In part 3 of our deconstruction of X-Wing Worlds squads, we looked at the notorious Palp Aces. But for the final part of this series, it is back to the Rebels with an equally famous Fat Han build.  It stepped away from the meta at some stage during the last few waves of releases, but it certainly has the limelight surging brightly upon it now that Thomas has paired an A-Wing ace with the "old" (or shouldn't that be "young?") Han himself.

If anyone ever asks for a user-friendly build for Rebels, then you can't look much further than some sort of outfitted YT-1300.  With a forgiving manoeuvre dial, 360-degree firing arc, and plenty of slots for upgrades, this infamous smuggling ship is one of X-Wing's most popular, at least on the Rebels side.  With both of his pilots working at pilot skill 9 and the squad totaling 97 points, Thomas has really opted for flexibility to ensure he gets the drop on other pilot skill 9 aces, such as Soontir Fel, Whisper, and Dengar, in the initiative bid.

Han Solo built in this configuration ensures a number of things. Firstly, damage output: whatever he is shooting at is going to get hit.  Between his pilot ability and Predator, you won't need to be taking target locks or focus actions. Rather, you'll want to use the Engine Upgrade to get into a superior position or use the evade action as per the title. With re-rolls galore, backed up with Luke Skywalker, there isn't a great deal you will not be able to hit.

With the evade action, combined with C-3PO, the damage that this 1-agility based ship takes is severely mitigated. This is made obvious by how well Thomas placed at Worlds.  Of course, large base ships need some sort of wingman and the man for the job comes down to Jake Farrell.

Jake Farrell can almost be considered the Rebel version of the Inquisitor, however he wants to stay at range 1 to not only get the maximum amount of red dice but also have a chance to unleash that 5 dice proton rocket.  If he manages to sit outside of primary arc, autothrusters kicks in, making him a real thorn in the side of enemy ships.

With Veteran Instincts pushing Jake to pilot skill 9, there is a greater degree of flexibility to the squad in terms of who moves first to capitalise on any given situation.  Both ships also have options to boost, furthering this flexibility.

What this A-wing lacks in sheer firepower it truly makes up for in finesse and action economy.  Combined with Push the Limit, Jake Farrell can get away with 3 actions per turn, providing the first is a focus.  This triggers a free boost or barrel roll, allowing him to get into a superior position attacking, or out of arc altogether.  Then Push the Limit can be triggered allowing for a third action. Initially, I think an evade token would be the go-to, however once that initial joust is over with, a focus, boost and target lock at range 1 of an enemy is sure to wipe the smile off their face when those proton rockets come screaming in.

I do enjoy this squad because it goes back to the basics of X-wing.  When you combine a classic arc dodger with a 360-degree firing arc ship, you have the basics of a successful list. 

Whether it's Fat Han or RAC/Whisper, the key roles remain the same, and regardless of wargame genre, the hammer-and-anvil tactic is alive and kicking in X-wing.

So what are the keys to victory against a squad like this?  Do you focus on the large based ship whilst Jake continually digs deeper?  Perhaps dropping the arc dodger first is the way to go?

Thank you for reading, and I invite you to subscribe to TNM  on the right to stay up to date on all future blog posts, battle reports, and podcasts.

- James

In part 2 of the 2016 Worlds Squads, we looked at a classic 'Rebel Regen' squad.  If there is one formula for the Empire that is tried and tested, look no further than the headliner upgrade, Emperor Palpatine.  When combined with the many different pilots available in various TIE's, the ability to change a dice each turn can literally be game changing. It is no surprise, then, that "Palp Aces" made it this far during the 2016 Worlds.

Despite its ubiquity, Palp Aces is probably one of the simpler squads I've looked at so far, but that takes absolutely nothing away from the lethality of the list.  I use the word simple purely because there isn't as much going on in the way of upgrade cards.  Don't confuse less complex with less effective, however, because it simply isn't the case.

Let's begin with the heart of the squad, the Lambda Class Shuttle.  The Space Cow, as it is affectionately known across most X-wing circles, is the optimal carrier of choice for the Emperor.  With a good chunk of shields and hull points, he certainly takes the bulk of an enemy squadron to take down, and it's not difficult to see why they would focus all of their fire on that task.  The ability to change a red die to a critical hit at the right time is a devastating effect.  Equally so when Omega Leader or Vessery survive thanks to a blank dice turning into an evade, saving their evade token, which in turn equates to Juke activating and destroying a ship.

Of course, the real skill with the shuttle is knowing when to commit.  It can be used to joust with the opponent and attempt to utilise its 3 red dice for at least two turns of fire before having to attempt the slow turn around to re-engage.  By that point, however, it's probably already dead, or the opponent's pilots are sitting on its slow tail eating away.  Alternatively, it can be deployed to ensure the enemy has to give chase, allowing a few turns of cat and mouse hoping the 'aces' will inflict some much-needed damage.  All the while placing target locks on anything Vessery will be going after.

