Don't forget R5-X3 for Asty, they were made for each other (and he's cheap as chips).

Considering the value of the astromech slot, R5-X3 should've been free. A free droid with a free integrated astro would've been a good boost for an X-wing just looking for the extra hit. And considering it isunique, one-use-only, and using R5-X3 also effectively cancels IA, it wouldn't be game breaking at all.

An idea clicked into my head after reading the comments again. A new segment has been added to the article, all about the StressX vs. the Stresshog. Personally my feelings are very strong against the StressX, but i'd like to see if anyone can really explain to me why they would favor a StressX over a Stresshog. After all, i'm here to learn as much as anyone else is.

Razgriz25thinf, do you think T-70 and T-65 synergises well? In my opinion, squad consisting of both versions of X-wings is so beautifull fluff-wise and by looking at it. Idea of Poe and Wedge + generic T-70 tempting me a lot.

Razgriz25thinf, do you think T-70 and T-65 synergises well? In my opinion, squad consisting of both versions of X-wings is so beautifull fluff-wise and by looking at it. Idea of Poe and Wedge + generic T-70 tempting me a lot.

I know it wasn't aimed at me but I'm would like to say that yes they act great together. Tarn Poe and Ello was the first T70 list I tried (3w/2L).

Firstly Raz congrats on a great article full of useful information and of course your personal studies to justify everything. I've been meaning to play with the T-70 for a while now but can't shake my Imperial fascination but when I do I'll be re-reading this article and putting what you've found into practice.

Big well done.

Maybe Stay on Target would be a good EPT for the T-70. When you choose a 3-speed maneuver, SoT allows you to choose six alternatives, as well as the fine-tuning allowed by the T-roll. One problem however is that it is probably not the best choice for Ello Asty, since you don't want to stress him.

An idea clicked into my head after reading the comments again. A new segment has been added to the article, all about the StressX vs. the Stresshog. Personally my feelings are very strong against the StressX, but i'd like to see if anyone can really explain to me why they would favor a StressX over a Stresshog. After all, i'm here to learn as much as anyone else is.

You underestimate the value of the Red Vet StressX, which has both offensive and defensive dice modification via Wired. If you think the PS 4 Red Vet is valuable, and you apparently do, for the points it's just as viable an option as other Red Vet builds -- perhaps more so because you're getting the control value plus mod value. It's a different, but certainly viable, way to spent 3 points on a Red Vet (with other good alternatives being BB8 + Crack Shot, or Predator, or Crack Shot + Autothrusters).

Though its on a T-65, StressWes is a solid stressX build, which got better recently with Wired and IA. Stresspedoes also work well for 2 points as you get a double tap on stress and Wes allows you to strip defense capability too.

Razgriz25thinf, do you think T-70 and T-65 synergises well? In my opinion, squad consisting of both versions of X-wings is so beautifull fluff-wise and by looking at it. Idea of Poe and Wedge + generic T-70 tempting me a lot.

Yeah, i'd give that the ol' Razgriz Seal of Approval.

I mean, you take away the boost and T-Roll and all you're flying is a T-65 with an additional shield. It's not hard for a T-65 to keep up with a T-70, and if you want a good pilot like Wedge, T-70s are great wingman for him, since they can make up for the deficiencies of the T-65.

Poe w/ VI, R2-D2, and AT; Wedge with PTL/BB-8 and IA; and a Red Squad Vet w/ Crackshot, R2 Astro, and IA sounds like a LOT of fun, and i would definitely say this list has good potential.

An idea clicked into my head after reading the comments again. A new segment has been added to the article, all about the StressX vs. the Stresshog. Personally my feelings are very strong against the StressX, but i'd like to see if anyone can really explain to me why they would favor a StressX over a Stresshog. After all, i'm here to learn as much as anyone else is.

You underestimate the value of the Red Vet StressX, which has both offensive and defensive dice modification via Wired. If you think the PS 4 Red Vet is valuable, and you apparently do, for the points it's just as viable an option as other Red Vet builds -- perhaps more so because you're getting the control value plus mod value. It's a different, but certainly viable, way to spent 3 points on a Red Vet (with other good alternatives being BB8 + Crack Shot, or Predator, or Crack Shot + Autothrusters).

Red Vet StressX is better than the normal StressX, this is undeniably true. By acquiring offensive and defensive modification, your attacks and defends become more than a formality of rolling the dice.

Unfortunately, Red StressX costs 29 points, 31 if you want to equip AT. It still does not overcome nearly any of the advantages that the Stresshog has over the StressX in a practical sense, and you're paying extra to field it. The unfortunate truth is that as long as the Stresshog double-stresses, and the StressX does not, i will choose the stresshog every time.

