So, I’ve been theory crafting around my T-70s a lot, and I haven’t flown them since Intensity came out. I’ve thrown together a few builds to test and wondered if the community might help me tweak them and/or create a shortlist.

First things first, triple x-wings has been my go-to build since wave 3 with a few deviations into other factions liberally sprinkled in between... It’d feel wrong not to have a choice in the mix. I’ve tweaked my three favourite T-70 pilots to come up with this...

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T-70.1.2 (100)

•Poe Dameron (39) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •BB-8 (2), Primed Thrusters (1), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Nien Nunb (35) - T-70 X-Wing
Stay On Target (2), Targeting Astromech (2), Pattern Analyzer (2), Integrated Astromech (0)

•Jess Pava (26) - T-70 X-Wing
•R2-D6 (1), Integrated Astromech (0), •A Score To Settle (0)

obvious flaw - PS8 Poe means probably less use out of his title, but three rebel aces means points are remarkably snug and given the prevailance of turrets autothrusters seem wise. This is up for debate mind you.

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ReyPoe (100)

•Poe Dameron (41) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •BB-8 (2), Primed Thrusters (1), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Rey (59) - YT-1300
Expertise (4), •Kanan Jarrus (3), •Finn (5), •Millennium Falcon (1), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

Since the 186 boys gave me a cool alt art Rey I’ve been wanting to run her, but she doesn’t seem to find much success in the wild. Thoughts?

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Falcon (100)

•Han Solo (55) - YT-1300
•Lone Wolf (2), Rey (2), •C-3PO (3), •Millennium Falcon (1), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

•Poe Dameron (45) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •R2-D2 (4), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

The other Falcon option. This one built for defence rather than smack-in-the-face tactics favoured by Rey. I’d feel more comfotabke with an engine upgrade, and by downgrading to primed thrusters Poe can free up two points which aren’t quite enough to upgrade that burnout slam. Maybe a wiser brain than mine can tweak it.

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Dash (98)

•Dash Rendar (53) - YT-2400
•Lone Wolf (2), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), Rey (2), •Outrider (5), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

•Poe Dameron (45) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •R2-D2 (4), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

Really just trading Han for Dash here. I’ve been trying to work out who’s better, and on paper probably Dash but I think the Han build is cooler... tweak away,

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Madness (98)

•Poe Dameron (49) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6), •BB-8 (2), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Corran Horn (49) - E-Wing
Push The Limit (3), •R2-D2 (4), Advanced Sensors (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Okay hear me out, before obsessing about Poe I was putting a lot of thought into who a good plus one ace would be for the large base ships. I hate Miranda, I’ve overdosed on Scum Nym which sort of leaves these two. They are both capable of avoiding a lot of damage, can run around the board until they want to engage and generally be annoying. I have this nagging feeling that PTL/R5P9 Poe might be better here for that extra annoying Regen. Not sure. I’m no Nathan Eide (and it’s more than a little bit inspired by his 2015 worlds list) so I suspect this list may not be as cool as I think it is, but I can sort of see it working.

So, gentlepeople, what looks good to you? If you flew Poetensity, what would you fly him with?

I'd fly this one (as in i've flown this one); It's solid list. You have to range control.

Dash (98)

•Dash Rendar (53) - YT-2400
•Lone Wolf (2), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), Rey (2), •Outrider (5), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

•Poe Dameron (45) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •R2-D2 (4), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

10 hours ago, Estarriol said:

T-70.1.2 (100)

•Poe Dameron (39) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •BB-8 (2), Primed Thrusters (1), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Nien Nunb (35) - T-70 X-Wing
Stay On Target (2), Targeting Astromech (2), Pattern Analyzer (2), Integrated Astromech (0)

•Jess Pava (26) - T-70 X-Wing
•R2-D6 (1), Integrated Astromech (0), •A Score To Settle (0)

• Black One never hurts. Yes, PS8 means it has issues, but even if all it does is break a Fire Control System or knock off Omega Leader or Vader's lock between rounds, you're still forcing them to spend an action to reacquire it, and since the barrel roll to trigger it comes free with BB-8 it's not like it costs you anything...
• I get the Stay On Target idea - in theory, you pick a move, change it with Stay On Target, get a free lock with Targeting Astromech, get your action with pattern analyser, then either recieve the stress or (if you judged your move right) get rid of the stress entirely.
  • Which is great, but does it really give you anything in practice that a stress-clearing double-action from Pattern Analyser/Push The Limit/R2 Astromech on a generic red squadron veteran wouldn't have given you?
  • I think the nastiest use for Nien Numb - and especially good if lacking a high PS pilot - is the R3-A2/Snap Shot/Pattern Analyser version. He can put himself in some really wierd places with talon roll/boosts and the potential to double-stress anyone he catches with the snap shot whilst not limiting his own ability to chase them and keep doing that is really annoying for your opponent
• Jess is Jess. R2-D6/A Score To Settle gives her great free dice modifications when paired with her own ability. My one concern is this: Poe and Nien are both going to be pulling off seriously impressive moves. If they're hooning round the board like fruitbats on nitrous oxide, is she not going to be having trouble sticking at range 1 of them?

