Yes. I know it is not the first time but it doesn't have to be the rule.

We have been playing the campaign in the Tantive iv box and its really fun. It forces you to build and play different list rather than the usual 100pt tournament games. I had wes with 1 hull at range 1 of a tie bomber who had a torp, focus and target lock on the corvette i removed the tl knowing full well wes would get blasted. His sacrifice bought more time so the hyperdive could be fixed. Whats not to love about the cinematic play?
In fact i would like to see a tournament with missions. I play alot of mini games and the missions/objectives make the game fun. Forget the mission and you can loose the game. When you ****** victory from defeat with a scout car who has dodged all the Tigers its a great feeling.
Anyway for your $99 you get an advannced plus a free plastic christmas tree :-)

When FFG announced the long-awaited Imperial Epic ship, I was excited. And when I read that they, along with Lucasfilm Ltd., introduced a new ship to the canon of Star Wars specifically for this game, I thought that was a really clever solution to the problem of most iconic Imperial ships being too big for X-Wing play. However, my only let-down is that the solution to make the TIE Advanced competitive is also included in this expensive package.
 
There are many who say "We've had to buy the Corvette or the Transport to get really good upgrades. It's the Empire's turn to pay up too." While acquiring cards like C-3P0 is an expensive venture, please understand that those are cards to make good ships even better. What many of us in the Empire hoped was for a whole ship to be revitalized. Yes, we got our wish. And I'm thankful that FFG has done it in a way that doesn't ignore the TIE Advanced's that we already own (having more than one TIE/x1 Title Card). But the reality is, to make this ship work in competitive play, the price is $99.
 
I don't believe it's a rip-off. It's actually a really smart way to sell your higher-end products. And yes, you don't pay $99 just for a couple of upgrade cards. The new Imperial ship looks beast and for someone who previously didn't have an interest in Epic Play, the Raider is making me reconsider this notion, sending me into delusions of grandeur and conquest (though my wallet is most likely going to bring me to the ground again haha). And there are other Imperial lists out there that are very successful in tournament play. However, I really like the Advanced and wanted it to field it as part of my tournament squadron. It would have been nice to have them do to it what they did with Rebel Aces, have a $30 box with 2 ships and cards to make the A-Wing more appealing for competitive games. Yes, we could look online for the cards to get them at a lower price, but it would have been nice to acquire them directly from FFG without paying so much.
 
Of course, the new ship is cool. The way FFG handled the problem of Imperial ships being too big is great. If I ever have the budget for it, I'll probably get a Raider (and not just for the TIE Advanced upgrade cards). Still, looks like I'm going to have to wait a little more for the Advanced to be in my main tournament squad.

I agree with everything except #5.  But that's just my personal preference.  I'll almost never play with something that I don't own.  On rare occasions I'll allow someone to playtest something that isn't out yet just to get a feel for it, but I really have this issue where I need to own it in order to use it.   Otherwise there is virtually no point in buying stuff.  I mean, I'd just use paper counters, and a breeze comes by and blows my fleet away

Ok, I've tried 2xRookie Pilot, Biggs and Keyan with Advanced Sensors. For the first two turns I was going for the Decimator but my opponent noticed that and started roaming around asteroids making top speed moves from time to time so it was hard to find out where he's gonna be. I managed to destroy one Defender and damage Decimator for 7 hits but eventually it's turret and Delta's white koiogran got me. Nevertheless I was much happier with the score because first few games ended without any Imperial loses. I guess it's a matter of practice after all.

Throw as many attack dice at it as possible.  This is why swarms are so good against them.  Even though any individual TIE Fighter only rolls two attack dice (three at range one), doing that six, seven, or eight times is going to add up quickly.

Sounds like you need more guns.
Here's a couple lists you could try, if you got the ships.
Etahn A’baht and as many Z-95's as you can manage. Give Etahn some upgrades to keep him a live and let him turn the Z-95 hits into crits.
Or perhaps a BXXZZZ list, Blue Squadron, 2x Rookie, 3 times Bandit. That's a lot of firepower that you can focus on a 0 defense ship, and a lot of hp's for those ships to try to chew though.

HAHAHa.  that is a funky list.  
 
You could go Phantom 5 tie.  Avoid letting the defenders get shots on the Phantom, and hope that Whisper's focus 4 dice will dodge the 3 dice F of the decimator.  
Have all of the tie fighters positioned as close as possible, and head them all at the decimator.  It will drop in 2 turns, literally.  
 
10 attack dice x 2 turns = 20 attack dice x 3/4 (chance of hit with F) = 15 damage.  One more hit from the Phantom and thats 16 damage.  No more decimator.

And remember: "Fly casual"

And remember: "Fly casual"

Thank you Like I said I don't have many occasions to play so I read a lot about the game. I visit sites like themetalbikini or teamcovenant every week so I can stay on track.
There is something very good and positive about this game. I admire what Doug Kinney did with the community. "Fly casual" is the attitude I teach kids when we play and it works great.

