I'm a new player and with my brother we are playing a xwing rumble in 2 weeks time. The club we play in is teaching us to play xwing and now we have been challenged by an experienced player. He gets 150 points and we get 200 between us. He has offered us use of any of his ships, but we want to use the ones we are familar with (albeit only a couple of games).

So we going imperial, we have the following ships. 2 tie, 3 tie/fo, 1 tie advanced, 1 tie bomber and 1 tie punisher.

so i made the following list :

tie - Dark Curse
tie - Mauler Mithel
tie/fo - Zeta Leader
tie/fo - Omega Ace
tie/fo - Omega Leader
tie/adv - Darth Vader + Veteran Instincts + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + TIE/x1 + Fire-Control System
bomber - Major Rhymer + Extra Munitions + Advanced Homing Missiles + Advanced Homing Missiles + Munitions Failsafe
punisher - Deathrain + Extra Munitions + Assault Missiles + Conner Net + Proximity Mines

We are limited on upgrade cards, but we are allowed to proxy anything we need. This is where I need the help, is the list ok, have I made any rookie mistakes and is there anything I should proxy instead ? thanks in advance for any advice by you elite players.

This is what we are going up against :

Cobalt Leader” (37)
B/SF-17 Bomber (28), Trajectory Simulator (1), Bomblet Generator (3), Advanced Optics (2), Crossfire Formation (2), Deflective Plating (1)

“Crimson Leader” (42)
B/SF-17 Bomber (29), Trajectory Simulator (1), Ordnance Silos (2), Proton Bombs (5), Advanced Optics (2), Crossfire Formation (2), Deflective Plating (1)

Jake Farrell (27)
A-Wing (24), A-Wing Test Pilot (0), Chardaan Refit (-2), Push the Limit (3), Autothrusters (2), Adaptability (0)

Poe Dameron (PS9 Version) (44)
T-70 X-Wing (33), Black One (1), R2-D2 (4), Primed Thrusters (1), Push the Limit (3), Vectored Thrusters (2)

If anyione has any tactics or strategy against these, please let me know, thanks

I'm trying to give you some tactics/options that are individual to the ships you've chosen.

Omega Ace is pointless without an ability to get a combined Target lock and focus. I recommend push the limits so you can stress yourself and get a TL and Focus on the same turn.

Mauler Mithel is great combo with snap shot. He's a standard tie so he's a little fragile though.

I would recommend Youngster with all the ties you are flying. use either Daredevil/rage/expose/expert handling. it gives it to all your ties. I personally like daredevil on youngster.

Omega Leader with comm relay and juke is a good combo. turn 1 give him an evade and leave it there as long as you can, unless you plan on replacing it. but having the ability to drop their evade and them not be able to do anything about it is nice.

I like Zeta Ace with a veteran instincts better than Zeta Leader. It allows a Barrel roll of two that can play with tons of fire arc issues for cheaper.

I'd get rid of munitions failsafe on Rhymer with a build like that. you're firing 4 missles, a ton of points invested in that bomber, use either lightweight frame or I would probably do a guidance chips.

Vader, modification should be Engine Upgrade instead. It's just that good. he's an ace at 11, being able to barrel roll and boost is too valuable in arc/bomb dodging.

DeathRain, I'd switch assault missles to cluster missles. Assault is going to encourage your oppenent to spread, when you can drop a bomb infront of you, you would rather they stay close together to possibly hit more targets. look at finding some room for Lightweight Frame (mod) so he's around for longer.

Side notes: I think this list being played in the environment you're in will give you guys tons of experience and learning opportunities to start picking yourself up, so plan on making mistakes and learning from them. That said it may or may not pull out the win, but should be tons of fun to fly. None are too dependent upon the other.

strategies: He's likely going to use Jake Farrell as a bumper to get in the way so that his bombs are more effective. Remember that. Keep your formation loose. You have numbers on your side. the list screams bombs, so the more spread out while still giving everyone a chance to shoot is going to be a good strategy.

I'll give you some course-corrections for your list, obviously you can ignore this if you desire.

To not take ATC on Vader is usually unwise. It dramatically increases his damage output and it is easy to grab your Target Lock with his action efficiency. If you've never played him with it, prepare to be amazed. VI on him is fine, I usually prefer Juke, personally.

Deathrain is fun, but she really shines with drop-on-maneuver bombs. Ion Bombs and Seismic charges work really well with her, in my opinion. Also, run Collision Detector if you're not going to run anything else on her, it can really help if you can drop, BR onto an asteroid, then fly away. You could consider Bomblet Generator as well, but it doesn't get much damage output (but infinite bombs). I'd also recommend changing from Assault missiles to something else. He'll only have 4 ships on the board and you'll very likely end up hitting your own ships with how many you'll have on the board in a scattered formation. Lightweight Frame will dramatically increase her survivability.

