Played my second Regional for this year. It was held in my hometown, so that was quite convenient. Since I ran Brobots to the previous Regional and got Top 8 I decided to take my other tournament list consisting of three A-wings.

Tycho Celchu

- PtL

- Test Pilot

- Daredevil

- PR

- EI

Jake Farrell

- PtL

- Test Pilot

- VI

- PR

- SD

Green Sqdr. Pilot

- PtL

- Ion Pulse Missile

- SD

Got an old thread with reports from me practicing this squad. I did not have a set goal for this tournament, I just wanted to see how far I could go with the list.

First match - Brobots

I don't remember this list, I'll edit it in when the results are up on List Juggler. All I remember is it was B and D with VI and Sensors.

No soft start for me, right to the meta. Luckily my A-wings gets better the less ships there are on the board, especially when they only have forward arcs. The big events in this game was me losing my Green, and about the same time I scored Injured Pilot on B, so no shooting again. Shortly after that I kill B completely, leaving an unharmed D. The Segnor's and Dampeners did not prove much trouble. I got D down to 3 Hull left with Jake right behind it and Tycho diagonal to it. I predict a k-turn and swing Tycho around to block the 4k and Segnor's to the right. I guessed correctly, he had a 4k and he pondered whether he should boost left or right before the turn. If he would've boosted left he would've had both A-wing shooting at him, if he boosted right he would be close to the edge, but would be able to shoot Tycho in the back, so he tried and failed, landed outside by about a centimeter.

Win 100-28

Second Match

OGP

- HLC

- FCS

- EU

Turr Phennir

- VI

- Autothrusters

- Royal Guard TIE

- HU

Soontir Fel

- PtL

- Autothrusters

- Royal Guard TIE

- SD

If I recall correctly he took the initiative, which is really what I want in this kind of situation since I'll be able to move Jake in for a PR shot on one of the Interceptors. This player is a local guy I've known since I first started playing X-wing, and he's a die hard Interceptor fan. He said that my list was the only one he definitely did not want to meet, and I can see why. What pretty much happen is that Tycho flies up and positions himself alongside the Shuttle able to shoot without getting shot. Jake aims to take on the Interceptors. The shuttle locks onto the Greenie and chases it across the board while Tycho just turns around and starts following it, shooting it in the back with his primary weapon. I think it took 4 or 5 shots to get the Shuttle killed. I'm not sure, but I think that's how the game ended. I'll get back to you on this.

Win 34-0

Third Match

Dash Rendar

- PtL

- Kyle Katarn

- Mango Cannon

- Outrider

- Engine Upgrade

Corran

- PtL

- FCS

- R2-D2

Standard Super Dash with Mango. He was almost terrified at the sight of my list, which meant he flew very defensively. He spent half the game inching forward along my left side while I deployed my ships to my right. Tycho and Jake ran around the asteroids and the Green went into the middle. I got a few shots at him with my blasters while he was hugging the side, so I pretty much got to take his shields for free as he struggled to both attack and defend. Then he k-turned both Dash and Corran to turn around and shoot Tycho, Corran even spent his Double Tap, but Tycho was tough to hit. Don't remember how much, but he took some damage there. Next round Jake moves up in Corran's face to serve him a rocket. The rocket takes the shields and crits him with damaged cockpit. With Corran at PS0 he's a bit easier to deal with, but he still regenerates shields, so I have to bring him down quickly so I can put the other rocket in Dash. I don't sport such luxuries though. I'm not in a good spot to pursue Corran. He takes Evades and I only get to shoot Primary at him, gets a shield off, but I can't stop him. I'm starting to run out of time, so get Tycho around to catch Corran in Range 1. Corran has two shields back up, so I blow the PR to get him, 5 hits and his roll doesn't save him. This meant I had this game, but I am in a good position and Dash only has 3 Hull left, so I get Jake to Range 1 and score hit, hit, crit, Dash whiffs the roll and dies. Bonus.

Win 100-0

By now I've climbed to the top tables and things are getting pretty serious.