Maybe Stay on Target would be a good EPT for the T-70. When you choose a 3-speed maneuver, SoT allows you to choose six alternatives, as well as the fine-tuning allowed by the T-roll. One problem however is that it is probably not the best choice for Ello Asty, since you don't want to stress him.

I see Stay on Target more as a good addition to Wedge w/ Targeting Astromech than anything. Since Wedge really desires that unpredictability and agility to stay alive, he can get more use out of it than any T-70 pilot i can think of. Poe doesnt want it, Ello can't use it because stress, Red Ace and Blue Ace cant because no EPT, and the generics are too low PS to get proper use out of it.

I do see potential with that on Wedge though, with the recent release of TA.

X-WINGS SUCK!

X-WINGS SUCK!

then I say

Scyks X-wing!

X-WINGS SUCK!

then I say

Scyks X-wing!

Hel-Nah... SEEKS -WING!

Razgriz25thinf, do you think T-70 and T-65 synergises well? In my opinion, squad consisting of both versions of X-wings is so beautifull fluff-wise and by looking at it. Idea of Poe and Wedge + generic T-70 tempting me a lot.

I know it wasn't aimed at me but I'm would like to say that yes they act great together. Tarn Poe and Ello was the first T70 list I tried (3w/2L).

I have tried the following list:

Poe - R2 Astro, AT and PTL

Tarn - R7 and IA

Rookie - R2 Astro and IA

Proto A-wing - Refit

I found that the two T65s worked well with Poe, Tarn soaks up a lot of hits and can't be ignored, while the Rookie is great in support. I am pleasantly surprised by the annoyance factor of the A-wing as well.

I know that most players prefer Poe with R2D2 or R5P9, but R2 with PTL works really well with Poe, giving him a lot of green to get rid of stress, PTL ensuring him another action while making sure he gets his all important Focus action.

Really like the OP article! thanks for your insights I'm just wondering why you never mentioned Targeting Astromech? I really like it on a red squadron veteran... probably too many other good options but it gains a lot of options using the tallon rolls and k-turns. thanks again for the great read!

Targetting Astro has it's moments, but i really don't think it's as usable as an R2 Astro.

Naturally, X-Wings don't really like red maneuvers because it removes it's offensive capabilities, and, yes, TA is great for those moments, and especially better on a T-70 because it has 3 reds, all of which go in different directions. However, let's compare it to an R2 Astro, arguably the best generic astromech you can use.

The R2 Astro adds 4 greens to a T-70s dial, making it largely less effected by stress control. TA relies solely on you performing red maneuvers, which, to be frank, are generally not going to happen as much in a game as you will execute, say, a 2 turn. TA preserves action economy, and this is generally a good thing, but to really get the worth out of it, you have to perform a lot of reds in a game. This generally means you'll probably be spending a decent amount of time stressed, and, as such, be putting yourself at incredible risk when going up against stress control lists. All it takes is one additional stress token on you to turn your astromech into 2 points of dead weight for the next 2 turns. And, in this meta where stresshogs are extremely prevalent, i generally wouldn't suggest TA as a legitimate competitive option.

Don't get me wrong, you can use TA smartly if you really know how to build lists. What does come to mind is Cool Hand and TA, perhaps. Crackshot works too. But, given the amount of generally better, more flexible options you can choose, i'm not sure i'd pick TA unless something really, REALLY synergizes with it.

I left TA out of the main article namely because i wanted to focus on what the better options are for the T-70, and to leave these kinds of individual responses to the comments section of the thread. It allows me a general freedom to discuss TA and other things in a vacuum, without worrying about straying off-topic in the OP.

It's also worth pointing out that not everything i say is gospal law. Except for the part about T-70s hating to joust, that part is. But a lot of things i talk about are merely suggestions. If you think you know better than me, and trust your own judgment, that's perfectly legitimate. I don't know your local meta, maybe there are combos that work for you that i wouldn't consider because i'm not you.

Anyways, i appreciate the question.

Hobbie LOVES Targeting Astromech. His ability removes a stress token any time he gains or uses a target lock. And targeting astromech gives him a free target lock every time he executes a red maneuver.

Effectively, any time he takes a K-turn, the stress evaporates and becomes a target lock. So instead of getting stressed when he k-turns, he is rewarded with a target lock. He is then free to take another action (focus in most cases).

This makes it easy to get the "holy grail" shot (4 dice, TL, Focus) if you can get him into a joust. And you can keep doing it over and over again.

For fun, I've been playing with this list:

Jake Farrel (PTL,CR) 25pts

Hobbie Klivian (Targetig Astromech,IA) 27pts

Tarn Mison (R7 Astromech, IA) 25pts

And one of the following:

Blue Sq Pilot 22pts (99pts)

Gold Sq Pilot (ICT and maybe title) 23pts (100pts)

2 Bandit Sq Pilots 24pts (101pts)

This obviously isn't a tier 1 list, but it can be a lot of fun.

