Hey guys with the release of wave 8 just around the corner I decided to start making a build list for the Ghost. After thinking about it I decided to try and make the Ghost in this build focus on the defensive side. Here's my list:

Kanan Jarrus (ghost) (38)pts

FCS (2)

Dorsal Turret (3)

EI (3)

Lando Calrissian (3)

Jan Ors (2)

Ghost (0)

Total 51pts

Sabine Wren (shuttle)

Juke (2)

Dorsal Turret (3)

Tactician (2)

Phantom (0)

Total 28 pts

Green Squadron Pilot

Juke (2)

Chardaan refit (-2)

A-wing Test Pilot (0)

Crack Shot (1)

Total 20 pts (99 pts total)

The idea with the Ghost is to move, take an evade action, use EI to use Lando, then obviously take any evade tokens and either change a focus token to an evade with Jan or keep it for Kanan's ability. I know you take a chance that Lando nets you nothing, but I like the gamble. FCS would keep the TLs coming also. What do you guys think about this build? I know the Ghost already has 10 hull and 6 shields, but with a little defense I think it can be an even bigger pain.

I like Lando, you only have a 14% chance that he will give you nothing.

I think you can do a bit better for a truly tanky build though. There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice. For this reason, I would take Hera instead as your pilot which frees up Kanan for use as a crew card (see the Phantom below). Hera's ability to switch manoeuvres can help to get you out of fire arc which is a useful defense in itself or can be used aggressively. Thanks to EI you can potentially stack the Ghost with up to 3 evade tokens per turn.

Next we come to the Phantom. Sabine's ability is nice but if you want really powerful defense, go for Ezra with PTL and Kanan as a crew. Using PTL you can get the same 2 evade tokens per turn as Sabine but you also increase the value of your Agility by counting all eyeballs as evades. Next turn use Kanan to shift the Stress on whites as well as greens and then rinse and repeat. Remember that the Phantom can potentially roll 7 red dice in one turn at R1 (as 2 separate attacks admittedly) meaning that you are less likely to need Juke to burn through defenses

While docked, Kanan can also use his ability to clear any Stress on Hera from EI. This will cost you the Tactician but he is a bit situational anyway and I do not think you will miss him. I think this should cost one more point than your list (bringing you to a perfect 100) but be even tougher for little effect on your killing power.

To make the Ghost as tough as I can see:

• Kanan Jarrus - Ghost, Sensor Jammer, Dorsal Turret, Recon Specialist, Jan Ors, Experimental Interface
• Ezra Bridger - Phantom, Wired
• Biggs Darklighter - R4-D6, Integrated Astromech

Good point. Recon Specialist + Jan > Lando + Jan.

Just a thought though, EI only works if you have an upgrade card with "Action" (which neither RS or Jan do). Would PTL be better? 1 Evade + 3 Focus to feed Kanan's ability.

To make the Ghost as tough as I can see:

• Kanan Jarrus - Ghost, Sensor Jammer, Dorsal Turret, Recon Specialist, Jan Ors, Experimental Interface
• Ezra Bridger - Phantom, Wired
• Biggs Darklighter - R4-D6, Integrated Astromech

The question is then is it better to do Jan+RS and do a single focus action for your action and change 1 of the focus to an evade with Jan and save the other for Kanan's ability or is it better to gamble a bit and use EI+Jan+Lando and take an evade action, triggerEI and take what Lando gives?

Fair point. A simple Hull Upgrade wouldn't hurt, or alternatively, give Ezra either Dorsal Turret on the Phantom, or put Hera in there to open up the dial whilst he's stressed.

The question is then is it better to do Jan+RS and do a single focus action for your action and change 1 of the focus to an evade with Jan and save the other for Kanan's ability or is it better to gamble a bit and use EI+Jan+Lando and take an evade action, triggerEI and take what Lando gives?

