I've got a Store Championship on March 19th, which hopefully will mean wave 8 is out but no one has had much table time with them. Due to some life circumstances I'm likely to only be able to pick up the Mist Hunter in time for the tournament.

I'm considering:

4-LOM (35)

Push the Limit

Advanced Sensors

Zuckuss

Mist Hunter

Tractor Beam

Guri (39)

Lone Wolf

Virago

Sensor Jammer

Autothrusters

Syndicate Thug (26)

Twin Laser Turret

R4 Agromech

Overall, I am a pretty new player and just thinking about three dials appeals to me, though two z-95 blockers instead of the Thug is tempting. I have the Tractor Beam at highest PS, Guri should eat TLTs, and 4-LOM adds an element of stress control.

Where I am really interested is the potential for modified wins and draws. Guri v standard Poe leaves me a modified win at time, 4-LOM v standard Soontir and the Thug v Stressbot leave me with a draw. Would it be better to stick an extra point on 4-LOM somewhere for the Fel match up, and concede the modified win to the stresshog in a match of y-wings?

Or am I just overthinking this?

I think your list is solid and your reasoning sound.

You want Guri to live to the end-game, so for victory purposes, she gets modified win against any of the aces you mention. Don't worry about 4-LOM's point totals, because its Guri that you want alive at all costs. Not saying you want your other ships to die of course

Now, I should point out that, since you mention you are a new player, this list is not going to be easy to fly. If you have access to VASSAL, I suggest getting on there and practicing. This is a finesse list that requires careful planning to get the most out of (or at least, 4-LOM and Guri----the thug does what it does, so its easy enough).

Link to x-wing VASSAL: http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Star_Wars:_X-Wing_Miniatures_Game

I've been flying at my FLGS for just over a month now, and I downloaded VASSAl, but haven't had the time to figure it all out. StarVipers in general and Guri in particular are strangely prevalent is South East MN, so I have some good practice there. I haven't decided if I should practice with a B-wing to get a base for my Mist Hunter skills.

That is a good point on not worrying about point totals aside from Guri, I have a vague feeling most people will prioritize 4-LOM as the first target anyway.

I've been flying at my FLGS for just over a month now, and I downloaded VASSAl, but haven't had the time to figure it all out. StarVipers in general and Guri in particular are strangely prevalent is South East MN, so I have some good practice there. I haven't decided if I should practice with a B-wing to get a base for my Mist Hunter skills.

That is a good point on not worrying about point totals aside from Guri, I have a vague feeling most people will prioritize 4-LOM as the first target anyway.

VASSAL has the mist hunter, but if you want to practice on your table, you can 'proxy' (the ship's dial is spoiled, so just keep it handy for reference)

What I do for practice is try different setups and look at moving through obstacles in ways that leaves the most exit paths. This requires 'thinking 2 moves in advance' and takes a bit getting used to if you aren't doing it already.

When I play 'solo' I don't really play a 'real' game. I usually set up my squad against stuff I know is popular given the meta and practice different openings. Figuring out where your ships need to be relative to your opponent's (for optimal first turn engagements) is really the only thing you can 'prepare' for. Once the furball starts, its a matter of trying to guess what your opponent will do, and no amount of 'planning' will help there.

4-LOM with PTL + advanced sensors has some interesting options that you may or may not realize. His greens are identical to the star viper's, and those should be your most commonly used moves, at least in the early stages of engagement (prior to combat range, anything goes). Capitalizing on the advanced sensors + Push combo allows 4-LOM to keep stress free going into combat so that not only does he get 2 actions, but can make use of Zuckuss crew. Also, barrel roll before dial reveal can put you in different spots that your opponent might not expect, so keep that in mind!

I think the mist hunter is very similar to a Bwing in stats and abilities. Right now you don't see too many Bwings in the meta. They are just too fragile. If I was to play a mist hunter I wouldn't put many points into it.

I am a little worried about the fragility of the Mist Hunter, but the evade action should help out a little. I compare having the Zuckuss crew to the pilot Ten Numb. It has enough of a chance of getting a hit through on dodgy aces that I'm okay with running it a little heavy. I could almost see this 4-LOM as an equivalent to Ten Numb with a flechette cannon, a hard hitter with a control option.

From what I have seen so far the local meta doesn't have too many twin laser turrets, so B-wings (and the equivalent) have a slightly better chance around here.

Looks like a solid base list. Love 4-LOM antics. However, your particular build on 4-LOM might cause some issues. I can it how it is supposed to work:

- Sensor to take action and PtL

- Green move to clear

- Shoot and have opponent reroll [gain stress]

- Off load a stress onto another ship

This strategy has limitations. You are stuck with green moves if you want actions the next turn and you must be judicious about how much to trigger Zuckuss. Nice combo but it doesn't take advantage of the reds (and white) on the dial. Perhaps just commit to the stress that Zuckuss generates with Wired, K4, or FCS.