Major Rhymer would benefit more from Guidance Chips than Munitions Failsafe, in my opinion, it'll help get those missile shots through under shields. Deadeye will also help you get those shots off easier and better, since you'd only have to have a focus token to fire, then can use it to modify your missile shot for maximum firepower. Otherwise, all those missiles should be... a blast.

At this point, you'd be at about 106 points. I'd make Omega Leader into the strong version (Comm Relay, Juke), then fill out with the rest of your TIE's. Consider flying generics so that you don't have to track so many game mechanics because, even with two of you, you're flying a lot of ships. It can be easy to forget. Maybe bring 2 Crack Shot Omega Squadron pilots, then some named TIE fighters. Wampa is brutal, probably the best 14 points you can spend. Youngster could support others well since he has a pretty loose Range bonus for your other TIE's.

Tactics, I'll echo SkyCooper. Be in a scattered formation, or those bombers will wreck your face. I'd try to catch Jake with your bombs if he gets too close, but don't waste other ordinance on him. Focus fire Poe down, he'll be the monster of this squad. Eat those bombers as quick as you can, especially that Cobalt Leader because variance will probably catch you at some point. Also, be very happy that he's not bringing a Sabine carrier.

Go buy a defender or two and maybe a tie Silencer.

Thank you for the advice guys.

I changed the list and is now as follows :

tie - Black Squadron Pilot = 14

tie/fo - Omega Squadron Pilot = 17

tie/fo - Omega Squadron Pilot = 17

tie - Mauler Mithel + Snap Shot + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II = 20

tie/fo - Omega Ace + Juke + Comm Relay = 25

bomber - Major Rhymer + Deadeye + Extra Munitions + Advanced Homing Missiles + Advanced Homing Missiles + Guidance Chips = 35

tie/adv - Darth Vader + Veteran Instincts + Concussion Missiles + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer = 36

punisher - Deathrain + Collision Detector + Cluster Missiles + Ion Bombs + Seismic Charges + Lightweight Frame = 36

I will take Vader, Deathrain, Mauler and Black Squadron Pilot, because I'm older and I want to be Vader.

We do plan on getting more ships, we pooled our cash and brought, 2 core sets (one of each), tie advanced, punisher and bomber, also heroes of resistance, K wing and A wing, so we had enough to play both imperial and rebel. This means we can play against each other at home, but also play against others at the the wargaming club.

Our next planned purchases are, Rebel aces, imperial vets and a tie defender.

We will try and get some practice in before the game on the 29th, and I have noted the strategy tips.

You all have a merry christmas and I will let you know how we got on afterwards. (we probably won't win, but it will be fun)

If I can make an observation?

• Poe and Jake are both very action-heavy aces - they need their tokens to survive, and they need their actions to generate tokens. With both of them packing Push The Limit, both are not going to like stress.
  • One of the best answers to stress-sensitive opponents in an imperial list is Major Rhymer - in fact it's probably the best use for him.
    • Major Rhymer
      • TIE Shuttle
      • Snap Shot
      • Tactician
      • Rebel Captive
      • Lightweight Frame
  • That's cheaper than your AHM build. The first time anyone lands within range 2 of rhymer in his arc, he gets a snap shot which - hit or miss - puts a stress token on them before they get an action (but after their 'clear a stress for a green move' step). Then, if they're still there in the combat phase, he does it again.
  • A double-stressed A-wing who isn't Tycho is basically dead meat. Poe can still barrel roll or boost when stressed, but can't generate his focus tokens, so is still pretty much target practice at this point.
• The Omega Squadron Pilots aren't doing you anything.
  • The Reason to take an Omega Squadron rather than an Epsilon Squadron is either because you think PS4 will be important (it won't against that list) or to take advantage of the elite upgrade slot that Omegas get and cheaper pilots don't. Which you haven't.
  • Either:
    • Take at least a free Elite upgrade (like Trick Shot)
    • Swap to the same priced Epsilon Ace (because PS12 is awesome, even if it's temporary)
    • Drop to 15 point Epsilon Squadron Pilots and spend the points elsewhere (a tech upgrade like Advanced Optics, pattern analyser or weapons guidance on the cheaper TIE/fo is not a bad way to spend the points)
• Ditto the Black Squadron Pilot
  • You've got an empty Elite upgrade, which means nothing.
  • For the same price you could be fielding Chaser (who's much tougher as he can evade then grab someone else's focus to shoot with) or Wampa (whose ignore-your-shields-and-green-dice-with-a-critical pilot ability makes him a great hunter of expensive and hard-to-hurt aces like Jake and Poe).
• Mauler Mithel is good. Snap shot is a powerful upgrade when paired with his ability.
  • Twin Ion Engines MkII.....eh. He shouldn't be stressing himself if he can avoid it, but there are worse things to spend a 'spare' point on.
• Omega Ace
  • Really?
  • Omega Leader with Juke and Comm Relay is devastating.
    • You get juke (knocking out someone's evades) thanks to your 'retained evade token' and thanks to Omega Leader's ability, they can't modify the result back up to an evade.
    • It also makes crossfire formation useless on your locked target when omega leader attacks
  • Omega Ace with the same is kind of woeful.
    • Omega Ace's pilot ability needs you to have a focus and a target lock token at the same time.
    • He wants advanced optics more than anything.
    • Combined with any elite upgrade which grants more attack dice (swarm leader is the cheapest and best) - if you can strip the shields, landing 4 automatic criticals on one of those Resistance Bombers will really put the hurt on them...
• Darth Vader
  • Not bad.
  • Twin Ion Engines MkII aren't a bad idea, again - giving you 4 extra green moves.
  • However, if you're equipping Vader as a missile boat, consider Guidance Chips instead.
  • Harpoon Missiles will do more damage on average than concussion missiles, even ignoring their splash effect, thanks to the way the reroll interacts with guidance chips.
  • If you have Omega Ace and Vader's own Advanced Targeting Computer, you also have a reliable way to set the harpoon charge off, which is worth another point of damage.
• Deathrain
  • Deathrain is good - pretty much the best punisher pilot - but he's very much a bomber, not a missile boat.
  • Trajectory Simulator & Bomblet Generator is a better pairing point for point than other bomb loadouts - you can drop bomblets front or back and get a free roll, or launch them and turn away.
  • Lightweight Frame makes him acceptably tough
  • Unguided Rockets are cheap and give him some ability to shoot normally. Cluster missiles are okay if you have the dice modifiers to support them (someone who gets X rerolls or focus-to-hit modifiers on every attack, for example) but not much cop without them.

