I was looking for a way to fill out this list

Echo

-Advanced Cloaking Device

-Veteran's Instincts

35 points

Rexler Brath

-Predator

40 points

Leaving me with 25 points of fill. So I was wondering, what do you guys think of a tempest squadron pilot with proton rockets and a point for initiative bidding/ a munitions failsafe?

I feel that combining a TIE Advanced with a slingshot to take out your opponent before they reach the table would be a better use.

You could add a RGP with PtL for 25 points or a pair of Academy TIE pilots, either of which would probably get you more mileage.

Wait for the proton rockets. 5 attack dice, with deadeye built in. (you don't evwn need to spend your focus to fire.)

Darth Vader + EU + Outmanuver

Use it as a yogurt spoon.

I used Vader in his Tie/Adv in a list over the weekend and the list was quite successful: 2 wins from 3 games. I think it catches people out, at least initially. Because it isn't used much as opponents are not sure how to deal with it. My matches were against some very experienced players - one of whom I'd never managed to beat since x-wing was released and with my list I finally beat him.

My list was Krassis with HLC and rebel captive, Vader with expose and a sabre squadron interceptor. Each game my opponent was undecided on who to go after, Krassis and sabre squadron stayed together while Vader moved in alone from the flank. Exposed Vader did some serious damage when he was ignored in the first match up then in the second my opponent split his forces and that gave me the upper hand. Unfortunately I snatched a defeat from the jaws of victory right at the end when I went high risk head to head with Vader(stressed) on one damage left v a b-wing with a couple of damage left - what a time to roll 3 blank green die... The b-wing only landed one hit after evading my one hit. :-)

The points the advanced eats is quite daunting but with the more expensive imperial ships coming out I think it's a feasible option in smaller imperial squad builds.

Vader's not bad, he's really good. He's just too expensive to use when Imperials want 3 or 4 durable ships.. For the Price of Vader + Expose, you could have a Bounty Hunter in a Firespray. (It would have the same number of actions in a turn Vader Exposed, and the same defense, but twice the hitpoints.) In a Turn Vader isn't attacking anything, he is harder to hit than a Firespray, and he has that ps 9 going for him.

The new Phantoms are also really nice and you can customize a pilot skill 3 Sigma 25 pointer to have Gunner + FCS + Stygium for 34 total. Decloaking to get into range 1 and getting 2 chances to hit with a 5 dice attack, the 2nd chance you'll have a target lock, and you have both an evade token and a focus token if you chose not to barrel roll.

Vader may have the force, but those Tie-Phantoms are Space Wizards.

Hmm.. a list with all 3 would be exactly 100 points. Vader Exposed + Firespray + Space Wizard. You could run that and figure out which one contributes the most during a fight.

But honestly, if they dropped the Advanced by 2 points across all pilots and gave Storm Squadron Pilot an elite pilot skill I'd be giving them a lot more love. I don't expect them to. The only interesting thing for me in the upcoming reprints are the new missiles, as a cheap 4 die attack to throw on bombers when I'm tight on points, with the added benefit of them being 5 die attacks before stealth gets blown off. The Tie Defender is neat, but I think they repeated the same mistakes with it, just a few points overcosted and no generics with elite skills.

^I'm thinking about putting Stealth on Bombers for Epic play. Those long range guns on the CR90 tear low agility ships to shreds, because the defending ships get to double their defense die. Cloaked Phantoms may as well be invisible with 9 defense die (4 doubled +1 long range). Stealth will boost a bomber up from 5 defense die to a respectable 7.

*Mauler Mithel + Backstabber is also 33 points. My 2 favorite ties.

Vader with squad leader

Delta squadron pilot

krassis trelix with ion canon

21 total hit points, 8 red dice, 8 green dice. Synergy. Rare, viable 3-ship imp build.

Vader seems to be the priority target with high PS, and the ability to hand out actions and if he's indeed targeted, he can switch to double defense actions and soaks up some serious hits with 3 green dice, an evade and a focus each turn.

I've run it only twice but it works beautifully. Delta squadron doing white K-turns and then doubling up on offensive actions hits hard.

It's a tad weak on offense, but with the control afforded by the maneuverability of all three ships and krassis's re-roll ion cannon, and the toughness of each ship means you can probably take out a ship a round for a couple of rounds without losing your own.

Got a 50/50 win rate with the advanced over the weekend, including beating (just) the eventual winner.

Vader is really good. A lot of people like engine upgrade for good reason - I just don't have, and won't buy, a millenium falcon just for the engine upgrade cards (which also messes with my desire to field many shuttles!). Expose is all right, but I'd rather use target lock + focus and just fight at close range - I tend to find that happens a lot anyway. Adrenaline rush is a very nice talent, though - those two actions are very valuable, and being able to use them whilst pulling out of a koiogran is nice.

Proton rockets will help, and will go some way to making even tempest squadron pilots scary. The nice thing is that they're a very tough fighter - when putting them in with a Phantom you're essentially daring people to attack the advanced. I flew them with hull upgrades and it was amazing how much fire they could soak up.

