David Yun: (contact-deleteme[at]-deleteme-direman [dot] com)
2017-06-04 23:20:28
Blue Squadron Escort
Fluff: Rogue One features them in the best Star Wars fighter combat sequences
Format: Hyperspace legal
Points: 40
Version: 1/9/20 points update
Recommended Upgrades
Astromech: none
Torpedo: none
Modification: none
Configuration: Servomotor S-foils (auto-include)
40 points and Hyper legal. It's obvious.
5X - 200 points, Rank A
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
Paul Schaller flew them to Top 8 at the 2020 UK System Open (487 players) and Blake Dillon hit Top 4 the same weekend in Fort Worth (137 players). They need a little green dice luck, but with the amount of firepower they throw, we should expect more such finishes. Joust your opponent, stagger your formation to avoid being multi-blocked by lower initiative, and set up kill boxes for victory.
Other notable Blue Squadron Escort squads have now been relegated to Extended format (where I prefer the Cavern Angels Zealot).
3XB Leia - 200 points, Rank B
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(41) Blue Squadron Pilot: Jamming Beam
(39) Zeb Orrelios: Leia Organa
Adam Kempers finished Top 8 at 2019 Adepticon System Open with this archetype. He had two B-Wings at the time, but the points increase on Leia downgrades one to another X-Wing (B-Wings have slightly higher defensive consistency).
Blue Beef - 200 points, Rank C
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(40) Blue Squadron Escort: Servomotor S-foils
(50) Blue Squadron Scout: Leia Organa, Pivot Wing
(35) Gray Squadron Bomber: Ion Cannon Turret
(35) Gray Squadron Bomber: Ion Cannon Turret
I had the pleasure of playing Kieran Simske at the 2019 Cheyenne Hyperspace Trial, where he made Top 8 (42 players) with this squad (the cheaper Leia at the time also gave him a Seismic Charge). I barely managed to destroy his U-Wing on the opening engagement on swingy dice, en route to his only Swiss loss. If this razor thin variance had fallen the other way, he would've been able to block my TIE swarm for a much different match.
Here's his Round 3 match from that event: