since the wave 4 drop, my interceptor lists have become easy meat for the grinder as of late.
tried and true lists are struggling to even do damage let alone survive.
I have tried to mix it up a bit, but have not found a good combo. am I looking at it all wrong, should I be using 1 or 2 squints as support for something bigger, or throw them in with a mini swarm?
I am stumped here.
No we all stopped trying too many turrets about.
I love my squints, they are my favorite ship. oh the pain........ 
I never got to fly them right. I think Interceptors are some of my least favorite ships.
A high PS interceptor with PTL is lethal but you need to be able to arc dodge to stay alive and in the current environment you cant do it.
I think the only way interceptors can deal with gunner turrets is to be paired with something else that they want dead even more. Soontir is definitely the better option.
Remember, there IS something anti-turret'y coming the Interceptor's way, if we are to believe the devs.
you all know there was a Tie Interceptor in the squad that won the North American Finals right?
My interceptor list never feared gunner turrets, nor do they now. Only thing they have a problem with is sticking with a phantom, hence why I pair them with one.
I think they're entirely viable, but not an elite triple interceptor list anymore. Too little HP. Soontir hasn't gone away, that's for sure.
Jacob
This has been a fairly common topic lately, but I think the complaints are overblown.
1.) Interceptor's do not rely only on arc-dodging. They also have three agility dice and an evade action; many of them also run PTL and can turtle up with Focus + Evade if needed. The good dial also has other benefits beyond just dodging arcs. It lets you dictate the range at which you engage, set up shots to ensure you're getting use out of the red die you paid for, and shedding stress from PTL or K-turns when necessary.
2.) Even if they don't have this, the odds of being one-shotted are vastly overblown. It can happen, but it's confirmation bias that leads us to think this is happening all the time. You can see the start of some numbers on this here:
There will be more to follow as well, the chart is not yet ready.
3.) Interceptors are a lot cheaper than these turretted ships and it can be ok if they die. If you lost a 25 point PTL RGI, but are able to take out half of a Falcon's HP you've done your job. Be careful to mind your feelings; a pilot does not have attachments or possesions.
This isn't to say that Interceptor's are perfect in the current meta. I think their generics are slightly overcosted and rarely worth the points over a named TIE. There's some good discussion in this thread as well:
http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/121761-lefttenant-lorrir/
Interceptors are not a stand alone ship anymore. As part of a list they work ok, but a 3 interceptor list is a bridge too far.
It's even more necessary that it is Soontir now because of PS9, and I sort of expect that he would have survived mostly just because people were going after the phantom in that GenCon list. I'd love to see videos of some of those matches someday.
I'm going to try him in the TC Open, but even my favorite, Carnor at PS8, is now looking like a bad investment, someone to just get murdered in one shot, maybe two, no matter where he goes.
*edit* I'll look at that post in a bit Fel and I agree about a little bit of confirmation bias, but a two shot kill with the turrets is also pretty devastating for such a high cost ship since there's usually so little you can do after the first hit to keep them alive that isn't close to just taking them out of the game on your own initiative. People talk about the asteroids as if they provide a lot more protection than they really do, especially when there's as much dice modification as is happening with these fat builds.
Edited by PenguinBonaparteI've done well turtling Interceptors. Even the RGI with PtL can Focus + evade. Your shooting won't be as strong, but you should be running a mixed list, and if they are shooting your Interceptor, it means your other ships are free to spend tokens on shooting. I've even had named Interceptors shot at repeatedly by Falcons to no avail, while more important ships moved in for the kill.
I do agree though, they shouldn't be flown in all Interceptor lists. I like 1 or 2, and have had good luck with a mini swarm of 5 TIE Fighters and an Interceptor. The RGI is a steal at 25 points with PtL and PS6.
Haven't had a problem running Interceptors, as I always do. did great in a small tourney with a turr/VI +howl and 4 ties.
I prefer running two, but i wanted numbers.
Two royal guards with PTL, royal guard title and hull/shield upgrade makes for some squirrely ships
The generics are not overcosted. As soon as you make them cheaper, you can outfit many more with mods then you should be. 1 point doesn't sound like much till you realize you can run 5 alphas with hull upgrade, basically letting you over power most things and still have durability to not be one shotted or 4 sabers with PtL and TC, giving you decent PS and better offensive power then rookies and still able to turtle when nessesary allowing large amounts of versatility. This is why I'm against "fixing" ships.
