Anyone who's seen Spinal Tap will know that there's a fine line between stupid and clever. I'm not sure which side of that line this list falls on:

Home One: MC80 Command Cruiser (106 + 67)
+ Admiral Ackbar (38)
+ Support Officer (4)
+ Advanced Projectors (6)
+ Leading Shots (4)
+ Engine Techs (8)
+ Home One (7)

MC30c Frigate: MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 + 27)
+ Ordnance Experts (4)
+ Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
+ Enhanced Armament (10)
+ Foresight (8)

MC30c Frigate: MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 + 19)
+ Ordnance Experts (4)
+ Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
+ Enhanced Armament (10)

Squadrons: YT-2400 (16)

Squadrons: YT-2400 (16)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

399 points. Haven't even thought about objectives yet. This lets the TFs shoot 3 reds at long range, and when the enemy closes to short range (which inevitably happens, let's face it) they've got a broadside of 3 reds, 2 blues, and 3 blacks with APT and ordnance experts (which is the clever side to this list). That's assuming, of course, that they even live that long, and if they do go down, I'm giving up quite a few points; hence, the stupid. Any thoughts?

Hmmm so the capacity for an ISD 1 worth of dice. . . Rerolls on only the 3 black though. . . Movement will be difficult and easy to predict. . . Hmmmm

I'm running a similar list tonight, although they are the scout version, with TRC's for long range peppering before closing into short range. 4 red 4 black (with a CF dial) at close range... Will have to see how it goes!

Since you have so much tied up in those mc30's I think it's worth dropping a yt -2400 to get Admonition and Lando on the other ship. It improves your initiative bid as well.

Overall I'm most worried about your survivabilty at med or short range. You have decent firepower, but without Mon Mothma your shields are going to be going down quickly...

Overall I'm most worried about your survivabilty at med or short range. You have decent firepower, but without Mon Mothma your shields are going to be going down quickly...

This is my issue too, with the torp frigates you wont try and avoid short range fights as much as you should. The MC30 without Momtha prefers to stay at range to get the evades working. I have to wonder if scout frigates would be better with 5 red broadside instead. Thats not a bad broadside even at short range!

The problem is MC30s do not have the staying power for a gun line. They are best used pointed strait at a ship you want to kill, then you use speed and activation management to smash victim in the face and then get behind then before they kill You. You can then hit them again from behind before speeding off.....re engaging is potentially possible ( sometimes) if your MC30 has anything left.

I did try to use an MC30 in an ackbar line but it got eaten (although I don't tend to use a gun line so it was also a bit of bad driving) , assault frigates are made for the gun line.... So if that's your thing use them.

Thanks everyone...that's pretty much what I figured. The idea was to offset the advantage my opponent usually gets when they get to close range, but it seems that these torpedo frigates won't even survive that long. Oh well, it's fun to think about!

Dump support officer and and use the points to get initiative 395 is a good chance. Or go up to 396 and drop theYTs for another A or for the other mc30 title card.

First time I've see a reason to use enhanced arms 3 dice.... is worth it finally. never seen EA worth using . So you get points for the thought alone.

Also your gun line doesn't need to stay a gun line. when they close you have the option hitting the gas and the right moment going from speed two to 4 with a token and Nav command and go right between them for the kill shots.

I have a list very much like this that I like to play. Here's the thing: if you're trying to do a classic AF2-style gunline with this list, you're gonna have a bad time. This list wants to be flown very differently.

You play it like a coiled rattlesnake. Sit back under the safety of the MC80's umbrella until your adversary stumbles into range, then you lash out hard and fast, spending a dial and token to bump from 1 to 3 to drop double arcs into black range of the biggest, nastiest bad guy. The MC30 has no staying power: its only real effective defense is its crushing offense. You have to leverage that.

This is a very high-risk/high-reward list. Your hope is that you don't get one-shotted in the round right before you crap all over your big target, because if you don't, the target will die.

So, if you accept that approach, I recommend the following modifications in support of these tactics.

First, strip down Home One a bit. She's not your heavy hitter in this list--she's your deterrent, your bulwark to hide behind, and then your finisher. The MC30's are the stars of the show, Home One is there to enable them. ECM and Home One, maybe XI7 and leading shots depending how your points shake out, and that's it.

You want a significant bid for first, because your best hope for getting those sweet sweet MC30 shots is dropping one in position at the end of one round, then shoot and scoot first activation of the next. Stripping down Home One will help with this.

Lose enhanced armament. I know it looks so tasty to have that ISD front arc on your sides, and it bumps up your range to long with those ackbar dice... But long range is not where you want to be spending your time. You will hit much harder if you can funnel all that damage into one shield facing with XI7. Alternatively, try out a ACM/OE/TRC build: that ship reliably puts out 8-10 damage out the broadside. And don't forget that guaranteed accuracy from Home One. That means with a double side arc and a CF, you can kill an ISD in one round, or get one with ECM down to 2-3 hull left.

Speaking of that delicious double side arc, how in the hell do you possibly pull that off? Three ways.

1) Advanced Gunnery. This is the easy mode way to get it. Keep in mind that this works as player 1 too if you can get shots from your side arc into two different target arcs.

2) Hyperspace Assault into a position where you're threatening the double side arc. You'll either have to do this by plopping down nose-to-nose with your target (preferable against MC80's, but doable against ISDs if you're familiar enough with the build to know your odds of surviving the shot), or by blocking your target with the MC80 and lining up in the side arc of the target (preferable against ISD's). You can also line up to threaten two ships with the double side arc at the same time, but this is quite a bit harder to pull off, and your adversary really has to set it up for you, so it's unreliable.

3) Fly perpendicular into the side of a large ship and block its path with something else. I never even try for this anymore because it's ridiculously difficult to set up and the consequences of failing can be catastrophic--it's very likely that if you jack it up you'll be sitting there with only your front arc shot, which is terrible.

TL;DR: it's a great list, but its strength is not as a broadside gunline.

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Here's how I build it:

From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness (390/400)

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Home One: MC80 Command Cruiser (106 + 56)

+ Admiral Ackbar (38)

+ Boosted Comms (4)

+ Electronic Countermeasures (7)

+ Home One (7)

MC30c Frigate: MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 + 18)

+ Ordnance Experts (4)

+ Assault Concussion Missiles (7)

+ Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

MC30c Frigate: MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 + 18)

+ Ordnance Experts (4)

+ Assault Concussion Missiles (7)

+ Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Squadrons: A-wing Squadron (11)

Objectives Assault: Advanced Gunnery (0)

Objectives Defense: Hyperspace assault (0)

Objectives Navigation: Superior Positions (0)

I used torpedo frigate in an ackbar trc90 swarm that was still functioning as a gunline when my opponent conceded. I think ard really said everything that needs to be said. I like it because it provides a deterrent to your opponent closing with the rest of your line, while still being functional (if inefficient) should your opponent decide to play at range.

If you are running Assault torps already, what about General Dodonna? The ability to actually select the sorts of debilitating effects that face-up damage throws out there seems like it might be worthwhile for this list. Haven't tried it out myself yet, but I'm looking forward to doing so.

In the games I have played so far with ships that I can dole out some face-up damage (without having to whittle away their shields first), it has really turned the tide.