so i haven't received my full order yet (LGS shipment got split up into 2 parts and the second hasn't arrived yet) but i did manage to get my 3 B-wings that i ordered on thursday and finally got a chance to play them last night

and after only theory crafting for the longest time about how they perform i was pleasantly surprised

i figured their movement dials were a lot worse than they are and that i'd be severely hindered coming in

but after just one game with them, it seemed to me that what really makes them shine was their 2 speed koiogran turns

these are probably the most handy koiogran turns i've ever used, maybe not so with higher pilot skills but i only got a chance to play test with blue squadrons

though their agility is only 1, they are still very difficult to take down it seems.. i guess 8 hp, truly is a lot to take down with only 1 agility. and from what i've been averaging out in comparison to how fast they fall vs an X-wing; the lack of agility seems to still make up for it in terms of what seems to be roughly an extra hit point in terms of survival length and for a slightly worse dial but with a better koiogran maneuver

though now i'm curious as i probably won't have time to playtest more until next thursday

who has got a lot of B-wing experience in so far?

do the b wings shine more as low pilot skills or named pilots?

i'd like to hear your opinions both positive and negative

though now i'm curious as i probably won't have time to playtest more until next thursday

who has got a lot of B-wing experience in so far?

do the b wings shine more as low pilot skills or named pilots?

i'd like to hear your opinions both positive and negative

I agree with you, the B-Wing is a great ship. The K-turns are handy, and they are tough. Very useful for the Rebel side. I never liked them in the movie as their design didn't look too stable. But, I did like them in the flight simulators for X-Wing, because they carried a lot of fire power. And that is how they are on this game too. It suddenly became one of my favorite ships!

I've only run Ibtisam, specifically with Push the Limit and HLC. I haven't found a good team set up for her, but on her own she's terrifyingly accurate, agile thanks to barrelrolls, and pretty tough. In practice she gets swarmed really easy but is tough enough to handle a turn or two of being focused while the right team flanks.

hmm good to hear that people are liking the b wings. I picked up 2 but haven't had a chance to get them in game yet. I plan on picking up two more, b wings were my favorite from return of the jedi.

I only have one being so far, and I have fun flying it. I like the new powerful range 1 weaponry. With such low agility it takes damage quickly. I think I'll pick up another!

I was able to run a pair of B-wings today in a couple different lists.

List 1:

Blue Squadron w/ HLC, FCS

Blue Squadron w/ HLC, FCS

Jan Ors w/ Ion turret, Chewie, Shield Upgrade

LOSS:

This didn't work as well as I was hoping although the dice seemed to be out to get me this game (somehow whiffed 6 HLC shots, half at 5 dice, in a row). The B-wings seemed to be able to keep pace with standard ties well enough. Jan was my most effective ship as she escorted a loaded up TIE bomber off the board.

List 2:

Blue Squadron w/ Autoblaster, FCS

Ibitsam w/ Autoblaster, FCS, PTL

Biggs w/ R2-D2, Shield upgrade

WIN:

This list worked quite well. Autoblasters with TL were able to pour damage on interceptors and regular TIEs. Ibitsam one shot Phennir pretty early in the game and never had trouble keeping pace with TIE advanced or TIE bombers. Biggs kept pace with Ibitsam for the first part of the match to absorb a few hits and then split off to recharge his shields. I was able to keep in range 1 for the autoblasters about half of the time.

All in all, I enjoyed using the b-wings. They had a lot of staying power and were able to pump out damage (provided the dice didn't hate me). The limited maneuvers take a bit of practice but aren't as limiting as some have made them out to be. This is especially true with FCS providing target locks, leaving actions open for barrel rolls.

