I know what the initial advice is….drop a couple Y's and play with more X-wings. However, I really like the Y's and would like to hear any advice on running them.

I've been playing with…

Horton Salm

-R2D2

-2 Torps

-Ion Cannon

Gold Squadron X 2

-1 Torp

-Ion Cannon

Sometimes add another Torp…a couple of R2 Units…or even neither and upgrade to Gray Squadron guys. Nothing seems to work for me. I'm about 8-10 Games in and I've only won a single game.

Ordinarily, I WOULD switch up, play imperials or some other X-Wing force, but I figure 1. it's good to give peeps someone to beat on that is a good sport when losing regularly (I am) and 2. I just think it's cool to stick with something and try to make it work regardless of how long it takes. (it sort of helps that I generallly dominate miniature games I play in the LGS…I don't mind so much losing…and people love beating me. )

Anyway…So what are some good tips…at this point I think I could use ANY advice…I'm thinking about going 2 Y's and add on bigs with the +AG R2 unit, but I'd really prefer to stick with the three (maybe 4?) Y wings and get better in battle with just them.

Tips on pilots and loadouts? Thanks for any hints!

The Y-Wing is largely a support ship and you will find that will have trouble winning with them especially against experienced players. If you must run Y's here is some advice:

R5-Astromech will really help with crit proofing those 5 Hull.

R5-K6 really only worth it on Dutch and then only half the time.

Proton Torps really only worth their salt on Horton.

The first reason you're having trouble is that, as R5Don says, they're support ships. The second reason is that you only have three ships, which is a tough build for Rebels to pull off in Wave 1. The third reason is that you're wasting points on torpedoes; the most likely result when firing a torpedo at a TIE with any defensive buff is a miss. Horton can use them effectively, and so can Wedge, but on any other Wave 1 Rebel pilot they're unlikely to earn their points back.

A squad full of Y-wings is never going to be particularly strong--it's not a matter of "getting it right", because the game simply isn't balanced in a way that makes 100 points of Y-wings the equal of 2X/2Y or 3X/1Y. If you're really set on trying to make them work, though, you might try this:

• Dutch Vander (23) + Ion Cannon Turret (5) + R5-K6 (2)
• 3x Gold Squadron Pilot (18) + Ion Cannon Turret (5)

That's only 99 points, so you could throw an R2 Astromech or R5 Astromech on one of the Gold Squadron Pilots if you don't want to have initiative.

The R5Don4 Star II said:

I agree with the above info: an all Y-wing build is going to be tough to win with regularly but it can be a tough spoiler force. Trying to win by outlasting your opponent. Flying tight formations around the perimeter of the battlefield. The other main problem is nether Dutch or Horton can have Elite Pilot skills which is something they need to change, I've had luck with the following if you have the equipment upgrade cards:

• Dutch w/ R2-D2, Ion Cannon and Engine Upgrade
• Gold Wing w/ R5, Ion Cannon, 1 Torp and Shield Upgrade x2

Dutch and the boys have max. survivability and all three can TL with the most vulnerable able to focus. Knock down a TIE per turn and out survive your opponent.

• Gold Wing w/R5 and Ion Cannon x2
• Grey Wing w/R5 and Ion Cannon x2

A four Y-wing build without a named pilot: 20 hull points and 12 shields will take any opponent a number of turns to eat thru. Chip away at them and out survive your opponent.

Stick to the extreme edges of the map. Like 0.5cm away from the edge kind of extreme. Any ship coming from your side will be in serious trouble if it gets ionized, and has a very high chance of a ring out,especially if it cant roll. Also, if you are flying in this manner, keep alternating from forward 1/2/3 and be random, so it is a lot harder for your opponent to guess your exact location, while you can fire at him with no problems whatsoever thanks to your 360 arc.

Either way, the moment you see wedge + biggs, it is instant death for you, and there is really absolutely nothing you can do about it

In principle I agree with all of the above about Y-wings.

However, I'm with you in loving them, more than I love the X-wings.

However, I think you can make a viable squad with 3 Gold squadron Y-wings (all with Ion cannons) and then you have room for any X-wing you want, and some upgrades.

