There are indicators of where things are headed at the moment. We’re still in the early days of Wave 12 and 13, but Regionals are fast approaching and I need to settle on something to fly! Two weeks of Kylo was a lot of fun. In a world of two ship lists the Silencer could well be one of the finest options available, and I do somewhat love him. Problem I have is finding list that builds around him that makes me happy.

But I can’t see myself using the Silencer in the next few weeks. In between now and the first Regional at Firestorm Games in Cardiff I think there are only two events that I can get to, which means a lot of theoryhammering and just picking something up.

My observations about the game at the moment lead me to the following conclusions:

if you’re going for high Pilot Skill in a list then it should probably be HIGH Pilot Skill. As much as I hate the fact that there are so many things out there forcing the PS Race you have to just accept it as a thing at the moment.

you need a way to deal with munitions. Love ’em or loathe ’em Harpoons are here to stay. I’m a fan and I think they are too good ! But Deadeye and Target locks are a big part of the game right now so you need to work out how to get around those if you plan on not getting nuked off the table.

! But Deadeye and Target locks are a big part of the game right now so you need to work out how to get around those if you plan on not getting nuked off the table. Bombs are going to come flying at you, the pre-alpha-alpha strike is an thing, and the best way to avoid taking a proton bomb to the face before you even roll a dice is to be able to get out of the way of the damn thing. Re-positioning is important.

I took these into account and set myself the task of finding a list that could potentially work with the stipulations. I have returned to an old friend and a ship I love more deeply than even the Firespray.

Poe Dameron: I have loved this guy for as long as he has been PS9… he’s been flown so many times it hurts and he ticks all the boxes (except for having only two green dice). I think he is one of the best pilots on offer in the game, and his ability is spectacularly useful. My favourite Poe build has long been:

Push the Limit

Sensor Cluster

BB-8

Autothrusters

Black One

His ability to dance around things and negate incoming fire is amazing, but with so much out there moving after him I don’t think Push the Limit is nearly as viable anymore. So that is going to change, and as much as I hate having to do it, I’m taking Veteran Instincts instead.

Without Push the Limit his action economy is dropping, so I’m ditching the sensor cluster and taking Advanced Optics. If ever there was a tech to suit Poe then this is the one. The T70 works well with almost every tech option but for me this is what suits Poe the best. Sure he’ll have to spend it once in a while but provided it’s there he should be ok most of the time.

The rest of the build is staying the same, BB-8 is so good, Autothruster’s a mandatory addition and Black One has saved my game more often than I can remember. This build brings Poe in at a reasonable 41 points, 2 points cheaper than the Push the Limit version above.

I’m pairing him with Young Han, who I haven’t had a huge amount of success with, but I think fits the bill of second ship in this list very well. I’m using an established archetype on him with a minor change because Poe is a 40+ points wing-man.

Han Solo

Veteran Instincts

Hotshot Co-Pilot

Millennium Falcon (original title)

Engine Upgrade

Baze Malbus

The only unusual choice here is Baze, and he’s simply there because he is two points cheaper than Gunner and 4 points cheaper than first choice Luke. I know he will not be as effective due to his gunner effect only being able to trigger on different ships, but removing focus tokens from multiple ships is kind of his point so it’s not the end of the world by any stretch.

With Han coming in at 59 points the list does weigh in at the full 100, which is unusual for me. I’m expecting to see a lot of PS11 in the next few weeks so having no initiative bid could be an issue, unfortunately there is nothing left to trim, every upgrade on there is worth taking!

But the best thing about the list is that it lets me use my awesome target locks that I picked up in Norway earlier in the month for fastest rebel win.

This weekend is another visit to ibuywargames, a final 14 man event before that Christmas thing kicks off, and proprietor Ian has really gone to town on the tinsel…

I loved flying this list, it doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is an archetype I can see being pretty useful in the coming months. If I could squeeze points out of it to get it down to 98 for initiative then I would, but it is as streamlined as I can make it. Practice, practice, practice is the way to get better at things, and I think I have a very strong candidate for what I want to practice with…

As this is (probably) the last post of 2017 I really want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has read my scrawl this year, been a part of the blog, and/or helped shape the journey I started 10 months ago now. I wouldn’t keep doing writing if it wasn’t for the people I’ve met, played against and hung out with giving me something to write about.

2017 was most excellent.

Bring on 2018.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

NEXT TIME: PROBABLY THIS AGAIN.

If you’re looking for X-Wing Tournaments head over to the 186th Tournament Calendar and see what’s going on.