10 hours ago, Estarriol said:

ReyPoe (100)

•Poe Dameron (41) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •BB-8 (2), Primed Thrusters (1), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Rey (59) - YT-1300
Expertise (4), •Kanan Jarrus (3), •Finn (5), •Millennium Falcon (1), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

It's a good - and, aside from Kanan, thematic - list. Poe is an excellent 'ace' and 'arc dodger', Rey is an impressive head-on jouster who can take most things in a fair fight - and Poe can help protect her from the one thing she doesn't like to see; torpedoes and missiles.

10 hours ago, Estarriol said:

Falcon (100)

•Han Solo (55) - YT-1300
•Lone Wolf (2), Rey (2), •C-3PO (3), •Millennium Falcon (1), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

•Poe Dameron (45) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •R2-D2 (4), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

You'll need a couple of turns before engaging to 'stock up' Rey and the Comm Relay/intensity combination, but once 'geared up' it's brutally effective. With Lone Wolf, you can reliably parley a 'guess zero' against a single attack into 3 evades.

Engine Upgrade on Han would be great, but it's only going to be bought by dropping to BB-8/Primed Thrusters Poe. Whether you're prepared to do that is a matter of taste.

Two ships including a Lone Wolf takes a bit of flying to get used to - when it works it's great, but it will take practice. Note that it's more normally seen with Dash than Han - because Dash is firing a secondary weapon, being forced to engage at range 3 is much less of an issue for him than han's 3-dice primary which does suffer at range 3

10 hours ago, Estarriol said:

Dash (98)

•Dash Rendar (53) - YT-2400
•Lone Wolf (2), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), Rey (2), •Outrider (5), Smuggling Compartment (0), Burnout SLAM (1)

•Poe Dameron (45) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), •R2-D2 (4), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothruster

This is definitely 'a thing'.

The other option here is trading SLAM and your inititative bid for Countermeasures. Good cruise missile (and 'oh bugger that's a swarm') insurance.

10 hours ago, Estarriol said:

Madness (98)

•Poe Dameron (49) - T-70 X-Wing
Intensity (2), Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6), •BB-8 (2), Comm Relay (3), •Black One (1), Autothrusters (2)

•Corran Horn (49) - E-Wing
Push The Limit (3), •R2-D2 (4), Advanced Sensors (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

It's certainly bold!

I'd love to see two really gunned out aces work. I'm not convinced it will, but don't let that stop you, though.

My first thought is the Advanced Proton Torpedoes. I guess you can manage to use them with Poe more than most - Barrel roll and focus to line up, move and target lock - but they strike me as such an expensive upgrade. On the other hand, you absolutely must have the ability to 'delete' a mid-level ship in a single firing pass or you're going to lose to the tyranny of numbers, and in fairness I'm not sure what else I could do with the points!

If you're not wedded to the initiative bid, Seismic Torpedoes on Corran could be worth a thought; Advanced Sensors would allow you to trigger them before you move, letting you plot a move that would take you through (or onto) a rock, but instead blowing it to pieces and potentially hurting the enemy in the process before darting through the 'gap' your opponent wasn't expecting to be there.

11 hours ago, Estarriol said:

T-70.1.2 (100)

Magnus mentioned my main point here: Jess has trouble staying at range 1 of the other two.

1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

ReyPoe (100)

Looks solid, you could definitely give it a try. Also, @Magnus Grendel: I don't understand how Poe protects Rey from missiles/torpedoes except by becoming their target himself? I would definitely nuke him away first, so maybe that's what you meant?

11 hours ago, Estarriol said:

Falcon (100) [...] Maybe a wiser brain than mine can tweak it.

your 41pt Poe with BB8/Primed frees up enough points. Goes against the idea of stronger defence though, so I'm sure you're aware of that option. But I'm pretty sure this build is strictly weaker than Dash. Maybe more fun though.

