With a dozen or so games under my belt flying the defender I've come to a few realisations.

1) despite people's complaints, the dial is really good. All the 1,2 and 3 speed maneuvers is the shizzle

2) this ship needs heavy investment to work. It's not a ship you can just plonk in any old list to fill 30 points and get a return.

I've had most success building a list around the defender rather than adding the defender into other lists. It is a perfect HLC platform thanks to its stunning array of manoeuvres and barrel roll action. However, due to the red on the dial and the fact you may often be barrel rolling to keep that HLC firing on target, some kind of inbuilt (I.e not action dependant) dice modification is required to get your monies worth out of the HLC. For this reason, I'm shying away from the generics and even rexler as aside from fancy tricks like squad leader or Jeddon this is hard to achieve.

I've found Vessery to be the man for me thanks to his relatively easy to aquire free target lock. This frees him up for pulling reds and barrel rolls and means when you can focus you're a force to be reckoned with at any range. The key here is obviously keeping those TLs up on the enemy.

With this in mind, I've been running the following list;

Vessery

HLC

outmaneuver

Omicron group pilot

Vader

ST-321

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

There doesn't seem to be any easy way to deal with this list. The shuttle paints Vesserys target on turn one. If the enemy pursues Vessery, his vast range of maneuvers means he can lead them

On a merry chase getting plenty of TL/focus shots in thanks to his white k turn whilst the academies and shuttle strip shields and punch crits through whilst clogging up lanes to aid Vesserys cat and mouse escapades. Concentrating on the support leaves Vessery too much time to cripple the main threats, and Vessery in the endgame is a beast. I would love an engine upgrade, but see the targeting computers on the ties as mandatory to ensure he keeps getting those free TLs late into the game.

Anyone got any suggestions on alternative defender lists, improvements to this one or any thoughts in general to add. Building a squad for the store championship season and this is my strongest contender so far.

Appreciate any and all feedback!!

I've really been stuggling with Defender lists, but I love the ship and especially Vessery.

Fleet officer seems to be a good assist to both Vessery and Rexlar. So here's my list I'm going to trial. I've never really got on with the shuttle, but it seems to fit well with the list.

Rexlar

Decoy

Vessery

Wingman

Omicron

Fleet officer

The problem with the list its heavily dependant on the synergies

Vessery take the fleet officer stress from the shuttle, or the full stop stress. Rexlar Target locks for Vessery the uses Decoy to fire second, or last with a TL and Focus, hoping to inflict and flip some damage cards.

Is it too one dimensional/limited in manouverability?

I like

Chiraneau

Expose

Experimental Interface

Ysanne Isard

Vessery

Vet Inst

HLC

I usually pick either Vessery or a Delta. Brath finds it hard to earn his points back in a standard game but becomes much more powerful in epic. Lone Wolf might give him extra legs, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Onyx is ok, but I think PS1 is stronger let alone cheaper.

Vessery is a beast, but you absolutely need to build the list around him. You also want to use an HLC with him, to really make use of the focus+TL combo.

With a Delta, you can get away with it being cheap enough to be considered a "support" element. An Ion Cannon is a great choice here. With PS1, not only will the Delta be nearly impossible to block, but you will have the most possible information deciding what to ionize.

Two delta's and a patrol leader has been awesome for me so far. Thats a lot of hull and shields to get through...and it's a fun squad to fly!

With a dozen or so games under my belt flying the defender I've come to a few realisations.

1) despite people's complaints, the dial is really good. All the 1,2 and 3 speed maneuvers is the shizzle

2) this ship needs heavy investment to work. It's not a ship you can just plonk in any old list to fill 30 points and get a return.

I've had most success building a list around the defender rather than adding the defender into other lists. It is a perfect HLC platform thanks to its stunning array of manoeuvres and barrel roll action. However, due to the red on the dial and the fact you may often be barrel rolling to keep that HLC firing on target, some kind of inbuilt (I.e not action dependant) dice modification is required to get your monies worth out of the HLC. For this reason, I'm shying away from the generics and even rexler as aside from fancy tricks like squad leader or Jeddon this is hard to achieve.

