So I played a game last night with my buddy; keep in mind we are still getting a feel for the game, how different ships move and such. He had 2 X-Wings with Luke and Wedge, and an E-Wing. I had a Fettigator and 2 Interceptors (Phennir & Fel). The first shot he had on one of my ties, he one shotted it; the second however due to nifty barrel rolling and really lucky dice roles was able to almost single handedly take out both Luke and Wedge.

My question is; what's more common Interceptor wise, for the point cost are they a decent choice? The movement dial seems to make me think yes, plus the extra attack dice is always nice. But it was a very hot and cold run, with one getting blown away during a single combat phase, and the other flying incredibly well. (Side bar- does the Imp Aces set make Interceptors that much better pilot card wise?)

Thanks for the feedback in advance!

Interceptors are far and away my favorite ship. They do have a bit of a learning curve, but the trick isn't to roll well on evasion, it's to not get hit in the first place. As far as Imperial Aces goes, It's a phenomenal expansion, and has two copies of excellent cards for interceptors. The pilots that come with it are great too, Lt Lorrir is a personal favorite. If you fly interceptors, get the aces.

There's a bit of a learning curve with Interceptors, to be sure.

The first rule of Saber Squadron is you do not joust in Saber Squadron.

The second rule of Saber Squadron is YOU DO NOT JOUST IN SABER SQUADRON.

Seriously, the way interceptors usually die is by rolling a fistful of blanks. Their best defense is to not get shot in the first place, i.e., use that boost & barrel roll to stay out of arcs and come in from the flanks. A general rule of thumb is that if your named Interceptor doesn't have PTL, you're doing it wrong (not always true, but true probably 90% of the time). Soontir Fel with PTL & targeting computer is one of the nastiest motherf@#$%^ers in the game, especially in the end game.

edit: ninja'd on a couple points

Imperial Aces gives you access to the Royal Guard Pilot, who is a cheap PS 6 generic with a slot for an Elite Pilot Talent (EPT), so you can take Push the Limit, which makes the Interceptor far, far more survivable.

It also gives you access to the Royal Guard title, so you can, if you choose, add two (different) modifications, so you can add a Hull Upgrade and a Stealth device, or Shield Upgrade, also making them more durable.

Aces is definitely worth it. The new pilots in the box are also worth exploring, ranging from fun to quite powerful with their new abilities.

Very cool, definitely looking at grabbing an Aces set this weekend. And you aren't kidding, it was such a drastic swing from one Interceptor getting destroyed right away, and another flying like he was possessed lol.

Interceptors are really fun. In my opinion (and this is coming from someone who came to X-Wing from Wings of Glory, the WWI air combat system X-Wing is based on), they represent the purest form of X-Wing. You have to actually, you know, FLY THEM WELL, instead of just puttering around the board with your Millennium Falcon rerolling all your dice!

To be honest I wish we'd see more Interceptor-type units. The Phantom is a step in the right direction.

What was the list you ran with Fettigator, Fel, and Phennir?

Since you guys definitely seem to have solid knowledge bases, let me ask you a maneuver based question for barrel rolling. In the rule book it states that you place the "1" tile to the right or left of the base and then move the ship to the front or back opposite of where you placed it originally. If I am understanding this correctly, would it then be possible to place the "1" template at the top of the base and barrel roll backwards or to where you end up with the "1" template at the bottom of your base? Without a diagram its hard to define what I am asking, hopefully its clear.

Since you guys definitely seem to have solid knowledge bases, let me ask you a maneuver based question for barrel rolling. In the rule book it states that you place the "1" tile to the right or left of the base and then move the ship to the front or back opposite of where you placed it originally. If I am understanding this correctly, would it then be possible to place the "1" template at the top of the base and barrel roll backwards or to where you end up with the "1" template at the bottom of your base? Without a diagram its hard to define what I am asking, hopefully its clear.

Yes, you are allowed to do this.

I ran Fett with the Navigator and missles (can't remember the specific name, but the ones that deal 1 damage to all ships within range 1 when you hit the targeted ship with the Slave 1 upgrade) Phennir with marksmanship, and Fel.

There are probably better choices out there lol, but again we are just starting to figure the combos out.

Since you guys definitely seem to have solid knowledge bases, let me ask you a maneuver based question for barrel rolling. In the rule book it states that you place the "1" tile to the right or left of the base and then move the ship to the front or back opposite of where you placed it originally. If I am understanding this correctly, would it then be possible to place the "1" template at the top of the base and barrel roll backwards or to where you end up with the "1" template at the bottom of your base? Without a diagram its hard to define what I am asking, hopefully its clear.

Yes, you are allowed to do this.

Ok cool, I thought so but it almost seemed physically impossible for a ship in forward motion to barrel roll diagonally backwards lol... and needless to say my bud wasn't happy when I did it to finish Wedge off.

Yes, you can slide forwards or backwards whilst barrel-rolling. It's one of the things which makes the action so powerful.

Add it to boost, and Interceptors are VERY good at adjusting their final position after they resolve their pre-planned manouvre. Pair this up with a higher pilot skill than their opponents and they're devilishly hard to pin down in a fair fight. The scariest elite pilot talent is Push The Limit, allowing a squint to barrel roll AND boost in a single turn.

