Often, discussions of X-Wing tend to revolve around known lists. These strong, known quantities dominate discussions as they win tournaments. Specific lists rise and fall as tournament performance changes or new ships and cards are released. But there are hidden lists. Whispered in the dark that there exist a number of truly vicious lists that, while not truly competitive, are difficult to face. A few of these terrors are about to be unearthed.
Some of these have been discussed elsewhere, others have only been whispered before. This treatise will explore the list, what makes it so mean, and how to fly it. Be warned, for while all of these lists are difficult to fly, in the hands of an expert squad leader, they are a match for most opponents.
Demolition Derby
Why, Sable? Why?!An old list dating back to Wave 3, updated for Rebel Aces and Wave 6, the list was designed specifically to exploit the strengths of the ORS and the Prototype A-Wing. The ORS is generally regarded as terrible, and rightly so. With moderate survivability and low firepower, the ship must rely on it's admittedly good dial and low Pilot Skill. When equipped with Anti-Pursuit Lasers, which deal damage 50% of the time when an enemy overlaps the vessel, and coupled with the large base and good dial the ship becomes an excellent blocker. Its survivability is further boosted by the inability of enemy ships to fire after running into the ORS.
Both ORS make use of the APL and a pair of twin crew. Intelligence Agent allows the player to look at the opponents dial of one ship at range 1-2 of the host ship. Navigator allows the host ship to change the speed of any revealed maneuver. The result of this is that the controlling player gets to look at an enemy dial or two, change the speed of their own dials, and if the enemy ships somehow run into one of the Outer Rim Smugglers, they take a die of damage.
The downside of blockers has always been that they are unable to shoot at the victim they block. However, the ORS has a turret, albeit with only two attack dice. Further, because the ORS moves first, there is an extremely good chance that it will be able to take an action whereas the ships that impact the blocker will be lacking. The two ORS can't shoot the ships they themselves are touching, but they ARE able to shoot the ships their sister ships are blocking.
Mean ORS picking on InterceptorsAs you can see here, neither ORS can shoot at the Interceptor it is touching. However, both ORS has a Range 1 shot on a helpless target, neither of which have return shots. While an idealized situation, it serves to demonstrate that these ships are not helpless.
The twin Prototype A-Wings serve as further threat. Autothrusters helps keep them alive against turrets. Their job is to close with the enemy and increase the damage output of the list. They serve well in the capacity of attacking those targets that were unlucky enough to fall into the clutches of an ORS.
However, because Intel Agent is performed before any moves, it may be that a canny player has avoided any possible move by the ORS to block them. However, an A-Wing could then boost into the known destination of a ship, blocking it. While lacking APL, a blocked ship is still vulnerable to fire as it lacks tokens in most cases.
Soontir Laughs at the ORS attempts to block!In this case, Soontir has detected the trap of the ORS and shot forward. The A-Wing behind the ORS is no threat as the Interceptor boosts past to get behind an ORS and be largely immune from damage this round.
Who's laughing now?Keep in mind that if a vessel overlaps Ship A, but can't fit between that and Ship B, it keeps backing along the template until it does fit. Thus, the A-Wing, knowing the final location of Soontir, boosts forward. The Baron overlaps the A-Wing, then keeps backing up until it is touching the YT-1300, taking a damage from the APL and losing tokens. While there are no good shots on the Interceptor this round, he also doesn't have any good shots and the game continues with Soontir having lost a precious life.
This list is built around blocking. It flies very differently from any other list. It is difficult to fly, as it requires effort to block and a precise understanding of where the opponent may go. However, it is very difficult to fly against for any ship that lacks a turret. The danger is always present that the ORS may do something unexpected and block a ship. Be warned, this list is not to be underestimated.
1st Stage Of Grief
What was the 1st Stage of Grief again?Imperial pilots are known for being cunning, savvy, and ruthless. Flying fragile if agile ships has bred some truly excellent pilots as those with ability are promoted to fill sudden vacancies in the chain of command. Many of the best are further hampered by being 'rewarded' with taking new, untested gear into combat. Every once in a while, though, everything comes together to create a truly existential threat.
