List synergies and thinking outside the box

Greetings Fantasy Flight Geeks! I am Tom with the Austin X-Wing 512th Squadron and this is the first of our series of articles we are working on for X-Wing Second Edition. In this article, we are looking at list synergies for the Imperials without using some of the current top meta-defining pilots we see currently. With threats like Whisper and Redline dominating the meta, it is important to develop lists that players are not going to tech against in order to throw them off.

           When developing new list ideas, it is important to find ships and upgrades that synergize to enhance the functionality of the list. In X-Wing 2.0 crits are more powerful and game changing than ever before. Taking that in mind, I developed a list that seeks to lay damage on my opponent quickly and expose those cards into crits, hopefully crippling the victim. With that in mind, let’s look at the list.

Currently, this list comes to 199 points, which can help as a bid considering many lists are running deep bids at 6+ or topping out at 200. This helps maximize the potential of the list while not sacrificing too much trying to win the bid. There is some room for change in the list and I honestly debate which munition to put in. More on that shortly! All that said, let’s look at this list’s synergies and how it is supposed to function.

Seyn Marana is the core of this list and that might surprise some people. When attacking her ability allows her to cancel a crit and put a damage card on her target without letting them roll defense dice. To increase your chance of success, Marksmanship is the ideal Talent to give her and is cheap too! Once your target has a damage card on it, they become easy pickings for Rexler and Zertik to use their abilities and bring the pain.

Next, we have the hammer of the list, Rexler Brath in the TIE Defender. Rexler’s ability to expose damage cards after he hits with an attack works incredibly well with Seyn. In this list he is equipped with Juke, which pairs with the Defender’s Full Throttle ability, and improves the chance of pushing damage through your opponent’s defenses. He sports a Fire-Control System to help with dice mod as he will frequently need to use his actions to get a focus, boost or barrel roll for repositioning.

Our third pilot in this list is Zertik Strom in the TIE Advanced x1. Zertik’s ability pairs so well with Seyn’s and it is as if they were made for each other. When he has a ship locked, his Advanced Targeting Computer allows him to roll an extra attack die and convert one hit into a crit, and that can be a serious threat to any opponent. Zertik is equipped with a Fire Control System to help with rerolls since he is frequently going to be taking the Lock action. Lastly, he is equipped with Concussion Missiles to help expose those damage cards Seyn is putting on the enemy.

Lastly, we see the humble Academy Pilot. Many might dismiss this little guy as a non-threat, and they would be mistaken. In my most recent games, the Academy Pilot was the MVP and did the most damage overall compared to the other ships. That might seem improbable, but consider that he is shooting last, which means your opponent has likely spent all their focus and evade tokens, ensuring the Academy Pilot can land hits and do damage.

For set up, I typically run a block formation. This means your whole list can work to get a single target in all their firing arcs as soon as possible. Generally, I run the Academy Pilot and Zertik in the front row with Rexler and Seyn in the back. The idea is that Seyn doesn’t care is she is shooting her target at range three since if she scores a crit, the defender isn’t getting to roll dice. Keeping Seyn at range three also increases the chance she survives the first engagement too, allowing her to be a threat for longer in the match.

An Imperial Patrol moves to intercept Rebel terrorists fleeing Jedha after a “mining accident.”

Now that we are set up, let’s put this all together and break it down a bit for clarity. Your first round of engagement should have your ships focusing fire on one ship, likely the biggest threat or easiest target of opportunity. Your objective here is to get a lock with Zertik and line up Seyn so the target is in her bullseye arc. With Rexler firing first, he can potentially force the target to spend green tokens to avoid damage or start to wear down the target. Next, Seyn shoots and should get a crit, which you cancel to put a face down damage card on the target. After Seyn, Zertik unleashes on the locked with either three attack dice primary target or the concussion missiles. Either way you can get crits on the target, thanks to Advanced Targeting Computer, or the concussion missiles will expose a damage card on the victim. Finally, your lowly Academy Pilot peppers the target to apply further damage.

Ideally, your target should have lost their shields and suffered some damage or is destroyed. If your target is still alive during the End Phase, Zertik can spend his lock to expose one of the damage cards. At a minimum, you should have Seyn’s damage card on the target, so even if the victim still has shields, that crit is going to hurt! Best case scenario is that the target exposes a Direct Hit and sets Rexler up for a devastating round two shot.

The Academy Pilot moves to block Thane Kyrell, while the rest of the team engages Benthic Two Tubes.

That is the early game. Let’s now look at the mid and late game. In most of my matches, Seyn died quickly as my opponents realized she was the troublemaker. With only three hull and no shields, she is pretty fragile. Zertik can generally hold his own for a few more turns, but often he is targeted next because of his ability to expose damage and lay down crits with a fair amount of reliability. This usually leaves Rexler to do the heavy lifting and clean up in the mid to late game.

“What about our Academy Pilot,” you say? His survivability varies. Some opponents took him out early while others left him alone to focus on the bigger threats. The little guy can be a good blocker, distraction, or a real threat if ignored. It is a cheap ship that rounds out the list and you don’t feel too bad if it gets vaporized early on.

Now that we have seen the list and how it is supposed to work, what changes can be made? Initially, I chose cluster missiles because I expected more TIE swarms in my first tournament. However, I only came across one swarm list and in subsequent games other munitions would better suit the list. If your local meta has many swarm lists, then cluster missiles might be a good option to put on Rexler since his ability can affect two targets a turn.

Another option is to put homing missiles on Rexler. This option is debated among various groups. Advocates point out that it is a cheap option (currently only 3 points) and gives him a four dice attack at range 2-3. The opponent can opt to deny you rolling four dice and choose to suffer one damage, which may proc Rexler’s ability if the target has a damage card on it if you are evading. So is it worth it? Only more playtesting will tell!

            So that is the list! It something that isn’t using the top meta pilots and has strong synergies with the potential to be a competitive threat in tournament play. What do you guys think? What changes would you make? How would you fly this list? Run the list a few times and tell us what you think. Above all else, have fun!

And as we say in Austin, fly weird!

Tom Piernicky

Austin X-Wing 512th Squadron