This makes it easy to get the "holy grail" shot (4 dice, TL, Focus) if you can get him into a joust. And you can keep doing it over and over again.

For fun, I've been playing with this list:

Jake Farrel (PTL,CR) 25pts

Hobbie Klivian (Targetig Astromech,IA) 27pts

Tarn Mison (R7 Astromech, IA) 25pts

And one of the following:

Blue Sq Pilot 22pts (99pts)

Gold Sq Pilot (ICT and maybe title) 23pts (100pts)

2 Bandit Sq Pilots 24pts (101pts)

This obviously isn't a tier 1 list, but it can be a lot of fun.

I recently played a list a lot like this one, with Tarn and Hobbie, but instead of Jake, a Green Squadron pilot, that leaves just enough points for a stresshog. It was a lot of fun

Really like the OP article! thanks for your insights I'm just wondering why you never mentioned Targeting Astromech? I really like it on a red squadron veteran... probably too many other good options but it gains a lot of options using the tallon rolls and k-turns. thanks again for the great read!

Targetting Astro has it's moments, but i really don't think it's as usable as an R2 Astro.

Naturally, X-Wings don't really like red maneuvers because it removes it's offensive capabilities, and, yes, TA is great for those moments, and especially better on a T-70 because it has 3 reds, all of which go in different directions. However, let's compare it to an R2 Astro, arguably the best generic astromech you can use.

The R2 Astro adds 4 greens to a T-70s dial, making it largely less effected by stress control. TA relies solely on you performing red maneuvers, which, to be frank, are generally not going to happen as much in a game as you will execute, say, a 2 turn. TA preserves action economy, and this is generally a good thing, but to really get the worth out of it, you have to perform a lot of reds in a game. This generally means you'll probably be spending a decent amount of time stressed, and, as such, be putting yourself at incredible risk when going up against stress control lists. All it takes is one additional stress token on you to turn your astromech into 2 points of dead weight for the next 2 turns. And, in this meta where stresshogs are extremely prevalent, i generally wouldn't suggest TA as a legitimate competitive option.

Don't get me wrong, you can use TA smartly if you really know how to build lists. What does come to mind is Cool Hand and TA, perhaps. Crackshot works too. But, given the amount of generally better, more flexible options you can choose, i'm not sure i'd pick TA unless something really, REALLY synergizes with it.

I left TA out of the main article namely because i wanted to focus on what the better options are for the T-70, and to leave these kinds of individual responses to the comments section of the thread. It allows me a general freedom to discuss TA and other things in a vacuum, without worrying about straying off-topic in the OP.

It's also worth pointing out that not everything i say is gospal law. Except for the part about T-70s hating to joust, that part is. But a lot of things i talk about are merely suggestions. If you think you know better than me, and trust your own judgment, that's perfectly legitimate. I don't know your local meta, maybe there are combos that work for you that i wouldn't consider because i'm not you.

Anyways, i appreciate the question.

Hobbie LOVES Targeting Astromech. His ability removes a stress token any time he gains or uses a target lock. And targeting astromech gives him a free target lock every time he executes a red maneuver.

Effectively, any time he takes a K-turn, the stress evaporates and becomes a target lock. So instead of getting stressed when he k-turns, he is rewarded with a target lock. He is then free to take another action (focus in most cases).

This makes it easy to get the "holy grail" shot (4 dice, TL, Focus) if you can get him into a joust. And you can keep doing it over and over again.

For fun, I've been playing with this list:

Jake Farrel (PTL,CR) 25pts

Hobbie Klivian (Targetig Astromech,IA) 27pts

Tarn Mison (R7 Astromech, IA) 25pts

And one of the following:

Blue Sq Pilot 22pts (99pts)

Gold Sq Pilot (ICT and maybe title) 23pts (100pts)

2 Bandit Sq Pilots 24pts (101pts)

This obviously isn't a tier 1 list, but it can be a lot of fun.

I'm sorry but i need to pop the bubble of the Hobbie/TA thing.

Sure, it's a neat combo, but Hobbie likes R2-D6 and PTL way, way more. Infinitely more.

Besides that, TA has very little business being on a T-65, what with only one red maneuver. It's not even remotely as effective as focusing and TLing every turn, getting a stress, then losing that stress when you spent the TL on the attack.

You realistically cannot reliably K-Turn and be in the "holy grail" shot range. I've tried Hobbie with TA multiple times, did whatever i could to make it work, but at the end of the day the T-65 has it's one red, and it has 2 actions, and with Hobbie/TA it's just 27 points of X-Wing where the ability only actually works maybe twice a game. So when Hobbie gets his TL, he can't even boost out of the K-Turn. PTL Hobbie is just so, so much better, because i can do everything TA does off of a K-Turn, every turn, on any maneuver. I'll pay the extra 2 points to have a Hobbie that'll actually pull his weight.

