A mix of rebels

By yoink101, in X-Wing

I've always wanted to see a competitive squad of rebels that uses a mix of fighters. I'm not sure how this would work, hopefully I'll get a chance to test it out in the next week or so.

Red Squadron Pilot + R2 Astromech (24)

Green Squadron Pilot + Veteran Instincts + Stealth Device (23)

Gold Squadron Pilot + Ion Cannon Turret (23)

Dagger Squadron Pilot + Fire-Control System + Proton Torpedoes (30)

100 points total.
I like this set up because the a wing as a higher pilot skill than all of the basic TIE swarms so that it can really take advantage of the boost ability. The y wing can fire last because then it can wait to see what the x wing and b wing are capable of destroying first, and will also set them up for kills the next round with the ion turret.
Any thoughts? Critiques? Suggestions?
Edited by yoink101

Way I see it, you've got 4, 4, 3, and 2 as your pilot skills if you strip all the upgrades off. This gives you firing advantage over all of the non-named pilots if you build to a 99 point fleet, so I'd look carefully at your upgrades. However, so would having a 99 point fleet where all of the pilots are level 2, so I'd save some points by demoting the Dagger and Red pilots to Blue and Rookie. This gives you 2,2,3, and 2, which still works.

Note: if you're going up against a Rebel Swarm fleet instead of an Imperial Swarm, you may want to shoot for 98, just to be safe.

There are two main thoughts to building a fleet like this: Balancing your Offense and your Defense, and balancing your point cost. The latter is the easier to explain: Each ship ought to be approximately the same cost, unless you're planning on relying upon a specific ship.

Let's use a 25 point budget for each ship, and see where that takes us.

Blue Squadron 's a 22 point ship, au naturale, so we can pick up one of 4 upgrades: Stealth Device, Fire-Control System, Advanced Sensors, and Ion Cannon

We can ditch Stealth Device straight away: 2 evasion dice aren't going to prevent enough damage for SD to stick around for very long. We'll want something more often used.

Fire-Control System is only a 2 pointer, so this could buy us our initiative advantage. It is also a free target lock every turn, assuming we never want to switch targets. It is very useful against non-swarm fleets, and is truly devastating alongside a Heavy Laser Cannon or some other way of getting more than 3 dice. However, I feel it is outshined by the Advanced Sensors for utility.

Adv. Sensors lets us take our action before moving. "Big Whoop" some may say. "I'd get that action anyway". Ah, but here's the thing: It lets you barrel roll before moving, meaning you never have to collide ever again. It lets you focus, or target lock, before an inevitable collision. Most importantly, it lets you take your action before revealing a RED maneuver. This single upgrade turns you into a close-range hyper-mobile monster, as you never have to decide between action and maneuverability. Assuming you always follow a red with a green, you've essentially gotten the level 8 A-wing pilot's ability. For 3 freakin' points.

Ion Cannon is good if you want to play the long-range game. Stunning a ship, potentially 2 or a large alongside your Y-wing, is a very useful thing. Moreover, it let's you deal that 1 damage at Range 3 as a secondary weapon, denying them the ability to use the bonus die for distance. The B-Wing's barrel roll means that it can go forward 1, and barrel roll back, essentially crab-walking sideways, making it excellent for staying put.

I'd go with Adv. Sensors , as its sheer utility allows you to be flexible against any fleet, as your tactics explode with possibility.

Rookie PIlot is a 21 point ship, so you can take any of the R2 Astromechs, or any of the ship upgrades, or possibly a Proton Torpedo. Of these, the Astromechs are far and away the best option, as they're possibly the best upgrades in the game.

R2-Astromech is a 1 pointer, so you could pick up a Stealth Device (or later on a Hull Upgrade). It will turn your 2 turns and banks into green maneuvers, from white. This certainly isn't a bad choice, but I am unconvinced it is the best option.

R5-Astromech is the other 1 pointer, and it resolves ship-based crits. Now, of the 33 card damage deck, this will effect 25 of them, and that's pretty good odds. However, 6 of those resolve themselves instantly, and 8 can be resolved by actions, making this less useful. Coupled with the high shield-to-hull ratio of the X-Wing, and this isn't that useful anymore.

R5-K6 is 3/8 of Fire-Control System, if you spent your target lock first, for the same price. Amazing on "Dutch" Vander, but I'm gonna pass.

R2-F2 is the first of the really interesting ones. For an action, you now have 3 evasion dice. We could go over-budget on this one a little to add Stealth Device now, putting this at a 26 point ship. That combo's a must-have for Biggs Darklighter, but we're not running him.

