Every time I think about playing Vader (in the advanced), I find myself trying to buff up his maneuverability by adding an engine upgrade. Or, I try to buff his offensive punch to make up for his lack-luster two attack dice. In short, I realize that I am trying to turn him into an interceptor. Then, I just usually end up running an interceptor of my choice with PtL and call it a day.

How do other folks use him in a way that plays to his strengths rather than trying to turn him into something that he is not?

My question is a bit deeper than what combination of upgrade cards to stack onto him. What role does he fill on the table, and why is he better at it than other options?

I asked the same thing in another post.

i see him as a reliably bulky fighter that tends to get into range 1 pretty often. With the 2 actions, his damage output tends to be decent.

I think he works best as a flanker or with Squad Leader to pass actions. Then as a late game finisher

I want to try him with Outmaneuver, and engine upgrade, and a concussion missile/assault missile depending on what the rest of the list pans out to be. The proton rocket may also find a place, depending on what it ends up being.

With this build, his firepower goes up by lowering his enemies agility, and he can focus/target lock for is ordnance. He functions like a PTL interceptor, only without the stress. Whether this is worth the cost will take some testing to determine.

engine upgrade is nearly a must. Treat Vader as a 33 point ship instead of a 29 point ship.

afterwards, anything goes I suppose. Assault missile is good, concussion + marksmanship is pricey but good too, I myself like expose on him, daredevil is kinda fun, veteran instincts + homing helps you deal with Soontir rather easily, etcetc

The build that makes Vader really shine is Engine Upgrade, and Dare Devil. He has two actions that do not produce stress. When you combine those two actions with the ability to do a roll, or boost, or a hard one turn after you move he becomes one slippery fish. Boost and roll together are great for getting out of arc and still having a shot. When you add Dare Devil the options for movement after the dial move is incredible.

Take three rebel ships and place them on a table then place Vader and move him around with the above build. With a little practice you can get out of all arcs and still get a shot. Vader is the super flanker that is ultra hard to take out due to you just can't get shots on him.

Practice the Dare Devil Vader, don't put PTL on him, and use him as a flanker with a mini swarm. This build is fun to fly and can win against most lists.

Vader + Engine Upgrade + Marksmanship (he's the only pilot so far who can mitigate the loss of evasion) + Concussion Missiles. Because Target Lock and Marksmanship in one round can almost guarantee at least one good hit, best directed early against a key opponent like Wedge.

Actually, because of the cost, I find I actually DON'T always want the engine upgrade. Of course its good to get another 3rd dice, but it seems like having a TL and a F does some pretty reliable damage too. Also at 4 less points. Which is quite a bit when you consider how expensive he is.

the engine upgrade is for you to turn into a tanky TIEint, with the roll + boost combo. Adrenaline Rush is good on vader too

I run him with EU and that much-hated card, Expose, alongside BFFs Soontir and VI Turr. Pick your poison; it's all PS9.

There is one thing that he does better than any other ship. He shoots missiles like a boss.

At PS9 he will almost always activate last and have superior knowledge of the boardstate with his target lock. Further, with his two actions he is the only pilot able to focus and target lock at PS9 without extra ships or cards.

The problem is missiles are expensive on top of vader already being the most expensive 2 attack small base ship without upgrades. Another problem is engine upgrade is one of the best upgrades Vader can take and it's hard not to take it but that's another 4 points. Usually Vader ends up being around 40 points for me. This is 40% of my squad for a ship that in most rounds will only do as much damage as a single tie fighter in a tie swarm headed by howlrunner...

There is one thing that he does better than any other ship. He shoots missiles like a boss.

At PS9 he will almost always activate last and have superior knowledge of the boardstate with his target lock. Further, with his two actions he is the only pilot able to focus and target lock at PS9 without extra ships or cards.

The problem is missiles are expensive on top of vader already being the most expensive 2 attack small base ship without upgrades. Another problem is engine upgrade is one of the best upgrades Vader can take and it's hard not to take it but that's another 4 points. Usually Vader ends up being around 40 points for me. This is 40% of my squad for a ship that in most rounds will only do as much damage as a single tie fighter in a tie swarm headed by howlrunner...

Yeah, but if you end up making use of the points than it's moot. People say the same about stacking up on Soontir. It's only a waste of points if you lose. Also, though his per-shot damage potential is that of a TIE like you claim, his staying power is much much higher, so his damage potential over the course of an entire game is over all much higher. And even though the missiles are expensive and single use, if you manage even a fair hit very early on against a priority target then you've already earned it back and then some. I can say that on more than one occasion, I've fired at range 3 on Wedge this way, using marksmanship and concussion missiles, only to have him either blank his evade roll or roll 1 out of the 2 (which is about average) and connect with 3-4 of them. That gets the critical hit through the shields.

At the moment, Vader, Cluster Missiles, Stealth Device, Squad Leader - more because I have no engine upgrade cards.

Cluster Missiles, Engine Upgrade, Predator seems like a nice option once it's available.

There is one thing that he does better than any other ship. He shoots missiles like a boss.

