Hello,
I have been playing X-wing casually since about August, and am going to my first big tournament soon (I went to a small tournament last month, but only 8 showed up, and I lost every game flying Chewie with some Rookies).
Most of the games I have played go over an hour. The tournament I am going to only has hour long rounds. Do you think most people take this into account when list building? Is it cheesy or unsportsman-like to make a list who really tries to survive the whole time as opposed to making sure I completely kill the opponent?
I have been looking at four lists, and I don't know which one is best for this tournament. I have been seeing a lot of TLTs casually and was worried about countering that, but since the release of the T-70 expansion casually there was a big change with every trying out Red Ace, so I don't know if I should expect a big meta shift at the tournament. So I am wondering if I should try to focus on damage output or maximize my HP to stay alive. Usually I find that maximizing damage is way better than anything defensive, so I am still trying to make these lists do a decent amount of damage, but espcecially agains lists with regening or a swarm I expect the game to go to time and want to just make sure I am a ship ahead of my opponent in damage and then get outta Dodge.
List one - Han and Poe
Han, VI, Jan Ors, Recon Specialist, Engine Upgrade
Poe, R5-P9, Push the Limit, Autothrusters, Proton Torpedos
19 health, 99 pts, high PS
Pros: I know how to fly this and it has a decent amount of health.
Cons:
proton torpedos are dumb, but I didn't have enough points for another ship. Is it best to leave them off and just be sure I get initiative?
The large ships give half points when they are half destroyed, which is not good for MOV
Only two ships limits my damage output
List two - T-70 Aces!
Red Ace, R2-D2, Comm Relay, Autothursters
Poe - R5-P9, VI, Autothrusters
Blue Squad B, Fire Control System
20 HP, 99 pts
Pros - Regen health, so the HP is likely more than 20 over the game and get and keep an evade until needed
Cons - Blue squad bad if opponent has Predator
Do I drop FCS on Blue and VI on Poe to take PTL?
List three - AABB
Blue Squad B x2
Gemmer Sojan, Test pilot, Chardaan Refit, Autothrusters, Expose
Tycho, test pilot, Chardaan, PTL, Wired, Autothrusters
HP 24, 100 pts
Pros - best HP of all the lists, four ships means four firing arcs
cons - low ps and uses all 100 pts, low damage output on Tycho. No FCS on Bs.
The B-wings can hopefully take something out, and if I place Gemmer right she could to. THe A-wings can then keep their distance and survive and hopefully the B-wings have enough health to last a while. Not sure how good this really would be. If I had 4 A-wings (which I don't) I would consider trying to play a game as mosquitos, but I don't really know how well that would work. I would only consider it because of the short time limit (and again I don't know how unsportsman like that is considered).
List four - Fun with Wedge and Poe!
Wedge, BB-8, PTL, Engine Upgrade
Poe, R5-P9, VI, Autothrusters
Blue Squad, FCS
HP 19, Pts 99
Pros - I love Wedge, and BB-8/PTL is fun.
Cons - If I get a stress Wedge cannot arcdodge anymore.
I could trop PTL and Autothrusters on Wedge to take Integrated Astromech so Wedge lives a little longer, but then he likely would take more shots, so I don't know if this would end up worse off. When people were flying TLTs I found I was usually able to get Wedge into range 1 and avoid the turrent and do a load of damage, so I do like the engine upgrade, and PTL means I may even get to focus and target lock (actually I would BB-8 and focus, and then later do a target lock) so I can put out the damage.
Of the four, I am the most familiar flying the first and the last so that is a bonus for those, but because of the way MOV works, the Falcon doesn't seem very popular at tournaments any more. With a decrease in TLTs following the release of the T-70 expansion, maybe this makes the Falcon more survivable, so perhaps it might be better again? Or should I expect that at a tournament people will go with what has worked at recent tournaments meaning they will pull out the TLTs that aren't at causal play as much right now?
The Wedge list will do a little more damage than the T-70 Aces list, but won't survive as long. I don't know how to pick between the two especially given the short games. I feel like I will likely see a lot of Rebel opponents, and they will all be regening health as well, so I need to take out a ship first, and then work to stay ahead. This might be facilitated by the A-Wings, who can outrun the X-Wings I will likely face, but they might have a harder time taking out that first ship.
So overall I am wondering if people have tips on how they choose a list for a tournament, and what goes into that decision. Do any of theses lists stand out as far worse or better than the others?