So in today’s AMM we are going to look at another thing that I am trying to breathe Life into, while I am on my rebel stint and that is the E-Wing. So the E-Wing is interesting in that it’s a speed 4 bomber most rebel bombers are speed 3 or less, albeit a red dice bomber, but having speed 4 to reposition can be quite powerful. The E-wing also has snipe. So we see the ace Corran Horn quite a bit, but not many generics, though this is almost the case will all fighters, as aces are just better I think an ace cap might be worth exploring, but that is beyond the scope of this discussion, but let’s look at Corran and see why he is taken so often and our other E-wings just are not taken.
So Corran Horn has 3 major differences from generic E-wings he is snipe 4, brace tokens, and Rogue. As I was looking that this I though what is the roll of E-wings, well they are fast and have snipe, and to me that just sung alpha strike. With speed 4 and snipe you have a pretty insane threat range, then I remembered a toy the Imperials have Squall. Squall boost the threat range of squadrons significantly, it is used a lot especially in conjunction with Pryce to go last hit your squadron ball then hit the squadron ball again by activating first in the last round, if you have every been on the receiving end you know that this can be truly devastating, when this tactic is used by a skilled Impearl player. So what if the Rebles had something similar, and that is where I came up with this squadron wing.
Corran Horn (22 points)
2x Ewing Squadron (30 points)
Hera Syndulla (28 points)
Total= 80 points
So with this wing we get to go last not because of Pryce, but because of Rogue, and if you bring a more “full” squadron wing by adding in 4 Y-wings or something like that you can wait out your opponents squadrons then pounce. Getting in that “Last” hit on the round with Rogue and Snipe, then you have a ship like this:
Assault Frigate Mk 2 B (72 points)
Bail Organa (7 Points)
Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
Boosted Comms ( 4 Points )
This ship gets you first no questions asked, and so your fighters get to first last your opponent, This is something I have run on the table and let me tell you it works really well in practice not just theory, using rouge to “Last” your opponent gets around them “Lasting” you with a Pryce ship, then you can “first” them with Bail, it is quite potent to fighter wings and then you can still get some damage in on ships with your bomber dice particularly if you bring Bomber Command center so let’s look at a more complete list with this squadron complement.
Assault Frigate Mk2 B (72 points)
Garm Bel Iblis (25 points)
Bail Organa (7 points)
Flight Controllers (6 Points)
Bosted Comms ( 4 points )
Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points )
Dual Turbolaser Turrets ( 5 points)
Total= 126
Assault Frigate Mk2 B
Lando Carissian ( 4 points )
Caitken and Shollan ( 6 points )
Bosted comms ( 4 Points )
Slaved Turrets ( 6 points )
Total= 92
Gr-75 Transports (18 points)
Toryn Farr ( 7 points)
Total= 25
GR-75 Transports (18 Points)
Ahsoka Tano ( 2 points )
Bomber Command Cetner ( 8 points)
Squadrons:
Corran Horn ( 22 points )
2x Ewing Squadron (30 points)
Hera Syndulla (28 points)
2x Ywing squadron (20 points)
Shara Bey ( 17 points)
Gold Squadron (12 points)
Total= 129
This is the list I ran with because well I’m one of the Garm fan boys, but it could be used in really any list, but here Is how this one works. Most players especially ones that have not seen this before will put their squadrons within striking distance turn one so you jump in with the E-wings, take out any intel if they have any, then at the start of turn 2 bail triggers and with a token you push 4 squadrons, your 3 E-wings and shara, with any Intel they had gone from snipe at this point you though Shara in the mix and proceed to blend the remaining squadrons, while your bombers bomb their ships uncontested. I have flown this Idea with E-wings three, and it has worked swimmingly.
This bring me to another point I would like to make, after trying to make the generic E-wings work, that maybe a lot of us have been misusing rouge. At least most players I know use rouge to have ships they don’t need to push with a squadron command, but I have found though this exercise that rouge is better used to get the powerful last/first in the squadron game. I think that is something to consider when taking rouges, they don’t need someone to activate them, but I think they would definitely like someone to.
What are your thoughts on E-wings what are some ships/squadrons that you think need more love. I personally have really enjoyed messing around with the odd bad or out of style stuff, and doing my best to make it work. I have been learning a lot by doing it, and becoming a better player by doing so, so as always I invite everyone to explore the more unused parts of this game we love, you might find something to or something just fun or maybe both, but you will gain a deeper understanding of the game and become a better player by doing so. Some of the best players in the Armada community at large are the ones that take a weird idea and try to make it work, this helps deepen their knowledge of the game so I invite you to do the same. Have a wonderful week everyone.
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