Just wondering if anyone had any build ideas for a rebel z-95. I know they aren't the best ship in the port just wondering if anyone found a good use for them.

Going down the list:

Cracken has a great pilot ability on an obsolete platform. Fun if you like support abilities. Not recommended in a competitive setting.

Blount is good in casual lists that depend on triggering a missile effect, or if you’re having trouble with Stealth Devices.

Tala: I’ve never seen one on a table, even at times when Z-95’s were plentiful in many play settings.

Bandit: If you need 12 points of filler, you could fly a Bandit, but most modern lists are better off with 12 points of upgrades.

If you need a ship in the 13-25 point range, then the Z-95 has been totally eclipsed by Sabine’s TIE and the Sheathipede.

I've been toying around with putting together a Clone Wars list with the ARC, Z-95, and Y-Wing, but haven't settled on anything yet.

Scum Zs are great fun. I love running "bug zapper" Binyare Pirates with Feedback Arrays anytime. N'Dru can also be rigged up as a nasty alpha striker.

I'll be honest, my Rebel Z spends most of its time either as 12-point filler in janky 4-ship lists, or as a stand-in for a PS3 Scum Z (cuz by that point I've run out of Binyare cardboard).

Occasionally I'll run Bluntman with Advanced Homing Missiles for a laugh. Every once in a great while I've paid the one point and flown a Tala and felt like that's not a bad investment. Airen tempts me but he always comes out too expensive compared to anything else worthwhile.

Zeds work good in lists with the HoTR Chewie since they tend to die to trigger his ability and you can fit a few in with him with a good load out. I used to run a list like this which was a lot of fun

YT-1300: · Chewbacca (Heroes of the Resistance) (42)
· Swarm Leader (3)
· Rey (2)
· Jan Ors (2)
· Millennium Falcon (Evade) (1)
TIE Fighter: · Sabine Wren (15)
Juke (2)
TIE Fighter: · Captain Rex (14)
Z-95 Headhunter: · Airen Cracken (19)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
-- TOTAL ------- 100/100p. --

Edit: Juke can also be switched out for intensity but I found it difficult to keep tokens around with swarm leader around to recharge it

I've also seen an expertise HoTR chewie with three zeds, two with cruise missiles and one with thread tracers

Airen Cracken is mostly competitive these days in the right list. That free action can go a long way, plus he's a PS 10 Harpoon carrier. That said, it seems like Fenn Rau is the new Hotness in terms of cheapish Rebel support ships. Anyhow, I've had a reasonable amount of success with the following list (I didn't make it, but borrowed it from the forums):

Airen Cracken (VI, Harpoon Missiles, Guidance Chips)

Wedge Antillies (Adaptability, BB-8, Plasma Torpedos, Guidance Chips) (this perhaps could be Flight Assist Astromech, at least, it's worth considering)

Captain Nym (VI, Harpoon Missiles, Rey, Autoblaster Turret, Bomblet Generator, Guidance Chips)

Basically, Airen Cracken gives Wedge a Focus for his Torpedo, so you've got a solid chance to just destroy someone in a round of fire. Cracken can also do cool things like barrel roll Nym into a better shot, or off of a block, and so forth.

//

There was also someone who won a moderately large tournament just before waves 12/13 hit with 7 Rebel Z-95s. All Bandit Squadron, if I recall correctly. 4 had XX-23 S-Thread Tracers and Guidance Chips, 3 had Harpoon Missiles and Guidance Chips. It'll be a fairly solid little swarm. Probably mostly outclassed by a bunch of Harpoon/Long Range Scanner Nu Squadrons, but if you've got a jones for some Z-95, it'll do OK.

Don't overlook the option of a Cruise Missile carrying Z-95. You save a point relative to harpoons, and unlike a lot of platforms, you still have a speed 4 straight to deliver a 5-dice attack. Using them en masse is not the way to go because low PS ships don't like trouble target locking, but a 15 point Bandit held back is easy to ignore, and a 5-dice target lock/guidance chip 'attack run' can break the back of a ship that's busy dealing with the rest of your squad.

I saw a fleet of these at regionals. It was 7 of them, 4 with thread tracer missiles, and three with Harpoons. Pretty effective, use some for blocking, some to pass target locks around, and Harpoon as many people as possible. It brought back some of the old swarm days, and was extremely effective. I think he ran into a little bad luck hitting the number #2, then my build he didn't see early on. I was able to tractor some of the harpies on the rocks, and my ships were built to bump so I caught him by surprise on a a couple 5 speeds, but aside from those he tabled several players. He flew the front four targeting missiles with three harpooners in the back. If I hadn't timed the collision to be around the rocks, I would have probably lost as well since it was already close.