The Evolution of a List

I am not a master list builder. I have no Dengaroo, Parattanni, or Nymranda like monstrosities to my name. Despite that, I have had some success with lists that opponents would dismiss out of hand until their game had spun completely out of control. These lists were my own unique creations and I could genuinely call them my own. In the last few years of the lifespan of first edition X-Wing, however, if you wanted to be competitive but were building your own lists, generally speaking, you were probably wrong to do so. According to some X-Wing greats the "correct" way to select a squad was to look through the top five squads on metawing, pick the one you would hate playing the least, and practice it until you knew its ins and outs. And if you wanted to have a chance to win a large event, they were almost certainly correct. But I could never bring myself to do it.  

Now with Second Edition killing off First Edition, List Juggler, and, by extension, Metawing, we will no longer have immediate access to the mountain of data that previously allowed us to find optimized list archetypes with minimal list building effort. And unless FFG's app has a built in feature that compiles that data, those days might not be coming back. Even if the app does have such a function, it will be several months, possibly even half a year or more, before we acquire enough data to conclusively say what's "good" and what is "bad".  Since the "correct" method of finding a squad to play will not even an option for a while, it appears that the time of home brewed list building is at hand.

So how do you go about creating and then optimizing a list? First, build a list with ships that fit a play style that you enjoy. If you don't know what play style that is, then fly a little bit of everything until you do. Second, put it on the table. A lot. Then slowly, one ship or upgrade card at a time, switch things out until you have a complete squad that you are happy with. Third, play that list again and again against as many different opponents and match-ups as you possibly can.

On knowing your play style and creating a basic list:

I try out different ships and pilots until I find some element that I love. I've found that I enjoy nimble aces that can die instantly if I mess up, or live forever if I don't. I like to have an element to my lists that hits very hard, and I like some level of shenanigans. Because of that I gravitate primarily to a Scum aces archetype. When the Guns for Hire expansion got announced, I started proxying Thweek as soon as we had enough information to do so. At the time my list consisted of Thweek, Fenn Rau, and a cloaking Talonbane Cobra: nimble, hard hitting aces that could explode in a puff of smoke if I screwed up coupled with the goofy shenanigans of a decloaking, five K-ing Khiraxz fighter and the wonky barrel roll of the Starviper. The list was perfect for me. With the one little problem being that it wasn't really that great. I took it to this most recent Chicago regional at Pastimes Comics and Games with just shy of 160 participants and went 3-3 for the day

My regionals squad.

Repaints by Blake McAfee.

On putting your list on the table a lot:

I played that list almost exclusively for several months before I felt conclusively that Talonbane was the weak link in that particular list. Perhaps, if I were simply a better player I might have found some way of making him work in the list, but despite sometimes getting to throw an absurd seven green dice (2 for his agility value, 2 for cloak, 1 for range 3, 1 for his ability at range 3, and 1 for an obstruction), he just died too quickly and too often. So I began the process of looking for something to replace him.

While you are searching for just the right element to include in your list, I highly recommend not trying a variation out just once or twice before dismissing it. You need to give it time to ensure that it's that particular combination that isn't working for you and not simply pilot error because you are trying out a ship or upgrade card you aren't very familiar with. I like to try out a variation of a list several times during the week at a local game store, then take it to a monthly kit tournament to see how it fares. Getting three or four games in back to back against a variety of opponents and list archetypes is a decent proving ground for a list. Throughout this entire process it is vital that you play against opponents whose skills as a player and as a list builder you respect. Get their opinions on what worked and what didn't. Accept criticism from them and think carefully through what they say. Try out their suggestions. Then do what you think is best for your squad.

I tried replacing Talonbane with a Bumpmaster for some low PS, large base blocking control, I tried out 4-LOM in a G1a Starfighter for some stress control. Eventually a friend suggested I try out a Quadjumper, and I came to love that little tugboat. After some experimentation, I settled on Unkar equipped with a cloaking device and Cikatro Vizago crew to swap in contraband cybernetics. Even though it wasn't a large base ship, it was a wonderful blocker, could space tug other ships onto obstacles, and had the added benefit of making my other ships hit even harder.

After flying that squad for a while I came to the conclusion that it was my beloved Fenn who was now the weakest part of my list. I had two ships that desperately wanted to be close quarters knife fighters, and Thweek was just flat out better. Post Attanni Mindlink nerf and in the high pilot skill meta, Fenn Rau just couldn't cut it anymore. He needed the action economy that PTL provided more than VI, but without VI, perfect knowledge action bombs and PS9+ harpoon missiles were far too dangerous. So I had to cut him out of the list, and I began the process once again of trying to find the third ship for my list. I went through a similar process to the one mention above, finally settling on Dalan Oberos in the Kimogila. He provided the longer range punch that my list was previously lacking, and created target priority issues for my opponent. If they ignore Dalan, he will punish them with harpoon after harpoon; ignore the tugboat and it will be throwing ships into rocks left and right; ignore Thweek and he becomes virtually untouchable in the end game.