I've found Vessery to be the man for me thanks to his relatively easy to aquire free target lock. This frees him up for pulling reds and barrel rolls and means when you can focus you're a force to be reckoned with at any range. The key here is obviously keeping those TLs up on the enemy.

With this in mind, I've been running the following list;

Vessery

HLC

outmaneuver

Omicron group pilot

Vader

ST-321

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

There doesn't seem to be any easy way to deal with this list. The shuttle paints Vesserys target on turn one. If the enemy pursues Vessery, his vast range of maneuvers means he can lead them

On a merry chase getting plenty of TL/focus shots in thanks to his white k turn whilst the academies and shuttle strip shields and punch crits through whilst clogging up lanes to aid Vesserys cat and mouse escapades. Concentrating on the support leaves Vessery too much time to cripple the main threats, and Vessery in the endgame is a beast. I would love an engine upgrade, but see the targeting computers on the ties as mandatory to ensure he keeps getting those free TLs late into the game.

Anyone got any suggestions on alternative defender lists, improvements to this one or any thoughts in general to add. Building a squad for the store championship season and this is my strongest contender so far.

Appreciate any and all feedback!!

I would switch Outmaneuver on Vessery to Swarm Tactics. You want to stay at long range with Vessery's Heavy Laser Cannon, which makes it difficult to outmaneuver, and with Swarm Tactics Vessery can choose any Academy with Target Computer in range 1 to give him the free Target Lock in the same round.

Played against a list like this in a tournament and tired it later in some friendly matches.

Vessery with adrenaline rush or vi depending on meta or taste (36)

Carnor Jax with PTL and either hull upgrade or stealth device (32)

2 scimitars (32)

For the points, I find the scimitar (16) to better target lock mook than an academy with tc (14) when you spend the fighter's action to TL you're foregoing the focus or evade which means that the fighter's extra agility won't help you near as much as 3 extra hull.

If you set it up right, you can created a nasty furball that your opponents can't focus or evade in. Some people don't like the bomber's dial but that 5 k turn can get you out of the furball and you can make a new one next turn all over again.

With a dozen or so games under my belt flying the defender I've come to a few realisations.

1) despite people's complaints, the dial is really good. All the 1,2 and 3 speed maneuvers is the shizzle

2) this ship needs heavy investment to work. It's not a ship you can just plonk in any old list to fill 30 points and get a return.

I've had most success building a list around the defender rather than adding the defender into other lists. It is a perfect HLC platform thanks to its stunning array of manoeuvres and barrel roll action. However, due to the red on the dial and the fact you may often be barrel rolling to keep that HLC firing on target, some kind of inbuilt (I.e not action dependant) dice modification is required to get your monies worth out of the HLC. For this reason, I'm shying away from the generics and even rexler as aside from fancy tricks like squad leader or Jeddon this is hard to achieve.

I've found Vessery to be the man for me thanks to his relatively easy to aquire free target lock. This frees him up for pulling reds and barrel rolls and means when you can focus you're a force to be reckoned with at any range. The key here is obviously keeping those TLs up on the enemy.

With this in mind, I've been running the following list;

Vessery

HLC

outmaneuver

Omicron group pilot

Vader

ST-321

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

Academy pilot

Targeting computer

There doesn't seem to be any easy way to deal with this list. The shuttle paints Vesserys target on turn one. If the enemy pursues Vessery, his vast range of maneuvers means he can lead them

On a merry chase getting plenty of TL/focus shots in thanks to his white k turn whilst the academies and shuttle strip shields and punch crits through whilst clogging up lanes to aid Vesserys cat and mouse escapades. Concentrating on the support leaves Vessery too much time to cripple the main threats, and Vessery in the endgame is a beast. I would love an engine upgrade, but see the targeting computers on the ties as mandatory to ensure he keeps getting those free TLs late into the game.

Anyone got any suggestions on alternative defender lists, improvements to this one or any thoughts in general to add. Building a squad for the store championship season and this is my strongest contender so far.

Appreciate any and all feedback!!

