So, I have a small, local tournament coming up in the near future and I decided I'd like to take something a little different this time. My original idea was to fly ships all with the same, high Pilot Skills and as I've developed a real 'attachment' to Soontir over the last couple of years I started with him. At PS9 the obvious candidates to run with him were Vader and Whisper (with Veteran Instincts), but the list means that all three ships run light on upgrades. That and the fact that I've never really been able to 'gel' with the TIE Advanced I decided to swap out the Dark Lord of the Sith for his wingman Mauler.

• Soontir Fel + PtL + Title + Autothrusters + Stealth Device (no surprises there!)
• Whisper + VI + FCS + Gunner + ACD
• Mauler Mithel + VI + Stealth Device

Running at 100pts exactly the first thing I noticed was the lack of initiative bid. Although all three pilots are PS9 I could see that anyone bringing Han, Corran or Chirpy with VI was going to negate the lists main focus, so I started to look at dropping at least two points from the list. I initially considered dropping Gunner for a three point crew member on Whisper, the obvious candidate being Rebel Captive and the not-so-obvious candidate being Navigator. The more I thought about it the more I started to think that Navigator might be the more 'unexpected' choice and might offer me more of a defensive advantage. Thinking of defence led me to looking at my favourite 'defensive' Imperial pilot Dark Curse. Adding him (along with Stealth Device!) to the list in place of Mauler gave me another annoyingly hard to hit ship and there's nothing I like more than to fly ships and pilots that get under the opponents skins! As well as Having a slippery Dark Curse I'd now started looking at making Whisper harder to hit and more annoying. I don't know if TLT's are going to be a thing in my local area yet but... I hate turrets. I hated them on big, fat Hans and Dash's and I'm sure I'm going to hate them on Y-Wings as well! So how to counter them? Sensor Jammer of course!

• Soontir Fel + PtL + Title + Autothrusters + Stealth Device
• Whisper + VI + Sensor Jammer + Navigator + ACD
• Dark Curse + Stealth Device

This version of the list comes in a more respectable 98pts, so I'm now happier about the initiative bid. I'm happier with the list... For a while at least! As I thought more about Sensor Jammer I began to think "What makes Sensor Jammer more effective?" The answer? Carnor Jax. The evil, Clone Emperor killing, Royal Guard, right royal pain in the a$%&! The realisation pained me as I seriously considered dropping Fel for him. Now I've gone from an elite, glass cannon list designed to have all three pilots benefiting from the freedom of moving and shooting in any order to a list containing three pilots and builds designed to make my opponent not know who to hit first and to cause frustration at every turn. At the moment the third version looks like this...

Born Slippy

• Carnor Jax + PtL + Title + Autothrusters + Shield Upgrade
• Whisper + VI + Sensor Jammer + Navigator + ACD
• Dark Curse + Stealth Device

Again 98pts, though if I swap out Jax's Shield for a Stealth Device I could go down to 97pts. I'm not convinced that Initiative is such a major concern in this version as I've got PS9, PS8 and PS6 rather than three PS9's. What do people think? Is it worth the extra point so Whisper can get her shot off first? Is Jax more slippery than Fel? Is Mauler's pilot ability going to come into play enough to warrant the cost (hint - I've never really found it to be the case that it does!)? Am I barking (mad) up the wrong tree entirely? Help me FFG list building forum fiends, you're my only hope!

Well, I ran Fel, Whisper & Dark Curse at Gencon this past year, and ultimately, I was not happy with Whisper. Its not that she's no good, but just that there were too many counters for her (rebel captive and Vader crew mainly). So I felt like another PS9 would've been helpful (such as Mauler Mithel w/ VI).

However, I think the meta has changed drastically since then. Twin laser turrets are now a thing. Large ships give up MOV more easily and so they are probably not going to be as common. These two factors mean less Vader crew and probably less Rebel Captive too. So Whisper stands a better chance, perhaps.

All in all, I like your choices although I prefer Rebel Captive over Navigator. Personal preference perhaps, but Rebel Captive allows Whisper to beat mirror matches, including opposing soontir fel. It also adds a bit of synergy with Sensor Jammer, because if the opponent gets stressed and doesn't clear it, they definitely can't focus (whether Jax is around or not).

All in all, I like your choices although I prefer Rebel Captive over Navigator. Personal preference perhaps, but Rebel Captive allows Whisper to beat mirror matches, including opposing soontir fel. It also adds a bit of synergy with Sensor Jammer, because if the opponent gets stressed and doesn't clear it, they definitely can't focus (whether Jax is around or not).

That's a really good point blade, and one I hadn't really considered! I'd originally thought of Navigator in a defensive sense (allowing the odd minor adjustment to position) but I think the point you make is sound. The initiative bid coupled with Rebel Captive should work well against opposing PS9's and I hadn't even thought about the stress element in terms of focus. Greatly appreciate the input... Something else to think about!

First off, I think it is awesome that you've posted how your list has evolved! I really like where you've ended up with it, too! Dark Curse with stealth device is one of my favorite ships; at only 19 points it doesn't hurt that much if he dies early, but he is an amazing ship that is surprisingly hard to take down. Carnor Jax is a ton of fun to fly, and it seems like he is always living on the edge because he is trying to slip into range 1 out of arc. Much different interceptor than Soontir.

I like this list a lot! What are you most nervous flying against? You have answers to swarms, TLTs, and should do alright vs the fatties.

If I would change anything it would be to swap Dark Curse out for a new FO Fighter.

I always disliked playing Fel and Whisper in the same list. Simply because one wants initiative and the other does not. But with right strategy can work very very well. Fel wants to move last for repositioning actions. Whisper wants to shoot first in order to be cloaked. So in that list if whisper can be the bait Fel can close it out you at least have an idea of you want to fly it.