The final product looked like this:

M12-L Kimogila Fighter: •Dalan Oberos (35)
Guidance Chips (0)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Extra Munitions (2)
Harpoon Missiles (4)
R4 Agromech (2)
Inertial Dampeners (1)

Starviper: •Thweek (38)
Autothrusters (2)
Starviper Mk.II (-3)
•Virago (1)
Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)
Fire-Control System (2)
Glitterstim (2)

Quadjumper: •Unkar Plutt (23)
Spacetug Tractor Array (2)
•Cikatro Vizago (0)
Advanced Optics (2)
•Cloaking Device (2)

Total:  96/100

The final product.

Repaints by Matt Cary.

On playing your list again and again:

After you finally arrive at the place where your squad is finished, at least on paper, it's time to get a good handle on your obstacle placement, setup, and how to vary your strategy based on the various list archetypes you expect to encounter. I eventually developed four different setup options for my list based on what was placed across the table from me. I had a fairly generalized setup, a setup that allowed Unkar to get his initial actions, cloaking etc., before moving into a fortress, a setup for Nymranda or Firestorm Special, and a setup for facing a Ghost/Fenn build. (Admittedly this last setup was simply setting up for a joust, planning on killing Fenn during the first round of combat for some MOV points then dying spectacularly and quickly so I had time to go get something to eat. Not much of a plan, but it was something.) It's important to learn how to "play" your opponent’s list in addition to your own, and you will need to have at least a basic plan in place before your first dial is set.

If you are in the St. Louis area or coming to visit, reach out to Arch Alliance X-wing on Facebook to find out where we are playing on any given night.

(Virtually) Unstoppable: an X-Wing TMG story

TIE Reapers or good ole’ fashioned T-65 X-Wings? That seems to have been the predominate question from this past weekend’s Miniature Market store championship. The St. Louis meta has embraced wave 14 and as a result, of the 27 people who attended the tournament, only four of them were flying under a Scum and Villainy banner. Imperials and rebels seemed like they were represented in almost equal numbers, and most lists featured at least one reaper or T-65 X-Wing.

That trend was strong enough that it made its way into the top four cut. On one table, Richard L.’s Whisper and two Reapers faced off against Jeff W.’s Whisper, backed by a Palp reaper and a harpoon Nu Boat, and on the other table, Michael Peterson’s Fat Han and R2-D2 Luke faced down Matt Cary’s five T-65 Rookies. Despite losing his Whisper early, Jeff was able to take down the rest of Richard’s list with his remaining Reaper and Nu. 

In Rebel showdown, the five X-Wings proved to be too much for R2-D2’s regen and fat Han’s girth, losing only one X-wing.

On the final table Matt Cary's five rookie pilots quickly burned down Emperor Palpatine's reaper and took the brunt force of a fully modified harpoon missile in response. The Nu Squadron pilot paid for that shot and fell shortly thereafter when it got caught in multiple X-Wing arcs, despite his attempt to slam out of harm's way. Then it was left to the elusive Whisper to attempt to solo all five rookies. She managed to eliminate one before the others caught her in a kill box that all the traitorous green dice in the world couldn't have saved her from.

With several top four finishes at store championships this year, it was fitting that Matt should get his win at this particular championship. The most recent large tournament in the St. Louis area, hosting 37 participants, and was also at Miniature Market, was the Campaign Against Cancer event held earlier this year. And it was an event Matt also won. Also having won a recent kit tournament there, it seems that he has found the seat of his power and appears to be virtually unstoppable in Miniature Market tournaments.

Unfortunately due to issues with technology, we were unable to get a stream working. We were, however, able to record most of the top table games over the course of the day, and those videos will be uploaded to YouTube after a bit of editing.

For many competitive X-Wing players in the St. Louis area, this tournament marked the end of the first edition competitive scene, and very likely, the end of their first edition casual scene, too. We are turning our eyes to the second edition of the game and, for a few of us, specifically towards the Gold Squadron Classic on September 22, which promises to be the first major second edition event in X-Wing history.

I have to give a special shout-out to my brother, Josh, and his son. They drove two hours to make the Miniature Market store championship, their first tournament ever. My 12 year old nephew went 2-3 for the day, and Josh finished the day 3-2, falling to Mark Myers and Michael Peterson, two of the best Arch Alliance has to offer.

If you are in the St. Louis area or coming to visit, reach out to Arch Alliance X-wing on Facebook to find out where we are playing on any given night.