Fourth Round

Ten Numb

- VI

- Mango Cannon

Corran

- VI

- FCS

- R2-D2

Blue Sqdr Pilot

There we go, my turn to fight a nightmare list. Two PS10 ships capable of laying down the hurt. There wasn't much I could do but try my best to get Ten. 3-4 shots from him at one A-wing will kill it. My Stealth Devices vanished almost instantly and no matter what I did it seemed I couldn't catch Ten at all. Jake was the first to bite the dust, Tycho got to fire his PR at Corran which took out the shields. The next round the Green managed to ion Corran. I gave it a shot to get at least some MoV, my only choice was to bump Corran's back, hope I'd survive Ten's barrage and then get 2 hits through on Corran with my TL. But Ten along with my dice voted against that, and the Green perished as well.

Loss 0-100

Back down again. With 3-1 I need to win to get back up in the top.

Fifth Round

IG-88C

- PtL

- AS

- Mango Cannon

- Autoblaster

- Proximity Mine

- Autothrusters/Anti-Pursuit Laser (Don't remember which)

Guri

- VI

- APT

- Autothrusters

- Virago

- FCS

Quite an odd list, and comfortably enough another list with only two forward arcs. He splits his ships up, the IG to face Tycho and Jake, and the Viper to flank. Jake loses his shields, and decides to go after the IG. He turns it towards the corner and TLs Tycho and Evades, hoping to block or get Tycho in arc. Tycho does not approve and flies around it with Boost and Daredevil. My opponent was baffled and had no idea how to handle a ship that just flies circles around him. The Green tried to stay away and get behind Guri, which didn't work, so he decided to go meet up with the IG to send his ion missile at it if necessary, but he can't reach as Jake's rocket strips the remaining shields off the IG and Tycho's brings it down completely. 7 damage in one round, this is what the rockets are for. Luckily for me my opponent forgot the mine all that time in the corner where Jake and Tycho wouldn't have been able to avoid it. Then I tried everything to kill Guri, while staying out of Range 1 with the TLed ship. I shot and shot, but nothing hit. I managed to get the shield, but nothing more. In the last two rounds I sent the damaged Jake away just to be sure.

Win 56-0

Quarterfinals

IG-88B

- Lone Wolf

- AS

- Mango Cannon

- ID

- Autothrusters

- IG-2000

IG-88C

- Predator

- AS

- HLC

- ID

- Autothrusters

- IG-2000

Well, what do you know, back in Top 8 and ready for finals. By now I felt I'd played enough and I didn't want to win as I wouldn't be able to use the bye which would be a waste. However when I got to know who my next opponent was I just had to play. It was the same guy I lost to during swiss in the previous regionals, he was running the same Brobot list as then. The game started with him setting up B at range 3 of my Green, which sported a TL+Focus. He was turned away and had a focus. He wanted me to spend the Ion Pulse Missile, and I bit. Got three hits and he rolled focus, blank, blank, so his Autothrusters were not able to save him. Ionized he ended up on an asteroid the next round, and ate two PRs which killed him. Then we had a merry chase hunting down C. It went slowly and I didn't think I'd be able to kill it in time, and suddenly the shots dropped through and it was dead a few minutes ahead of time.

Semifinals

Whisper

- VI

- AS

- ACD

Soontir

- PtL

- Autothrusters

Turr

- VI

- Autothrusters

A fight that could prove challenging for the both of us. He licked my left side with Whisper and Soontir, sending Turr in for the initial fight, he gave me the initiative though, so not even Jake could react. I tried to catch him quickly with a PR, but all that happened was Jake whiffing a defense roll and losing a shield and his SD. In the following round my Green got a shot at Turr at Range 2, rolled crit, blank and didn't spend the TL as I wanted to ion him into a profitable situation for me. He whiffed that roll completely and got a Stunned Pilot. Jake and Tycho flew past to take on Soontir and Whisper, Jake lost another shield. I predicted Whisper's decloak and maneuver, I flew Tycho past Soontir down to the edge right in front of Whisper, grabbed a TL and a focus. Whisper bumped. Tycho took a 1-hard in the direction Whisper was facing, once again predicting the decloak and maneuver. Jake moves up to block and threaten with another PR. Soontir moves in right behind Jake and Whisper ends up right in front of Tycho. Jake sadly gets shot down by Soontir, but Tycho immediately takes revenge by blasting Whisper with a full 5 hits with the PR, and Whisper, cloaked, rolls blank, blank, focus, focus. No tokens, nothing. So I traded Jake for Whisper. I kept fighting and the Green took damage and was reduced to one hull towards the end of the game. By then I could decide to run with the Green and let unharmed Tycho be a nuisance, or I could keep fighting. By then I knew who had won the other game. It was a local guy with a Han+3 Talas whom I've played against way too many times in local tournaments. Almost every tournament we get to play each other a few rounds in as we tend to place pretty high early on. Since I didn't want to play any more and certainly not against him, and I knew the feeling was mutual I decided to keep fighting to keep things interesting. Soontir ended up right between the Green and Tycho at Range 1 of both, but BRd out of Tycho's arc. Time was called and he managed to sneak a single hit through on the Green despite his focus+evade. Green dice betrayed us both that game.

