I recently got pretty burned out on X-wing, and took a break from the game. Coming back, I've found I have some interest in building themed lists. While I want these lists to be thematic, I also want them to have a fighting chance; I'm not expecting them to be competitive, just good enough that I can actually have some fun when I put it on the table and my opponent has inevitably brought The Latest Netlist(tm).

My first project is the Trench Run. The bare bones is 190 pts:

I suppose the Instinctive Aim is not strictly necessary, but it's thematic and could be useful for shooting from the hip after a k-turn or reposition, so I'd rather not cut it unless it's to make room for something absolutely amazing.

Things I've strongly considered:

• Predator or Crack Shot on Wedge
• Afterburners or Shield Upgrade on Wedge
• Spare Parts for Wedge and/or Luke
• Freeing up points by stripping Biggs of everything but his glorious mustache

I thought about dropping Instinctive Aim or making R2-D2 generic to fit in another protorps on Wedge, but I'm hesitant to do that without a bid or any way to get a defensive mod on Wedge.

I'm also thinking a bit about tactics, because three X-wings is a bit awkward. When do I joust with all three? When do I split off a flanker? Do I want the flanker to be Luke or Wedge? I tend to think that either one could be a finisher, unless the opponent is moving exclusively after Luke.

Any thoughts/experiences are welcome!

I might consider giving all 3 ProTorps and a 2 point bid. Nothing else. Just some wonderful beatdown. No need to be cagey - just be careful with range - you want to be far out

Swarm Tactics on Biggs so he can’t get PS killed.

On WEDGE for BIGGS

If you're worrying about defensive mods for Wedge, keep in mind Biggs is your first defensive mod (practically reinforce!). I say go ahead and make the shuffle to get Wedge a torpedo, just dropping Instinctive Aim from Luke gets you the 12pts for it. Unfortunately, you'll have to drop more from the list of you want a bid or to take @JBFancourt 's suggestion of swarm tactics to get everybody shooting at ace initiative.

Two torps at high initiative is a strong opening joust although it would be nice to get double mods for Wedge...

As for tactics: if you go with two (or more) torpedoes I would approach with a blatant opening joust to threaten with deleting an important enemy ship before it fires or gives out bonuses, here Biggs can take some fire from each attack to save his friends. After that first volley I would break all three in different directions probably using fast moves and boost to disengage with Regen where applicable.

After breaking formation, or if starting apart, fly Biggs in a way that his path crosses with Wedge to provide a defensive bonus for your aces (but don't get in your own way!) and run interference on enemy formations or paths. When out of formation you still want Biggs to be a choice target when the others are a possible target so they can better survive to end game, but if they ignore Biggs take advantage of the free shots.

Luke is your strongest closer because of inherent defensive ability stacked with Regen makes him very tough to damage even if they can shoot him, more so for a single ship. Generally save at least 1 of your Force for defense so you'll have the full 2 available when attacked. Saving Force for defense is the main reason I don't like shooting instinctive torpedoes off a red move, and you would be almost unmodified on that 4 die attack which feels great when you roll nattys, but hurts deep down when it blanks out or all eyeballs.

Wedge is also a good closer in his own right with top of the ladder init and post-maneuver movement options (double down with Afterburners is a good option). His own ability helps win a damage race against anybody with green dice and helps mitigate how difficult it is to get double mods on offense. When not getting shot at don't hesitate to take a lock to save for later when you can stack with focus for a serious punch. Init killing enemy ships is Wedge's best defense.

Thanks for the suggestions!

I've run this list twice now, with Crack Shot and Spare Parts on Wedge, and went 1-1. It beat Obi-wan + ARCs (I think? I might be misremembering) and lost to Poe/L'ulo/Tallie/Greer. I thought the list performed well in both, as the loss was very very close until the final round, when I compounded a wrong guess with a bad positioning mistake. I did lose the bid vs Poe, but he had like an 8 pt bid and I got some good practice herding sheep in that game. RZ-2s are a bad matchup for regen-wings; there were times when i wanted to disengage and recover shields, but I couldn't bring myself to just give up the free modded rear arc shots.

I really like the Spare Parts on Wedge. It's super nice to have the choice between a broken lock or a third shield recharge. I broke a lock in a clutch moment in one of the games and it really swung the round in my favor, and in games where that doesn't really happen, I'll basically have a second R2-D2.

I might try it with 2x Torps; I know torps are super nasty on Wedge. To fit it, though, I'd have to drop Instinctive Aim (which is a lot more useful on Luke than I thought it would be) and choose between Spare Parts and Biggs' astro.

Nice! I forgot you mentioned Spare Parts. Putting that on Wedge is a good idea to mitigate a little of that extra aggro he draws. I'm curious if it's a better value than Afterburners...

Spare Parts is definitely more useful if you against another ordnance, and it gives you a tiny bit of stress control. Outside that though Afterburners could get you out of a defense altogether or give you an attack that otherwise would have been unavailable.

Getting out-aced is definitely one of the big challenges for a Luke+Wedge list. It's harder to use the torpedoes and you lose the positioning advantage. Good job keeping it close!