Squad building in X-wing Miniatures part 3 or 4

So now you have your Faction. You looked over your ships. Lets start building a list. I’ll need to look over a few things. How many Ships do I want. Which Pilots do I want to use. Most importantly how many points do I have to work with once I have picked Ships and Pilots for upgrades. This is going to be a longer article so hang in there readers.

So lets recap our Ships before I get too deep. This is really where the list comes together and determines everything else anyways.

IMPERIALS:

Fighters:  TIE Fighter, TIE Intercepter, TIE Advanced Prototype, TIE Phantom, TIE Striker,

Escorts: TIE Defender, TIE Aggressor, TIE Advanced,

Bombers: TIE Bomber, TIE Punisher, Alpha-Class Star Wing

Command: Lambda Class Shuttle, Decimator, Tie Bomber (Shuttle Variant)

Generalist: Firespray -31

Take a moment to look at the ships highlighted in green. Every single one of those ships at it’s base level cost less than 20 points. Just adding upgrades to get to 20 means you can have up to 5 ships at once. Also note the sheer number of attackers the Imperials have, easy to tell what they want to do if you want to go those routes. Seeing as I'm trying to do some interesting and unique building I’ll refrain from just grabbing 5 Base TIE Intercepters slapping auto-thrusters on and calling it a day.

Building the List - Starting Ship

With new players in mind for my first ship I want a solid ship. It should also be a bit forgiving for mistakes. This first ship also needs to carry it’s weight in points with general ease. Thinking in those terms starting with an attacker is not the ideal situation. Attackers are a great option if you are wanting to improve your flying and don’t mind being frustrated early.

I'm going to  zone in on the Escorts. The TIE Advanced is tempting as I can use Darth Vader. The Aggressor is also an interesting choice as a turret carrier. The TIE Defender might be the best all around ship of the 3 though. The titles a Defender has allow me to really determine it’s actual role. So lets take the Defender, 3 Attack, 3 Evade, 3 Hull and 3 Shields solid ship and 30 points at base so it’s about a 1/3 of my list so far.

So now the hardest part of list building. I have my first ship. What do I do next? I really need to decide if I’m going to go for Pilot Skill or a Strength in Numbers approach. I actually wrote an article about the topic you can read here. For this list I’m thinking fewer ships and simple mechanics is going to be the best route especially for a new player or someone still working on list building or piloting skills. Now if you know a specific ship/Ace you want to fly by all means grab him first.

Building the List - WINGMEN

So lets get a couple of more ships and then with points left I can sort out what I have from there and upgrade. I find this tends to be easier than building top down and realizing I am out of points and struggling to adjust the list to do what I  want as I want it.  I have an Escort, lets grab something with a bit of punch and a scare factor. The Alpha-Class Star Wing will do nicely. At just 18 points I can really adjust this to be what I need it to be based on the other ships and pilots I want. So I currently am at 48 points with 2 ships. That’s plenty to go forward with and still not worry about upgrades at this point.

I have all kinds of room for more ships right now. I think I’m going to try to keep this at 3 for ease of flying. 4 or 5 is possible right now but I need to save some points to outfit my ships. I am also wanting a 3rd threat to make a hard decision for my opponent. So back to the Ship List. I could do a command ship, but I want to keep this simple on mechanics. A phantom is certainly scary, and an attacker, again lots to think about with them as they fly though. Strikers can be similar to Phantoms in their heavy thinking and planning for movements. So best choices are a TIE Intercepter, or one of the Escorts. Lets have some variety and go with the TIE Aggressor, a newer ship and carries a turret, and they are a base of 17 points.

So my List looks as such:

TIE Defender: 30
TIE Aggressor: 17
AC Star Wing: 18

Total 65 Points out of 100 Used. 35 Points to upgrade with. That’s Pilots, pilot talents, and other upgrades, plenty to work with.

Building the List - Aces and Upgrades

Now it's time to start to look at that Defender. I have some pilots and plenty of points to work with. Question is what do I want and why. With a couple of upgrades I can make a solid Attacker that is super defensive using the TIE X-7 title, or I can make a scary Fighter/Bomber combination with the TIE /D Title. Lets do a Run down of Pilots and then I can make a better choice.