Tactics

• @SkyCooper and @Praetorate of the Empire have it right. Spread out and approach from as many angles as possible. That stops you getting blocked and lets you concentrate arcs of fire (crossfire = good), not ships (close packed formations that can be hit with bombs = bad)
• The bombers will probably want to stay in pretty close formation to one another to benefit from crossfire formation.
• You want to come at them from both sides. I f you're not in Crimson Leader's arc, whilst they can shoot at you, you're not picking up Rattled.
  • Avoid the front, because that's where the bombs come from!
  • The good thing is they're hard to line up. Because they drop them before they move, you already know when setting your dial where they could drop a bomb. Always eyeball the 'danger area' before planning your moves, especially whilst Crimson Leader has any proton bombs left, as a bomblet + proton bomb can quite realistically turn a TIE fighter or Rattled TIE/fo to confetti without you even getting to roll green dice!
• At the same time, the bombers are the unmanouvrable targets. Concentrated fire, even from 2-dice ships, should cut them to bits in pretty short order.
  • If you get a chance to block, trap, stress, and kill the aces beforehand, then by all means take it (especially on Poe) but don't try and redirect your entire squad if you aren't confident. But Jake especially and to a lesser extent Poe are hard to kill but not massively good at doing damage themselves.
• Make sure you communicate. The smaller resistance squad has the edge because there's one player, who knows exactly what he's planning. You have two players, who can't discuss strategy too openly without telegraphing your aims to your opponent. But make sure both sides know what each ship is doing, because a train-wreck collision could be devastating (especially if it leaves Vader - who'll be moving last with limited idea where everyone else will be - with none of the tokens he needs to keep him alive).

thank you for all the advice.

We changed our list about a dozen times and finally we decided on this :

Epsilon Ace + Engine Upgrade - 21

Zeta Ace + Push the Limit + Engine Upgrade - 25

Captain Jonus + Veteran Instincts + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + TIE Shuttle + Systems Officer + Fleet Officer - 29

Redline + Fire-Control System + Plasma Torpedoes + Extra Munitions + Cluster Missiles + Ion Pulse Missiles + Guidance Chips - 41

Darth Vader + Predator + Assault Missiles + Engine Upgrade + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer - 42

Colonel Vessery + Marksmanship + Ion Cannon + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II + TIE/D - 42

(I got a defender just before Christmas, so wanted to use it)

This cut the number of ships down to 6 instead of 8 making it easier for us to fly.

We had a great time and learnt a lot from the game, we nearly lost the punisher and bomber, but we ran out of time before they were destroyed, we did manage to lower the shields of both bombers and one had 3 damage cards on it. The game took 3 hours, but much of this was explaining cards and rules and setting up the table.

We did crash 2 ships once, but that was my fault as I forgot the veteran instincts on capt jonus, but hey we live and learn.

I know we probably could have done a better list, but we enjoyed working it out with the ships and cards we had and had a blast playing the game.

Thank you all, may the force be with you.