R5-D8 is one of the two regenerative Droids. As an action, you have a 3/8 chance of ditching a non-crit damage card. Not useful while you have shields, costing an action, and only having a chance to go off, it's far outclassed by R2-D2.

R2-D2 lets you regenerate shields for free. Shields which cancel crits, or regular hits, equally. For free. And we can afford it.

...yeah, I'd go with R2-D2.

Green Squadron Pilot , being a level 19, has a whopping 6 points to spend to get to 25. 4-5 of those could be a single attack that requires a target lock first, or we can look at the consistently useful options: the Elite Pilot Talents.

Fun fact: The A-Wing has the most green maneuvers of any ship in the game, with 8. That's all of the 2s, the 3 forward, the 4 forward, and somehow the 5 forward. It only has 2 reds, at that, the 3 Koiogran and the 5 Koiogran. Adrenaline Rush is not the best choice.

Deadeye actually makes those 5 point missiles useful against higher level pilots, as you can shoot at someone who wasn't in range when you took your action. Unfortunately, it's useless after you launch your missile. Is the Assault Missile really worth 6 at that point?

Determination cancels out 8/33 of the damage deck, 2 of which don't effect you anyway. If you're at the point of receiving a crit, your A-wing is down to 1 hp anyway, and that's assuming you dodge the 7 Direct Hits, and the 2 Minor Explosions, and the 2 Minor Hull Breech...

The A-Wing has the fewest HP of all of the ships you're fielding. Draw Their Fire would be a horrible decision.

Veteran's Instincts boosts your level 3 pilot to a level 5, allowing you to shoot before the smallest of the named pilots. Not quite as effective as boosting a level 5 to a level 7 would be.

Elusiveness is the first good option, allowing you to protect your most valued resource (Health) by gaining a debuff that is easily ditched by your ship (8 green maneuvers, remember?) You don't need to lose your action for it, and you gain loads of survivability. At 2 points, you could even add one of the 4 point ship upgrades, or a 4 point missile (Concussion is really the best option, there).

Expert Handling gives you even more bloody maneuverability, for that same debuff. It costs you an action, but gives you slightly more than an action. This upgrade could lead to some hilarious maneuvering shenanigans.

Squad Leader is an interesting option: a buff to your entire team, at the cost of an action. However, it paints a big old target on your A-Wing, whose luck will run out at some point. It is still a huge advantage, and definitely worth considering. Pair with a defensive upgrade.

Swarm Tactics isn't going to do much. Boosting your level 2 compatriots to level 3 is barely an advantage. Pass.

Daredevil is another maneuver shenanigan piece. You've got boost, and this is basically super-boost. Moreover, you've got the 1 turn maneuver already, so this gives you the ability to do a stressful tight U-turn, alongside its usual ability as a super-boost. As a 3 pointer, the only thing you could add at this point is a Stealth Device, which is very useful on the A.

Marksmanship isn't that useful with only 2 base attack. Pass.

Push the Limit is freakin' amazing on A-wings. Remember when I mentioned they had 8 green maneuvers? Check the abilities of the ship, right quick: Target Lock, Focus, Boost, and Evade. You can Target Lock and Focus, giving you huge damage utility, but you can also Evade and Focus, giving you ginormous survivability. You could do any action alongside a boost, including boosting into range to target lock, or boosting into range 3, or boosting into a collision with their hardest hitting ship, greatly increasing all of your utility. And you can still afford a Stealth Device on top of it.

Expose turns the A-wing into a wounded X-wing at the cost of an action. You'd be 2 points under budget, as there are no 2 point upgrades elsewhere.

I would pretty clearly go with PTL + SD on the A. However, you've still got options.

Gold Squadron Pilot is a level 18, so you have 7 points to upgrade. However, you really need a turret of some sort, and neither turret would leave you room for missiles, so you're also getting a droid.

The Blaster Turret seems like it is the more highly damaging option, at face value, as unlike the Ion Turret it can have more damage. Let's examine those odds, shall we?

If you roll 3 hits (odds are 27/512, unmodified) and your opponent cancels 2 of those with dice and/or tokens, you have achieved 1 hit.
If you roll 2 hits, you're expecting your opponent to be able to cancel none of them for this to have the advantage.

Couple this with the fact that you're forced to spend your focus to use the Blaster Turret, and the Ion Turret pretty clearly wins the turret fight.