DEFENDER Pilots:

Generics:
Delta Squadron - PS 1 - 30 points.
Onyx Squadron - PS 3 - 32 Points.
Glaive Squadron - PS 6 - 34 points - EPT


Named Pilots:
Countess Ryad - PS 5 - 34 Points - EPT: When doing a strait maneuver can treat this maneuver  a K Turn.

Colonel Vessery - PS 6 - 35 Points - EPT: When Attacking, immediately after you roll attack dice, you may acquire a target lock on the defender if it already has a red target lock token.

Maarek Stele - PS 7 - 35 Points - EPT: When your attack deals a face-up Damage Card to the defender, instead draw 3 cards. Choose 1 to deal and discard the others.

Rexlar Brath: - PS 8 - 37 Points - EPT: After you perform and attack that deals at least 1 Damage card to the defender, you may spend a focus token to flip those cards face up.

If I want to just go with a generic, just take the PS 1 there isn’t enough of a change from PS 1 -3.  I’m going to go higher , so I might as well take an Ace with an extra ability over the PS 6 generic at this point. Vessery is an often a quick grab for his skill. I personally find I don’t care for it as it does nothing once his wingmen go down and he is another generic PS 6 for the points. Rexlar needs a way to get more focus tokens to be effective something I don’t have here so he is out. Leaves me Ryad and Maarek for my Defender pilot. I can spend 1 point for +2 PS and a pilot trait that if I can get it hitting is brutal and a threat all game long.  Lets go with Maarek.

So now the list looks like this:

Maarek Stele - TIE Defender - 35
TIE Aggressor - 17
AC Star Wing - 18

Total 70 Points out of 100 Used

I have a power house in the Star Wing. Lets make it more so and see what I have left. There are two Generics and two aces to choose from. One thing I notice is Major Vynder at PS7. That means he can shoot before Maarek Stele. This means if he can strip shields he can make it easier for Maarek Stele to use his pilot skill. I could also use Lt. Karsabi with Veteran Instincts to reach PS 7. Question is which option is better? Vynder doesn’t care about the load out. Lt. Karsabi hopes he does not get stress to maximize his skill. I don’t want to worry about stress management so I’m going Vynder.

So Vynder is 26 points so I'm at 78 used out of the maximum 100. Lets load him up and see what I have left. I’m going with the XG-1 title. The cannons are more consistent and don’t require me to reload and spend turns not shooting. The title allows for the use of a Cannon with a Weapons Disabled Token with a value of 2 or less. So one of the two cannons will be a  Flechette Cannon. For now with cost concerns I’m going to take a Mangler Cannon. Pushing crits through is never a bad thing. I’m also going to take Predator for re-rolls in case I don’t have a focus for some reason.  Current total for Vynder is now 36 points.

So the List now looks like this
Maarek Stele - TIE Defender -35
Major Vynder - Star Wing - 36
TIE Aggressor -17

Total 88 of 100 points

The TIE Aggressor now needs a looking at. The Aces here are not going to do much to help. However, a Twin Laser Turret (TLT) is scary and causes some concerns for many players. So staying with a Seinar Specialist is fine with the TLT. I can add a Light Weight Frame to it to help survivability as it does it’s thing.

So List is shaping up to look like this:
Maarek Stele - TIE Defender -35
Major Vynder- Star Wing - 36
Sienar Specialist - TIE Aggressor - 25 Points.
Total is 96 or 100 points used.

List building: Finishing Touches

I have 4 points to play with still, this is good. Maarek needs upgrades but now I know what I have to play with. Maarek should be defensive and survive to the end game if possible. Lets use the X-7 Title. That gives me 2 points rather than costing me more. The X-7 gives me a free evade if I move speed 3 or more great for the Defenders dial. This is also interesting in that it sets up the Elite Pilot Talent: Juke. This might help Maarek push through critical damage, or force an opponent to at least spend his focus both of which I am okay with.

Still have 4 points after that. Options are out there. There is the option to upgrade Vynder to a Heavy Laser Cannon. I can give Maarek either a Hull Upgrade or Stealth Device to help him stay alive longer.  I could also upgrade Vynder to Advanced Slam for 2 points to allow him another action when he does have to Slam. Then still use 1 point for Twin Ion Engines MK II for Maarek giving him more green options should he need them.

