You don’t need the E-wing to field an effective, iconic Rebel list.

In the recent past E-wings have been quite plentiful on the secondary market, but it may not remain that way. You’ll need a Rebel Alliance Conversion Kit and the original models released in First Edition. So how do you fly this baby? Well, there’s the rub…old Legends ships are not on the fast-track for updates. (Amusingly, Gavin and Corran debuted in the 1996 novel ROGUE SQUADRON–my first full-length Star Wars novel–in which zero E-wings appear.) Those may look pricey next to good-ol’ Wedge Antilles, but you’re paying for a whole other defense die, the Evade action, and other ace-y goodies that are rare for Rebels. For 59 you get Corran Horn, an Initiative 5 ace with double-tapping potential. For 55 points you can take Gavin Darklighter (Biggs’ young cousin), with a truly great support ability even for the support-heavy Rebel faction. That same update brought down the points on the E-wing across the board, turning an esoteric torpedo sniper into a deadly multi-threat.

The drawback–no locks at range 1–can and will hit you in the scrum, but you’d often rather have a green token in that case anyway. You can set up a double-modded shot the first turn, or make the opponent’s False Transponder Codes a waste of 3 points. That ship ability, Experimental Scanners, is one of only a few ways in the game to get locks during an early turn before your ships have reached engagement range–and it’s the best of those ways. So what role does this pricey, marginally-canonical ship play for the Rebels? The answer lies in the ship ability and upgrade slots that were given to the E-wing to enhance its thematic aspects of being a cutting-edge, temperamental design. You’ll spend 48 points for the privilege of flying the Initiative 2 generic E-wing…and if you’re going to do that, shouldn’t you at least nudge it to 51 points and get the sweet Rogue Squadron branding? Despite an inherently respectable stat bar of 3 attack dice, 3 defense dice, 3 hull, and 3 shields, you can’t just chuck them into a squad willy-nilly.

Fortunately, the X-Wing game can accommodate a fighter that’s defined as “better than all the others.” Just as the E-wing was hindered by cost in the fictional world, it’s hindered by point-cost in the game world.

X wing miniatures game scum ships