I think that PTL would be better than EI in this case (since you don't have an EPT currently). For your first action, trigger Lando and see what you get. If he rolls well, you can stop there. If he rolls badly, you can PTL for a Focus and change it into an Evade with Jan. Using EI you will always get a Stress when you use Lando. Using PTL you will only take a stress if Lando rolls poorly and you trigger PTL as your insurance.

I think....

The question is then is it better to do Jan+RS and do a single focus action for your action and change 1 of the focus to an evade with Jan and save the other for Kanan's ability or is it better to gamble a bit and use EI+Jan+Lando and take an evade action, triggerEI and take what Lando gives?

It is a balance of probabilities. Lando + Jan can give you 2 Evades but can also give you a big, fat nothing. Jan + RS can only give you 1 + a Focus but will be reliable.I think that PTL would be better than EI in this case (since you don't have an EPT currently). For your first action, trigger Lando and see what you get. If he rolls well, you can stop there. If he rolls badly, you can PTL for a Focus and change it into an Evade with Jan. Using EI you will always get a Stress when you use Lando. Using PTL you will only take a stress if Lando rolls poorly and you trigger PTL as your insurance.I think....

I agree with PTL, however no elite upgrade slot on any ghost pilot though so unfortunately it's a no go.

I agree with PTL, however no elite upgrade slot on any ghost pilot though so unfortunately it's a no go.

If you want maximum tank, I think you need to have R2D2 crew in there. The regen of a shield and 10 hull looks mighty tasty. Lando and EI still fit, but Kanan would have to stay on the Phantom. Kanan wouldn't like leaving Hera alone with Lando like that...

All upgrade cards on the phantom are ignored while it is docked, right?

I don't know if upgrade cards are ignored or not. I would have thought crew could still apply their effects but I could be wrong. I haven't seen the rules for docked ships yet.

Why not switch Jan to the shuttle and have rec spec and Lando on the ghost? That gives you one evade, one focus, plus whatever Lando gives you.

I like this setup: https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Rebel%20Alliance&d=v3!s!155:36,-1,-1,-1,38,93:-1:13:;47:-1,135,75:3:-1:;32:72:-1:15:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

Why not switch Jan to the shuttle and have rec spec and Lando on the ghost? That gives you one evade, one focus, plus whatever Lando gives you.

I like this alot but it brings up an interesting question. Say I took a focus action with the Ghost and got 2 from Rec spec, then EI to Lando. Now say that the shuttle is still docked to the Ghost, could I still use Jan (who's on the shuttle) to switch one of the focus tokens to an evade or would I have to launch the shuttle first before I could use Jan?

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

If you're defending against one ship, sure. It may even be better than an evade token as you could be defending against something like an autoblaster. However, if you add in the possibility of multiple ships throwing dice around, I'd rather have the evade to save just in case the first attack blanks out.

Why not switch Jan to the shuttle and have rec spec and Lando on the ghost? That gives you one evade, one focus, plus whatever Lando gives you.

I like this alot but it brings up an interesting question. Say I took a focus action with the Ghost and got 2 from Rec spec, then EI to Lando. Now say that the shuttle is still docked to the Ghost, could I still use Jan (who's on the shuttle) to switch one of the focus tokens to an evade or would I have to launch the shuttle first before I could use Jan?

Pretty sure no cards on the Shuttle are in play until it's deployed. While docked, they're busy helping the Ghost fire out its rear arc and get an extra attack with a turret.

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

No it isn't the same thing. A single red dice only has a 3/8 chance of getting a hit (before modifiers). An evade token will negate 1 hit. A Focus token (spent using Kanan's ability) will only negate 3/8s of a hit on average. An Evade token is much better defensively than Kanan's ability but you need to spend extra points to give the Ghost access to Evade tokens as it does not have them natively.

Yes, it is (effectively) the same thing. Why wait for someone to roll a hit when you can prevent them from rolling it in the first place? Let's say a ship with 3 dice attacks the Ghost. Hit hit hit. Jan's Evade prevents one. 2 damage. Alternatively, Kanan subtracts a die so it only rolls 2 dice, hit hit. 2 damage. It's the same thing.

