I have had some fun recently running 4 bomber Jonus + Gamma squads. Now I want to mix it up and see what I can do with 3 Bombers. My first attempts have been with a shuttle, and though I am 0-3 against a Luke+R2D2+DTF+Shield and 3 Rookies list (Luke is soooo hard to kill with that setup), I am still thinking there is something fun and competitive to this combination. If only I wasn't running so many Proton Torpedos for Luke to absorb Crits with DTF....

I have 3 lists I like, but don't know what to try next. Which of these 3 would you pick?

#1

Jonus + Squad Leader

Gamma + APT + Concussion

Scimitar + Proton Torpedo + Cluster

Omicron Shuttle + Darth Vader

#2

Jonus + Squad Leader

Scimitar + Proton Torpedo + Cluster

Scimitar + Cluster

Omicron Shuttle + HLC + Engine Upgrade

#3

Jonus + Squad Leader

Scimitar + Proton Torpedo + Cluster

Scimitar + Cluster

Dark Curse

Backstabber

List #1 will probably run the shuttle off to the side slightly so I can bank in for extra shots.

List #2 will keep shuttle in range for Jonus' ability

List #3 will put the Scimitars up front, keeping the ties alive more as flankers or later game pieces.

Which would you pick and why? What would you change?

I would take Squad #2. Drop the proton torpedo and give Jonus a concussion missile. Fly in a tight formation to start. Try to target Luke first and drop the hammer on him. DTF doesn't help him at all if he's the target. He's got two evade dice, but with the amount of pain you can hit him with (2 cluster missiles with rerolls, a concussion missile with one certain hit, and HLC with rerolls), I would be very surprised if he survives the first barrage. Then, break formation and work on clearing out the rest of the X-Wings. Don't let your mystical space cow get pulled into a dogfight, instead, when he doesn't have a shot, zoom away and turn around for another pass. You'll lose the rerolls, but that's ok, you still have a brutal weapon that's hard to kill.

Indeed, targeting Luke would be the best plan, the hard part has been his higher PS makes TL difficult if he hangs back, so I end up using at least some of the ordinance on the rookies. Every time Luke survives at 1 hp when I do target him and R2D2s enough that the bomber's main guns can't finish him off. It's been really fun to play against, always epic.

I am also not particularly trying to beat that squad, I'd like to find something that will work generally well against a variety of lists.

Sable, I DID try your Omicron + Gunner + FCS + Engine combo, which was pretty fun. I wanted more Jonus synergy for the points spent not on secondaries, so I added the HLC.

Consider this combination of missiles:

Scimitar + Homing + Cluster.

You don't need to spend the target lock to fire the homing missile, and Jonas will let you reroll 2 misses from the Homing missile. Hopefully, you can pull 4 hits from the Homing missile without needing to spend the target lock. Then, you follow up by taking a focus the next round and firing the Cluster missile. This is brutal against X-Wings as the homing missile will likely knock off the shields, and then the follow up cluster missile shot is fairly likely to kill it off. Perhaps this list would be what you need:

Jonus, Swarm Tactics, Proton Bomb

Gamma, Homing, Cluster

Scimitar, Homing, Cluster

Mauler MIthel, Squad Leader

You can Squad Leader to have one of the homing missiles have focus available to it, and hope for a good roll on the second one with the Jonus bonus. You'll shoot at PS4 and PS 6 for those missiles, so you'll be able to destroy rookies before they can fire. Best case situation is you end up killing both rookies before you take any real damage and you'll have 4 ships against 2.

Focus down Luke for sure. Might also want to include some bombs for your squad to drop, especially if you're finding your opponents only with 1-2 hp left. Luke can't DTF it and it can hit multiple targets. Love the shuttle inclusion but you might try a different shuttle combo- Vader's Death Shuttle (Vader + advanced sensors). You don't have to worry about turning it around and, again, automatically does damage. Might make your alpha just good enough. Park it behind the bombers and let it bump into the bombers every round while using advanced sensors to keep your action.

Sable, I DID try your Omicron + Gunner + FCS + Engine combo, which was pretty fun. I wanted more Jonus synergy for the points spent not on secondaries, so I added the HLC.

I like to think this is a Pavlovian response, since I didn't even suggest that this time around. "Oh, Sable responded, I better let him know that I preferred the HLC in this case because it works better."

I definitely see where you are coming from there, and I kind of agree. You're trying to take out Luke quickly, and the rerolls from Jonus early on (since I would be amazed if you got them after the first pass as the two ships maneuver so differently) are important for that. You can focus, then get the rerolls. Heck, you might consider something a bit more sinister here. Drop the proton torpedo but, instead of giving Jonus the concussion missiles like I proposed earlier, give the OGP TWO mercenary copilots. Now, at range three, you can convert two of your hits to crits with the HLC. So, Luke moves into range three. You hit him with attacks by Jonus and the two Bombers. Then, when his shields are gone, you get to shower him with crits. That might kill him, or knock out his abilities or any number of terrible maladies.

Consider this combination of missiles: Scimitar + Homing + Cluster. You don't need to spend the target lock to fire the homing missile, and Jonas will let you reroll 2 misses from the Homing missile. Hopefully, you can pull 4 hits from the Homing missile without needing to spend the target lock. Then, you follow up by taking a focus the next round and firing the Cluster missile. This is brutal against X-Wings as the homing missile will likely knock off the shields, and then the follow up cluster missile shot is fairly likely to kill it off. Perhaps this list would be what you need: Jonus, Swarm Tactics, Proton BombGamma, Homing, ClusterScimitar, Homing, ClusterMauler MIthel, Squad Leader You can Squad Leader to have one of the homing missiles have focus available to it, and hope for a good roll on the second one with the Jonus bonus. You'll shoot at PS4 and PS 6 for those missiles, so you'll be able to destroy rookies before they can fire. Best case situation is you end up killing both rookies before you take any real damage and you'll have 4 ships against 2.

I never considered the strategic possibilities of Homing Missile on the bombers. I can imagine shooting that missile, buffed by Jonus, then pulling a 5 kturn to fire another Jonus buffed missile/torp. Could work if you put 2 range 2-3 missiles on the bomber, since after the Alpha, your opponent may try to get into Range 1 so you cannot fire your second missile. The 5 k turn might be enough to get to Range 2. Could also work for clusters I suppose. A 5 k turn at that point would be pretty unpredictable anyways.