Also, as a rebel player Heroes was one of the best expansions to me: It has the 4 best T70 pilots - jess, snap, nien, poe. It has primed thrusters and pattern analyzer - both high quality upgrades expecially for T70s. It has 2 snap shots which can play well on T70s or A wings. It has M9-G8 which is one of the better rebel astromechs - one that is actually performing in quality builds. It has hotshot co-pilot, rey, and finn. Rey is a top notch upgrade while the other two are solid in general and excellent in the lists that use them. Finally the new Rey and Chewie pilots breathe new life into the Falcon. Rey makes the ship more than just a turret and chewie supports some decent and fun swarm builds. People say Rebel Aces is a must buy but I find it garbage in comparison.

I really recommend push, bb-8 Poe. Its an extremely fun ship to fly that gives you so many options. As you seem somewhat new, a quick rundown on what you can do with that combo: Say you lock in a bank left 1 with Poe. He is PS 8, so you get to see how your opponent manuevers. You reveal a green manuever letting you barrel roll, so you barrel roll back and to the right. You can then take a stress, to push the limit off of the barrel roll, to boost right. After your boost, you do your manuever banking left and lose stress because it is a green manuever. Grab a focus for your action. So you changed your short turn to the left into something similar to a forward 3 and 2 barell rolls. Let's say rather than boost right, you boost left before your manuever... In that case you changed your bank into something closer to a 3 turn. You can choose between these after other ships move letting you arc dodge and/or get shots. Using the T70's 3 straight green can let you barrel roll, push boost left or right, and then forward 3 completely changing your placement and usually getting you out of most hairy jousting situations. Also keep in mind that you can push for focus after the barrel roll, execute a green, and then take a target lock if you don't need to boost. Autothrusters are very good on this Poe because of how good he is at controlling range. If you keep him range three with a focus and autothrusters, he has very consistent green dice rolls with 3 dice. If you have autothrusters, use them. This Poe should only ever be shot at by one ship. ----------- I find Blue Ace to be pretty fun. R7-T1 is interesting on him, but I tend to use him without many upgrades. You could also consider R2-D6 + an elite pilot talent of your choice. I like Nera a lot but you could also use a blue squad B with FCS and heavy laser cannon for 31 points total. Just a B with fire control system for 24 points is a solid ship too.

We can read to her in the hospital if you get back on the benchmark! Really though, thank you for the work you've already done.

I don't see it as a problem list. I agree its not particularly fun, but I don't think its close to dominant. I'd be okay with making everything except ordnance adhere to the range rules, but that more adresses TLT and turrets in general rather than this list specifically (though I would bet this list would be hit hard).

100 points: Jess Pava - R2-D6, Swarm Leader, Integrated Astromech Ezra Bridger - Elusiveness, Chewbacca, Twin Laser Turret Prototype Pilot - Chardan Refit Ashoka Tano - Veteran Instincts, Captured Tie, Sabine's Masterpiece, Rey, EMP Device At its base, this is a Pava, swarm leader list. The three other ships can evade to pump up Jess's shot. This list is meant to address some of the weaknesses Ive found with using Swarm Leader Jess: - Ashoka addresses the need for more actions than evade on important turns while being a ship that can fly straight at an engagment providing an evade for Jess. She also handles flankers with her ability to detach from the squad and EMP. Her PS 9 really helps as an endgame ship. Her ability can also help reposition a ship to catch high PS arc dodgers. - The prototype is a cheap 15 points that can evade, block, and chase down weakened low agility ships. Basically point filler, but it truly outperforms itself in this list. - Bridger is a tank with TLT as well as a 3 die forward facing attack. He also has evade for swarm leader. Carrying a TLT is a huge boon as it gives the list a way to pick off weakened targets without sacrificing positioning (Jess and Ashoka have range requirements for abilities). Elusiveness lets him take a stress to force a re-roll and then activate his pilot ability, making him a poor target for fire since Chewbacca makes him as tough as an X wing. None of the ships are particularly juicy targets as 1 can't be shot by most ships and 2 have defensive mechanics to evade more than is typical. The easiest ship to destroy is the least useful to destroy.

