List for competitive play. Please critique!

By Tadascosos, in X-Wing Squad Lists

I've got a store championship coming up in early February and I just want some constructive criticism on this scum build. It's done pretty well for me in the few games I have played.

HWK-290: •Dace Bonearm (36)

Shield Upgrade (4)

Determination (1)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Y-Wing: Syndicate Thug (26)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

R4 Agromech (2)

Y-Wing: Syndicate Thug (26)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

R4 Agromech (2)

Z-95 Headhunter: Binayre Pirate (12)

Total: 100/100

Thanks in advance for any input!

I've never flown the HWK, so I can't say much about the overall build, but I really like using the R4 Agromech with the Thugs. It really helps to get both TLT shots to hit.

Determination is an odd choice for an EPT. Is it just to avoid Blinded Pilot?

I think for 36 points I would go with a different hwk pilot. Dace just doesn't pay for himself in most games.

I like the list,but I'd be tempted to give Dace Lightning Reflexes instead of Determination.

If I read this correctly Dace doesn't necessarily have to be the one to issue the ion token. That being the case I would probably adjust the list this way:

Dace Bonearm (23)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Syndicate Thug (18)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

Unhinged Astromech (2)

Drea Renthal (22)

Ion Cannon Turret (5)

BTL A4 Ywing (0)

R4-B11 (3)

Black Sun Soldier (13)

So in this build Drea Renthal takes advantage of the BTL title with her pilot ability. Using her first TL to activate the droid, receiving a stress to receive a second TL that she can then use for either of her die rolls or to trigger the droid again in a follow on attack later. Having the Ion Cannon turret makes her want to attack at range one to get the additional dice for her primary weapon. She can be supported by the Black Sun Soldier while the Thug provides Range 3 Cover fire with the TLT using the Unhinged mech to stay flexible during the planning phase. Dace does his thing hanging back and pecking with the ion turret, using the two Y wings to attract all the attention.

Thanks for the input everyone!

I threw Determination in there for the chance of avoiding some damage from critical entirely as it let's you discard damage cards with the pilot trait entirely without resolving it's effects.

Lightening Reflexes is a good idea, though. I think I might give that a shot in playtesting.

All in all, the list has done pretty well in previous matches, winning 5 of 6 since I first played it. I feel like its got a decent mix of control, consistent damage output and durability. Suggestions are always welcome though!

I've now been tossing around the idea of swapping the Hawk out for a Mando Merc in the firespray.

What's everyone's thoughts on flying a naked firespray in this list instead of the Hawk. Also thinking of dropping the droids on the ywings to allow for some upgrades on the firespray. Any input on this would be appreciated.

I have a similar list:

Dace w/ crack shot, ion turret & K4 droid = 32

2 thugs w/ BTL-A4, ion turret & R4 agromechs = 25 x 2

Cartel Spacer w/ title & Flechette cannon = 18

100

Dace's ability is quite good. Normally control lists suffer due to lack of damage output, but Dace and the BTL-A4 title ensures that's not a problem. The biggest issue for the list is that its 'just' a 4 ship jousting list that can get wrecked by high firepower lists (swarms, double HLCs, etc). However, if your opponent fails to destroy one of your ships on the initial pass, you have a good chance of ionizing something, and once you do, its screwed big time. Generally shoot with your spacer last (at something with ion token) so that its more likely to hit (defensive tokens should be gone).

For setup, put the thugs in front of the spacer. Try to get the thugs into R2 of the enemy on the first round of fire (spacer at R3). Dace should be off to the side. You want the enemy to focus on your other 3 ships and since he doesn't have a k-turn, you want him to be able to turn in behind the enemy once some are ionized. If it looks like your opponent will go for Dace, you can trail with him a bit (even though he might not get to shoot his ion, he can use his ability on one of your thugs' ion shot as long as he is R3).

Against an arc-dodger list, you might want to set up differently. Crack shot + K4 means they will fear Dace greatly since he can smash through autothrusters. He will be priority target #1 so you have to protect him with your other guys. In this case, your spacer can be a huge help as a blocker, so he trades spots with Dace (spacer a little to the side and dace behind the thugs).

You can also try dropping the R4 agromechs to put an engine on Dace, which really helps him scoot out of firing arcs or turn around faster to keep his turret in R2 of something (and k4 means he almost always has a target lock anyway). However, the damage output of your y-wings drops...

Edited by blade_mercurial