So, I have 115 points left in a 3 ship build for fighters.

Fleet

MC80 COMMAND

Assault Frigate B

GR-75

There are plenty of activiations available. But I am terrible at working out how to spend those points. I have enough firepower so I don’t need to rely to heavily on bombers to kill ships, but they are always good. I’m not using FCT’s either so B-wings seem out of the question.

Any suggestions welcome on how to build a fighter list that can overwhelm an enemy anti fighter list.

What upgrades are you bringing? This has a huge impact on what kind of fighters you want. There are a lot of different good fighter combos for multiple roles (I summon @grunnax93 to give the regular spiel about fighter combos).

The Rebels have two good dogfigters; the A-wing and X-wing. The A-wing really shines with its aces, Tycho and Shara. They are strong enough to form a small interceptor force on their own, and will happily mow down TIES all day. The other solution is X-wings. Bring Biggs, Wedge, and a bunch of other generic X-wings. Add on a few YT-1300s and Jan Ors for extra tankiness. Also consider bringing Dutch Vander, as he has a nice synergy with Wedge, especially when activated by Yavaris. I give an honorable mention to Ten Numb, as he is really good, but only when escorting a bomber wing. X-wings are already faster than he is, and A-wings will leave him completely in the dust. Out

So which one to take? It really depends what you want your fighter wing to do. If you want to mow down enemy bombers, the A-wings are a better choice, as they can deal more damage fast, and counter back. As Imperial bombers are really poor at attacking other squads, the A-wings are probably not going to die. But the, the A-wings are poor at doing other stuff once the squadron minigame is won. Sure, they aren't as bad as TIEs at attacking enemy ships, but aren't great either, and, giving that most of them will be down to 1-2 health, they could easily get oneshot by some lucky flak. So then, the best choice is to just run away and sit on your advantage. The X-wings, on the other hand, are far better at attacking enemy ships (although not much better than A-wings). However, they are far more durable, especially with Biggs and Jan. They also have more dice. So, if you bring flight controllers on the AFMkII, you have a pretty good chance of oneshoting enemy TIEs, and can deal heavy damage to juicier targets like TIE defenders. So overall, I prefer X-wings, as they are more versatile, more tanky, and just fit my style of play better. However, A-wings still serve a very important role in the game. Anyway, I hope you found some of this helpful, and have fun flying around your tiny spaceships!

So here is some suggestions for building squads.

Here are some Air Superiority combinations:
Intercept and Snipe:

Shara Bey, 3 A-Wings and 1 E-Wing (65)


Tank and Spank:

Jan Ors, 2 YT-1300 and Ten Numb (64)

Dog Fighters and Secondary Bombers:

Jan Ors, Biggs Darklighter and 2 X-Wings (64)



Here are some Bombing combinations:
Light Bombers: 

Norra Wexley, Gold Squadron and 4 Y-Wings (69)

[12 damage potential with Norra allowing crits to auto remove a shield meaning cant be affected by defense tokens, including contain unless they have damage control officer]

[Adar Talon and Yavaris 20 damage potential]

Heavy Bombers:

Captain Nym and 3 Scurrg H-6 Bombers (69)

[12 damage potential with Captain Nym's Blue Crits you can choose one enemy defense token to discard]

[Using Adar Talon and Yavaris Nym can attack three times in a round, so damage postential with Nym attacking three times and 2 Scurrgs attacking twice and the remaining Scurrg once you have a 24 damage potential with Nym giving a potential to discard up to 3 defense tokens in a turn]

Gunships:

Keyan Farlander and 3 B-Wings (62)

[13 damage potential with Keyan Farlander re-rolling both black dice if hitting hull and not shields]

[Adar Talon and Yavaris 27 damage potential]

  
Rogue Bombers:

Dash Rendar and 3 Lancer-class Pursuit Craft

[8 damage potential]

[Adar Talon and Yavaris 16 damage potential]

i do not recommend, more for bombers supporting a Gunboat fleet

Now seeing as you are looking for a fighter screen rather than a balance in fighters and bombers, the following could be interesting.

