So I'm taking a sabbatical from 40K and started picking up x-wing - I even signed up for the x-wing tournament at NOVA this year in case it fills up. I used to play the crap out of Star Trek Attack Wing about a year ago so I'm familiar with the mechanics (just some minor differences I think). When x-wing first came out I bought the original starter set and a few y-wings and played one or two games before being sucked into STAW. Besides grabbing the new starter set recently I also snagged a ghost. Most people I've seen on the board seem to be gravitating towards chopper. Hera seems a little more forgiving on the movement dial for those of us who should not be given pilot licenses

I'm still working out the "how-does-this-thing-work" with some of the cards but from what I've read the attack shuttle can take advantage of the AC as long as it's docked? So at range 1 I can put out 4 uncancellable hits? Goldie's there to try and slow people down so I can stay in range 1 of my prey. I like that R5 unit - had a console fire just wreak havoc on me last week. I'm sure saboteur seems wonky but I plan on being at range 1 anyway and feeling the effects of a crit can be a royal pain in the ass I think.

Hera Syndulla (52)
VCX-100 (40), Ghost (0), Accuracy Corrector (3), Autoblaster Turret (2), "Zeb" Orrelios (1), Saboteur (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Sabine Wren (24)
Attack Shuttle (21), Autoblaster Turret (2), Veteran Instincts (1), Phantom (0)

Gold Squadron Pilot (24)
Y-Wing (18), R5 Astromech (1), Ion Cannon Turret (5)

Hera is more forgiving with the dial, but really only against lower PS pilots, since you will watch them move before Hera has to make hers. A card that can help against higher PS pilots is Intelligence Agent (Crew) - you get to look at their dial, so you can change Hera's appropriately even when moving first. Both "Zeb" and Saboteur are a bit of a trap. "Zeb" confers the same advantage to your opponent, but you're the one paying the cost and crew slot. Of course, you could always broadside an enemy and they may not get to return fire. Saboteur isn't so hot because he requires an action, which you'd often want to be Evade of Boost (via Engine Upgrade) in this setup.

There's nothing wrong with your other two ships, though Sabine could similarly benefit from an Intelligence Agent of her own, and most players will argue R2 Astromech over R5 (clearing stress to get actions instead of flipping crits) and Twin Laser Turret (damage output instead of control). If nothing else, I would suggest starting with dropping Saboteur for Intelligence Agent and adding Intelligence Agent to Sabine as well and go from there.

Cool - thanks! I added a IA to the ghost but the TLT ate up the point I needed to give Sabine an IA. I was planning on keeping her docked anyway (which is why I was asking about the AC being shared) until it looked like the ghost was about to bit the big one. To bad you can't transfer crew

You could always drop AC to FCS to get the extra point. It's not quite as good with the turret but it's a lot more helpful with the primary attacks.

Ok, confused. How does AC give 4 uncancellable hits?

two from the ghost and two from the docked attack shuttle - autoblaster shots then use the AC to turn it into 2 hits. This is where I get a little confused too but I swear I've seen it worked out

Yep, I forgot about that. The way the Phantom title is worded the first attack doesn't have to be with a primary weapon - so you can attack with the turret twice. If that's your plan (stay at range 1 of things with Hera) then AC is indeed probably better. Might just have to give that a try....

If you make room for Intelligence Agent with Hera, that gives her dial flexibility relative to at least nearby aces. You can scope their dial (one per turn) and adjust Hera's maneuver accordingly.

Yep, I forgot about that. The way the Phantom title is worded the first attack doesn't have to be with a primary weapon - so you can attack with the turret twice. If that's your plan (stay at range 1 of things with Hera) then AC is indeed probably better. Might just have to give that a try....

hhmmmm...ok I didn't think of that at all. What I'm not sure about is can the attack shuttle use Hera's AC while docked? If so does that mean the Herra/Sebine are putting out 6 nigh unstoppable hits at range one?

Also, is there anyway to get VI on Hera?

Yep, I forgot about that. The way the Phantom title is worded the first attack doesn't have to be with a primary weapon - so you can attack with the turret twice. If that's your plan (stay at range 1 of things with Hera) then AC is indeed probably better. Might just have to give that a try....

hhmmmm...ok I didn't think of that at all. What I'm not sure about is can the attack shuttle use Hera's AC while docked? If so does that mean the Herra/Sebine are putting out 6 nigh unstoppable hits at range one?

