I was lucky enough to get 2x decimators from GenCon and have been loving it. One advantage of having 2x decimators is having 4x ruthlessness upgrades. So, using those, here is my new idea for a TIE swam.

Howlrunner 18

Black Squadron Pilot with Ruthlessness x4 17x4

Black Squadron Pilot 14

Total 100pts

I know it's only 6 TIEs instead of 7, but the increase in damage potential and PS really seem worth it to me. Also, In our meta, there are three popular builds: 2x Falcon, Falcon + swarm, and Phantom+ lower agility ships. I think this list counters all of them fairly well. Finally, the glaring weakness to this list is, what do you do if your opponent parks one ship at range one of your swarm?

Any constructive criticisms are welcome.

At first glance I think that since you are flying in formation you have a huge problem here, and that is attacking anyone who flies in close to you. I see you might end up really hurting your own swarm that way. Like a Falcon or something that flies in close will wreck your day.

HAha...MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yeah i can see that hurting alot.

I was lucky enough to get 2x decimators from GenCon and have been loving it. One advantage of having 2x decimators is having 4x ruthlessness upgrades. So, using those, here is my new idea for a TIE swam.

Howlrunner 18

Black Squadron Pilot with Ruthlessness x4 17x4

Black Squadron Pilot 14

Total 100pts

I know it's only 6 TIEs instead of 7, but the increase in damage potential and PS really seem worth it to me. Also, In our meta, there are three popular builds: 2x Falcon, Falcon + swarm, and Phantom+ lower agility ships. I think this list counters all of them fairly well. Finally, the glaring weakness to this list is, what do you do if your opponent parks one ship at range one of your swarm?

Any constructive criticisms are welcome.

At first glance I think that since you are flying in formation you have a huge problem here, and that is attacking anyone who flies in close to you. I see you might end up really hurting your own swarm that way. Like a Falcon or something that flies in close will wreck your day.

I have to agree with Mr. Crabbok, as usual. Swarms are the most reliable list to fly against any hyperdurable damage dealer, IE a Falcon, Huge Ships, or the new Turret Ships in Wave 5. If you play against a Falcon, he has limited the number of craft in his list, and if he keeps his other ships in proximity, he will likely cause some maneuvering and bumpy issues for himself. Compounded with the fact that he knows he will take additional damage for being close to his Falcon or can deal automatic damage to you if he does NOT stay close to his Falcon, the choice is obvious. Now, you can obviously spread that one damage out across your ships, but 4 ships with Ruthlessness against a Falcon means that you will, almost inevitably, deal up to four damage to your own formation each turn.

Long story long, you have taken away the list's primary strength. When you play against a list that a swarm list is typically quite strong against, you will lose the game to your own attrition.

I think two Ruthlessness is enough, maybe one. If you've got two on the table, your opponent is already not going to be flying in formation, job done. I guess with 4 you can occasionally get lucky and punish them for mistakes, but it seems like you'll be punishing yourself just as often.

I think ruthlessness is best kept on a smaller list. It's like the mini assault missile for regular attacks. It helps a 3-ship list deal more damage... but on a swarm... I just don't like it.

Sounds awesome to me. I think it is worth a try. Id probably drop to 2 for ease, and put 6 puts into defense or something, not sure though.

I like it, and I see exactly what he's going for. It IS Ruthless! And, yes, you do take your chances with this one if you fly in close proximity to enemy ships, but, the advantages are increased damage output (essentially you now have 4 Interceptors (3 damage each) on the table, with free re-rolls from Howl.

I think the worry about hitting your own ships is fairly unwarranted here, and definitely no worse than running a bunch of ships with Assault Missiles. And the TIE dial is an excellent dial - with PS 4 all around, you really shouldn't be too worried about being blocked or in a traffic jam, especially if you move before most opponents. And if you do, get out of Dodge using the TIE's excellent dial.. Problem solved.

I don't have a lot of TIE's just yet (not enough to run a full swarm), but this sounds like a fun list. Especially if you're facing off against another swarm, or Biggs, or a blocker with DTF that happens to be hanging around the Falcon. This list is going to cause someone a really BAD day..

