Greetings fellow Star Wars fans

So i've been hovering around X-Wing for a while. With 2nd Edition having dropped and all these incredible new sculpts coming out i don't think I can sit on the sidelines any longer, I got to jump in and start flying my own squadron. I'll be checking out my local X-Wing scene in the next week or two but in the meantime I've been trying to figure out what I would like to buy first. I'm most interested in Scum and Separatists.

For Scum I thought it might fun to try out a swarm of Z-95s (one of my favorite ships from Star Wars). I figure I will still be flying two or 3 Z-95s alongside a YT1300 or a Firespray. So how many would be enough for a swarm? 5-6?

Thanks

Drea Renthal (42)
Dorsal Turret (2)

Ship total: 44 Half Points: 22 Threshold: 4

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2

Binayre Pirate (24)
Deadman's Switch (2)

Ship total: 26 Half Points: 13 Threshold: 2


Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0: https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum and Villainy&d=v6!s=200!86:,137,,,,,,:;159:,93,:;159:,93,:;159:,93,:;159:,93,:;159:,93,:;159:,93,:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=

Welcome to the game!

So, I think the general consensus is that you need six of something for a "true" swarm. Three is to the order of a mini-swarm. That aside, three Headhunters seems to be my magic number. Two attack dice doesn't seem to scare anybody, but six? It will require you to learn to fly well, and you will lose a lot early on. I don't think I won a game in my first few months of playing (once a week or so). But a mini-swarm is a hellishly solid way to start learning good technique! Personally, in order to *not* fry your brain, I'd pair them with something beefy and easier to fly, like say Fett in a Firespray. That's a solid starting squad. Keep your Headhunters lean, as they will die. A lot. But Fett can soak up the punishment, and dish out decent returns.

Scum are a lot of fun to fly, and as a fellow z-95 lover I can definitely get behind your desire to fly a bunch of them. They are sturdy, cheap ships which can really frustrate your opponent. They work best up close so you can get the range 1 bonus and (even better) bump enemy ships into awkward positions.

I wouldn't fly them with a scum yt-1300 - Han is the best pilot, but he shines most when the rest of the squad can draw fire away from him, so that he can line himself up behind rocks without getting mobbed by enemy ships. Han also takes a lot of effort to fly effectively.

As Kleeg says, Boba is an excellent companion for a bunch of Zs. He is the most threatening piece in your list and thus will attract a lot of attention, but with reinforce he can happily tank a lot of damage while your Zs harass the enemy. Boba is also easy to fly well. Here's a sample list I've put together for you:

Boba Fett: Proximity Mines, Slave I, L337
Captain Seevor
Binayre Pirate x3

That list comes out at 199 points and looks pretty good! Seevor is easily one of the best ships in scum right now, and he can strip tokens from your enemy to make the bandits' attacks more powerful. If you want to play around with the list, you have plenty of options:

- Swarm tactics on boba would let seevor shoot at i5, stripping tokens before boba shoots, but seevor might have a hard time keeping up with slave I boba
- Qi-ra crew on boba lets him fly very unpredictably (place a large rock in the middle and lock it before you get into combat range)
- trick shot on seevor lets him hide behind a rock for an attack and defense bonus, and he can fly through it safely next turn
- You could put perceptive copilot on Boba and swap seevor for the L337 escape craft. This lets you coordinate a reinforce on boba, do a blue move with boba, and then perform a double focus, making him a very beefy jouster.
- You could play around with different bomb choices. Seismics and protons are more likely to hit your frendly ships, though, as you have a lot of them!

Hey thanks for the replies.

I was planning to buy a yt1300 and firespray at the same time anyway, I suppose I will pick up 3-4 Zeds for now. I don't really know much about the game atm, just want to be sure i can pick up what i need in one go for some variant lists, and not find out later that I need one or two more ships.

So is it worth the small points bump to fly Black Sun soldiers, or can Binayre pirates pull their weight?