So here is my final list:

Maarek Stele - TIE Defender - (35)

• Juke (2)
• TIE X-7 Title (-2)
• Twin Ion Engine MKII (1)

Major Vynder - Alpha-Class Star Wing (26)

• XG-1 Assault Configuration (1)
• Flechette Cannon (2)
• Mangler Cannon (4)
• Advanced Slam (2)

Sienar Specialist - TIE Aggressor (17)

• Twin Laser Turret (6)
• Light Weight Frame (2)

Total 99 Points. So I have a small bid against other PS 7 and lower ships. Three ships that will create some decision making for opponents. Ships that will also compliment each other when flying. Decently high pilot skills and overall survivability and maneuverability which will give the list some decent options time and again. Next time I’ll look at how to make this list work on the Mat and how to approach different types of list with it.

Squad Building in X-wing P2 of 4.

          So now that we have our Faction selected it’s time to go into picking ships for our list.  A lot of people categorize ships differently. I know one of the more common is: Arc Dodgers, Turrets, Jousters. Early in the game I could even see those as being legitimate options. However, with all the new ships, the different upgrades, I don’t see this as applying as it used to. So I have my own set I’m going to use.

Fighters:  Usually faster small based ships who’s goal is to shoot and either not be shot at or minimize incoming fire with high maneuverability. Dials tend to favor fast speeds and lots of green colored maneuvers

Escorts: Typically, small based ships with decent all around stats. Able to take some fire while returning it. Making them much more likely to survive an engagement 1v1. Not great at avoiding attacks but also not quite a command ship or bomber. A very general and capable fighter that doesn’t have enough upgrade capabilities  to fit into another role. Dials tend to be pretty basic, some slower greens but also lacking the ability to turn sharply without stress. 

Bombers: Don’t let the name fool you, bombers are not just bomb carrying ships. Ships in this category tend to be higher health, and usually have some type of ordinance, cannons. or turrets, to them upping their potential. Slow and not very agile by the standards of their counterparts, both in their dial and their agility stats. 

Command: Command ships are primarily crew carrying or support ships in General. They may have capabilities which make them effective in another role, but first and fore most is to support or command for the other ships in your list. Dials here can be pretty simple and straight forward some can even just stop for a turn. 

Generalist: Ships that have a bit of everything going on but not really mastering any of it. They can be outfitted to fit a role and do it well but by themselves are not overly impressive. 

So back to our Factions. Where do the ships fall into each category? Now I will not do a ship by Ship Synopsis, but I will take care to break out the Categories, and you will also start to see the trends. If you feel a ship should be appearing in multiple categories it’s because they can be be adjusted to a specific role with certain upgrades. 

IMPERIALS:

Fighters:  TIE Fighter, TIE Intercepter, TIE Advanced Prototype, TIE Phantom, TIE Striker, 

Escorts: TIE Defender, TIE Aggressor, TIE Advanced,

Bombers: TIE Bomber, TIE Punisher, Alpha Class Star-wing

Command: Lambda Class Shuttle, Decimator, Tie Bomber (Shuttle Variant)

Generalist: Firespray -31

Rebels:

Fighters:  A-wing, E-Wing, TIE Fighter

Escorts:  X-wing, Z-95, YT-1300, YT-2400, Auzituk Gunship, ARC-170 

Bombers: Y-Wing, B-wing 

Command: HWK-290, VXC-100, U-wing, Sheathipede Shuttle, Attack Shuttle, 

Generalist: K-Wing, Scurrg bomber, 

Scum and Villainy: 

Fighters:  M3-A Interceptor, Protectorate Starfighter, Star Viper

Escorts: Aggressor, G-1A Starfighter, Jumpmaster 5000, Kihrazx Fighter, Z-95, M12-L Kimoglia Fighter

Bombers: QuadJumper, Y-wing,

Command: HWK-290, YV-666

Generalist: Firespray -31, Lancer-Class Pursuit Craft, Scurrg Bomber

FIRST ORDER:

Fighters: TIE Fighter (F/O), TIE Special Forces, TIE Silencer

Command: Upsilon Class Shuttle

Resistance:

Escorts:  X-wing T-70

Bombers: Resistance Bomber 

So I again encourage you to look over the list think about where things fall and what you might be looking to build into. Next time I’ll start to actually pick out the ships, the pilots, the upgrades and delve into the final part of list building and putting it all together and getting ready for it to be put onto a mat. 

