Hoping to come up with a solid all-comers list for Regionals, that can take on everything from MC30 swarm to TRC90s to double ISDs, and maybe not get completely destroyed against Sloane or Rieekan 2+3.

I’ve liked Sato a lot - particularly as the only time I've ever felt good about Assault Frigates' damage output is playing him - but he really seems to want both a lot of ships (since each additional attack you make is another trigger for his ability) and a lot of squads (so the ability actually works). Here’s what I’ve been playing around with to try to thread that needle. Problem is that it’s still exploding vs. heavy fighter lists, and it would be nice to not give up all the squad points every time. Also, most of the firepower is still very short-ranged.

Assault Frigate mkIIB
>Sato
>Ordnance Experts
>Skilled First Officer

MC30 Torpedo Frigate
>Lando
>Ordnance Experts
>Assault Proton Torpedos
>Admonition

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette
>Ordnance Experts
>External Racks

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette
>Ordnance Experts
>External Racks

GR75 Medium Transports
>Toryn Farr
>Comms Net

Squadrons:
Tycho Celchu
Shara Bey
A-Wing x2
VCX-100
YT-2400

392/400

Objectives: Most Wanted, Capture the VIP, Intel Sweep

I tried an alternate squad mix of Tycho, Shara, VCX-100, 2 X-Wings and Jan (with no Toryn) a few times, but still had a tough time doing serious squad damage or even just keeping them alive. Maybe Toryn will make the difference?

The AFIIB and Admonition try to maneuver separately, particularly against front arc-focused ships, so if you turn to face one the other is more likely to slip away. One Hammerhead backstops the AFIIB, and the other tries to flank -and if either one gets in one solid shot with External Racks, it’s usually worth it. The AF and GR75 can manage all five non-Rogue fighters for the first couple turns, then usually a couple fighters have died and one of them can swap over to other commands. It can be good to leave one squad in an asteroid field so that you’re not just limited to Tycho to get out of engagement and provide the Sato buff.

When it gets first player (reasonably often), generally Admonition gets the “go first” ball early in the game, then after its attack run it lets whichever Hammerhead is in a relevant position start things off. As second player, the VCX helps pick up a critical VIP or Intel Sweep token before it gets tied up (and even as first player it can make it safer to play someone else’s Targeting Beacons, Minefields or Planetary Ion Cannon).

Any listbuilding (or bidding) advice?

Toryn will definitely help with squad damage, as long as you’re fighting in her bubble, but she may not help with the longevity of your squads. That medium blob will still get chewed up by big blogs of squadrons.

But that’s ok - as long as you have enough squadrons left to trigger Sato when you need him. Tycho is great for this, but you need some HWKs in there. They can never be locked down, and thus can serve to trigger Sato even when surrounded by tons of fighters, and on 1 HP. I would suggest replacing one or both A-wings with HWKs.

Another point that may help your squad game - don’t discount your blue flak ships. With Toryn Farr they have a ~75% chance of inflicting a point of damage on squadrons in range - and blue range covers a lot of area. It means flying your ships in formation more, but against a heavy squadron build the mutual flak protection can help you win the squadron game.