So. This game is a "on" and "off" game for me. Never disliked the game, I absolutly love it, but sometimes life comes in the way and you don't really have time for it.

I've not played since april, and my last really big tourney was in february. Now I am gonna go to regionals again in January. But it's been a while since I've played.
I got not all, but most of the ships up until wave 10, what I am really wondering is:

How is the current meta? Open to many lists? Or are there something that is really awsome? Last thing I remember was the awsome scum lists: Dengaroo and Fenn/Manaroo/Shadowcaster. Both mindlink-strategy ish lists. And the Manaroo-nerf that came after them.

Any new ships I should get?
Is there any of the new ships (wave 11-13) you warmly would recommend? And any of the new upgrade cards that I should get?


And if anyone cares to answer for some of these?
Third, how relevant would you say these pilots/ships are for play in tournaments today?
Kanan Jarrus/Hera (Ghost)
Corran Horn (E-wing)
Dash Rendar (Yt-2400)
Rey (yt-1300)
Other YT-1300's
Poe Dameron
Miranda Doni
Biggs
B-wing
U-wing

Firespray
Upsilon Shuttle
Decimator

TIE's
Interceptors
Defenders
Strikers
Phanthoms(Whisper)
Inquisitor's Tie
FO-fighter
SF-fighter

Mist Hunter
Jumpmaster
Star Viper
Quadjumper
Firespray for scum
Z-95's
Y-wings

Thank's (I got some more ships, but did not list them, as these are the ones I like to play the most)

Sry to answer only a question that you didn't raise: have a look at the latest FAQ, it changed quite a few.

Welcome back! The meta currently is in a state of reshaping after a set of nerfs and new releases. Alpha strike lists do seem very strong, though. All of them center around the new missile from Guns for Hire, Harpoons. Some go for Deadeye, like triple Scurrgs, others go for the highest PS possible, 10 for rebels with Cracken/Wedge/Nym, 11 for the empire with Vader/Quickdraw/one lower PS ship. This kind of list isn't exactly dominating, but opressive enough that you must have a plan for them.

Rebels use the Auzituck Gunship in triple or quad configurations for tank-spam. Miranda is still extremely strong, despite the Advanced SLAM nerf, her favourite wingman being Dash. The meta hasn't setteled, so right now it is as open as it gets, but it also doesn't have a single killer ship that will dominate, so it will keep breathing.

5 minutes ago, arolig said:

So. This game is a "on" and "off" game for me. Never disliked the game, I absolutly love it, but sometimes life comes in the way and you don't really have time for it.

I've not played since april, and my last really big tourney was in february. Now I am gonna go to regionals again in January. But it's been a while since I've played.
I got not all, but most of the ships up until wave 10, what I am really wondering is:

How is the current meta? Open to many lists? Or are there something that is really awsome? Last thing I remember was the awsome scum lists: Dengaroo and Fenn/Manaroo/Shadowcaster. Both mindlink-strategy ish lists. And the Manaroo-nerf that came after them.

Any new ships I should get?
Is there any of the new ships (wave 11-13) you warmly would recommend? And any of the new upgrade cards that I should get?

The Auzituck and Scurrg have been very successful. The Starwing looks to be pretty good, as do the Phantom II and TIE Silencer.

And if anyone cares to answer for some of these?
Third, how relevant would you say these pilots/ships are for play in tournaments today?
Kanan Jarrus/Hera (Ghost) They have fallen out of favour thanks to being constantly out-PSed and the harsh nerf to Biggs. Kanan has seen some good results paired with Lowhhrick, though, he might come back.
Corran Horn (E-wing) High PS alpha strikes ruin his day. Sometimes paired with Miranda or Nym, but not really a thing at the moment.
Dash Rendar (Yt-2400) Very strong, Mirandas favourite wingman. His mobility is as broken as ever.
Rey (yt-1300) Suffers from not being Dash. She has seen results, but is just outperformed by him.
Other YT-1300's Dead.
Poe Dameron PS11 with Black One is pretty good, but as Rey suffers from not being Dash, he suffers from not being Miranda. Might change with the new Advanced Optics tech, though!
Miranda Doni The queen, give her Bomblet Generator and she doesn't even care about losing Advanced SLAM. Needs to be very careful against high PS alpha strike, but she has the mobility and durability to get there.
Biggs Dead? His nerf seems drakonian, from always on to one per game! However the few brave souls that didn't drop him saw good performances and it is clear why - for the most part he still functions. If he is still alive after having drawn all fire for a round, not finishing him off usually is a mistake, so he needs to be attacked anyways.
B-wing Dead? Linked Battery might breath new life into it as it doesn't need the setup FCS does for a slightly weaker, but still very potent effect. However, they still aren't very mobile or durable at low PS, so it is more likely they'll stay in the hangar for now.
U-wing After much experimentation it can be declared mostly dead. Not exactly unplayable, but never the best option.

Firespray Dead.
Upsilon Shuttle Kinda good! Only kinda, though. It is a solid chassis, but the killer build is still missing. Worth experimenting with, if only to know how it handles if a card drops that pushes it over the edge.
Decimator RAC with Kylo crew paired with Quickdraw is one of the imperial top lists. It suffers against lists with more than 4 ships, is very good against 2, and alright against 3.

