So, January 12 will be my first tourney at my local FLGS. There's a very small playerbase around here. They've only had one other event, and I think it had 6-8 participants, including the guy who works at the store. I know I'll be there, along with the two guys I usually play with.

So, I thought I'd go ahead and start putting together a list for it. I'm not horribly worried about the two guys I usually play with; they have yet to beat me and we've been playing for months. They're easily outmaneuvered. Just tonight, my B/Y team finished off his Interceptor, Dark Curse, and Backstabber without breaking a sweat.

Back on topic! I could use some ideas for a good competitive list. Either faction is good.

Ideas, go!

What ships do you have available to you? A competitive list that you can't field isn't much fun at all.

Also, will you be restricted to the upgrades you currently own, or is your FLGS going to let that slide in favor of fostering a larger player-base?

My fleet is listed in my sig.
And should I need to, I'm happy to expand it

Narrow it down for us, because there are a million threads about this sort of thing already.

Do you like to play aggressively? Do you prefer to react?

Do you prefer to run three ships, four ships, or more of a swarm?

Do you like straightforward strategies (straight at them and shoot) or fancy combos (pass you a token, pass me a token, borrow a die)?

What was the exact squad you used last time? Why not use it again, or show it to us so we can help refine it?

Lately I've been using a B-wing with HLC and Sensor Jammer to support Wedge's APT alpha strike, using PTL to focus/TL in one turn, and the R2 astromech to relieve stress with any 1-/2-speed maneuver. Tonight I also stuck a Y-wing in there, because I love my ion cannons, but they're mostly just a fun aspect. I think I was going to use a second B-wing/HLC instead, but wanted to mix it up a bit.

So I suppose I like aggressive strategies with fancy combos. Definitely want to try out the Garvin+Dutch trick at some point. Read about that earlier tonight.

3 ships is a minimum. 4 preferred. My TIE swarms usually fail due to poor rolling and Howlrunner getting killed first.

Let's see, on the rebels side I see:

XXBYY (the smallest pilot of each ship in that list add up to 100 points on the dot!)
Han Shoots First (Han Solo + Gunner + 2 Rookie Pilots + 7 points of upgrades where some debate happens. I like Push the Limit, Recon Specialist, and the Millennium Falcon Title)

Action Share (Garven Dreis, Kyle Katarn, "Dutch" Vander together forever. If done properly, all 3 of them will fire focused and target locked every attack. You NEED to give Kyle a Turret of some sort, as well as a Recon Specialist. After those, you have 22 more points for upgrades, so you could buy a 4th ship instead)
XXBB (Two Blue-Squadron B-Wings + 7 points each [Heavy Laser Cannon or Advanced Sensors + Engine Upgrade] + 2 Rookie X-Wings)
Bloody Daggers (Two Dagger Squadron B-Wings + Fire Control Systems and 2x Red Squadron X-Wings. )
ABXY (Green Squadron Pilot + Push the Limit + Stealth Device, Blue Squadron Pilot + Advanced Sensors, Rookie Pilot + R2-D2, Gold Squadron Pilot + R2 Astromech)

Well, the XXBYY is probably out simply because I don't like turretless Y-wings...severe lack of usefulness there aside from being a damage sponge.
Han Shoots First is always fun, and I've run something similar before...swarms are really the only I worry about, but I know the last tourneys winner is a big fan of stealth devices on squints.
Action Share looks good, despite the Hawk...It'd be nice to finally fly my custom painted Crow for once though. Definitely on my to-try list for next week (all this down time during finals week...)

XXBB looks nice. Anything with two HLCs makes me happy.

Bloody Daggers looks...mostly the same, though I'm not seeing a real reason for the Red squads as opposed to rookies. That could shave off I think four points, and slap in a torpedo on someone.

And then ABXY...it's been a long time since flying an A-wing. Could be fun. Very diverse.

Out of these, I definitely want to try Garvin/Dutch before making a decision. I may swap out Kyle if he's not of dire importance, although the blaster turret is always nice. If it works well, that my be what I go with.

What about Imperials?

Let's see, on the rebels side I see:

XXBYY (the smallest pilot of each ship in that list add up to 100 points on the dot!)