What drives me insane is the insinuation that wave 4, and notably the Phantom is the culprit behind the WAACjobs flying fat falcons. The CR90 had 3p0. The falcons were going to be fat from then on. It had nothing but coincidence to do with Phantom. Players like that will always exploit the system.
I'm very sorry that interceptors don't fare well against endless 360 evade token machines. Very little does.
Soontir + PTL & TC still works just dandy...
Why do people still think 3 evade is that strong mathwingers have shown us red dice beat green everytime, sure you can evade but turtleing benefits the ships with higher HP.
The longer it takes you to down the falcon the more likely you are to lose ships.
As for an interceptor being in the winning list i'm fairly sure the phantom got most of the attention which is why soontir got to do his thing.
The OP's on about interceptor heavy squads and those we are not seeing much.
Because you know, the game is played completely on averages. Should just move to for sure damage against ships. Oh, and turtling serves 3 agility ships just fine in the field. As others brought out, if I take out or do a significant amount of damage to a falcon before my 28 point investment bites the dust, it has done its job.
What drives me insane is the insinuation that wave 4, and notably the Phantom is the culprit behind the WAACjobs flying fat falcons. The CR90 had 3p0. The falcons were going to be fat from then on. It had nothing but coincidence to do with Phantom. Players like that will always exploit the system.
I'm very sorry that interceptors don't fare well against endless 360 evade token machines. Very little does.
Good grief! Players who run C3PO are not necessarily WAAC, it's a pretty fun mechanic and maybe some players just enjoy using it! Yes it can be very effective but it isn't infallible. Embrace it or I fear for your blood pressure. Seriously though if you don't enjoy turrets maybe you should look elsewhere as they're a fundamental part of this game and here to stay!
What drives me insane is the insinuation that wave 4, and notably the Phantom is the culprit behind the WAACjobs flying fat falcons. The CR90 had 3p0. The falcons were going to be fat from then on. It had nothing but coincidence to do with Phantom. Players like that will always exploit the system.
I'm very sorry that interceptors don't fare well against endless 360 evade token machines. Very little does.
Good grief! Players who run C3PO are not necessarily WAAC, it's a pretty fun mechanic and maybe some players just enjoy using it! Yes it can be very effective but it isn't infallible. Embrace it or I fear for your blood pressure. Seriously though if you don't enjoy turrets maybe you should look elsewhere as they're a fundamental part of this game and here to stay!
3p0 isn't waac, and it is a fun mechanic. So are turrets. You aren't seeing y wing and hwk turret spams, nor are you seeing 3p0 in many builds outside of Fat Falcon. Donny strawman, it's unbecoming.
The things I'm thinking WAAC stand for are not forum appropriate...
Anyway...
Turr, Fel, Jax, Cowall, and RGP are all still viable. Those top 3 are point efficient and "bend the rules" in ways most other pilots don't (Turr- 2 actions during combat, Fel- 3 actions a turn, Jax 2 actions a turn and denies actions). The other two are a point cheaper than they "should" be and can be very efficient because of it if not loaded to the gills(Cowall and RGP are just point efficient). Alphas exist too and have a place.
I have never had great luck with all interceptors all the time lists. I can see one elite or up to 2 RGPs but their weaknesses are too easy to exploit when your whole list has that weakness. Mix it up a bit:
Scarlet Cowgirl with an RGP back up
Baron's Focus (or Turr's Hunting Party variant)
You can do a lot with one interceptor; that doesn't mean you can do everything with all interceptors.
Since Wave 4, I like to run 2 with a defender. It worked nicely for now. If they concentrate on the Interceptors, it leaves the Defender (usually equip with a HLC) for the end game, a place where he is king. If he go for the Defender first, this thing can usually take a beating and it leaves my high PS Interceptors for the end game where they have an easier time outmaneuvring their opponent. Win-Win.... but short on ship so, if things go south, it goes down pretty fast. Still fun to fly though!