If you like 3 Y-wings, I say take them along with a single X-wing. I was this close to taking a 1 X-wing, 3 Y-wing build to the Kessel run, but I chickened out and ran 2 X, 2 Y instead. In retrospect I almost think it would have been a better squad….Hmmm

Deadshane said:

First I would drop R2D2, the agility value of the y wings in my oppion wont save you much from the onslought of hits, not to mention since you only have 2 green manuvers it makes you very predictable. I love the target locking droid (makes it like having an extra horton when you focus and have a target lock)

against imperials you will struggle, but against rebels, you should almost always win. if your opponent only has 3 ships then it should be your game. If go against biggs, be sure to hit him hard with Hortons torp, then follow up with one or two Ions. generally the formation you want with this sqaud is a reversed delta with Horton at the rear. (make horton go speed 1 and gold squads go 3.) do your best to get horton at 3 range, and your gold sqauds at 2 range. If it ends up 1v1, Horton will win the game for you aslong as you keep him at 2 range. Always remember to focus with Horton to take advantage of his ability.

I would reccomend dropping a gold squad, a proton torp from both horton and gold sqd, and then adding 2 rookie pilots. That makes a very deadly list to go against. (I think you may have the points to add the targetlock droid and an r5 astromech, cant remember though)

@Deadshane,

During one of my Kessel Runs I had to play against a four Y-wing squad. The guy over-estimated my "love" for my TIE fighters and hid in the asteroids. It was a great tactic until he realized asteroids do not concern me. I rushed his Y-wings that were grouped together in a box formation, and took my chances. Regardless of the damage dealt to my ties, they were at range one or two and in a prime spot to do some three-turn-around that he couldn't get out of my firing arc. I was dropping a Y-wing a turn and before he knew it I was forcing him to move over the asteroids to get away. This is a prime example of what not to do with the Y-wing.

Now I agree with what everyone on this list has been telling you. The person I play most runs 4 Y-wings with ion canons to great success. She ran three of them at worlds with an X-wing this past year, and the only reason she didn't make the final four was because I knocked her out in the third round. I know in one round she went up against a wedge, Biggs, Luke list. She destroyed her opponent. The thing to remember about Y-wings is that with an Ion Canon they have a 360-degree firing arc. This means you do not have to be in your opponents firing arc or they in yours. Practices maneuvering the ships, don’t get into head on shootouts, and split your ships up. These three things she does well and it annoys they jeepers out of me.

Ion canon your opponents ships so that they are in range one of a different Y-wing in the next round and make sure that Y-wing isn't in a firing arc.

If you can get behind a fighter so you can tail it and pelt it with ion blasts till it is gone and it can't shoot back at you. I know this is a duh thing but it is easier said than done. I like to bait opponents into attacking one Y-wing while I set up the others to attack with devastating results.

I love Y-Wings as support. I run two Gold Squadron with Ion cannon on each.

Then I run Wedge with toys to suit.

I like an A-Wing then. (I am lucky I own one), but a bog standard X-wing will work as well but that reduces the Wedge toys.

Keep the Y-Wings focused on the ship you want to stop, try and stay at range 3, as range matters not with the cannons. I pretty much never shoot the normal weapons on a Y-Wing.

You can use the two X-Wings to either blast the helpless ships, or pick off the non ionized ships, then come back and mop up the rest.

Y-Wings take a bit of practice, but as a pair, can really mess up ypur opponents day.

I've learned 1 is to few and three is to many.

Pete

The big question when running multiple (4+) Y Wings is if you're going to run both Dutch and Horton at the same time. If you are, I'd run this list:

Horton Salm w/ Ion Cannon
Dutch w/ R2D2 & Ion Cannon
Gold Squadron w/ R2
Gold Squadron w/ R2

Dutch just runs through the center of the table, usually going 1 straight and target locking enemy ships to give a target lock to a gold squadron. Both Horton and Dutch hit enemy ships with the ion cannons, with horton aiming at ships at range 2 and dutch not really caring, but both focus on ships with stress on them. The two gold squadrons are fairly maneuverable (you know, for Y wings) with the R2 units, and they do their best to end up in range 1 behind ships that have been ioned - ideally with both a target lock and a focus. Its not uncommon for me to land 3 hits on a target when i can manage both the focus and the target lock, and that can be enough to finish off a stressed tie.

