Red Tide

By Spinland, in X-Wing Squad Lists

Okay, still waiting for my first timid foray into list sharing to be approved by the mods. In the interim, here's another idea I had. This is Resistance Hyperspace, no frills, just meat and potatoes get things done. I am more than interested in hearing critiques.

T-70 X-wing - Red Squadron Expert - 50
Red Squadron Expert - (44)
Heroic (1)
R4 Astromech (2)
Integrated S-foils (Open) (0)
Autoblasters (3)

T-70 X-wing - Red Squadron Expert - 50
Red Squadron Expert - (44)
Heroic (1)
R4 Astromech (2)
Integrated S-foils (Open) (0)
Autoblasters (3)

T-70 X-wing - Red Squadron Expert - 50
Red Squadron Expert - (44)
Heroic (1)
R4 Astromech (2)
Integrated S-foils (Open) (0)
Autoblasters (3)

T-70 X-wing - Red Squadron Expert - 50
Red Squadron Expert - (44)
Heroic (1)
R4 Astromech (2)
Integrated S-foils (Open) (0)
Autoblasters (3)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

It just beef, and you better fly it well since there are no tricks ala rebel leia crew, or coordinating, etc.

Against things like trip aces, if you lose one before an ace dies, its gonna be 3v3 and you are gonna lose. Id rather have something like 3 ion cannons instead of r4 and autoblaster so that you can ion then guarantee multiple arcs pn ship next round, or maybe bb astromechs for going against low init swarm stuff.

I'm a huge theoretical fan of quad T-70. So many options to think about. On table, it's never going to be truly excellent, but a solid squad that's simple to play and enjoyable? Sure.

My big thing is this: Autoblasters are not worth it here . You essentially need to be attacking a 3-green focused opponent with no mods yourself before you gain an actual benefit over just doing a 3-dice primary attack. ABS are just not a useful option for a 3-red ship without some really special trick to make better use of them.

So, here are some other options for Massed Reds:

  • R4, plus upgrade to Black Squadron Aces . Most of the upgrades that a Red could take in addition to Heroic and R4 aren't very good, so maybe just upgrading the initiative is the best plan. However, if someone is converting Resistance stuff, they probably don't have enough copies of Black Squadron Ace.
  • R4 + Tractor Beams . Probably the best of the R4 Red options, if you really want the blue 2 hards (I don't value them highly on generics). Tractor Beam is not bad. If you can hit and bring an opponent closer to 3 X-Wings (range 3 to 2, range 2 to 1, etc), it'll probably be a damage buff. If you can do something particularly nasty like pull someone onto an Asteroid to deny them a shot, it can be fairly strong. However, that's pretty unlikely at Init 3, and you might just be better off with a different build that provides a more substantial benefit.
  • Pattern Analyzer . I'm presuming R4 is on there because you're hoping to do a lot of flip moves. Pattern Analyzer keeps you gaining actions when you do it. It might be kind of similar to the feeling and style you're looking for with R4 + ABS, just better.
  • Hull Upgrade . Just more tanky. With Heroic, these things are surprisingly solid. 8 health, 2 greens, and Heroic.
  • Advanced Optics . A decent buff to offense, if you're safely able to spend the focus token. Weaker when you do K-Turns, or if you want to reposition. I like them personally, since it gives a single-action ship some nice uncontested offense.
  • 3 Heroic BB Astromech Reds, plus BB Jess Pava . Breaks theme a bit, but Jess can hit hard, and BB astromech is really neat for positioning.
  • Last dark horse option: Outmaneuver . It'll give a lot of the thrill of the Autoblasters effect, but while being a lot better, mathematically speaking. I don't think this is great, I think the chances to trigger Outmaneuver on table are fairly low. However, it's pretty cool when you can pull it off. You can take red moves, or just boost more easily, because you'll have a passive mod. Damage, at best, isn't much higher than Advanced Optics, however.

Realistically, the best similar squads would probably be either:

  • Jess/Bastian/Kaz with Heroic and R5/Cova with Leia and Heroic or R4 . A proven winner among the world of Resistance Beef. Jess and Bastian both have double mods. Cova is kind of a monster in terms of raw stats. Kaz is just a solid 45 points, with essentially a 3/3/6 statline, after repairing a damage first turn.
  • Poe (Heroic, R4, Black One) + 3 BB Blue T-70s . Somewhat new to Hyperspace, but the BB Blues are surprisingly nimble, and Poe can hit hard. He's a bruiser more than an ace.

Thanks for all the insight! Total n00b to the game—in fact I don’t even get the starter kit until it arrives next weekend. I did order four T-70s because I could, and figured they’ll be useful no matter what I end up using for my first on table list. Watching YT videos and reading up and starting to use Fly Casual to experiment and practice maneuvering. Hopefully by the time I have a bit of a handle on this I’ll be able to find some local games to get blooded in battle.

