This isnt to bad mouth b wings. They are my favorite Starwars ship. Im just trying to figure out how to use them...

So Im not a big time player, played my first game in months over the weekend. It was my first time using B-wings.

B wings are so slow! Mine didnt do anything until the last round. They managed to help take out a Vic, but still.

Is there anyway to speed up bwings currently?

How do you properly use bwings?

Given the cost of bwings compared to others i think they should be speed 3

Can use name mc80 to give them speed 4 but you lose a attack. Or place them as far foward as possible

The key to B-Wings is anticipating where your enemy will be. At the deployment stage place your ships at the edge of the starting area (i.e. as close to distance 3 as you can) and then place your B-Wings at distance 2 outside of your deployment area towards the enemy fleet. Then when you are moving them push them in a straight line towards the slowest enemy ships anticipating where they will be going. Without Independence (MC-80 upgrade) they typically wont engage until round 3 but that is OK because when they do they are sick. I would also put some A-Wings in the build if you can to tie up enemy squadrons until your B-Wings can get there to assist.

B-Wings are not aggressive - they're superiority. Pick the space you want to be superior in and then put your B-Wings there. A fleet moving at speed 1/2 with a B-WIng fighter ball out front is very intimidating. I've seen Contested Outpost used to great effect here.

If you're playing B-Wings, the key is to lead your opponent's fleet with placement, not chase.

Independence. Yavaris. Adar Tallon.

That blue black is really worth it when it kicks in.

Given the cost of bwings compared to others i think they should be speed 3

Can use name mc80 to give them speed 4 but you lose a attack. Or place them as far foward as possible

Nah, B-wings are fine. Fluff-wise, they're right where they're supposed to be; It's the rogues and Tie Bombers who are the anomaly*, not the B-wing. Balance-wise, they trade speed and hull-cost ratio for the highest anti-ship efficiency of any fighter, and they're more efficient at attacking squadrons than any other dedicated bomber.

Or you can go Scurrg.

Given the cost of bwings compared to others i think they should be speed 3

Can use name mc80 to give them speed 4 but you lose a attack. Or place them as far foward as possible

Nah, B-wings are fine. Fluff-wise, they're right where they're supposed to be; It's the rogues and Tie Bombers who are the anomaly*, not the B-wing. Balance-wise, they trade speed and hull-cost ratio for the highest anti-ship efficiency of any fighter, and they're more efficient at attacking squadrons than any other dedicated bomber.

Fluff-wise, weren't B-Wings the same speed as Y-Wings? I know I'm not the only one annoyed that X-wings are as fast as Y-wings.

Independence. Yavaris. Adar Tallon.

That blue black is really worth it when it kicks in.

This. This. A thousand times this. Independence, Yavaris, and Adar combine to make your B-Wings an unholy ball of death. Throw in Jan and there is no stopping it.

If B-wings were any faster you'd have no reason to take Y-Wings. It's a nerf to make the other starfighters superior because of how great the B-Wings are.

I love B-Wings. Their lack of speed doesn't bother me because I'm primarily a defensive player. I'm eagerly awaiting my MC80 to try them out, but I've used them successfully at the front of a Nebulon-B picket with Yavaris.

I've written an article about Rebel starfighters, but I can't resist gushing about how to use B-Wings again. Basically, B-Wings are designed to be capital ship pickets that punch out starfighters and pose a serious threat to capital ships. Their shortcomings are limitations to prevent them from making other rebel starfighters obsolete (Which is why they are slower than Y-wings and don't hit as hard as X-Wings. if they did, why take either of those other fighters?).

There will be comparisons with the H-6s, which hit as hard as B-Wings do at the generic level. But the H-6s are more expensive, do not trap starfighters, and can't defend themselves as well against fighters as B-Wings can (the trade off being more speed and a bit more resiliency). The B-Wing will benefit well from any capital-ship enhancement cards to increase their firepower: Tallon will let a B-Wing strike twice and Flight Controllers bring B-Wings up to X-Wing level lethality.

As I said I don't miss the speed as much because really, B-wings are flying turrets attached to the capital ships they are escorting. They aren't designed to fly off and hurt other targets... they punish any targets getting close to their parent capital ships.

The build I want to try next with them is an MC80 with Boosted comms and a four-squad flight of B-Wings. With a few YT-1300s running escort, I'd wreck any ship that dares get too close to them without fighters to run distraction. I'd also consider adding an Escort Frigate Yavaris to take care of the fighter problem and give my B-Wings a chance to hit twice at engaged range.

