Hi! New player here. Looking to expand my collection. Are TIE bombers worth having? Seems a lot of people do not use them? Why is this? I always thought they were a cool ship!

Actually, it's widely considered to be the most cost-effective hull you can buy in the game. Six hull points for, usually, less than twenty squad points, plus the named pilots have pretty groovy abilities.

I've seen Major Rhymer and Captain Jonus used many, many times, too. They both have super-useful abilities that make them almost an auto-include for a squad that uses secondary weapons.

Personally I am a casual player, and as such, I fly what I think is fun or cool. I am not optimizing my squads to win tournaments.

As a new player, I would expect you to also play casual games, at least till you get the hang of the game.

So if you like the TIE Bomber, fly one. Or more if you like. Basically you should not let super competitive Tournament meta dicatate what you fly.

I enjoy owning the beautiful models, and being able to field the ships I feel like playing in a list.

Personally I am a casual player, and as such, I fly what I think is fun or cool. I am not optimizing my squads to win tournaments.

As a new player, I would expect you to also play casual games, at least till you get the hang of the game.

So if you like the TIE Bomber, fly one. Or more if you like. Basically you should not let super competitive Tournament meta dicatate what you fly.

I enjoy owning the beautiful models, and being able to field the ships I feel like playing in a list.

I like your reply. I think I'll get me one

I love the bomber; they're my favourite TIE varient in terms of looks, and they can be pretty kick-ass too. I have three of them and fly them in a wing alongside Colonel Vessery. They spam the table with target locks while Vessery mops up with his HLC and outmaneuver.

It's not super effective, but it's a lot of fun to play and can be surprisingly hard to deal with.

Mostly it just looks totally badass, and that's half the point of playing - (the other half being flying toy spaceships around a table making pew pew noises).

As another casual gamer, the Tie Bomber is my favourite, I never take a force without three of the beauties. Don't care if they aren't good in the "meta".

Tie Bombers are lovely.

I'm not going to sugar coat the usefulness in current usage though. They're not easy to use. I believe its usage total is less than 5%.

It really doesn't hurt to get one. They're fun.

To be useful in a squad though, you probably need 3 or 5. I have 5.

I have 4, and use a least a couple in most of my lists, usually with seismic charges or nothing. They are very durrable and have a pretty unique set of maneuvers which can surprise your opponenents if they're not use to facing them, which often the case.

I'm really not fond of Seismics nowadays, as too many ships are higher PS than you and have movement actions that can take them out of the bomb's range. It was much more fun to play against low PS pre-wave 4 lists.

You don't need to ever drop the charges. They're just there to force your opponent to position differently and spend actions on boost/barrel roll rather than focus/TL/evade. The psychological effect is gennerally better than the damage they deal.

Hi! New player here. Looking to expand my collection. Are TIE bombers worth having? Seems a lot of people do not use them? Why is this? I always thought they were a cool ship!

They are cheap and sturdy. I like to throw a pair of the cheapo ones into a swarm occasionally. They also fly well with Defenders.

Vessery with his target lock providing bomber buddy is a good combination, puts out done hurt (6 ish attack dice as a whole) and kinda gives the defender a mini Biggs.

Or gives the bomber a massive Biggs (depends on your POV:))

The issue with tie bombers is more that ordnance has own limitations.

I have four, but have yet to field more than 2.

Although the fabled 5 bomber build will happen at some point.

Personally I am a casual player, and as such, I fly what I think is fun or cool. I am not optimizing my squads to win tournaments.

As a new player, I would expect you to also play casual games, at least till you get the hang of the game.

So if you like the TIE Bomber, fly one. Or more if you like. Basically you should not let super competitive Tournament meta dicatate what you fly.

I enjoy owning the beautiful models, and being able to field the ships I feel like playing in a list.

^ This. Always this.

-Cal

The problem isn't tie bombers the issue is ordinance which can be tricky to get the best out of, and when your picking ships based on primary attack and manoeuvres there are better options.

I love the Tie Bomber! I'll go with a cheap one with Concussion Missiles and Cluster Missiles. There is Munitions Failsafe now and I've thought about going Proton Torpedoes instead of Concussion (since you get them back if you miss, but cause more damage if you hit).

For one, you will mostly find on these forums the most uber competitive lists. So, you will get people who bash them. If you play in a good local area, you will have people who don't build only the most competitive lists. So, you should be fine.

I think Bombers can be competitive, but they rely on missiles and torpedoes. These have some randomness to them that uber competitive players avoid. Also, points spent on one shot stuff tends to be avoided by those, as well. I've also found that ordenance tends to work better when doubled up. So, two Concussion Missiles fired in the same turn can either kill something or cripple it. At least from my experience.

Personally, I think 4 Tie Bombers with Concussion Missiles would make a hell of a list to play against. That first round would see 4 Concussion Missiles coming at you. Make one Cpt Jonus and you will see a lot of hits. You can actually do enough damage to kill the Falcon in the first round. That's 16 dice with 6 getting re-rolls. Then, a blank still becomes a hit. The YT-1300 only gets a total of 4 green dice. That's a lot of hits.