Additionally, the Ghost does have access to Evade natively:

Anything else you'd like to be wrong about?

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

No it isn't the same thing. A single red dice only has a 3/8 chance of getting a hit (before modifiers). An evade token will negate 1 hit. A Focus token (spent using Kanan's ability) will only negate 3/8s of a hit on average. An Evade token is much better defensively than Kanan's ability but you need to spend extra points to give the Ghost access to Evade tokens as it does not have them natively.

Also, your math is a bit off---there are 3 hits and 1 crit symbol on the red die (4/8). But most attacks are made with some form of modification (bumping up to at least 6/8), and sometimes with TL + focus (at least 7/8).

And Kanan can use his ability more than once if he has recon specialist or some way of getting extra focus tokens (such as Kyle or Garven). Not only that, but he can use it on ANY attack (not just attacks targeting him, but any of his wingmates----provided he is in range 1-2 of the shooter).

Taking these things into consideration, it is potentially better than an evade token...

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

Consider a 3 dice attack modified by either an Evade token or Kanan's ability. In both cases you have the same maximum and minum number of hits (0-2) but the probability distribution between the 2 cases is different.

Let's take the average an assume a red dice has a 50% chance of causing a hit (no modifications). The average of rolling 3 red dice will be 1.5 hits. If you spend an Evade token that goes down to 0.5 hits. If you spend a Focus token to roll 2 dice, the average number of hits is 1 so in this case, Evade has a clear advantage.

Also you don't need to spend an evade token until the opponent actually scores a hit. If you get lucky and your opponent fluffs an attack, you can save the Evade token for later. With Kanan, you have to spend the Focus before the attack without knowing the result.

Applying bonuses such as TL and Focus to the attack do bring Evade and Kanan/Focus closer in effectiveness but in absolute statistical terms, it will always be better to cancel a hit than an attack as there is the possibility that the cancelled attack would have missed anyway.

And Kanan can use his ability more than once if he has recon specialist or some way of getting extra focus tokens (such as Kyle or Garven). Not only that, but he can use it on ANY attack (not just attacks targeting him, but any of his wingmates----provided he is in range 1-2 of the shooter).

Taking these things into consideration, it is potentially better than an evade token...

And Kanan can use his ability more than once if he has recon specialist or some way of getting extra focus tokens (such as Kyle or Garven). Not only that, but he can use it on ANY attack (not just attacks targeting him, but any of his wingmates----provided he is in range 1-2 of the shooter).

As long as there are multiple attacks going on that he can modify, sure. (:

If he isn't then well, you are probably getting outflown unless you have a specific reason to keep him out of the fray...

There isn't much point in taking Kanan if you have Jan Ors on board as spending an evade token to negate a hit is always better defense than spending a Focus to negate an attack dice.

Actually it's effectively the same thing. If they never roll a die, that die can never be a hit. Each token spent results in one negated damage.

No it isn't the same thing. A single red dice only has a 3/8 chance of getting a hit (before modifiers). An evade token will negate 1 hit. A Focus token (spent using Kanan's ability) will only negate 3/8s of a hit on average. An Evade token is much better defensively than Kanan's ability but you need to spend extra points to give the Ghost access to Evade tokens as it does not have them natively.

Yes, it is (effectively) the same thing. Why wait for someone to roll a hit when you can prevent them from rolling it in the first place? Let's say a ship with 3 dice attacks the Ghost. Hit hit hit. Jan's Evade prevents one. 2 damage. Alternatively, Kanan subtracts a die so it only rolls 2 dice, hit hit. 2 damage. It's the same thing.

Additionally, the Ghost does have access to Evade natively:

You're assuming that the attack die kanan subtracts would always hit, but it wouldn't. Sometimes, kanan will be used to subtract an attack die that was going to miss anyway. To use your example: 3 attack dice, miss hit, hit. With kanan, the die that didn't hit was never rolled, but you still have two hits. .with Jan, one of the two hits is evaded, so only one hit goes through. See?

Anything else you'd like to be wrong about?