TL;DR: Look at the bolded pilots and their upgrades.

I love the X-Wing starfighter for many things; it's a symbol of rebellion against tyranny, it looks cool, and it has plenty of great pilots in the cockpit. My enjoyment of this starfighter has transferred quite neatly to the game of the same name as I've been trying to make the X-Wing good for some time now. With the advent of the dreaded Triple JM5K, expensive jousters aren't quite so good, but this list aims to change the T-70s playstyle entirely, and makes the valiant attempt to make the T-65 viable again.

As for our first ship, we have none other than the man himself, Poe Dameron.

Poe Dameron (PS8) - T-70 X-Wing (31 + 10)

Push the Limit (3)

BB-8 (2)

Integrated Astromech (0)

Black One (1)

Sensor Cluster (2)

So with this Poe build, we have many options as to his action economy and defensive capabilities. The PTL/BB-8 synergy really comes in handy; we reveal a green maneuver, barrel roll with BB-8 (trigger Black One), boost with PTL (trigger Black One), perform maneuver and clear stress. This allows us to get an (almost) Soontir level of action every turn minus the stress generated by PTL, although it limits Poe a lot with regard to movement options. We don't have to proc PTL every turn but if we run Poe as an arc-dodger we probably should. We don't run Autothrusters on Poe for many reasons, the first of which being that we need to make room for Predator on our next pilot Wes. Second, we have Sensor Cluster to improve our defensive capabilities, and it works great on Poe (he's almost guaranteed 2 evades every turn provided he has a focus).

Wes Janson is the next pilot in the squad.

Wes Janson - X-Wing (29 + 5)

Predator (3)

R3-A2 (2)

Integrated Astromech (0)

We have Predator here due to the astromech upgrade. The X-Wing only has 4 green maneuvers, so clearing stress is really hard. This means that he probably won't get actions to make Wes' shooting more effective. Although his primary purpose is to stress an opponent and deny him tokens, pushing through damage is always nice. R3-A2 is there to limit the movement and possibly actions of our opponent's ships. There are a select few opponents that this ship doesn't really work against, such as Palp Aces with Captain Yorr.

Wes lives due to the next pilot:

Biggs Darklighter - X-Wing (26 + 1)

R4-D6 (1)

Integrated Astromech (0)

Biggs operates in the exact same way he does in every list. R4-D6 is there to mitigate some of the damage from alpha strikes coming from JM5Ks.

So what do you all think? Will it work in operation as it does in theory? What are the tragic flaws of my build and how can I circumvent them?

My advice would be to put VI on Wes instead of Predator. You want him to move after Soontir, Inquisitor, Carnor, etc for R3-A2 to be truly deadly.

Even if you did manage to give your opponent initiative, you would still want Wes at a higher PS to strip tokens before they're used.

Secondly, Poe could use Weapons Guidance more than Sensor Clusters. Biggs and Wes are such high priority targets that you'll appreciate Poe being able to go full offense more than full defense for most of the match.

If you have extra points, Flechette Torpedoes is good on Wes to really shut down aces.

Your list is pretty much a variation of the Wes, Biggs, Corran list that's going around. As such results should be pretty solid.

As for improvements. Ps 9 Aces (or 8 with bid) are your worst matchup. Usually some combination of regen, stress, and/or ps 10 counters aces in this type of list. You only really have Wes to levreage, and he needs arc and is only able to ditch out 1 stress. Seeing as Poe has ptl, he is a pretty good place for a flechette torpedo. He should always have a TL anyway as you only have 3 actions to choose from. This will let you spread ut your arcs to catch ptl abusers, or doubble down on Vader or the likes of him.

Edit: Pretty much ninjad. (still think the fletchettes are better on Poe)

Edit: Pretty much ninjad. (still think the fletchettes are better on Poe)

Hmm that's a good point. Spreading out your stress inducers makes it harder to dodge as well.

Personally, I think Corran is a better fit in this meta. He is able to regen, has 3 agility, and can take an evade action. Corran's double tap is just too good to pass up, especially with FCS to modify both attacks. You'd slim down Corran to be VI, FCS, and R2-D2 with Wes having VI, R3-A2 (to shut down Whisper and other aces) or BB-8 (Repositioning is always good too) and Integrated Astromech. Biggs would stay the same.

