Last Update: 4/13/2018 through Wave 13

X-wing is a game that has been around for a few years now. The number of ships, pilots and upgrades can become a little overwhelming for those that are new or infrequent players. So today we’re going to continue going through all the different upgrade types and giving some quick points on how best to use them. For each we’re going to give the following information:

Ranking – We’re going to rank each card within an upgrade slot. This is an imperfect ranking as the usefulness of any card is mostly determined by how and where you use it. But it’s an easy number to grasp and can serve as a starting point when trying to pick your upgrades.

– We’re going to rank each card within an upgrade slot. This is an imperfect ranking as the usefulness of any card is mostly determined by how and where you use it. But it’s an easy number to grasp and can serve as a starting point when trying to pick your upgrades. Combos– What are the best pilots, ships or upgrades to pair with this card. When we look at upgrades that can only be equipped to a limited number of ships we may skip this section.

Other Guides

For the most part we’ve been scrolling through the X-wing upgrade in alphabetical order. It’s a good enough approach as any. We just finished Crew so next up would be Elite Pilot Talents. While there aren’t quite as many EPT’s as crew, only 39 pre-Wave XI, there are still quite a lot. So at the request of some readers we’re going to skip ahead to Turrets.

Ships with a Turret

Rebel

Attack Shuttle

HWK-290

K-Wing

Scurrg H-6

VCX-100

Y-Wing

Imperial

TIE Aggressor

Scum

HWK-290

Scurrg H-6

Y-Wing

Ranked List

Twin Laser Autoblaster Ion Cannon Synced Dorsal Blaster

Autoblaster Turret (Most Wanted Expansion)

Cost: 2 points

2 Dice, Range 1

Attack: Attack 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc).

Your results cannot be canceled by defense dice. The defender may cancel Crit results before Hit results.

Ranking – 2 This is a well-costed upgrade. It’s cheap so easy to throw in anywhere you have an unfilled turret slot. Powerful with its unblockable damage but well balanced at two dice and a range 1 restriction.

– 2 Combos Accuracy Corrector (System) With these two paired up you are guaranteed two unblockable damage. Currently only the Ghost can field the combo. It is limited to range one but it effectively makes that a no man’s land. Fearlessness (EPT) If you can get your target in arc you can potentially throw three unblockable damage on them thanks to the added Hit result.



Blaster Turret (HWK-290 Expansion)

Cost: 4 points

3 Dice, Range 1-2

Attack (focus): Spend 1 focus token to perform this attack against 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc).

Ranking – 6 This is just a bad turret. This point is highlighted by the recent Synced Turret. Same cost, same range, same damage. But Synced requires a Target Lock instead of a Focus but you don’t have to spend it. AND you can get free rerolls if the target is in arc.

– 6 Combos . Kyle Katarn (Crew) Kyle can help you gain the needed Focus token even if you wouldn’t normally get an action. Moldy Crow (Title) Building up a supply of Focus helps ensure you are able to fire. Recon Specialist (Crew) Having two Focus available to use to fire and then modify is very useful. Kavil (Y-Wing Pilot) Kavil gets to add an attack dice so he can throw four dice if he is firing out of arc.

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Dorsal Turret (Ghost Expansion)

Cost: 3 points

2 Dice, Range 1-2

Attack: Attack 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc).

If the target of this attack is at Range 1, roll 1 additional attack die.

Ranking – 5 This is a hard one to rate. It’s pretty cheap at three points and doesn’t come with as many restrictions as most of the other turrets. Just a 2-3 dice attack at range 1 or 2. But it also isn’t very exciting. You’re never going to want to use this turret but it’s not bad as a filler just to give some ships an optional out of arc attack.

– 5 Combos . Attack Shuttle (Any) Dorsal is cheap enough that throwing it on a Phantom for some out of arc coverage can be worth the cost. K-Wing (None) Just kidding. There is no reason to ever put this on a K-wing.

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Ion Cannon Turret (Y-Wing/HWK-290 Expansions)

Cost: 5 points

3 Dice, Range 1-2

Attack: Attack 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc).

If this attack hits the target ship, the ship suffers 1 damage and receives 1 ion token. Then cancel all dice results.

Ranking – 3 Largely forgotten after the arrival of TLT’s, Ion turrets still have their place. A bit pricey compared to the other turrets, especially since you will do only one damage. But still, board control can be very effective.

– 3 Combos . R3-A2 (Astromech)/BTL-A4 (Title) The norm for R3-A2 pairing is TLT but I wanted to call this old school combo out. It doesn’t have the range 3 ability and does less damage but ion tokens are still useful. Ion combined with stress is a very powerful combo for completely shutting down a ship. Dace Bonearm (HWK-290 Pilot) Dace gives a bonus damage when someone gets ionned. This makes him able to deal two damage from an ion attack instead of one.

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Synced Turret (TIE Aggressor/Scurrg H-6 Expansions)

Cost: 4 points

3 Dice, Range 1-2

Attack (Target Lock): Attack 1 ship (even a ship outside your firing arc).

If the defender is inside your primary firing arc, you may reroll a number of attack dice up to your primary weapon value.

Ranking – 4 This is a pretty decent turret. It resolves some of the downsides that Blaster Turret has (mainly needing to spend the required token) while still not being potentially OP, as many view Twin Laser Turret.

– 4 Combos . Targeting Synchronizer (Tech)/ Shara Bey (ARC Pilot) With TS or Shara Bey performing target locks for you several ships can gain the option to use their Synced turret. Or can get a target lock themselves and then have two choices on ships to fire at. VCX-100 With the dual arcs and a system slot to equip FCS the VCX mitigates many of the turrets down sides. BTL-A4 (Title) While all turrets have a place with BTL-A4 this one is a particularly good fit. You will always get free rerolls as you will always be firing the turret in your arc. Fire Control System (System) Free target locks from FCS help you get to fire this weapon more often. On a Ghost with title it might pair well. Deadeye (EPT) Deadeye turns this into a better Blaster Turret, requiring a Focus instead of a Target Lock. And the free rerolls in arc still works.

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Twin Laser Turret (K-Wing Expansion)

Cost: 6 points

3 Dice, Range 2-3

Attack: Perform this attack twice (even against a ship outside your firing arc).

Each time this attack hits, the defender suffers 1 damage. Then cancel all dice results.

Ranking – 1

– 1 Combos . Miranda Doni (K-wing Pilot) Miranda’s pilot ability is tailor made for TLT. One attack you can downgrade to regen a shield and the next you can still fire at full strength. Predator(EPT)/Expertise(EPT)/Dengar (Crew)/Horton Salm (Y-Wing Pilot) Because you’re making two attacks anything that gives you modification on multiple attacks will get more mileage. Juke (EPT) Similar to the above but affecting the enemies dice. Vectored Thrusters (Modification) Gaining a barrel roll is quite handy for a ship with TLT as you can help ensure no one gets into your range 1 dead zone.

. Notes The only range three turret, so this one stands out. It does have a “donut hole” at range one where you’re vulnerable but that is easy enough to mitigate with good piloting. While it is restricted to a max of two damage a round it is a fairly consistent two damage.



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