EDIT Should have asked, is there a resource i can consult to get up to speed on the various factions, analysis of each ship, pilot options and so on?

Black Suns are super nice with a cheap ept.

I'm a Z-95 fan as well.

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 29
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Trick Shot (2)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 29
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Trick Shot (2)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 29
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Trick Shot (2)

Modified TIE/ln Fighter - Mining Guild Surveyor - 27
Mining Guild Surveyor - (25)
Trick Shot (2)

Modified TIE/ln Fighter - Mining Guild Surveyor - 27
Mining Guild Surveyor - (25)
Trick Shot (2)

BTL-A4 Y-wing - •Drea Renthal - 58
•Drea Renthal - Pirate Lord (42)
Trick Shot (2)
Dorsal Turret (2)
R4 Astromech (2)
Spare Parts Canisters (4)
Veteran Turret Gunner (6)

Total: 199/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Or if you're really aggressive:

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 30
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Fearless (3)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 30
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Fearless (3)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 30
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Fearless (3)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 30
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Fearless (3)

Z-95-AF4 Headhunter - Black Sun Soldier - 30
Black Sun Soldier - (27)
Fearless (3)

M3-A Interceptor - •Serissu - 45
•Serissu - Flight Instructor (40)
Fearless (3)
Tractor Beam (2)

Total: 195/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

10 hours ago, Mysterioso said:

I don't really know much about the game atm, just want to be sure i can pick up what i need in one go for some variant lists, and not find out later that I need one or two more ships.

Welcome to the game and welcome to scum.

Aside from the list building I would like to give you an advice.

Choose a list you like (for whatever reason) and stick with it for a couple of games. It takes a while to understand how a single list actually works, what it can and cannot do, so be patient and try to get into it.

Changing lists after every game will lead to not understanding what is going on, it will take longer for you to get the hang of the game

So, you can absolutely run a squad with just the YT and Firespray, and the Escape Craft for flavor. And it won't be bad. You don't need to get a bunch of Z95's although they are entertaining. Could save you a bit of cash. One thing of course, you do need some of the bits of the Core Set. Dice and maneuver template can be shared with your opponent, but you *must* have a damage deck of your own. And your own set of dice and templates will be invaluable if you want to drop something on the kitchen table just to see how it moves. Unfortunately, that will leave you with the TIEs and an X-wing that you won't be using. You can trade those away, depending on your local community, or just hang onto them until you inevitably buy into other factions.... Ha ha.

Resources. Oh geez. There's a ton. There are a ton of blogs out there that can be helpful. Many of which collect resources such as you're looking for into one list. The most recent, and therefore the easiest for me to recall, is this: https://greendragoon.home.blog/ And it seems a solid resource all on its own, although it is *very* high-level tournament oriented. A lot like most of this forum, actually. Ha ha. No, really, it's good stuff. Just remember, especially early on, that you're playing to have fun first, and winning is just a bonus when it starts to happen.

This one is Hyperspace Legal:

Kath Scarlet (74)
Marauder (6)

Binayre Pirate (24)

Binayre Pirate (24)

Binayre Pirate (24)

Binayre Pirate (24)

Binayre Pirate (24)
Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

Alright

So I got in contact with my local X Wing scene. Quite a lot of guys every week which makes me happy. I wasn't sure how many people would be at my LGS since the advent of 2nd Edition.

I decided I will start with a Firespray and 3-4 Z-95s. Now, i dunno, i guess I will be fiddling around with a squad builder and see what kind of combinations i like.

If you only have 4 Zeds and a Firespray, this isn't too bad either:

Kath Scarlet (74)
Marauder (6)
Veteran Tail Gunner (4)

Binayre Pirate (24)
Cluster Missiles (5)

Binayre Pirate (24)
Cluster Missiles (5)

Binayre Pirate (24)
Cluster Missiles (5)

Binayre Pirate (24)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

The Tail Gunner on Kath is Bonkers.