Squadrons:
• Jan Ors (19) - To provide brace to the escorts, aswell as allow them to move un-contested.
• Biggs Darklighter (19) - Increase the logevity of Wedge aswell as the general lifetime of all x-wings
• Wedge Antilles (19) - Really dislike him as he gets focused, but he synergises really well with Dutch, Biggs will help keep him around longer.
• 2 x X-wing Squadron (26) - Escorts will prevent Jan being targeted, Bomber is a nice addition for after clearing enemy squads.
• Dutch Vander (16) - Great for combo with Wedge to alpha a deadly squadron off the board.
• Tycho Celchu (16) - Tycho is fast and can go where ever he wants, can get initial lock-down on enemy squads or chase straglers that escaped the main escort swarm.
= 115 Points

This provides good life for a fighter screen aswell as good firepower against enemy squads. Bomber is just nice for after clearing enemy squads.

The other option is just Shara, Tycho and boat load of A-Wings if not looking to use squadron commands.

Squadrons:
• Shara Bey (17)
• Tycho Celchu (16)
• 7 x A-wing Squadron (77)
= 110 Points

This is just really cringe worthy

Squadrons:
• Lieutenant Blount (14)
• 14 x Z-95 Headhunter Squadron (98)
= 112 Points

@grunnax93 and @Mostly_Harmless_Species

Great info here, would you mind sharing how best combine these with Capital ships and which will be the critical upgrades (assuming that one does not go down the Yavaris route). I'm always having a hard time coordinating my attack wings

Thanks in advance!

Ok, let’s start with carriers. The best rebel carrier is (I’m sure you’ve guessed this already) Yavaris. Push your two best squads with it. I also like the mc80 command cruiser, it’s pretty tanky, can function very well in a combat role, and can push as many squads and any ship. And of course; there are flotillas. But what ship you use to activate squads does not really matter, as long as you activate them. Just use the ship best positioned at the time. I know this is cliché, but just practice a list many times until you know how to fly your fighters in formation.

Now upgrades: this depend on your fighters. Interceptor wings are mostly self sufficient, and you should take just a flight commander and maybe Adar Tallon. The rest of your upgrades should be focused on pushing more fighters, ie. EHB or another flotilla. Bomber are much more dependent on good upgrades. Even after the nerf, bomber command center is still very good, albeit not broken when you fly it on eight Gozantis. Anyway, take one with bombers at all cost, as it really improves your chances at that black hit-Crit. Any squad below speed 3 also needs fighter coordination team. Again, it no longer works on Yavaris, but goes great on other ships like Mc80s.

A final note dedicated to Commander Leia. She completely changes they way you play the squadron game, as you can turn any command 1-2 ship into a carrier pretty good. Yavaris is completely awesome with her, but be on the lookout to stun your opponent by launching two b-wings out of a CR90 at his damaged ISD. Anyway, hope this helps, and have fun!

3 hours ago, salnihra said:

@grunnax93 and @Mostly_Harmless_Species

Great info here, would you mind sharing how best combine these with Capital ships and which will be the critical upgrades (assuming that one does not go down the Yavaris route). I'm always having a hard time coordinating my attack wings

Thanks in advance!

Well depends on how you want to run squads, if your running them only for Air Superiority there is two simple ways, do you plan on using squad commands or squadron phase? Squadron Commands X-Wings are better than A-Wing in my opinion if using commands to push/attack with them. Squadron Phase A-Wings are better due to being able to engage without attacking because of Counter.

