Hi,

Other than a quick 10 min demo game I'm completely new to the game but would really like to get started.

I'm looking for advice on lists please, mostly for Rebels and Scum. I'm not the most internet-savvy person ever, so searching here I've not found much of what I was looking for, mostly stuff from 2014.

For Rebels I'm mostly interested in small ship builds. Ideally I'd of liked a completely X-Wing list, but from what I have managed to find on here that's not particularly viable these days? But I'd like to play using small fighters, as that feels fluffyist for me with Rebels. Preferably with at least one X-Wing (of either flavour), but definitely a small ships build for Rebels for me.

Scum wise I'm not entirely sure. I like the idea of using a Firespray, or multiple Firesprays, maybe mixed in with some Y-Wings or other fighter type craft. I think once the Protectorate fighters come out it'll be easier for me, 3 of those appeals to the fluff bunny in me.

As I write this down, I'm realising the big problem is I know what ships I like aesthetically, but I don't know how to put them in lists that work, and have no idea where to start with upgrades etc.

So, any help would be appreciated. If you list an upgrade card, could you do me a favour please and say what set it comes in?

Thanks in advance.

Bump, it got hidden down the list while waiting for approval.

Rebel fighters are not in a great place at the moment as their signature is a balance between durability and maneuverability. The trouble is that they get outmaneuvered by Empire Aces but are not tough enough to stand up to the heavy firepower that some Scum lists can put out. However, this is mostly a problem in open tournament play where you have no idea what you will be facing, for regular 1-on-1 games it is not quite so bad.

Freighters are where the Rebels' real strength lies. Both the Outrider (YT-2400) and Ghost (VCX-100) are excellent ships and pretty competitive.

If you want to go with small base ships, the A-wing is probably the best of the bunch and comes with a selection of useful pilots. I would recommend getting an individual A-wing expansion and also the "Rebel Aces" expansion which includes "Chaardan Refit" and "Test Pilot" (2 cards that really make A-wings shine).

X-wings are rather overcosted for their stats but some pilots make up for this with great pilot abilities. Biggs Darklighter (core set), Wes Jansen (Rebel Transport set) and Wedge Antilles (X-wing expansion pack) are probably the best X-wing pilots. While a list just of X-wings might not be the most competitive, you can usually find room for one of these in a list.

The other option if you like X-wings is their younger brother, the T70 from the Force Awakens. For just 3 points more than the old T65 you get an extra shield, a better dial and the important "Boost" action. Poe Dameron (from the Force Awakens version of the core set) is probably the best of the T70 pilots.

There is a new version of Poe with the same rules but higher pilot skill (and his signature orange/black livery) coming out in the "Heroes of the Resistance" set which is due out in the next few months. Poe, Wes and Biggs would actually make a decent list and allow you to fly 3 X-wings if that is what you fancy.

If you want a relatively easy and competitive list, the Outrider and Ghost are a good start. If you really want to play X-wins than you will probably need a core set, a Rebel Transport and then either the Force Awakens core set or wait for Heroes of the Resistance to pick up the new version of Poe.

If you want to play X-wings, you will also probably need the "Integrated Astromech" card that comes with T70 expansion pack. This card allows X-wings to ditch their astromechs to block one hit and is almost as good as a free extra shield. For casual play, most people are cool with photocopies of cards (or even just noting down on a list that a pilot has those upgrades). If you want to get into tournaments then at some point you will need to either buy multiple T70s to get them or buy them as singles on eBay but if you are just starting I guess that problem will be well down the line for you.

Since Karhedron gave such a good breakdown of Rebels, I'll give you some thoughts on Scum instead.

Scum is really easy to get into because of the Most Wanted expansion. Pick that up and a Firespray and you're pretty much good to go. You can invest in the Hounds Tooth, Jumpmaster, or Mist Hunter for some good Scum crew and ships. The cool part is that all the bounty Hunter expansions work really well with each other. So unlike Imperials and Rebels, you'll rarely be picking up a ship just for one upgrade.