Snap shot is only good in combination with R3-A2. It makes it so you can stress enemy ships using snapshot after they move but before they take an action. That way you can position Nien to deny areas on the field. Any ship that lands at range one of him will sit there helplessly with no tokens, taking a range 1 4 die attack from Nien and whatever other ships you have. Nien is the prefereed pilot for it because of his ability to shed stress at range 1, meaning he won't be stressed after double stressing them, allowing him to k- turn or talon.

So I just threw this together for the old horndog to expose himself: 100 points Corran Horn - Expose, Fire Control System, R3-A2 Biggs Darklighter - R4-D6, Integrated astromech Cassian Andor - Trick Shot, Fire Control System, Tactical Jammer, Inspiring Recruit, Chopper, Pivot Wing You still get 8 red dice in one round from Corran, but with modification (move and focus for first shot, FCS gives target lock for the second). He double stresses an important ship to deny actions or single stresses two ships to prevent k-turns. Cassian uses his pilot ability + inspiring recruit to remove both of Corran's stress at activation so he can move freely, potentially k-turning behind the enemies he stressed round 1. Biggs protects your investment in Corran while Andor supports both. No idea how it will perform but it seems decent jousting as you get 14 red dice on target for the opener. Aces probably perform well against it but they are a smaller portion of the meta than before and Corran still threatens to double stress or eliminate one in a single round.

I think this combo is significantly better on a T70 as they have a 3 forward green which I find invaluable in repositioning that build. I like vectored thrusters for arc dodging but integrated is probably your best choice unless the rest of the list simply can't use the 2 points. I also like Schu's suggestion of expertise. It makes you stronger in jousting scenarios complimenting other friendly ships. Ive never been a fan of lone wolf on small base ships because I often find flying to accomodate it gives your opponents a positioning edge and the ability to divide your list. I can definitely see the defensive upside with Luke though.

Too expensive. PS 0 will get him killed quickly as entire enemy lists will be able to see where he goes and get him in arc. Snap shot on its own doesnt add much power to a ship. You usually need some way to modify the snap shot for it to be worth it (e.g. juke/m9-g8). Snap shot with R7-T1 seems counterintuitive as using the droids ability will likely put you out of position for snap shot (if you are set on combining the two, I would suggest using Ashoka to get Corran a 2nd action at combat... That way you can slow roll corran, positioning for a snap shot and then use R7-T1 at combat to give him a boost and lock.). All of that would likely be better done by a T-70 though. You are paying a premium for Corran and using him in a way that doesnt modify his ability for efficiency. Alternatively, I've been considering a Corran with Expose and fire control system to get 4 dice for his double tap with some modification but I haven't tried it out. Likely needs Biggs in the list to protect Corran while he exposes himself, but that's a lot of firepower in one ship.

Rex will go poof fast without accomplishing much. Ahsoka, VI and captured tie is a good choice if you want to support the other two and play a game of protecting the t70s. Rebels are pretty weak at 20 points. Youre looking at a Z-95, A-wing, tie, or attack shuttle. Any choice is a likely first target that can go down fast. Ahsoka is the only one who can promise performance over the length of a game, but I think you could get mileage out of Zeb in the shuttle with an autoblaster turret that is still 3 red dice and a turret for 20 points. I'd also consider dropping PA on Poe to have the points for a naked B wing, Blount (z-95) with ion pulse missle and deadeye, or Ezra shuttle with elusiveness.

Off topic a bit but that Tarn build is a killer in escalation. List looks good to me. I've flown each of these pilots before and they are of decent quality. Id want autothrusters on the t-70s as it makes them better than with integrated but integrated is more cost efficient for the list.

You could cut pattern analyzer and black one for PS 9 poe and primed thrusters. I think regen may be better for this list though since you want formation flying for Jess and regen can cause them to target poe over nien.

Im not sold on A wings as the crux of any list, so yes I think its better to feature Jess... However, as you mentioned I would agree that a Jess swarm leader list strays from the original feel of this list.

