I'm currently making a themed list (not for any tourny, just for fun) and need biggs to stay alive as long as possible. Bigg's is quite limited on upgrades, he has a droid slot, a torp slot and can take the normal ship modifications (would be awesome if he had an elite pilot talent..).

Long story short I have:

Biggs 31pts

- R2-F2

- Stealth Device

Would Biggs be better with a shield upgrade or R2-D2? Any other combinations worth while?

Rest of the themed list

Wedge 33pts

-Expose

Luke 36pts

-Expose

-R2-D2

Idea behind this is to use biggs as a shield and have wedge / luke tear up with expose. Biggs will die, wedge is a good mid game and after he goes Luke is set up for late game. I've tossed around ideas using torps instead of expose, squad leader on wedge to hand focus to biggs or luke, luke with push the limits instead of expose.. just can't seem to finalize my list. The three x wings cost 82 points leaving 18 for upgrades. Ideas anyone?

Best I could up with as a novice was:

Wedge Antilles+Proton Torpedos+Squad Leader

Luke Skywalker+Expose

Biggs Darklighter+R2-R2+Shield Upgrade

Luke with r2d2 and draw their fire, biggs with a shield upgrade possibly also R5-D8, wedge with whatever you want, he's already a boss.

Not saying this is a great squad but Biggs will survive longest if you give him as much chance to dodge as possible and let him help shoot before he gets shot so heres my try

Biggs + R2F2 + stealth

Luke + squad leader + R2D2

Wedge + swarm tactics

This is 96pts can take a stealth or shield on Luke or wedge

Biggs takes R2F2 action and Luke gives him a focus and wedge lets him shoot at 9.

Biggs + R2-F2 + Stealth Device gives him 4 evasion dice, which is what he needs to survive longer.
Luke + R2-D2 + Draw Their Fire gives Biggs even more survivability, as you pull any crits off of him into your regenerative shields. Adding a Shield Upgrade gets even more use out of R2-D2, but this puts Luke at 37 points, so I'd leave it off. Once Biggs dies, definitely use this to shield Wedge.
Wedge + R5-K6 + Squad Leader is a little bit of a waste of Wedge, but it does help Biggs survive even longer. R5-K6 here is to give Wedge a chance at getting his missing action back. This leaves 3 upgrade points left over for another Stealth Device, which would last longer on Luke.

Alternatively, you could give Wedge Expose instead of Squad Leader and the Stealth Device, and run at a 99 point fleet.

I like draw their fire on luke, I might try that out. Great way to pull damage off biggs and recover it later (though its only for crits..) and save me 3 points for something else like another stealth or droid upgrade. Not totally sold on the squad leader yet, would be nice having biggs rolling agility with a focus definately making him survive longer, though it makes wedge less devastating.. Think i'll leave biggs with the stealth of r2-f2 for now as it seems the best combo without using both EPT from the two other pilots. Next game I play I'll use this (or a very close version) of this list and see how it plays.

Wedge with expose and not having to worry about taking hits will be fun, especially when he's at range one of a imp. 5 att dice and -1 agility to your opponents ship. would be nice if i could get a focus on him. I'd have to use garven for that though.

Wedge with expose and not having to worry about taking hits will be fun, especially when he's at range one of a imp. 5 att dice and -1 agility to your opponents ship. would be nice if i could get a focus on him. I'd have to use garven for that though.

But it burns an action, where with PTL you can have Target Lock + Focus for an almost gauanteed 4 hits and -1 agility.

With R2, every 1-2 next turn is green so he can refresh and do it again while staying on target.

This list is called Frog Squadron by MrFroggies.

It is one of the oldest competitive lists around and believe me, thematic or not there is nothing "friendly" about it.

There is even a version of it that made 2nd place at Gencon as far as i know.

Wedge 29

- R2 1

- Shield Upgrade 4

Biggs 25

-Shield Upgrade 4

Luke 28

-Shield Upgrade 4

-R2D2 4

-Draw Their Fire 1

I believe the GenCon Version had Veteran instincts instead of Draw their fire.

This version has 3 more HP that make it tougher. Especially the ability of Luke to take away critical hits from Biggs, and then just to recharge hus shields again.

In my ladt game my adversary would have had to go through 24 HP total with my 3 Shield upgrades and the recovered shields from Luke. That's really a hard nut to crack and when Biggs finally went down, the enemy had to choose between Wedge who can deal Tons of damage and Luke who can just recharge if left unchecked for a while.

My version of this list is:

Luke w/Vet Instincts, R2D2 & Shield (37)

Wedge w/Swarm Tactics & R2 (32)

Biggs w/R2F2 & Stealth Device (31)

I've tried DTF on Luke but didn't get it to work because my opponents keep grinding Biggs down with normal hits. I've found VI to be more usefull dealing with the high PS pilots that are run in my area. So far I'm 6-1 with this list and am happy with the way it's performed so far.

This list is called Frog Squadron by MrFroggies.It is one of the oldest competitive lists around and believe me, thematic or not there is nothing "friendly" about it.There is even a version of it that made 2nd place at Gencon as far as i know.Wedge 29- R2 1- Shield Upgrade 4Biggs 25-Shield Upgrade 4Luke 28-Shield Upgrade 4-R2D2 4-Draw Their Fire 1I believe the GenCon Version had Veteran instincts instead of Draw their fire.This version has 3 more HP that make it tougher. Especially the ability of Luke to take away critical hits from Biggs, and then just to recharge hus shields again.In my ladt game my adversary would have had to go through 24 HP total with my 3 Shield upgrades and the recovered shields from Luke. That's really a hard nut to crack and when Biggs finally went down, the enemy had to choose between Wedge who can deal Tons of damage and Luke who can just recharge if left unchecked for a while.

