I'm going to my second store tournament on the 20th. As for my first (and one would hope all following ones), my sole objective is to have fun and to learn. Though I went 1-3 with my IGs last time, by the end I was able to weave them between tight asteroid triangles, that felt nice.

For this one, I really wanted to run some T-70, but I've got 26 points left over and I'm not sure what to take.

The builds:

Poe: VI, BB8, Autothrusters

Red Ace: R2-D2, Comms Relay, Autothrusters

This is where I've got tons of ideas, but I'm not sure what would complement them best. Some of the ideas I had floating around:

Rebel Op (HWK): Twin laser turret, Moldy Crow and Nien Numb (to keep pace with the T-70s)

Roark (HWK): Twin laser turret and Nien Numb (same as above, plus Poe and Red Ace can shoot first as needed)

Arvel (A-wing): Prockets (for the alpha strike and for a blocker that shoots back)

Tycho (A-wing): naked!

Green squadron pilot (A-wing): Deadeye, Homing missiles and munitions failsafe (for the boom!)

Blue squadron pilot (B-wing): Fire-control system and 2 points bid

Tala and Bandit (Z-95): though I have 3 Z-95, 2 of them are scum, so I don't have the card and cardboard for 2 Talas

Lt Blount (Z-95): Ion pulse missile (to pop stealth device and stun aces) and either stealth device and predator, or 6 points to put somewhere else.

At this point, mistakes were made, so it's easier to list what I don't own: any huge ship, Scyk, Rebel Aces, Advanced, Interceptor and Y-wing.

I've got a StarViper on hold at one of the FLGS (and a Firespray coming, maybe, someday), and I'm planning to pick up a TIE/fo tonight. My wife would most likely not look fondly at me buying more ships right now, though my sons are arguing that Rebel Aces would be great

If you've flown a list with Poe, Red Ace and friends, I'd love your feedback into what worked well, and what didn't.

Update:

Swapping VI for PTL on Poe, losing another 2 point for the third wheel, my main ideas are:

• HWK with twin laser turrets and Jan Ors: it loads up Red Ace initially, then it can either perma-evade for itself, or do the same for the T-70 that needs it most.
• Green Squadron pilot with Chardaan, A-wing test pilot, PTL, Wired and autothrusters (and a 1 pt bid).

MajorJuggler describes building Rebel Lists the following way (in the current meta):

Summary: If you're building a Rebel list, you almost automatically just start off with the stresshog and 74 more points to spend. If you don't have a stresshog, then you better have a REALLY good reason for not including it. The ship is simply too powerful a tool not to include. I don't see an obvious way to improve on KO's use of Juke in a rebel list. Kyle Katarn as a pilot is in my opinion still overcosted, but TLT and Juke are such good cards that they can make an otherwise mediocre ship useful again.

I'm just glad that Red Ace doesn't have access to an EPT, otherwise Red Ace + Juke + R2-D2 + Comm Relay would be insane.

I have heard this sentiment echoed by others on Twitch after Vassal games (I don't remember if it was Paul Heaver or Blair Bunke, but either one is worth listening to!).

I was working with a similar list and starting with the Stressbot does simplify choices significantly.

You always have the caveat of a "REALLY good reason"...

Yeah, I have heard this before, but seeing as I don't have a Rebel Y-wing or R3-A2, I was starting somewhere else...

I think that falls under "REALLY good reason"... lol... and to be honest, finding an R3-A2 is not the easiest if you don't want to buy a Transport!

They were going on fleabay for pretty cheap awhile back. iirc I paid 8 bones for mine shipped. That said it was before heaver won worlds with it.

Can someone explain what the stresshog is? Looking online just leads to discussions referencing stresshog and not what it is. Cheers!

Stresshog is a combination of two nicknamed things already, so it can be tricky to figure out if you're not familiar with the other terms already. Y-wings are sometimes called hogs or warthogs. Stressbot is the rebel astromech (R3-A2) that allows a ship to stress another ship by declaring it the target of an attack (your ship must receive stress as well). So a y-wing with a stressbot is called stresshog. The y-wing is a preferred way to carry stressbot because with the title card, it can effectively double stress another ship by attacking it twice in the same round (primary attack and then turret).

