All fighters, report in! Phase 3 for the voting phase of the 2017 System Open Series is about to begin!

One More Pass

After a week of voting, we counted the results and found our finalists! Congratulations to Niek and Eric, Matt and Brad, and Martin and Thomas! You will have to survive one more round of voting to see if your mini-squad will be used at the Coruscant Invitational!

Click on the player's name below the bracket to see their mini-squad and make sure to cast your vote!



Matt Balding - Storm Squadron Pilot with TIE/X1, Cluster Missiles, Guidance Chips, and Accuracy Corrector

vs

Brad Paff - Storm Squadron Pilot with TIE/X1, Proton Rockets, Guidance Chips, Advanced Targeting Computer



Martin Heitmann - Hired Gun with Dorsal Turret, R4 Agromech, BTL-A4 Y-Wing, Vectored Thrusters

vs

Thomas Michelsen - Syndicate Thug, Unhinged Astromech, Autoblaster Turret, Bomb Loadout, Cluster Mines, Extra Munitions

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Take Flight

In order for the 77-Plus format to take place at the Coruscant Invitational, we needed a total of twenty-four mini-squads built. You know that three of them are being built by you, our beloved community. Let’s move onto what kind of mini-squads have been created by Fantasy Flight Games staff! These people were assigned to write mini-squads that highlighted a specific ship, and they had the same list restrictions as the community. So no uniques, and the points must be between 23-28 points.

X-Wing Mini-Squad





Red Squadron Pilot with Integrated Astromech, R2 Astromech , Seismic Torpedo

Developer Max Brooke writes: “X-wings with their trusty R2-series astromechs harken back not only to the early days of the X-Wing Miniatures Game, but to the original film that started it all. I wasn’t lucky enough to see Star Wars Episode IV in theaters during its original run (1977 predated me by a few years), but I certainly watched the Battle of Yavin™ countless times while growing up, and so I always get a certain thrill out of putting a classic T-65 X-wing on the table. Including a Seismic Torpedo gives the ship a bit of extra flexibility for board clearing and indirectly threatening fragile aces, helping Red Squadron Pilot fill a role in any squadron.”

TIE/FO Mini-Squad



Omega Squadron Pilot with Primed Thrusters, Snap Shot, Shield Upgrade

Max also contributed this mini-squad featuring the TIE F/O and was glad to share his thoughts when creating it. “The TIE/fo is a versatile platform that can be built a couple of different ways already, as a swarm ship or a blocker, and Snap Shot opens up even more new avenues for Omega Squadron Pilot. Primed Thrusters, also introduced in Heroes of the Resistance, gives it the ability to reposition after a Segnor’s Loop, which pairs nicely with Snap Shot for setting up those extra attacks and area-denial maneuvers. Finally, with that many points left over, a Shield Upgrade gives the TIE/fo more durability to stay in the fight a bit longer.

TIE Fighter Mini-Squad



Academy Pilot

Black Squadron Pilot with Crack Shot, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II

Game developer Alex Davy had this to say about his mini-squad: “The iconic TIE fighter is, of course, all about numbers, so a two-TIE build is absolutely essential. With points to spare, I’ve upgraded one of the TIEs to a venerable Black Squadron pilot, trained to be a crack shot and sporting advanced twin ion engines. Backing up this formidable ace is a new recruit fresh out of the academy. Draft these ships if you can’t resist a buy one, get one free deal.”

Protectorate Starfighter



Concord Dawn Ace with Protectorate Starfighter, Fearlessness, Autothrusters

Alex’s other contribution to the 77-Plus format is the nimble Protectorate Starfighter. He says that “the Protectorate Starfighter is the ultimate glass cannon—absolutely deadly if it can find the right attack vector, but prone to a sudden and violent combustion if caught out of position. I’ve but together a build that takes these characteristics to the extreme, adding two cards that reward players for playing chicken with their enemies, and Autothrusters to shield the ship on the approach. Are you fearless enough to draft this ace?”