I think you have to consider what ion bombs will do for you beyond the stats. They seem like they could really aid in protecting Dash's donut hole. They can also set up connor nets and opportunities to ion ships off the board.

I think you'd be better of switching Juke to crack shot, Thane to Braylen, and putting those points into swarm leader for Jess. In similar lists I'm finding Juke to be below par for its point cost. How often is it getting you damage? More than once per game? If it isn't then I'd argue crack as the superior choice as it affects the As little but makes Jess a powerhouse with swarm leader for 5 dice attacks. That's a big difference in firepower that will punish anyone who focuses down the Arc.

Played a game against imperial aces: Soontir, Inquisitor, Ryad. Used stress Nien, Jess and a blocking YT-2400 (yes, I know not a 3rd T70). Nien was an absolute all-star. One by one he snap-shot stressed targets into oblivion or stopped what otherwise would have been ideal moves. We engaged down the side with him delaying with k-turns and my approach moving from down the middle to down the right side, setting Ryad lagging behind the other two. Turn one sees Soontir and the Inquisitor with range 3 on Nien and I have shots on both ships with my entire squad. He does 2 shield to Nien. I shoot at the Inquisitor to give him a stress but no damage. Soontir pushed for his stress and took no damage from my other shots. Knowing his two foremost ships are stressed I can focus on Ryad who is lagging behind without worrying about the others Kturning. I slow roll Nien with a forward 1 and the others complement. The Inquisitor veers off to the middle of the battlefield and safety as Ryad comes forward into range 2 of everyone with a focus/evade. Soontir however tries a 2 left turn towards the board edge hoping to slip past my advancing team with a barrel roll.... Snap Nien stops him in his tracks range 1 from both Nien and Eaden Vrill. Nien's stress gives Soontir a focus which allows him to survive but he takes 2 crits: all damage are crits, and collisions do 1 damage. Ryad and Jess exchange shots with no damage to either. Soontir's only green moves take him into Vrill or off the board. Ryad is about a forward 3 or 4 away from an asteroid lined up head on. After judging Ryad's choices, I lock in Tallon turns onthe T-70s. I bump vrill into soontir for no move and intel agent to see Ryad doing a 2 forward (likely K). Jess does her Talon turn towards the middle. Ryad does a 2k setting them up for a range 1 showdown. Nien does a talon turn getting range 1 on Ryad to avoid stress and focus. The inquisitor begins turning around with a hard turn towards the YT-2400 just in time to see Soontir clip it and explode attempting a 2 bank. Soontir down before the 3rd round of shooting. Ryad gets pummeled by 2 range 1 shots and Vrill from range 2. Ryad on one hull gimps into a telegraphed 4 K to get just behind Nien but Vrill forward 4s to block the K and with anti-pursuit lasers missing, feedback arrays in combat for the kill. Jess and Nien bank left both, one going on each side of the asteroid Ryad had stopped at and the Inquisitor had gone around. The inquisitor turns around the asteroid and catches snap shot stress and a second stress in combat. His placement and subsequent moves let me Tallon, remove stress and target lock... And then K turn remove stress and target lock. Nien ended the game flying circles around the Inquisitor while every turn double stressing him and throwing 5 red dice. There's a lot of flight planning to it but when you line up the battle right, Nien is a monster.

Late-game or early-game doesnt matter. He wants to play defensively. He wants to fly to asteroids and let his enemy come to him trying to get range 1 on the Y-wings as the quad protects the donut hole.

I have a friend using this as his tourney list after we brainstormed it with the release of the quad. His variation replaces kavil with another thug and gives them all vectored thrusters. We were discussing what made the quad useful and how it couldn't ever be expected to keep up with an aggressive out-fly them list. We settled on thug lyfe being the right place for him and barrel rolls after green 3s allow you the ability to space your Y wings to your benefit. Your version trades manueverability for a little more reliability in damage but I dont think its worth it as the Ys become much easier to pick apart if they target the quad first and Kavil becomes a point-value target as well. Any list aiming for the donut holes is likely to aim for Kavil's before the others - if they succeed, the investment in Kavil was moot. I think youd find vectored thrusters extremely useful. As a list, it is very strong. He's only lost once with it against a Miranda list as he misunderstood slam (thinking she couldn't slam into a ship, like how boost works). Imo it is absolutely tournament viable.

