So, I'll start out with saying I've only played probably 10 or fewer games overall, so I don't have any expection more than having fun at my store's event this weekend.

I played a couple games this past weekend with the B-Wing, and thought I'd try a build surrounding Ten Numb:

Ten Numb B-WIng + Autoblaster + Fire-Control System

Biggs X-Wing + R2-F2

A-Wing Prototype Pilot x2

=100 points

Strategy would just be to get Ten in there at close range blowing stuff up with his power and autoblaster pretty much denying defense dice. Biggs to take the targets away from him with the Droid giving him a defense bump. Awings for nuisance mostly.

I know I could use r2d2 for the shield regen, but i really like the fire control system constantly adding a target lock and feel like the extra defense die would serve the same purpose of prolonging his life. This weekend I had played Advanced Sensors on the BWing, which was helpful too, but it didnt make it onto this build...

A second build was to try out some imperials (which I haven't played in months). I played against Soontir Fel with Push the Limits recently, so thought of building around that...

Soontir Fel Interceptor + PTL + Stealth Device (should have 4 defense die, and always have a focus token)

Turr Phenir Interceptor (free moves after shooting is good)

Howlrunner TIE

Academy Pilot TIE x2

=100

Any thoughts on either build? I am geting the Slave I this week, but I haven't really looked into its abilities. I've read some build threads on here though with that being a big part of teams.

As for your first list, don't bother with R2-F2. It is inferior to a focus. The simple way to think of it is that the focus gives you 2/8 evade, on two dice, for a total of 4/8 evade. R2-F2 gives you 3/8 extra focus. Yes, he does this for multiple attacks, but the break even point is after 4-5 attacks, at which point Biggs should be sitting at ~1 hull. So, save those 3 points to use elsewhere. I would recommend putting Marksmanship on Ten. As it is, he only has ~30% of rolling a crit. With Marksmanship, it increases to ~70%. Which is great for Ten seeing as his ability relies upon it. This would be the "leave your list primarily intact" modification I would make.

A more drastic change would be to drop the Autoblaster and FCS on Ten, as well as the R2-F2 on Biggs. And then downgrade Biggs to a Rookie. This saves you 14 points to play with now. I would upgrade the Prototypes to Greens w/ PTL. And then add Marksmanship to Ten, and you can do whaver you want with that last point, though I believe the only thing you could would be to put an R5/R2 on the Rookie. Or leave it for init (I wouldn't do that). The logic here is that Biggs is the #2 target anyways, and by downgrading Ten, he's no longer such a point sink that you need to protect him. The rookie does just as much damage and is just as hard to kill as Biggs, so why pay 4 points for someone they're going to target anyways? From there, the logic to upgrade the Prototypes to Greens w/ PTL is that they're pesky flys that everyone ignores anyways. As such, they will be your closers in the end game. And always moving first kinda makes the prototype lose some of its maneuverability. Upgrading to PS3 allows it to move after all of those Blues and Rookies out there. Then the PTL allows them to evade + focus every turn the opponent has a shot on you, or TL+F every turn he doesn't, or boost+F to get out of arc and then have an offensive modifier. It's MUCH more deadly than a standard Prototype. I highly recommend those 5 points on that upgrade. If you truly wanted to keep FCS on Ten, you could change one of them into a Rookie, and then have 2 points for the FCS.

The second one will fair better in a tournament, more than likely. The A-wings can annoy your opponent but have little offensive power. It IS good that the rebel list has 4 ships, but I also would shy away from spending so many points on a small base. In order to reliably get the benefit of Autoblaster, you'll want to add an engine upgrade, which the list as-is wouldn't allow for. It also makes Ten Numb absurdly expensive for a small base, particularly one with low agility. He'll get some good licks in if you can keep him close, but he will die early, or shortly after Biggs, who will likely get smashed in the first combat turn.

The magic number in a competitive list is 33 points. You want to avoid, whenever possible, making a small base cost more than 33 points, because that is what they need to get a modified win. So, if no one ship is more expensive than 33 points and you can't destroy enough of your opponents ships in time, then he can't get the modified win if he hasn't destroyed two of your ships. Obviously doesn't work on a Falcon or Firespray list, but its a good rule of thumb on small base lists.

Now, the second list is superior, because if you practice with Soontir+PtL, he will never or rarely be in front arc to ever even be shot. Now, I would even swap out Soontir's Stealth Device and give Turr PtL also. It will help him stay out of front arc even more than he already can. For example, move into range 1, focus. Make your focused four die attack, then boost and/or barrel roll out of front arc, and you get another boost/barrel roll or evade.

Then, if your swarm is close, they too will reap the benefit of Howlrunner. Also, with 3 high priority, dangerous targets, your opponent will have to prioritize which is the most important given the current situation. And if he kills the wrong ship, it could be deadly for him.

Now, if you are more interested in playing Rebels or specifically B-wings, you can make a good list too.

great! thanks for all the good pointers.

As for the rebel build, I understand Ten was a point sink. I was mostly just trying out the newest ship I had bought, and thought the trick of denying defense dice was neat. From your points I can see how its not necessarily a 'tournament' build as is. Also, I had never thought of the 33 magic number concept.

And the swapping out of Stealth for a second Push the Limits makes sense, as the hope is that Soontir escapes targeting more often than not, so the extra defense die isnt as important as making both Interceptors harder to get a bead on in the first place.

I'll be sure to read over some other build lists to get other ideas, but this is all very helpful!

I wouldn't recommend bringing Soontir or Turr for that matter, to a tourney if you have only played a few games. The main reason for that is that they take quite a bit of work to make them last. And if you can't dance well with them, they'll just die easily.

Don't worry about the 33 point differential... If you can't kill any of your opponents ships in an hour, then who are you to deny him a full win anyways? It doesn't affect you at all whether he gets a full win or loss... so you might as well fly what you want to fly. It's silly to base your squad on the chance that he kills that ship and only that ship and you don't kill any ships, and you want to deny him the full win.

I suppose an argument could be made for him killing your one ship, and then running away for the rest of the game so you can't kill any of his ships, but I've never come across anyone who runs away just to maintain the point advantage.