Hi there. I'm mostly a lurker in these threads, but this post has been percolating for the last couple months. I run Couple vs. Cardboard with my wife, but I don't know if I will post this there because it is a little higher level than we normally post. Also, I wrote this mostly over the weekend before
this great thread on Bombers
, and I hope that this can further explain some of what some folks have been trying to get at.
I’ve spent the past couple months deciding to play with squads featuring the TIE Bomber.
I do this frequently: I try and tinker with a single ship until I feel like I get it. I started with TIEs and then the Firespray. I suspect my next subject will be the Interceptor with the recent Imperial Aces release, or possibly the Shuttle. But since December or so, I have been fixated on the Bomber.
About four factors led to this decision. The
first
is because it’s probably my favorite Imperial ship from the movies. I don’t particularly know what, but the odd double cockpit and heavy payload, pummeling ship and asteroid alike, was really rad. It felt odd and awkward like Lou Ferrigno doing ballet. Too many eggs in one fragile basket. And I loved it for that.
Second
, I’m a bit of a
Johnny
. I want to win, but I want to do it in a way most folks aren’t. Running swarms or walking dogs is a bit antithetical to my character. I’m not as tactically minded as I’d like, so it leads to a lot of aggravation and sadness, but when you come upon something new, it’s a hoot.
Third
, secondary weapons are so great. The current meta is a bit adverse to them, but — golly — tossing a whole fist of advanced proton dice, dropping a strategic seismic or two and melting a swarm, getting six hits with a cluster missile, or even flipping the last proton torpedo die to a crit all feel incredibly satisfying.
Lastly
, I saw some folks who landed in the top 16 at Worlds last year with it. This doesn’t specifically mean anything, but it was a bit of a foundation for saying some folks who are performing at a high level have done well with it. All of this made it seem like a good a reason as any to try and get my favorite ship into play.
There are a couple main features of the TIE Bomber which are incredibly appealing.
1. Hull.
With 6 Hull, it’s an incredibly high amount of damage a ship that size for so few points. Obviously, this is hull, which is susceptible to crits. So a TIE Bomber can often feel like the opposite of Chewy by the end of a game: a big flaming pile of hurt. But for more Imperial players, this is twice the normal amount of damage they’re used to being able to sustain in a battle for one ship. I have had many battles where all of my Bombers are stacked high with 4+ damage, but all of them have managed to survive.
2. Agile.
The Bomber dial is incredibly similar to that of an X-Wing. While it has a red hard-2, it has a green on everything else 2 and everything forward, save 4. Also, instead of the X-Wings 4-Kiogran turn, it is instead a 5. These allow for an Imperial player to slow-play their prey, as well as clear stress fairly easily — which is key for them. Not to mention, the Bomber includes a barrel roll. Which is scary like watching someone juggle sweaty dynamite.
3. Payload.
It’s fair to say the low cost is subsidizing the assumed cost of munitions. When you see the upgrade bar of a Bomber, it looks like an upgrade card shopping spree. But they should look less like openings that need filling and versatility which can be utilized. Depending on how you fly them, most Bombers don’t get more than 2 secondary weapons off before the end of the game, give or take one. Not to mention, it’s scary to put too many points on a 6 hull frame.
4. Anonymity.
Compared to his Rebellious counterpart, the B-Wing, I found most folks have really overlooked the Bomber. The phrase “I’ve never played against a Bomber before” seemed to the opening phrase of many of my opponents for about a third of all of my matches in competitive environments. Often this gave me the drop on opponents. Especially new ones.
5. Superstars.
Rhymer and Jonus are aces. They are the best in their class, and possibly some of the more underrated guys in the game; in fact most of the issues with the Bombers don’t apply to them. Rhymer is mortifying if he’s anywhere near you, and Jonus is the Howlrunner of secondary weapons. The only downside to them is that there are only two of them and they cost more than you’d generally like to pay.
I’ve run quite a few variations on the Bomber. The Soloist (usually featuring the Rhymes of the good Major himself) or Bombers Duet often with a mini-Howl Swarm, three superstar Bombers and their fourth wheel, and one of my favorites, the Quad Bomb Squad. An unnamed Bomber with two weapons typically runs around 24-28 points, give or take a seismic.
Thesis:
The Bomber stupid-deadly if come Combat Phase it is at an appropriate range with a target lock nestled gently adjacent to an unfriendly ship inside it’s firing arc. (Bonus points if you also have a Focus and/or Jonus is riding shotgun.) It eats lower PS ships for breakfast. However, this is a lot of factors to control in a game against a really strong opponent. Consider the following:
1. Facing Front & Steering.
Obviously, a Bomber is most terrifying when it is staring straight at you. It banks well, but turning 90 to aim is precarious. It can’t do a hard-1, a hard-3 can be overkill and a 2 is red. In fact, probably one of the most difficult things to manage is the red 2-turn. Furthermore, the only K-Turn it has is a 5, which for fleeing a critical mass can be excellent, but it also can be precarious as your only koiogran (granted, that's relatively true of most ships with only one koiogran). You run the risk of fleeing the battlefield (thereby losing your ship) and the 5 is difficult to judge distance.