TIE's
Interceptors Dead-ish, the Advanced SLAM nerf saw some of them return, but their low HP-pool and more importantly low offense makes them struggle. Because of this, Targeting Computer became a go to card. High offense Starwings may become good partners to shore their weaknesses, though.
Defenders Pretty strong, but their low PS makes them struggle, along with x7 getting counterplayed now. Solid, but no longer on top.
Strikers Fun, but I can't imagine a list where I wouldn't rather have Omega Leader for higher points or a Starwing for lower points.
Phanthoms(Whisper) Weak, but always on the fringe. The TIE Silencer looks to push it out. Still has those 4 attack dice going for it!
Inquisitor's Tie Quite good. The Inquisitor is one of the staples of imperial alpha strikes with Harpoons, VI, and Guidance Chips. The classic build hasn't been seen in a while, though.
FO-fighter Omega Leader and nothing else. And OL has been struggeling to fit into lists because of his low damage.
SF-fighter Possibly the strongest ship in the imperial arsenal with Quickdraw being extremely flexible and always a high damage threat.

Mist Hunter Bad. The only success it saw was when Mindlink wasn't nerfed, yet, and a huge part of that was opponents not being prepared for fortress tactics.
Jumpmaster Nerfed a lot. Cheap Bumpmasters and Dengar are able to cope, Tel, Manaroo, and core Scouts aren't. It finally isn't the top ship anymore.
Star Viper Great upgrades from Guns for Hire and a new pilot (Thweek, being able to always tie your opponent on pilot skill is excellent at 27-ish points) gave this ship new life. Not the very top, but able to compete.
Quadjumper See U-Wing.
Firespray for scum Imperial Boba did some things, but it still rarely as good as other options.
Z-95's Airen Cracken rocks rebel alpha strikes. N'dru sometimes shows up with Harpoons, too. Generics are too weak, sadly, for both factions.
Y-wings TLT is very strong. However TLT Y-Wings are weak to alpha striking. On the rebel side there is a new interesting option, though: BTL-A4 Ions with Flight Assist Astromech. They possibly posess the maneuverability to compete and are tons of fun to fly (think TIE Striker on the aproach and whenever your opponent got behind you).

Thank's (I got some more ships, but did not list them, as these are the ones I like to play the most)

Thx for the update. No, I did not think of reading the FAQ. Did now. What is the Slam-Nerf? Can't seem to find it, is it the rule about slamming after beeing Ionized?

Not that I used these cards a lot, but the mindlink and Biggs nerfs seem really strange. But seeing as I lost a bit to both it's fair.

I ran Sabine (TIE), Rex (TIE), Jess Pava(R2-D2) and i Think Poe(R5-p9) last i played in a regional. It was such a fun list. Lord knows mandaroo with mindlink and biggs made some matches hard. Maybe that funny list is the one to try again.

I would also consider Dash or Rey +Poe/Corran or Miranda. As I like those ships a lot


As for Empire, I've only ran them once in a tourney, so maybe it it's time to unpack the Decimator I bought a year back

Advanced SLAM now can only be used to perform actions on the action bar, eliminating the ability to drop Conner Nets or Cluster Mines after a SLAM move.

Meta is fairly open. I've seen all sorts of things win, but Harpoon Alpha Strikes and stress control is pretty strong.

The Sheathipede is my favorite release since the ARC-170! It has so much versatility.

As for viability, here are the one's I think are still strong:

Kanan Jarrus (w/ Rey and RecSpec, but it depends on your wingmate)
Dash Rendar (all sorts of builds, though PTL versions are vulnerable to control)
Rey (absolutely yes)
Other YT-1300's (there's many builds out there for classic Han, especially as PS 11 against Alpha Strikes, and Chewie shows up sometimes too)
Poe Dameron (Yup. Intensity/BB-8, is okay, but VI/Adv. Optics, both w/ Title and AT is great)
Miranda Doni (Yup. Adv, Slam got nerfed, so she doesn't get loaded up as much, but she still has lots to offer)
B-wing (Generics w/ Linked Battery/Adv. Sensors are really fun, but Keyan has 2 options that are cool: Rage/IR, or VI/Maul)
Upsilon Shuttle (only lightly kitted as a support)
Decimator (for sure)

TIE's (some - Howlrunner, sometimes)
Interceptors (only if you are really dedicated/skilled/lucky)
Defenders (absolutely still great)
Strikers (awesome, cheap, fun, economical)
Phanthoms(Whisper) (see Interceptors)
Inquisitor's Tie (Just Inky, but he's okay)
FO-fighter (Omega Leader and Epsilon Ace are particularly bomb)
SF-fighter (Quick Draw dominates, others are playable)
Jumpmaster (hugely nerfed, but still useful, Dengar, or bumpmaster for sure)
Star Viper (between the new title and new pilots, its super viable)
Quadjumper (loads of fun - kinda like scum Biggs)
Z-95 (probably only N'Dru or Alpha Strike Cracken)
Y-wings (totally - TLTs are still great, as is the stresshog, but the new Flight Assist Astromech, combined with the title, makes them really nifty, though fairly untested)

I have actually seen another TIE Advanced Prototype besides the Inquisitor do alright:

Valen Rudor (22)
Intensity (2)
Harpoon Missiles (4)
Guidance Chips (0)
TIE/v1 (1)

Total: 29

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

The idea being that in an alpha strike mirror the TAP will be shot at first for a chance at PS-killing it. Rudor with 2 evade tokens has a chance of surviving to then shoot his TL+Focus+GC Harpoon.