Ah, then first game I'd recommend Heroic/Hull. Plain. Effective. Just focus on where you're putting your ships.

Good advice again, thanks! I'm also trying to keep things Hyperspace legal, though I'm not 100% sure that's necessary. Not sure what environment I'm going to find around here. The rare FLGS population seems to be caving in under the current virus situation. We'll see. :wacko:

8 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

Ah, then first game I'd recommend Heroic/Hull. Plain. Effective. Just focus on where you're putting your ships.

This all the way, math says it should beat 5xT65 in the joust and with proper positioning can stand up to triple aces.

If you're feeling spicy, you can swap to advanced optics for the more consistent damage, but I'm not brave enough for that myself.

9 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

Ah, then first game I'd recommend Heroic/Hull. Plain. Effective. Just focus on where you're putting your ships.

^^^^^ This.

Because eight health T-70s are good. :D

Cool stuff! So, took the Herioc/Hull foursome out for some test runs on Fly Casual against random lists. Won two (barely) lost three. Main problem is how quickly my nice formation flying plans fall apart after the second exchange or so, between enemy bumps and mis-judging rocks. Losing those focus actions hurts this list badly since it doesn't have any special offensive modding powers—not to mention the times when I end up in a bad position with no shot.

I reckon the only cure for that is more experience. :D

Edited by Spinland
30 minutes ago, Spinland said:

I reckon the only cure for that is more experience. :D

Yep. ^^^^^ Probably this. ;)

Also remember that you don't necessarily need to keep them in a tight formation.

You can approach from different directions.

Just make sure they're pointed at the same target when shooting.

1 minute ago, underling said:

Just make sure they're pointed at the same target when shooting.

Oh, yes! I was able to get all four focused on one target in the first pass of my last game and it blowed up nice. Then the other four of them got mad. I still pulled off a win, my last T-70 had like three hull left but a win is a win. I know it'd be different against a better player than the AI though. Lots of work to do.

10 hours ago, Spinland said:

Cool stuff! So, took the Herioc/Hull foursome out for some test runs on Fly Casual against random lists. Won two (barely) lost three. Main problem is how quickly my nice formation flying plans fall apart after the second exchange or so, between enemy bumps and mis-judging rocks. Losing those focus actions hurts this list badly since it doesn't have any special offensive modding powers—not to mention the times when I end up in a bad position with no shot.

I reckon the only cure for that is more experience. :D

So the coolest thing about these guys is how versatile they are, and flying a block kinda negates that. I personally fly two wingpairs close enough that a 3 bank from the far pair can get them long range shots at the closer pair's target, while keeping the members of each pair juuust inside of range 1 of each other. Then one pair can set up to catch the enemy if they try to k-turn on the other, or just pressure them away from capitalizing on your k/tallon roll.

So, still mucking about with this list. I've been having some mixed (but improving) results with the mix of

4 X T-70 Red generics with Heroic and Hull Upgrade (4 x 50 points)

I'm pondering whether it seems wise to shift to slightly more offensive at the cost of some defense, by replacing the Hull Upgrades with Advanced Optics and keeping the 4 saved points for bid. What does the collective wisdom think? Bad idea, especially for a n00b? Still keeping it Hyperspace legal.

Thanks!

Edited by Spinland

I do like Optics. I feel like Heroic/Hull is a great learning-list because it's so simple, just a lot of weight behind it. Optics teaches something different: trusting the math. Roll some red dice with Optics on T-70s, and you'll have a decent number of Hit/Focus/Blank rolls, and it'll seem like "well, Optics was wasted here." And you kind of have to put that out of your mind. I mean, there are times when a 8 health T-70 would die to the same attack as a 7 health one, since there was overkill. Sometimes, the dice just work out one way. But theoretically speaking, over enough games, it'll be good. There's enough Hit/Hit/Blank or Hit/Blank/Blank rolls that Optics is a long-run improvement in red dice, about 0.3 hits per attack.

Seems worth it to give it a shot, see how it feels. Heroic Reds, even without Hull, can be deceptively tough, and adding some attack buffs seems like a pretty reasonable way to go.

One other thing about Optics which is nice: it works pretty well whenever you need to switch to closed S-Foils. There will be times you know you'll just really want to barrel roll, so closing foils, doing a focus > red roll linked action can be pretty handy, and Optics keeps your offense reasonable with 2 dice.

This currently what I’m repping:

Chewie’s Chums

(61) Chewbacca [Scavenged YT-1300]
(5) Agile Gunner
(2) Contraband Cybernetics
Points: 68

(44) Red Squadron Expert [T-70 X-wing]
(0) Jamming Beam
(0) Integrated S-foils
(1) Heroic
Points: 45

(44) Red Squadron Expert [T-70 X-wing]
(0) Jamming Beam
(0) Integrated S-foils
(1) Heroic
Points: 45

(29) Finn [Resistance Transport Pod]
(8) Perceptive Copilot
(1) Heroic
(4) Advanced Optics
Points: 42

Total points: 200

9 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

I feel like Heroic/Hull is a great learning-list because it's so simple, just a lot of weight behind it.