My general advice would be to start with ships you like aesthetically and have fun with. Obviously, winning is important too. But I've seen way too many players dive in with net lists and get smoked. It's not fun for either player, believe me.

Your collection will grow naturally. Focus on flying well and having a good time. And of course, welcome to the community

Hi guys,

Thanks for the tips so far. The Ghost is definitely something I've been planning on adding to the collection, as much to my surprise I found myself loving the Rebels show. That was the feeling I was getting reading here, or more the lack of Rebel fighter stuff I was seeing.

My collection so far has been on what I like fluff wise mostly. So I have one of each core set, two additional T-65s, two Y's, an A, a B, Rebel Aces, a Falcon, an E (simply because of Corran Horn), and a Headhunter for Rebels, two Firesprays, a Scum and Villainy set and a Hound's Tooth for Scum, and a Tie Advanced for Empire.

Tournaments might be nice to try my hand at eventually, right now I'm more interested in things that work in general. Are there ships and/or upgrades that compliment the Ghost and Firespray well?

Thanks

Understanding general game theory should help you with your list building.

In general, there are three pillars in X-wing - here's 3-time Champion Paul Heaver's explanation.

If we consider X-wing ships in categories of rock, paper, scissors:

Rock / Jousters

Ships that have good stats for their cost. They pay for this generally with low PS and excellent efficiency when facing enemies head on.

Paper / Arc-dodgers

Ships that have bad stats for their cost. Their price is due to high PS, post-maneuver modifications like boost and/or BR. They excel at picking opponents apart from their flanks and avoiding head-on fights. As you can see, they counter Rock/Jousters very well with this playstyle by never playing in their hands.

Scissors / Turrets

Ships with bad stats for their cost. Their price is due to having a 360 turret that counters the maneuverability of an arc-dodger. If they can shoot you, you can shoot them. They can boost/BR all they want, but they'll still get tagged. Of course, turret ships tend to have less maneuverability than arc-dodgers and thus struggle mightily against jousters. They also tend to have low agility, making them extremely susceptible to swarms.

When building a list, most players balance their list by incorporating two of these pillars. For example, if you really like the Falcon (turret), then you have the arc-dodgers covered. But what if you run into an enemy swarm? Well filling out your list with jousters (e.g. the classic Fat Han & 3 Z-95s) is a good balance. Likewise, if you like aces, you might field Darth Vader, but what happens if you run into a turret? Well flying him alongside 4 TIE Fighters that dedicate themselves to taking out the turret is a good plan.

These are just general theories. Ships like the Firespray are hybrids that are somewhere between jousters and turrets.

To answer your question directly, the Ghost is a super jouster. Sure, the turret option is there, but your points are ultimately going towards the 4-attack primary. A more dedicated turret platform would be the Y-wing, where you most certainly aren't paying a lot for the 2-attack primary. With that said, the Ghost also struggles to keep ships in arc. Soontir and Inquisitor will dance around it all day and you'll never get a shot off. A lot of players pair the Ghost with Dash [title, PTL, HLC, etc] which is a fantastic turret capable of covering the Ghost's weakness.

The Firespray is usually paired with the YV-666 or another Firespray. That's because you have 2 ships with 180 degree arcs. Aces will have a harder time dodging your arcs, but your raw efficiency is higher than that of traditional 360 arc ships.

Hope that helps

Are there ships and/or upgrades that compliment the Ghost and Firespray well?

The Ghost is a wonderfully self-contained expansion in that most of the cards that come with it work well on it. Having said that, there are a few cards from other expansions you may want to consider. Fire Control System is a great card for the system slot as the free target locks are a real boon to those big primary guns and only costs 2 points. It is even better if you have a decent turret and the docked Phantom as it means you can shoot twice per turn which effectively doubles the value of the upgrade. Annoyingly, this is only available in the B-wing and Tie Phantom expansions. Reinforced Deflectors are fine for starting out but you may want to track down a copy of this card at some point.