Also, is there anyway to get VI on Hera?

Doesn't work like that unfortunately - the Phantom doesn't get to attack at all while it's attached to the ghost, it's just that the Ghost can shoot backwards and make an extra attack with its own turret. Don't think there's currently a way to give Hera an EPT or otherwise raise her PS, but she's flexible enough with her maneuvers that Intelligence Agent should give her some game against aces.

There are a handful of different Ghost builds that seem quite popular, each built around the different pilots.

Cheap

Yes, you can run a lean Ghost. Lothal Rebel with Han and Hera as crew, Fire Control System, Autoblaster turret and Plasma torpedoes comes in at just 45 points and packs a hefty punch. Fire Control System plus Han means that you can modify your red dice any way you want. Hera allows you to take red maneuvers, even when stressed. Plasma torpedoes mean you can use the rear arc, even without the docked Phantom and the ABT creates a range 1 bubble to deter arc dodgers from getting too close.

If you want to run the Phantom as well, you can drop the plasma torpedoes. If you don't have the ABT then a regular Dorsal turret will work OK instead.

The aim with this build is to keep your big primary weapons firing as often as possible. Pull red maneuvers any time you need to. Between FCS and Hera, Stress doesn't really degrade your performance. If you are not stressed, Evade is quite a good action since it will keep you alive a bit longer and FCS + Han will take care of modifying your Red Dice.

Bumper Car

This is built around Chopper, an Ion Cannon Turret and Zeb. Ion Projectors are nice if you can manage them. The aim is to simply crash into as many enemy ships as possible. The combination of Stress + Ion will really hurt the enemy and make them seriously predictable. The Ion Cannon gives you the option of ioinizing enemies if the Projectors do not work and Zeb allows you to fire, even when in contact with the enemy.

This build has drawbacks as Zeb can be a double-edged sword. Probably not super-competitive but has the potential to be very funny and annoying.

Tanky Kanan

Even with its pile of hull points and shields, the Ghost does usually die. Kanan Builds are one possible exception but you really do need to build the ship and the fleet to make the most of Kanan's survivability.

Kanan with a Recon Specialist, Lando crew and Experimental Interface allow you to generate a lot of Focus and Evade tokens each turn to help keep the Ghost alive. Reinforced Deflectors or Sensor Jammer will both reduce the damage suffered to enemy fire. Reinforced deflectors are better against large attacks like torpedoes, Sensor Jammer is more effective against multiple small attacks like swarms.

This build does not like Stress and the Ghost does not have best green dial so keeping a ship with the Wingman EPT nearby can be helpful.

The other ship you really want to consider with this build is running Biggs with R4-D6 and Integrated astromech. He can take damage better than the Ghost since he has 2 Agility and Kanan can still spend Focus tokens to reduce attacks against Biggs. If you are running Biggs, Tactical Jammer is a nice Modification as any shots on Biggs through the Ghost will count as obstructed, helping to keep him alive that bit longer. This competes with Experimental Interface though so if you want to make it a bit cheaper, drop IE and Lando and run Tactical Jammer and Jan Ors instead.

Heragator

This build takes advantage of Hera's ability to change her dial and combines it with the possibility of abuse offered by a Navigator and Intel Agent. By choosing your maneuver carefully (normally a straight or a hard 2 turn) you can use the Navigator and then Hera to change to almost any other maneuver on the dial. If you combine this with Intel Agent to look at enemy dials, you can normally end up in a position to attack almost any enemy you want.

To make the most of this ability, you will probably want to tool up the Ghost with an Autoblaster turret, Accuracy Corrector and cheap shuttle with the Phantom/Ghost titles. This allows you to deal 4 automatic damage each turn to any ship within Range 1 that cannot be blocked or Evaded. Even Soontir Fel fully loaded up with defensive mods will be automatically killed by this attack!

One refinement is to put the Intel Agent on another nearby ship and put Zeb on the Ghost instead. This means that even if the target bumps into you, they will still get autoblasted. This is one of the hardest builds to master as it requires careful study of the opponent's dial as well as understanding how to adjust your own using Navigator and Hera. However it does offer a good counter to the popular "Palpatine + Aces" builds.

