeasures, X-17 Turbolasers

3x CR90a each with Enhanced Armament

293 pts., 7 under for the bid

Opening, Salvo, Contested Outpost, Intel Sweep

Well-played bomber squadrons could give this list a lot of grief but the Corvettes are pretty good at maintaining long-rage fire while surviving the enemy's shots at range. They are also good at running away from ships that can effectively give Squadron orders. I will try this list again, replacing the AFMkIIA with a B and dropping 1 Corvette for a Neb-B Support w/ Salvation, X-17, and moving Raymus over from the Frigate.

With both Rebel & Imperial lists I will be playing without squadrons for a while. Honestly, I'm tired of giving up points from dead starfighters.