Hello.

So this wknd, I'm heavily considering attending my 1st SC.... Just in time for 2.0. If they allow it...

Now, I’ve played a lot of X Wing with family, I've read a lot of X Wing and watched... some. But I’m obviously a complete novice and go in expecting to get trashed, but with the aim of just meeting some people, playing some games, having a chuckle and maybe learning a bit. The 1st real step in my 2.0 do-I-invest quest.

That all plays into exactly why I’ve picked the basis of the list I’ll be taking. To whit, low ship count for easier management, fast but a bit tanky, low 2.0 materiel count and lastly, forgiving of error- actual built in stupidity mitigation systems. And I’ve tried a bunch of things, and I really like this one.
I’d like to be able to ask an opponent or 2 the odd tricky question with my play, rather than be a total waste of time, so I’m interested to hear about upgrade options, as usual but also, mainly, what sort of rookie errors to avoid with a list like this (such as jousting Jonas and chums)? What sort of list/ship archetypes will be my biggest headache, and how? Basically, I know that double Defenders are going to get wrecked in lots of ways, particularly in my grubby hands, but which ways would you consider to be the most obvious, or even obviously avoidable? And, if it is even possible to say, how you would approach playing with or against these 2.

I also understand that it is all entirely situational but, you know.... humour me

What I have almost settled on is as follows...

Double /D's
Rex- Outmanoeuvre, Adv Sensors. 98
Ryad- Outmanoeuvre, Adv Sensors. 100

Almost. Because downgrading Rex to an Onyx and whacking HLCs on both still really appeals, for several reasons. Not the least is that the squad name came at this stage.

I’ve tried a whole bunch of variations, including twin Ion Cannons in a silly ControlBots moment.... That one seemed most rubbish.... Have to say, Rex, Juke and FCS didn't really do it for me, tokened up small ships that die after not much damage are maybe quite common, which seems to make a lot of that efficiency go away.

I'm not particularly concerned about a bid, I feel it's possible to put these 2 ships in places the opponent will find it hard to react to.

With Ryads ability, Outmanoeuvre and Adv Sensors, plus white Ks all day and a green 5 straight. And a boost. And a free evade.... there’s lots of ways I can navigate my own stupidity. Basically lots of ways to sacrifice an action for a better position after dials are set, a position with a built in attack mod, no less.

My own very basic idea is to bunch up the asteroids, start together. Somewhere. Go slow and split enough to see a target priority, but not go too far out of range of a quick regroup. Bait for a turn, then go extremely fast into a position where I can Outmanoeuvre and focus fire with one, with support fire on the same target from the other, having sacrificed attack mods for a position away from instant doom and closer to his/her wingmate. Either by ‘pincering’ or simply sweeping across a slow, narrow advance. Or something else.

I’ve trialled slow/fast starts with them tucked together but feel like that makes me an easy target for lots of things and requires a different upgrade path, at the very least.

After that, if both survive, they just go knife fighting. The green 1 bank and Adv Sen into 1 hard, or bump, oh and 2k, seem pretty good for this but I’m open to being absolutely wrong on that. The option of disengaging at speed for a second bait and trap is very much there, still. Whichever one they go for, the other is threatening the Outmanoeuvre. If one does not survive the initial thrust, the game is probably a wash ofc.

The main problem I’ve had is relying on a lot of dice variance as my choices spiral downhill into pre-move arc dodging. I feel I really need to nail down the 1st approach, so I can then use the Adv Sensors proactively, rather than reactively.

Obviously, I expect that very basic idea to last approximately 2min, which is when I barrel roll Rex into a 3 hard onto a rock and boost Ryad into a 5k which leaves her sitting tokenless in front of Wedge and Luke, at range 1, facing the wrong way.

So. Waddya think?

The list will take a lot of practice. Adv sensors shuts down the evade action, so you gotta be sure you want to do it. Going against any i5 or i6 ships, adv sensors could cost you dearly if you use it poorly.

Or if you miss judge the distance a boost/barrel can take you trying to dodge the arcs of a tie swarm and still end up in arcs, but now with no evade.

Iden will cancel out half your list, so killing howl in a single turn is near impossible, so expect swarms to be super tough for two ship lists.

The ships are super fun to fly though. Double Defenders were one of my favorite 1.0 lists.

You are going to want to bait with one and attack with the other. Adv sensors will let the baiter end up almost anywhere. Dial in a 3 bank and they will be near impossible to touch aginst lower ps ships. Then come in with the other and plink damage.

Keep baiting and attacking flanks until the number of enemy ships is more manageable.

Good luck.

8 hours ago, wurms said:

The list will take a lot of practice. Adv sensors shuts down the evade action, so you gotta be sure you want to do it. Going against any i5 or i6 ships, adv sensors could cost you dearly if you use it poorly.

Or if you miss judge the distance a boost/barrel can take you trying to dodge the arcs of a tie swarm and still end up in arcs, but now with no evade.

Iden will cancel out half your list, so killing howl in a single turn is near impossible, so expect swarms to be super tough for two ship lists.

The ships are super fun to fly though. Double Defenders were one of my favorite 1.0 lists.

You are going to want to bait with one and attack with the other. Adv sensors will let the baiter end up almost anywhere. Dial in a 3 bank and they will be near impossible to touch aginst lower ps ships. Then come in with the other and plink damage.

Keep baiting and attacking flanks until the number of enemy ships is more manageable.

Good luck.

Thanks for the response, very helpful.

Several points I had been considering and the Iden/Howl combo is one that had me scratching my head a bit. Baiting and plinking is a fine choice of words. I do have a tendency to be too aggressive and end up in poor spots, when I know I should probably be more conservative and wait for better opportunities. TIE aces scare me somewhat.

I then also overuse the Sensors and that shuts the efficiency down an awful lot. They're on there to act as a get out of jail card on occasion and to make me harder to predict, rather than be a walking stick. But I keep thinking I'm playing 1.0 and using them won't hurt as much as it then turns out to

Lots of practice is so true, it seems sort of hard mode with these 2. But that's a little why I've decided to try it. It's a very simple list with few moving parts and so far, the tactical errors I've been making have been relatively easy to identify. Spreading too much and getting isolated, accidentally entering a joust with woeful odds and so on. I feel like it's a list that I can learn a lot about engagement from, that can then be applied to different squads with better results. In the long run.

I have started leaning back to switching Rex for an Onyx and going HLCs. The I5 on Rex is not likely to help me that much. I also feel like it'll make Ryad possibly a more attractive target and she's a little better at escaping attention. If not, she's slightly stronger later. Plus the HLCs may encourage and, if rarely, reward me for playing more cautiously with a bit more range. Perhaps also tempt an opponent into trying to avoid them. Matching PS has always given me a warm feeling of satisfaction too....