Interesting Combos vol. 3: Walk The Plank!

By That One Guy, in X-Wing

Omicron Group Pilot/Captain Yorr + Navigator + Recon Specialist + Anti-persuit Laser (+optional sensor jammers)

Carnor Jax + Opportunist

Soontir Fel + Push The Limit + Shield Upgrade/Stealth Device (your choice)

With Yorr, jammers and Shield Upgrade it comes in at 94 points, giving you plenty of wiggle room to further customize as you see fit. You could also add an Ion Cannon to the shuttle.

The idea behind this build is all in action denial. Use the shuttle as a blocker with the anti-persuit laser to toss out some damage, then swoop in with the interceptors to mop up. If your action denial works well, then you'll get good mileage out of Opportunist, and if you use Yorr then he can soak the stress tokens from it (and maybe Soontir's PtL as well). I feel like this build mimics sharks following a ship, ready to rush in and tear anything (or anyone) that falls overboard to pieces. This build is customizable as well, you could swap out any of your favorite interceptor pilots. However I felt these were some of the most attack-oriented pilots. It's more about the feel, so customize to your heart's content.

If you're planning on using this fleet for Action Denial, why not use Captain Kagi?

He moves much too late. The lower the pilot skill, the earlier you move, the better your chance of causing your opponents ships to collide with you. Also making someone target lock me is not something I consider 'action denial' because they still get to do it. I want to try to keep them completely stymied.

Edited by That One Guy

Alright, so my thoughts on the matter.

First, Navigator. On the Falcon and the Firespray, this is a brilliant upgrade which can do wonders. It seriously screws up your enemy. However, it doesn't do great on the Lambda because of the dial. Here's why:

The shuttle has 6 possible barings. Hard Left, Bank Left, Forward, Bank Right, Hard Right, Stop. Of these 6, 3 of them only have one speed. Hard Left/Right only have a 2 and Stop.... well it only has 0. That leaves you with three barings that Navigator can impact.

Forward: The shuttle can do 1, 2, or 3 speed forward. However, the craft is a large base. Navigator is generally used to avoid collisions. Because of that, however, there is a band of space where an obstacle can block all three of these movements. We are primarily talking ships and mines here. Navigator is of questionable use here, because that blocking force will either stop you (bad) or force you to move beyond it (worse).

Bank: The lambda can do a 1 (green), 2 (white) or 3 (red) speed bank. Unfortunately, we run into much the same problem as above. There's a spot where a ship can be that will block any of these speeds. Further, bank 3 may not even be an option because it's red.

I've found 3 general practice hints for choosing speeds.

1) Not yet in Engagement range, open space. Here, you're generally going fast to catch the enemy before they are ready. You will almost never need Navigator here.

2) Close in fighting. You are generally going slow here to prolong engagement. Navigator is of limited use.

3) Escaping/Returning. You are generally going fast to break away followed by turning. Again, not much Navigator use here.

As such, it's not an upgrade I recommend.

Recon Specialist:

Also not of huge use on the Lambda. This is because you will be using one focus for attack, but you only have a single defense die. Those focus tokens aren't going to be used much to eliminate damage. Again, great on the Firespray, not so great for this beast.

APL: I'm not a fan of these on the shuttle, especially not high PS versions. This is because it takes up the all important Engine Upgrade slot. If I could have both, I would in a heartbeat. But EU as you've seen in Flight School 101 is incredibly potent with this craft.

Sensor Jammers: These are awesome (especially against Blaster Turrets). However, I just can't justify them because of the FCS/Gunner setup I use.

I agree, if you want Action Denial, go with Kagi. They will have to target lock Kagi, but they desperately want to kill Carnor first, so they can't Alpha Strike him. That means any attacks against Carnor will be without focus or target lock. Try this:

Captain Kagi (27)
Fire-Control System (2)
Gunner (5)
Engine Upgrade (4)

Carnor Jax (26)
Push the Limit (3)
Stealth Device (3)

Soontir Fel (27)
Push the Limit (3)

Total: 100

Ooops, my bad, i put the wrong person on there. It's not Recon Specialist, it's Intelligence Agent. Gah!

Yeah, I want to look where they'll be and then try to use Navigator if I have to in order to get their first. Hence the low pilot skill ships. Make them collide with me, maybe deal APL damage, swoop in with an Interceptor.

Edited by That One Guy