I could be wrong also but have a feeling the gen con list had vet inst on wedge somehow

There are quite a few more viable options that you guys are pointing out, thanks! I'll have to try a few and see which ones work better on the table top. It is true some stuff looks good on paper, while actually playing a game it may end up not being that effective. Push the limits on wedge is very tempting... hmm the choices.

If it wasn't a themed list, I'd probably drop luke for a b-wing with a HLC and FCS or maybe even an autoblaster instead of all those shield upgrades regarding that gencon list. That list was probably made before wave 3 though..

Is the goal of these list to keep Wedge alive?

Put the cloaking device on him.

The best thing a cloaking device does is make your opponant want to shoot somewhere else. If he has to shoot at Biggs, and Biggs has the cloaking device, it should go away pretty quick.

I think we over estimate the value of keeping wedge alive. He is deadly, but wouldn't it be a better stratagy to make the rest of your squadron deadly too. Rooki Pilot X-wings by themselves are nothing to ignore.

Try

Wedge + Cloacking Device

Rookie Pilot x 3

you still have 2 points

That is 3 more attack dice than any Wedge, Biggs, Luke List.

Is the goal of these list to keep Wedge alive?

Put the cloaking device on him.

The best thing a cloaking device does is make your opponant want to shoot somewhere else. If he has to shoot at Biggs, it should go away pretty quick.

well the idea was to deal as much damage as possible with wedge / luke before biggs goes down. If i put draw their fire on luke I have 3 extra points for a stealth device. I really feel like there is some good synergy between these three but not enough to ruin your list if you lost one - two of the x's.

yes there are better lists, though this one was a themed list and trying to make the best of what you have available. If anyone is curious why I chose these three (post wave 1) is simply because wedge and biggs are the reoccurring characters from final fantasy / chrono trigger. Luke was not a character but fits the best with em as they are all best friends.

In reply to the why stealth on biggs?

In my build it is just to buy time. I have found that with the Droid action and a focus you rarely lose the stealth in the first round of shooting, normally range 3.

Biggs is rolling 5 evade dice with a focus at range 3.

That's enough for the other two two do a few points of dmg at least for free.

The only thing that screws with this is well focused missiles.

And I do like the draw fire r2d2 Luke combo but only drawing c4its i find a little unreliable.

And I do like the draw fire r2d2 Luke combo but only drawing c4its i find a little unreliable.

I found I had the same problem with DTF on Luke. Critical hits don't happen all that often when I play this list and DTF tends to be wasted because of that. Swapping it for Vet Instincts on Luke has worked much better for me. And with Swarm Tactics on Wedge I have the possibility of getting a PS10 and 2 PS9 pilots in the shooting phase, which is great if I get Initiative, allowing all three pilots to shoot before my opponent a majority of the time.

That list is awful.

The reason why the three amigos work so well is because of their synergy together. Luke Draws Their Fire onto him, he restores it via R2D2 and Biggs in the back pulls shots from range 2-3, allowing Wedge/Luke to fire on the other team. If Biggs goes down, he's served his role and that's to keep Luke (the anvil of the team) and Wedge (the hammer) alive.

With Shield Generators providing a figurative extra hull point that can absorb crits, you're looking at 17+ HP that can be regenerated via R2D2.

Your list have no synergy, 3 extra shots and 3 extra HP at the expense of no regen, no synergy, and zero trick potential.

Here's what I would run:

Is the goal of these list to keep Wedge alive?

Put the cloaking device on him.

The best thing a cloaking device does is make your opponant want to shoot somewhere else. If he has to shoot at Biggs, and Biggs has the cloaking device, it should go away pretty quick.

I think we over estimate the value of keeping wedge alive. He is deadly, but wouldn't it be a better stratagy to make the rest of your squadron deadly too. Rooki Pilot X-wings by themselves are nothing to ignore.

Try

Wedge + Cloacking Device

Rookie Pilot x 3

you still have 2 points

That is 3 more attack dice than any Wedge, Biggs, Luke List.

That list is awful.

The reason why the three amigos work so well is because of their synergy together. Luke Draws Their Fire onto him, he restores it via R2D2 and Biggs in the back pulls shots from range 2-3, allowing Wedge/Luke to fire on the other team. If Biggs goes down, he's served his role and that's to keep Luke (the anvil of the team) and Wedge (the hammer) alive.

With Shield Generators providing a figurative extra hull point that can absorb crits, you're looking at 17+ HP that can be regenerated via R2D2.

Your list have no synergy, 3 extra shots and 3 extra HP at the expense of no regen, no synergy, and zero trick potential.

Here's what I would run:

100 points

Wedge Antilles

R2 Astromech

Push the Limit

Shield Upgrade

Luke Skywalker

R2-D2

Draw Their Fire

Shield Upgrade

Biggs Darklighter

R5 Astromech

I prefer giving Biggs the ability to dodge as much damage as possible. You can buy several more turns of frustration from your opponents with evasion dice than you can with your finalized fleet.

The other thing to keep in mind: don't send biggs into the fray. Keep him around the edges, if he's only drawing two or three attacks each turn, he's doing his job. If he dies in the first couple rounds, then he hasn't helped you at all. That being said, I would tend to do something like this