2 other turrets that are popular with the Ghost are the Autoblaster turret (which can be conveniently found in the Most Wanted box) and the Twin Laser Turret (which is available in the K-wing expansion). The Auto Blaster Turret (or ABT) is a very cheap turret and only has 2 attack dice and short range but is very cheap and cannot be dodged. This makes it great for deterring high agility Aces from getting too close to your flanks and rear. The Twin Laser Turret (or TLT) is the opposite in that it provides good firepower at Range 2-3 against lower agility targets. The TLT works best with a docked Phantom shuttle so that you can use it twice per turn (or primaries once and turret once) to get a best return on your investment. The Dorsal turret that comes with the Ghost is a fine compromise and should suffice for starters.

For crew, the Recon Specialist (HWK-290 and Tie Phantom) and Lando Calrisian (Outrider) are great upgrades for Kanan as he can make extra use of the multiple Focus tokens they can generate. Han Solo crew (Tantive IV expansion) is a nice upgrade if you have the Fire Control System but Ezra works well too in a similar role.

More good advice from Karhedron.

If you're not running Kanan or Hera pilots, Hera crew is the most important crew card for a Ghost. She allows you to make endless 5K turns, pairs perfectly with Ezra crew, and only costs 1 point!

Han Solo crew (Falcon expansion) is a nice upgrade if you have the Fire Control System but Ezra works well too in a similar role.

I believe Han Solo crew is from the Tantive expansion.

I believe Han Solo crew is from the Tantive expansion.

Good catch, thanks. Original post amended.

Understanding general game theory should help you with your list building.

In general, there are three pillars in X-wing - here's 3-time Champion Paul Heaver's explanation.

If we consider X-wing ships in categories of rock, paper, scissors:

Rock / Jousters

Ships that have good stats for their cost. They pay for this generally with low PS and excellent efficiency when facing enemies head on.

Paper / Arc-dodgers

Ships that have bad stats for their cost. Their price is due to high PS, post-maneuver modifications like boost and/or BR. They excel at picking opponents apart from their flanks and avoiding head-on fights. As you can see, they counter Rock/Jousters very well with this playstyle by never playing in their hands.

Scissors / Turrets

Ships with bad stats for their cost. Their price is due to having a 360 turret that counters the maneuverability of an arc-dodger. If they can shoot you, you can shoot them. They can boost/BR all they want, but they'll still get tagged. Of course, turret ships tend to have less maneuverability than arc-dodgers and thus struggle mightily against jousters. They also tend to have low agility, making them extremely susceptible to swarms.

When building a list, most players balance their list by incorporating two of these pillars. For example, if you really like the Falcon (turret), then you have the arc-dodgers covered. But what if you run into an enemy swarm? Well filling out your list with jousters (e.g. the classic Fat Han & 3 Z-95s) is a good balance. Likewise, if you like aces, you might field Darth Vader, but what happens if you run into a turret? Well flying him alongside 4 TIE Fighters that dedicate themselves to taking out the turret is a good plan.

These are just general theories. Ships like the Firespray are hybrids that are somewhere between jousters and turrets.

To answer your question directly, the Ghost is a super jouster. Sure, the turret option is there, but your points are ultimately going towards the 4-attack primary. A more dedicated turret platform would be the Y-wing, where you most certainly aren't paying a lot for the 2-attack primary. With that said, the Ghost also struggles to keep ships in arc. Soontir and Inquisitor will dance around it all day and you'll never get a shot off. A lot of players pair the Ghost with Dash [title, PTL, HLC, etc] which is a fantastic turret capable of covering the Ghost's weakness.

The Firespray is usually paired with the YV-666 or another Firespray. That's because you have 2 ships with 180 degree arcs. Aces will have a harder time dodging your arcs, but your raw efficiency is higher than that of traditional 360 arc ships.