You might think about a hull upgrade-equipped advanced for a third ship.

Depends on if you want to win at all cost or not. Is it for a tournament? The Advanced is not the wisest choice in that case, other members already told you about better units for the same price that will give you more for what you pay.

But, I find it funny how some players make it sound like including an Advanced into a team is an auto-lose button. If you like the ship and want to give it some love so it doesn't get lonely on your shelf, why not take it out for a fight. This is a game after all, and there is other formats than tournament and win-at-all-cost games.

With Echo and Rexler on the table, he will probably be left alone until the end of the combat. During that time, he can deal some damage here and there. If you give it a Proton Rocket, it will get all the attention you need at the beginning so Echo and Rexler can get in formation.

So, in casual play, take the Advanced and give it some love. In tournament, nah man, that's suicide, take something else.

I used my advanced last game, no upgrades, tempest squad pilot...

That plus Backstabber flanked my opponent while my other basic generic tie fighters were in a furball. The advanced just scared and kept the rebels away from the one side of the board as they moved up and around. Finally got to shoot, the last round when I was mopping up the lone survivor xwing...

The biggest advantage of the advanced is that it is pure panache. When you show up and put MULTIPLE advanced on the table, your opponent will be so starstruck he just might surrender. Nobody expects a Spanish Inquisition, nor multiple TIE Advanced to show up for a serious game.

Prove everyone wrong - go with advanced and shock the world. The prophecy is written as such : On the day that a man will win a tournament with 4 advanced - that day shall also produce a cure for cancer. So let it be written, so let it be done.

I'm in the UK and when I started my options were limited you could not get interceptors for anywhere close to rrp, so I had two advanced a firespray and some tie fighters and I made it work, Vader has only died on me once he usually cuts a swath through my friends rebels.

I've now got plenty of interceptors and they are great ships but not the be all and end all for imp players.

Why do we need a use for the advanced? There's Interceptors and fighters and bombers and phantoms and defenders just forget about the advanced, it's not good.

Because I'm A) stubborn and B) have 2 of them in my box that never get used and I feel bad. I try to use advanced and they never seem to do much.

For sh*ts and giggles I used Maarek with Predator in my last tournament. He actually ended up being the MVP in two of the games...

Still, is Maarek with Predator worth 2.5 TIEs? NOPE

Is it worth it to see the look on your opponents face when they realize they have to pull 3 crits and I get to pick one? YES

I like running a Tempest with cluster missiles with two Scimitars loaded with clusters, flechette, and seismic and Jonus with seismic and squad leader to good success. Although I will admit I run the Tempest mostly because I don't have a fourth Bomber in my collection...

The biggest advantage of the advanced is that it is pure panache. When you show up and put MULTIPLE advanced on the table, your opponent will be so starstruck he just might surrender. Nobody expects a Spanish Inquisition, nor multiple TIE Advanced to show up for a serious game.

Prove everyone wrong - go with advanced and shock the world. The prophecy is written as such : On the day that a man will win a tournament with 4 advanced - that day shall also produce a cure for cancer. So let it be written, so let it be done.

There was a genuine advantage on the three advanced I was using (Vader, Stele, Tempest) - my opponents, even the experienced players, kept asking to see the reference card because he genuinely didn't know what they were capable of. Everyone knows "the TIE Advanced is guff" but virtually no-one seems to know how it manouvres.

Saying "it's basically an X-wing" isn't fair because barrel roll on a high pilot skill pilot is huge in a close furball. As is the ability to hit the gas and pull a 5 straight rather than getting into a turning fight.

For sh*ts and giggles I used Maarek with Predator in my last tournament. He actually ended up being the MVP in two of the games...

Still, is Maarek with Predator worth 2.5 TIEs? NOPE

Is it worth it to see the look on your opponents face when they realize they have to pull 3 crits and I get to pick one? YES

Agreed. Maarek's ability got triggered maybe twice in four games. But it is nasty as hell when it actually comes off.

The increased odds of direct hits is one thing, but pulling "Munitions failure" on a TIE bomber piloted by Major Rhymer with a focused, opportunist-enhanced Advanced Proton Torpedo literally immediately before he fired it is the kind of shennanigans that gives people anger management issues...

I actually really like Maarek. He isnt the best, but when he does pay off, oh man is it fun.

Here's an idea:

Maarek

Col Vessery + VI

Rexler Brath

100 points. 7, 8, 8 pilot skills. Maarek is there to provide target locks for Vessery and to be annoying. His action will always be Target Lock. People will ignore him in light of the Defenders, so he doesnt really need focus. And he can shoot the moon for crits. Being that he is firing third, his TLs will be there for Vessery, which makes him very good on the offense. Brath is there to add crits to a target.

Could be fun.

Were the Advanced about 2 points cheaper across the board or did something else significant for the cost they currently are now, I'd use them. Right now, there's zero reason to get it over a bomber as a missile platform or get it as a dogfighter over an Interceptor or Defender, and zero reason to consider it as swarm fodder over TIEs or even Bombers. As designed, it currently has no role except Vader as an elite, and even there, I'd rather have Soontir, Echo, Turr, Whisper, etc. for the points.