I like it. Instead of Predator, how about VI and Vectored Thrusters on Wes, so he can Barrel Roll after enemy aces?

My advice would be to put VI on Wes instead of Predator. You want him to move after Soontir, Inquisitor, Carnor, etc for R3-A2 to be truly deadly.

Even if you did manage to give your opponent initiative, you would still want Wes at a higher PS to strip tokens before they're used.

Secondly, Poe could use Weapons Guidance more than Sensor Clusters. Biggs and Wes are such high priority targets that you'll appreciate Poe being able to go full offense more than full defense for most of the match.

If you have extra points, Flechette Torpedoes is good on Wes to really shut down aces.

Your list is pretty much a variation of the Wes, Biggs, Corran list that's going around. As such results should be pretty solid.

As for improvements. Ps 9 Aces (or 8 with bid) are your worst matchup. Usually some combination of regen, stress, and/or ps 10 counters aces in this type of list. You only really have Wes to levreage, and he needs arc and is only able to ditch out 1 stress. Seeing as Poe has ptl, he is a pretty good place for a flechette torpedo. He should always have a TL anyway as you only have 3 actions to choose from. This will let you spread ut your arcs to catch ptl abusers, or doubble down on Vader or the likes of him.

Edit: Pretty much ninjad. (still think the fletchettes are better on Poe)

Very good points, thanks so much! I'll change up the list now.

Poe Dameron (PS8) - T-70 X-Wing (31 + 10)

Push the Limit (3)

BB-8 (2)

Integrated Astromech (0)

Black One (1)

Sensor Cluster (2)

So with this Poe build, we have many options as to his action economy and defensive capabilities. The PTL/BB-8 synergy really comes in handy; we reveal a green maneuver, barrel roll with BB-8 (trigger Black One), boost with PTL (trigger Black One), perform maneuver and clear stress. This allows us to get an (almost) Soontir level of action every turn minus the stress generated by PTL, although it limits Poe a lot with regard to movement options. We don't have to proc PTL every turn but if we run Poe as an arc-dodger we probably should. We don't run Autothrusters on Poe for many reasons, the first of which being that we need to make room for Predator on our next pilot Wes. Second, we have Sensor Cluster to improve our defensive capabilities, and it works great on Poe (he's almost guaranteed 2 evades every turn provided he has a focus).

Wes Janson is the next pilot in the squad.

I was under the impression that the timing of this interaction had been changed to clearing stress when the maneuver was revealed, instead of performed. Did I get that wrong?

Poe Dameron (PS8) - T-70 X-Wing (31 + 10)

Push the Limit (3)

BB-8 (2)

Integrated Astromech (0)

Black One (1)

Sensor Cluster (2)

So with this Poe build, we have many options as to his action economy and defensive capabilities. The PTL/BB-8 synergy really comes in handy; we reveal a green maneuver, barrel roll with BB-8 (trigger Black One), boost with PTL (trigger Black One), perform maneuver and clear stress. This allows us to get an (almost) Soontir level of action every turn minus the stress generated by PTL, although it limits Poe a lot with regard to movement options. We don't have to proc PTL every turn but if we run Poe as an arc-dodger we probably should. We don't run Autothrusters on Poe for many reasons, the first of which being that we need to make room for Predator on our next pilot Wes. Second, we have Sensor Cluster to improve our defensive capabilities, and it works great on Poe (he's almost guaranteed 2 evades every turn provided he has a focus).

Wes Janson is the next pilot in the squad.

I was under the impression that the timing of this interaction had been changed to clearing stress when the maneuver was revealed, instead of performed. Did I get that wrong?

Yes. The Check Pilot Stress step means that stress is added and cleared by red and green moves after the manoeuvre has been executed, but before the Perform Action step.

Played this list yesterday, or one like it.

PS 10 makes it hard to do Phantom-y things, but I still drug out a win by arc dodging. It's kinda hard to do when you've lost the PS war, but it can still be done.