All Hail the X-Wing! - Best Escort (of Captial Ships) in Armada

After finding them a bit 'meh' when Armada was released I now love the X-wing.  I think that comes from finally learning how to use them as Escorts the right way.  Not for my other squadrons, but for my ships.


When Armada was first released one of the things that bummed me out was that the X-Wing didn't seem super useful.  It had the best anti-squadron firepower for the Rebels and reasonable toughness, but the A-Wing seemed better for the speed, the counter, and the consistency of the black anti-ship die compared to the red.  The B-wing was slow but awesome and the y-wing filled a role as a cheap filler.


It was obvious the X-Wing was paying a cost for the Escort ability, but lacked anything really worth Escorting.

So, i almost never used them and rarely saw them.

Then Wave 2 and Jan Ors came along and suddenly the X-Wing had something to Escort.  Jan and her eXes became a thing (makes me think of Scott Pilgrim).  X-wings started to pop up more frequently.  Still, at this point Rogues became the go-to squadron choice for many.  Their fire and forget nature worked really well with many fleets.  No squadron commands meant your ships could focus on other things.

Waves 3 & 4 hit and we got flotillas, the BCC, and Toryn Farr.  Each of these were huge boons for the X-Wing.  Flotillas gave cheap squadron commands and let the X-Wings better compete with YT-2400s.  The BCC helped smooth out the damage results of the X-Wings fickle red die.  Toryn Farr even gave the X-Wings a pseudo-swarm ability.

Wave 5 brought in All Fighters Follow Me, which combined with FCTs really boosted their speed too.  Nora, Hera, and Ketsu gave them some new squadrons that are really worth escorting.

Suddenly generic X-wings started to become my go-to squadron for my Rebels.  They were what I think they should be, the most well-rounded squadron in the game.  They can threaten ships, attack, defend, and work with commands or without.  They can take a punch and hit back plenty hard.

Now, if you add in Jan, Toryn, a BCC, and FCTs that is a ton of points to support them and make them awesome.  I rarely add it all.  But, they do work for just about any role you could want.  Just add an upgrade to tailor them to fit the needs of your fleet.

In my current Corellian Conflict fleet I want my X-Wings to not die and to kill other squadrons.  So, I brought Jan, Gallant Haven, and Biggs.  I use Toryn Farr to boost their return fire.  No BCC as I don't need them going after ships except as clean up.  

My last game I never issued a single squadron command.  I let my opponent move in and attack me with his squads using commands and Rogue.  I didn't lose a single squad and nearly wiped his squads in return.  They killed more than their points value and were in almost no danger themselves.

X-Wings built for resilience are great Escorts for capital ships in Armada.  I build my fleets to kill ships with my ships and use my squadrons for defense.  They stay close to my ships and protect them.  The X-Wing absolutely excels in that role.  They fill that Escort role both with their keyword and by their use on the table.

The X-Wing is iconic Star Wars.  I'm glad it can be the featured part of my squadrons in Armada.