I debated a lot about writing an article about list building because it’s a subject difficult to breach as it is largely based on preference and is always highly debatable. Any list I put together can be argued for or against and as such, suggesting lists to players is almost kind of a politically incorrect idea. Still, when I was a new player I found I lost a lot of my matches not because of what I did during the game, but the mess I created before the game while building my list. I’m going to focus more on general list building advice, things to consider, things to avoid and a few general lists that you always have to consider when building your own.

Getting Started With List Building
Naturally, your ability to build solid lists is going to be limited to the collection you have, so realistically speaking until you have collected a fair amount of ships and associated cards that come with them, it’s going to be difficult to build lists that are going to be competitive against players with a wider selection. Being competitive however isn’t about building really strong lists, but more about avoiding building weak ones and building counters to strong ones. What I’m referring to here is the concept of “people use what works” and as such, most X-Wing players are kind of predictable and so what you will be facing can sort of be predicted.

There are going to be three types of list you always have to be ready for, these lists come in many different forms, but they pose kind of general strategies that you always have to consider when building your own lists.

The Swarm
The swarm is typically done in Imperial lists, though these days it’s possible to face rebel swarms as well. The jist of the swarm is a list with a lot of, weaker ships, that when combined can create pretty significant firepower. They are in essence lists that rely on the statistical truth that the more often you roll shooting dice, the more likely you are going to succeed.

A very common form of this list is the Tie Swarm and when building any list you always have to consider “how will my list deal with a Tie Swarm”.

You have to imagine facing 8 Tie Fighters, coming down the center of the table, singling out one target and focusing all their firepower on that one target. Strictly speaking, with 8 ships shooting at a single target you are facing a minimum of 16 dice, broken down into 8 rolls which will yield an average of 8 hits, but you can expect divergence where you could end up with 10+ hits. Very few ships in the game can stand up to that kind of firepower.

Preparing to deal with swarms via list building is difficult, but the one strategy that you must always assume that you may need to employ when facing them is splitting up your squadron. In essence you want to make sure that your list can split up and still be effective and this should always be considered when building any list. If your list is less effective when it splits up, you are going to have a problem against swarms, so always make this assertion about what may need to happen when building your lists.

The Big Guns or Alpha Strike Lists
There are many forms of big gun lists, but in general a big gun list is one which there is a ship or ships, that can produce a lot of dice and or high odds of rolling hits (via re-rolls etc..) in a single round. In essence these lists are made for simply focusing on a target and taking it down in one shot. Very often these lists are built on a 360 degree firing arc, either because of the ship (like the Falcon for example) or because of the gear used. It’s not always the case but the point of the list is to get a target in range and roll lots of dice and do big damage in one shot.

You MUST always assume you will face Alpha Strikers. Dealing with lists like this must be assumed when you are building your own. How will your list deal with big Alpha Strikers. The solution for Alpha Strikers is all about having the means in your list to circumvent or reduce dice odds. You want to have something in your list that will throw a wrench into someone’s plan, a ship, effect or equipment that will reduce the effectiveness of a ship that can alpha strike.

Some examples of that are pilots like Biggs Darklighter, who forces ships to target him, allowing you to control who get’s shot (controlling the range) or having something like R2-D2 fixing his shields can buy you the necessary time to counter an alpha striker. Other ways is just using straight maneuverability, staying out of the fire arcs of Alpha strikers. Ionization is another method, controlling an Alpha Strikers movement can be very effective. Countering it with your own Alpha Striker is another method.

Point here is that you have to assume that you will be facing pilots with a high pilot skill that can do a ton of damage in a single round and have a plan on how you are going to deal with that situation when it comes up. Any list not able to deal with Alpha strikers is a weak one.

Maneuverability Lists
The final type of list you will certainly face are lists built around insane maneuverability. There are many incredibly maneuverable ships like Tie Interceptors, A-Wings, E-Wings and many more that can when combined with different types of equipment and specialized pilots produce unpredictable and impossibly agile ships that will stay out of your range and firing arcs at their leisure. You have to assume you will face such lists and have a plan for how to deal with them. Any list that assumes that ships will simply fly in front of you to shoot at them is certain to see a lot of losses.

The trick to dealing with agile lists is understanding that in most cases, agile ships give something up for that agility. For example Interceptors are incredibly agile, but fairly weak with only 3 hull, catch them once and they are dead. A-Wings are very agile but don’t have much firepower, so that agility while keeping them safe doesn’t offer much in the way of firepower threat. E-wings are very agile and have a lot of firepower but are very costly even for what you get.

