I ran into what has to be the most formidable Empire duo I've ever encountered. (The third ship, I believe, was the "Winged Gundark" TIE, but he could have left that one in the box. He didn't need it.)
Have a look at this pair with the upgrades listed below. The configurations here are so wicked that my head is still spinning from the sorcery they were able to execute.
Any suggestions on how to counter it?
Because after what I went through, these seem unbeatable.
In multiple games, he only lost one of them, and only because in his attempt to deliver the death blow to Luke he got too ambitious with a barrel roll which led to him flying one just off the edge of the board on a misjudged K-turn. And even then, the other Phantom carried the day and killed off my remaining ships all on its own.
"Whisper" TIE Phantom
w/ Veteran Instincts (giving it PS 9)
w/ Advanced Cloaking
w/ Gunner
w/ Fire Control System
"Echo" TIE Phantom
w/ Veteran Instincts (giving it PS 8)
w/ Engine Upgrade
w/ Advanced Sensors
w/ Navigator
I don't know which was more fearsome to face. They flew rings around me, proving almost impossible to target, and dealing a deadly 5 attack dice whenever they flew in close, with re-rolls left and right.
Consider what this configuration makes possible ...
WHISPER:
— First, it's able to get a free 2-wide barrel roll when it decloaks, then it moves with all the speed and flexibility on its dial, and it can then wrap up its move with a barrel roll for its action. The combination of that decloak barrel roll and then the regular barrel roll enable it to slip out of range or out of your firing arcs, often positioning itself for a devastating shot in close and often from behind.
(After three rounds of being fired upon by this monster without ever returning a shot of your own makes you just want to pack up and go home.)
— What's more, as long as it attacks it gets a free Cloak to wrap up its turn! So it comes out of cloak just long enough to pummel you, then (assuming it's even in range or in your firing arc) gets its two additional agility dice (and a free focus token for defense as long as he hit you), while setting it up to rinse and repeat its decloak-move-barrelroll-attack-cloak next turn.
— Of course, if he doesn't need that barrel roll action, he's going to take Focus instead, helping him deal more damage with his 4 or 5 attack dice. And on top of all that, as long as it attacks it gets to automatically acquire a Target Lock on whoever it just shot. That ends up giving him a handy re-roll when he makes his next pass.
— And what's more, if he does actually miss on his first attempt, he has Gunner, giving him a complete second attempt to deal damage. And with Fire Control System giving him the Target Lock after his first attempt ... he can then use the TL immediately with his Gunner attack! (And if either of those attacks hit — and you can be sure one will — he gets that free Focus token for defense.)
— Add up all of that stuff in one round: Decloak free 2-wide barrel roll, move, regular barrel roll (or focus) as his action, potentially two attempts to shoot at you, one of them potentially with a free target lock giving him a re-roll, and a free focus and free cloak at the end to set him up with +2 agility (making him almost impossible to damage) and ready him for a repeat performance next round.
ECHO:
— Here the attacks might not be as devastating, but the maneuvering is even more ridiculously flexible and responsive, with a soft-2 decloak barrel roll to start it off, advanced sensors giving him the ability to either boost OR barrel roll BEFORE his move (OR he can move first and then boost or barrel roll as his action), and on his actual move he even has the flexibility of adjusting to a different maneuver with the same bearing if that gives him a better position! Combine all of that (particularly when maneuvering against ships with lower Pilot Skill, where these guys get to see where you end up before they excecute all of their crazy maneuvers) and it's pretty easy for them to remain out of range or slip outside of a firing arc and/or position themselves in close or get behind the enemy every round.
Conclusion ...
One-on-one, apart from the Falcon (maybe), I don't think there's a Rebel ship that could fight one of these guys and hope to win. You would (literally) never get a shot, and they would just keep making elaborate fly-bys dealing damage and picking you apart with every pass, or attack repeatedly from behind (then slip outside your arc if you manage to turn around).
So you definitely can't let it come down to just one-on-one. Gotta have multiple ships on the board and spread out your firing arcs so you can cover more of the places they might end up. And can't make any mistakes when maneuvering your own ships.
I'm thinking you probably need a Falcon. You need at least one pilot with a PS 10. And you can try Ion weapons (assuming you ever get a shot and you ever hit).
Any other suggestions?
Flying Luke, Biggs, and a B-Wing against these monsters, I came away from this series of battles so humiliated and demoralized that I resolved to refuse any battle with that pair again until I come up with something that actually stands a remote chance against them.
Edited by DeVere