EDIT: I was just thinking of another brutal use for Ruthlessness - pair it up with a ship that uses Cluster Missiles. 2 attacks from each missile means 2 extra guaranteed damage to your opponents. Throw this on Jonus and Rhymer with 2 Clusters each and watch the fireworks..

I wonder how well this list would work (Yeah, yeah, point heavy on the bombers, but they're tanky and can take a couple of hits..)

Soontir Fel, PTL (30)

Major Rhymer, Ruthlessness, Clusters x2 (37)

Captain Jonus, Ruthlessness, Clusters x2 (33)

Pick a target - any one of the 3 is a threat. Fel flanks, and the 2 bombers stick tight to each other. Rhymer has the long shot with the Clusters, and Jonus gives him a re-roll of up to 2 dice - ON BOTH ATTACKS! and he'll be dealing an extra 2 points per missile to someone in the area..

Blount is tempted to fly a Tie Fighter to get in on that EPT. Seriously though, the 1 big ship boosting into your face could be a big problem for this list. Most players I go against anymore don't formation fly anymore. If they aren't at range 1 it does nothing. Not to mention that you still have to hit something for it to work. It looks to me like you are begging for assault missile or Ion torpedo pain. Give it a try for a while, but I'll be surprised if it pays off well. Seems like it would be better to run ruthlessness against you with your Howlrunner dependent list.

I was lucky enough to get 2x decimators from GenCon and have been loving it. One advantage of having 2x decimators is having 4x ruthlessness upgrades. So, using those, here is my new idea for a TIE swam.

Howlrunner 18

Black Squadron Pilot with Ruthlessness x4 17x4

Black Squadron Pilot 14

Total 100pts

I know it's only 6 TIEs instead of 7, but the increase in damage potential and PS really seem worth it to me. Also, In our meta, there are three popular builds: 2x Falcon, Falcon + swarm, and Phantom+ lower agility ships. I think this list counters all of them fairly well. Finally, the glaring weakness to this list is, what do you do if your opponent parks one ship at range one of your swarm?

Any constructive criticisms are welcome.

How to isolate friends and make enemies lol. This game appears from time to time to be stepping away from mass formation flying.

I was lucky enough to get 2x decimators from GenCon and have been loving it. One advantage of having 2x decimators is having 4x ruthlessness upgrades. So, using those, here is my new idea for a TIE swam.

Howlrunner 18

Black Squadron Pilot with Ruthlessness x4 17x4

Black Squadron Pilot 14

Total 100pts

I know it's only 6 TIEs instead of 7, but the increase in damage potential and PS really seem worth it to me. Also, In our meta, there are three popular builds: 2x Falcon, Falcon + swarm, and Phantom+ lower agility ships. I think this list counters all of them fairly well. Finally, the glaring weakness to this list is, what do you do if your opponent parks one ship at range one of your swarm?

Any constructive criticisms are welcome.

Ironically the Decimator is the worst thing that could happen to you, as Oicunn can just ram into your swarm solo and watching you kill yourself.

I'm not convinced that parking a large ship range one of 6 TIEs is really a good option when playing this list. You are going to be eating 18 dice with 5 rerolls if you do. Yes, the ties will eat some damage that you can spread around, but it's going to cost you a huge portion of your list.

I'm not convinced that parking a large ship range one of 6 TIEs is really a good option when playing this list. You are going to be eating 18 dice with 5 rerolls if you do. Yes, the ties will eat some damage that you can spread around, but it's going to cost you a huge portion of your list.

That's what I was talking about in my earlier post. A TIE Swarm wants to make some ranged chips against a Falcon, no biggie with Ruthlessness, but then close the distance and hammer away with 6+ 3 dice attacks. With four ships that have Ruthlessness, you CANNOT do this strategy, and the Falcon will be on the table much longer than it needs to, doing mounds of damage to your swarm. Point being, Ruthlessness takes away the strength of the TIE swarm vs hyper durable opponents.