When you sit down to put together a new squad where do you start? After picking the ship(s) where do your thoughts go next? I'd like to hear your process on squad buildinv.

To be put simply, diversity and simplicity.

Obviously, a list works best when all parts are contributing. But what happens to a list when a ship is lost or unable to function as planned? A good list can recover and change gears.

Finally, how do I take the dice out of the game as much as possible? Were/how can I gain advantages?

Lately, it's been about either been taking ships that are less efficient, pairing them with one mister of a ship, and using the monster as bait while the other guys prove efficiency can be changed.

There's also an amazing super secret wave 7 build that has made a splash in the Atlanta area, but I'm under contract to not speak on that til worlds.

I start with defender then build around.

I'm coming from a background in Star Wars minis, where you don't play a squad unless it's extremely synergistic (commander effects). There are no commander effect's in X-Wing, but I always look for synergy between two ships, and then try to add another, even if it only compliments the first two, like throwing in a maneuverable A-wing with a couple B's.

I'm currently working on the below squad:

Latt Razzi

-Weapons Engineer

-K4

Talonbane Cobra

-Opportunist

-Glitterstim

Palob Godalhi

-TLT

99 points

Talonbane gets into range 1 of the enemy's biggest threat and attacks with 6 dice while Latts removes an agility. Nasty

Usually I build around the ship I had the most succes with. Then trying to have exactly two kinds based on the stone/scissor/paper principle (Turret/arc-dodger/swarm) in order to always have a theoretical good chance to win against most of the build. Additionally, also meta-breaking concept are taken into consideration, e.g nowadays: "can I theoretically win against TLTs, Brobots, two-ship builds" etc (also taking initiative into account)/

For casual nights I set a few goals for the evening "Use ship X or Use Pilot Y" then build from there. For tournaments I used to pick a ship that was strong by itself and build form there, however with the fading of the 2 ship meta (thank the heavens) I believe swarms and efficiency builds of generics will be back with a vengeance...can't wait!

My usual list building tends to start with a Tie Defender or a Lambda space bus and go from there

Typically I start with a single pilot, upgrade, or combo I want to explore (or exploit). One of my current lists started with "What happens when I run Echo with Sensor Jammer?" Another list I'm playing around with right now is helping me figuring out how to best use Vessery's ability.

So once I know what pieces I want to focus on, I add other elements that either support it (directly or indirectly) or provide a contrast. So the Echo + SJ list gets Carnor Jax, because he helps Sensor Jammer out while still being pretty deadly in his own right. With two arc-dodgers I want either a turret or a tanky jouster, and in an Imperial list that means a Lambda.

Once I have a list together, I do some theorycrafting.

• I look at its overall durability and offense and compare it to a couple of benchmarks from the current metagame.
• I think about whether I can come back if I lose an element early.
• I identify which ships I can lose without the list's synergy collapsing.

Finally, I think about what the win condition looks like--that is, what kind of situations lead to me winning, and how can I get there? Echo alone gives me a pretty reliable win against ships at lower PS as long as she isn't stressed, for instance, so if I can trade Jax and the Emperor to take out anyone at PS8-10 or who deals reliable stress, I'll be okay.

Then I get it on the table and figure out where I went wrong and what needs to change.

This is great stuff! Thanks to all that posted! You've given this old noob a logical place to start building a squad.