Carnor Jax is well known and rightly feared for his ability to shut down the most common actions taken in the game of X-Wing. Victims within Range 1 cannot take the Focus or Evade actions, nor spend those tokens if they already have them. This ability, on a PS8 Interceptor with PTL is extremely difficult to avoid. Add in Autothrusters and this is a very difficult ship to deal with for many lists. Couple Push the Limit with Twin Ion Engine Mk II and the dial is incredibly green and the ship becomes even more daunting to predict. Still, just because Focus and Evade actions are shut down doesn't mean that there aren't other actions that can be taken to modify dice, such as Target Lock.
Captain Kagi is the oldest pilot in the list, having been out since Wave 3. However, he is little taken due to the unpopularity of the high PS shuttles. But his ability is one that should be taken note of, and feared. When an enemy acquires a target lock, it must be on Captain Kagi if he is an option. The victims of this ability do not have to have a shot on the shuttle for this ability to proc. Sensor Jammer makes mockery of this TL, as one hit is instantly turned to an EYE result on every shot against Kagi, which may not be rerolled. Sensor Jammer is easy to circumvent as long as Focus is a viable action. Accompanying Captain Kagi is the Emperor. Well feared for his ability to modify one die every round anywhere on the board and protected by Sensor Jammer, this ship is a difficult one to destroy. But still, closing with either Carnor Jax or Captain Kagi increases the dice thrown and will eventually overwhelm any defenses.
Zertik Strom has largely been overlooked in the rush to explore the pure dread of Lord Vader suddenly being viable. This PS 6 TIE Advanced pilot has the ability to shut down the range bonus of any ship at Range 1. An important note is that this ability works against any target, not just on attacks against Zertik himself. The courageous pilot, in this list, comes further equipped with VI. This is an important upgrade because, while it may not push him above other aces in terms of PS, it allows him to match the PS of his two wingmen. With them all at PS 8, they can move and shoot in any order. This is an extremely valuable trait, especially with a high finesse list. Further, Zertik features Sensor Jammer. Just as with Captain Kagi, this allows him to shrug off one hit per attack as long as the attacker doesn't have a focus, which dovetails nicely with Carnor Jax's shenanigans. Finally, the TIE MK II vastly improves the dial of the TIE Advanced, turning the 2 Bank and 3 Bank maneuvers green.
I have these Imperial goons just where I want them! ... Why aren't my guns working?For example, Han Solo finds himself at Range 1 of both Captain Kagi and Zertik Strom. Suddenly, Han loses his range 1 attack die bonus against both target, both of which retain their own bonuses.
As with the other lists in this treatise, this team should not be underestimated. At 99 points, this list gains initiative against many other PS8 builds, allowing the choice of attack or movement. Even against higher PS builds, the wide range of the abilities can cause the opponent to falter or become timid. And when the list comes together correctly, doom can come quickly.
You can't take the sky from me. Bonuses are another matter.In an idealized situation, Han finds himself at Range 1 of all three ships. Unable to boost, focus, evade, he is forced to TL Kagi. Now, he may attack, with but 3 attack dice. Against Zertik or Kagi, one hit is lost to Sensor Jammer and may not be rerolled by his TL or his pilot ability. This leaves a maximum of 2 dice that may be hits. Against Carnor, who has Autothrusters, the chance of hits are similarly low. Further, in case of a lucky shot, the Emperor can change a missed die into an evade, further robbing Han of offensive power. In return, all three ships have full Range 1 shots with dice modification of their choice. As Han was unable to evade, this leaves C-3P0 and a lone, unaltered agility die as the only salve to the impending barrage of 11 attack dice. While not enough to kill Han outright without some outrageous crits, it is enough to brutalize the Millennium Falcon and leave it vulnerable to future attacks.
