Building a list from the worst ranking archetype on MetaWing

By Flurpy, in X-Wing Squad Lists

Inspired by this awesome post about the recent diversity of the meta I went to MetaWing and searched for the worst performing list archetype.

Now truth be told I didn't notice that it only went to 120 and that there are probably worst lists out there but I choose this one.

https://meta.listfortress.com/ship_combos/859?

A Star-fortress and a X Wing.

It's most notable and only notable appearance is an 11th place at a Hyperspace Trial.

So why not give a shot at it and try to build something semi useful out of those components.

The X is the easier component. In a 2 ship build there are only two realistic choices. Poe and Nien. The most obvious candidate to me is this.

Poe
R4
Heroic
Black One
Proton Torpedoes

86 points of simple and efficient ace flying. Proton Torpedoes is the only luxury compared to what I would consider the standard Poe build, and with 200 points available between two ships might as well get him the best ordinance.

Now while Poe is the sane choice, since this whole thing is an exercise in stupidity might as well go full silly and propose this Nien as an alternative.

Nien Numb
Pattern Analyzer
Proton Torpedoes
Black One
Static Discharge Vanes

84 points of ship that depends on you flying like a suicidal maniac. Perfect alternative.

As far as building a serious attempt I guess Poe makes more sense, giving you a end game closer, with the only debate being if the Proton Torpedoes should be exchanged for a more flexible Modification + Tech combination to give him more maneuverability.

On the other hand the Star-fortress gives up a plethora of options. Instead if going through them all. I'll just highlight why I choose the ones I choose.

Pilot: Vennie

With the emergence of "Can't touch this" Finn it's safe to say that adding a green focus result makes a ship frustratingly survivable. Especially one with 12 health.

Crew: Perceptive Copilot

Continuing the trend of Finn and honestly I couldn't find anything more useful to even argue for.

Tech: Pattern Analyzer

Yes. Its literally a super fat Finn. The ability to stop in place and still have actions and launch bombs is cute.

Sensor: Trajectory Simulator

With two bombs slots, enough points to not care about this cost and the ability to stop and still have actions, makes this a no brainer.

Gunner One: Rey

Again cost be damned its not like we are strapped for points. With Vennies ability, 2 focus tokens and Reys ability, its not unrealistic that the opponent needs to throw down 4 shots at range 3 per turn before the damage starts to push through

Gunner Two: Veteran Turret Gunner

With only two ships the ability to generate more red dice is crucial. The only alternative I was debating was Paige and that was only before I noticed that Trajectory Simulator says only in the System Phase.

Devices: Proton Bombs and Seismic Charges

I picked the two I can launch since that's half the fun.

In short the final list is :

Poe
Heroic
R4
Proton Torpedoes
Black One

Vennie
Perceptive Copilot
Pattern Analyzer
Trajectory Simulator
Rey
Veteran Turret Gunner
Proton Bombs
Seismic Charges

Total 199

Bid be damned. Poe has the initiative upper hand against I5 and against I6 the best thing to do with this list is buckle down and pray anyway. The token 1 point bid is for the chance to block I2 swarms with Vennie.

General game plan is for Poe to act as the sweeper and make sure nothing flanks Vennie and for Vennie to bravely charge straight at the enemy and go down in flames.

Is it a competitive list? No. Is it a good list? Eh. Is is the worst list currently in the game? Probably not. I could see this grabbing a top16 spot in a smaller Hyperspace trial where a half the people cancel.

On the other hand playing this list in Fly Causal against an AI that obviously isn't planning on bombs and likes to joust is hilarious. Vennie is both incredibly hard to take down in a straight joust and is doing obscene amount of damages with all the dice and devices he is throwing out.

In short I think the game is in a great state if this list is considered bottom of the barrel.

Edited by Flurpy
18 hours ago, Flurpy said:

Continuing the trend of Finn and honestly I couldn't find anything more useful to even argue for.

The only thing I've seen to compete with Perceptive Copilot in an InvulneraVennie's crew slot is C-3PO. Two calculates isn't as good as two focus, but in a pinch you can use the co-ordinate option instead to help the trigger-happy flyboy out of a tight spot.

Other than that it looks sensibly put together and like it would be fun to play.

Nien Nunb (55)
Heroic (1)
M9-G8 (7)
Afterburners (6)
Integrated S-Foils (0)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Black One (2)
Adv. Proton Torpedoes (6)

Vennie (60)
Trajectory Simulator (10)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Perceptive Copilot (8)
Paige Tico (7)
Veteran Turret Gunner (8)
Seismic Charges (3)
Proton Bombs (5)
Ablative Plating (6)
Total: 194

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

I think you have to go with traj simulator for any chance against swarms. I like the guarantee double tap with Paige.

I went with Nein for the T70. His droid slot is open, letting him either take regen r2 bot, or go with m9g8 to make vennie hit as hard as possible and kill as much as possible. Then m9g8 becomes defensive for Nein endgame. Nein also opens up more mods like afterburners, that gives him lots of options on those red moves, to talon, burn, PA for a focus, ,lose the stress, and lock for a full mod adv torpedo to instant kill a vulture, etc. Removing ships as quickly as possible is the key to this list winning. Just gotta go full offense I think.

Edited by wurms