Squad help for a beginner

By Dansolo, in X-Wing Squad Lists

Hi everyone,

I've played a good few games now but could do with some help building squads for both the rebels and the empire.

i have the core set, the lambda shuttle, an a-wing, an x-wing, a b-wing and an tie fighter.

is there anything I should lean towards or anything I should try and avoid? At the moment it's really only me playing with a few friends. I know this is a really broad and time consuming question to ask so any help/advice is greatly appreciated.

Three tie fighters (I assume it's the old, red, core set) and a lambda doesn't really put up much of a fight against your rebel ships. Unless you want to proxy some cards.

and welcome to an awsome game :D

Thanks. Yeah, the rebel ships I have do overpower the ties. Think I'll look at the interceptor next or Tie advanced.

2 minutes ago, Dansolo said:

Thanks. Yeah, the rebel ships I have do overpower the ties. Think I'll look at the interceptor next or Tie advanced.

I would recommend that you buy Imperial Veterans, since as of now the TIE Defender is one of the best ships in the imperial navy. The x7 title for the defender is great.

The interceptor and Imperial veterans is a good buy aswell, so you get the title for interceptors and Soontir Fell in the interceptor expansion pack.

With imperial Veterans and a tie defender you can build a pretty solid list with what you have.

Something like this:

New Squadron (96)
Countess Ryad — TIE Defender 34
TIE/x7 -2
Ship Total: 32

Colonel Vessery — TIE Defender 35
TIE/x7 -2
Ship Total: 33

Tomax Bren — TIE Bomber 24
Crack Shot 1
Darth Vader 3
Rebel Captive 3
TIE Shuttle 0
Ship Total: 31

You can fill the rest of the points anyway you like. You can swap the x7 title for the /D and add a tractor beam on Vessery for some extra shenanigans.

The First Order TIE expansion is great value for money. Omega Leader flies right out of the box with optimum upgrades.

Using just what you already have, try playing 50 point games instead of trying to build up a limited selection to full 100 point games. Three TIEs are a lot more viable against half a squad of Rebels.

Great! Thanks for the advice guys.

It's more useful to know what expansions you have than ships. Are the A and B wings from Rebel Aces, or individual blisters? Is the X wing from the red core set, or a separate pack? Do you have the red (T-65) or blue (T-70) core set?

Of course, that only matters if you're unwilling to proxy (print out, essentially) cards from the net. If you are, then your options open way up.

I'm going to assume you have the red core set, rebel veterans, and an X Wing blister pack, giving you two X Wings total, for four rebel ships. Here's one option if you are willing to proxy:

Jake Farrell (24)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Proton Rockets (3)
Push the Limit (3)
Autothrusters (2)
A-Wing Test Pilot (0)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)

Rookie Pilot (21)
R2 Astromech (1)
Integrated Astromech (0)

Rookie Pilot (21)
R3-A2 (2)
Integrated Astromech (0)

Total: 100

That's a very efficient, jousty rebel block, plus Jake Farrell, one of the games best flankers. It includes a little control element to mess with your opponent, and puts out enough hurt to make any non tournament list pay attention.

If you're unwilling to proxy, or want to play in a tournament that requires you have the cards, here's another option based on the assumptions made above about what expansions you have.

Prototype Pilot (17)
Chardaan Refit (-2)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)
Jan Ors (2)
B-Wing/E2 (1)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Wedge Antilles (29)
Expert Handling (2)
R2-D2 (4)

Total: 100

It's a much less optimised list, but Wedge and Biggs make a potent combo, especially with judicious use of Jan Ors to give Biggs an evade token (situationally better than a focus token). Wedge is particularly dangerous when he can use his high pilot skill to reposition, and the stress from Expert Handling is less of a problem with R2-D2 incentivising you to do green moves anyway. The prototype os a really good blocker/distraction for your opponent, and while you've lost Jake's big spike damage, you still have three solid three dice attacks.

This second list is less optimised than the first, but it'll still do alright in casual games, and if you want to play Rebels long term, practice with Biggs will definitely come in handy down the line.

I'm a little sick of people reccomending x7 defenders for casual players. It's ruining the game for a rebel player in this case cause he's just not going to hit these defenders with ships listed. If you want to balance your sides a little, look at tie strikers or slave 1, fun but in no way overpowered ships.

If you are looking for things to avoid, I would recommend avoiding missiles and torpedoes early on. Contrary to popular belief, they can work, but you need to both build your squad for it, and then use them at the right time. Also, it can be extremely frustrating for new players (and veterans) when all that planning and points go down the drain thanks to a bad dice roll.

Thanks for all your comments. Lots for me to look into and have a play around with.