I am a little worried about the fragility of the Mist Hunter, but the evade action should help out a little.

Also, I'm in the same boat in thinking that 4-LOM will be prime and weak target. His ability while excellent may not have much affect on the game if he dies in round 1 or 2.

Hopefully, this does not stray too far from your concept but my suggestion is to modify the list as follows:

Zuckuss (34): Juke, FCS, 4-LOM, Mist Hunter, Tractor Beam

Mux (27): TLT, tactician

Guri (39): your build

This has the basics on your squad while offering more potent G1-A, gives you PS advantage for shooting, and makes target priority more difficult.

A minor variant of my adaptation would be to swap Mist Hunter / Tractor Beam and LW for Predator on to take advantage of Mux and allow more freedom to your flying.

I really like this for a few reasons, it keeps the element of stress control and doesn't need any of the other wave 8 ships. The only two things that would have me hesitate would be the relative squishyness of the HWK compared to the y-wing, and that it would be a higher target priority.

The other thing that has been bugging me is that Juke really wants you to take the evade action every turn if you don't have a comm relay, but the mist hunter title is primarily there to give the barrel roll option. Juke is useless if you barrel roll, and the title isn't super great if you evade a lot. I like Juke on ships with comm relay, but it seems like a huge drain on the action economy everywhere else.

Guess I have to hope for a chance to do some play testing on Friday the 18th!

The thing I like about the 4-LOM build is that you are in total control of how much stress 4-LOM is taking, so it stays manageable.

The dial is also wide open for the most part: you can use the PTL + advanced sensors + green move combo, or you can use advanced sensors and reveal a red move, or you can just make a white move (with or without PTL depending on the need). Zuckuss crew is something you can either use or not, depending on what is more beneficial (since you will see the dice results before deciding, and you know how much stress you have/will have if you use it). Also, it may sometimes happen that ending the turn stressed is still acceptable...

The biggest problem 4-LOM will run into is trying to stay alive. So for me, PTL + advanced sensors gives the greatest odds of keeping the ship safe (thanks to double actions between barrel roll, focus & evade)

I really like this for a few reasons, it keeps the element of stress control and doesn't need any of the other wave 8 ships. The only two things that would have me hesitate would be the relative squishyness of the HWK compared to the y-wing, and that it would be a higher target priority.

The other thing that has been bugging me is that Juke really wants you to take the evade action every turn if you don't have a comm relay, but the mist hunter title is primarily there to give the barrel roll option. Juke is useless if you barrel roll, and the title isn't super great if you evade a lot. I like Juke on ships with comm relay, but it seems like a huge drain on the action economy everywhere else.

Guess I have to hope for a chance to do some play testing on Friday the 18th!

I agree with all your points but would like to offer comments.

1) HWK is squishy and will draw enemy fire. But it is not the list's heavy hitter. If the opponent get distracted by it, all the better.

2) Title on Mist Hunter is optional but it offers flexibility. You don't HAVE to take evade and juke each turn. If you do evade, you have FCS to modify attack. Juke + 4-LOM is good combo and you want to evade each turn anyway if possible. PtL is useless on the turn you do a red move, so it is 6 of one, half dozen of another in that regard.

@Blade. PtL is susceptible to stress meta and it is expensive with sensors. Both good upgrades, just different approach than I take. I think Zuckuss could be swapped for outlaw tech in this 4-LOM build. When I utilize Zuckuss, I want to exploit him as often as possible - instead of having to rein in my use of him. I like him on a 666 that has Bossk crew. Or 4-LOM with FCS to provide modification. Since we seem to be on same page in desiring the evade token, I opted to change to Zuckuss pilot.

@Blade. PtL is susceptible to stress meta and it is expensive with sensors. Both good upgrades, just different approach than I take. I think Zuckuss could be swapped for outlaw tech in this 4-LOM build. When I utilize Zuckuss, I want to exploit him as often as possible - instead of having to rein in my use of him. I like him on a 666 that has Bossk crew. Or 4-LOM with FCS to provide modification. Since we seem to be on same page in desiring the evade token, I opted to change to Zuckuss pilot.

Well I have to admit I haven't actually used 4-LOM yet. I have used PTL + advanced sensors quite a lot though, so feel comfortable with going that route. FCS + Juke feels situational as well (just as zuckuss crew will be in this particular build), but outlaw tech has its merits too (even with advanced sensors). It is cheaper though and that's nice, plus with FCS, the biggest problem with Juke is mostly fixed (not being able to mod your own attack dice).