Han Shoots First (Han Solo + Gunner + 2 Rookie Pilots + 7 points of upgrades where some debate happens. I like Push the Limit, Recon Specialist, and the Millennium Falcon Title)

Action Share (Garven Dreis, Kyle Katarn, "Dutch" Vander together forever. If done properly, all 3 of them will fire focused and target locked every attack. You NEED to give Kyle a Turret of some sort, as well as a Recon Specialist. After those, you have 22 more points for upgrades, so you could buy a 4th ship instead)

XXBB (Two Blue-Squadron B-Wings + 7 points each [Heavy Laser Cannon or Advanced Sensors + Engine Upgrade] + 2 Rookie X-Wings)

Bloody Daggers (Two Dagger Squadron B-Wings + Fire Control Systems and 2x Red Squadron X-Wings. )

ABXY (Green Squadron Pilot + Push the Limit + Stealth Device, Blue Squadron Pilot + Advanced Sensors, Rookie Pilot + R2-D2, Gold Squadron Pilot + R2 Astromech)

gr8 suggestions for rebels. was about to post up XXYBB and XXBB squads.

imperials:

99pts

2x academy pilot

howlrunner/swarm

turr phennir/veteran instincts

soontir fel

100pts

Bounty Hunter

Howlrunner

Soontir Fel +PTL

Dark Curse

99pts

Bounty Hunter/Gunner

2x Academy Pilot

Dark Curse

Howlrunner/Stealth Device

100pts

Bounty Hunter

Howlrunner

Soontir Fel +PTL

Dark Curse

This, I like. Fel with PtL is always fantastic.
Only recently have I realized how much of a pain Dark Curse is...none of use had used him since we started playing until a couple days ago and it was like an epiphany. The only downside is the firespray. I'm a firm believer that anything that can carry an HLC, should.

100pts

Bounty Hunter

Howlrunner

Soontir Fel +PTL

Dark Curse

This, I like. Fel with PtL is always fantastic.

Only recently have I realized how much of a pain Dark Curse is...none of use had used him since we started playing until a couple days ago and it was like an epiphany. The only downside is the firespray. I'm a firm believer that anything that can carry an HLC, should.

well u can add HLC to BH but then u have to downgrade ur other ships

eg. howlrunner and dark curse become academy pilots.

This makes ur BH/HLC a real target early on and changes ur tactics quite a bit.

if u want HLC i think ud be better of running mas academies as blockers in close and hang back with the BH. so ud want a list that looks something like...

Bounter/HLC

5x Academy pilot

or

Bounter/HLC

3x Academy pilot

1x Sabre Squadron/PTL

i think u do lose something with lesser pilot hvy squads as they will just target ur best ship. giving them a choice between 2 or even 3 choice targets makes u much harder to stop, especially early on where they will be torn between targets and have to change up their own tactics and possibly split up their best offensive ships to cover urs.

Bloody Daggers (Two Dagger Squadron B-Wings + Fire Control Systems and 2x Red Squadron X-Wings. )

Minor correction: Bloody Daggers uses 2x Daggers with Advanced Sensors, not FCS. Massive difference in resulting combat. Advanced Sensors is boss. You get Reds so everything is PS4 and shoots before the more common PS2 ships that are prevalent in the meta. In theory it should beat Blue Thunder (2x Blue + HLC + 2x Rookies) every time.

Paul Heaver won Worlds with:

Biggs

Dagger + Advanced Sensors x2

Rookie

... but you have to know how to fly it.

Also, if you have 5 TIEs and 2 INTs, you can try swapping out 3 academies in whatever swarm squad you favor, for 2 alphas. Just fly them in the back so they are less appealing targets. 7 TIEs is probably still better, if you fly them right though.

Fly defensively with Howlrunner. Don't be afraid to take evade with her, or to not spend the focus during an attack if she's about to get focus fired.

P.S. I haven't played in a tournament, so take this all with a grain of salt. I just over analyze the game.

A list that might have some promise:

Omicron Group Pilot + Fire-Control System + Gunner + Engine Upgrade

Bounty Hunter + Gunner

Turr Phennir + Veteran Instincts + Stealth Device

This gives you an incredible amount of firepower. 99 point list, so you should have initiative, which is important if they have any PS9 units on the board. Put out the two heavy hitters first, then you can put Turr out where you can flank them. It's a really mean list and I think it might have potential.

Also, you get the mystical void manatee out.

I'd certainly like using the space whale, if not to prove that it's useful then just for the shock factor.
"I got killed by THAT THING?!"

I'd certainly like using the space whale, if not to prove that it's useful then just for the shock factor.

"I got killed by THAT THING?!"

I've killed so many named characters with my shuttles. They have a particular hunger for X-Wings.

I've been working hard to show the world that the alabaster space bison is a viable threat.