1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Dash (98)

Farmer's "Plot Armor" is an established list that is very successful. I disagree on the countermeasures based on my experience: I did target and nuke away Poe, which drastically reduced the importance of countermeasures. As far as I understand the card it's mainly to remove a TL and survive an alpha strike, but that will never come unless you really provoke and mindgame your opponent. Otherwise he'll choose Poe.

11 hours ago, Estarriol said:

Madness (98)

Hahaha, I have almost the identical list ready to play this weekend. Mine is with Plasmas on Poe, and Proton torps on Corran for a nice 1-2-punch, removing all shields and dealing a crit in a single round, possibly finishing it with a 2nd attack by Corran.

To sum it up:

PoeDash works and has shown to work. It's allegedly a lot of fun with Dash, and very boring with Poe
PoeRey looks good to me, and possibly more fun.
Madness makes me happy to see that I'm not crazy (or at least we both are!), and has the advantage IMO that there is no large ship, which I personally can't fly as well. I don't know how much experience you have, but that might be a factor.
PoeHan could be fun, but looks weaker and yet pretty difficult to fly effectively.
TripleT70 as is doesn't work in my opinion, not with Jess. And every other idea I have would remove one T70, so I don't know how to make it work.

I share your desire to get Poe up and working again. I ran him with much joy before realizing that with adv slam and constant bombing he was too brittle. He is definately a ship that requires skill to get to his full potential, but oh when you pull off wins with him the feeling is soooo sweet.

My go to Poe is PTL with BB8 and primed thrusters in all cases (intensity as a second choice if points are tight). I know that the regen intensity version seems a safer bet, but this build (in my mind) is a) too predictable and b) not nearly half as fun to fly. With all the spike damage and (even with the nerf) bombs around having the ability to barrelroll-boost-then manouver away (potentially clearing stress for an extra action) is fantastic and just feels so fun when you do it. It's like advanced sensors only better (again my subject opinion).

Anyways- I've primarily run with Dash like you've built him and that works fine. Dash is still super hot in the meta and I plan on getting alot more training in with these two.

I'm tempted by the Rey/Poe build both becuase it is so thematic and also because I believe Rey is a beast when flown right. I'm slightly worried about not having a good bid with that list as BB8 Poe really likes to move last.

For the Poe/Corran build, a really great player and overall good guy called Phil CG ran this list for a while and documented this in his excellent blog. There are several entries on the Poe/Corran experience around June/July so knock yourself out. The link is to just one of the entries.

https://suchanxwinghipster.wordpress.com/2017/07/02/the-x-philes-ok-then-show-me-a-space-ship/

15 minutes ago, GreenDragoon said:

I don't understand how Poe protects Rey from missiles/torpedoes except by becoming their target himself? I would definitely nuke him away first, so maybe that's what you meant?

Black One allows you to bin target locks off other nearby friendlies, not just yourself!

16 minutes ago, GreenDragoon said:

TripleT70 as is doesn't work in my opinion, not with Jess. And every other idea I have would remove one T70, so I don't know how to make it work.

If I was doing that, I'd swap out Nien Numb for a second 'go up the centre' T-70 - something like R2-D2/Red Ace & M9/G8 Jess are easy to keep in formation with one another and provide one another with a lot of mutual support.

18 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Black One allows you to bin target locks off other nearby friendlies, not just yourself!

Of course, I was thinking on higher-PS or non-initiative PS9 alphastrikes without saying so. The only (?) ship to move&TL between Poe and Rey is probably Miranda, or a PS9 with initiative - but they have probably the choice, given the 100pt ReyPoe, and won't intentionally move first.

IAs a fellow Poe lover, I’ve played all of those lists except the Poe/Corran.

Sloop Kanan Rey imho is not as good as old title 3PO Rey.

With Dash, I feel the countermeasures is always worth it. If you manage to dodge one hit and break a lock it is better than a shield upgrade.

Plot Armor Poe is very boring. If you love BB8 Poe, you’ll hate that build. I know I do. But it is tanky.

I agree about R3-A2 Snap Nien. It’s angreat build and better than SOT Nien.

Which leaves me with your madness build, wouldn’t the APT be better for Corran and his double tap? Anyhow, that’s the list I’m most curious about. It’s new territory so my thought is you should fly it and see how it does. Maybe it’s the new thing?!

Maybe drop Advanced Proton Torpedoes on Poe to buy Poe plasmas and Corran protons, like @GreenDragoon said. It'll probably get you a lot more bang for your buck that first round, while a smart player might deny you the opportunity to fire APTs at all.

