Over at the Lfftnant Lorrir thread there has been some good discussion about TIE interceptors in general. I made a comment that the 3 AGI of the TIE interceptor is truly an asset. Yes, the dice betray you sometimes, but they save you more often than you realize.

I started this topic to sort of chronicle my adventures and misadventures during the current Team Covenant Vassal Tournament hosted by Theorist and Antigrapist. I have brought two different TIE interceptor squads, and I'm excited to see how they do!

To get this started, I thought I'd share a humorous anecdote from game night. My 4 Alpha Sq. Pilots managed to K-turn behind my opponent's last remaining Bandit Sq. Pilot. He thought about K-turning, but decided to run for it with a straight 4 + Focus instead. We were able to destroy him, and he lamented that at PS 2 he should have just K-turned to get a shot off. Cheekily, I replied, "It wouldn't have mattered: I would have just rolled this - " and I proceeded to roll 3 evade results on my dice. My opponent shook his head and said, "Thanks for helping me feel better about my poor maneuver choice." We had a good laugh about it.

I look forward to updating this thread with my squint war stories. Feel free to include yours as well, especially if they highlight the agility of these magnificent starfighters!

What does Squint mean? Tie Interceptors?

What does Squint mean? Tie Interceptors?

yes

TIEs = Eyeballs

Interceptors = Squints

Bombers = Dupes

etc.

These are primarily from the EU books.

I need to write up my reports with highlights and screenshots, but after two rounds in the tournament, it's looking like my agility rolls are pretty hot. Here are my two squads:

Squad 1: Lorrir's Wrath a.k.a. Squint Harder (courtesy of Theorist)

"Fel's Wrath"

Lt. Lorrir

Alpha Sq. Pilot

Alpha Sq. Pilot

Alpha Sq. Pilot

TOTAL 100

Squad 2: Squint Hard

Soontir Fel (Push the Limit)

Carnor Jax (Push the Limit)

Royal Guard Pilot (Push the Limit)

Black Squadron Pilot (Wingman)

TOTAL100

Squad 2 is really nice for PS and Carnor's ability. But sometimes I feel like I just need more guns (like when we're up against Decivader), and that's when I choose Squad 1. Frankly, they're both lots of fun to play.

More to come. Stay tuned. I plan to include battle reports including screenshots of key situations during the matches.

My first match of the tournament was against wilderj. I knew he was going to bring the Decivader because none of my ships have shields. It was bound to be a tough match for me.

"Echo" (Fire-Control System, Veteran Instincts, Advanced Cloaking Device)

Patrol Leader (Gunner, Darth Vader, Intelligence Agent, Dauntless)

Academy Pilot

100 points

I chose initiative after winning the coin toss.

Round 1:

Positioning

Round 2:

More positioning – #33 overlapped, but it was okay because there weren’t any shots. I didn’t want Lt. Lorrir up against “Echo” all by his lonesome, and I really wanted to focus down that Patrol Leader

Round 3:

My Alphas move up, his Academy hits a rock, my 5’s get into position, and “Echo” dodges his rock for a shot on the Lieutenant. Fortunately, no damage done. Lt. Lorrir and “Fel’s Wrath” manage to strip Patrol Leader’s shields. Then comes the terrifying attack. His Patrol Leader used Dauntless to lock onto #33 for a range 1 shot, and he has both Gunner and Darth Vader onboard. He rolls [focus][hit][hit][blank], but holds onto the target lock, and I manage to roll two evade results, triggering Gunner. He rolls [focus][hit][hit][blank]. “Sweet,” I think to myself. “I’ve got this.” Of course, he spends the target lock, and rolled much better with a 3 hits and a crit. Gulp! I roll and BAM – 3 evades! And the crit is…Blinded Pilot! What a blow to a great dodge. I guess he was satisfied with that, because he didn’t press the attack with Vader. We manage to tag the Patrol Leader for 3 more damage. I’m nervous, but maybe I have a fighting chance. And so far my green dice have not abandoned me.

