I have a fascination with A-wings. Mostly because they can do a 7 straight (with boost) and I'm used to the B-wing's measly 3 straight. However, the B-wing has one of the best upgrade bars in the game - Systems, EPT, Crew, Cannon - its all there. I have been trying to find lists that combine both into one with some decent synergy, but have been struggling. Here's my current take on an all A- and B-wing list:

2 x Green Squadron Pilot (19)

Homing Missiles (5)

Crack Shot (1)

Guidance Chips (0)

A-wing Test Pilot (0)

Adaptability (0)

2 x Dagger Squadron Pilot (24)

Tractor Beam

The A-wings deliver a powerful Alpha-Strike, averaging 8 net damage against an AGI 2 target, or 7.5 or so against AGI 3. That is, combined with the B-wings, normally enough to take a ship off the board on the first round of fire. The dagger squad B-wings are there for consistent damage throughout the game. The tractor beam is really useful against AGI 1-2 targets to barrel roll them onto rocks. You could downgrade the Daggers to Blues and give them Fire Control System, but I felt that the PS increase to 4 was too important to give up.

My primary concern is how the would fly against Dangaroo or Triple JM5K builds, as I haven't been able to verse an opponent using those particular meta-pillars yet.

You can't take Refit and Missiles.

B wings struggle now. Their 1 agility is really a liability with tractor beam and ion cannon shenanigans.

I would recommend Blue squadron Bs or Daggers and with nothing more than fire control system.

Your mileage may vary.

B wings struggle now. Their 1 agility is really a liability with tractor beam and ion cannon shenanigans.

I would recommend Blue squadron Bs or Daggers and with nothing more than fire control system.

Your mileage may vary.

Not to mention juke and crackshot.

In Response to MikeNYHC: Thanks for the feedback. Chaardan refit should have been Adaptability, and I've edited it above to reflect that; I should really stop writing late at night.

In Response to BlodVargarna: The purpose of the Bs is to soak up damage. I'm hoping that one doesn't die in the first engagement, especially with regard to crack swarms. Having added in the crucial Adaptability, all the ships are now PS 4, so they'll fire together with Black Squadron Pilots and before Contracted Scouts. My hope would be to seize initiative and knock Howlrunner off the board before the Blacks shoot, which shouldn't be a problem with the missiles and B-wings for backup. Also, a downgrade to Blue suadron comes with the fact that they will shoot after every single tournament list, meaning they're than much more likely to die without shooting.

There are definite counters, but I believe the match ups aren't impossible. In order of ascending difficulty I think they'll be:

5. Rebel Aces - Poe, Corran, Dash etc with an escort. They can't regenerate shields if they're dead.

4. Triple Contracted Scouts - Three of them with missiles. That's okay, I have better missiles and slight pilot skill advantage.

3. Crack Swarm - Black squadrons with crack shot and Howlrunner. Killing Howlrunner is key here, as she massively buffs the blacks. Once their leader is out of the picture, I think killing a ship a turn would be a bit of a stretch for just 5 ships. Maybe. I'll have to see.

2. Ghosts - Probably Kanan with Biggs escort. This list is invulnerable t the alpha strike, especially if Biggs has R4-D6. I still think I can kill him in a turn, but Kanan will tear the B-wings apart. At least my A-wings can do some damage to Kanan once the B-wings are dead.

1. Imperial Aces - Either 3 big ones, like Soontir, Whisper an Vader, or 3/2 little ones and a Palp Shuttle. There is a massive advantage in pilot skill here, and I think my greatest challenge will be to knock off an ace before I lose a ship. The Alpha strike will help, but only if I can acquire a target lock at the right time.

I like the A-wings, but I think that the B-wings might end up being replaced by ARC-170s when they're released.

I like your confidence.

I love B wings, but I don't play them anymore.

Let us know how you do!

I'm pulling for you.

I play Keyan Farlander fairly successfully. He's the anvil for Jake's hammer. They're a good team.

Not sure I'd field any other B-Wing, though.

I have successfully run Keyan Farlander to victory in two separate, small tournaments. Once with PTL, B-Wing E/2 and Jan Ors, and once with Fire Control System, Opportunist and Heavy Laser Cannon. He's certainly my favourite B-wing, but the others have their niche:

1. Nera Dantels. Nera is excellent with Deadeye, Flechette Torpedoes, Extra Munitions and Munitions Failsafe. She can then stress anything in a range 3 radius, regardless of its position. This makes it very hard for the likes of Soontir Fel or the Inquisitor to attack.