I'm happy to have gotten that far with my A-wings. People are really really struggling with catching Tycho and Jake. The Green tends to get left behind, so sometimes he just runs decoy to attract attention while Tycho and Jake gets in position. I've ran this with PR on the Green, but since Large Ships are so popular right now I figured it'd come in handy, which it did.

It is good to see an A list work out so well. Great flying!

At which Regional was this?

Uppsala, Sweden

Awesome list and report. Do you have any games that are recorded? It doesn't have to be from this tournament. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how 3 A-wings can win a game.

Awesome list and report. Do you have any games that are recorded? It doesn't have to be from this tournament. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how 3 A-wings can win a game.

A combination of great flying, Jake and Tycho's awesome abilities, PTL, and arguably the best dial in the game - would be my guesses.

Thanks for the report, really a great read

Two questions about your list though ... while Daredevil/Interface sounds super nuts, isn't the pilotskill of 8 a problem then? I guess especially against Soontir, Whisper etc it's kinda a big deal.

Has the Stealth Device worked well for you? My initial choice would be Thrusters actually if I'm honest ...

Again - thanks a lot, great report and congrats to your finish

Hello from the guy with the nightmare list. Good report and yes, you did struggle getting good shots on my Ten Numb. On another note your list has certainly given me some fresh ideas to try out.

Awesome list and report. Do you have any games that are recorded? It doesn't have to be from this tournament. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how 3 A-wings can win a game.

Here's the link to my "Diary"

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/128189-a-wing-aces/

Thanks for the report, really a great read

Two questions about your list though ... while Daredevil/Interface sounds super nuts, isn't the pilotskill of 8 a problem then? I guess especially against Soontir, Whisper etc it's kinda a big deal.

Has the Stealth Device worked well for you? My initial choice would be Thrusters actually if I'm honest ...

Again - thanks a lot, great report and congrats to your finish

Yeah, PS8 can be troublesome sometimes, but without DD and EI the only way Tycho can reposition is by Boosting. I personally don't think that is enough to justify PS10. Sure Tycho need to fly his very best when going up against high PS squads, but Jake has that PS9 to deal with Soontirs if I can give away the initiative. Tycho did kill that Whisper that I faced.

As for the Stealth Devices I find that they work a lot better that Autothrusters. Since I will want to move into Range 1 to get my Prockets, and I don't always have the luxury of staying out of someone's arc. The Autothrusters are barely doing anything in matches against ships with only forward arcs while SDs work against everything. Sure, they can break, but I tend to be able to get a lot of use out of them until then.

Great anti-meta list. I love it.

A question, what would u do against scummy Auto blaster turret Ys ?

I'd stay the **** away. ^^
If they had the title I'd just have to make sure to stay out of arc, which would be a lot easier. But yeah, I'd have to stay at range 2 and deal some damage with the blasters and once I've taken the shields and maybe a hull off of one I can go in with a PR.

Awesome list and report. Do you have any games that are recorded? It doesn't have to be from this tournament. I'm having trouble wrapping my head around how 3 A-wings can win a game.

The same way 2 defenders can

I'm not expressing incredulity, merely ignorance. Two Defenders with HLCs do a ton of damage. 3 A-wings do.... less damage. It seems like you would have to have near constant range 1 shots, and I can't really picture that happening in my head, so I'm trying to understand.

I'm not expressing incredulity, merely ignorance. Two Defenders with HLCs do a ton of damage. 3 A-wings do.... less damage. It seems like you would have to have near constant range 1 shots, and I can't really picture that happening in my head, so I'm trying to understand.

