Lets look at the basic tactical structure for a Rebel squad in BB.
The Rebels are the Hero faction of Star Wars and the game dynamic supports that. Crew, Pilot abilities and Droids, all support the idea of team work, mutual support and resilience. The Rebels arguably suffer least in BB. Many shunned ships regain their place and most of the better combinations are more or less intact.
The core of most squads is the fighter in all it’s forms and the option of a support element.
Fighters.
The loose grouping of fighters come in any form you could want allowing you to almost build from upgrades up.
X Wing (Medium,Ordnance + Droid, lots of Pilots), 5 Max.
Y Wing (Heavy, Ordnance + Turret + Droid), 5 Max.
B Wing (Heavy, Ordnance + Systems), 5 Max
A Wing (Light, Ordnance, Pilots), 5 Max.
ARC 170 (Heavy Ordnance + Crew + Droid), 3 Max.
E Wing (Medium, Droid + Systems + Ordnance, Pilots), 3 Max.
Z95 (Medium, Ordnance + cheap, Pilots), 8 Max.
Attack Shuttle (Medium, Turret + Crew, Pilots), unique.
Which ever combination you choose, the Rebels have almost infinite choice at hand, or they can make solid one type squads.
Support.
Support in the true sense of the term comes from several Legendary ships, which define the Rebels as much as their iconic fighters.
The HWK 290 is like a light Lambda, but also packs a Turret. Most Pilots synergise well with their counterpart crew in a cheap if relatively weak ship Build a squad, then work out how the HWK can strengthen it. You might be surprised.
The YT 1300. A legend and deservedly so, the YT/Falcon is a nimble Large ship (less so without Mods, Titles and EPT’s), with a Turret built in, and 2 crew slots, which are now key to it. Do you make the Turret stronger with Luke of Gunner, the ship tougher with R2-D2 or C-3P0, a better support platform or any combination of these? It makes a great sniper, tough blocker, or a focus ship, distracting the enemy while your fighters do the damage.
The YT2400 is a smaller, trickier version of the YT1300. It adds a Cannon at the expense of a Crew slot, but is more agile and many crew options love asteroids, making it a good ambusher. Without title, it lacks the super Turret as Primary option, but is still difficult to handle with a 2d Turret and Cannon combination. This ship is much like a mini Falcon or nimble HWK with more bite.
The VCX-100. The Ghost is the toughest ship in the Rebel fleet. Slightly tougher than the Decimator or C-Roc cruiser, the VCX has one of only two 4d primary attacks, Turret and Ordnance options and a Systems slot. Systems in BB are far stronger than in regular X Wing. Without EPT’s Mods and Titles, most ships only have their basic Pilot, Ship and Action Bar for combat mods, some have Crew or Droids, but most not, so Systems add that real edge to the ships lucky enough to have it. The VCX tend to define a squad, but it is hard to argue with it’s power.
Auzituck Gunship. A strong, but simple ship, the Auzituck only offers crew slots as upgrades making it an ideal blocker with support capabilities, which it has proven to be effective at in recent years.
The GR-75 Transport is one of only two types of Huge ship used in BB (the other is the C-Roc). The reasons for this are the single ship card, relative weakness and smaller size (not much bigger than the Ghost). The Transport has no offensive weapons other than a couple of Cargo options, but has plenty of support to add to a squad (Jam, Coordinate, Crew). It is also the only Rebel ship that can regenerate shields. If blocking and support are your main tactic, the Transport cannot be beaten.
Sheathipede Shuttle. This little ship was one of the first of a new breed. The Coordinate action and Crew slot with some extra-ordinary Pilots, make it a true support ship rather than front line fighter, but if cornered it can still scrap. It could be added to fighters above, but the lack of Ordnance and it’s mediocre dial relegate it more to a supporting role.
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In Crew, Droid and Pilot synergies, the Rebel player is spoiled for choice, making their HR department the hero of the faction. They also have the only two ships with Coordinate or Reinforce actions, and lots of Pilot, Droid support synergies improving their resilience.
In overall combat performance, they tend to like Ordnance with only three ships lacking options, are generally strong in primary weapon attacks and have plenty of ships that can mount Turrets.
In Manoeuvres they are weakest, rarely offering 5 speed, few Evade, Boost or Roll options, lacking the tricks of the Scum faction or the general arc dodging capabilities of the Empire, so strong squad support tactics are required. They can take a beating and hand one out, so try to balance their lack of flight options with their personnel/support strengths.
With the Rebels you are always assured of a tough squad, usually with plenty of offensive options, it just may be a little dry to fly.