Sensor Jammer, of course, is a welcome addition to the shuttle.  By turning one of the attacker's hits to a focus, it really forces them to spend it in order to dish out the heavy damage.  The great thing about this card as well: it isn't a 'once per round' effect, but rather 'when defending'.  Combined with Palpatine's dice modification skill, it can be rather tanky. But let's be honest, you really want to be using it for critical hits.

Omega Leader's pilot ability is incredible and perhaps a little easy to overlook.  It's not until you are attacking or defending against the First Order pilot when the sudden realisation dawns upon you that all of those points you spent on dice-modifying upgrades (Predator, Lone Wolf, Autothrusters, etc), and even that shiny target lock, are wasted.  He becomes a thorn in the side that just won't go away and although his damage output isn't ridiculous, it's the 'death by a thousand cuts' principle that rings true.  Those tiny stings of 1-2 hits each turn add up. 

Juke is a wonderful elite pilot talent for Omega Leader.  Increasing his dice variance by tinkering with the opponent's green dice results always hurts.  With Comm Relay, you can be sure that the very first turn action will indeed be an evade.  From there on, its primary goal is to get a target lock onto something dangerous for the glorious TIE Defender wingman to hunt down.

Now add Palpatine into the mix and even more devastation follows.

When ran in this combination, Colonel Vessery is incredibly durable.  The infamous TIE/x7 title feeds him evade tokens all day, and when combined with Juke, you're adding in the dice variation mechanic once again and forcing the opponent to choose between spending a focus token or not.  Whilst at pilot skill 6, it's not often the best way to utilise this combination (i.e - you may need to spend the evade token to ensure he survives a barrage), it still has the ability to demand attention.

Whilst Omega Leader and the shuttle are spreading target locks around, Vessery directly benefits, increasing his accuracy and ensuring consistent damage.  From a defensive point of view, 3 green dice and an evade token, further with Palpatine's dark glances, you can be assured the dear Colonel means business regardless if he's attacking or defending.

Finally, the Twin Ion Engine Mk.II is a fantastic tool to shed any stress tokens, but it also opens up the Defender dial a little more.  Before the Imperial Veterans expansion, you'd be hesitant to perform a red 1-turn or 2-turn for example; but with the engine, these problems are all but gone, allowing the next manoeuvre to be a stress-shedding one.  The great thing about Vessery is that he can still inflict serious amounts of damage and modify dice even when he does carry a stress token.

So there you have it, the third Top 4 list I've reviewed and all with very different mechanics. So far, each faction has been represented.  'Palp Aces' seems to not only be extremely popular, but steadfast as well. If anything, it continues to evolve while Fantasy Flight drops expansion after expansion.

How would you combat this squad?  Sink everything into removing the shuttle?  Corner an Ace and hope for the best?  I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe on the right for the latest updates here on TNM!

- James

In part 1 of this series, we examined the winning list run by Nand Torfs using the Manaroo squad. Today, we'll be checking in with the runner up's build, the Rebel Regen.

Kevin ran a Rebel 'Regen' list, starring Luke Skywalker's apprentice Corran Horn, and supported by Miranda Doni (or, of course, it may have been the other way around).

If there was a definitive list of ships which repeatedly perform at all levels of gaming in X-wing, then Corran Horn would be at the top of it. Whilst the E-wing combines the best elements of an X-wing's fire power and the A-wing's agility, the extra upgrades really give it some bite.

As is the case with most top-tier lists, we see Push the Limit in use here. This iconic upgrade which allows for double actions really goes a long way in ensuring action economy, and in essence people build their game around that very fact.  Corran Horn is one of the definitive pilots to use this with.

Adding Fire Control System does a few things.  Firstly, it mitigates the reason to take a Target Lock as an action, rather using the two actions available to barrel roll and boost to arc dodge, or alternatively focus and evade if you're heading into the thick of it.  Whatever the situation, you have appropriate options available.  Another reason of course is directly related to Corran's pilot ability.  Whatever you attack and do not kill, you then have the option to unload on again during the end phase (with a target lock, this time).

The regeneration capabilities come from R2-D2.  Any green manoeuvre will allow the E-wing to regain a shield.  The E-wing boasts 4 green manoeuvres, which on it's own isn't particularly amazing.  However, combined with the ability to barrel roll as well boost, it somewhat minimises the opponent predicting where Corran will end up.