Thank you Like I said I don't have many occasions to play so I read a lot about the game. I visit sites like themetalbikini or teamcovenant every week so I can stay on track.
There is something very good and positive about this game. I admire what Doug Kinney did with the community. "Fly casual" is the attitude I teach kids when we play and it works great.

The nice thing about HLCs on the B-Wing (and as was mentioned above, you should absolutely be trying to focus and/or target lock them whenever possible for maximum effect) is that it presents potential targets with a really unpalatable choice.
1.  Hang around range 3, which is doing you no good because you're not getting a bonus defense die against the HLC attacks, but the B-Wing with the HLC is more than likely getting them against yours.
2.  Hang around range 2, which is only marginally better, because the B-Wing is still getting 4 dice, he's just a little easier to hit from here.
3.  Get into range 1, which is an even WORSE idea, because B-Wings are slippery knife-fighters in close, and now he's got 4 dice and can roll unmodified crits.
 
Use the X-Wings to run interference for the B-Wings, who should hang at long range as long as possible.  If they try to make an end run at the B-Wings you should be able to K-turn in behind them with the Rookies.  If you can land a bunch of hard to answer damage at range with the HLCs before you get in close, you should be in pretty good shape.  
 
High agility targets hate heavy lasers - an Interceptor with Stealth at range 3, best case, is still getting 4v4 dice, which are not good odds as far as even a single hit getting through and knocking stealth off.

It's a solid archetype, especially since when you close, the Bs start knife fighting in close while the Xs joust, hitting from different angles. I do love a Blue with HLC, tho. Firing 4 dice at every range never gets old.

I find HLC to be a somewhat wasteful use of points on B-Wings to be entirely honest, unless I'm pairing them with something else that makes them supremely effective. HLC is actually best used to fight slower Imperial targets, like Shuttles, TIE Bombers, and the new TIE Phantoms that are coming out. Otherwise you're better spending points on a systems upgrade, but I find that Ion Cannons on B-Wings to be the underused and underrated savior of the Rebel fleet. If you can land hits with it on quicker craft, then follow up by super death attacks at range 1.
Now, I'm not going to convince you that ion cannons on the B-Wing are better than the turret of the Y-Wing, because it's not. That said, ionizing enemy craft can just ruin their lives. I suggest maybe using that Y-Wing as "Dutch" Vander. He's great to use in combinations with almost any other craft. A sexy little thing I like doing is throwing my Green Squadron Pilots with Push the Limit out there with a Focus and Evade then passing over that Target Lock. Garven Dreis is nice for this too.
 
Keep trying! You'll figure out what works soon enough, but keep in mind that no, you can't fly the Rebels like you fly the Imperials, at least not until we get some Z-95's in our hands.

I like 3.5+ ships - I consider A's HWKs (w/ turret) and Y's (regardless of turret) as .8 ships, and the named YTs as 1.5.  And I like 1 ICT.
 
So basically, this comes down to:
2 X/B + 1 A + 1 Y/H
2 X/B + 2 Y/H
3 X/B + 1 Y/H
2 X + 1 A + 2 H
 
I know, it doesn't leave that much room for variety as the base point value for (Rookie x2, Proto, Rebel Op w/ ICT) is 80 points.  But those 20 points is where the magic happens.  2 are often spent upgrading to a Y wing, or 3 to upgrade to Roark.  With the remaining 17/18, You can upgrade all the ships to +2 PS for 8/6 points, leaving you with 11/10 points for other upgrades.  Typically this is 1 high PS, or 2 mid PS.  Though it could also be spent upgrading X to B (2 points each), and then putting a systems on them (typically AdvS x2).  Now you're left with 2 more points for init or something.

I guess it depends if you're looking more for specific list ideas, or general rules of thumb.
 
As far as rules of thumb go, if you can squeeze in 4 ships that will often (not always, and as stated, the YT really shouldn't be counted as 1 ship) trump 3.  There are good 3 ship builds even excepting the Falcon, but 4 is kind of the sweet spot right now pre-wave 4.
 
The other advice I would give is not to take your extra toughness for granted.  Imperial lists do well because most of their ships are potential one-shots, so good Imp pilots tend to FLY their squads like the next hit could kill any given ship.  That helps them survive and wear down the opposition with massed fire.
 
New Rebel players often put too much faith in the individually superior toughness and firepower of their ships, and charge headlong into the guns of the enemy, getting picked to pieces in the process.  Or think that because a TIE can be killed with one good shot, that it often WILL be, underestimating just how tough they can be with the higher agility and an evade token, let alone focus + evade stacked on an elite TIE.  Or how much extra firepower someone like Howlrunner helps dish out.
 
In other words, Rebel players tend to fly too aggressively, counting on bigger guns and their shields to keep them alive, and give very little thought to things like trying to minimize the number of incoming shots, using actions to turtle up, flying more defensively, etc.  Tactics the Imperials need to survive go even further when you've got more margin for error having shields and such.  
 
My motto as a (usual) Rebel is: Fly defensively, Shoot aggressively.