So from an opportunity cost stand point - what does the Tie Advanced bring versus using something else - sticking with the basics

for 21 points you are getting 2 extra shields and 1 point of squad value with a cost of 9 over an Academy Tie Pilot

does 2 shields give more value than

Any named Tie Pilot and the point differential? For example - what would you rather have a tie advanced for 21 or Mauler Mithel with Predator for 20

The Tie Advanced is probably 1-2 points over valued. if you look at a Rookie Pilot vs a Tie Advanced - the trade off is 1 agility for 1 damage. The odds favor damage

if you look at a Tie Advanced for a Blue B - 2 vs 3 Damage.... 3 vs 1 Agility 3 hull vs 3 hull - 2 shields vs 5 shields

So for 1 extra point in a B - you get 1 extra Damage - 2 less agility - and 3 extra shields.

I would suggest again, that the Tie Advanced is 1-2 points over valued from where it should be given its relative strength compared to the field. I have yet to see any competitive build with using a Tie Advanced (outside of Vader) and even then, it wasn't competitive.

Use it to scrape gum off your local gaming stores table undersides!

Based on the awing treatment given the advanced is more likely 3pts overcosted. Vader is Vader and baked in stress less PTL with PS 9 could make any ship good (yep, even the advanced and the hwk!).

I like running a Tempest with cluster missiles with two Scimitars loaded with clusters, flechette, and seismic and Jonus with seismic and squad leader to good success. Although I will admit I run the Tempest mostly because I don't have a fourth Bomber in my collection...

I had decent success with:

Captain Jonus + Squad Leader

Gamma Squadron + Flechette Torpedo + Flechette Torpedo

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Put both Storm Squadron in front of the square formation. Their 3 agility combined with 2 shield each is great to soak more damage during the first strike. Tie Advanced is a good ship to escort bombers, being that they can also carry a missile. And once the first strike is done, it,s not like they are bad for dogfighting.

I like running a Tempest with cluster missiles with two Scimitars loaded with clusters, flechette, and seismic and Jonus with seismic and squad leader to good success. Although I will admit I run the Tempest mostly because I don't have a fourth Bomber in my collection...

I had decent success with:

Captain Jonus + Squad Leader

Gamma Squadron + Flechette Torpedo + Flechette Torpedo

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Put both Storm Squadron in front of the square formation. Their 3 agility combined with 2 shield each is great to soak more damage during the first strike. Tie Advanced is a good ship to escort bombers, being that they can also carry a missile. And once the first strike is done, it,s not like they are bad for dogfighting.

For the cost of the two advanced there, you could have two Gammas with 10 points to spare that are almost as resilient, though,and that's the problem. Now, when proton rockets become available, it will be a more appealing list. Until then, the advanced just doesn't have a role that can't be better filled by something else for a similar amount of points.

The Tie Advanced is probably 1-2 points over valued.

It's actually 4 points overcosted relative to the standard TIE Fighter.

I like running a Tempest with cluster missiles with two Scimitars loaded with clusters, flechette, and seismic and Jonus with seismic and squad leader to good success. Although I will admit I run the Tempest mostly because I don't have a fourth Bomber in my collection...

I had decent success with:

Captain Jonus + Squad Leader

Gamma Squadron + Flechette Torpedo + Flechette Torpedo

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Storm Squadron Pilot + Cluster Missiles

Put both Storm Squadron in front of the square formation. Their 3 agility combined with 2 shield each is great to soak more damage during the first strike. Tie Advanced is a good ship to escort bombers, being that they can also carry a missile. And once the first strike is done, it,s not like they are bad for dogfighting.

For the cost of the two advanced there, you could have two Gammas with 10 points to spare that are almost as resilient, though,and that's the problem. Now, when proton rockets become available, it will be a more appealing list. Until then, the advanced just doesn't have a role that can't be better filled by something else for a similar amount of points.

I agree with you that from a min/maxing point of view, the Gamma is a better choice. Going for Scimitars and dropping Squad Leader to then take Howlrunner is a better choice. But I played this team a couple of game for the nay-sayer that think that you can't win with Advanced. You can. As I said, I had decent success with it, and I'm sure I would have more if I continue to play with it.

But I was also surprised how the 3 agility dice, evade action and 2 shields actually makes the Advanced much more resilient than a regular Bomber. For a front unit, it does a really good job. I've had a couple Bomber crippled early by a nasty crit so he could not unload his ordnance, or fire the second one. Never did it happened with the Advanced. They can really take the beating and still unload their missiles. After the initial pass, they are better dogfighters than the Bombers.

So yes, the Advanced could get a little help. But I won't stop using them until then, even if for whatever reason I take them, there is always a better craft for the job. But this game is not just about min/maxing. Is it? And you don't need to have every points spent accounted for to win. Sometimes luck will get in your way anyway and blow your Soontir Fel+PtL one shot in the first turn.

Use it to prop up that one wobbly table leg