i have the other 66 locked in as 2 bandits and 2 rookies. i've used this list for a long time. but this last 34 is the anchor. the rock. its what lets the other 66 do their jobs.

so, i have a choice.

keyan farlander, stay on target, advanced sensors

poe dameron, veteran instincts, autothrusters/R5-P9

keyan is consistent, high damage and an open dial as long as there are open targets and proven durability.

poe can do wildly consistent damage, with back up from autothrusters, move and fire before just about everything, or trade that for regens at the end of combat.

so what would you pick?

Keyan always takes chunks out of me when I play against him,but poe can be way way more durable.

In your list either Keyan or poe will likely be the highest priority target, Keyan will do more damage than poe but if you can sneak poe into the late game he's an absolute monster.

I'd go poe.

they're supposed to be the target, and that leaves my bandits and rookies the freedom to throw their dice at the targets that need to go down.

I would take Poe, if he's supposed to be the target. He's got much better durability.

I'd pick Jake with VI, PtL, Prockets and Autothrusters...

...but the Poe is probably the better of the two options. I am not wild about him, sure he is PS10, but you aren't going to boost with him often as it hurts both his offense and defence and regen (and even then I would want rerolls as well for more consistency).

Both the Poe and Farlander seem underdone to be a real anchor, though Poe is a little better at avoiding being focused down early (unless he is blocked which is bad news).

I'd pick Jake with VI, PtL, Prockets and Autothrusters...

...but the Poe is probably the better of the two options. I am not wild about him, sure he is PS10, but you aren't going to boost with him often as it hurts both his offense and defence and regen (and even then I would want rerolls as well for more consistency).

It's ok if you don't boost with him much, especially in a list like this. Instead, I imagine that he'll mostly be flying in formation with a kind of Biggs effect going on.

Yeah, but the biggs effect is only useful if it is protecting better ships - here that's not the case at all.

I'm always very wary when I can see my list presents an obvious target selection, as it makes my opponent's job too easy. Here, after Poe's down, they simply have to blast away at whatever they have in sight: a vader, soontir, echo list, for example, would present selection difficulties to the OP, and would be able, once Poe is down, to boss the rookies around quite easily. That's not to doubt you, OP, if you've been playing it for a long time no doubt you know what you're doing.

How about throwing a little element of chaos into the list?

Warden with adv. slam, extra muni, seismic, conner net, intel agent?

Luke, LW, R2-D2

LW + R2 on luke is nice - but r5-p9 might be a bit better, even then, with 4 other ships, not sure how well lone wolf will trigger, unless luke lives till endgame - though that's a build you don't want to see in endgame.

For the time being - I'd actually consider a wildspace fringer + Mangler cannon for 34

psst. in the future, I think you're gonna want to go down to 32 points and toss R2 + Integrated astromech on in the future on those rooks

How about Initiative?

I'd go with Poe. Depending who you face they might have a very difficult time anticipating his movement.

Luke, LW, R2-D2

I would have said that myself, but considering the number of other ships in the build, Lone Wolf will struggle to activate...

Poe and Keyan both look good, offer survivability, hitting power and movement shenanigans. Poe is probably more thematic with the build, so probably Poe.

Another alternative would be Wedge Antilles, BB-8, Predator...

You could do Jan Ors with TLT and predator. You can ad a dice to whoever has the best shot and she should be able to consistently do 2 damage a turn

You could do Jan Ors with TLT and predator. You can ad a dice to whoever has the best shot and she should be able to consistently do 2 damage a turn

Save points, and run Wired on Jan..

I like Jan Ors with TLT, Wired and Tactician.

I don't have a k-wing yet, so none of this TLT nonsense.

Lone Wolf Luke with R2 D2'd be nice if you had less ships. As is I'd go for Poe, Keyan will die too fast.

If you like Keyan, this is has always been my favourite 34 point configuration:

-- Keyan + Squad Leader + Experimental Interface

Keyan gets TL + (mock) Focus each turn, and another ship gets TL + Focus each turn. Requires you to keep your anchor semi-close to your other squad though.

As an independent anchor, 33 point Jake is also a good choice:

-- Jake + Test Pilot + VI + PTL + PRockets + Autothrusters

gives you a 1-point initiative bid as well, or you can bump a Rookie up to a more efficient Blue Squadron Pilot.

Yeah, but the biggs effect is only useful if it is protecting better ships - here that's not the case at all.

I'm always very wary when I can see my list presents an obvious target selection, as it makes my opponent's job too easy. Here, after Poe's down, they simply have to blast away at whatever they have in sight: a vader, soontir, echo list, for example, would present selection difficulties to the OP, and would be able, once Poe is down, to boss the rookies around quite easily. That's not to doubt you, OP, if you've been playing it for a long time no doubt you know what you're doing.

How about throwing a little element of chaos into the list?

Warden with adv. slam, extra muni, seismic, conner net, intel agent?

The problem the list gives an opponent is exactly that Poe is the most important target but he's nowhere near the easiest to get off the table. If you go after him and don't get him, he could escape and regen, meanwhile you have two guns that are almost as good along with two other guns hitting your list. It's why ace+support generics has become a decent build.

And, It's why I prefer Poe over Keyan in this build because Keyan is a much easier target here.

I like Poe. Playing against Keyan, I always find him pretty easy to take down. He takes his pound of flesh when he's alive, but with a slow dial and 1 AGI, he's pretty easy to nuke early. Poe will force a decision to be made. He's much faster, so he can run and regenerate when damaged, and that PS10 is going to cause a world of problems to some lists. I think all of these things have already been said, but I think they're correct.