Hey all. So; I just got into X-Wing (or at least the first three waves; I am a vociferous OT fan) after playing IA skirmish for six months or so. It is obviously excellent. However, when it comes to squad building, there is an absolute embarrassment of riches which my wife and I find a bit paralysing.

I was wondering whether it might be plausible to go an IA-style route and build a single custom pilot deck which incorporates the most common effective builds for each pilot (maybe a couple of builds for the popular pilots that vary a lot, not unlike IA's regular and elite versions of deployment groups) so we only have one set of cards to choose from instead of a pile of pilots and eleven(?) piles of upgrades. Or perhaps there's just no such thing as a "usual" build? I just see enough jargon names for standard builds on these boards that I thought it might be a decent approach for home games.

Any opinions or help appreciated. Obviously I understand this process would take a lot of the nuance out of squad building but it feels like it would be a worthwhile investment in getting straight to pew-pew-pew without forgoing the value of the upgrade cards entirely.

I don't know what you're referencing, but maybe this thread can help?

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/131310-new-player-quick-start-list-guide/

The houserule suggestions are of course entirely optional.

I think the best way to get to know the options open to you is to attempt to build the lists yourself, but I can fully understand that with the wealth of options now available this is a bit daunting.

May I suggest that you limit yourself to one or two ships to start with, and use just the upgrade options available in the original box. When you're comfortable building and flying using just a few cards, start to expand the range of ships and upgrades that you're willing to use.

Eventually you'll have a much deeper understanding of what the upgrades are, but more importantly, why certain upgrades are obviously suited to certain ships and in certain lists.

I don't know what you're referencing, but maybe this thread can help?

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/131310-new-player-quick-start-list-guide/

The houserule suggestions are of course entirely optional.

Don't think it'd be impossible. For example for a Y-wing Gold Squadron with Ion cannon turret + R2 astromech is a pretty common setup.

I think the best way to get to know the options open to you is to attempt to build the lists yourself, but I can fully understand that with the wealth of options now available this is a bit daunting.

May I suggest that you limit yourself to one or two ships to start with, and use just the upgrade options available in the original box. When you're comfortable building and flying using just a few cards, start to expand the range of ships and upgrades that you're willing to use.

Eventually you'll have a much deeper understanding of what the upgrades are, but more importantly, why certain upgrades are obviously suited to certain ships and in certain lists.

I must admit to a terrible impatience to get to the good stuff... I would hope to maintain the names and relationships of upgrade cards so that there would still be a learning process. I'm just not sure how we'd catch up with the current game given the amount of free time we have; we're talking about a couple of games a week tops.

Hehe

I understand completely and I do share your impatience.

That said - a couple of games a week is actually a reasonable amount of time to get to figure out a lot of the basics.

I think in trying to "catch up" you're setting yourself a bit of a trap because there's an awful lot of good stuff from the earlier waves that is still extremely competitive and a lot of fun to fly.

The humble TIE Fighter is still one of the best ships in the game - and you don' need any upgrades to make it work!

If you bring up a few pilots you like, we can suggest loadouts and explain why and how they work, which cards you'll need and where to find them.

Two notes:

- a lot of my suggestions are Pilot Skill 9. If you have PS 9 pilots, it is a good idea to leave a few points off your list as an initiative bid.

- it is not usually worthwhile to upgrade generic ships, so if taking generics, leave the upgrades out of it for now. There are some exceptions, like interceptors (always have autothrusters) or Tie advanced (always have X1 title + accuracy corrector or advanced targeting computer) and obviously anything that requires secondary weapons to work, like tie Bomber.

That having been said, here are a couple Imperial staples:

Interceptor:

Soontir Fel + Push the limit + autothrusters :32 points

Turr Phennir + Veteran Instincts + Autothrusters: 28 points

Royal Guard + Push the limit + Autothrusters: 27 points, Canror Jax also works well with this setup.