So picture this, you fail to land your koiogran or you’re too close to the edge of the map, which means you have to clear stress, or do 3 turns until you move back into range (with maybe an occasional red 2). This often takes two whole turns. Two turns!
Also, having an aggressor outside it’s arc is murder. Often literally. If you haven’t turned toward their attack by the time they’re in range, it can be incredibly difficult to deal with them well.
2. Pilot Skill & Initiative.
Getting a Target Lock is surprisingly difficult when your strategy depends on one. There are the obvious factors like bumps and failed formation flying, but one of the less obvious factors is pilot skill. Most nameless TIE Bombers have issues hitting lucrative targets, especially in the first combat round (maybe the most key round for a Bomber!), because they move afterward. So, you either fail to grab a lock, or if you land a lock during planning and your target flies away. There are obvious ways of managing this some (Squad Leader, Jendon), but those have links in their chains which can break down.
Even getting the drop on a fellow PS 4 is trouble. With many folks walking Dagger Squad dogs, it’s difficult when even fellow 4’s are moving after you. I find myself often making sure to max out at 100 points, hoping that the other person will get initiative — which is insane enough, because I am basically hoping other folks can shoot before me just hoping I get a Target Lock. And while Swarm Tactics can help with this, it’s basically a requirement to have Squad Leader on someone to guarantee a lock.
This is triply true with Biggs. Biggs is a nameless Bomber nightmare. You can’t lock him because he moves after you. Or you target lock someone else, he moves into range, you have to primary him, he laughs, your wife wants to know what you’re sobbing about on the other end of the phone.
3. Bombs.
All of that is really true for bombs as well. You want higher pilot skill because you want folks to move first, so you know if dropping a bomb is worth it. I tried bombs a couple ways, the best way I found was putting as many as you could fit onto Bombers with existing secondary weapons. Most of the time folks are willing to get close or just forget (or don’t know how bombs work) and they eat one or two in their wake. However, wanting to be successful with bombs means running higher PS, which means either less munitions, fewer ships or — not running bombs. Furthermore, because it's hard to guarantee a bomb hit, it makes it way too costly to run Proton Bombs.
I tried also running Bombers as a dogfighters with bombs, but most folks are incredibly aware of the bombs, and do what they can do avoid them. Also, related, they’re not great dogfighters. There's a logic if the Bomber has a similar dial to an X-Wing, and they can be run with Howlrunner, they should be great. But their dial just constantly gets in the way.
4. Stress.
No one deals with Stress like the Bomber. No one. Someone might cite the HWK or the Shuttle, perhaps even the B-Wing — yes, they deal with tons of stress, but Stress doesn’t affect the way folks attack quite the same way. With a Bomber you are constantly trying to jockey for great positioning (facing front) and get that Target Lock. Doing a K-Turn means not being able to fire a secondary weapon or it meant you didn’t fire the round before. Also, when you’re stressed as a Bomber, and you can’t land a 5-K turn, turning is a chore, often leaving your Bomber out of a fight for two or more rounds.
I’m no one incredible at this game but I know for a fact that many of these factors kept me out of the top in any store championship. I had two in particular where I had winning records, but all of those wins were modified wins because I was stuck with sub-optimal primary fire.
There are a couple things which I look forward to already announced and things I hope for my dear friend the TIE Bomber.
1. Wave 4.
Without question one thing which should change the meta regarding secondary weapons are the two new upgrades, Flechette Torpedoes and Ion Pulse Missiles, and Munitions Failsafe. I think these can in small part move the Bomber from a support offensive weapon to a cheap defensive support ship, much like the Y-Wing, where it is zapping ships for dogfighters to take advantage of. Additionally, with something like a Ion Pulse Missile not requiring you to spend a lock, it should give you a turn or two to get great positioning and use offensive munitions to help them meet Master Qui-Gon faster.
I also think Munitions Failsafe can help with the support ship aspect, while also letting some folks run more secondary weapons on Jonus himself or without Jonus, rather than using Jonus as a pseudo-Munitions Failsafe.
2. Elite Pilot Skill.
Deadeye, Veteran Instincts, Push the Limit, Daredevil (preferably with an Engine Upgrade), Wingman, and more folks to throw Squad Leader, Swarm Tactics or Adrenaline Rush are all ways to mitigate the issues with the Bomber itself. The fact that only two pilots, both of whom start fairly expensively, make it hard to really manage the above issues. Similar to a Black Squad Pilot for the TIE Fighter, if there were a cheaper nameless Bomber who’s thing was being elite, it would be a vast improvement for the Bombers.
3. More Pilots.
In fact, I think the basic hope is just more pilots. Named pilots means higher pilot skill, and having anyone who has a pilot skill of 5+ is going to be a vast improvement.
Conclusion.
Bomber: a lot of issues being very competitive given the current state of the meta. Look for it’s triumphant return come Wave 4 (and maybe one day in Imperial Aces 2: the TIE Bomber Strikes Back). I know many people will site examples of how it can be a great ship, tourney's it has won, strategies for being successful, but I think it is far too swingy and has the potential for a lot of things to not go it's way -- especially against very talented players.
I look forward to respectful and lively debate!
Edited by thesmallman
.