The end result is typically agile lists, will have fewer ships and or less firepower, it’s the agile lists akiles heel. To put it simply, agile lists are best dealt with through focus fire and disruption of their advantage either through 360 firing arcs, using your own agile ships or Ionization. In particular ionization spells doom for most agile ships and the nice thing is that ionization based ships are generally dirt cheap.

For the most part however agile lists need to be dealt with on the field, there are things you can do to your build, but typically any list is capable of handling maneuverable lists through strategic positioning on the field, but you must assume you will face such lists and have a plan.

How I build Lists
Given the advice above let me tell you how I build lists, which, I will admit right out of the game is simply my preference. I make no vows or promises of success, but I find when I fly lists that play on my strengths in the game, I do better even if the lists themselves are not terribly strong.

I work on lists using a three step process.

First, I choose a single ship around which my fleet will rally. This is usually the ship that creates synergy or is somehow important to the strategy of the list, the gimmick of the list if you will. For example using a Han Shoots first, or a Vader Doom Shuttle, a stealthy Phantom or a synergy based B-Wing. Whatever the case may be, the point here is, that this ship, is what will define the strategy of the list.

I find this easier to do because once the ship (or concept if you will) is chosen, what else belongs in the list becomes very obvious. You start seeing the combinations and possibilities more clearly and the list practically builds itself. Without this I feel kind of lost and find it more difficult to sort of construct a force that works together.

The second thing I do is called “fat trimming”. This takes a bit of experience but I will give you an example.

Let’s say I want to add a ship to a list for an Ionization effect and I chose something like Horton Slam which allows me to re-roll blanks at range 2-3, a good ship to have when using Ionization effects. But he costs 25 points + equipment. I will pose the question, how important is it that I have a high pilot skill and the re-roll effect for this list? Can I get away with a Gold Squadron pilot for 18 points instead? This will of course depend on the type of list I’m building, but the idea is to really question the necessity of having more expensive pilots for certain goals of the list. Sometimes it’s vital, sometimes, it’s not. Trimming what is not is important because every point counts and you want that fleet as lean as you can get it. You can often end up with sufficient points to add a whole separate ship when trimming the fat and more importantly come up with more efficient squadrons. I do the same thing with equipment, I question the necessity and most importantly the value of equipment for a particular ship. I make sure that every piece of gear I have is something that is absolutely vital to the ship and strategy. If it’s not, it gets cut or replaced.

The third and final step is what I call the maneuverability test. Every list I make, must have a natural flow to maneuverability. I think about deployment and consider how these ships will enter the game, what position they will be in and try a few different configurations.

I find that by doing this I often find places where more cuts (trimming) can be done and sometimes where I have trimmed too much. Consider that pilot skill defines when ships will move, when mixing different pilot skills the result can be that certain ships must move too soon, while others move too late in the sequence that will be your turn. I want my fleet to move in a natural expected way on my turn and often I find that if the sequence of events aren’t efficient, there is an awkwardness to a squadron that makes it difficult to pull of a strategy.

For example let’s say I’m using a Firespray combined with interceptors and the Firespray has tactical jammers on him. If the interceptors move first, it can be difficult for me to guesstimate the position of where the firespray will end up on his move. As such, I might find that, while less effective combat wise, a lower pilot skill on the firespray is preferable for him to accomplish his main task in the fleet (as an obstacle).

These little details are important, I really need that movement to happen in a comfortable sequence and often making the adjustment makes the ships cheaper, allowing me to create more synergy and effects in other ships, or adding a whole extra ship into the fleet.

Final Thoughts
List building is actually more complicated than the game itself when it comes to Star Wars X-Wing, in fact I would say most people lose games more often because of bad list building than they do because of how they actually play. This can be frustrating for new players, but if you really consider the types of lists you will be playing against, and have a strategy or method if you will for building lists that works for your style of play, you will eventually find that you can build a wide variety of effect lists with a wide range of ships.

In fact, my personal strategy of choosing a single ship to represent the core strategy of a list is a very effective method for me and I think can be for pretty much anyone. It gives you a solid start and foundation for creating a list, and makes building the rest of it more natural and almost obvious.

It’s important to get good at list building but I think it’s a bad habit to copy other lists. This is still a skill based game and simply taking a championship list is not going to be sufficient to help you win because it’s understanding and knowledge of how to run that list that makes a difference. Its far better to create lists that feels natural for your play style.

In this What Makes It Tick series on Star Wars X-Wing we have so far covered the absolute most basic elements of the game, but one of the questions that gets asked frequently in a collectable game like Star Wars X-Wing is “What Should I Buy First?” Or “What Order Should I Buy Things In”? So in this article I’m briefly going to talk about how to approach your collection and how to get the most bang for your buck.