Given the cost of bwings compared to others i think they should be speed 3

Can use name mc80 to give them speed 4 but you lose a attack. Or place them as far foward as possible

Nah, B-wings are fine. Fluff-wise, they're right where they're supposed to be; It's the rogues and Tie Bombers who are the anomaly*, not the B-wing. Balance-wise, they trade speed and hull-cost ratio for the highest anti-ship efficiency of any fighter, and they're more efficient at attacking squadrons than any other dedicated bomber.

Fluff-wise, weren't B-Wings the same speed as Y-Wings? I know I'm not the only one annoyed that X-wings are as fast as Y-wings.

The original screen instructions Industrial Light and Magic used indicate that Y-wings, X-wings, and Tie Fighters have comparable maneuverability and speed, while the B-wing is about as fast and maneuverable as the Falcon, while the A-wing and Tie Interceptor were faster and more maneuverable than the other ships at the battle of Yavin, with the A-wing having a speed advantage.

Depiction in the EU has been... inconsistent. The "official" figures are confusing and contradictory. The nebulous concept of a "Megalight," which was used by the X-wing games and the 1998 Star Wars: Behind the magic, says the speed is Tie Bomber< Y-wing<B-wing<X-wing=Tie Fighter. Top Atmospheric speed, drawn from the same source, though, indicates that the speed is Tie Bomber<B-wing<Y-wing<X-wing<Tie Fighter, which is backed up their maximum acceleration. The concept of KTU is also mentioned, but that presumably refers to the power of the engine because the smaller, lighter Tie fighter's engines have a lower KTU rating than the larger ships.

So, I guess it depends entirely on the writer. The depiction is internally consistent across FFG games, though- The Y-wing is noticeably faster than the B-wing in X-wing Miniatures and can execute all the maneuvers an X-wing can in that game (but with less grace, as represented by the Heavy keyword).

How do you properly use bwings?

Have them be where the enemy needs to go.

Just get some practice with them. It took my buddy a few games to get good with them, but now they always seem to be exactly where they need to be. Just because the other fighters CAN move faster than the Bwings doesn't mean they have to leave their slower buddies in the dust.

Yeah, I've tried using B-Wings a number of times but I always felt like I wanted to spend the points on A-Wings. The guys usually get squeezed out in my lists and I've actually be picking the new H-6 over them. The B-Wing should really get a points reduction or A-Wings should get a point increase. Just a point!

Recently one of the local players here seemed eager to trade away his B-wings for more X-Wings. Inwardly I was kind of shocked that he was so hot to deplete his collection of the most powerful rebel fighter in the inventory, but it's his loss, and one I'd like to exploit in conjunction with his misunderstanding of how the MC80 works.

I love my B-Wings. . . People like to use them as Turrets but at the same time I think they are perfect as mini hunters. Games get in close at times and they are perfect to punch ships who love to get close to do their dirty work. I think in wave 2 we will see more medium range engagements though.

B-Wings are not aggressive - they're superiority. Pick the space you want to be superior in and then put your B-Wings there. A fleet moving at speed 1/2 with a B-WIng fighter ball out front is very intimidating. I've seen Contested Outpost used to great effect here.

If you're playing B-Wings, the key is to lead your opponent's fleet with placement, not chase.

Just so we're all clear, you mean that B-Wings are supposed to be a threat once space superiority has already been established. Because they sure as hell aren't doing much if it hasn't.

B-Wings are not aggressive - they're superiority. Pick the space you want to be superior in and then put your B-Wings there. A fleet moving at speed 1/2 with a B-WIng fighter ball out front is very intimidating. I've seen Contested Outpost used to great effect here.

If you're playing B-Wings, the key is to lead your opponent's fleet with placement, not chase.

Just so we're all clear, you mean that B-Wings are supposed to be a threat once space superiority has already been established. Because they sure as hell aren't doing much if it hasn't.

One word: Intel

Two words: Jan Ors

Try this:

This has 10 pts to spare (going 1st is kind of a big deal here). Or you can add in some more mods.