For a more defensive squadron, you can run:

Dutch w/ R2D2 & Ion Cannon
Gray Squadron w/ R2F2
Gold Squadron w/ R5D8 & Ion Cannon
Gold Squadron w/ R2

Its the same general idea as list 1, but you trade some of Horton's offense with extra defensive droids.

I have run this as 3 ships with wedge, like this:

Wedge w/ R2 and Proton Torp
Horton w/ Proton Torp and Ion Cannon
Dutch w/ R2-D2 and Ion Cannon

this is essentially the same as list one, but you've traded the two gold squadron for Wedge and some proton torps. Your opening volley of proton torps can be brutal if the dice are with you - i've knocked out Howl Runner and wiped vader's shields in the first pass, but wedge tends to get picked on pretty hard and you really lack the durability of a 4 Y squad.

I hope that helps a little - the best thing you can do is keep playing to figure out how to best take advantage of the Y's durability and know when to fire the Ion vs when to fire the lasers.

Vorpal Sword said:

This list is really good when you stay close to your board edge, let them come to you. The object being to ion cannon them of the board.

Thanks for the insights everyone.

Had a bit of luck tonight…so add a win to my record. I dunno how it happened but it did.

Horton Salm

-2xProton Torp

-Ion Cannon

-R5 Astromech

Dutch Vander

-Proton Torp

-Ion Cannon

-R5 Astromech

Gold Squadron

-Proton Torp

-Ion Cannon

-R5 Astromech

VS

Vader w/Cluster and Marksman

Backstabber

Obsidian

3xAcademy

Once again my opponent came screaming into me with Tie fighers moving full 5's to close the distance….but I was tricksy….

Keeping close enough to support each other but still with a generous distance…not only did I NOT start on the board edge (3' by 3' empty space) I started touching my board edge and facing right and left respectively…after two turns of movement….his two full fives for his forces and my 1 banks to make me face his ships after the second move. this moved me less into the board than two forward 1 movements while facing toward his forces…keeping my distance. Almost all my ships were a full 3 range away, I managed a damaged Tie and Horton downed one before our forces really engaged and the battle started. R5's were nice in converting two of my direct hits to regular damage over the course of the battle….super nice! I never even noticed how useful they would be…especially on the 5 hull Y's.

With this sort of Y force (using torps) It seems that controlling the initial engagement is really important….it's also really dificult given the speed/maneuverability of Ties. I read my opponent well tho and knew he would tear in at full speed until we mixed it up.

I'm a little high on victory right now, but this was a welcome and reassuring win.

Deadshane said:

Great list.Sounds like you did a good job out manuvering your opponenet. the key to a great start against the imperials is nail them hard with a proton strike at the begining. The opening manuvers can certainly spill blood early for either side. If he miscalculates and goes to slow against you when he should of went fast can detiremen if hes within range 3 of you. Optimal ranges are 2-3 for ywings (if they arent being chased or not rocking torps)

Honestly although the numbers didnt play out at the beginging, the rebel player in this video made some very good opening manuvers, but failed to keep up against the dice.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVf4mhXmSY8

If your running more then 3 ships avoid running your ships in a line (as the overlapping fire will fail, also will give you the extra benefit of going head to head)

If you have a line, and are going against a collum/castle, avoid going head to head as you can easily lose your target to your back (though not always a game changer for ywings)

Youll notice also in the video that Darth vader evaded hortons Ion cannon by rolling out of range 3. although it negated him a second action to pound damage into his target, he did use it to avoid getting hit altogether.

I find that you will have an easier time against smaller, more elite Imperial squads, than say the TIE swarm. I also run just Y-Wings for my rebels as they are my favorite rebel ship.

I would say try to add biggs in there some how. Not only keeping the heat off of your Y-wings when going around the edge of the board. But would alow you do a U turn quickly and try to blast the ioned person off of the board.