We all live on a budget, this is the reality of life and so going out and spending a couple of thousand dollars on a massive X-Wing collection while a very attractive idea (aside from spending money of course) is outside of the realm of reality for most of us.

When approaching the game I think you really have to cater to both your budget and some basic aesthetic preferences. We could talk about the viability of Rebels vs. Imperials, and how that balances out and whether one is better than the other, but it’s a circular argument at best and one that probably would not get you any closer to deciding what you want to do. In the end, my recommendation is that you actually collect both Rebels and Imperials simultaneously. The reason is simple, understanding both sides is the only way to really understand the game fully and you can only reach that understanding by playing them both.

Each time you face an opponent running a list with ships that you only understand from reading about them rather than having played with them puts you at a major disadvantage, in particular early on when your just getting started. To really be on a level playing field in a match you need to have personal experience with the ships your flying against as well as the ones your actually flying.

The Core Set
The rule of thumb I think is to begin with two core sets and play plenty of lower point matches (75 points) with just X-Wings and Tie-Fighters, even going so far as practicing in solo games. This will help you get the rules of the game down and understand the two most fundamental and widely used ships in the game. X-Wings and Tie Fighters no matter what new things are released are always a solid staple of any list. These are the most stable and bang for your buck ships, you can never go wrong with putting either into a list.

Two core sets however is insufficient to really build a full 100 point list for either side. So you will need to supplement and again I suggest sticking with the core ships. I suggest your first expansion purchases to be 2 Tie Fighter expansions and 1 X-Wing expansion. This will allow you to create two very strong lists (and variations on that those two lists), one for the rebels and one for the Imperials. You will end up with 6 Tie Fighters and 3 X-Wings both of which make solid 100 point lists.

The First Round Of Expansions
Imperials collection tend to be more expensive to expand because you typically end up with more ships in any given list. There are however a couple of staples you can safely buy with confidence. Imperials list however tend to have less synergy than Rebel lists, so there is a measure of flexibility there.

Interceptors should be at the top of that list. They are one of the best ships in the game for Imperials, fast, maneuverable and while slightly more advanced to fly come with some very potent pilot powers. They will really introduce the fine art of movement far better than Tie Fighters and teach you more advanced tactics like flanking, using boosts and how to be effective at different ranges. More to the point however they complement Tie Fighter lists very well. I suggest buying them in pairs, you aren’t likely ever going to need more than 4, so buy 2 interceptor expansions initially and then pick up the Imperial Aces pack for the additional 2 interceptors. It’s not vital to get 4 right away, but getting the first two I would consider a necessary next step.

For the Rebels, you will tend to buy fewer ships and you will find when building lists you tend to build ships that work off each other rather than simply adding ships for individual solo powers.
Two me the two ships you absolutely need is 1 A Wing and 1 E-Wing. The most frustrating element of facing Imperial lists as a rebel is the speed and maneuverability of those lists and while Rebels are known more for their firepower and defense, the A-Wing and E-Wing are answers to the Interceptor and really good ones. You are unlikely to ever need more than one E-Wing but if you end up liking the A-Wings speed and maneuverability, rather than picking up a second A-Wing pick up the Rebel Aces pack to get that second A-Wing, which will simultaneously earn you a B-Wing (we’ll talk about that later). X, A and E wings combo really well, offer a wide range of strategies and are fun as hell to play.

Ships that can wait
For the Imperials the Tie Advanced while a great ship, requires considerable skill and is typically put in very unique higher challenge lists. It’s a ship you can buy when finances allow, but it doesn’t need to be a priority. Tie-Bombers fall into the same category, typically if you add a Tie-Bomber to the list, you’re going to end up creating a Tie-Bomber driven list, hence need more than one so they can wait for when you get more into the game and are ready to try out some new ships.

For the Rebels I would say the Y-Wing can wait as well as added B-Wings (you might already have one from the rebel aces pack). Again, they are a bit more difficult to use and complicate list building a great deal. The Hwk-290 falls into the same category, but the nice thing about the Hwk-290 is that you really aren’t likely to ever get more than one and it’s a fantastic support ship with a wide range of rolls it can play in your list, if you can afford it I would get this one first as it will introduce all sorts of new list potential.

Big Ships
I think without question the Falcon and Slave I should make your list as soon as you get the opportunity, though I would consider the Slave I a bigger priority than a Falcon. This is less about you getting the opportunity to use them in lists (though they are lots of fun), but more about the fact that opponents are very likely to field these regularly and they are tricky to deal with, so you need that experience to face them with confidence.