I love Poe, but I almost always fly him with R5-P9 droid, autothrusters and pattern analyzer. It is cheaper than the intensity Poe, leaves my EPT open for predator or VI and I can do any maneuver and still regen a shield. I think that Poe with R2-D2/Intensity becomes a bit predictable in late games as he has to do a green maneuver to regen shields and you know he is going to boost. Still, the evade token is very nice.

I tried this recently and it worked well:

Poe [PS9] (Intensity, BB-8, Black One, Primed Thrusters, Autothrusters)

Lowhhrick (Selflessness, Wookie Commandos)

Wookie Liberator (Lone Wolf, Wookie Commandos)

100 points

20 minutes ago, Feanor79 said:

R2-D2/Intensity becomes a bit predictable in late games

Perhaps, but he’s probably going to be doing a 3 green straight and a boost to run away and regen. He’s also probably doing this for a couple of rounds and then he swings back in again.

This Poe is very tanky, but predictable and dull. It will 100% last longer than BB-8 Poe but you won’t have as much fun flying it.

@Estarriol - First, as a fellow Poe-lover, let's face facts. Poe hasn't been a force in the meta in a very long time, since before I started playing a year ago, that's for sure. Farmer won a store champs with him and that list gained some popularity after that, but he's still just Poe. He's a steady ace, but not really spectacular like Soontir, Fenn Rau, etc. With that in mind, we can approach our expectations with a certain amount of...realism?

I say Rey/Poe w/BB-8 all day! It's thematic and it's just plain good. Not amazing, but solid. I don't think Expertise is the auto-include a lot of people do on Rey. It's a weak defensive upgrade on her and (more importantly) bump insurance. But, to fit that, you have no bid for Poe, which I think is more valuable for this list. I want Poe moving after other PS9s both for position and to strip off target locks. I also think stress is going to come back in a big way because I think, first, aces are going to come back. I run my Rey with Determination to flip the bird to Kylo players. These changes to the meta from the latest FAQ seem to put RAClo players in a good position. On the latest Scum and Villainy podcast, @Starslinger72 seemed borderline giddy.

But, like I said, it's only going to be solid, not great. Plot armor Poe is just plain better for a tournament, but like has been said, is boring as **** to fly. I just started to get back into flying my Rey/Poe list last night, and I really loved it. It felt like an old, comfortable sweatshirt you forgot you had until fall came around and it started getting chilly.

Couple final thoughts:

• Triple T-70s are also super fun, but I don't think as good as Rey/Poe
• I disagree strongly with evade title/C-3P0 being better than slooping Rey
• Han will lack the punch needed to get through the token stacks which I think are on their way back. Without Engine, I don't think he's a better partner than Dash
• Can't deny Dash is great. Matter of fact, after typing this up, I realized that a typical LW Dash build is 56 points, which is the same as my Rey build. Hmmm...might have to do some mixing and matching...
• If I could fit a good Poe and a good Corran with a third ship...man. Wait...PS8 Poe fits with a Bandit with a 1-point bid. No way that's good, though, right?

12 minutes ago, gennataos said:

He's a steady ace, but not really spectacular like Soontir, Fenn Rau, etc. With that in mind, we can approach our expectations with a certain amount of...realism?

I think he gets more play than these for a few reasons: has tech slot, can modify both Attack and Defense dice with single token, has shields and has regen. I see a lot more Poe then Soontir (though Soontir is more fun to fly).

Thanks for the insightful comments.

I think Rey/Poe and Madness will get an outing tonight if I can get the games in after my league game.

3 minutes ago, gennataos said:

@Estarriol These changes to the meta from the latest FAQ seem to put RAClo players in a good position.

I think this is a very good cool, and my original build did have determination on Rey, I'll have to do some discreet inquiries before the next tournament if I do take Rey/Poe. I've had success in the past with triple t-70s against RAClo, purely because two T-70s unblinded are plenty to pile the damage through Determination to annoy Kylo seems like a good choice.

3 hours ago, GreenDragoon said:

Madness makes me happy to see that I'm not crazy (or at least we both are!), and has the advantage IMO that there is no large ship, which I personally can't fly as well. I don't know how much experience you have, but that might be a factor.
...
TripleT70 as is doesn't work in my opinion, not with Jess. And every other idea I have would remove one T70, so I don't know how to make it work.