Well the proton rockets obviously help, and once you get ahead on points, a-wings don't have to wipe the board. Just stay alive until time (something they can do with dat dial + boost).

And also, Psycho Tycho is actually amazing at maintaining range 1. For those who have not tried this guy, he flies like nothing else in the game. Very fun build to use and can be competitive because he has the potential to go from 'out of range' to range 1 behind the enemy if they don't position carefully or not expecting it. And once there, you just can't shake him----he'll sit there all game throwing 3 attack at you. Obviously this doesn't work perfectly against all enemies (higher PS with boost/BR limits his shenanigans somewhat) but overall he's pretty good.

Jake is also cool, but he just flies like an interceptor (which is not bad of course). Outmanoeuvre on him really helps increase his damage output against lower PS small ships and against any turrets (well, not against decimators, but damage is already good vs them).

Oh yeah, and blocking. A-wings are great little blockers. Against higher PS, any of the three can do the job so the other two have shots vs unmodified green dice.

As an advocate of Psycho Tycho (and A wings in general) I'm glad to see you get to the top 4 with him. I just missed the cut running him with Corran going 4-1 but being 11 mov out of the top 8. To answer other peoples questions about how do 3 A wings do well, it basically comes down to the Prockets providing the burst damage, and Tycho essentially constantly staying in R1 due to the EI/DD combo. A single TL+F procket against even a 3 agility ship is expected to do 3.56 damage. That's enough to one shot Fel (though PS9 is Tycho's nightmare, it can be accomplished via blocking). Two of them are enough to take a IG-88 down to 1 hull, and with a crit in there, or a damage from the Green, enough to 1 round the guy.

Likewise against a Fat Han, you're pouring 8.15 damage (after he mitigates 2 via C3P0 and Evade token) in one round. Now he's left with 5 hull and probably a few nasty crits. Meanwhile, you're F+E, and preventing him from focus firing on any one ship. And against a Decimator, it's 10.88 damage in 1 round, enough to finish him off easily the next round (or if you time it correctly, and strip the shields the previous round, you can kill him there outright).

Great report. Do you miss auto thrusters with this list? I find the choice of stealth device over At to be curious.

Great report!

I found the joy that is flying Triple A-Wings in a casual game with a list that was VERY similar to your tournament list.

If you were to fly in that same tournament again, would you substitute the Green Pilot for either Gemmer Sojan (increases agility in R1 with enemies present) or Arvel Crynyd (Can attack ships that he touches base with) + an EPT of your choice?

Also, what about other EPTs like Outmaneuver and Predator alongside PTL: Can you usually take a dice-modifying action after maneuvering? Outmaneuver seems made for A-Wings given their low primary attack value.

I think if there were a way to put VI on Tycho without loosing PTL or EH/DD, he would be more popular than Fel.

Great report. Do you miss auto thrusters with this list? I find the choice of stealth device over At to be curious.

I tried thrusters at a tournament once and the results were very conclusive. Against turrets it was like not getting shot at all. Against regular arcs however they wouldn't have been worth it even if they were -2p. SDs work against all enemies, at all times(until I get hit ofc), and since I don't always have the luxury of being out of arc every time I shoot a procket I need every defensive boost I can get for those moments. I find that they work better, as long as you stay away from R1 and make sure to have Focus-Evade you're fairly sure to keep the devices.

If you were to fly in that same tournament again, would you substitute the Green Pilot for either Gemmer Sojan (increases agility in R1 with enemies present) or Arvel Crynyd (Can attack ships that he touches base with) + an EPT of your choice?

Also, what about other EPTs like Outmaneuver and Predator alongside PTL: Can you usually take a dice-modifying action after maneuvering? Outmaneuver seems made for A-Wings given their low primary attack value.

I've tried a few lists with various builds, but I've yet to find something that beats the builds I have on Jake and Tycho. Those builds need every upgrade, remove one and they'll lose a big part of their bite. If I were to switch up the Green to Gemmer I'd have to give up either the SD or the ordnance, which I'm highly reluctant to. I need all the defense I can get and I need all the offense I can get. For Arvel I'd have to give up both.