Exactly what I was about to say about putting Navigator on Hera. I like the idea behind Zeb, as forcing them to bump then taking them out is a great tactic. However, IA is needed to make it work often enough to make a difference. This build is strong against an aces list that usually is going to be burning after 4 uncancellable hits, but weak against a U-boat list that loves 0 agility targets to splatter with ordinance. Typically I see them running with something that can flank or bump U-boats to mitigate that, but I have also seen a ghost build (with Kanan) that paired with Jan Ors in the HWK to give 5 dice primary shots from the Ghost every turn along with the TLT from Jan. It was ridiculous how fast it burned through the enemies, and Kanan's ability kept him alive long enough to do the needed work on the enemy. I'll try to find the list, as it was crazy fun to see play.

EDIT: Okay, I don't remember the Green in the list, but this seems like it would do well.

VCX-100: · Kanan Jarrus (38)

Reinforced Deflectors (3)

Recon Specialist (3)

Recon Specialist (3)

HWK-290: · Jan Ors (25)

Wingman (2)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

A-Wing: Green Squadron Pilot (19)

Crack Shot (1)

Chardaan Refit (-2)

Autothrusters (2)

A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Adaptability (Decrease) (0)

So I'm taking a sabbatical from 40K and started picking up x-wing - I even signed up for the x-wing tournament at NOVA this year in case it fills up. I used to play the crap out of Star Trek Attack Wing about a year ago so I'm familiar with the mechanics (just some minor differences I think). When x-wing first came out I bought the original starter set and a few y-wings and played one or two games before being sucked into STAW. Besides grabbing the new starter set recently I also snagged a ghost. Most people I've seen on the board seem to be gravitating towards chopper. Hera seems a little more forgiving on the movement dial for those of us who should not be given pilot licenses

I'm still working out the "how-does-this-thing-work" with some of the cards but from what I've read the attack shuttle can take advantage of the AC as long as it's docked? So at range 1 I can put out 4 uncancellable hits? Goldie's there to try and slow people down so I can stay in range 1 of my prey. I like that R5 unit - had a console fire just wreak havoc on me last week. I'm sure saboteur seems wonky but I plan on being at range 1 anyway and feeling the effects of a crit can be a royal pain in the ass I think.

Hera Syndulla (52)

VCX-100 (40), Ghost (0), Accuracy Corrector (3), Autoblaster Turret (2), "Zeb" Orrelios (1), Saboteur (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Sabine Wren (24)

Attack Shuttle (21), Autoblaster Turret (2), Veteran Instincts (1), Phantom (0)

Gold Squadron Pilot (24)

Y-Wing (18), R5 Astromech (1), Ion Cannon Turret (5)

Awww! My sweet Hera!

I was flying Hera alot when I first got the ghost. I was flying Heragator! Same setup, but used Navigator instead of Saboteur. This enables Hera to just clock in a 2 straight everytime, and then do any straight or bank she wishes. I had Zeb so you can just dial up a bump and melt people. HOWEVER, after many games, Zeb aint worth it. You do not want people getting a range 1 shot on you in return because you have ZERO defense die. And you dont do 4 dmg insantly. You do two dmg, then they get a range 1 on you and if they moved before you they are focused and ready to do damage, then end of combat phase you get another two. Also, with Hera and AC+ABT, sometimes your safest spot is landing on a rock out of everyones arc. This means you want Dash crew with her. During my inital games with Zeb, sometimes my corner just barely knicked an asteroid, so now I couldnt boost and ended up in 3 ships arcs, and couldnt melt them with my ABT. OUCH! Dash is a great crew to think about with Hera.

Support ships, I flew a TLT Ywing a few times, was not impressed.

If you drop down your phantom to like Ezra + Rage for 21 pts, you can now have 27pts for a support ship:

Stresshog = 26pts

Two bandits (one with Ion pulse missiles) = 27pts

Standard 28pt Jake build but with Adaptability instead of VI = 27pts

Biggs + droid = 26ish-pts (only used for initial engagement so Hera doesnt take dmg from Uboat Torps, etc.) lets her get behind the enemies damage free.

Just things to think about!

Happy flying, let us know how Saboteur works out!