If we're talking casual games, it doesn't even matter, you can do whatever you want. But it's not competitive, and if i ever face a Hobbie w/ TA, i'm going to spend all my time and effort on everyone but him, because the least amount of threat is coming from Hobbie.

Well this is my favourite article so far, +1, Great post, all that jazz. T-70 is by far my favourite ship. Wish it had system upgrade but beggars cant be choosers.

Hobbie can be a reasonably good stressX platform. TL, declare/stress target, spend TL. Repeat next turn. Totally offensive with little to no defensive tech or buffs. But its a reliable stress delivery behind 3 dice. Give Hobbie some action support and he can do well. He can also do the stresspedo double stress using his TL to cancel the stress from stressbot

Hobbie can be a reasonably good stressX platform. TL, declare/stress target, spend TL. Repeat next turn. Totally offensive with little to no defensive tech or buffs. But its a reliable stress delivery behind 3 dice. Give Hobbie some action support and he can do well. He can also do the stresspedo double stress using his TL to cancel the stress from stressbot

Funny, i was actually just talking to a friend about this earlier today. Yeah, in my mind Hobbie would be the best StressX carrier, and might ACTUALLY offer some legitimate advantages over a stresshog. It's also only a point more expensive. I can get over only doing 1 stress to an enemy, because Hobbie would still retain full action economy and as a result still be offensively effective.

So, yeah. If anyone wants to use a StressX, Hobbie is gonna be your best choice. Thanks, phocion, for the suggestion.

I think the best part of StressX is that it has the maneuver dial of its squad mates. I might try a stress hog to see how it can keep up with the t-70s. The double shooting comes from a title that restricts the turret to its firing arc correct? With the Y's poor maneuverability and low ps, it stands to reason that arc dodgers will have an easier time keeping out of arc.

I've not played with or against stresshog yet so I'll have to see it in action. But I liked StressX the one time I used it.

Hobbie can be a reasonably good stressX platform. TL, declare/stress target, spend TL. Repeat next turn. Totally offensive with little to no defensive tech or buffs. But its a reliable stress delivery behind 3 dice. Give Hobbie some action support and he can do well. He can also do the stresspedo double stress using his TL to cancel the stress from stressbot

Funny, i was actually just talking to a friend about this earlier today. Yeah, in my mind Hobbie would be the best StressX carrier, and might ACTUALLY offer some legitimate advantages over a stresshog. It's also only a point more expensive. I can get over only doing 1 stress to an enemy, because Hobbie would still retain full action economy and as a result still be offensively effective.

So, yeah. If anyone wants to use a StressX, Hobbie is gonna be your best choice. Thanks, phocion, for the suggestion.

I think StressHobbie has been exchanged too quickly for Hobbie w. Targeting Astromech. R3-A2 is still a very good option for him.

If you give him Flechettes, Munitions Failsafe might also be a good idea.

Another trick I've used a couple of times was K-turning and then giving him a TL through Dutch Vander.

If we're talking casual games, it doesn't even matter, you can do whatever you want. But it's not competitive, and if i ever face a Hobbie w/ TA, i'm going to spend all my time and effort on everyone but him, because the least amount of threat is coming from Hobbie.

Red Sq. Vet.:Targeting Astromech, Cool Hand, Advanced Proton Torpedoes. 35 Points.

Man that's expensive! But then again, that's because of the Torpedoes. And it has to be said that in another sense, this is actually a very cheap option: everything is from 1 expansion.

And it should be a blast to execute. You T-roll, get a TL, discard Cool Hand for a focus, and blast away that torpedo.

Hobbie can be a reasonably good stressX platform. TL, declare/stress target, spend TL. Repeat next turn. Totally offensive with little to no defensive tech or buffs. But its a reliable stress delivery behind 3 dice. Give Hobbie some action support and he can do well. He can also do the stresspedo double stress using his TL to cancel the stress from stressbot

Funny, i was actually just talking to a friend about this earlier today. Yeah, in my mind Hobbie would be the best StressX carrier, and might ACTUALLY offer some legitimate advantages over a stresshog. It's also only a point more expensive. I can get over only doing 1 stress to an enemy, because Hobbie would still retain full action economy and as a result still be offensively effective.

So, yeah. If anyone wants to use a StressX, Hobbie is gonna be your best choice. Thanks, phocion, for the suggestion.

I think StressHobbie has been exchanged too quickly for Hobbie w. Targeting Astromech. R3-A2 is still a very good option for him.

If you give him Flechettes, Munitions Failsafe might also be a good idea.

Another trick I've used a couple of times was K-turning and then giving him a TL through Dutch Vander.

I agree, especially considering Hobbie w/ TA really isn't that good.