I have an Escalation Tournament coming up, and decided to mix aspects of a couple of squads I've seen on regionals results that I really liked. Credit to Gersun's "Head Trauma" and Nathan's "The Kid" winning WI regional list!

Round 1:

E-WING: · Corran Horn (35)

Fire Control System (2)

· R2-D2 (4)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: · Airen Cracken (19)

With the Z-95 and E-Wing having almost identical dials, flying both together will be a breeze. With both at PS8, I can choose for Cracken to shoot first, and give Corran an extra action, most likely evade to deter him from being the first target. As always, Corran is a tough end game pilot, so once Cracken is down Corran should be able to handle himself.

Round 2:

X-WING: · Biggs Darklighter (25)

R7 Astromech (2)

E-WING: · Corran Horn (35)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Fire Control System (2)

· R2-D2 (4)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: · Airen Cracken (19)

· Squad Leader (2)

Again, very similar dials for all ships, so a tight formation will be possible. Biggs can TL if in range, but could focus and get it as Cracken's Squad Leader or Ability action if not. Either way, Cracken is passing 2 actions, one to each ally. Again, making sure that the initial targets are Biggs then Cracken to let Corran have a nice open board to play in the end game.

Round 3:

X-WING: · Biggs Darklighter (25)

R7 Astromech (2)

E-WING: · Corran Horn (35)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Fire Control System (2)

· R2-D2 (4)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: · Airen Cracken (19)

· Squad Leader (2)

A-WING: · Jake Farrell (24)

Push The Limit (3)

Chardaan Refit (-2)

Autothrusters (2)

A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Now another Ace comes in. Jake can flank and be pesky to hit/pin down, so now you have 2 end game Aces that can close well. This is more or less Nathan's squad with the addition of Cracken for extra actions.

Round 4:

X-WING: · Biggs Darklighter (25)

R7 Astromech (2)

E-WING: · Corran Horn (35)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Fire Control System (2)

· R2-D2 (4)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: · Airen Cracken (19)

· Squad Leader (2)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Concussion Missiles (4)

Z-95 HEADHUNTER: Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

Concussion Missiles (4)

A-WING: · Jake Farrell (24)

Push The Limit (3)

Chardaan Refit (-2)

Autothrusters (2)

A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Now this is where things get really ugly for my opponent. A Z mini swarm led by Cracken for a strong alpha strike. Corran flies in with his wingman Biggs and brings the pain while Jake bounces around like a pesky bee and takes pot shots.

I'm so stoked to try this out!!! I couldn't hold my excitement so I had to spoil my list

Any comments, suggestions, and sharing of your escalation squads is welcome. Fly casual everyone.

I like it. No obvious flaws, and you've got the damage to put a hurting to possible escalation Tanks at all levels, and are also capable of flying against the 11 ship Howlrunner Swarm.

However, as often as you can, you say that your ships are well-suited for Formation flight. However, you lose a good bit of structure when flying disparately, so anyone with AoE effects (Assault Missiles, Ion Torpedoes, Seismic Charges, Proton Bombs, Ruthlessness, Dead Man's Switch, et c.) will get a lot of extra damage off, or force you to fly against your norm.

Still, those tend to be late-round additions, because they are better vs later rounds than early rounds.

How will you combat an 8 Assault Z95 list, or a 7 Ruthless Ties with Howl/Fleet Officer support, other than to hope to face them in Rounds 1-2?

I like it. No obvious flaws, and you've got the damage to put a hurting to possible escalation Tanks at all levels, and are also capable of flying against the 11 ship Howlrunner Swarm.

However, as often as you can, you say that your ships are well-suited for Formation flight. However, you lose a good bit of structure when flying disparately, so anyone with AoE effects (Assault Missiles, Ion Torpedoes, Seismic Charges, Proton Bombs, Ruthlessness, Dead Man's Switch, et c.) will get a lot of extra damage off, or force you to fly against your norm.

Still, those tend to be late-round additions, because they are better vs later rounds than early rounds.

How will you combat an 8 Assault Z95 list, or a 7 Ruthless Ties with Howl/Fleet Officer support, other than to hope to face them in Rounds 1-2?

Great points. I'm new to the whole escalation world, so not familiar with any big swarm lists that could be more common.

My last round, my squad would be split in 3: 3Z, Biggs & Corran, and Jake. The opponent would have to go for Jake, who can get out of dodge quickly, go for Biggs/Corran and get hit hard from Corran's double tapping fun, or the 3Z's who should take out 1 or 2 swarm ships with the missiles. This being said once the opponent has made that choice I can use the other two squads to flank the opponent.

Obviously this is all in a perfect world, but yes, I would have to keep in mind any anti-swarm weapons that could present themselves. If my ships break up then the plan all breaks down, but Corran and Jake should be ok on their own, and Z95's will be used as blockers once the ordinance has been used so the swarm will split up then.

Thanks for the help! Any experience with escalation squads that are your favorites?

I like it. No obvious flaws, and you've got the damage to put a hurting to possible escalation Tanks at all levels, and are also capable of flying against the 11 ship Howlrunner Swarm.

However, as often as you can, you say that your ships are well-suited for Formation flight. However, you lose a good bit of structure when flying disparately, so anyone with AoE effects (Assault Missiles, Ion Torpedoes, Seismic Charges, Proton Bombs, Ruthlessness, Dead Man's Switch, et c.) will get a lot of extra damage off, or force you to fly against your norm.

Still, those tend to be late-round additions, because they are better vs later rounds than early rounds.

How will you combat an 8 Assault Z95 list, or a 7 Ruthless Ties with Howl/Fleet Officer support, other than to hope to face them in Rounds 1-2?

Great points. I'm new to the whole escalation world, so not familiar with any big swarm lists that could be more common.

My last round, my squad would be split in 3: 3Z, Biggs & Corran, and Jake. The opponent would have to go for Jake, who can get out of dodge quickly, go for Biggs/Corran and get hit hard from Corran's double tapping fun, or the 3Z's who should take out 1 or 2 swarm ships with the missiles. This being said once the opponent has made that choice I can use the other two squads to flank the opponent.

Obviously this is all in a perfect world, but yes, I would have to keep in mind any anti-swarm weapons that could present themselves. If my ships break up then the plan all breaks down, but Corran and Jake should be ok on their own, and Z95's will be used as blockers once the ordinance has been used so the swarm will split up then.

Thanks for the help! Any experience with escalation squads that are your favorites?

A few.

I tend to run wacky lists in Escalation, and people are so surprised that they lose