Hello all.

I have been playing X-wing for a couple of months I have only got the Original Core + B Wing + Y Wing + HWK-290

I am looking to run this squad at a couple of friendly games and thinking about going to a tournement to some point.

I have put together this squad and want to see what you guys think of it and ask a question about focus vs. evade questions.

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/405048/3-man-v4-for-swarm

Ten Numb + Fire Control + Mangler + B-Wing/E2 + Han
Biggs + R2F2 or R2D2 + Stealth Device
Kyle Katarn + Ion Cannon + Jan Ors (Ion Cannon for slowing down arc dodgers and breaking up formations.)

With Bigg's + R2D2 I can roll 3 dice and get 2 tokens (1 from his own action and one from Kyle)

or

Bigg's + R2F2 I can roll 4 dice and get 1 token from Kyle.

I seen that R2F2 would be better against a swarm enemy as 4 dice gives better returns of multiple attacks and R2D2 for shield regen against an ace list.

I can't work out it would better for Biggs to take Focus or Evade Tokens.

Any help on the evade vs focus question and any general comments on the set-up are appreciated.

The correct answer is neither.

It is simply not worth spending a ton of points on Biggs. No matter what choice you make, Biggs will die and your opponent gets points for it. While you might earn Biggs an extra round of living (which can be a big deal sometimes, but not always), at the end of the day, you are giving your opponent better MOV by spending points on him, rather than using those points to make a more potent squad (that can benefit from his protection).

So pick a droid that costs 1 point and stick on Biggs along with integrated astromech. Use the remaining 74 points to build as hard hitting a squad as you can (because a strong offense is the best form of defense when running Biggs).

Since your ship choices are limited at this point, you probably can't build a really punchy squad. If you can get your hands on a twin laser turret card, you could then run Dutch or Horton with that to help beef up your offense, or perhaps buy a T-70 x-wing so you can get some decent firepower to compliment Ten Numb. Another alternative would be to buy 2 or 3 z-95s and run them in front of Biggs. At R1, they can deal decent damage and/or block the enemy.

The BEST way to keep Biggs alive is through tricksy flying. In the opening turn where shooting is going to happen (probably at long range) try to position Biggs so only some enemies can shoot him (this forces your opponent to split their fire). Next turn, zoom Biggs in close so some enemies over-shoot or simply can't get Biggs in arc (even if he bumps into an enemy ship, it might be fine). Basically, you will frustrate your opponent's plans, because those ships that have arc on Biggs MUST shoot him, and those ships that don't, have to pick a different target, so it will be hard for your opponent to kill any one of your ships quickly (and hopefully with your firepower, you can get the first kill and keep it going).

The other option is to have Biggs flying escort duty for a large ship like the Falcon which has most of your points. If you fly Biggs a bit behind the "mothership", you can often reduce the total damage suffered. For instance, if the mothership is at Range 1 of the enemy but Biggs is at Range 2, they will lose their extra red dice. At the range 2/3 boundary, Biggs will gain an extra green dice.

If you want to be really mean, give the bigger ship a Tactical Jammer and put Biggs behind it. Not only will you force the enemy to fire at Biggs instead of your big ship, you will also give Biggs yet another green dice as the shot will be obstructed.

Using Biggs in this way turns him into ablative armour with guns for your big ship rather than forcing your opponent to split fire. This means it works best with ships that have poorer agility than Biggs. The Falcon is a good candidate and the forthcoming Ghost should be even better. Instead of firing at an Agility 0 brick, Biggs will be getting at least 3 green dice against all the attacks they would rather put at your big ship. R2-F2 works even better here and Stealth device will last longer too.

Do be careful about overspending on this build too though, Biggs will almost certainly bite the dust eventually and you need to make sure your big bird has caused enough damage by that point that you can mop up what is left.

Thanks for the help guys.

What do you guys think about replacing Kyles Ion Cannon with a Twin Laser?

I was thinking on using the Ion to pin down Arc dodgers and to break up formations of Ties by causing 1 to drift.

If I replaced it with Twin Laser then I am replacing the Ion ability to cause a potential extra point of damage.

Which would be a better option? The chance of an extra damage or Crowd Control?

The ion cannon won't be that effective against Aces like phantoms and interceptors (from experience) the TLT is better for stripping tokens by forcing them to evade the TLTs but personally I'd recommend getting the k wing and using it instead of the HWK. Miranda with TLT can be difficult to kill, and if you want to keep that focus, use esege tuketu with rec specialist and advanced slam. Also, no red manoeuvres and slamming if necessary make it more manoeavreable than the HWK

I want to like the HWK but by the time you have splashed out the necessary upgrades it just becomes too expensive for what it brings to the table. Y-wing plus turret will give you 360-degree cover on a more durable hull for around the same cost. A K-wing costs a bit more but also brings more fun to the party.

How about Wedge? My friend's been using Biggs + Wedge (VI, BB8, Integrated Astro) + Ten Numb (Mangler, VI, FCS, B-Wing/E2, Jan Ors) with good success.

I am restricted in the ships that I own.

I only have 1 X-wing, 1 Y-wing, 1 B-wing and 1-Hwk 290.

Cards are not a major issue as my friends are happy to play proxy's for casual games and can lend me some for tournaments.

I might be able to borrow another X-Wing.