If your looking to run a Carrier, you will need not only Bombers, but a Air Superiority unit. The issue here is someone who makes a pure Air Superiority Unit has more points to spend on their air cover, where as you have to designate a set amount into air superiority and strike capability due to the 134 point limit on squads. So this is the issue where you need to design a small cost air superiority unit that can handle more targets than its own size, this can be tricky as player skill in squadron management plays a big part here too. You also need to figure out what kind of strike build you want, Light, Heavy or Gunships. Aces are your best friends for making a smaller group effective at taking on bigger groups, eg. Ten Numb's ability. "While attacking a squadron, you may spend 1 blue die with a icon. If you do, each other enemy squadron at distance 1 of the defender suffers 1 damage." this is great for dealing with mass squads especially when you couple him with and Adar Talon and Yavaris Combo where he can attack three times in a turn and using Toryn Farr to fish for that blue crit.

@Mostly_Harmless_Species says Yavaris is the best Carrier for Rebels... this is true, however I can guarantee you it will die almost every game... it is a flying pinata, the trick is making sure it makes its points worth before going down, so if it makes a bomber wing strip the shields off a target hull zone and 8+ damage cards to an ISD in a single turn... then the Yavaris dies... It has made its points worth! Yes it can technically 1 shot an ISD with good squadron placement, good rolls and specific squadron loadout. So expect that the Yavaris will die, you need a big solid carrier to carry you the rest of the game, MC80 Command Cruiser is hands down the best full size Carrier the Rebels can get, and in my opinion only thing I am comfortable to put Adar Talon onto as he is an expensive officer.

just be aware of the Yavaris errata notes:

Yavaris

Alongside Gallant Haven, the Yavaris title has been a centerpiece of Rebel squadron-based fleets since its release in the first wave of the game. Subsequent releases have contained effects that allow players to circumvent the Yavaris's vulnerabilities, increasing the card’s relative power. Like Avenger, Yavaris and its squadrons pose a serious threat of destroying even a large ship before it can activate.

Yavaris now reads “[Squadron Command]: Each squadron you activate can attack twice if it does not move during your activation."

This change prevents the combination of Flight Commander and Fighter Coordination Team from allowing players to move their squadrons up to distance 1 and still attack twice over the course of Yavaris's activation.

Also get used to having a point bid and playing second player, at tournaments I have always had the bid and taken second player each time as I prefer playing my objectives.

Here is my current build as a reference for a solid strike carrier build. Have taken a few tournaments with this, I plan on running this at my National Championships.

Name: Dodonna Bombers
Faction: Rebel
Commander: General Dodonna

Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions

MC80 Command Cruiser (106)
• General Dodonna (20)
• Adar Tallon (10)
• Fighter Coordination Team (3)
• Boosted Comms (4)
= 143 Points

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57)
• Flight Commander (3)
• Yavaris (5)
= 65 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Toryn Farr (7)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Bright Hope (2)
= 35 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Comms Net (2)
= 20 Points

Squadrons:
• Nym (21)
• 3 x Scurrg H-6 Bomber (48)
• Jan Ors (19)
• Biggs Darklighter (19)
• 2 x X-wing Squadron (26)
= 133 Points

Total Points: 396

This is one of my other builds that's currently an experiment as I have only played a few games with it, but they have gone so well so far.

Name: Rieekan Aces
Faction: Rebel
Commander: General Rieekan

Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions

MC80 Command Cruiser (106)
• General Rieekan (30)
• Adar Tallon (10)
• Fighter Coordination Team (3)
• Boosted Comms (4)
= 153 Points

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57)
• Flight Commander (3)
• Yavaris (5)
= 65 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Bright Hope (2)
= 28 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Comms Net (2)
= 20 Points

Squadrons:
• Corran Horn (22)
• Nym (21)
• Wedge Antilles (19)
• Ten Numb (19)
• Jan Ors (19)
• Dutch Vander (16)
• Gold Squadron (12)
= 128 Points

Total Points: 394

Feel free to ask any questions.

Thanks a lot for the replies, they have been very helpful. I will have process them a bit and ofcourse try to practice them

It seems like if I want to play the squadron game, I have to get used to playing Yavaris. The problems is that I'm not a fond of the Nebulan B's Frigates. I liked them as medical frigates, they are very squishy as fighting vessels.

