So I have recently discovered that I actually like to fly swarm formations in X-Wing. I have played with:

2 Academies

1 Epsilon

Howlrunner

Whisper with VI, FCS, Tactican, ACD

for total 98 pts.

But actually I do like to fly rebels a lot more, so I've come up with:

Poe with autothrusters, R5-P9, PTL

5 Z95s

I wanted to ask you guys about viability of such a swarm, it's differences compared to flying TIE swarm I've already tried and possible options of swapping 2 Z95s to:

a) Blount for some thread tracers or Ion rockets

b) Cracken with wingmen for easier focus for Poe

c) 1 Z95 and missles for all 4 of them

d) ???

Thanks for your help!

As much as I LOVE that ship, I find that the problem with a z-95 swarm is low damage. Without a some force multiplier you may not have enough red dice to punch through high defense ship.

In Tie swarms you either have howlrunner o black squadron crackshot. A-wing can boost into range 1 and arcdodge. The B-wing can fly in swarms of 4 and has much more firepower and HP

Also if you want to give PTL to Poe you should take BB8 as well. T-70's dial as not enought green maneuvers to shake the stress and not having focus in Poe will affect your attack, defense and regen.

From the top of my head (not tested at al), a swarmy rebel list with lots of Z-95 could be:

I love to fly an Ace though so going full swarm may not work for me. On the other hand your list looks fun and durable so I may give it a shot

I know what you mean about swarms; I recently discovered 4-ship and I'm not going back to 3 or 2 without some serious incentive. Not a fan of raw swarms by themselves, but I like more than just one or two ships at a time.

What about:

37 Poe: Autothrusters, R5-P9, Veteran Instincts

16 Bandit: Concussion Missiles, Guidance Chips

16 Bandit: Concussion Missiles, Guidance Chips

16 Bandit: Concussion Missiles, Guidance Chips

15 Prototype Pilot: Chaardan Refit

The basic idea is the Proto pilot goes for the blocking, Poe hunts Aces that pose a threat to the low PS members, and the Bandits point their noses at a threat and make it go away with Concussion Missiles. 2 guaranteed hits is no small potatoes when you're rolling 4 dice.

The Concussions could become Homing if you drop the Prototype to another Z Bandit; but I'm not sure how ace-heavy your meta is and the Concs give dice modification.

Of course, all this is predicated on the idea of GETTING 3x Guidance Chips; if not then the Concussion Missiles have the same cost as another Bandit.

Going down to Poe and two Z's gets you 31 points to play with; that's enough for a Tycho Celchu with Rage, PTL, Autothrusters and a Z upgraded to Tala, or two Talas upgrades and a Stresshog, or Moldy Crow Katarn with Recon Spec and Dorsal Turret (ALL THE FOCUS!); sadly, Blount with Tracers won't fit with room for another ship.

I actually like that Kyle idea:

37 Poe: Autothrusters, R5-P9, Veteran Instincts

16 Bandit: Concussion Missiles, Guidance Chips

16 Bandit: Concussion Missiles, Guidance Chips

30 Kyle Katarn: Moldy Crow, Recon Specialist, Dorsal Turret, Calculation

Kyle's probably low priority at first, meaning he can pass the tokens to the Bandits for missile shots and Poe to buff his offense; meantime he's hoarding more and more and can use them with Calculation. Eye to a crit is usually pretty good late-game according to Chiraneau...

OP, your original list is fine. 5 z-95s can actually deal some damage, especially if your opponent is going after Poe. Their advantage over a TIE is being able to target lock (and hold onto it until they get a range 1 shot + focus). You also need a lot of them because: a) the more shots you take, the more likely some damage will squeak through defense; b) they die quick, so you need numbers to remain a threat and c) with more ships you can block more easily----and blocking to deny actions is how these little guys kill stuff.