Basic Beef and Potatoes, yes? 😀

I like your point about Optics and closed S-Foils. I hadn't considered that angle, and I was definitely pondering ways to allow those nice extra moves without punking the damage potential too badly. Great observation, thanks! GOing to try this variation as soon as "real life" permits some Fly Casual time against that pesky AI. Once all the rest of my gear arrives, and the virus thing permits, these fellas are itchin' to see a table.

T-70 red squadron 800a.jpg

9 hours ago, JBFancourt said:

This currently what I’m repping:

Chewie’s Chums

(61) Chewbacca [Scavenged YT-1300]
(5) Agile Gunner
(2) Contraband Cybernetics
Points: 68

(44) Red Squadron Expert [T-70 X-wing]
(0) Jamming Beam
(0) Integrated S-foils
(1) Heroic
Points: 45

(44) Red Squadron Expert [T-70 X-wing]
(0) Jamming Beam
(0) Integrated S-foils
(1) Heroic
Points: 45

(29) Finn [Resistance Transport Pod]
(8) Perceptive Copilot
(1) Heroic
(4) Advanced Optics
Points: 42

Total points: 200

Interesting list, thanks for sharing!

Two things I've been pondering (given I seem to have fallen into a Resistance Faction kind of path) have been adding some variant of the YT, and that whole Finn/Pod thing. I need to review more game play videos (as I can find them) that feature clever use of those ships so I can get a better feel for what they bring to the table. 😎

General question about T-70 Hyperspace lists: I've seen Jamming Beam listed 2-3 times now and that has me curious: are they a weapon that sees a fair amount of actual use in play, or is it more a factor of zero cost mod, might as well have it?

Thanks!

Edited by Spinland
2 minutes ago, Spinland said:

Oops, quoted instead of editing. Sorry.

Edited by Spinland
25 minutes ago, Spinland said:

General question about T-70 Hyperspace lists: I've seen Jamming Beam listed 2-3 times now and that has me curious: are they a weapon that sees a fair amount of actual use in play, or is it more a factor of zero cost mod, might as well have it?

Thanks!

It's almost never used. It's good against Reinforce, and that's about it.

14 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

It's almost never used. It's good against Reinforce, and that's about it.

Ahhhhh... now time to begin the ol colloquial jamming beam stories that show that ONE TIME it was useful 🤣 🤣 I have 2! From the start of 2.0 til now lol

1) there for a minute there were Droid swarms with DRK droids and one ship with protons. Forget the exact build.

My Lamda jammed off the proton lock from my Soontir 😁 👍

2) Final round. I am winning in points. Rexler Brath and 4Lom face each other. If I give up half on Rex I lose, which is one hit point away. 4Lom has a lock/calc. He’s full health I can score no more points. I jam those mods and defenders be defenders.

24 minutes ago, JBFancourt said:

Ahhhhh... now time to begin the ol colloquial jamming beam stories that show that ONE TIME it was useful 🤣 🤣 I have 2! From the start of 2.0 til now lol

Oh, it ****ing owns in Epic. I jammed a Reinforce, Lock, and Calculate off a CR-90 once and that alone might have won the the game. Damage poured in from my other IGs and C-ROC, plus it couldn't Turbolaser anything.

17 hours ago, Spinland said:

... more a factor of zero cost mod, might as well have it?

^^^^^ This.

On 8/22/2020 at 3:26 PM, theBitterFig said:

3 Heroic BB Astromech Reds, plus BB Jess Pava . Breaks theme a bit, but Jess can hit hard, and BB astromech is really neat for positioning.

Back a year ago, I played something like this (3 reds with heroic and Jess with bb8) at XTC (X Wing team championship). I did ok, we got 10th out of 20 (?) or let's say we landed in the middle, like our country.

At european championship I went 6-0 with it in the hyperspacequalifier, and I got an worlds invite for 2019, or 2020.... well, or 2021.

So yeah, you can do well with Quad-T70, and if I run it again I would go with

On 8/22/2020 at 3:26 PM, theBitterFig said:

R4, plus upgrade to Black Squadron Aces .

Just read it again, I sounds like a show-off. Sorry for that, I try to stay neutral 🤷‍♂️

Edited by Dragon_King
30 minutes ago, Dragon_King said:

Just read it again, I sounds like a show-off. Sorry for that, I try to stay neutral 🤷‍♂️

To me you just sound like someone with relevant experience who's sharing and being helpful. Thanks! 😎