Squad Building in X-wing Miniatures P1 of 4.

Having had a chance to see or play most of the newer players at my local store, I wanted to put something together to help with overall list building with X-wing. This Article will be in 4 parts and will actually put together a list that will actually hit tables. I’ll run the list a few times against those who want to see it in action in person and do some write ups on it’s results. 

List building in X-wing - Factions - Primary

This is probably the single most important piece of X-wing. Picking your faction. This ends up determining what ships are open to you. It also determines how your ships are going to fly, and how you should start looking at setting up your squadron. Lastly, it’s going to determine exactly what upgrades you have access to. All of which forms the base of your overall gameplay experience. If you’ve played before, but never got into the game you may find some of this information is the same and some of it very new as newer ships and upgrades have created some flex within the factions. 

Imperials: The mighty Imperial Fleet, is regimented, focused and most importantly consistent. Their main goal is to show tactical superiority either by mass numbers or overwhelming pilot skills. Filled primarily with various TIE Fighters the Imperial Faction is easy to get into, easy to understand, and relatively easy to outfit to be successful. The drawback to the Empire, the ships can be fragile, and more importantly, are unforgiving to any kind of errors.  The Empire also has the Advantage of the highest number of Higher Pilot Skill Aces, as well as the ships with the least cost creating wide ranges of flexibility in their list building. Tactics tend to be very strait forward but with enough consistency that a good plan gone awry can be recovered from. 

Rebels: The Rebels favor team work to survive over superiority.  Many of their ships are designed to take a beating, and pack a punch as long as they are around to make them.  Their Crew options work to enhance pilot abilities, and make up for lack of actions their ships otherwise would not have without great risk.  The frustrating part of Rebel list building comes in trying to do too much because they have so many options, or needing a ship to fill a role and because they are so general they don't really have something to fit quite like you might hope. Rebel list also have the danger of a "linch pin" effect. Losing a key ship can cause a Rebel list to falter quickly and makes it hard to recover sometimes. Rebels are the only faction with access to regeneration making them a bit more forgiving to errors. They also have some of the more exciting iconic ships from the Star Wars Universe, which is a key point for a lot of players. 

Scum and Villainy: So not really a faction designed to be jumped into blindly. Released in Wave 6, the faction has quickly formed it’s identity in X-wing. That identity is raw ship efficiency. Unlike the Rebels, Scum doesn’t care about team work. The majority of their Aces are setup to be isolated, and work alone so they want to maximize their own abilities. They have the lions share of large based ships with lots of crew and upgrade slots trying to help themselves survive as long as possible. Their drawback is not a whole lot of options for ships, and fielding those large base ships means fewer ships on the board. 

Similar but different - Factions

First Order:  While the First order is allowed to mix with Imperial list I mark them separate here as they are a bit different. While not as point efficient as their Imperial counterparts, they are much more efficient with their capabilities and often more synergistic. Their drawback is the limited number of available ships currently. With some unique upgrades and a handful of ships you could take a starter set, get a few expanions and stay fully within the First Order without picking up a single Imperial Ship, and still be highly successful and have plenty of fun though. 

Resistance: Similar to the First Order the Resistance is much like the Rebels in that they can be mixed in while also being separate. The biggest draw is their update to the iconic X-wing in the T-70. Their biggest drawback, they currently only have the T-70, an updated Millennium Falcon and the new Resistance Bomber. So options are a bit scarce, but very movie like when fielded. The Ships all seem to work well individually as generalist and any team work or assistance helps but is not predominate like the Rebels proper. 

So for the exercise I’m going to go with Imperials. Pick one for yourself continue to read and follow along and see how this Imperial List comes together. Compare the list I create to yours. Feel free to ask input after all the articles are up. Perhaps we can break down a list you want to use and rebuild it but first we have to get there. 

Importance of picking the right actions

So played Cole today. Today’s List was  really solid and partly ineffective in one of my choices. The list was supposed to be tough to punch through in an attempt to reduce the importance of Pilot Skill.

