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I like to know if z 95 and e wings are any good i play just with my brother and like to mix up my fleet more but don't want to get more fighters if they just as good as x wings
Here is what i have now
3 X wing
1 y wing not a big fan of them and the whole ion thing ever one does sounds too cheesy
3 A wings
3 b wings
3 hwks
1 falcon
1 ace a wing
1 ace b wing

Quite the open ended question. If kitted out right and used well, sure. If your just trying to do a barebones Z-Swarm...you'll lose quite a few games.
Each ship type includes unique pilots that can enhance what other ships do...Z-Cracken giving a free action to another ship after he shoots to E-Horn shooting twice in one turn, then using the next non-shooting turn to setup his next set of shots.
What I do like about Zs is the dial is almost a match for X-Wings. They make decent escort fighters in various XXZZZ builds that can hold formation with the bigger x-Wings.
IMHO.

Z-95s and E-Wings are about as different as small fighters can get.

Z-95s don't look very impressive on paper, but that 12 point cost means you can take a goodly number of them on top of your other ships. 2 Academy TIEs are still the best 24 points an Imperial player can spend, and 2 Bandits are the same to Rebels now. More ships means more shots, more activations, more dice and more stuff for your opponent to deal with. Blount and Cracken add some additional utility as well, the former making great use of the ion pulse or assault missiles and the latter acting as cheap support through free actions, EPTs like Wingman, Swarm Tactics or Squad Leader and so on. Probably the most important addition to Rebels in wave 4.

The E-Wing, on the other hand, is expensive and more expensive. It's very strong on the attack, has a great dial and a wide variety of options, but it all adds up quickly. Opposite the Z-95, most Es you see will be named. Etahn makes your squadron better by making crits pop up everywhere. Crits en masse can be utterly debilitating for shieldless foes. Corran makes up for his high price by double-tapping to effectively give you 2 ships' worth of firepower when you need it. They're pricey, but with the right set up they can work very well.

To be quite honest, it's all about the play style you like.

I personally love the Z95 since it reminds me of playing Tie Fighter back on DOS. It's great if you like to field many craft and on the other spectrum, like stated above, the E-Wing is great if you want to field a low number of elite fighters.

Don't discount the Y-Wing. The new expansions coming are giving them punch. I can't wait to use them. I'm a sucker for the old craft; and like you, I don't prefer the Ion. More blasters all around.

Is it strange that i never use named guys as i think the cost to much with upgrads to run them need all them up grads to make them any good

Both ships are nice, but play differently. So far, I've mostly used the Z-95 to just flesh out a list from 3 ships to 4. Basically, I cut some upgrades, and downgraded a pilot to a generic, and threw in another ship to finish off and distract my opponent. In this capacity, it has proved extremely useful. E-wing is really a fast and maneuverable, but expensive, line bruiser. Etahn is awesome, and Corran is probably the best pilot in the game at exploiting a good position (If you find yourself at range 1 against a ship which bumped and lost it's action, that's a dead ship).

to start great in game play but crap models

I really like E wings & then you can upgrade them

Z95s aren't bad I played them as a swarm 8 for a 100 pts

zilka86 wrote:
Is it strange that i never use named guys as i think the cost to much with upgrads to run them need all them up grads to make them any good

Eh gads man, spelling and punctuation.

As for "Not using named pilots", it's not unheard of. I know a number of lists which do not use characters. That being said, unless you are going all-out on the upgrades, I do not see how they are "too expensive". I find that going for a couple small character pilots (Chardaan Tycho/Farrel, Dutch, Garving, etc.) will often give me better lists than filling out the generic pilots with upgrades, and is generally more interesting. I will either keep upgrades light, and run them as a [ship type]+ (Tycho, Ibtisam, etc.), use them for support (Kraken, Dutch, Garvin), or run them as a heavy hitter (Wedge, Farlander, Fel) who I then support (with a support ship or Biggs) and surround with cheap ships for numbers. This is also an area that the Z-95 is really useful, because it can increase the number of ships I have even with few points left.

dkellyj wrote:
Quite the open ended question. If kitted out right and used well, sure. If your just trying to do a barebones Z-Swarm...you'll lose quite a few games.

What are you basing that on? The Zwarm has been doing rather well internationally, albeit I can't say whether they have won anything yet; however, it certainly is better than you think.

The latest expansions are very specific in killing swarms. Ships that damage you when they bump. Ships designed to bounce outside of firing arcs then make a move to bring themselves into a firing position. Missiles that damage everyone in the swarm. Upgrades that let you change your selected move AFTER the lower PS swarm has moved and completed actions. And the now cheap Prototype A-Wing that gets to move BEFORE your PS2 Zwarm making an excellent crash fest as your mass of ships lose their formation and end up scattered into individual or small units ripe for the picking.
Now add to the mix that the Z95 did not get a Swarm booster like Howlrunner.
What makes the TIE swarm so effective vs the Zwarm is the PS1 that allows them to move first and complete actions (including an Evade to make them more survivable), 3 evades vs 2, A much wider movement dial, and Unique Pilots that buff the entire Swarm.
Z's get 1 more damage point than TIEs (2H+2S vs 3H)...but also 1 less Agility dice and no Evade option.

But then you said it yourself...The Z is doing well internationally (whats their local meta like?), but they haven't won anything yet.
Arsenal also plays pretty well...until you compare their record to Manchester United.

So i really dony need any of the nee ships

Well, back to my original point...it depends on how you fly.
Consider this 3 ship build: Biggs with R2F2 and Stealth, B-wing with E2 and Jan Ors. Z95 with Cracken.
Biggs moves and activates F2. This gives him 4 Agility (2 for the X Wing, 1 for Stealth, 1 for F2), Now Cracken shoots and passes a free action to Biggs, who chooses Focus. Jan Ors now turns that Focus into an Evade.
Now you have to shoot Biggs who gets to roll 4 green dice plus an extra Evade token. 2S/2H goes a long way when its not getting shot at.
Its not just about the ships, its the synergies you can develop between several ships to make your formation that much more effective.

z-95s are amazing, i try and leave at least 12 points from my reb lists for one and if i have a spare i upgrade it to Tala.

E-wings are good, but 2 hull annoy me, even 1 crit goes through it can be game over and in every game ive always drawn 2 damage. Doh!

I find the Z-95s very playable, with two named pilots that do great in synergy lists or countering certain meta.

As some have said, with three elite ship builds, Cracken can be very playable. And they still are relatively inexpensive missile boats for Assault Missiles.

I really like e-wings, they have it all!
You pay for the privelidge but well worth it in my opinion!
3 shields and 2 hull is better than 2 shields and three hull they have to hit you three times before they can crit you!

I really enjoy every game I use e-wings, though I do add something for durability.

Z-95s, I like the idea but I've only used them twice, so I'm not sure yet. Some of the abilities can help with a low numbers list though.