I've played five games now using B-wings. Four of them I used Ten Numb with Marksmanship, Wedge with PtL and R2 unit, and Biggs to draw the heat. Ten Numb was absolutely devastating with his nearly guaranteed un blockable critical damage. And wedge was laying down TL/F shots every turn. With enemy fire focused on biggs, it wasn't too hard to maneuver Ten into good positions to fire, and the barrel is actually very useful for getting out of firing arcs (being a rebel player, I don't think I've ever used it before). With the Blue Squadron pilot I basically ran him up the middle to draw fire and soak damage, which it did beautifully before going down.

I can tell you that the maneuverability is noticeably less than an X-wing (plus a lot of red moves), but not so much that it detracts from the B-wing's overall usefulness. The nameless pilots are great cannon fodder that can quickly turn deadly if not dealt with, and Ten Numb at least is pretty scary. The auto-blaster is the only thing that I don't like about the B-wing. Its hard to use consistently, and there's other things that would work better on a B-wing for that price in my opinion.

Three Dagger Squadron B-Wings + Fire Control Systems and Heavy Laser Cannons = FTW!!

I've now used Ibtisam and a blue squad B-wing in a mission...

B-wings stress out super easily, Ibtisam probably should not use push the limit.

Ibtisam LOVES attacking ships with a rebel captive.

fire control system is awesome against large ships.

Ibtisam does not need a fire control system.

I like using a blue squadron pilot with a fire control system and an ion cannon.

Hit with the ion cannon, get a free target lock, and get a perfect setup next turn for a range 1 shot with focus and target lock

I would like to love the B-Wing, but my friend is so afraid of them that he keeps blowing it up as fast as possible! I'll give my thoughts when it survives more than 3 rounds... ^_~

That being said, it's a good way to give the other ships in the squad some time while it absorbs those 8+ hits.

We have been playing 150 points recently with the release of Wave 3. I have been flying 3 Bwings, one of which is Ten Numb and Jan Ors.

Engine Upgrade fixes everything. I already loved how maneuverable the bwing can be at the slow speeds but the upgrade just adds SO much flexibility. I haven't tried Fire Control Systems on them yet but from the reports so far it looks interesting. I have been using Sensor Jammers on all of my Bwings though as their 1 agility means they just take every hit sent their way. So the sensor jammers have helped a ton in that regard to extending the life span of the ships. I have tried Ten Numb with Expose and marksmenship. Coupled with Jan Ors ability, Ten Numb hits for a crazy 6 dice at Rng 1! That's pretty scary. Overall I think 5 dice with greater chance to crit from Marksmenship fares better.

The other two blue squadron pilots I have been using SenJam, HLC and EngUpgrade. I really like that every range band I was throwing 4 dice. My imperial friends have not liked facing them. They are relatively tough ships but can be taken down with focus fire like any other ship though.

My problem with Jan in this list is the GIANT target on her head saying kill me first lol. I tried shield upgrade and didn't seem to make a difference and I had thought about putting Chewie in there and then read above someone else has been doing it and I think it might leave Jan sticking around for more than 2 rounds! lol

I've only had the chance to use the b-wings in one game so far, victoriously, though I lost one and the other had taken damage. They definitely pack a wallop but are very fragile, even with the good hull and shields. That agility is just brutal. Still, I like them a lot. I like all of the new ships, as a matter of fact. They each are very unique and made the game feel very fresh to me.

The huge benefit over Tie Bombers and the like is the high shield level that resists criticals. A 6 hull, zero shield Tie Bomber can be knocked out of the fight with a single critical. B-Wings must be beat down completely to get them out of the fight, a huge tactical difference.

I've now used Ibtisam and a blue squad B-wing in a mission...

B-wings stress out super easily, Ibtisam probably should not use push the limit.

Ibtisam LOVES attacking ships with a rebel captive.

fire control system is awesome against large ships.

Ibtisam does not need a fire control system.

I haven't had a single problem. A green maneuver with a barrel roll is easily more unpredictable/useful than any of the b-wings red moves. At least when using her as a slowly advancing gun platform. Up close is an entirely different mindset, one I wouldn't throw B-wings into. The 1 agility, even with frequent rerolls is a huge liability in the range one arena.