Played my first triple ace list last night against a four ship scum list. It was going to be tournament prep, but I'm not convinced the archetype is viable right now, given the lack of token stacking and the change to the evade rule.

Has anyone had much success yet? I think a shuttle with two aces seems a better bet, if you like the multiple ace way of flying.

4-Lom was a real handful to deal with, one of the few stress dealing cards really did some damage against this list.

TIE/D Defender - •Rexler Brath - 88
•Rexler Brath - Onyx Leader (84)
Lone Wolf (4)

TIE/ph Phantom - •“Whisper” - 56
•“Whisper” - Soft-Spoken Slayer (52)
Juke (4)

TIE/in Interceptor - •Soontir Fel - 54
•Soontir Fel - Ace of Legend (52)
Predator (2)

Total: 198/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Absolutely its do-able. And I disagree that support shuttle +2 aces is in any way superior (in fact, its actually inferior, because the shuttle is a relatively easy kill now; whereas if you fly your aces right, they should not be). The best part is that there are no 'easy mode' cards to 'save' you (like palp and autothrusters in 1.0). Triple Imperial aces is currently the ultimate high risk high reward list (although one could make an argument that double or triple scum ace builds are currently in the same category). You win or lose based on how good you are with maneuvering and predicting your opponent. Mess up, and you lose. Plain and simple. So definitely not the play-style that appeals to everyone.

Of course, the question of whether its 'too risky' depends on how comfortable you are with this play-style. It certainly takes a lot of practice, because you cannot afford to have a 'bad approach' with this type of list, and the only way to know how to approach different types of enemies is to have some experience against them.

As to your list, I think its fine. How well it performs depends 100% on how you approach certain enemies. In the example you give with 4-LOM in the opposing squad, you just have to accept that you are going to have to eat some stress at some point. However, as long as you're smart, you can control when that happens (and most importantly, on whom!). For example, Soontir should never be getting that stress, ever. Ultimately, you'd have to accept a trade: 4-LOM for one of your ships. Generally speaking, this should be an advantage for your list, unless you lost Rexler (but if that happened, its most likely due to a mistake you made).

The only change I would suggest is to put Juke on Rexler. Not because its way better than Lone Wolf, but only because I think ultimately you want Soontir as your outside flanker. And the double Jukes on Rexler + Whisper will net you better early game damage (whereas lone wolf is superior in the late game). But triple imperial aces struggle the most in the early game when the enemy is at their strongest. For that reason, its smart to stack your odds of getting through that grueling first half of the game. Once you get one or two enemies off the board, the game slides more and more in your favour. Double Juke will increase those odds for you better than Lone Wolf (in this particular list---I think Lone Wolf on Rexler is a good idea, but only when your other ships are dedicated jousters).

I’ve thought of running this exact list (except Juke instead of LF) but I keep coming back that Soontir Fel feels a little to squishy, so I’m hesitant. I have been trying a similar list with Redline instead of Fel. Let me know how it goes.

10 minutes ago, Cgriffith said:

I’ve thought of running this exact list (except Juke instead of LF) but I keep coming back that Soontir Fel feels a little to squishy, so I’m hesitant. I have been trying a similar list with Redline instead of Fel. Let me know how it goes.

You can drop Soontir for juke Echo.

I completely agree that the success of this type of list is in how well it's flown, and that's what has drawn me to the archetype. It's a great challenge, and you make some great points on how it's even more high risk high reward in 2.0.

What really didn't occur to me was how much the change to the evade action really changed my approach. I was so focused on dodging arcs that soontir only got his dice mods if he got someone in his bullseye. Juke (while having great synergy with the defender and phantom) still needs to be backed up by strong red dice, which you don't consistently get if you have to keep barrel rolling out of range/arc. In 1.0, I may have taken that chance with the evade token and picked up a focus/TL instead.

Lone Wolf over Juke in this instance was accepting I was likely to get Fel blown up at some point, so wanted Rexlar as the endgame ship. Unfortunately he still had 3 arcs on him - he may have been able to succeed if it was only 2. But I think I'll move to double Juke for the weekend and report back after 4 or 5 more games.