I do like MC-80's a lot though. I tend to escort my Command Cruiser with a MC-30 Torpedo Frigate and TRC Corvettes and a token complement of fighters. The squadron game warrants the flotillas, which can replace my Corvettes and open space for more fighters. So a MC 80 centric build might actually work for me.

4 minutes ago, salnihra said:

Thanks a lot for the replies, they have been very helpful. I will have process them a bit and ofcourse try to practice them

It seems like if I want to play the squadron game, I have to get used to playing Yavaris. The problems is that I'm not a fond of the Nebulan B's Frigates. I liked them as medical frigates, they are very squishy as fighting vessels.

I do like MC-80's a lot though. I tend to escort my Command Cruiser with a MC-30 Torpedo Frigate and TRC Corvettes and a token complement of fighters. The squadron game warrants the flotillas, which can replace my Corvettes and open space for more fighters. So a MC 80 centric build might actually work for me.

Thats what Flight Commander is for, keep the Yavaris out of the kill zone until it is required to deal a deadly blow for the squads by being able to sit back and resolve squad commands after moving.

Thanks this clarifies it a lot actually. So (very broadly) the Yavaris will be used as a (most probably) one time force multiplier, almost like discarding a card

15 minutes ago, salnihra said:

Thanks this clarifies it a lot actually. So (very broadly) the Yavaris will be used as a (most probably) one time force multiplier, almost like discarding a card

I have had games where it lives, but that generally when it one shots something.

On 6/18/2018 at 9:56 AM, Jammers said:

So, I have 115 points left in a 3 ship build for fighters.

Fleet

MC80 COMMAND

Assault Frigate B

GR-75

There are plenty of activiations available. But I am terrible at working out how to spend those points. I have enough firepower so I don’t need to rely to heavily on bombers to kill ships, but they are always good. I’m not using FCT’s either so B-wings seem out of the question.

Any suggestions welcome on how to build a fighter list that can overwhelm an enemy anti fighter list.

2 YT-1300s ( 26 points)
1 Jan Ors ( 19 points)
2 YT-2400 ( 16 points)
1 Corran Horn ( 22 points)
1 Tycho Celchu ( 16 points)
= 115 total squadron cost

You have Jan to do the soaking with with two YT's which are better than x-wings imo despite lacking in speed 14 hull between them and counter 1, plus Jan is a lot to work through. Tycho can peel off an engage anyone who leaves the main engagement, and jan allows the YT-2400 to do the same benefiting from being rouge they can shoot as well.

Corran helps taking out pesky Imp squads vital to balls like Rudor or Marek etc

On 6/22/2018 at 6:37 AM, salnihra said:

Thanks this clarifies it a lot actually. So (very broadly) the Yavaris will be used as a (most probably) one time force multiplier, almost like discarding a card

*Two time, hopefully. Rieekan Aces often likes to go second so it can move Yav in last, hit, then hit again next round, as a zombie if needed.

16 hours ago, EbonHawk said:

2 YT-1300s ( 26 points)
1 Jan Ors ( 19 points)
2 YT-2400 ( 16 points)
1 Corran Horn ( 22 points)
1 Tycho Celchu ( 16 points)
= 115 total squadron cost

You have Jan to do the soaking with with two YT's which are better than x-wings imo despite lacking in speed 14 hull between them and counter 1, plus Jan is a lot to work through. Tycho can peel off an engage anyone who leaves the main engagement, and jan allows the YT-2400 to do the same benefiting from being rouge they can shoot as well.

Corran helps taking out pesky Imp squads vital to balls like Rudor or Marek etc

when running a YT-1300 Tank Ball, Ten Numb is usually a good add.

2 hours ago, grunnax93 said:

when running a YT-1300 Tank Ball, Ten Numb is usually a good add.

I can second that, he's one of those squads that jumps in and out of my list.

Can drop a YT-2400 to rouge squad and fiddle with ships for last point to get Ten in.