Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

One squad that has done surprisingly well using rookies:

Rookie Pilot (Flechette Torpedos, Targeting Astromech, Integrated Astromech) x 4

You get 4 heavy snubfighters - whilst, yes, an X-wing's jousting ability isn't fantastic, few people have a 4th heavy fighter in a list, so going head to head is often a winner.

Flechette Torpedos are a good answer to high PS arc-dodgers. Getting one or two into arc isn't that hard and once you've stressed an ace they're a lot easier to run to ground.

They actually work best as a 'second strike' weapon - move in, trade shots in the first pass, then K-turn, get your free target locks, and fire flechettes then. Your opponent has often K-turned too, so is stressed himself, allowing you to double-stress or triple-stress multiple ships in his squad.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 Anpu-adom wrote:

 Mathieu Raymond wrote:
Would 4 rookie pilots with R2 and IA with a Bandit be an appropriate, simple intro squad to fly?

I believe so. Might be good, as it is basically 4BZ... with some minor tweaks.

Unfortunately, I think that the Rookie Pilot doesn't quite measure up to a Blue Squadron pilot.

They are just about even in Jousting Factor once you add the Integrated Astromech. In a climate full of TLT, the extra green dice is actually better than the extra shields.

Well, hey! Blue squadron fly X-wings now

4 blue squadron noobs with either r2 or r5 + IA is 100pts of funtastic!

Indeed. Sophisticated it's not, but at the same time you've got four heavy fighters on the board, each one with 7-ish hit points, two agility, a pretty good dial (including the amazing tallon roll) and the ability to boost if they need to.

I'd probably go with R2 astromechs - you'll have lower pilot skill and the numerical edge, so you'll need the ability to roll then hard turn, or similar, to lay arcs of fire where you need them. By comparison, R5 is only going to get triggered if a ship takes a critical, by which time it's probably mostly on fire, and - in extremis - you can always chose to bin off your R2 early in order to discard a particularly crippling critical (blinded pilot at a key moment or something).

I've been trying both out recently, and while the green hard 2 is consistently helpful, there are a few damage cards that i've turned over that would have meant the end for that ship.

R5 is more of a gamble. the effects can be major, but the chances of being able to use them are slim

So I played a 300 point game yesterday, tried out some new stuff I bought. Ello Asty is really good, especially with r5p9 and predator. I'm thinking the heroes are significantly better than the basic T70's pilots. Just pricey.