StarViper Mini-Squad



Black Sun Enforcer with Stealth Device

Developer Frank Brooks had this to say about his StarViper: “Although this ship really benefits from taking either of its named pilots and gaining access to the Virago title, a single StarViper with extra defense might be what you are looking for if you want to add an agile little craft which has 3 attack dice behind 4 defense dice. By playing defensively early on, you can survive the early approach and get into the right position with the appropriate Segnor’s Loop.”

K-wing Mini-Squad



Warden Squadron Pilot with Proximity Mines, Advanced SLAM

Frank also armed this K-Wing and shared his thoughts on the ship: “The K-wing allows for the most versatile placement of bombs in the game. Using SLAM strategically, you can reposition to get into a place that your opponent does not expect. Although, I would naturally like to put some more bells and whistles onto a K-wing, with only so much room to play with, I felt that the one- off Proximity Mine placement and the strategic target lock or focus after SLAMing was worth more than having access to more bombs.”

OP Mini-Squads

Of course, the Organized Play team wanted to get it in on the action. Here are some of the mini-squads that a few of them put together for the Coruscant Invitational.

HWK-290 Mini-Squad



Rebel Operative with Twin-Laser Turret, Intelligence Agent, Vectored Thrusters

Jimmy Le put together this mini-squad for his favorite ship in the game. This HWK-290 presents some different strategic options. One could play it safe and fly around the outskirts of the battlefield - taking potshots with the Twin-Laser Turret. If the enemy gets in close, you could use the information gleaned from the Intelligence Agent and barrel roll out of enemy firing arcs using your Vectored Thrusters. The truly brave (or suicidal) could even use the Intelligence Agent to barrel roll in and block an enemy ship, remaining safe from their fire while firing at other targets with your Twin-Laser Turret.

TIE Bomber Mini-Squad



Gamma Squadron Veteran with Deadeye, Plasma Torpedoes, Extra Munitions, Ion Pulse Missiles, Guidance Chips

Wade Piche is a huge fan of the TIE Bomber and is always excited to put one on the table. With the Gamma Squadron Veteran’s access to an Elite Pilot Talent, Deadeye is a natural choice in order to allow flexibility in your target selection. Plasma Torpedoes are a cheap and efficient piece of ordnance, while the Ion Pulse Missiles serve as a huge threat and deterrent to ships that depend on mobility in order to survive.

Z-95 (Scum) Mini-Squad



Binayre Pirate with Feedback Array

Binayre Pirate with Feedback Array

Zach Reyburn brought back a classic build from when the Scum were just introduced. With two ships at your disposal, this mini-squad is able to reliably deal damage - even when its guns aren’t even pointed at a target! Zap your enemy with the Feedback Array in order to put some damage onto an enemy ship at range one (even if they are out of your firing arc or are in base-to- base contact). While your Z-95 will receive an Ion Token and suffer a damage in exchange, just remember that you’re commanding a squadron of space pirates. A Binayre Pirate is probably expendable.

So here is the current pool of mini-squads for the 77-Plus draft at the Coruscant Invitational:

Tweet us your #XWingVote2017

Do any of the newly unveiled mini- squads pique your interest? Pick your favorite mini-squad, add it to a 77-Point squad of your own creation, and tweet a photo to @FFGOP, making sure to include the #XWingVote2017 hashtag. Who will be your wingman?

After a week, we’ll select a few photos that were fantastic enough to catch our eye and reach out to those players to send them an exclusive System Open Series prize - a bag of acrylic shield tokens!

The Way to Coruscant Nears

Each day, Coruscant looms ever larger and our invitees have surely begun planning strategies. In two weeks, we will announce the winners of this year’s #XWingVote2017, as well as unveil the remaining twelve mini-squads that will be in the pool of draft-able ships. The twelve remaining mini-squads have been created by some seasoned veterans and will certainly shake up the Coruscant Invitational. Our competitors will have to show their expertise and adaptability in order to succeed and be crowned the 2017 Coruscant Invitational Champion.