With 7 upgrade cards aboard the K-wing, you can be very confident that this swiss army knife approach to X-wing provides enough utility to make a massive impact every game.  Miranda's pilot ability is simply wonderful.  In the opening joust at range 3, the Homing Missiles can effectively have an extra red dice used with them.  Nobody likes 5 dice being thrown at them, ever.

The real tricks come from the bombs however, and these aren't normal run-of-the-mill munitions, but rather Sabine has tinkered with each of them adding some splash damage to the already controlling and crippling effects of Conner Net and Ion Bombs.  Partnering with Corran, this allows some fierce engagements to be setup and dictated on the Rebels' terms.

Advanced SLAM allows you to get into some solid positions to drop that Conner Net or gain some much needed distance to lick wounds and return to the fight with a few extra shields.

Finally Twin Laser Turret provides Miranda a excellent way to consistently deal out the damage from afar if needs be.

I really like the look of this list and even tried it although I'm sure I suck hard because I hardly ever play Rebels and I imagine the learning curve with this squad can be steep.  What do you like about this list?  How would fly against it?

Thanks for reading and please ensure you subscribe to stay up to date with the latest blog content.

​- James

With the 2016 World Championships for X-wing in the books, it's a great time to catch a glimpse at all of the great squads which saw some action.  There is a lot to glean from the current meta, especially what influences squad purchases, but also what will stay strong until wave 10 releases.  Today, though, we take an in-depth look at the squad that reigned supreme: Dengaroo.

The 'Dengaroo' squad has gained massive popularity over the last 6 months, and it is easy to see why. With two powerful large-based ships at your disposal, powerful dice mechanics, and fantastic actions on tap, it was predestined to place highly at this year's Worlds.

I remember first reading about this squad on the FFG forums.  The person who created the list took it to a series of store tournaments, and actually retired it, citing it took little brain power to use and therefore made the game too easy.  Very interesting comments, but I sure admire the guy for seeking a challenge.

What a monster of a ship to deal with, though.  Firstly, Dengar's pilot ability is pretty incredible.  Ensure he's pointing in the direction of the bad guys and, chances are, you'll be attacking twice per round. It could be argued that this gives the squad a third ship's worth of firepower.

Lone wolf ensures that you'll be re-rolling a red/green blank, provided Manaroo is not near him and, if flown correctly, he certainly will not be. All Dengar is searching for is hit/evade/focus results, which are very easy to depend on seeing as Manaroo will be assigning his focus tokens to Dengar.  Of course, when he spends this token for attacking or defending, the Overclocked R4 unit can then kick in to gain another focus token at the expense of a stress token.

Combine that with Zuckuss, who forces opponents to re-roll evade results, and you have incredibly reliable damage output.  Counter-Measures allows Dengar to fly right up in the thick of battle right away, shrugging off the majority of the damage whilst getting to work.  Glitterstim is always of straightforward value.

​If you're looking for an incredible wingman or woman in this instance, then Manaroo is a sure-fire bet. Notwithstanding it is a husband-and-wife package deal, so Dengaroo seems to be the most appropriately-themed X-Wing squad.

Push the Limit is always going to be a fantastic choice for the Jumpmaster 5000.  It has a fairly flexible variety of green manoeuvres on its dial, and with an Engine Upgrade combined with a barrel roll, the large ship's movement capability is dramatically increased.  Of course with Gonk on board in the early turns, Manaroo can stack up shield tokens, preparing for the storm.  The main reason for Push the Limit is that her pilot ability increases Dengar's survivability.  Stacking on a focus and target lock each turn, and then transferring them to Dengar at the start of the combat phase, ensures Dengar will be hitting with the greatest chances of destruction ever - but it keeps getting better.  

With Seismic Torpedo equipped, Manaroo will be staying out of range 1-2 of Dengar to ensure Lone Wolf stays active.  This is somewhat of a deterrent if an enemy is going to try and swarm Manaroo.  At least they'll be possibly taking splash damage on the way in.  With her highly manoeuvrable Jumpmaster, there aren't many places where you can't set up a good shot against obstacles with enemy ships on the other side.

Feedback array is the unsung hero of the Dengaroo list.  If an arc dodging ace zeroes in for Manaroo, this card guarantees they'll pay for it. But don't forget the astromech, R5-P8.  When said enemy ace opens fire, once again there is a chance they'll be paying for it.  After taking damage, chances are Manaroo can use Gonk next turn to regain a shield token.  Not bad at all.

It's easy to see why Dengaroo dominates the metas, particularly at an event like Worlds.  With superior movement and no immediate options for the opponent the capitalise on, it can really stack up the odds in its own favor.

How would you face off against this list, and what do you see as its greatest strengths and weaknesses?

Thanks for reading, and be sure to subscribe on the right to stay up to date with the latest blog posts and news updates.

​- James