Newb here, just started playing this game and love it. I have at least 1 of everything now, but am considering another A-wing, which drew me to this thread (I think I'm sold). But I noticed mention of 200 points, 400 points...we have yet to break 100 points and it felt a bit cluttered at first on a 3x3 table. What size table do you play on for larger squads?

There's not really a standard for the larger games yet, but 3x6 (two 3x3 mats together) and 4x6 are the common ones I've seen for larger engagements.

For really large games I have two 4' x 6' glitter felt mats that can be used singly, or added together for up to 12' long.

For mid-sized games (150-200ish points), I just recently did up some 4' x 3'-20cm ones. With the 3'-20cm, each side has a deeper set-up area of 2 range segments in from the board edge, but still the standard starting distance apart from the starting lines.

And just got A-Wing #10 for a present today. Just 2 shy of a full squadron now ^,^

Also have recently begun work on an A-Wing pilot's uniform for myself so I can join the Rebel Legion!

I need to get more of these...

For really large games I have two 4' x 6' glitter felt mats that can be used singly, or added together for up to 12' long.

For mid-sized games (150-200ish points), I just recently did up some 4' x 3'-20cm ones. With the 3'-20cm, each side has a deeper set-up area of 2 range segments in from the board edge, but still the standard starting distance apart from the starting lines.

And just got A-Wing #10 for a present today. Just 2 shy of a full squadron now ^,^

I believe 12 is a squadron in Star Wars Canon, I know the rogues were 12 a full strength.

Just about finished painting my Green Squadron A-Wing. I'm very happy with myself: I never almost complete a model painting in a single day, so I must be gettting better. Seeing my work, I think I'll be satisfied with four or five of the little guys for my own collection. Why you'd need 12 of ANYTHING in this game that isn't a token or card is beyond me. o__o

That said, let's see some paint jobs or alternate paint scehemes! :3

Yes 12 is the canon squadron size for both Rebels and Imperials.

LeoHowler, try a game with squadrons and you will come over to the dodeka-side of the force ^,^

The game plays quite well with lots of players and lots of ships (keep upgrades to a minimum, and primarily ordnance), and has much much much more Star-Warsy feel!

For alternate paint schemes, this is my first flight of 4 A-Wings. The next 6 are on the painting bench now.

And umm, I have 22 TIE Fighters. The 12th ship in each of the 2 TIE squadrons is a TIE Advanced for the Squadron Commander

And umm, I have 22 TIE Fighters. The 12th ship in each of the 2 TIE squadrons is a TIE Advanced for the Squadron Commander

Only 26 more before you can outfit an Imperial Star Destroyer!

Your calculations are off by about 48 ships.

Your calculations are off by about 48 ships.

They carry zero TIE Fighters? Huh.

I do have half the typical fighter complement of a Star Destroyer:

2 Squadrons of TIE (inc. TIE Advanced for the 2 Squadron Commanders)

1/2 Squadron of Interceptors

1/2 Squadron of Bombers

Plus

1 extranumerary TIE Advanced for Vader

3 Lambdas (1 support ship per active squadron seems like a reasonable balance)

A target rich environment for the nearly full-strength A-Wing Squadron and rest of the Rebel Fighter Wing.

I do have half the typical fighter complement of a Star Destroyer:

2 Squadrons of TIE (inc. TIE Advanced for the 2 Squadron Commanders)

1/2 Squadron of Interceptors

1/2 Squadron of Bombers

Plus

1 extranumerary TIE Advanced for Vader

3 Lambdas (1 support ship per active squadron seems like a reasonable balance)

A target rich environment for the nearly full-strength A-Wing Squadron and rest of the Rebel Fighter Wing.

I really should get 8 more Lambdas to get an entire herd... I mean squadron. Run a 400 point game with this cloud of albino space zebras.

