Hi,

I'm a total nub, so this might be total nubbin'. It was inspired by Fundough's thread (from which the Falcon build is stolen), but I didn't want to derail it.

I've gathered that the top meta lists right now rely on token stacking. This list is designed to attempt to counter this by token stripping:

Han Solo (Reroll) (46)

9+1 / 3 / 1 / 8 / 5

Millenium Falcon (Evade) (1)

Adaptability (0)

Hotshot Copilot (4)

Luke Skywalker (7)

Engine Upgrade (4)

(62)

Wes Janson (29)

8+2 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 2

Veteran Instincts (1)

R2-D2 (4)

Engine Upgrade (4)

(38)

(100)

The idea is to strip all the targeted ship's tokens using Wes, followed by Han with Hotshot Copilot and Luke Skywalker. R2-D2 and Engine Upgrade are intended to give Wes the mobility and resilience to survive longer than his T-65 would ordinarily allow.

Questions:

1. On a scale of 1-10, where '1' is 'incoherent trash' and '10' is 'World Championship Top 4', how competitive would you say this list is (this is helpful to me as a new player)?

2. Is the idea sound?

3. Should Han + Adaptability be Rey + Veteran's Instincts? (I.e., in a vacuum, is Han's or Rey's ability stronger? What about with Rey's arc restriction?)

4. Should R2-D2 be BB-8, or R3-A2, and Juke replace Han's Adaptability?

5. Should Wes be Poe Dameron (PS 8) with Veteran's Instincts, R2-D2, and Autothrusters, or with Black One, VI, R5-P9, and Autos (38 either way), for more survivability?

6. Any other thoughts?

Thank you very much for reading!

It's not a bad thought process you went through to get here. I think you'll find, however, that Wes Janson will get burned down in a real hurry, and you'll be left with Han Solo vs. the rest of the opponent's squad. Now, that's not necessarily a bad thing because your ships do get to shoot first to strip some tokens, so it may give you enough of a lead. But I just don't see Wes being able to stick around long enough to make a difference. R2-D2 is good on him because regen is generally regarded as important in a two-ship squad. Poe is an idea, but it does depart from the token stripping focus of your squad (though he is pretty tanky). Honestly, I think it might be worth putting it on the table to see how it does. In my completely biased opinion, I'd rate this one about a 6. Hotshot Copilot with Han's ability and Luke Skywalker crew is amazing. [Disclaimer: I don't fly Rebels very often]

Thanks very much for the feedback! I like the Han a lot. Maybe I'll come back to the Wes pairing someday, after they release a T-65 fix. I doubt token stacking will be gone by then!

Edit: Actually, query: would this be better as:

Han Solo (Reroll) (46)

9 / 3 / 1 / 8 / 5

Millenium Falcon (Evade) (1)

Expertise (4)

Hotshot Copilot (4)

Gunner (5)

Engine Upgrade (4)

(64)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12)

2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2

(12)

(And either)

Bandit Squadron Pilot (12) x2

2 / 2 / 2 / 2 / 2

(24)

(Or)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)

2 / 3 / 1 / 3 / 5

Fire Control System (2)

(24)

(100)

Which is more resilient, a regenerating, maneuverable Poe, or two or three efficient jousters (note the addition of Expertise to Han)?

I've had some experience flying against (not with) similar lists, and I have to say that having a second ace with the ability to reposition is way more relevant than adding a few cheap jousters to the list.

Ideally you want the ace to cover han's weak spots. Those weak spots essentially being tlt's... With the possible inclusion of high health low evade ships too. (depends on the build).

I think the ace you take needs to be able to get in quickly, use pilot skill and repositioning to minimise incoming fire, and hit hard. To soften up the targets that Han may have trouble with.

The opponent that I played against was fond of using Procket Jake for this purpose, which could have worked wonders. Unfortunately I was able to stress Jake and hunt him down, whilst keeping my squad out of range (for the most part) of Han.

But even after that Han still takes a huge chunk out of my squad all by himself.

All right, thank you very much! That's very helpful.

Maybe downgrade engine upgrade to vectored thrusters for arc dodging, save two points, drop vi down to adaptability, save one point, then give Han Predator?

Ps9 still sounds plenty high.

That's certainly a possibility, that would help with firepower. I like it. Luke could also become Gunner if we wanted to keep the Engine Upgrade.

I've also thought of a variation on this list that focuses on (er) focus tokens. (I'm actually going to edit in your Vectored Thrusters suggestion as well.)

Han Solo (46)

9 / 3 / 1 / 8 / 5

Millenium Falcon (Evade) (1)

Snap Shot (2)

Gunner (5)

Operations Specialist (3)

Vectored Thrusters (2)

(59)

Poe Dameron (PS 8) (31)

8+2 / 3 / 2 / 3 / 3

Black One (1)

Veteran Instincts (1)

R2-D2 (4)

Sensor Cluster (2)

Autothrusters (2)

(41)

(100)

Instead of stripping a focus token on our first attack, we gain a focus token that we can apply to the Falcon (for a Defender-style focus - evade stack) or to Poe. Snap Shot gives us another focus token if someone flies in front of us, since we will probably miss on the attack. Poe can use his title to strip target locks from himself or the Falcon (he could also be PtL - BB-8 Poe and strip two locks per turn). Han can give Poe a focus token on turns he executes a red maneuver, or a second focus token on other turns to use with Sensor Cluster (or Weapons Guidance, if we wanted to be more offensive). So the idea of this build is to stack the defensive odds as high as possible in our favour.

Vectored thrusters is small ship only, so that's no good. I'm sure Elrodthealbino was talking about Wes, not Han.

Oh, duh! Thanks.

I quite like your original Han build. While not quite as punchy as the Expertise version, I recon it has good mileage and leaves you points for a decent wingman.

62 Han Solo (46), Millenium Falcon (Evade) (1), Adaptability (0), Hotshot Copilot (4), Luke Skywalker (7), Engine Upgrade (4)

38 points leaves you just enough to squeeze in either of the Rebellion's favourite regenerating aces.

38 Miranda Doni (29), TLT (6), C-3PO (3)

or

38 Norra Wexley (29), R2-D2 (4), PTL (3), Tail Gunner (2), Alliance Overhaul (0)

Both have the firepower to hurt a token-stripped opponent and pair quite nicely with the Falcon.

Thanks! Those are helpful possibilities I hadn't considered. (Of course, the Han isn't actually mine, which may explain its appeal. Lol.)