I was just curious what everyones opinion is on which they believe to be the faction which is the hardest to use when building a competitive list, imo it's the Empire simply because it's ships rely more on ficklegreen dice and arc dodging than anything else and both of those get nullified by the other factions over abundant use of PWT's and Cannons, and now more turrets.And soon a new Damage deck in which you can't even kill the secondary turrets.
your opinions?
For me it's empire easily, but that's more because due to a combination of what I own and what I enjoy flying than the faction itself.
I only own 3 tie fighters, so can't really do swarm lists.
Have 2 tie defenders, but not a big fan of them.
Have 3 interceptors, which is probably the best option, but I'm not a fan of relying totally on arc dodging and green dice.
Have 2 phantoms, but don't like how OP the named ones are. I run the generics regularly, but they aren't super competitive.
Have the decimator, but hate flying PWT's.
Have a shuttle, which is alright, but only one part of a list.
Have one bomber, which doesn't do a whole lot.
Have one advanced, and since I don't have the raider, and won't anytime soon, that's a wash unless I run vader.
Have 2 firesprays, but I've done firesprays to death already, and rather play them with scum anyways.
Don't own a punisher yet.
If you don't allow Dual IG's, Scum.
If you allow Dual IG's, then Scum is the easiest faction to make a competitive list out of. Just plop two IG's and 2 HLC's down on the table, take your pick between Predator/Advanced Sensors or Something else/FCS and there is your list.
xizor with 5 Z-95s fills a competitive niche pretty easily
ditto thug life
I find Rebel's the hardest, because I never have quite the right number of points and there's so much stuff I want to take.
I have a hard time making scum lists that I really like. Their fighters seem lacking and I don't like large ships, though I do run the occasional firespray.
Scum is all about variety and tricks, it's really the faction you put a lot of weird combos at play, there's no easy choices. I like scum ALOT and I've made lists with scum that I haven't seen on the other side of the table, ever, and done very good/won with them.
I have a hard time making scum lists that I really like. Their fighters seem lacking and I don't like large ships, though I do run the occasional firespray.
Scum ships take some getting used to but once you figure out what role each ship has and how to fly it they are pretty awesome.
1 - Scum
2 - Rebel
3 - Empire
Scum is pretty behind but its a brand new faction. List options include y wings, y wings, y wings ... maybe dual Brobots. I enjoy this faction its just limited atm for crew etc due to newness.
Rebel x wings and a wings see little play time in casual or tournament play. There is a reason for this.
Empire the tie advanced fix makes it a MONSTER. The defender now stands alone in being a outlier for Empire.
Historically for me it's been scum: they've never really had that nice, filler "fighter" role craft. Zs are good for swarming, Scyks are good for glass cannons... and then you jumped straight up to the very expensive StarVipers.
BUT, now we have the Khiraxz, so maybe that problem is solved.
Scum have still been one of my favorites to design squads for. I'm all giddy with my new Hound's Tooth.
1 - Scum
2 - Rebel
3 - Empire
Scum is pretty behind but its a brand new faction. List options include y wings, y wings, y wings ... maybe dual Brobots. I enjoy this faction its just limited atm for crew etc due to newness.
Rebel x wings and a wings see little play time in casual or tournament play. There is a reason for this.
Empire the tie advanced fix makes it a MONSTER. The defender now stands alone in being a outlier for Empire.
The TIE Advanced fix may have been a mistake. Empire has become the most difficult for me to build a list because every list I build contains the TIE Advanced. It's probably because I've played so many games without even considering using it that I now feel I need to catch up. Also, I keep trying to duplicate the Season 2 premiere of Rebels with Vader 
He is very good at slaughtering ships now.
Scum was harder initially but I think Wave 7 has made it easier. Even when not using the new ships, I might still slip in a new upgrade card like Glitterstim. When Wave 8 comes out Scum players should not be able to complain that they lack options.
I think Scum, but not because they don't have viable ships. I think it is simply a case of it being so new and the smaller number of ships to choose from. There are probably a number of nice scum lists that we just haven't discovered yet. Remember Scum has only been around less than a year and they are still missing certain ship types that rebels and imperials have had for a while.
The next wave is bringing the Mist Hunter which looks at first glance to fill the B-Wing type of role, while the Punishing One brings a large base Primary Turret ship to the table. Once Scum gets a more dedicated bomber similar to the K-Wing or Punisher, then they will have most of the same roles as the other factions.
The TIE Advanced fix may have been a mistake. Empire has become the most difficult for me to build a list because every list I build contains the TIE Advanced. It's probably because I've played so many games without even considering using it that I now feel I need to catch up. Also, I keep trying to duplicate the Season 2 premiere of Rebels with Vader
I don't think so. The advanced fix was necessary for Imperials. Basically, the Empire had no good small-based jousting ships in the 20-30 pt range which really limited the types of builds you could run. The Advanced fix now allows Empire to create either entirely jousting lists or add 'jousting elements' very easily (something which rebels and scum have always been able to do) and best of all, the TIE advanced does not feel similar to any of the best rebel/scum jousters so it adds some nice variety to the game. I think its been FFG's best fix so far (although the a-wing fixes are both good---that's right there were 2: test-pilot seems to get ignored as a fix; when in fact it really helped make the a-wing aces viable again).
