Monday, October 21, 2013

X-Wing: The Holy Trinity

I didn't know Steve Perry flew for the Rebels?

X-Wing pretty much exploded in my club with almost everyone showing great interest.  I was going to sell the Rebel stuff that I got in my starter boxes, but after this amount of hype, I think I'll keep the stuff for demo purposes and lending stuff out.  Besides, I've got a Rebel list in mind that I plan on running.  You guys have already seen what kind of Imperial stuff I've been fielding, I think it's time to show you what I got for the good guys.

As you've probably guessed by now, it's going to be a pretty solid list based on Wedge, Biggs and Luke.  Sure, it's quite thematic, but at the same list the list can be brutal to play against in the hands of a skilled player.


100 points

Wedge Antilles
R2 Astromech
Push the Limit
Shield Upgrade

Luke Skywalker
R2-D2
Draw Their Fire
Shield Upgrade

Biggs Darklighter
R5 Astromech

The premise here is very simple:  The three amigos fly in a relatively tight formation and engage targets as one.  Biggs hangs out slightly in the back but within RB1 and takes most of the fire.  Hopefully, he will always be within RB2-3 of the enemy and will fly close enough to hamper their movement while maintain close formation with Wedge.  If he gets killed, well, that's what he's there to do.  If he takes crits, Luke eats it for him because he has Draw Their Fire.  I bought both Wedge and Luke the Shield Upgrades, they will last longer than Biggs on the battlefield.  Why did I decide to put R2D2 and Shield upgrade on Luke instead of Biggs?  Well, Luke is a higher skilled pilot and costs more.  When you take into account that Luke is much more likely to stay alive on the field and rack up the remaining kills, Biggs is a worth sacrifice.

Wedge is the primary damage dealer here and I gave him a very offensive loadout.  You can bet your ass that people will be gunning for Wedge when he starts firing because PTL + Target Lock with -1 Agility freaking hurts.  With the R2 unit, he'll be able to shake off stress while keeping his guns locked on targets of opportunity.  The key to this list is to fly close and as tight as you can formation wise while keeping your targets clear.  You need to make room to make the best out of your shots, but you also need to stay within proximity so you can play off all the synergy.  This actually makes this list incredibly hard to pilot, but very durable and deadly when played well.  Even though I don't mind losing Biggs, he's still an X-Wing after all and the damage that he puts out is respectable.  Once again, the reason why I didn't put anything on him is because he essentially adds 5+ free hull points to Wedge and Luke, and they're going to be the ones making the shots that matter.  Between the three of them, you're looking at 17 total hull points that are recoverable thanks to R2D2.

Slow and steady wins the race.

5 comments:

  1. It definitely comes down to preference, but a friend of mine who regularly wins X-wing tournaments (even took one down without losing a ship a few weeks ago) always took Engine on Wedge over the Shield.

    And it's not just for offence either, as you can obviously use it to juice it out of arcs if you must. As Interceptor pilots know, avoiding shots entirely is better defence than a shield!

    Realistically, either one is good and they cost the same so maybe give it a shot and see which one you prefer.

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  2. Yes, but Interceptor pilots don't have Biggs or Luke to eat shots meant for Wedge. Good food for thought though, thanks.

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  3. Why the R5 on Biggs? Assuming the intent is to keep them close enough for Luke to draw a crit via DTF, the opportunities for using that would seem to be pretty rare.

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  4. I've been thinking about that lately and I'm going to have to agree. Brings the list down to 99 for Initiative!

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