Spiced Latte
I could go for a Spiced Latte right now. Non-fat Thug please.This list starts off with a Syndicate Thug at PS2. The Y-Wing is a venerable craft, difficult to destroy quickly. Until recently, however, its dial and lack of attack dice hindered its combat effectiveness. However, an Unhinged Astromech ensures this craft is eminently maneuverable and can clear stress with a number of 3 Speed maneuvers, resolving the issue with the dial. Twin Laser Turret has drastically changed the damage equation. Now, the Y-Wing can attack twice at range 2-3, both attacks getting 3 dice. The resulting damage of each is exactly 1 on a hit, but the sheer amount of dice thrown at a target s incredible. Couple this with the BTL-A4 title and a Y-Wing can attack 3 times, though it must be in arc. Keep in mind that the first attack with Primary Weapon does not have to be at the same target as the TLT attacks (though these must be on the same target as each other). Never be afraid to us the Primary weapon on a Range 1 target and the TLT shots at a distant one.
Latts Razzi weighs in at PS5. This bounty hunter excels at ensuring that targets are unable to avoid incoming fire. During any attack against a target, Latts can spend her TL on that victim to reduce its agility by 1 for that attack. On board the vessel is a Tactician. This capable crew is able to dish out Stress to any target at Range 2 in arc. But Latts' arc extends 180 degrees, so this threat is doubled. Gunner, another venerable crew, allows her to attack a second time if she misses. Bossk crew demands excellence. If an attack misses, Bossk gives the ship a stress (to a maximum of 1), a focus and a TL. Finally, the ship is equipped with a Feedback Array to ward off any ship thinking to use its superior maneuverability to chase the less agile freighter.
Talonbane Cobra is a pilot that many have reservations about, with good reason. Effectively a Scum X-Wing, the Kihraxz has yet to earn the respect of the community. Still, the ship remains survivable at Range 3, due to his 4 dice at that range, and incredibly punishing at Range 1 with a full 5 Attack dice. In deference to his squishability, it is best to keep his point cost as low as possible. The ship is unlikely to survive in the long game, so an early punch is potent. Equipped with Crackshot, this mercenary can discard his EPT to eliminate one successful defense result when attacking. Finally, no elite Scum pilot should leave for battle without a bit of extra help. Glitterstim rounds out this pilot, giving him a super focus once per game at the cost of a stress.
Let's put this all together:
Glitterstim is my God -- and I am the human instrument of its will!Ideally, moving at PS9, Talonbane will find himself at Range 1 of a victim, such as the feared IG-88B. His action should be TL at this point. At the start of combat, activating Glitterstim, Talonbane gains the super-focus inherent to the cocaine shooting through his brain. He then attacks at Range 1, rolling 5 dice with TL and Focus, likely getting a full 5 damage. Latts Razzi spends her TL on IG-88 to reduce the agility to 2. If the defender rolls any defense dice or expends an evade token, Crackshot is discarded to force more damage through. This one attack can easily destroy a host of major threats, or seriously damage others. In this case, an almost guaranteed 4-5 damage on IG-88.
Latts would attack next at Range 2, giving IG-88 a stress. With no dice modification, it is unlikely her first shot will be successful. Thus, she gains a TL and a Focus from Bossk (who takes his toll by adding a stress) and Gunner allows her to attack again. Forgoing the use of the TL, Latts should still be able to push a damage or two through on IG-88, as well as adding another stress to the pile.
The Syndicate Thug would then attack with their primary weapon. Latts will make this shot more likely to succeed by deleting an agility die from the assassin droid. With luck, this attack will succeed. Two more attacks are made, each at 3 dice. It is almost certain that the IG-88 has spent his tokens by this point, ensuring that these attacks have a good chance to succeed. There is an extremely good chance that this droid has been destroyed by the end of the round. Even if not, it is extremely damaged and double stressed.
Conclusion
These lists are all dangerous, but not true Tier 1 competitive lists. Be warned, however, that in the hands of a capable player, they are not to be ignored. They all can pose an existential threat. Each has a number of dirty tricks that forces the opponent to understand the threat and counter it. Complacency leads to death.
Further lists remain obscured for now. But the Force reveals all in time. Until then, beware further tricks. No enemy fights fair when their own survival can hinge on traps, deception, and dirty tricks. A fair fight is a fight in which the two sides aren't fighting hard enough.
Navigator, MFins, APL and feedback array would have been great together. 