Hi all,

I remember when I stated building squads for x-wing I would just look at ships, their abilities and would mash together what I liked without much thought. Sometimes this worked out nice, sometimes it went horribly but I didn't know better.

Now, a few years later I am a little stuck since I know the meta, know about effectiveness and think I have a good understanding what works. This of course is backed up by what I hear of big tournaments and read or hear from other players in my area. It boils down to the situation where I am not really able to build something that looks or feels original to me ship wise. I know full well that combinations are limited but my guess is that there is plenty to explore (apart from the really small factions) and somehow I can't get to it.

That's one reason I don't pay much attention to the meta for any game I play. I got sick and tired of "Meta" this and "Meta" that back with Magic the Gathering in the late 90's and early 2000's. Fly what you find fun. If it wins, great. If it didn't, you had fun. And who knows, you may prove that the meta isn't the only game in town I know I managed to shake up the local meta in a few games by the simple expedient of ignoring it exists and just using a deck or list that I considered fun.

I would agree that the meta is not the only game in town. Or perhaps it’s better to say that the meta is very wide open at this point (IMO). I think the game balancing FFG is able to do has generally made so many possibilities for a good list, that the real meta is build something where you can get a lot of use out of the points you spend. For example, Advanced Optics is a GREAT upgrade for almost any Resistance or FO ship, but how much will you really use it if you have a bunch of concussion missile toting TIE/sf’s? You need target lock for the missiles, maybe you will get more mileage out of Passive Sensors or Fire Control System.

There is one more key to a good list and that is “know your list and fly you’re !#$%& off”. Make sure you know every advantage you have and use them as frequently as possible.

Hello, my aproach in list building is mainly to use ships/pilots/Upgrades other players ignore to use.

For an example I chose a list for Scum and incuded 4Lom, Tourani Kulda and Latts Ratti.

I was able to catch several meta sensitive lists simply by surprise about the 'dirty' tricks this squad is capable off.

Most 'grinning' moment was having 3 Inquistors in Toranis Bullseye and her equipped with Cluster missiles which equals in up to 6x autodamage... 😁

So, choose I ship/pilot you enjoy most and build a list around it. At least you will have a fun time using it and eventually bend your local meta around IT 😎

Your meta is all based on what you fly best. I fly Vader, Duchess and Grand Inquisitor the most recently. I still lose to an experienced player with a totally random squadron my brother built. Fly it well and you can compete against all those meta squadrons. I like to make squads myself and fly them. I don't check the "meta" although I ask more experienced players what they think and explain how I see it working. Think of a theme for a squad and build around it.

Right now I want to play this, just because theme:

• "Chopper": Collision Detector, Hera Syndulla
• "Zeb" Orrelios
• Sabine Wren
• Captain Rex
• Ezra Bridger

Ghost and 4 Tie/LNs because I can fly Rebel Tie Swarm.