If I would change anything it would be to swap Dark Curse out for a new FO Fighter.

The list is primarily for a local tournament to win a new Core Set so you never know (note to anyone reading this attending the tournament - Yes, you do know and no you have nothing to worry about!)

Looking at the available TIE/fo pilots the only one from the Core Set that maybe fits the 'theme' of this list is 'Zeta Ace' with his crazy barrel roll ability. Although if I were to wait until the TIE/fo expansion lands then I could be talked into going with 'Omega Leader'. He/She would certainly fit in nicely!

So... Less than twenty-four hours until the tournament and I'm considering another slight tweak to the list. As I've dropped down from Fel to Jax I now have three ships with three different PS. Personally I think one of the things that is most under rated when list building is having pilots of equal PS to allow greater flexibility when moving and shooting. I'd rather have an Interceptor take the first shot against a ship carrying a Rebel captive than a Phantom. Decloaked a little further than you thought? Move the other ship before the Phantom... That sort of thing! Well, to that end as well as on reflection it fitting better with the 'slippery' theme, I've decided to swap out Whisper for Echo and her crazy, bendy decloaking shenanigans.

Born Slippy

• Carnor Jax + PtL + Title + Autothrusters + Shield Upgrade
• Echo + VI + Sensor Jammer + Navigator or Rebel Captive + ACD
• Dark Curse + Stealth Device

This frees up two points in the list taking it down to 96pts... Now because PS8 isn't PS9 (obviously!) I don't feel such a high initiative bid is needed. If I were to keep it at 96pts I would probably run with Recon Specialist for the defensive focus. The two extra points I've gained I think will be more usefully used to upgrade Navigator/Rebel Captive to Gunner. The added bonus of also boosting my attacking ability, as anyone who's seen me rolling red dice will testify all too willingly, is too good an opportunity to pass up! Therefore as the hour 'cometh' I think I'm finally settling on this...

Born Slippy

• Carnor Jax + PtL + Title + Autothrusters + Shield Upgrade
• Echo + VI + Sensor Jammer + Gunner + ACD
• Dark Curse + Stealth Device

Edit - As a side note what are peoples thoughts regarding obstacles for this particular list. my initial thought is to take the small asteroid (not the new small asteroid as I don't yet own the new Core) and the two smallest debris fields. Though Echo might not enjoy landing on one, I can't see them giving Carnor much to worry about... Not that I intend hitting them in the first place!

Final list is printed out all ready for this evening. That's it, no going back. It's set in stone. Immovable... (cough).

The list is the same as the last one above but I ave decided to go with Echo running Recon Specialist. As well as making Echo a little more defensive, this also means the list runs in at a very lean 96pts. Now don't get me wrong I am not a 'gamey' person (my main aim is to have fun and just as importantly make sure my opponent is having fun too!) and I'm certainly not the best player by a looooonnnnng shot, but does running with a low points total substantially effect MoV scores? As well as almost guaranteeing initiative (hello VI'd Brobots, I talking to you in particular!) which is the main reason for running so short, is there any advantage when it comes to scoring provided you manage to not get tabled? I remember reading the articles regarding the Whisper/Echo 86pts(ish) list but don't remember whether the low points cost was mentioned as being a bonus.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to take over the world with this list or anything. It's just that I'm really enjoying the 'theory crafting aspect' and I'm trying to wring every last drop of enjoyment out of it! This is the fist time I've spent more than five minutes on a single list and I'm trying to justify every single upgrade and ship.

Extra points are generally useful for Victory and MOV, because they are never scored by your opponent unless you're tabled. Good call on the steep bid, too. VI Brobots, especially when Dampeners are involved, are really solid, and especially nasty when they move last.

I'll post up some more 'in-depth' thoughts tomorrow but I've just got home from the local tournament and I am more than happy that managed to go 2-1 with the list! Only three games I know but I think I learnt something from every game. The Loss came in the third game against the dreaded 4xTLT's! It's the first time I've flown against it and my opponent flew it really well. I struggled to get Carnor within range one of all four as he flew them in a really loose formation. I lost Dark Curse in the second round of shooting, whereas in the previous two games I only lost a single ship a couple of turns from the end. I think I need to go up against this list a couple of more times so I can try and develop an overall strategy for dealing with it. The other two lists were Krassis, Howlrunner and two PS6 TIE/fo's and a Dash/Chewie list (another 'get in range one asap' list!).

Overall quite happy that I didn't get tabled in all three games as it's the first time I've flown such a high risk/high reward list - And one that is so low on hit points!

I would worry about surviving much firepower. It might work against lists with only a few enemy pilots, but I'd worry that you would get focused down in a list with more than 2 enemy. How do you handle the approach? I tend to find that I like a couple of uniques and then a lot of generics.

The list relies on being able to stay out of arc and, initially on approach at least, out of range. The three ships all have some form of defensive upgrade or ability... Carnor has autothrusters and is able to shut down focus use when in range one, Dark Curse has Stealth Device and stops the opponent focusing and re-rolling, and Echo is just Echo! Last night I face a two ship list (Dash and Chewie), a Firespray and TIE's list (Krassis, Howlrunner and generic TIE/fo's) and a four turrets list (Y's with TLT's). I held my own against the Firespray list despite the guy flying being a much better, more experienced player which I think impressed me most about last night. With the two YT's I think I made the right choice in gunning for Dash first... In fact he went down surprisingly quickly with Carnor and Echo both in his doughnut hole (oe-er!). In terms of approach I tend to hang back and try and work out where my opponent is heading. I love pulling off fakes to throw them out of position and I'll also try and draw them into or around the obstacles as much as possible. With Echo I tend to find you're now limited as much when de-cloaking in or near asteroids in the same way you are with Whisper.