So the list was as follows;

Maarek Stele TIE X-7, Juke
Countess Ryad, TIE X-7, Lone Wolf, Stealth Device
Onyx Squadron Pilot, TIE X-7

So I expected from seeing Cole’s matches to see some form of POE, Wookie, and the new sheethpede Shuttle. Cole, did not disappoint. Wasn’t exactly what I expected but it certainly was the right ships.

If I recall Cole ran,

Poe Dameron (PS8), PTL, R2-D2, Intergrated Astromech, Pattern Analyzer
Fenn Rau, R2-F2, Trick Shot, Hull Upgrade
Wulffaleroo, Wookie Commandos, Selflessness, vectored Thrusters

Cole won the roll off so he kept initiative. However Early and often, the free Evade from the X-7’s were working for the most part. The lack of focus tokens for Cole’s ships ultimately cost him not having mods or really being able to focus fire with mods. On the other hand The Onyx Squadron was crushing ships with his combination of tokens.

Round 3 saw Rau explode, taking 3 shots at him and getting 0 evades all day. Now I said most of my list was effective, Ryad was a bit of a question mark. While able to be superior in her position her Lone Wolf was not able to be triggered making me wish I might have used a second Juke instead. Maarek was a monster. The Defenders were able to really put Poe and Wulffalroo, into odd positions trying to sort out which way to do reinforce. How to get away from shots avoid stress ect. Maarek successfully used his pilot trait to cause Blinded on Wulffalroo taking him out as he tried to outrun the Defenders. Yet when Maarek 4K’s tried to barrel role into position to get shots and gets Poe R1 instead that’s not a bad trade. Seeing as Poe had 0 shots. Took 3 hits and popped R2 only to have Ryad finish the job. Final round Maarek again 3 hits and a Crit, forces a Major Explosion for giggles, Cole obliged by rolling a hit to add too it. Just making the overkill greater.

Biggest takeaway for everyone should be look at what your opponent is trying to do and recognize it. Before taking an action, then weigh risk vs reward. That’s the biggest mistake I see newer players make.  Not really looking at or understanding what the opponent has. Example, my opponent has Juke, are they going to spend an Evade over a Focus if they have both? Not if I spend my focus on Attack dice.Will they just take shields at this point in a game? If they can take it and it’s early they might just for a return shot. Can I take a shot if they cancel my Evade dice? Can I afford to split my fire against his ships? What action at this point gives me he best chance to stay in a fight or remove a ship. Sometimes in a tough spot just taking a focus and keeping it for Defense is the right play.

Winning with Synergy

So this week was against Brian Frale. So based on watching him play and recent comments I was fully anticipating Poe, and given the rules, Imperials are at a major disadvantage. Two dice against any kind of possible regeneration does not bode well. If he goes PS11 then, I have issues with being shot before a phantom has a chance to fire which can be dangerous in itself. So how do you counter this? Especially if he brings out yon Wookie Gunship?

So find Synergy but the best at it is Rebels. So let us look to that side again. Good success with Finn Rau and Poe. However still fighting a Poe likely with Advanced Optics because that is basically stapled to Poe. So that is countered with Hot Shot Co-pilot. Still need to push damage through. Juke could do it. Deny a token shoot and Juke to a focus they don’t have. 2 dice attack from Rau is worthless just like the TIE fighters. So need ships that can throw at minimum 3 dice. For Juke need an Evade, then I have to keep it. Jan Ors fixes the Evade issue, and Comm Relay can hold it. Need a cheap ship then that can carry Jan and be effective, and cheap.

So Poe is looking Juke, comm relay, R2-D2, Black one, and Auto Thrusters. Fenn Rau has HSCP and VI to shoot first. So 30 points to flex with. Don’t have a Wookie Auztik, so not an option. An HWK isn’t happening with 1 attack Die,and still no on a TIE. So U wing it is! Blue Squadron will do. Hmm still have points, Operations Specialist, makes Finn valuable by the odds of him missing is high and passing Focus tokens around.

So the list comes out as so.

Poe Dameron, PS9, Juke, Comm Relay, Black 1, Auto Thrusters, R2-D2
Fenn Rau, HSCP, VI, R2 Astromech
Blue Squadron Pathfinder, Collision Detector, Jan Ors, Operations Specialist, Pivot Wing Title.