[ REBEL FLEET (390 points)

1 • Objectives (0)

2 • MC80 Command Cruiser - Garm Bel Iblis - Adar Tallon - Boosted Comms - Electronic Countermeasures - Independence (160)

3 • Nebulon-B Escort Frigate - Yavaris (62)

4 • Nebulon-B Support Refit - Salvation (58)

5 • Wedge Antilles X-wing Squadron (19)

6 • ''Dutch'' Vander Y-wing Squadron (16)

7 • Jan Ors Moldy Crow (19)

8 • B-wing Squadron (14)

9 • B-wing Squadron (14)

10 • B-wing Squadron (14)

11 • B-wing Squadron (14)

http://armada.fabpsb.net/permalink.php?sq=r0r19c5o9g3d1f19r3f9r4f8r14r15r24r11r11r11r11 ]

Edit: This is Truthiness' very cool Bwing madness fleet. Played against it, learned to appreciate it.

I think what cactus is referring to is the modern (and WW2) military term for air superiority being applied to squadrons in space. The B-wing is not a superiority squad in that sense. The X-wing is the superiority fighter, opening up holes for the fighter/bomber b-wing to take effect.

That said, before we had air superiority we had naval superiority. When both navy ships and air force planes are brought to the same void of space, the word superiority gets a little muddied. So borrowing naval superiority, yes the b-wing is a naval superiority asset. It's dangerous enough to enemy ships that they should avoid unless bringing the proper tools.

So, you're both right...

Personally I do prefer the space superiority term being applied to squadron combat. It seems more useful in that role, but a tad ambiguous. Looks like we come up with something new.

The B-wing is probably my favourite Rebel squadron at the moment. Yes it's only speed two so you have to be patient but once these guys get within range of an enemy capital ship your opponant is in for a world of hurt. Obviously they are never going to keep up with the faster elements of the Rebel fleet but they can form an excellent screen for any ships that want to hang back. At a push they're not that bad in a dogfight either. Personaly I think they deserve to have a bit more anti squadron firepower but that's just me.

The B-wing is probably my favourite Rebel squadron at the moment. Yes it's only speed two so you have to be patient but once these guys get within range of an enemy capital ship your opponant is in for a world of hurt. Obviously they are never going to keep up with the faster elements of the Rebel fleet but they can form an excellent screen for any ships that want to hang back. At a push they're not that bad in a dogfight either. Personaly I think they deserve to have a bit more anti squadron firepower but that's just me.

Anti-squadron, I think they're just right. They've got more pew than the other Rebel snubfighters but aren't nearly as maneuverable (and so would end up taking fewer shots). Works with both game balance and fluff.

Lyraesus did a good post on the threat envelope. On a Bwing its pretty decent because it's distance 2 THEN distance 1 (D1 is longer than the rest).

I find its no problem as gladiators seem to close the distance for me anyway

I think what cactus is referring to is the modern (and WW2) military term for air superiority being applied to squadrons in space. The B-wing is not a superiority squad in that sense. The X-wing is the superiority fighter, opening up holes for the fighter/bomber b-wing to take effect.

That said, before we had air superiority we had naval superiority. When both navy ships and air force planes are brought to the same void of space, the word superiority gets a little muddied. So borrowing naval superiority, yes the b-wing is a naval superiority asset. It's dangerous enough to enemy ships that they should avoid unless bringing the proper tools.

So, you're both right...

Personally I do prefer the space superiority term being applied to squadron combat. It seems more useful in that role, but a tad ambiguous. Looks like we come up with something new.

I agree, "space superiority" fighters refer to those fighters designed to kill other fighters well, because if they prevail there are no bombers to oppose capital ships and you can peck capital craft to death with thousands of laserbolts. It's why I did so well in earlier tournaments taking nothing but interceptors, Fel, and TIE Fighters to knock out rhymerballs and pour fire on enemy targets.

This is why B-Wings can't go out without some measure of protection. Even in my earlier lists at least a couple of X-Wings would draw fire from the B-Wings, allowing the B-Wings to live to fire back and even up the losses inflicted on the X-Wings.

Where is Fickle? This thread seems incomplete without Fickle.

I love B's, but they take some getting used to. If you deploy them at distance 2 from your deployment zone, keep them at distance 2 in front of your carrier, and use squadron commands to activate them, they can threaten at long range or further from your carrier. Or, if you're running Nebs or some other vulnerable ship, they're excellent insurance against Glads.

If that's not your thing so much, now that Wave II is out the Independence can slingshot them distance 4 into the waiting arms of Yavaris the following round. Pretty cool trick there. Expensive, but cool.