Gold Squadron Pilot

R3-A2

BTL-A4 Title

W

I like Poe and Red ace. But like you, i dont have stresshog, so tried 2x Tala. Was not impressed much, but can work, so you have 1Tala. 1Bandit. Use as blockers and should be ok.

From your ideas i like: Rebel Op (HWK): Twin laser turret, Moldy Crow and Nien Numb (to keep pace with the T-70s)

Best.

I think stealth device is a waste on Blount. I like this better.

•Lieutenant Blount (26)

Hull Upgrade (3)

Predator (3)

Ion Pulse Missiles (3)

Stresshog is a combination of two nicknamed things already, so it can be tricky to figure out if you're not familiar with the other terms already. Y-wings are sometimes called hogs or warthogs. Stressbot is the rebel astromech (R3-A2) that allows a ship to stress another ship by declaring it the target of an attack (your ship must receive stress as well). So a y-wing with a stressbot is called stresshog. The y-wing is a preferred way to carry stressbot because with the title card, it can effectively double stress another ship by attacking it twice in the same round (primary attack and then turret).

Gold Squadron Pilot

R3-A2

BTL-A4 Title

Run a StressX! A rebel transport is totally worth it just for all the R2s and Jek Porkins! Go on you know you want to...

An update to this topic, after I've spent a week trying options (including swapping Poe for Miranda) playing with my sons. I got hit by the PS0 crit on Poe, and I realized I could still use him effectively, even though he didn't always have the PS advantage. I was toying with swapping VI for PTL to have a full on dancing Poe always focused up, sometimes with a free barrel roll and extra action thrown in the mix.

That leaves 24 points. Two options really seem to work for me (Rebel Aces opened up those doors):

• HWK with twin laser turrets and Jan Ors: it loads up Red Ace initially, then it can either perma-evade for itself, or do the same for the T-70 that needs it most.
• Green Squadron pilot with Chardaan, A-wing test pilot, PTL, Wired and autothrusters (and a 1 pt bid).

My test run with an A-wing went horribly, but it was due to bad piloting combined with non-cooperative dice and not having autothrusters.

Either way, I like how evade-y the list is, maximizing the chances of facing twin laser turrets and winning.

I also considered a Red Squadron Pilot with R2 and integrated astromech, but the lack of repositioning freaks me out.

Run a StressX! A rebel transport is totally worth it just for all the R2s and Jek Porkins! Go on you know you want to...

I have a business trip to Washington next month, I'll get 3 big ships from CSI for the price of 2 locally then. I want to support my FLGS, but for some reason, the same markup on a much bigger number triggers my "nope, too much" reaction.

I'm flying a Poe/Tycho/Stress X70 list for a a SC on saturday. A-Wing: · Tycho Celchu (26)

Push The Limit (3)

Proton Rockets (3)

Autothrusters (2)

A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Wired (1)

T-70 X-Wing: · Poe Dameron (31)

Veteran Instincts (1)

· R2-D2 (4)

Autothrusters (2)

T-70 X-Wing: Blue Squadron Novice (24)

· R3-A2 (2)

Integrated Astromech (0)

Ran the list with the Wired A-wing at a casual tournament tonight. Granted, after a day in the office is not the best time to evaluate a list, but rebels do not sing for me.

I got one win against someone running naked Han, Poe and Red squadron pilot. I made targeting mistakes, I should have withered down Han first, but Poe kept showing me his backside. It ended in a Red Ace v Han dance, which Red Ace won.

My last game was just deplorable, against R5-P9/AT Poe, Miranda and a stressbot. I mistakenly parked the A on a rock and he died there in the first round of combat. I did a hard green two, without having stress when a 3 would have worked. It made Poe and Red Ace bump. I almost had Poe at the end, but Miranda burned all her shields on range 1 attacks and that was that.

My first game is the only one I'm actually proud of, against Keyan, Ten and a prototype A. I lost, but it was a Keyan v. Red Ace dance I just couldn't see a way to get in better position. He ended up #1 for the tournament. He's a new played (since christmas) who lives and breathes X-wing, he's really, really good and really knows his B-wings. I think I was the one who hurt him the most all evening, so I'll take it.

Now I'm bummed, I'm really wondering if I should bring this list to a store championship when it doesn't speak to me. I wanted to keep playing every faction, but this was the first time the games didn't feel "fun" (except for the first one).

Blech, I'll sleep on it!