You have another option: Counterbuild. Its not typically what I would suggest, but if you have a friend who frequently plays a specific ship/strategy, the way for you to change that is to break their faith in the ship. I have a friend who played a souped up Dengar religiously for a while... Until everyone he played against (mainly me) continuously made lists which accounted for him. Now if you play him, he has a variety of lists with different styles. You aren't playing in a varied global meta. You are playing in your meta and personal metas can be very stale. What is good/bad is circumstantial. If you want to return to Bosk with an EPT at some point, start showing him lists and builds which wreck his Kylo and make him reconsider playing it so often and predictably. Rock, paper, scissors doesn't work if your hopelessly obsessed with rocks. In the same vein, consider your lists affect on him? How long have you been flying 2 big ships, pushing him towards lists geared to face them?

I just don't see the damage output. Beyond the initial engagement they are likely to outmanuever Biggs and the Y with Rex and Vrill scrambling to reposition. If they joust they only face 1 3 die attack.

Flechette cannon has a few upsides here. A 3 power shot in arc at ranges 1-3 gives some ability to get through green dice and modifiers. It takes away 1 green die from targets at range 3(no range bonus). It allows stressing two separate targets on the approach. It allows for Nein to forgo stressing if they focus fire on the same target. If Vrill lasts until late game, he is far better equipped to do damage with 3 die attack and his own stress support which can prevent k turns, force predictable green manuevers, creating blocking opportunities. I agree Pattern Analyzer is the stronger card for Nien but primed thrusters is cheaper and allows me to stress at range three then white manuever and boost to set up snap shot. It is more cost effective for my needs here.

So I have the skeleton of a new list set and I'm having trouble deciding on the finer points. Here's the basics: Nein Nunb (34) - Snap Shot, R3-A2, Integrated astromech, Primed thrusters Jess Pava (27) - R2-D6, Crack Shot, Integrated Astromech Eaden Vrill (37) - Flechette Cannon, Intelligence Agent, Anti-Pursuit Lasers This leaves me at 98. My options as I see it: 1. Add smuggling compartment and feedback array to Vrill. 2. Add Black One to Nein and Primed Thrusters to Jess. 3. Add Black One to Nein and switch Intelligence Agent to Cassian Andor. Option 1 makes Vrill deadly to ships he blocks but packs more points on one target. I could go this route and drop crack shot for black one, but I really like crack shot on Jess. Option 2 gives me some help against low-mid PS alpha strikes as Black One sheds locks for 1pt. It also provides Jess with repositioning after a K or talons. If I had the PS to shed Miranda locks black one would be a no brainer. Option 3 helps with alphas as before but Andor gives me the ability to lock even more ships in a bump chain. The jist of the list is for Vrill and Nein to control space as Jess shoots... Thoughts?

I have a friend who plays a list featuring 3 tlt Ys and a Quad. I can vouch that it is very competitive. Jakku Thugs: Jakku Gunrunner - Spacetug Tractor Array, Pattern Analyzer 3x Syndicate Thug - Vectored Thrusters, Unhinged astromech, Twin-Laser Turret ------- It's a very strong list. Vectored thrusters and unhinged allow the Ys to break formation and spread to keep ships out of range 1. Spacetug array allows the quad to play the simple role of guarding donut holes and scuttling approaches with his tractor beam action. PA allows him to move backwards 1 and tractor beam a ship. He makes it very difficult to simply target the Ys.

