I've been thinking about a name for this which is at least partway clever, and I can't really come up with anything other than that.

This is another build around Wedge, and when I played it I found it to be pretty effective, but I'm going to wait until I play it a few more times before I call it a good squadron.

Here's the list:

Wedge Antilles (29) + Push the Limit (3) + R2-F2 (3) + Engine Upgrade (4)

Biggs Darklighter (25) + R5-D8 (3) + Stealth Device (3)

Arvel Crynyd (23) + Concussion Missiles (4) + Stealth Device (3)

Total: 100

This is the theory behind the build: Wedge is, naturally, the main strike craft. He'll hit the heavies on the opposition, and with PTL I can get a TL and focus to ensure he has a great chance of scoring major damage, then recover from the stress in the next round. Biggs is there to keep the other guys off his tail and make sure he can survive long enough to knock out the Imperial powerhouses. His SD and astromech gives him an edge that will keep him from being knocked out of the fight for very long, and once he's knocked out this will give Wedge the ability to use Engine Upgrade without worrying about leaving Biggs in the dust, and R5-D8 will fill in for Biggs. Finally, we have Arvel Crynyd. He's my secondary strike craft. He also acts as a distraction for newbie players because he looks like an easy target (and he is). But his ability means I can get in behind most ships in a couple of rounds and ram their backsides, then unload my lasers. And if I want I can get in a target lock on the way there so I can shove a missile up their tail pipe.

I had a practice run with this build, and narrowly won. Here's the report:

My opponent was inexperienced, which I attribute most of this win to, so he spent his points on ships only. No upgrades. His fleet consisted of Boba Fett, Maarek Steele, and the Bounty Hunter.

I started with Wedge and Biggs on the left side with Arvel on the right, and he set Maarek out by himself on my left with the Firesprays on my right, in front of the A-wing. The first round we moved in, with the Firesprays heading toward the A-wing and the TIE heading for my X-wings. He decided to take a couple of long-range pot shots at my A-wing, and thanks to some poor rolls and the fact that the A-wing is small and light, he destroyed it in one round. I got in some damage with my concussion missile, taking out three of his shields on the BH, but I really wanted to see how he would play. Oh well, there's always next time.

Next round he swung his Firesprays around and fired at my group, knocking out Biggs' shields as well as causing one damage, but luckily it was face-down. I also got in a good hit on Steele.

On the next round I was able to repair Biggs, but I couldn't get a shot in on any of them because I was trying to turn at the time. Since Wedge and Biggs both need their actions to be most effective, I didn't want to try a Koiogran turn.

After that I shot toward their group, but unfortunately I got separated from Biggs. So I Boosted and rammed into his Bounty Hunter and out of Fett's fire arc to prevent his Firesprays from getting a shot on me while I recovered, but Maarek still managed to take out my shields. During this round he made a maneuver error with Boba Fett which resulted in him flying off the board, eliminating that unit on the next round during the activation phase.

The next couple of rounds involved me playing catch-up with Wedge, but by the time I did he was able to get the Bounty Hunter and Maarek Steele around and on my tail. Biggs saved me at the cost of two damage points, but as they were face-down I was again able to repair one of them.

This kept going back and forth a while until Maarek got in a critical hit on Biggs and chose to apply Direct Hit to me. Biggs finally shot him down, but the damage had been done.

After that the Bounty Hunter was forced to fire at Biggs again, and this was enough to finish him off.

So it was down to me and the BH. But because I was now no longer kept back by Biggs, I was able to use Boost several times to get me out of his fire arc. I whittled down his hull, took a hit or two, and then we had a final face-off. And thanks to Wedge's pilot skill, I got in a shot first and took him out at the end.

I think this is a pretty effective build. Biggs kept them from firing at Wedge a large number of times, and R5-D8 took away damage nearly action phase, keeping him in the fight long after he would have died.

Arvel dying early was something I wasn't counting on, but I was able to shrug that early loss off. I think the build is pretty good. I probably should have had Arvel next to Biggs to prevent them from ganging up on him initially, but ultimately he wasn't necessary for my victory.

I'm going to try this build out again as soon as I return to the university and see how well it does against a veteran player.

Seems ok, but not great. A Newb would have smoked you if he didn't fly his best ship off a table....

So did you ever use Push the Limit with Wedge to pull Focus + R2-F2? Seems like it would be quite a good way for him to dodge enemy fire.

Also, I believe it is illegal to use Boost to overlap an opposing ship or obstacle token. It's detailed in the Boost reference card.

Seems ok, but not great. A Newb would have smoked you if he didn't fly his best ship off a table....

Well, how would you fix it? My reading/experience says that R5-D8 should go, but it seemed to work out well for him. I think the poor droid deserves some game time every now and then.

Seems ok, but not great. A Newb would have smoked you if he didn't fly his best ship off a table....

Well, how would you fix it? My reading/experience says that R5-D8 should go, but it seemed to work out well for him. I think the poor droid deserves some game time every now and then.

Well I'd probably swap the droids on the two X wings. If you're going to put stealth on an X wing, give that one the droid that also gives an agility bump so that stealth device lasts longer. I think I would drop the A wing and bring along Garven. He can pass a focus to Biggs to possible help him on defense. Still leaves 4 points for Torps or a mech depends how you like to play

So did you ever use Push the Limit with Wedge to pull Focus + R2-F2? Seems like it would be quite a good way for him to dodge enemy fire.

Also, I believe it is illegal to use Boost to overlap an opposing ship or obstacle token. It's detailed in the Boost reference card.

I did a few times when I needed the extra defense. Otherwise I used focus + TL and my superior maneuverability to keep out of firing arcs as much as I could.

I think I missed that when I read the rule, but I'll remember it next time now that it's been pointed out to me.

Well I'd probably swap the droids on the two X wings. If you're going to put stealth on an X wing, give that one the droid that also gives an agility bump so that stealth device lasts longer. I think I would drop the A wing and bring along Garven. He can pass a focus to Biggs to possible help him on defense. Still leaves 4 points for Torps or a mech depends how you like to play

If I did that, Biggs would have no way of repairing his ship, which improved his survivability drastically. In effect, it transformed Biggs from a 3/2/3/2 ship to a 3/2/7/2 ship (I was able to repair four hits before I got a crit). R2-F2 does the same thing as SD, except it lasts longer, and I wanted him on Wedge when Biggs eventually bit it so he would continue to have more survivability.

Garven would probably be an acceptable substitute for Arvel, though. I want to try him a bit more before I swap because I'm more interested in a diversified force, I like concussion missiles because they have at least one guaranteed hit if I focus, and I like the speed of the A-wing. But the extra focus for Biggs might come in handy, too.