I know, I know. X-wing 1.0 is going to fade from the competitive world and X-wing 2.0 is coming in to sweep us off our feet. I am personally really excited for it, but in the meantime there are still games to be had so in this article instead of going over 2.0 content that has been covered 100 times over by now I will be stepping back into 1.0 and doing a little brewing for an upcoming tournament.
I will start by going over the local meta, what I expect to see on the table on the 20th. fighting for those pretty metal shield tokens.
Palp Aces - I'm not even going to deny it, Palp Aces is in and it isn't going anywhere, There is at least one player that I know will show up with it and it will likely be a Lamda with Quickdraw and Inquisitor.
Nym/Maranda - Yes another popular choice, Bombs, TLT, Missiles, Sabine. Alright i'll accept that it will be there in one or two instances.
2x Decimator/ Decimator and Omega Leader - We have a player that always brings one of the two to tournaments.
Strezra - The Shethepeede does see a good of play in my area. I will plan to run into it at least once throughout my day.
Scum Aces - Yes this is something we see locally a good bit, Likely Serisu, Fenn and something else.
Stress/Ion Control - It will likely involve a U-Wing, B-Wings, Tactician, Bumping, Less than well known pilots and all kinds of well thought out interactions (Which usually work).
And a few other ships I expect to run into include: Kath/Boba, Bossk, Tie /D, and Poe
I know, other than the obvious I have a fairly unique meta in my area.
Now lets talk about what I like to fly, Usually my lists include some variation of Norra Wexley in an Arc-170...
Actually I think there is only one tournament where I never flew her. That said since regional's she hasn't hit the table in front of me, I think it is because I felt dirty flying her along side Maranda and Strezra so I decided to take a break and try some new lists. This doesn't take her off the potential list though.
Okay, so what have I been flying and what have I been flying well.
I have been kind of all over the place but a few ships that have been enjoying lately are the Shadowcaster, Kimoliga, Silencer, and YT-2400 so lets build around those for now.
First of all, here is my current Shadowcaster build:
TOTAL: 98
I know it isn't the most competitive build but it is a ton of fun to fly. I prefer Expertise on Asajj to have the ability to turn your mobile arc instead of relying on focus, Countermeasures is great for dumping pesky target locks from harpoon carriers. Speaking of Harpoon Missiles, Dalan is a great carrier for these, you have to be careful on the approach to get the target lock from his bulls-eye arc but Engine Upgrade (Which I swear this ship needs stapled to it) allows you to line up that shot at PS9, then with Unhinged Astromech you can turn around much easier after reloading. Then you have Sunny Bounder who in my opinion is the best 12 point ship in the game, She can block at PS1 as well as her ability works more often than you think, just make sure you don't get hit.
I have also considered swapping Dalan for Thweek in this build:
Allowing Asajj to take a second Glitterstim and still have a 3 point bid.
Alright lets take a look at what I have been doing with the Tie Silencer:
From my test flights, I find the Tie Silencer works best for me when flown light, It is a very unforgiving ship to fly though, especially in a bomb and TLT meta. the Nu Squadron Pilot is there for an early alpha strike and usually ends up being a great blocker with slam. The Inquisitor is just as much a threat as Kylo in the late game.
as an alternative I have tested Backdraft in the place of the Inquisitor with mixed results.
I was thinking of running the list this way but i'll be honest, I've been on and off writing this article for about a week so after getting more time with it, regen Poe just doesn't work in my meta. so if i were to run the list I would run it like this instead I think:
I will start by going over the local meta, what I expect to see on the table on the 20th. fighting for those pretty metal shield tokens.
Palp Aces - I'm not even going to deny it, Palp Aces is in and it isn't going anywhere, There is at least one player that I know will show up with it and it will likely be a Lamda with Quickdraw and Inquisitor.
Nym/Maranda - Yes another popular choice, Bombs, TLT, Missiles, Sabine. Alright i'll accept that it will be there in one or two instances.
2x Decimator/ Decimator and Omega Leader - We have a player that always brings one of the two to tournaments.
Strezra - The Shethepeede does see a good of play in my area. I will plan to run into it at least once throughout my day.
Scum Aces - Yes this is something we see locally a good bit, Likely Serisu, Fenn and something else.
Stress/Ion Control - It will likely involve a U-Wing, B-Wings, Tactician, Bumping, Less than well known pilots and all kinds of well thought out interactions (Which usually work).
And a few other ships I expect to run into include: Kath/Boba, Bossk, Tie /D, and Poe
I know, other than the obvious I have a fairly unique meta in my area.
Now lets talk about what I like to fly, Usually my lists include some variation of Norra Wexley in an Arc-170...
Actually I think there is only one tournament where I never flew her. That said since regional's she hasn't hit the table in front of me, I think it is because I felt dirty flying her along side Maranda and Strezra so I decided to take a break and try some new lists. This doesn't take her off the potential list though.
Okay, so what have I been flying and what have I been flying well.
I have been kind of all over the place but a few ships that have been enjoying lately are the Shadowcaster, Kimoliga, Silencer, and YT-2400 so lets build around those for now.