The list worked like a dream, able to shoot and push damage through effectively. Passed around tokens allowing me to turtle up behind tokens as needed. Bombs did all of the damage for Brian against me......all of it, and that was a grand total of 2. The U-wing doesn’t really care about stress or actions the Ops Spec can pass tokens to it as needed, Poe was never really a target, and Fenn causing ships to fire with no mods was just icing. Amazing enough never had to take a stress to use Fenn Rau’s Ability.

Of course it helped my opponent played into my hands.

Poe (ps9) VI, Auto Thrusters, BB8, Advanced Optics Black 1
Blue Squadron Pilot
Crimson Specialist, Trajectory Simulator, bomblet Generator, Deflective plating, Targeting Syncronizer .

Sadly Brians's Poe (Black) is trapped like a rat as ships converge on the bomber to finish it off.

His bombs did more damage to his ships as mine. His Poe was a non-factor being outside of combat, stressed, tokenless, or way out of position throughout the battle. The BSPilot went down easily especially with Juke popping any would be Evade.

Hidden Mission

I feel so dirty for so many different reasons this week. So how did I handle two build, two factions and let my opponent pick one. So I was playing Levi this week. Levi flies Scum lots of Scum, so one list would be Scum. Question was, is he crazy enough to fly an Imperial list against me? So my strategy was to make as mean brutal and scary of a Rebel list so Levi would give me the list I wanted, or I was going to show a Meta level crushing ability. 

Imperial list

2x Sigma Squadron Pilot with, Recon Specialist, FCS and LWF.

3x Academy Pilots 

Rebel List

Poe Dameron (PS9) w/ VI, R2-D2, AutoTrusters, Advanced Optics, Black 1. 

Fenn Rau, w/ VI, FAA, Pulse Ray Shield, Operations Specialist

Gold Squadron Pilot w/ Chopper, BTL-A4, Bomb Loadout, EM, TLT, Ion Bomb, Guidance Chips.

So what happens? He puts me in the Rebels, apparently 2 Phantoms and 5 total ships was not something he was comfortable with. Poe was a monster basically Soloed his list. 

So for this weeks achievements I ran the following.

Omega Ace, Swarm Leader, Advanced Optics, Stealth Device
2x Epsilon Squadron Pilots, Comm Relay, Guidance Chips
1x Epsilon Squadron Pilot, Advanced Optics, Twin Ion Engine MKII
1x Epsilon Squadron Pilot, Hyperwave Comm Scanner, Twin Ion Engine MKII.

So why this? Well First off Look at the requirements of the Achievements.

1. All TIEs or all X-wings only.
2. All TIE or X-wing Pilots from either the Core Set or the FA core set
3. Use all upgrade slots available.

X-wings will require a minimum of 3 upgrades TIEs 2. So getting a solid outfit is actually easier for X-wings but means fewer on the board. My opponent Craig, is a newer player, so likely not familiar with seeing 5+ ships across from him. Lastly I have been flying 5+ ship list for the better part of the last 6 months in various iterations so it’s much easier to fly them.

Early X-wing taught us TIEs in mass will trounce X-wings due to their extra Maneuvering capability. So you take the superior ship here. Then it’s Empire TIEs or First Order TIEs? For the cost I can take 8 Empire TIEs with 4 crackshots and 4 blockers essentially. It is gross to go against and a bit overkill. Not to Mention FO TIEs are more maneuverable and more actions for the small uptick in points making it far better as they can take a small punch and live.  The upgrades also make them more appealing for action economy which all ships really want or need.

So then I said okay.. requirement 1 is done and pretty easy. So two the FA Core includes Omega Ace, Epsilon Squadron Pilots, Zetas and Zeta Leader. With Advanced Optics banked Early OA can be frightening if he can pick up Target Locks and with Swarm Leader even scarier. So we can use him, though POE or LUKE can out PS him. I have a Swarm I can block if needed. So how many can I fit with him. 5 Epsilon Squadron Pilots but if I do that I cannot meet the 3rd Achievement. So roll back to 4 and start to fill in points where I can with the corresponding upgrades. This maximized the ship potential though I might have preferred the 6th ship instead honestly.  All the upgrades were meant to boost action efficiency in a way that makes the FO far superior to the T-70 let alone T-65’s which I ended up playing against. Yes Omega Ace did use his Ability Twice and took down two of the T-65’s.