Adding big ships to your collection will reveal a whole new level of complexity to the game though, maneuvering larger ships and fitting them into lists requires a deeper understanding of the game and can be overwhelming if you do it too early. Everyone is eager to drop one on the table, but be smart and learn the core game with the smaller ships before you test the waters with these guys. The Lamda Shuttle falls into this category as well, though I consider this ship more a luxury than a necessity for the Imperials. Difficult to maneuver and very specialized this ship can be a big point sink without much pay out unless you really know what you’re doing.

The New Stuff
There is a lot of new stuff and it just keeps coming, as a player entering the game at this point you are going to likely see ships on lists with effects and tricks that will make it difficult to keep up with.

For the Imperials the two really influential ships that you will see hitting the table more and more these days are the Tie-Defender and the Tie-Phantom. Both of these ships really change things in terms of list building for the Imperials. In many ways, it allows Imperial players to build list that look more like Rebel lists than Imperial lists with a greater degree of synergy, the use of specialty mechanics like stealth and of course something most Imperial ships don’t have, shields. You also have other large ships like the Lamnda Shuttle that adds a lot of utility and the new Decimator which is basically floating firepower. All of these ships have added a whole new meta level to the game making it more complex, but simultaneously (in my humble opinion) more fun. Given the opportunity though as a new player I would be more focused on the basics than trying to find uses for these more difficult to use ships.

The rebels have ships like the B-Wing, E-Wing and Y-Wing, but these ships don’t really change how the rebel players plays the game, but rather allow them to create lists that focus their synergies on specific strategies, of which there are many, but they don’t really introduce new mechanics. E-wing are very much like interceptors, but considerably better, in fact one could say if built certain ways they are even more maneuverable. The big new addition to watch out for is the YT-2400, this ship has the best of all worlds, maneuverable, lots of firepower, good defense. It’s just all around a really good ship and incredibly flexible for list building. You also have the Z wing, which is kind of an oddity in the set, though it’s worth saying some world champion players use them for their list so they are not to be ignored. They are cheap ships for the Rebels, though not really an answer to Tie-Fighters, think of them as cheap X-Wings. If you’re going to get any, get at least 3 or 4, it’s typically not worth having only 1 or 2 in a list.

Finally there is a whole new faction and this will once again change a great deal in the game. The new faction is definitively not a good place to start, it’s the latest and greatest and as such assumes a lot about the skill level of the players picking them up.

Going Beyond The Basics
I think when you get to a point where you have a base collection going, you will get to a point where you start to connect the dots and what ships can do and what ships you want to buy is going to become second nature. I personally love ships like the B-Wing and A-Wing on the rebel side and on the Imperial side I’m partial to fielding the Tie-Defender as a staple ship for any sort of list I’m building. You will develop preferences like that over time as you gain experience. The thing to keep in mind is how many of any given ship you need. The point cost of ships typically dictates this and while you will see lists that break the sort of presumed standard like for example I don’t think there is any reason to have two falcons, but in fact duel falcons is not an entirely uncommon list to field. Suffice to say you never need more copies of a ship than points would allow, so there is no point in having 9 Tie-Fighters since you will only at absolute maximum field 8 and at that level you’re not making any choices, your effectively buying 8 Tie’s to field a very specific list. To me this is not really worth doing. For example with Tie Fighters, the 6 you end up with initially is actually enough, you’re not likely to field lists with more than that and even if you did you would know that only from experience of first learning to fly with 6.

Just keep point cost in mind when expanding your list.

In terms of needs and flexibility a staple a rebel collection might look like this.

2 A Wings – Priority
2 B Wings
1 E Wing – Priority
2 Y Wings
1 Falcon
3 X wings – Priority
1 Hwk-390
3-4 Z Wings (very optional)

For the Imperials a staple list might look like this.

6 Tie Fighters – Priority
4 Interceptors – Priority
3 Tie Bombers
1 Slave I – Priority
1 Lambda Shuttle
1 Defender
1 Phantom
1 Tie Advanced

Another thing I would suggest is that you continue a duel collection. It’s really a big advantage to have for the purposes of understanding the game and when you run a across a list that gives you problems you can examine it and run tests against it until you understand how to best deal with such a list.

I hope that was helpful advice for new comers, I’m certain there are going to be differences of opinion from experience players but to me the staple of the game, the foundation for learning to play it well is to field simple and efficient lists. The base way to learn that is to start with X-Wing and Tie-Fighters, fly them often until the game’s nuances become second nature. Learning how to fly other ships after that becomes much more natural and far easier, as those making hard decisions about what ships to expand your collection with.