Assuming the lists are:

1 • Howlrunner - Stealth Device (21)
2 • Mauler Mithel (17)
3 • Backstabber (16)
4 • "Dark Curse" (16)
5 • Night Beast (15)
6 • Winged Gundark (15)

Or

1 • Howlrunner - Stealth Device (21)
2 • "Dark Curse" - Stealth Device (19)
3 • Academy Pilot (12)
4 • Academy Pilot (12)
5 • Academy Pilot (12)
6 • Academy Pilot (12)
7 • Academy Pilot (12)

Or

1 • Obsidian Squadron Pilot (13)
2 • Obsidian Squadron Pilot (13)
3 • Obsidian Squadron Pilot (13)
4 • Obsidian Squadron Pilot (13)
5 • Academy Pilot (12)
6 • Academy Pilot (12)
7 • Academy Pilot (12)
8 • Academy Pilot (12)

When I see swarms it is almost always the 7 tie list, although I enjoy the 6 tie list and am seeing that more lately. Has anyone had much luck with the 2 mini swarm strategy of the 8 tie list? I just got my 8th tie and I think I want to give it a try.

Dark Curse

(7) Academy TIE

for the 8 TIE list, stick with 8 academies. When everybody is at the same PS, it becomes much easier to fly. Also, you will definitely win the initiative bid, so you get more control over the asteroids (and you SHOULD be spreading them out as far apart as possible). You would not forget about the 8th TIE that happens to be darkcurse / backstabber / whomever and hence would not need to worry about firing order (and hence accidentally skipping your 8th TIE's turn to fire)

The 8 Ties is fun to fly, however you'll soon see why Howlrunner is in almost every single swarm list.

The 8 Ties is fun to fly, however you'll soon see why Howlrunner is in almost every single swarm list.

THIS!!!

also, I find that the 8 TIE is a lot more flexible than the howlrunner-centric swarms.

Go with howlrunner and if she dies the remaining ties are free to spread out

So, an 8 TIE swarm (with focuses) will roll 12 hits (assuming range 2-3) each turn...

1.5 hits x 8 TIEs = 12 hits rolled.

A 7 TIE HR swarm (with focuses again) will roll 12.42 hits each turn.

43.75% of the time, there will be a HR reroll... 75% of the time that will be useful, for an increase of .328125 hits. So each TIE will be at 1.82 hits rolled, plus howls 1.5 herself...

1.82 x 6 + 1.5 = 12.42 hits rolled.

And then once you lose howl, you'll be down to 9 hits, instead of the 8 tie's 10.5 hits... I'm not too sure I buy the entire HR is worth 2 TIEs thing or not... She does allow you to spend actions doing stuff besides focus for offense.

w/o focus:

8 TIEs = 8 hits

7 TIEs w/ HR = 9.25 hits

HR reroll used 75% of the time, for a 50% effective rate, adding .375 hits to each roll...

So, without focuses for offense, she adds 15% boost... but if you have a focus, she only adds 3.5% boost... (Well, her boost is more than that, but the opportunity cost of having her vs. 2 TIEs is reflected in that 3.5/15% change)... And that's not accounting for those 4 points you could use elsewhere, such as backstabber getting an extra die (which then increases focused results to 12.75 and unfocused results to 8.5... reducing her boost to 8.8% w/o focus, and actually decreasing the squad power when they have focus).

@Khyros: That is exactly the math I was looking for. Thanks.

Total number of hits is misleading, however. Not only does the 7 TIE swarm roll slightly more hits, it does it with one fewer attack. This reduces the number of evades rolled as well, so the damage inflicted is significantly higher.

Also, because Howlrunner is generally at the back of the formation, she increases your effective defense as well. Your opponent must either pick a different target, or fire at longer range.

Howlrunner based swarms have a real and very significant advantage.

Where you have Dark Curse you may instead have Backstabber. The choice is survivability vs. damage/threat potential.

Howrunner is always the first priority target, so I sacrifice her ability to gain the extra TIE. Either way works well, but the extra ship is my preference and has served me well.

Alternatively, you fire 2 dice less in the 6 Tie swarm, but your lowest PS is 5, so you are firing before most enemy squads, which might mean you will have to weather less incoming fire.

So for me the question is 6 ties with PS advantage and abilities vs 7 ties. My money is on the 6 ties.

I hate Howlrunner. She forces you to be pretictable. I also hate her because she is meta. I hate meta.

The 6 Tie vs 7 Tie will depend on the length of the game, I believe. Shorter games can favor 6 high PS Ties, where the war of attrition matters less. If 1 tie dies each round, you'll have more ties left at the end of 7. Not to mention, Academy Ties means action and K turn denial, which can mean more shots as well.

Also, there is SOME use for all your Academy Pilots shooting last or near last. For instance, all will have focus for defense, so your opponent won't have an obvious target.

Not that the high PS, 6 Tie swarm is bad. One covers different matchups better than others.

There is no denying, however, the power of Howlrunner. Kinetic Operator's post is right on the money with that one.

I hate Howlrunner. She forces you to be pretictable. I also hate her because she is meta. I hate meta.

That is why I like Jonus better. He helps a ton the first few rounds (Which he almost always survives) then after a couple of rounds of ordnance barrage every one can go there separate ways. He is, however, becoming more an more meta.