I'd second Imperial Aces. The Royal Guard Pilot, Push The Limit, toughness upgrades, are all awesome, and the new named pilots are no slouches either.

I ran Fett with the Navigator and missles (can't remember the specific name, but the ones that deal 1 damage to all ships within range 1 when you hit the targeted ship with the Slave 1 upgrade) Phennir with marksmanship, and Fel.

There are probably better choices out there lol, but again we are just starting to figure the combos out.

Just FYI, Fel with Push the Limit is the best. Just amazing. You basically get three actions a turn.

Try Fettigator (42) with Fel (27) + Push the Limit (3) + Targeting Computer (2) and Turr (25) with Veteran Instincts (1). 100 points even, with no PS lower than 8, good durability, insane maneuverability, etc.

The one thing to watch out for is the template can never exceed the legnth of the ship's base, either when placing the template or moving the ship. You end up only getting half a base's movement forward or backward, but it can still be tremendous difference (if a rock is in the way, or a few millimeters in or out of a firing arc.)

My favorite Ints are Soontir Fel and Royal Guards, both always with push the limit

Double clarification on barrel roll, while you can position the 1 template anywhere on the side of the base, it does have to be flush and completely within the base (no part of template hanging over edge). Yes, it really is a cool action at times.

As has been mentioned, interceptors are good ships, they just tend to be fragile and less forgiving, so they are generally used as flanking ships. Just make sure you have a better target for your opponent then your flanker:).

PTL is almost a must (Push the Limit) and don't get discouraged, they blow up easy but usually its your mistake. You either didn't maneuver right or you didn't provide enough of a thread with the rest of your list to leave them alone.

Basically if you have an an EPT upgrade on an Interceptor, you need to have PTL on it. Especially Soontir Fel! Just imagine Fel is 30 points base (27+ 3 for PTL). The only exception is Turr, in which VI (vet. instincts) works pretty well with him. Lets him move and shoot at PS 9 and his ability lets you do second action anyway. So you can Focus, shoot and then boost or barrel roll out of arc.

However, you can run PTL on Turr and now you can Focus, shoot, then Boost and Barrel roll out of arc... Makes him super slippery. Just don't PTL with Turr before you shoot, as with the stress you'll not be able to do your action after firing.

Interceptors without the EPT upgrade IMO are kind of crappy. I rather run Tie Fighters instead.

Awesome, thank you guys for all the great feedback. I currently have 5 Interceptors and I will definitely be adding at least two Imp Aces sets to the mix. I don't know if you guys are like me at all on how you collect, but my biased Imperial side makes me buy waaaay more Imp ships than Rebel lol.

I won a local Imdaar Alpha tournament first place with....

Royal Guard Pilot-PTL, Title Card, Sheild Upgrade, Hull Upgrade

Carnor Jax-PTL, Title Card, Shield Upgrade, Hull Upgrade

and

Two other Basic Tie fighters just used as afterthought fillers...I think an academy and Dark Curse with Stealth.

Never flown imperials before...but did my homework. The PTL interceptor is hurtful...VERY hurtful. Awesome ship.

Awesome, thank you guys for all the great feedback. I currently have 5 Interceptors and I will definitely be adding at least two Imp Aces sets to the mix. I don't know if you guys are like me at all on how you collect, but my biased Imperial side makes me buy waaaay more Imp ships than Rebel lol.

Nothing wrong with being on the winning team.

Imperial Aces is a MUST have if you play Interceptors. The Pilots and upgrades in that are amazing. Interceptors are, in my opinion, the best ship in the game for what it costs.\

So I played a game last night with my buddy; keep in mind we are still getting a feel for the game, how different ships move and such. He had 2 X-Wings with Luke and Wedge, and an E-Wing. I had a Fettigator and 2 Interceptors (Phennir & Fel). The first shot he had on one of my ties, he one shotted it; the second however due to nifty barrel rolling and really lucky dice roles was able to almost single handedly take out both Luke and Wedge.

My question is; what's more common Interceptor wise, for the point cost are they a decent choice? The movement dial seems to make me think yes, plus the extra attack dice is always nice. But it was a very hot and cold run, with one getting blown away during a single combat phase, and the other flying incredibly well. (Side bar- does the Imp Aces set make Interceptors that much better pilot card wise?)

Thanks for the feedback in advance!

Get Imp Aces. RGI title with Targeting computer, PTL, and stealth device. In my last battle I jousted useing Fel with the combo I mentioned. I got a target lock and 2 focus. First shoot splashed enemy. Wing man 1 fired at FEl prefect dodge with first tolken. Wing Man 2 fired at Fel, 2nd dodge perfect with 2nd tolken.

As many have mentioned, PTL is awesomesauce... but some of the new 'passive' EPT's work really well with interceptors, too.

I've been dinking around a bit with Predator on Turr Phenir, for example, and it lets him eat the little guys like popcorn. I'd think Outmaneuver would also be a good fit for him.

That said, what I'm really looking forward to is being able to put PTL & Predator/Outmaneuver on an A-wing...