Hello,
As I mostly fly B-wings, occasionally breaking out A-wings is a joy in speed. The amazing 5 straight greens just make a smile appear on my face. I grin - uncontrollably - as I easily out fly my opponent, slip into the perfect position and unleash... 2 attack dice. ****.
This article is an exploration of the various way available to make the A-wing's offense better.
1. Missiles:
The A-wing is mercifully equipped with a missile slot, giving one the options of Assault, Homing, Concussion, Cluster or Proton missiles. The others aren't worth talking about.
Assault missiles only really shine against Biggs or TIE swarms, so they're not very appropriate to bring to the tournament scene. Homing missiles (my personal favourite)have promise with the 4 die, evade token blocking shot, but are very pricey for what they deliver. Concussion missiles are reliable, especially when combined with deadeye, but are tricky to set up without deadeye. Cluster missiles are a true terror to low agility craft, but bounce off of higher defense foes. Finally, proton rockets are at their best on the A-wing, but the range 1 limitation is truly awful during the crucial first round of combat. My favourite two builds are listed below:
Green Squadron Pilot (19) - Total 26
Homing Missiles (5)
Crack Shot (1)
Deadeye (1)
A-wing Test Pilot (0)
Guidance Chips (0)
OR:
Green Squadron Pilot (19) - Total 28
Cluster Missiles (4)
Juke (2)
Push The Limit (3)
A-wing Test Pilot (0)
Guidance Chips (0)
The first provides a devastating alpha strike - averaging 4 hits, blocking evade tokens and cancelling 1 evade result - while the second is a vicious use of Juke in order to wither a low agility opponent down to nothing. After doing the math, I realised that against Soontir Fel with stealth device, activated autothrusters and Palpatine, 1 damage would still go through from Homing Missiles. In other words, the absolute hardest target in the game to damage cannot evade damage from one homing missile shot. the cluster missile A-wings have a lot of staying power after their missiles are used, but have a lot more trouble damaging tanky aces such as Fel or Whisper.
2. Elite Pilot Talents:
The A-wing has access to two EPT slots, granting it uncanny access to powerful combinations. The standout EPTs for A-wings are Predator, Push The Limit, Juke, Crack Shot and Veteran Instincts.
Veteran instincts is really reserved for Jake and Tycho to turn them into effective Ace-Killers. Crack shot is a outstanding card, but one that must be used in moderation (normally). Juke is a softer, more durable form of Crack Shot that works optimally if you've got a blocker in your squad to prevent focus actions from being taken. Push the limit finds the best platform in the game on the A-wing , due to its extraordinarily good dial. Predator is nice, but lives in the shadow of the TIE advanced's ADV. Targeting Computer.
My favourite combinations for A-wings are the following:
5 x Green Squadron Pilot (19)
Juke (2)
Crack Shot (1)
A-wing Test pilot (0)
Chardaan Refit (-2)
Total: 100 points.
The ability to negate 2 evade results per attack - with a 5 ship swarm - is amazing. While I have yet to play this list (soo many packs to buy) I have found that it can reliably destroy a JM5K with overclocked R4 in one turn.
Arvel Crynyd (24)
Intimidation (2)
Proton Rockets (3)
Guidance Chips (0)
A-wing Test Pilot (0)
Perhaps the best small base blocker in the game, Arvel can frustrate to no end in a 1v1 match, and the Prockets make a bump twice as deadly.
That's all for now. How do you think the A-wing can be made to punch above its 2 red dice?