For all interceptors, it is a good option if you have points left to get the Royal Guard Tie Title + choice of: Stealth Device, Hull Upgrade, Shield Upgrade or Targeting computer. Especially Soontir with stealth device is strong due to his great action economy.

Phantom:

Whisper + Advanced Cloaking Device + Veteran Instincts + Gunner + Fire Control System: 44 points - easiest phantom to fly for beginners, I think.

Tie fighters - you don't usually upgrade those, but if you do:

Mauler Mithel + Veteran Instincts

Dark Curse + Stealth Device or Hull/shield upgrade

Howlrunner - only take if accompanied by several other Tie fighters (like 3 academy pilots) - throw in stealth device or hull/shield upgrade.

Tie Punisher:

Redline + fire control system + extra munitions + plasma torps + cluster missiles + (optional) autothrusters - approx 40 points

Lambda shuttle:

Omicron group pliot with either Darth Vader or Palpatine crew - they play very differently. The Vader shuttle is particularly fun, just make sure you move as slowly as possible as the shuttle generally will only have enemies in arc on the first pass. Do not hesitate to use the "no move" dial option or bump into your ships to slow your progress accross the board.

Tie Advanced:

Vader with x1 title, Advanced Targeting computer, Engine Upgrade, and either Predator or Lone Wolf. Proton rockets are optional

If you combine stuff from the above list, you will end up with a strong 3-ship "aces" list.

I strongly recommend also combining aces with generics - for example, one ace of up to 35 points + howlrunner + 3 tie fighter Academy Pilots is a solid and interesting squad that will quickly teach you about bumping

Anyone want to do Rebels or Scum?

Most Advanceds are playable, I think, not just Vader. Always bring X1, and almost always the Advanced Targeting Computer, exceptions being Tempests (who like Accuracy Corrector) and Colzet (who can pretty much work with any System). As for Elite Pilot Talents, Predator is universally good, but Veteran Instincts is powerful especially on Stele and Eclipse, and in my experience Alozen is well suited to a fairly inexpensive one, such as Crack Shot or Adrenaline Rush. AR might also be decent on Eclipse, for that one ultra-flexible K-turn.

Ok, let's give some Rebels a shot:

A-Wing

Jake Farell + A-Wing Test Pilot + Veteran Instincts + Push the Limit + Autothrusters + Proton Rockets (33 pts.) - popular with the latest Fat Han builds

Prototype Pilot + Chardaan Refit (15 pts.)

B-Wing

Blue Squadron Pilot + B-Wing/E2 + Tactician (optionally with Fire Control System) - for Rebel Control builds

Y-Wing

Gold Squadron Pilot + BTL-A4 title + Ion Cannon Turret + R3-A2 (25 pts)- again for Rebel Control

YT-1300

Han Solo + Predator + Millenium Falcon + Engine Upgrade + C3-PO + Luke Skywalker (64) - Fat Han build, popular with Jake Farell

Han Solo + Predator + Millenium Falcon + Engine Upgrade + C3-PO + Gunner (62) - another popular Fat Han build, allows to squeeze 3 Z-95's as escort.

YT-2400

Dash Rendar + Push the Limit + Heavy Laser Cannon + Kyle Katarn + Outrider title + Engine Upgrade (58) - 58-point Dash, a popular fat build

Dash Rendar + Lone Wolf + Heavy Laser Cannon + R2-D2 + Outrider title + Anti-Pursuit Lasers (56) another popular build, I think it won US Nationals; another variation is Predator/Recon Specialist

E-Wing

Corran Horn + Veteran Instincts + Fire Control System + R2-D2 (42) - a popular Corran build, mostly used to complement 58-point Dash.

I think that covers the more popular builds and ones that won major tournaments.

One of the problems with asking something wide open like this is that you'll get a lot of suggestions to use upgrades that you may not have. Now, do you only have ships through wave 3 and do you have all of them? Do you have multiples or just one of each? If you're just interested in OT ships, I think you'll want Rebel Aces and Imperial Aces.