The down side is you have less offense, but the plus side is your offense is more predictable than the X-Wing. Target Lock + Focus is generally 3 hits at range 1, and at longer ranges you can Focus + evade to be both hard to hit as well as having a decent chance of 2 hits. Missiles can get you excellent burst damage early, though they are substantially more effective vs Rebels than Imperials, as one good roll defense roll will negate all but a pittance of damage from a concussion missile.

Sadly, the damage isn't even that much more consistent than you may think. The less defense a target has, the better the A-wing will do, comparatively speaking. 3 base dice with focus will always do more average damage than 2 base dice with focus + target lock, against agility 1-3 targets.

There are a few cases where TL + focus with one less dice will be more likely to land at least one or possibly two hits, namely, against very low agility targets. Against TIEs, the X-Wing is categorically better in almost* every regard.

* (range 1 vs 3 dice w/o focus, probability of getting 1+ hit is the very small exception)

At range 2+, the X-wing is basically flat-out better. There are a couple of minor cases where the A-wing has a couple percentage points of a better chance at landing one hit, but the difference is minor, and overshadowed by its inferior chances of doing 2+ damage.

Here are the numbers. Sorry, I don't have them in graph form yet. Someday I'll get around to it.

Range 1 vs 1 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

0.44% 96.56% 92.7% 51.5% 3 dice + focus + TL = 2.44

2.15% 97.85% 87.01% 58.01% 19.78% 4 dice + focus = 2.63

Range 1 vs 1 defense dice, with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

0.71% 99.29% 88.58% 30.90% 3 dice + focus + TL = 2.19

3.32% 96.68% 81.74% 47.46% 11.87% 4 dice + focus = 2.38

Range 1 vs 2 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

3.01% 96.99% 77.25% 32.19% 3 dice + focus + TL = 2.06

6.21% 93.79% 76.14% 43.67% 12.36% 4 dice + focus = 2.26

Range 1 vs 2 defense dice with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

7.41% 92.59% 52.53% 11.59% 3 dice + focus + TL = 1.57

12.66% 87.34% 60.31% 25.21% 12.36% 4 dice + focus = 1.77

Range 1 vs 3 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

10.41% 89.59% 60.35% 20.12% 3 dice + focus + TL = 1.70

12.83% 87.17% 63.96% 31.93% 7.72% 4 dice + focus = 1.91

Range 1 vs 3 defense dice with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3+ hits 4 hits

32.45% 67.55% 26.94% 4.35% 3 dice + focus + TL = 0.99

29.55% 70.45% 38.38% 12.24% 1.67% 4 dice + focus = 1.23

Range 2 vs 1 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

4.79% 95.21% 54.93% 2 dice + focus + TL = 1.50

6.84% 93.16% 68.55% 26.37% 3 dice + focus = 1.88

Range 2 vs 1 defense dice, with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

7.71% 92.29% 32.96% 2 dice + focus + TL = 1.25

10.35% 89.65% 58.01% 15.82% 3 dice + focus = 1.63

Range 2 vs 2 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

19.89% 80.11% 34.33% 2 dice + focus + TL = 1.14

16.06% 83.94% 52.73% 16.48% 3 dice + focus = 1.53

Range 2 vs 2 defense dice, with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

44.79% 55.21% 12.36% 2 dice + focus + TL = 0.68

30.13% 69.87% 31.64% 5.93% 3 dice + focus = 1.07

Range 2 vs 3 defense dice, no focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

37.06% 62.94% 21.46% 2 dice + focus + TL = 0.84

27.76% 72.24% 39.14% 10.3% 3 dice + focus = 1.22

Range 2 vs 3 defense dice, with focus

0 hits 1+ hits 2+ hits 3 hits

71.57% 28.43% 4.63% 2 dice + focus + TL = 0.33

54.02% 45.98% 15.57% 2.22% 3 dice + focus = 0.64

Bottom line: A-wings with PtL need to get in range 1 and pick on low-agility targets, otherwise X-wings deal superior damage.

Missiles are another interesting case that I'll be happy to bring some numbers for in a later post.

