Krassis Trelix + Heavy Laser Cannon, Howlrunner + Stealth Device, Academy Pilot x3
So my FLGS got Wave 2 in (YAY) and I picked up Slave 1 for me and the Millenium Falcon for my friend. I put this squad together as something I felt could handle his new toy.
First game he set up with Han Solo+Chewbacca+Luke and Wedge+R2D2, the second game with Chewbacca+Nien Nunb+Luke and 2 Rookies.
Much hilarity as we imagined what a dialogue scene would be between a Wookiee and a Sullustan, since in Star Wars, good guys don't get subtitles. The SW Holiday special apparently has entire dialogue scenes with bad actors in fur suits barking at each other.
In both games I was able to still use my Academy Pilots as speed bumps to disrupt the Falcon's movement, even though I wasn't running as large of a swarm as I normally do. I pity the poor trainees as they're basically live bait--the Firespray's toughness and Howlrunner's Stealth device meant that in neither match, the Rebels almost never took a shot at the Elites when there was an Academy Pilot that they stood a better chance of damaging. Accordingly, I used Focus almost exclusively as it's mathematically better when you're going to be rolling lots of defense dice. The Stealth device was far more often just a deterrent rather than an actual defensive measure.
I expected I would do the same, focusing on whatever escort my friend would pair with the Falcon. I was really worried about the N-Squared Rule coming into play as attrition whittled away at the number of attack dice I'd be rolling per turn. It didn't work out that way…almost always it was more profitable to hammer at the Falcon, as its poor Agility meant I was able to land solid body blows with Cannon shots and Range 1 Primary Attacks. I didn't have any extra leverage for Crits, so all things being equal, do I attack the ship at range 2-3 that has 2 Agi, or the one at Range 1 with 1 Agi that I was trying to be as close to as as possible already? It took some doing, but ultimately the Falcon's inability to mitigate dice hits was fatal. The first game I still had two TIEs and a nearly unscathed Krassis left to mop up; the second was a much harder fight but in the end it was down to one Rookie versus a 1-hull Trainee and a 5-hull Krassis. I rolled really well, I'm not going to lie--at one point both rookies had target locks on a Academy pilot at range 1 and 2, and I dodged everything by using a very handy Focus action. So chalk some of it up to dumb luck.
Lessons Learned:
Krassis' and Howlrunner's Reroll abilities are super effective--I had Cannon shots where I was essentially rolling five to six dice on a regular basis. I don't care who you are, that's painful right there.
Secondly--and it's no great insight--these ships lumbering around the map are positively obese. It really takes getting used to in order to keep a good mental idea of where they are and where they'll be. Due to the width of the base, they also move farther per move than you're used to. A Large ship's base size basically adds +1 to any movement template--When you're looking at your destination position, no matter what you've judged, they're going to move farther than you thought and be bigger when they get there until you get used to it. Not sure what the correct combat doctrine is regarding these lumbering hulks quite yet.
Another tip we noticed is that the large base is slightly smaller on the diagonal than a Move-3 template. So if you're in base contact with one of the big ships, regardless of your vector, a 3-straight or a 3-K-turn will necessarily complete successfully, assuming you're moving first and your destination doesn't have some other obstruction. More than once I parked a TIE right in the Falcon's path, stopped it short, then popped to the back side of it the next turn.