Round 4:

With the Decimator perhaps blocking the way, I wasn’t sure what to do with my injured Alpha, so #33 turns to face “Echo.” Lt. Lorrir gets out of the skirmish, and everybody else lines up for shots. “Echo” spends her focus to net 3 hits against “Fel’s Wrath,” who rolls one evade result, keeping him in the game with 1 hull left. Now, some people may call that a failure of their green dice, but to me it’s a victory, I guess it comes down to perspective. “Fel’s Wrath” only manages 1damage on the Patrol Leader. Then the Patrol Leader unleashes 3 hits and a crit on #33. Rolling 2 evades from the dice plus 1 from the token, means I have to take the crit. If it’s anything but Direct Hit, I can force the Patrol Leader to activate Vader and take some damage…but it’s a Direct Hit! One man down. My remaining Alphas take their shots, one completely whiffing his attack roll, and the other landing a respectable 2 damage on that Decimator. Then comes the kicker. This is the one place in the match where I felt “betrayed” by the green dice. His Academy shoots at “Fel’s Wrath” who only has 1 hull left. He rolls only 1 hit at range 1. I roll 3 blanks. That was a huge blow. Probably as big as that Blinded Pilot earlier. I’m two ships down, with little to show for it. Things are looking bad.

Round 5:

If round 4 was unfortunate, round 5 is just insulting. “Echo” deftly maneuvers behind my advancing Alphas, and rolls a hit and a crit against #11 – but he says “Denied!” with 3 evades (where were those evades when Wrathy need them?). Next up, Patrol Leader only rolls 1 hit on #11, who only rolls one focus. I chose not to spend the focus, but to take the hit instead. Vader activates dealing the other Blinded Pilot! Ack! I can’t complain much about the dice, but these crits are killing me. (Yes, I know, that’s what crits are supposed to do). But #22 managed to tag the Academy with a hit, which was nice. 1 hull left on that little ship.

Round 6:

“Echo” wails on #11 with 5 hits, after spending her focus token to change 3 of them, which was awesome, because without that focus, she couldn’t dodge the incoming shot from Lorrir through the asteroid at range 3. Unfortunately, I only got one damage in. My opponent rolled 4 blanks out of 6 evade dice. It happens. Patrol Leader’s turn. Alpha 22 dodges the first volley of fire, but Vader gives him a Damaged Engine. He rolls 3 hits with Gunner, and #22 rolls 2 evades and a focus, and spends his token to dodge the attack. Sweet! Vader again will kill the Decimator. He goes for it, and deals Minor Explosion. Of course, I roll a hit, and my last Alpha is toast.

Round 7:

The rest of the match is embarrassing. Lt. Lorrir gets blocked by a nice barrel roll from the Academy Pilot. Then “Echo” flies through an asteroid, but lucky for her, she takes no damage. I decide try to head towards the map corner in an attempt to corral "Echo."

Round 8:

I boosted with Lorrir, expecting “Echo” to perform a more sharp turn somehow, and gave her a great opportunity to barrel roll to get a shot. At least it’s through the asteroid. With the help from the target lock from Fire-control Systems, “Echo” rolls 3 hits and a crit. Ouch. Lorrir gets 5 dice and rolls – 3 evades! Not bad, but not quite what I needed. So far my opponent’s crits have been merciless towards me. Sure enough, it’s a Direct Hit.

Round 9:

“Echo’s” superior pilot skill let’s her completely dodge Lorrir, and roll 5 hits at range 1. That is game.

It wasn't really a close game, but just over half-way through I thought I had a fighting chance. I think it was an illusion, but it was perpetuated by my luck in knocking two shields off of "Echo." In the end game, she's untouchable. But my biggest mistake of all was to separate Lorrir from the group to try to keep him alive. He didn't deal enough damage to be worth his points, and I think that sealed the deal.

My dice were fantastic. Only once was I really "betrayed" by my dice. Most of the time they saved me from "sure kills" my opponent dealt out.