NEVER TELL ME THE ODDS!!! I hate odds. i am like han solo there screw the odds. i am gonna do what i gotta do and odds or not the dice are usually never on my side... LMAO! but as for the a-wings ya gotta love them. fast and i really think a few a wings could do in a swarm they can get right behind that swarm and decimate it. especially with ptl

I find probability tables like that to be helpful, but they do miss a lot of factors that go into actual gameplay. They do not account for so many variables that occur in actual gameplay. The maneuver capabilities of different ships and squad synergy, along with tactical plans, and each player's tactical tendencies and skill — these factors along with flat dice probabilities all contribute to the actual likelihoods of tabletop success.

Even when not shooting, a ship can contribute greatly to a squad's success. A Prototype A-Wing flown to successfully block up traffic and force enemy collisions gives those X-Wings an even mightier punch when their targets have no Focus or Evade.

It is really easy to spin the cardboard insert around to use as a small arc.

Why didn't I think of that? On second thoughts, don't tell me! What points cost would you suggest for the rearward fire upgrade?

Your calculations are off by about 48 ships.

They carry zero TIE Fighters? Huh.

"Pay no attention to him, officer. He thinks he's a comedian."

An ISD holds up to

48 TIE Fighter

12 TIE Interceptor

12 TIE Bomber

8 Shuttles

in a ready to use state ... is this correct?

I assume that at least the TIE Fighters can be restocked by assembling new ones from parts from the storage.

It is really easy to spin the cardboard insert around to use as a small arc.

Why didn't I think of that? On second thoughts, don't tell me! What points cost would you suggest for the rearward fire upgrade?

Four points, on top of whatever pilot and upgrades you take.

An ISD holds up to

48 TIE Fighter

12 TIE Interceptor

12 TIE Bomber

8 Shuttles

in a ready to use state ... is this correct?

I assume that at least the TIE Fighters can be restocked by assembling new ones from parts from the storage.

As far as I know... you are correct, 72 TIEs in total, one of the squadrons of TIE/LN could be a TIE/RC for explorations purposes, and not all the ISD carry TIE/IN.

It is really easy to spin the cardboard insert around to use as a small arc.

Why didn't I think of that? On second thoughts, don't tell me! What points cost would you suggest for the rearward fire upgrade?

Four points, on top of whatever pilot and upgrades you take.

I believe it should be 2pts at most and occupy your modification slot. If we were talking about a 360 arc, 4pts might be in order but not 4 simply for a rear firing arc on a base 2 weapon.

The idea was that it was a non-unique title upgrade for the A-Wing so you could still have a modification. And I fail to see how 4 points isn't fair. If you're gonna be insistant about it then lower it to 3 points.

Title... Yes. Not modification. 2-3, I'm still in favor of 2 but that might just make really long hit and run games.

I think 4 points, any less then that i think it will be just to good not to use

Too good?

I don't see it as any better than PTL on a green. You will get the same shots out of it and when you don't need it for just getting shots PTL will be a better choice. At 3pts it would be "PTL ULTRALIGHT" for the prototype pilots. At 2 pts it might see use on both ships.

Yes PTL is overpowered, but on a greensquad I'd never take a 4pt rear arc over PTL + 1 pt. Same goes for named.

Again, the only worry I would have would be gnat lists (Ultra hit and run with lots of kturns and odd boosts and firing at long range). I simply can't see it being more than PTL.

I can see the need to make it 3 so that you wouldn't PTL and Rear arc a greensquad/named awing for 24pts. But at that cost you could have an advanced sensored Bwing, buffed rookie, Roark + turret. I don't know if that would be 24pts well spent.

Why the A-Wing should been given a rear firing arc? I can't remember that its cannons could be turned around?!

The A-wing carried a sensor jamming unit .

I'd give the PS3+ the option to add the Sensor Jammer Upgrade. ... or maybe a common System Upgrade slot for 0 points.