Hope that helps

Thank you, that is very helpful. That rock/paper/sissors analogy is pretty much perfect for me in fact. It makes a lot more sense now, and I'm definitely investing in the Ghost and Outrider as my next ships. Given there's a YT-2400 appearing in Rebels this season (though sadly sans Dash according to Dave Filoni), it appeals to the fluff bunny in me too ;-)

Thank you again for your help.

Are there ships and/or upgrades that compliment the Ghost and Firespray well?

The Ghost is a wonderfully self-contained expansion in that most of the cards that come with it work well on it. Having said that, there are a few cards from other expansions you may want to consider. Fire Control System is a great card for the system slot as the free target locks are a real boon to those big primary guns and only costs 2 points. It is even better if you have a decent turret and the docked Phantom as it means you can shoot twice per turn which effectively doubles the value of the upgrade. Annoyingly, this is only available in the B-wing and Tie Phantom expansions. Reinforced Deflectors are fine for starting out but you may want to track down a copy of this card at some point.2 other turrets that are popular with the Ghost are the Autoblaster turret (which can be conveniently found in the Most Wanted box) and the Twin Laser Turret (which is available in the K-wing expansion). The Auto Blaster Turret (or ABT) is a very cheap turret and only has 2 attack dice and short range but is very cheap and cannot be dodged. This makes it great for deterring high agility Aces from getting too close to your flanks and rear. The Twin Laser Turret (or TLT) is the opposite in that it provides good firepower at Range 2-3 against lower agility targets. The TLT works best with a docked Phantom shuttle so that you can use it twice per turn (or primaries once and turret once) to get a best return on your investment. The Dorsal turret that comes with the Ghost is a fine compromise and should suffice for starters.For crew, the Recon Specialist (HWK-290 and Tie Phantom) and Lando Calrisian (Outrider) are great upgrades for Kanan as he can make extra use of the multiple Focus tokens they can generate. Han Solo crew (Tantive IV expansion) is a nice upgrade if you have the Fire Control System but Ezra works well too in a similar role.

Thank you very much, that's very helpful. Fortunately I have a B already so should have the fire control card. Will look for Han on eBay. Definitely getting a Ghost and Outrider this week now :-)

Thank you guys, this has been very helpful. I think I have enough now to comfortably try something out, once I make two more purchases this week ;-)

If you want to play X-wings, you will also probably need the "Integrated Astromech" card that comes with T70 expansion pack. This card allows X-wings to ditch their astromechs to block one hit and is almost as good as a free extra shield. For casual play, most people are cool with photocopies of cards (or even just noting down on a list that a pilot has those upgrades). If you want to get into tournaments then at some point you will need to either buy multiple T70s to get them or buy them as singles on eBay but if you are just starting I guess that problem will be well down the line for you.

Just a heads up on the Integrated Astromechs, if you're planning on getting the Heroes of the Resistance expansion when it comes out, I'm pretty sure that's going to come with 2 copies of IA in the box. (Based on a promo photo they released.)

If you want to play X-wings, you will also probably need the "Integrated Astromech" card that comes with T70 expansion pack. This card allows X-wings to ditch their astromechs to block one hit and is almost as good as a free extra shield. For casual play, most people are cool with photocopies of cards (or even just noting down on a list that a pilot has those upgrades). If you want to get into tournaments then at some point you will need to either buy multiple T70s to get them or buy them as singles on eBay but if you are just starting I guess that problem will be well down the line for you.

Just a heads up on the Integrated Astromechs, if you're planning on getting the Heroes of the Resistance expansion when it comes out, I'm pretty sure that's going to come with 2 copies of IA in the box. (Based on a promo photo they released.)

Having had a quick look I definitely am. Hopefully Snap will be one of the other pilots, and hopefully Rey will be an option for the Falcon :-)

I use Scum alot. You might want to invest in a Starviper, which includes the Autothrusters modification. A good card for ships with a boost in the action line.