Every now and then,

Me and two other Friends have a three way Xwing battle,

yes not legal in term's of normal, Proper play.

we do it for a fun evening of Xwng, Takeaway and Alcohol

We play 200 points each, three way no holds barred fight to the death.

When we play these games its a three way faction, which we will all swap from game to game.

Scum, Rebel and Imperial.

I have only been playing Xwing for about 18 months, and not that often due to work commitments.

I want to use The current best of the Phantom and Defender as two pairs,

Purely as an exercise to see how they fair against different ship types.

its an Experiment.

Doesn't matter if I win or Lose, just want to try them at there best level, maximum card allowance.

Im thinking of Running,

Whisper with = 32

Advanced cloaking device =4

Enhanced Scopes =1

Gunner = 5

Ruthlessness = 3

-----------------------=45 points

Echo will run the same cards at 43 points.

Defenders,

Rexler Brath = 37

Heavy Laser Cannon = 7

Ion Pulse Missiles = 3

Predator = 3

Shield Upgrade = 4

-------------------------=54 points

Colonal Vessary will run the same cards at 52 points.

Giving me a total of 194 points.

The reason I want to run the two different ships in pairs is to try hard hitting options

on different pilot abilities. and not have to think to much about too many different cards on all of the ships.

after all, its just an experiment.

I want to use the defenders in the middle of the field running up and down, strafing and causing Havoc.

while the phantoms are running on the outside of the board in out flanking positions.

Attack cloak, Attack cloak and so on.

Echo is the phantom I have used the most when I get the chance, great maneuverability when coming out of cloak,

and the Advanced cloaking device gives them the chance to Hit and Run....as long as they Hit !

Its the Phantoms I really want to get the hang of,

as the defenders Abilities will no doubt increase when the Veterans Pack is released.

Just wandering what some of you guys would do, given the chance to run a Phantom and Defender with

full abilities, forget points cost.....what would you load up on these two Awesome Fighters if you could.

Cheers guys.

All the best,

Barry.

I would give Whisper FCS and pair him with Vessery instead of Rexler. And replace Gunner with something like Rebel Captive/Recon Specialist or Agent Kallus)

Get rid of enhanced scopes on the Phantom

If anything they want to move last.

This makes it harder for your opponentto gauge where they are going and gives you a better chance to possibly arc dodge.

In a big point game there will be more ships which means more guns, so the less chance things can shoot your Phantom the better

It's pretty common for fire control systems which gives great action economy, but if you want to try something different advanced sensors is a fun option

As your probably thinking with advanced scopes of using them as blockers, but echo and whisper are better to stay out of the furball.

I'd switch out ruthlessness for something else imo.

Expensive and not very effective imo. I guess depends on what your opponent brings but again with advanced cloak you want to shoot first so most go with veteran Instincts. Shoot before your opponent now cloak

However if your looking to break away from the norm, push the limit could be a fun option with advanced sensors.

In a big point game like that I may run something like 2 shadow with stygium particle accelerator, recon specialist or one with rebel captive And fire control systems, and vessery with veteran Instincts,

Then depending on pts omega leader with Juke and comm relay and then spam ties.

If anything I also get rid of the Ion pulse missles.

You have a HLC on Rex.

I'd keep him simple.

HLC, Predator and maybe hull or shield upgrade

The academy pilots will make great blockers.

Making them the smallest threat, which in turn gets them in your opponents way.

Block, deny actions, and redirect fire onto them

Having a couple Phantoms, Vesery and omega to do their thing

Though not sure if you can fit that in a 200 pts game, but I think you could.

Maybe even throw in a tie advanced with Proton rockets just to be something else scary

A cheap advanced with the title, FCS, and Proton rockets

Maybe two if you could

Some food for thought

Those models look amazing!

Sounds like it should be a lot of fun

Like you, I usually I don`t get to play X Wing very often (about 10-15ish games every 2 months, with a good mix of 100pts, epic and whatever), so when the Vassal League was announced a while back, I decided to bite the bullet and check it out. After messing around a bit with different squads I stumbled upon Echo+Vessery and have been in love with the Defender/Phantom combo since. That I played most of that first game before remembering that Phantoms do not have native Target Lock.....eh...not exactly my proudest X Wing moment . Luckily not a league match, and the other player was a good sport about it.

A few quick thoughts on your list:

Running similar and/or simple upgrades has a lot going for it, especially with banter, food and alcohol in the mix. On the flip side, running Echo while under the influence....? Heh, I`m not a good player, and keeping Echo properly sorted even sober has been a learning experience. Amazing when you get it right, dead when you don`t.