2. Ibtisam. Ibtisam's ability works best, I think, with either Lone Wolf or Push The Limit, depending on how you fly. Definitely the Weakest of the B-wings.

3. Keyan Farlander. Keyan is the raw power B-wing with a great action economy. Any sort of upgrade that gives stress is great for him (try Expose ad experimental interface for some crazy shenanigans).

4. Ten Numb. Ten is one of the best "snipers" in the game. By equipping Ten with a Mangler Cannon, VI and Fire Control System, she becomes a dedicated ace killer. Uncancelable crits are wonderful on the likes of Soontir Fel, Omega Leader, The Inquisotor, etc. Even Howlrunner. I've fielded Ten with good success, but Ten's very hard to work into a competitive list due to the high point cost.

The Named B-wings aren't unusable, but aside from Keyan they're very difficult to build into a list. I try to think of them all as more durable HWKs. Biggs is almost always a must in B-wing heavy lists to protect them from focus fire.

Jake is also probably the best pilot for his ship, what with the great action economy. But after his procket primary attack he struggles to get any damage through, as 2 dice are fairly useless. You could give him outmaneuver and opportunist, but that just gets ridiculous.

One could feasably work any given Ace into a list, but putting two in, such as Jake and Keyan, makes it very difficult to be competitive against all comers. I generlly prefer generics backed up by one ace, if any. The challenge of flying low pilot skill ships is matched by the drastic decrease in ship cost.

I've had reasonable amounts of success with a mixed a/b-wing squadron. Caveat; I've not taken it to anything important, it's mostly been confined to occasional testing and casual games.

It is:

Jake Farrel

a-wing test pilot, veteran instincts, push the limit, autothrusters, proton rockets. (33pts)

3x Blue squadron pilot

no upgrades (66pts)

For a total of 99pts

It's not a particularly glamorous list (and those b-wings will probably get eaten by scouts or tlt's), but it does the job reasonably well.

Jake is the hammer, the b-wings are the anvil. The trick is to move Jake in the turn before the b-wings start to get into range, then follow up depending on how they react to Jake.

I like it. The trick would be against PS 9+ aces right? I would think that after you shoot the prockets from Jake, he's pretty much useless against Whisper or Soontir Fel, and either of them will run rings around B-wings. Also, PS 2 is really weak in the meta right now, especially at big tournaments where JM5Ks and Crack swarms abound. I'd be worried about half my list dying before it can shoot, but if you manage to come out ahead after the first pass, there's not much your opponent can do to come back, due to the massive health of your list.

I still think I prefer my original, as it has a slightly more powerful Alpha Strike, but less overall firepower. I'm the kind of person to take a chance.

I played against the following last night:

Jake Farrell + title + Chardaan + PtL + VI + AT

3x Blue Squadron Pilot + FCS

I won the game, but it is a solid build that gave one of my best squadrons a tough time.

I haven't played it since last year but I had pretty strong success with my "better" version of bbbbz.

Green Squad X 2

Ptl

Blue Squad X 2

Fcs

Bandit

EDIT

Just realized I could make it even better now that adaptability is out.

On that BBAAZ list you have 4 more points, as you can add Chaardan refit to the As. With those four I'd bump up the B-wings to dagger squadron for better pilot skill, then add adaptability as you said so that you have four PS 4 ships. I like it a lot, but I think aces would be a problem, as the list lacks long range firepower and suffers from generally low PS. I definitely like it though. I might pull this one out at my FLGS's league games.

On that BBAAZ list you have 4 more points, as you can add Chaardan refit to the As. With those four I'd bump up the B-wings to dagger squadron for better pilot skill, then add adaptability as you said so that you have four PS 4 ships. I like it a lot, but I think aces would be a problem, as the list lacks long range firepower and suffers from generally low PS. I definitely like it though. I might pull this one out at my FLGS's league games.

It's already at 100. I just didn't list the refits.

Aces are tough but I have beaten them. You have 5 ships so easier to block. Plus with ptl and fcs there's potential for many shots to have two modifiers.

Right. Maths isn't always easy. What kind of aces were you versing? The main 3 that pop to mind are Imperial triple aces or Palpshuttle, and Rebel regen.