As for other EPTs I'd love to put VI on Tycho or Outmaneuver on Jake, but then I'd have to remove another EPT, and I can't really justify that. Actions are rarely a problem for my A-wings. I think during the entire tournament I didn't bump and got shot at. I did bump, but nothing could shoot at that ship at those times.

What A-Wings REALLY need is two more DECENT aces. Gemmer and Arvil are OK, but with Tie Intrercepter, there are at least 4-5 pilots that can round out an all-ace list. Same with X-wings. Not so with A-wings. You get Tycho and Jake, two B-league pilots with interesting but not useful-enough abilities, and chaff squadron pilots.

What A-Wings REALLY need is two more DECENT aces. Gemmer and Arvil are OK, but with Tie Intrercepter, there are at least 4-5 pilots that can round out an all-ace list. Same with X-wings. Not so with A-wings. You get Tycho and Jake, two B-league pilots with interesting but not useful-enough abilities, and chaff squadron pilots.

I don't get this comment. You're saying a top 4 finish isn't good enough for one of the few people bucking the meta and playing A wings? And that in order to actually be competitive, they need good aces? I guess your opinion of competitive and "decent aces" is different than mine.

I am not saying they are not competitive. Frankly, I feel in the minority in my opinion that fat turrets are not at a significant advantage (my only real issue with them are engine upgrades). However, A-wings are basically the Rebel version of interceptors. There is some balance between Fel/Jax/Phenner and Tycho/Farrell(which I fear is about to be broken with the Wave 7 tie-only upgrade card). Behind those imperials, there are seven more named pilots that all bring something to the field, several of them at PS 7. You do not have that same depth with A-wings. At least give us a decent 3rd pilot at 30 points or so. At least someone that can get to PS 7 without wasting an EPT on VI.

but with Tie Intrercepter, there are at least 4-5 pilots that can round out an all-ace list

There are two. Soontir and Turr.

Carnor is the odd duck (he wants to be in R1, but dies too often because of it).

Hi, long time lurker here. Congrats on the Top 4, Narcoleptic. A few questions from a struggling A-wing fan

Great report. Do you miss auto thrusters with this list? I find the choice of stealth device over At to be curious.

I tried thrusters at a tournament once and the results were very conclusive. Against turrets it was like not getting shot at all. Against regular arcs however they wouldn't have been worth it even if they were -2p. SDs work against all enemies, at all times(until I get hit ofc), and since I don't always have the luxury of being out of arc every time I shoot a procket I need every defensive boost I can get for those moments. I find that they work better, as long as you stay away from R1 and make sure to have Focus-Evade you're fairly sure to keep the devices.

The meta is very Decimator/turret heavy in my area (I played 3 of 5 rounds vs. Decimators last Regionals) so I feel a bit naked without autothrusters. Also, how do you tackle the round you fire a PRocket? I'm having problems with the fact that if I TL+focus that round the return fire (especially from Chiranau) can be devastating, often leading to a sad, dead A-Wing.

Taking a TL earlier and slowrolling to the Decimator would be ideal but that means a few rounds of fire before you get to engage with PRockets (that is if you manage to catch the Decimator after the first pass). And while Autothrusters help, the Decimators always have gunner which makes turtling problematic (I usually settle for getting one dmg to pass to avoid some kind of a disaster on the second roll).

I tried playing a triple A list (first with Arvel, then Gemmer), then an AAB list with Jake and Tycho + a Blue and though the PRockets should make it a good matchup, I struggle with it. The return fire from a Decimator on range 1 is just devastating and after firing off PRockets all I can do to Soontir is run away Although I have to admit, I just recently started thinking about using other rockets than Protons on at least one A (as you've done with the Green in Uppsala ).

And like I said the turret-heavy meta made me go with Autothrusters, which meant no Psycho Tycho with DD and EI. I see you didn't face any turret lists in the Regio (aside from Dash, but Dash is a good matchup for ace A-wings I think). Would you still recommend your build or something like it in a meta chock full of turrets, especially Chirpy-Fels? (we can safely assume about 1/2 of my matches will contain a Decimator, probably but not always a Deci/Fel combination).?

Sorry for the long post but I would appreciate some input, as I would love to make A-wings work for me Cheers!