Enhanced scopes on Whisper or Echo? Naah, don`t really feel that one. Maybe on a Sigma and use as a blocker, but FCS or Adv.Sensors are in my opinion much better, Maybe even Sensor Jammer for increased defence.

FCS also has the advantage of setting up TLs for Vessery.

Gunner: Depends on what your opponent are running, but I would definetly not run Gunner without FCS though. Usually a big fan of Kallus, but with 200 pts and so many ships on the board he is of limited use. And Rebel Captive suffer from a similar issue.

Ruthlesness: Personally not sold on this one, can be brutal against swarm like builds or if you catch your opponents unaware, but often does nothing, and can in worst case backfire badly.

Predator on Vessery: Not terrible if he has no targets that is not TLd by someone else, but I`d much rather run FCS on the Phantoms, and something else on Vessery, though I must admit I struggle to find a EPT that truly clicks with him. In this case, with his relatively low PS I would consider Opportunist and Twin Ion Engine Mk2.

One issue that both the defender and phantom shares, are the reliance on green dice, maybe especially the defender since it does not have access to the evade (unless you are ok with proxying and use the new title) And this means me almost desperately wanting to hang on to the focus token for defence.

Took the liberty of setting up 2 quick variants of what I might consider in a similar setting:

List 1: Relatively straightforward, + TIE/Fo for blocker/helping Vessery with TLs

Whisper 44pts

-VI, FCS, ACD, Gunner

Echo 43 pts

-PTL, Adv. Sensors, ACD, RecSpec

Rexler Brath 51 pts

-Pred, HLC, Shield

Col. Vessery 41 pts

-VI, HLC, Twin Ion Eng. MK2

Epsilon Sqd. 18pts

-Comm Relay

200 pts

List 2: More tricksy. If you can keep Vessery alive he will murder anything. On the plus side, if they go after him, it means Whisper can pootle around and do her thing instead. Keep Epsilon Ace close to Echo and swap PS to have Echo shoot at PS 12 and setting up TLs for Vessery, then split. With multiple TLs floating around your opponent will not know who Vessery will go after, it also frees up Echo on subsequent turns. Swap with Whisper or Rexler if the situation allows it. EA can also help Vessery with TLs

Whisper 41

-VI, Tactician, ACD, FCS

Echo 41

-Decoy, Weap.Engineer, ACD, FCS

Rexler Brath 48 pts.

-Pred, HLC, TIE mk2

Col. Vessery 50 pts.

-Opportunist, HLC, Prockets, TIE Mk2

Epsilon Ace 20 pts.

-Comm Relay

200 pts

Here a fun list I just threw together

If you don't mind using unreleased stuff

2x shadow Squadron

Stygium particle accelerator

Recon specialist

Fcs

Vessery

Veteran Instincts

Tie d title (unreleased, in Imperial veterans pack)

Tractor beam

Omega Leader

Juke

Comm relay

3x Academy

Saber Squadron

Juke

Howlrunner

This gives you

3 ps 8 ships.

2 PS 5 ships

1 PS 4 ship

2 ps 1 ships

8 ships total

Set up I'd keep the ties and interceptor together.

Vessery follow behind omega, and place the Phantoms where you see fit

Don't keep Em to close to decloaked purposes

Vessery and the Phantom are the big targets, but if you play this right it should work

The Phantom are decent PS. If your opponent decides to run high PS ships you use the tie mini swarm as blockers.

Howl can assist with reroll, and you have one interceptor in there with Juke to help push extra dmg through

Either way the Phantom when decloaked at right time will have two focuses and an evade so they should be able to survive

Especially if you use those ties well to deny actions.

Vessery had veteran Instincts so he can shoot first with tractor beam and with a target lock from Omega Leader should help reduce agility on the target, then Follow up with another shot.

If the ship still lives then it'll have reduced agility against ties, omega and Phantom

It won't survive that

I want to fly this now lol

Edit

I guess you want to use two defender. Maybe take out the intercept and ties, but I like having lots of ships

Firstly.......THANK YOU GUYS

Some great ideas !

Now thinking about it,and Reading about what you have said.....good point about moving after everyone else. I wont be running

Enhanced Scopes.

I thought If i could move in first, Hit then Cloak that would work.

But as pointed out, better to see where others are going first. and add the Pilot initiative so move last fire first, then cloak

makes more sense.

Oh,

Thanks Jiwestone.

Half the Fun of X wing for me is Modifying and repainting some of my fave miniatures

Some good builds guys.

I'm going to look more closely and see what might work better.

Thanks Chaps.

All the best,

Barry

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/189524-pack-of-acesmodified-re-painted-tie-fighters/