I think it's pretty well balanced tbh. But the clear winner for me is empire: their fleet is so compartmentalised, it's hard to feel you've 'finished' a list. Scum and rebels, on the other hand, have clear synergies all over the place, and well fractioned points costs so you can add great ships at every point cost. Also, it's very easy to make an imperial list that's just too squishy, especially with the way things are going...
I believe it is the Empire due to reasons already posted here. That does not stop me from having my love/hate relationship with TIE Fighters and Defenders. I do think they have some of the best pilots in the game. Fel, Vader, Whisper, and Chirpy are just monsters when they do what they do. As a faction they lack a small-base ship that has the durability to just shove in someone's face and your opponent has to deal with it (like B-Wings) aside from massed TIE Fighters.
As a faction they lack a small-base ship that has the durability to just shove in someone's face and your opponent has to deal with it (like B-Wings) aside from massed TIE Fighters.
TIE advanced says hello.
There is no one correct answer anymore. It used to be Scum but with all the additions they have now there are more than enough options.
Now it all comes down to personal play style.
Until the released of the YV-666 I'd say scum, for me, but i just cant wait to try Bossk HLC Calculation rec Spec K4 greedo + IGB plus goodies. the only thing id run rebel is Horn dash, but my friend plays that 24/8 and i see how it can be easily taken down (sometimes)
I don't think so. The advanced fix was necessary for Imperials. Basically, the Empire had no good small-based jousting ships in the 20-30 pt range which really limited the types of builds you could run. The Advanced fix now allows Empire to create either entirely jousting lists or add 'jousting elements' very easily (something which rebels and scum have always been able to do) and best of all, the TIE advanced does not feel similar to any of the best rebel/scum jousters so it adds some nice variety to the game. I think its been FFG's best fix so far (although the a-wing fixes are both good---that's right there were 2: test-pilot seems to get ignored as a fix; when in fact it really helped make the a-wing aces viable again).The TIE Advanced fix may have been a mistake. Empire has become the most difficult for me to build a list because every list I build contains the TIE Advanced. It's probably because I've played so many games without even considering using it that I now feel I need to catch up. Also, I keep trying to duplicate the Season 2 premiere of Rebels with Vader
I was making a joke when I called it a mistake Sorry, written speech does not convey irony very well. I agree with everything you said. It also adds unique flavour to the ship, something that is harder to do with just stats and dials alone now with the greater number of ships.
I wish they'd buff the a-wing. They did once, and it helped a lot, but I still feel like it's not there. I rarely take them, and I own five 
I also have five x-wings, and I take those much more regularly. The x-wing generics are kinda meh, but the named pilots still seem decent.
1 - Scum
2 - Rebel
3 - Empire
Scum is pretty behind but its a brand new faction. List options include y wings, y wings, y wings ... maybe dual Brobots. I enjoy this faction its just limited atm for crew etc due to newness.
Rebel x wings and a wings see little play time in casual or tournament play. There is a reason for this.
Empire the tie advanced fix makes it a MONSTER. The defender now stands alone in being a outlier for Empire.
As a faction they lack a small-base ship that has the durability to just shove in someone's face and your opponent has to deal with it (like B-Wings) aside from massed TIE Fighters.
TIE advanced says hello.
It is the whole 2 Attack dice thing that makes them less than ideal.
As a faction they lack a small-base ship that has the durability to just shove in someone's face and your opponent has to deal with it (like B-Wings) aside from massed TIE Fighters.
TIE advanced says hello.
It is the whole 2 Attack dice thing that makes them less than ideal.
advanced targeting computer says hello
On the whole, I'd have to say Scum.
It's not that their ships are bad, but it's often hard to find multiple ships that will work well together in a coherent force. This is, of course, explicitly intentional, but it's also a bit of a problem.
Rebels have some interesting synergy and control builds, where once you get started it's pretty obvious how to keep building out; Imperials have a whole boxload of awesome ships they can pick from; just assemble from your toolbox accordingly... Scum has some neat ships, but you'll build a nice rock to your list and find you're missing scalpels. Or that you're fielding a horde of Z-95s simply because there's not much else to round out the list with.
Dual Aggressors works well, and IG-88B especially makes a potent hammer to build wingmen around. With Wave 7, Thugs with TLT will doubless do well indeed. I just feel it needs a couple more ships that excel as speedy loners, perhaps.
Scum, because all I own is a star viper! 
Okay, on a serious note... probably the Empire, for me anyway.
3 Ties, so no swarm tactics.
3 interceptors, and I have yet to master the art of arc dodging.
1 Advanced, Raider fix is in the mail, but until then, I find it....lacking.
1 Defender, awesome ship but... WAY to expensive.
1 phantom, I really like echo, but I'm still learning the whole "cloak" "de-cloak" style.
2 Bombers, Bread and butter for me now, problem is trying to pick something to accompany them.
1 Firespray, I like Fett, but the way I fly him makes him a big points dump for me.
So looking though this thread scum get picked as the hardest to build for quite a bit. Now wave 8 is here is this still the case? Would this make scum the hardest to play? I ask as a new player interested in specialising in scum, though I'm not planning on running dual ig88s or a wolfpack of jump masters. I currently have a core set a falcon and a firespray had some success with rebels even my losses were close, not so much luck with Imps.