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Hey guys,

So, after a lengthy absence due to babies and my x-wing buddies being hard to meet with for various other reasons, am finally getting into the mood to play again. Almost finished re-painting all my wave 3 ships too, finished 2 shuttles (one blood stripe version), the imperial aces (with winglet mods on the royals, black paintjob on blood stripe ties), 2 hawks 1 with variant color scheme, 2 bwings modded to be horizontal orientation... that means 2 b-wings to go with alt schemes, and 4 tie bombers which are mostly done.

So, I will soon be fully painted up and ready to play again... last I played was really the tail end of the wave 2 era, got 1 wave 3 game in and it wasn't very educational as some unbelievable luck on my part essentially ended the game in 2-3 turns.

So, I have little tangible experience with wave 3 or aces ships... what do you guys think? What is the meta like now? What are popular lists and ships? I could and will do a google search, but i'd like to hear what you guys think and what kinds of lists you are running these days both for fun and competition.

Cheers!

50 views no comments? Cmon boys lol...

B-wings are certainly popular, particularly when paired with Advanced Sensors. Other than that, I have seen a recent rise in popularity of Bombers. Even a naked bomber swarm has been getting some play due to sheer hit point value.

Rebels are certainly leaning toward 4 ship lists provided that they are not running a falcon, with the most common being XXBB. HWK's are fun and interesting, but don't quite seem to be able to make the jump to tournament level yet (though I think they might be really valuable in epic play). The main problem with the HWK being that its clearly a support ship and as such, costs a bit too much to make most lists viable. Take Jan for instance, a great ability, but sufficiently expensive that you either have to run her naked (thus making her entirely support) or commit to a 3 ship list.

Hmm... that was kinda my take away too at a glance... can see the purpose of the HWK but the base cost of the ship is too much... should have been a good 4-5 points cheaper imho.

so advanced sensors eh? Nothing else just the sensors?

Bombers seemed kinda viable to me in the same way y-wings were...

Think both the YT-1300 and Firespray are viable big ships, but like anything, if you over equip them, you'll probably end up wasting points. Pick a couple of upgrades like gunner, heavy laser cannon etc and then max out on support ships.

Yup, was pretty familiar with them from wave 2, they don't seem to have changed too too much, though I would imagine bombers would shave down a falcon faster?

What about the shuttle? How did that fit in ultimately?

I've been running a dual falcon list, and I'm pretty sure everything I have in it is still wave 2. But I've played around with a single HWK with a recon scout/moldy crow title and it's a ridiculous piece of work-especially if you take Kyle and pass out freebie focuses to teammates. He's not terribly expensive either.

I've heard of shuttle parking lots, designed to sit still and force the enemy to come to you then break off and get shot in the ass. Falcons and Firesprays can also do this, but the shuttle seems to be a letdown, largely, unless you're running 4 of them together. Again, I rarely see them, so I could easily be wrong. Enter Peregrine to tell me I am in 3...2...1...

lol I'm quite sure he is more likely to do so if you bait him.

I'm sure we can all get along here

Parking a shuttle is quite interesting... they are quite tanky too aren't they... hmmm that could be fun just for gaks and gigs. That 0 manoeuvre is entirely unique isn't it still?

What about Imperial aces, have you guys been playing those?

I really enjoy the Aces. I play interceptor lists quite often and more options makes me happy. Jax is really handy with PS8 and focus blocking, Tetran is another PS7 guy with an EPT and nifty effect, Lorrir is hilarious and Kanos is really hurting for an EPT to be useful.

For the Shuttle, I have seen it get some use, but the trick with the shuttle is learning how to fly it, because it really is a bit of a walrus on that front. The most common thing is to slap an Engine Upgrade on it to give it that little bit of extra maneuverability.

As for use in squad lists, there are a couple that seem to utilize the shuttle decently. One incorporates the Buzzsaw Shuttle using a Gunner and Fire Control System to lay the smack down on the enemies. Toss in an Engine Upgrade and you have a powerful tank with at least decent maneuvering. It will still have to soak up some damage though once the enemy flies past.

The other option I've seen people using is the so called Doom Shuttle where they equip Vader as a crew member and let him do his thing.

The other card seeing some play in particular is the Rebel Captive. One list in particular combines Kath and Rebel Captive with a Buzzsaw Shuttle, and has proven to be pretty darn effective if you can figure out how to fly the shuttle. Then toss in a couple of Ties to round out the list. Kath generates a lot of stress and damage, the Shuttle does the same and the ties mainly act as blockers. The weakness of the list is when it goes up against low-agility ships and Kath doesn't really get a chance then to do her thing.

As for Aces, I want to like them, I really do. I think ultimately, the named Aces suffer from being a bit too expensive considering their hit points. That said, tossing one Ace in with either a Swarm or a Firespray or two can be pretty effective. Lorrir has a great ability and can often use it to get out of arcs while keeping opponents in his. Jax is nice, but prone to being one shot, so you still have to be careful with him. That said though, the set does come with two copies of PTL which is nice since that is a great upgrade for the interceptors given how easily they can deal with stress. Just be careful with Opportunist, it generally works better on lower PS pilots than higher.

So, all in all, I would say that the Wave 3 ships do get decent play, even in tournament settings. The HWK is probably the least used though as mentioned, I think Kyle has potential. The real issue is just trying to fit a support ship into a 100 point list.

Thanks for all the info guys, particularly Gargs, great write up there man.

I guess I will just need to jump in and start futzing around!

No problem. This isn't to say that the earlier Wave 1 and 2 meta doesn't still exist. The swarm is still strong as is Han Shoots First and even 4 X-Wings, just that for the most part just about every ship can be worked into a good list provided you know how to use it. I even think Kyle could work, just maybe not as reliably.

Oh ya, I can definitely still see FFG is making a pretty big effort to add things in to hurt swarms specifically in most releases. I figured HSF was still pretty good as it is simply a very forgiving build to fly...

Never really tried an interceptor only list, nor an advanced only... should really try some of these novelty things to really master each ship unto itself before working on synergies. Also, just for fun.

Eh, the advanced is pretty bad assuming its not being flown Vader. Its main problem is that while it has the defenses and costs of the X-Wing, it just doesn't hit hard enough (I realize it technically has a slightly better defense due to the extra evade die). In most situations, the X-Wing will easily outshine the Advanced (again assuming no Vader) both because of the extra attack die and the ability to slap a droid in there, which tends to be a better investment than secondaries.

That said, never discount Vader.

Gargs wrote:
The HWK is probably the least used though as mentioned, I think Kyle has potential. The real issue is just trying to fit a support ship into a 100 point list.

Ye, I think this is the only duff bit of wave 3. Everything else (from all the waves) is good and worth using in the right force. The HWK however is a little pointless at "Normal" point levels. It is very much a force multiplier and when you often only have 2 other ships and it is taking up 1/3 of the force it doesn't do enough. At epic points it will be much more effective, but at 100 its not quite good enough. I could see myself taking one at 150, but not under. You lose too much fire power whilst not gaining enough.

The HWK is good as a focus factory in a H-3Y build; 2 Y's with ICT, 1 with Blaster Turret, and a Blaster on the HWK too.

I like the HWK with Ion Turret, but I struggle to use it any other way.