Since we have the maneuver dials revealed, I decided to print myself out a copy and do some Defender test runs. I had a chance to do so last night with two games against the Rebels and was overall impressed with what it brought to my list. I ran:

[36] Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Stealth Device + Hull Upgrade

[34] Turr Phennir + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Stealth Device + Hull Upgrade

[30] Delta Squadron Pilot

I don't normally do 3-ship builds because I find them to be too fragile, but with the Defender and the Hull Upgrades in play, I figured I was tough enough to survive. The first list I played was Chewie in the Falcon with PtL and an Engine Upgrade, a Rookie with a Shield Upgrade, and a B-Wing with Ion Cannon. Turr died early to some unlucky defense rolls and the Defender did a fairly decent job of chasing the Falcon around and dropping its shields while Soontir finished off the B. Eventually the Defender burned, but I managed to crawl back to a victory with just Soontir left on the table (I love that guy).

The second match was against Wedge with an R2 unit trying out Outmaneuver, a Chardaan Refit Green Squadron with PtL and VI, a Rookie, and a Blue with Advanced Sensors. I homed everyone in on the souped up Wedge, but he lived long enough to K-Turn and get a -2 agility shot at Turr before the Defender finished him. The rest of this match really sold me on the Defender as a strong reliable ship. I was able to K-Turn over and over while taking Focus actions and doing some pretty heavy damage without taking very much in return and mop up.

I really enjoy the PS 1 version of the Defender because, aside from being the cheapest, it lets you always know where you're going to end up if you choose to take the K-Turn action. In some cases I could see it being nice to have guys move out of the way before I turned, but overall it worked great. I think the biggest key to flying these ships is just making sure you have that K-turn available to you by making good use of barrel rolls before you close for combat to give yourself an open avenue to do the back and forth while avoiding ships and asteroids.

Has anyone else had a chance to proxy any TIE Defenders on the table yet? What have your experiences been?

I've had them on the table a couple of times, with fair results. That dial is awfully linear, though, and it's going to take some practice to get good with them: they just don't move like other ships.

I agree, they move strangely.

I've been subbing them for a long time now, and was using home made rules before that are almost identical to the released ones.

I've had great success, but have been flying named pilots, using the Defender the way you were using Fel. I have had the most success pairing it with an OGP Shuttle and a Bounty Hunter, but want to try two builds with TIE's, one paired with 5 academies, just to see how that rolls, and one with Ace's, as Carnor and Soontir with a Defender would be epic.

Probably do

Team Carnage

Carnor 26 ptl 3 Shield Upgrade 4

Soontir 27 ptl 3 Stealth 3

Delta 30 Concussion Missile 4

5 ships

Vindictive Victory

Vessery 35

Vader 27

Academy x2 24

Academy Targeting Computer 14

Best of Brath

Rexler Brath 37 Predator 3

Academy x 5

Yeah, I'm thinking Carnor and Soontir will be my next list to try. Probably do:

[35] Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Stealth Device + Targeting Computer

[35] Carnor Jax + Push the Limit + Royal Guard TIE + Stealth Device + Hull Upgrade

[30] Delta Squadron Pilot

I haven't really found a spot for the named pilots in the types of lists I usually like to run just yet, but I'm guessing I'll find a place for Vessery at some point. Brath I'm not so sure about...

If it's a dual Int + Defender you're looking for, and you want to try out Brath, maybe try:

Rexler Brath + Predator

Carnor Jax + PtL + SU/SD/HU

That leaves you with 27-28 points to buy yourself another squint (maybe RGI + PtL + TC, or Kir + HU/SD/SU). Brath should be able to get more hits in with Carnor denying tokens.