Should you get a bomber? Yes. Why? Captain Jonus, Captain Jonus, and Captain Jonus. Also, a cheap 6 hull.

I love bombers, they are my favorite Imperial ship (for appearance/coolness factor). But it's tough to use them with a decent load of ordnance in a normal game.

Mine have been great in Epic games with fletchette torps, cluster missiles, seismic charges and munitions failsafe. I have been running 3-4 Scimitars with that loadout plus Jonus and Rhymer.

In half of my last 4 Epic games I have pulled off Epic bombings (no pun intented). Once I killed Soontir Fel, Turr and 2 TIEs, and this past weekend I killed 4 out of a group of 5 A-wings. Yes they can avoid the bombs if they are careful, but it limits thier manuever and people seem to forget in the heat of battle.

I have I use Major Rhymer with PTL and Advanced Proton Torpedos (and other stuff in Epic). Target Lock, Focus, then dish out 5 damage at Range 1 or 2. I'm considering using him in a 100 point game.

IMO, as someone else mentioned, its more of a problem with the cost of ordnance.

The bomber is a cool ship which has its place in both casual and serious lists.

- Jonus' brothers (Captain Jonus + 2 x Tie defenders with heavy laser cannons) is interesting to fly.

- Major Rhymer will have possibilities when proton rockets come out

- Bombs: you'll either bomb yourself or your opponent the first time you use them, which can induce giggles either way

The bomber is a cool ship which has its place in both casual and serious lists.

- Jonus' brothers (Captain Jonus + 2 x Tie defenders with heavy laser cannons) is interesting to fly.

It's more than interesting. It's AMAZING!

The Bomber is also good with Colonel Jendon (TL dealing shuttle). Have him pass the locks early, so the Bombers can focus the turn they fire for bonus hitting power.

Personally, I love the TIE Bombers. Just wait until you play an Epic game.

I've yet to play them where they dont end up as a high hit points poor fighter but i think thats mainly bad luck as i've seen player lightly load them on ordance, miss with that and they are barely a threat afterward.

If they are loaded up i try and throw everything at them before they can get that missile/bomb/torpedo whatever off at you.

TIE Bombers are often seen as Alpha-strike ships - load them with the reliable Concussion Missiles, potentially damaging Proton Torpedos or double tapping Cluster Missiles, point them at an expensive, low agility target and make it go boom.

It isn't quite as simple as that, though. They need to acquire target locks to fire their ordnance, meaning they need to be in range 3 when they declare actions - not easy in the opening exchanges for a low PS fighter. And if they fire the same turn as they target lock, they need a method of modifying dice.

They've twice the hit points of a standard TIE and a reasonable dial however, making them a tough and fairly decent dogfighter. They're relatively cheap as well.

The named pilots are good - Captain Jonus is a great support ship for builds using secondary weapons - whether that's ordnance, ion cannons or HLC's - and helps make up for ordnance's general shortcomings. Major Rhymer can be an absolute beast, firing Cluster Missiles at range 3 or Advanced Proton Torpedoes at range 2. Best of all, unlike the Rebel Y-Wings, both TIE Bomber named pilots have access to EPTs.

All that being said, they're still struggling to find their niche in competitive builds. Although we're starting to see cheaper and more effective ordnance with recent releases (and ordnance with additional effects like Ion Pulse Missiles and Flechette Torpedoes), it's overall value is still questionable.

I've yet to play them where they dont end up as a high hit points poor fighter but i think thats mainly bad luck as i've seen player lightly load them on ordance, miss with that and they are barely a threat afterward.

If they are loaded up i try and throw everything at them before they can get that missile/bomb/torpedo whatever off at you.

Scimitar Squadron pilot w/ Concussion Missile and Cluster missile is only 24 pts. Throw on Munitions Failsafe for 25 pts and he's a lot better. Throw out the Concussion at Range 3 and then move closer for the Cluster.

After that, his barrel roll helps, but he's not that great. Then again, he should've done some damage.

If you are going to face off vs Phantoms, take a Flachette Torpedo instead and use it to cause stress.

As much as I love my bombers, the main problem I find with using ordnance is the fact that a lot of it of it requires a lock and is range 2-3. This means to get stuff off before you get rushed you usually need one of the following:

- A high PS, so that you get to lock after the opponent has moved into range. This usually means a named pilot (and Jonus doesn't benefit his own shooting).

- Deadeye, so that you can focus instead of lock to fire off your ordnance. As an EPT, this is only available to named pilots who are less likely to need it.

- Jendon handing out locks in advance. This ties up about 1/3 of your force on a support ship, and tells your opponent turns in advance which ships you're targetting.

- Ion your target. This way will have no chance to rush to range 1 in the turn after you lock onto it.

So basically it's a cool ship and can be useful, but not as much anymore?