A couple things: BB-8, push the limit is fantastic on PS9 Poe. It just doesn't leave you a lot for other T-70s since he wants autothrusters, primed thrusters, and black one. I think he's superior to regen Poe in most circumstances. You have to play him differently though - closer to an imperial ace like soontir being all about arc-dodging. He's 1 of 2 ships in what is probably my best list. -------------- Snap with bb-8 and daredevil is so much fun. I used him with Blue Ace (r2 & IA) and Asty (Expertise, m9-g8, vectored thrusters). Played against Upsilon Shuttle with advanced sensors, general hux, experimental interface and inspiring recruit. The rest of his list was 2 lvl 1 defenders with tie X-7. Every round he could advanced sensors, coordinate, experimental interface for Hux putting another focus on each ship and then bump into a k-turning defender (defenders could k-turn every turn so that one would always be blocking the shuttle). Snap let me start my forces in a 3 ship formation from which he immediately breaks off and flanks through the asteroids up the right side while my other two ships slow roll, 1 through the middle and the other up the middle left. I catch one of his defenders out of position and am able to block the 4k. knowing that defender must commit forward, I'm able to bb-8 forward 3 and free boost with snap, crossing across his other defender and remaining out of arc of the Upsilon. I get 3 T70s with modifiers and range 2 shots on his defender while he has to split shots onto Asty and blue ace. Asty took 2 shield while I removed all shields from the defender that round. Next round he was stuck being unable to k-turn that defender given asty's placement. He used it to block both a potential tallon turn and his upsilon. I had considered trying to peel off, dodge arcs and line up for another run but he could block me into some bad situations with his PS 1 defenders so I slow played, accepted Asty's likely death in exchange for prime shots. I slow rolled my T-70s with 1 speed manuevers giving them all shots on the wounded x/7 and the shuttle. I killed the wounded defender and put shots into the shuttle stripping a few shield. For his bravery, Asty was pulverised by the shuttle and defender at range 1. At this point my T-70s were too close to the shuttle. He had no way of stopping them from getting behind the upsilon (my remaining two t-70s could both functionally boost for a hard 1 after moving). I got both my behind the shuttle while he could keep the defender on one ship. The game wound down with that lone defender trying to pump through enough damage on un hurt t-70s as they razed the shuttle and then turned to the defender. - Daredevil came into play on multiple turns and makes snap unbelievably manueverable. I feel like his loadout was what allowed me to separate forces on an instant flank and rejoin for the 2 rounds later for the opening round of fire. I believe snap can out-turn every ship in the game as he can 2turn, free boost, then daredevil a 1turn. Typically I think daredevil is terrible but this isnt the first time its done well for me in a hyper aggressive T70 list. - Vectored thrusters asty didnt really get a chance to shine given how the game played out. I was hoping he would survive the opening to start tallon-turning with a boost or barrel roll to reposition. Expertise was nice in that I could lock with him and use him as a decent spearhead of damage. In a rebuild I would probably drop vectored thrusters to put primed thrusters on both snap and blue to facilitate bb-8 after daredevil or blue's hard boost after a talon turn.

TLT and TLT abuse are two different things. Facing a list that has a turret is fine. I don't view miranda as a problem, nor the ghost in spite of how boring I find it to be. Facing a list that has multiple ships forming a 360 laser grid of death is a bit more irritating as xwing becomes more of a dice game. I don't particularly enjoy thug life or its variations but it isn't meta defining yet. I think if 3-4 TLT lists start to become normal something would need to be done, but as is, the alpha strike meta prevents that. SHOULD A FIX BECOME NEEDED: I like the idea of reinstating range bonuses for turrets. It keeps things largely, functionally the same, and doesn't change much upgrade text (you'd need to limit Autoblaster turret to 2 dice). It reinvigorates over-costed and widely unused upgrades like dorsal turret and ion turret by giving them a range 1 buff. It doesn't eliminate the upside of TLT... It simply gives enemy ships the opportunity to achieve a numerical benefit through flying, and reemphasizes the ability of an alpha strike to missle/torpedo a Y from range 3. Thinking about it more, I'd even agree that such a change would be good for the game (It would better balance TLT and the rest of the turrets all at once). I just don't believe the change is necessary. We don't NEED it.