Madness stems from plugging strong second ships together. They SHOULD be solid and I'm going to have fun finding out

Triple T-70 is cool. I know Jess seems counter intuitive, but she's cheap and if you treat her pilot ability as a bonus rather than something to build a list around you can't go wrong. I find her name coupled with a sweet alt art card (thank you gold squadron!) and A Score to Settle tempts people into foolishly shooting at her early, and I like this. It mean's they are leaving my better aces alone My original T-70 list is probably stronger than this one, and when I sate myself on intensity I'll probably head in a different direction with them. They don't like bombs though, and that challenge isn't going to go away

@admat I don't have a wookie ship. I probably should, but I just don't like them! Thinking about it, a Lowie, Poe, Jess list seems kinda strong... IF I can avoid the harpoons!

I'm probably going to amend plot armour to take my cheaper Poe and EU on dash. Rey Poe is high on the list, and Madness. The other two can remain on the shelf for the moment, unless testing brings something to light! Thanks everyone for the responses!

Just now, Feanor79 said:

I see a lot more Poe then Soontir (though Soontir is more fun to fly).

Soontir is definitely more survivable, but...man...Intensity BB-8/PT Poe can do some serious dancing.

21 minutes ago, gennataos said:

I run my Rey with Determination to flip the bird to Kylo players.

Always fun. It's a relatively unfun technique to be on the receiving end of, and being able to ignore it is very satisfying, especially if you're lucky enough to encounter Kylo as a pilot (probably more likely come release of the Silencer), since assigning the condition when pilot kylo is hit is not optional.

6 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Always fun. It's a relatively unfun technique to be on the receiving end of, and being able to ignore it is very satisfying, especially if you're lucky enough to encounter Kylo as a pilot (probably more likely come release of the Silencer), since assigning the condition when pilot kylo is hit is not optional.

Oh, my Determination Rey/Miranda list is pretty jazzed about the release of the Silencer. Most people have something they hate about X-Wing. Kylo is my thing.

Determination also makes Rey slightly more tanky even if not facing Kylo.

So, tonight Rey and Poe met a list almost crafted to neutralise them - Roark, Rex, Wes (with vi and r3a2) and tarn (m9g8). The debuffing synergy is pretty evil. I managed to bait him through the rocks and split his ships so I could half kill Wes and only get a shot back against Poe, who lost a shield even tokened up with autothrusters! The following turn I bumped into Tarn with Rey and got stressed out, but no damage on either side. Turn after I killed Wes and the. It was pretty much over.

Lessons learned? If I’m focus evading every turn it’s hard to push damage through. I think a Comms Relay would be better than primed thrusters so I can save my action to target lock, but I’m not sure taking the drop to PS8 to pay for it is worth it. Thoughts?

6 hours ago, BlodVargarna said:

Determination also makes Rey slightly more tanky even if not facing Kylo.

Yes! I've been singing the praises for Determination for a while. If nothing else, it's Blinded Pilot insurance.

1 hour ago, Estarriol said:

So, tonight Rey and Poe met a list almost crafted to neutralise them - Roark, Rex, Wes (with vi and r3a2) and tarn (m9g8). The debuffing synergy is pretty evil. I managed to bait him through the rocks and split his ships so I could half kill Wes and only get a shot back against Poe, who lost a shield even tokened up with autothrusters! The following turn I bumped into Tarn with Rey and got stressed out, but no damage on either side. Turn after I killed Wes and the. It was pretty much over.

Lessons learned? If I’m focus evading every turn it’s hard to push damage through. I think a Comms Relay would be better than primed thrusters so I can save my action to target lock, but I’m not sure taking the drop to PS8 to pay for it is worth it. Thoughts?

Excellent! I think personal taste and playstyle play a big hand in slight tweaks. I love the freedom of Primed Thrusters, so I'm unlikely to stray from that. About PS8...I don't know. I still think PS9 and a bid is important for Poe.

On 2.11.2017 at 3:42 PM, Estarriol said:

Madness stems from plugging strong second ships together. They SHOULD be solid and I'm going to have fun finding out

By the way, I wanted to ask you: how important is PTL compared to VI on Corran?

I'm also heavily favoring the PTL/AdvancedS build, but it is a bit unpractical at PS8, don't you think? Especially on a build with ordnance I think FCS+PTL or AS+VI have both merit, but mixing them is maybe less effective? I say that even though I built it that way, too.

I’d probably go FCS VI, it’s all about action economy. I guess it’s all about what and who you expect to face. I’m predicting many low ps scum with harpoons, or low ps rebel spam. The people who play high ps I’m pretty sure I can outguess, and I’m not going to get to the dizzying heights of PS11 Quickdraw and Vader so I may as well try to turtle up or double reposition to range control...

to be honest, I’ve not flown Corran that much, so I need to test a few builds to find my groove