I hesitate to offer a bunch of builds that you can't even use, though.

Wow you guys are amazing. Thank you for all the suggestions; I'll read through them all.

I have (or am intending to have) multiples of all small ships up to W3, singles of the three large ships, and the two Aces packs. I am also considering some Z-95s as I did play a lot of TIE Fighter as a teenager =)

I disagree (with Budgernaut)

You need upgrade cards in tournaments. In friendly games, you can just print out a roster (with full card rules) from sites such as:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/

So basically use the ships you have, proxy any extra cards you need and see what you enjoy playing. There is absolutely no need to fork out tons of cash to get C3P0 only to realize after one game that you hate flying fat turret builds.

Thanks in particular to LesserEvil and Rojek.

I gotta give a shout out to Tarn + R7 Astro. Best 25 points you can spend on a X-Wing.

I disagree (with Budgernaut)

You need upgrade cards in tournaments. In friendly games, you can just print out a roster (with full card rules) from sites such as:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/

So basically use the ships you have, proxy any extra cards you need and see what you enjoy playing. There is absolutely no need to fork out tons of cash to get C3P0 only to realize after one game that you hate flying fat turret builds.

one per pilot build.

In that case let me add some more X-Wing combos.

You have Tarn Mission + R7

Luke Skywalker, R2-D2, either PtL or Predator.

Wedge, BB-8, and PtL.

Wes Janson, R3-A2, either PtL or Predator, or perhaps Vet Instincts.

Biggs Darklighter, R2-D2 or R5-P9

Rookie Pilot, R2 Astromech

R2-D2 lets you regen shields, with Luke's ability he can take a lot to kill. R3-A2 is often referred as the stress bot. Wes strips tokens when he shoots, he then gives the ship he shoots a stress.

Wedge with BB-8 which comes in the new core set, and PtL can perform 3 actions a turn and end up stress free. Biggs takes R5-P9 or R2-D2 to help him regen shields.

Great initiative - when I was starting out, I missed this type of collected "wisdom". In fact, if you design nice IA-style cards, you should consider sharing with others. The number of upgrades for beginners is a bit overwhelming and it is much easier to learn if you start playing with well-configured ships. Also, games between beginner players can be imbalanced - that's been my experience anyway as I brought a not-optimal but still strong imperial aces build and my friend was using 3 generic x-wings with tons of ill chosen cards (like rookie + shield upgrade + r2d2 + proton torpedo). My friend was really discouraged after getting rotflstomped (and I was concerned the game was badly designed).

So by all means make squads out of typical tournament setup pilots. Do not forget to add popular generics cards with no upgrades to your pool - especially B-wings, Tie fighters, Z-wings, maybe Kihraxz - they are really strong as swarms or mini-swarms accompanying an ace.

Sure thing; I've already enjoyed flying mini Academy Pilot swarms. And I'll definitely share whatever I come up with, including templates so that they can be extended to later waves by those so inclined.

This is the website you are looking for:
http://xwing.miniranker.com/

This will show you the most successful builds in tournaments today.

Narrow it down to 30 days for the current post wave 7 meta and rejoice at the variety (the 90 day view shows what the bad old meta of pwt's looked like).

Looks like a great tool, thanks guys. Doesn't really work on mobile Safari but will check it out in detail later.

Just to update; these are the sort of thing I'm aiming for. Only done a few so far but will publish the lot (as well as templates for people who play a broader range of ships than me) once I'm done.

[Edit: remove big images, there are some more sensible sized ones below]

Those look really nice!

Here are some popular B-wing pilots:

Keyan Farlander + Stay on Target + Advanced Sensors

Ibtisam + Elusiveness + Sensor Jammer

Nera Dantels + Deadeye + Flechette Torpedoes (x2) + Munitions Failsafe

Blue Squadron Pilot + Fire Control System