Armada: Wave 4 Rebel Bombers

Set S-Foils to hype position!

Check out some of the this new Rebel hotness for Wave 3/4.  What you see here is one of the more interesting builds that I've done before, but hardly ever play.  I drafted something like this up towards the end of Wave 2 with Rieekan, but I had Independence and B-Wings in the list that I didn't really take seriously.  While I think B-Wings might be OK in a list like this, I still don't like the fact that they only really reach 2.  I like the versatility that X-Wings offer with their 4 blue on attack and red bomber dice, especially now that Wave 3/4 is out and we have Bomber Command Center.

Let me take you through this list right here:

Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 400/400
Commander: General Rieekan

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

[ flagship ] MC80 Command Cruiser (106 points)
-  General Rieekan  ( 30  points)
-  Defiance  ( 5  points)
-  Toryn Farr or Raymus Antilles ( 7  points)
-  Fighter Coordination Team  ( 3  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
-  X17 Turbolasers  ( 6  points)
-  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
= 168 total ship cost

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57 points)
-  Yavaris  ( 5  points)
-  Medical Team  ( 1  points)
= 63 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
-  Bright Hope  ( 2  points)
-  Bomber Command Center  ( 8  points)
= 28 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 20 total ship cost

1 Nym ( 21 points)
1 Luke Skywalker ( 20 points)
1 Wedge Antilles ( 19 points)
1 Jan Ors ( 19 points)
1 "Dutch" Vander ( 16 points)
2 X-Wing Squadrons ( 26 points)

I chose Rieekan to lead the fleet because he's one of those guys just don't give a shit.  If your ship dies, it's cool because its effects and what not will stay for the end of the turn, and I'll be able to fire shots into your face anyway because his card says so.  As you can see right away, I'm not a big fan of this because I like to play with tempo and this guy kinda takes it away.  Either way, he's just so good in a list like this because your job is to play reactionary and place your squadrons in a way that will always threaten the enemy regardless of what he does.

So now let's talk really quickly about deployment.  I have a odd number of squadrons in this setup but there is already a gigantic advantage in terms of deployment options vs. not.  You basically place crappy little ships after your opponent places first, and then drop the squadrons in front of the biggest threat on the table and glee happily because you know the pain is about to happen.  The strategy behind this list is to essentially build up tokens in the beginning phases of the game with the help of Comms Net and your careful approach towards the enemy fleet, and then explode into his face with multiple squadrons with bomber.

The squadrons you have in this list are very flexible.  The X-Wings give you plenty of blue anti-squadron dice that is more accurate thanks to Torynn Farr, and you have Dutch/Wedge which can put a serious hurt into everyone, especially when you're tanky enough to stay in the fight.  If you get one-shotted somehow, don't worry because Rieekan will keep your ass alive so you can swing back for massive amounts of damage.  Yavaris and squadron spam can really help in increasing the amount of damage your key pieces can do, while BCC (Bomber Command Center) keeps your accuracy high for bombing runs.  You see where this list is going?  Massive amounts of accurate fire coming from everywhere.  Even the MC80 is no slouch because of the Defiance title and XI7s.  Another trick here to watch out for is the interaction that Toryn Farr has with Nym.  If she is nearby, not only can you fish the blue crit, but you can fish the blacks with BCC.  Freaking brutal.

Overall, this is the kind of list that gives me nightmares when I show up with minimal fighter support.  I'm out-dropped, out-deployed, out-squadroned, and those bombers do more damage to me than one round of shooting out of an ISD-II.  No, really, I'm not joking.  Having the MC80 activate on you with bombers that have re-rolls before he drops lead on you is definitely no joke.

Edit: I'm currently re-thinking Toryn Farr for Raymus Antilles.  Seems like better interaction with the Defiance overall while still giving me good squadron utility.