That leaves us with 2 points for an Astromech.

The R2-Astromech gives the Y wing 6 green maneuvers. Considering that the 3 turns and 4 forwards are red, this is very useful. As a 1 point upgrade, this could give you that initiative you want.

The R5-Astromech has much more hull on the Y-wing for crits to be relevant. Still, less useful than the R2, but would prevent the loss of your turret, alongside the more obvious prevention of Direct Hits.

R5-K6 is still a good droid on "Dutch", a Y-wing pilot, but is not as useful for this one as the R2.

So, I'd pick the R2-Astromech here, allowing for a 99 point fleet.


That brings me to a final fleet of:
Blue Squadron Pilot

Advanced Sensors

[25]

Rookie Pilot

R2-D2

[25]

Green Squadron Pilot

Push the Limit

Stealth Device

[25]

Gold Squadron Pilot

Ion Turret

R2-Astromech

[24]

[ 99 ] total.

Edited by DraconPyrothayan

Blue Squadron 's a 22 point ship, au naturale, so we can pick up one of 4 upgrades: Stealth Device, Fire-Control System, Advanced Sensors, and Ion Cannon

We can ditch Stealth Device straight away: 2 evasion dice aren't going to prevent enough damage for SD to stick around for very long. We'll want something more often used.

Fire-Control System is only a 2 pointer, so this could buy us our initiative advantage. It is also a free target lock every turn, assuming we never want to switch targets. It is very useful against non-swarm fleets, and is truly devastating alongside a Heavy Laser Cannon or some other way of getting more than 3 dice. However, I feel it is outshined by the Advanced Sensors for utility.

Adv. Sensors lets us take our action before moving. "Big Whoop" some may say. "I'd get that action anyway". Ah, but here's the thing: It lets you barrel roll before moving, meaning you never have to collide ever again. It lets you focus, or target lock, before an inevitable collision. Most importantly, it lets you take your action before revealing a RED maneuver. This single upgrade turns you into a close-range hyper-mobile monster, as you never have to decide between action and maneuverability. Assuming you always follow a red with a green, you've essentially gotten the level 8 A-wing pilot's ability. For 3 freakin' points.

Ion Cannon is good if you want to play the long-range game. Stunning a ship, potentially 2 or a large alongside your Y-wing, is a very useful thing. Moreover, it let's you deal that 1 damage at Range 3 as a secondary weapon, denying them the ability to use the bonus die for distance. The B-Wing's barrel roll means that it can go forward 1, and barrel roll back, essentially crab-walking sideways, making it excellent for staying put.

I'd go with Adv. Sensors , as its sheer utility allows you to be flexible against any fleet, as your tactics explode with possibility.

[ 99 ] total.

I like the list, though i would swap out the adv sensors on the b wing for sensor jammer with the 3 points from adv sensors and your extra point you would have enough. I've had really good luck using sensor jammers with b-wings sometimes saving 4-5 hits in one game. I've read of few other posts on here of guys saving 6 or more hits in a game, not bad for only 4 points depending on how your luck.

The 99 point total is for initiative. It's not really "Extra", unless he's only going up against tie fighters. However, putting the B at 26, and making it more defensible, is still an option.

Edited by DraconPyrothayan

I have to say dracon, I appreciate your extensive input. All of your statements are well though out and thorough. I'm surprised you didn't opt to spend a little extra on the auto cannon for the b wing. It's such an awesome tool against ties. I love push the limit. I use it almost every list I make, so I thought I would try something different. I think the away with push the limit on an a wing is probably my favorite combo. A friend and I are going to play a few games this week, so I will definitely try some variations on this list, with your input in mind.

I've found it useful to balance offensive and defensive upgrades to make it hard for my opponent to decide what to target.

For example, I'd swap the Stealth Device for a missile of some kind to give the A-Wing an early punch. This also makes it a more valuable target, which might draw some fire away from your 1 Agility ships. Also, spread out your secondary weapons where possible to keep each ship balanced in point cost, this makes your ships equally attractive targets, rather than offering up a single critical target to your enemy.

I've been running:

26 Green Squadron: Push the Limit, Concussion Missile

24 Blue Squadron: Fire Control System

23 Red Squadron

27 Gold Squadron: Ion Cannon Turret, Proton Torpedoes

This way my Firepower 3 ships never have to forego a primary weapon attack to get ordnance off. After the first pass, the Y-Wing flies in circles firing the turret to set enemies up for the B and X. The A looks for attacks of opportunity.