First of all, here is my current Shadowcaster build:
| Asajj Ventress — Lancer-class Pursuit Craft | 37 |
| Expertise | 4 |
| Latts Razzi | 2 |
| Glitterstim | 2 |
| Countermeasures | 3 |
| Shadow Caster | 3 |
| Ship Total: 51 | |
| Dalan Oberos (Kimogila) — M12-L Kimogila Fighter | 25 |
| Veteran Instincts | 1 |
| Harpoon Missiles | 4 |
| Unhinged Astromech | 1 |
| Engine Upgrade | 4 |
| Enforcer | 1 |
| Ship Total: 36 | |
| Sunny Bounder — M3-A Interceptor | 14 |
| "Light Scyk" Interceptor | -2 |
| Ship Total: 12 | |
I know it isn't the most competitive build but it is a ton of fun to fly. I prefer Expertise on Asajj to have the ability to turn your mobile arc instead of relying on focus, Countermeasures is great for dumping pesky target locks from harpoon carriers. Speaking of Harpoon Missiles, Dalan is a great carrier for these, you have to be careful on the approach to get the target lock from his bulls-eye arc but Engine Upgrade (Which I swear this ship needs stapled to it) allows you to line up that shot at PS9, then with Unhinged Astromech you can turn around much easier after reloading. Then you have Sunny Bounder who in my opinion is the best 12 point ship in the game, She can block at PS1 as well as her ability works more often than you think, just make sure you don't get hit.
I have also considered swapping Dalan for Thweek in this build:
| Thweek — StarViper | 28 |
| Fire-Control System | 2 |
| Glitterstim | 2 |
| Stealth Device | 3 |
| StarViper Mk. II | -3 |
| Virago | 1 |
| Ship Total: 33 | |
Allowing Asajj to take a second Glitterstim and still have a 3 point bid.
Alright lets take a look at what I have been doing with the Tie Silencer:
| Kylo Ren (TIE Silencer) — TIE Silencer | 35 |
| Push the Limit | 3 |
| Fire-Control System | 2 |
| Autothrusters | 2 |
| Ship Total: 42 | |
| Nu Squadron Pilot — Alpha-class Star Wing | 18 |
| Harpoon Missiles | 4 |
| Advanced SLAM | 2 |
| Os-1 Arsenal Loadout | 2 |
| Ship Total: 26 | |
| The Inquisitor — TIE Advanced Prototype | 25 |
| Push the Limit | 3 |
| Autothrusters | 2 |
| TIE/v1 | 1 |
| Ship Total: 31
Total: 99
| |
From my test flights, I find the Tie Silencer works best for me when flown light, It is a very unforgiving ship to fly though, especially in a bomb and TLT meta. the Nu Squadron Pilot is there for an early alpha strike and usually ends up being a great blocker with slam. The Inquisitor is just as much a threat as Kylo in the late game.
as an alternative I have tested Backdraft in the place of the Inquisitor with mixed results.
| "Backdraft" — TIE/sf Fighter | 27 |
| Veteran Instincts | 1 |
| Fire-Control System | 2 |
| Lightweight Frame | 2 |
| Ship Total: 32 | |
I just found she doesn't have the staying power that the Inquisitor does.
And as for my new found fun ship the YT-2400 lets see what I have going on.
| Dash Rendar — YT-2400 | 36 |
| Push the Limit | 3 |
| Heavy Laser Cannon | 7 |
| Kyle Katarn | 3 |
| Engine Upgrade | 4 |
| Outrider | 5 |
| Ship Total: 58 | |
| Poe Dameron (PS9) — T-70 X-Wing | 33 |
| Push the Limit | 3 |
| R2-D2 | 4 |
| Primed Thrusters | 1 |
| Integrated Astromech | 0 |
| Black One | 1 |
| Ship Total: 42 Total: 100 | |
I was thinking of running the list this way but i'll be honest, I've been on and off writing this article for about a week so after getting more time with it, regen Poe just doesn't work in my meta. so if i were to run the list I would run it like this instead I think:
| Dash Rendar — YT-2400 | 36 |
| Lone Wolf | 2 |
| Heavy Laser Cannon | 7 |
| Navigator | 3 |
| Engine Upgrade | 4 |
| Outrider | 5 |
| Ship Total: 59 | |
| Poe Dameron (PS9) — T-70 X-Wing | 33 |
| Intensity | 2 |
| BB-8 | 2 |
| Advanced Optics | 2 |
| Autothrusters | 2 |
| Black One | 1 |
| Ship Total: 40 Total: 99 | |
Lone Wolf gives more flexibility on Dash, supplying more re-rolls and survivability vs ships that you can not arc dodge, and Navigator will give you the extra requisitioning options. Speaking of arc dodging lets look at Intensity Poe, Intensity and BB8 gives you access to the shenanigans of reveal a green, barrel roll, trigger Intensity netting a Focus, move, then still get an action. with that you have your POEcus for the rest of the game with Advanced Optics, and you can take an evade action to flip Intensity again if you need it.
Now for my inevitable ARC-170 brew. This ship always shines for me for some reason, I think its just the pure meatiness of them. There is a list that I tried out this week at casual day and it may find its way to the tournament.
| Norra Wexley — ARC-170 | 29 |
| Push the Limit | 3 |
| C-3PO | 3 |
| R2-D2 | 4 |
| Alliance Overhaul | 0 |
| Ship Total: 39 | |
| Shara Bey — ARC-170 | 28 |
| Adaptability | 0 |
| Recon Specialist | 3 |
| R5-P9 | 3 |
| Alliance Overhaul | 0 |
| Ship Total: 34 | |
| Braylen Stramm — ARC-170 | 25 |
| R3-A2 | 2 |
| Alliance Overhaul | 0 |
| Ship Total: 27 Total: 100 | |
First of all there is traditional regen Norra, using her ability to spend her target lock to add a dice to the pool, C-3PO and R2-D2, she can effectively tank 3 hits per round. Then there is Shara Bey - Built with Rec. Spec to double up on focus, then dump one to regen a shield at the end of the round with R5-P9. Then Braylen with Stressbot(R3-A2) to keep the opponent locked down, his ability will let you stay stress free while keeping enemies locked down.
Well that is all I have for brews, now to decide what I want to fly, my next post will likely be a battle report so you will know then. for now happy flying and thanks for reading.
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