In which Bob looks forward to the Euros and tries to work out what the hell everyone else will be flying. And then decides stress is going to be a thing.



Crazy days, isn’t it? We’ve got an interminable 4 months until 2.0 but it already feels like the end of term. The meta has always been wider than The Internet would have you believe, but this summer is really looking like being a unique, end of an era X-Wing party, especially after the Europeans have already had quite a good year in top end competition. There’s still some data to give us a hint at what we might be looking at, especially after The Best Ever Worlds.

The big takeaway from Worlds was that Control Bots are devastating if you know what you’re doing, but behind the hype of the top spot there were two lessons: Palp Aces are still good and three and Four Ship Rebel lists are going nowhere until September.

IMPS

Here’s young Alex Birt’s version of the current Palp Ace build of choice. He took it to the Top 16 of Worlds, which seemed to surprise him more than it did anyone else:



Quickdraw; Expertise, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (37)

Inquisitor; Push the Limit, Autothrusters, Tie/V1 (31)

Captain Yorr; Collision Detector, Emperor Palpatine (32) (100)



How to fly it: It’s pretty punchy, and the Inquisitor is impossible to kill. Make sure you kill more than 69 points of the opposition and then run.

How to beat it: Yorr will die – but it takes an age. Quickdraw will die – but it can take a while and he’ll hit you while you do it. Don’t bother trying to kill the Inqy. Smash your spike damage into the points you can get and be conservative with risking your own ships. It can be a dull game, but it’s 1.0 Imps – it’s what they do.

What not to say: “Apparently, when 2.0 comes, flying Imperials is going to be interesting for both players.”

Variants: Yorr can drop back to a Lamda Shuttle, opening up a couple of points for a Tech upgrade on Quickdraw. Quickdraw can swap Expertise for Veteran Instincts and have room for a bid. Jelte De Boer stayed with Yorr but went for VI and Advanced Optics on QD and made the final. It made a difference to the mirror too.

REBELS

Rebels have become a pick and mix faction: Take your favourites from Jess Pava, Lowhhrick, Miranda, Captain Rex, the Stresshog, Strezra, Ap-5, Fenn Rau, Nora Wexley and even good old Biggs and see what you can squeeze into 100 points. But it will usually include a Lowrrhick (AKA “Better than unnerfed Biggs but with slightly more engaging play mechanics”) and a Sheathipede.

Here’s a typical example, flown by Charles Holcomb in the Top 16 at Worlds:



Lowhhrick; Draw Their Fire, Rey, Tactician (33)

Captain Rex (14)

Ezra; Snap Shot, R3A2, Operations Specialist (24)

Jess Pava; Primed Thrusters, M9G8, Integrated Astromech (29) (100)



How to fly it: One forward to victory. If you’re fancy, you can fly in slow circles at the back of the board for a while instead.

How to beat it: The weakness of Rebel Bunker lists is that to make the most of their abilities, Jess and Lowhhrick need to be at Range 1 of everything else. This means that the individual ships can’t take full advantage of their dials so you’ve a good idea of where they will be 2 or 3 turns ahead. Miranda will wilt under very heavy fire, Lowhhrick doesn’t want you behind him, Jess is an easy late game kill and the shuttles start shipping crits fast. But the builds are hyper efficient and the synchronicity is frightening. With M9G8, Charles’ build has some decent offence too, but it’s another match where you’ll need to calculate your win condition and focus on it.

What not to say: “You’ll be looking forward to using your dial when 2.0 arrives, I’m sure!”

Variants: Lowhhrick is so good that there are loads of ways to put a bunker list together. Be absolutely sure to check what the pilots are, what the upgrades are and how it all works before you start. You’re unlikely to finish the game in an hour so spend some time understanding the list.

SCUM

Controlbots. Obvs.

IG-88B is my favourite But IG-88C is lovely too

What not to say:

Definitely what not to say:

I’m not going to set it out for you. Have a look at it in action. Never, ever, ever underestimate how difficult this list is to fly. Both Jesper Hills¹ and Simeon Dellapina² have flown them for years to get as good as they are. It’s a different way to play the game and if you haven’t bought your IGs yet, it’s way too late to pick them up for Euros.Don’t try it – you’ll get ruined.“So Sim, how have you been getting on with them?”“How did it perform for you at Worlds, Jesper?”

But actually…

It’s the end of 1.0! Why not take something more fun to Euros? Maybe even this modern take on an oldie but goodie:

Blue Squadron; Ion Cannon (25)

Blue Squadron; Ion Cannon (25)

Blue Squadron; Tractor Beam, Fire Control System (25)

Blue Squadron; Tractor Beam, Fire Control System (25) (100)

I know, it’s B-Wings. If I wanted to take an 8 health, 1 agility ship at around 25 points, I should take a 9 health 2 agility ship with a large base and a turret and stick an Intel Agent or a Feedback Array on it (aka “any Jumpmaster”). But that’s not the point. The point is getting Darth Vader with the second Tractor shot before pushing the second 2 ion through at him and leaving him to do a 1 forward over a rock. And I do love B-Wings… (Adding a 2-Sloop to their dials in 2.0 isn’t going to save them, but the general nerfing of anything good might… at least until the first proper release for 2.0 starts the power creep all over again.)

Or, if you’d like something a little more up to date, how about this simple twist on a modern list we love to hate:



Lothal Rebel; Sensor Jammer, Ion Cannon Turret, Proton Torpedoes, Extra Munitions, Maul, Hera Syndulla, Ghost, Engine Upgrade (58)

Ezra Bridger; Snap Shot, Tactician, R3-A2 (27)

Zeb Orrelios; Phantom (18) (99)



Ghost Fenn – but with no TLT, and no actual Fenn. Ion and stress are – officially – fun. If you time the tricks right, you can catch your opponent out with the jank – there’s no range 1 safe zone and Ion + Stress is horrid for pretty much everything. And if they skip off to Range 3, there’s a pair of Proton Torps to hunt them down with.

I’ll be taking 100 point Rey with me. She still pretty.

See you there!

¹Top 4 at the UK Open, Winner of Hyperspace at the CopenOpen, UK National Champ 2005

²The Nerf Herder, UK Epic Champion and World Champion 2018