At PS9 he will almost always activate last and have superior knowledge of the boardstate with his target lock. Further, with his two actions he is the only pilot able to focus and target lock at PS9 without extra ships or cards.

The problem is missiles are expensive on top of vader already being the most expensive 2 attack small base ship without upgrades. Another problem is engine upgrade is one of the best upgrades Vader can take and it's hard not to take it but that's another 4 points. Usually Vader ends up being around 40 points for me. This is 40% of my squad for a ship that in most rounds will only do as much damage as a single tie fighter in a tie swarm headed by howlrunner...

Yeah, but if you end up making use of the points than it's moot. People say the same about stacking up on Soontir. It's only a waste of points if you lose. Also, though his per-shot damage potential is that of a TIE like you claim, his staying power is much much higher, so his damage potential over the course of an entire game is over all much higher. And even though the missiles are expensive and single use, if you manage even a fair hit very early on against a priority target then you've already earned it back and then some. I can say that on more than one occasion, I've fired at range 3 on Wedge this way, using marksmanship and concussion missiles, only to have him either blank his evade roll or roll 1 out of the 2 (which is about average) and connect with 3-4 of them. That gets the critical hit through the shields.

When you are trying to build a squad to get the most out of your points a Tie Advanced is more of a handicap than a boon. The tie advanced is simply too expensive for what it does. Vader's is the only quasi-viable tie advanced because of his PS9 and that's only because he has perhaps the single best pilot ability in the game.

I've run Vader in probably over 90% of my games. I've one-shotted plenty of x-wings with concussion missiles at range 3. I've also had concussion missiles roll 4 blanks before. It happens. Also with missiles there is a lot of value in having a quality alpha strike at range 3, trust me when I say I know this probably better than most.

However, I can't help but feel that in almost all cases I would rather have a cheaper ship with 3 base attack and far better maneuver dial like Soontir Fel. In other words, he often functions as a more expensive Soontir Fel with a worse maneuver dial, one less attack, and doesn't get to double focus. Fel with PTL, SD, RGT, and TC is 35 points and for me at least has served as much more effective flanker and one-on-one end game dogfighter.

For now, I usually run him with Squad Leader to pass the occasional action when he doesn't need it. I don't bother to equip him with EU since it would get him into the 35pts mark, something I have trouble to pay for a 2 attack dice ship. 1 more point and you get yourself 3 academy pilot. Once Outmaneuver gets out, I'll try some game with it and see how it fairs.

I'll try this squadron. I call it the Trench Ranchers:

Darth Vader+Outmaneuver

Mauler Mithel+Opportunist

Backstabber

Omicron Group Pilot+Advanced Sensor+Ion Cannon+Engine Upgrade

I usually fly my Vader with cluster missile and swarm tactics, flanked by a pair of academy pilots. Not only do I love his first strike capability, but the surrounding Ties makes me think of Episode IV every time... and it makes me smile

One way to run Vader is with nothing but squad leader.

His 2nd action goes to anyone. And that's about the last thing that happens during the activation phase. Your opponent has to guess which ship is going to perform which action after all other movement.

I only have 2 bombers so I found that using him as another deliver of a pay load, along with squad leader.

Works pretty good

Advanced and Bombers work well together. They are both tough as nails, carry missiles and then can make for pesky dog-fighters in the late rounds. Are they A-wings or Interceptors? No, but X-wings and B-wings are not exactly flying circles around them either.

Here's what I found in an epic game. I flew 2 Advanced with Assault Missiles and 2 Bombers with Concussion and Cluster (all PS 2). They flew well together in formation, and 1 missile with the other three following up with primary shots was enough to take down most small ships. With 5 and 6 HP respectively, they could just barrel right into fights. This squad flew head first into Han. Han scored only two hits on an Advanced, but was destroyed himself inside of two rounds.

So... If you find yourself the type of player that just likes to charge in and joust, you might want to consider the cheaper Advanced with some bomber buddies. I know this is slightly off topic because I'm not talking about Vader, but this list could be modified to fit Vader in with Squad Leader to help hand out TLs.

Vader+Squad Leader

Tempest

2x Scimitar+Concussion+Cluster

How do you Vader?

Well first you step to the left, then step to the right...

I Vader thusly. Take one OGP and apply the Vader crew card....if I'm feelin froggy I even add a EU.

Vader with Engine Upgrades is awesome, but it isn't a forgone conclusion. I often use him with squad leader, Just giving extra actions out to whomever needs. them. He is pretty effective in that role. And if his job is to fly around with my TIEs he doesn't need EU.

Now he is also a great flanker. If you are going to use him as a flanker then he does need EU.

If you have him supporting TIE Interceptors then you probably do want him to have EU.

Vader with Engine Upgrades is awesome, but it isn't a forgone conclusion. I often use him with squad leader, Just giving extra actions out to whomever needs. them. He is pretty effective in that role. And if his job is to fly around with my TIEs he doesn't need EU.

Now he is also a great flanker. If you are going to use him as a flanker then he does need EU.

If you have him supporting TIE Interceptors then you probably do want him to have EU.

The EU is on the OGP Lambda pilot....Vader is merely there to get mad and finish off a ship in his 5/5 space taxi.