You could remove the Targeting Computers from the TIEs, replace Vader with Weapons Engineer to have 2 TLs with the Shuttle. Then you can add Engine Upgrade (to the Lambda or the Defender).

Agreed. Bombers are about as cheap as you get for target-lock capable Imperial fighters, plus they get an extra point of pilot skill (their generic squadrons are pilot skill 2 and 4 rather than 1 and 3), plus - since you need to live long enough for vessery to use said target lock - being tough helps a lot.

I found Weapons Eng. on the Shuttle to be the best option. Give him the title and he can hang back and not be as aggressive to keep those TL out there.

I go back and forth with Col V and the HLC. Without it, he is effective, but could be more. With it, he's a lot of points and hard to get points for the rest of the list.

I took a list that was Col V. w/out HLC, Shuttle with Weapons Eng, and Turr Phenir for another effective tool in the tool box. I came in 3rd at my small, local event. Not the best, but a fun list.

This has been my go to Defender list for a while:

Colonel Vessery (35)
Outmaneuver (3)
Ion Cannon (3)
Cluster Missiles (4)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)
Sensor Jammer (4)
Weapons Engineer (3)
ST-321 (3)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

The Academies fly with the Shuttle and act as blockers. The Defender is set up like a flanker.

The sensor jammer on the shuttle helps keep it alive, but you could always drop it to upgrade an Academy to Backstabber. With ST-321 and Weapons Engineer, Vessery will ALWAYS have a target lock no matter how out of position the shuttle is. You can also use that to keep your opponent guessing who Vessery will target. The additional Target Lock can also be used for something the Shuttle wants to target.

If Vessery gets into trouble, he runs towards the shuttle bringing it's arc to bear on whatever is pursuing Vessery.

With an Ion cannon on Vessery, he'll pretty much Ion anything he shoots at. This sets him up for Outmaneuver shots next turn and helps keep him out of firing arcs. It also turns him into a late game monster. Firing on an Outmaneuvered ship with Cluster Missiles will also help kill it really quick. That's my favorite way to kill Phantoms, by the way. If you stay far away from the Phantom, it's much easier to get it into arc. Since you're using an Ion cannon, it won't get an extra evade die. With focus & Target Lock, Vessery still has a really good chance at landing that Ion. Once Ioned, the Phantom can't decloak. Since you know exactly where it will be next turn, you then point your entire force at it and fire the next round. Along with that and an Outmaneuvered Cluster Missile, it should be dead.

The Cluster Missile is also incredibly handy against Han, Decimator, Dash, etc.

Often times I'll shoot the Ion cannon at a large ship the first time it is in range. Not only does that give Vessery a TL for his follow-up Cluster Missile attack, but if the Large ship ever makes a mistake (moves to close to an asteroid or board edge or I want to set up a block) I just drop another Ion token on it and there it goes.

Thanks guys. Awesome feedback all around. In respects of some of the advice;

I'm not comfortable only having one TL providing ship alongside Vessery. Too risky as once the TL provider is toast, Vessery may as well be a generic.

Re bombers over ties - I prefer he ps1 for blocking. That blocking capability allows Vessery he chance to use his outmanuever EPT more effectively. As blockers, it also allows the ties to grab a TL knowing they're going to be bumped and safe or the enemy

Will overshoot them and thus not be able to target them. Finally, if I get to the endgame with a damages tie it's the perfect ship to grab a TL then run like the wind for a far table corner. This helps Vessery keep reaping his free TLs and if the enemy is stupid enough to pursue, keep getting his outmanuever bonus too.

I like trustybrooms list but I just feel without a HLC Vessery is wasting effectiveness and again, it suffers from the fact that if the shuttle dies vesserys ability is null and void.

Certainly some food for thought and some ideas for little tweets though. Keep the ideas rolling in guys so I can develope a list to crush you all with

Vessery

OGP

2 x Scimitar

Season to taste, then serve.

For myself a list i've had alot of success with is:

Re bombers over ties - I prefer he ps1 for blocking. That blocking capability allows Vessery he chance to use his outmanuever EPT more effectively. As blockers, it also allows the ties to grab a TL knowing they're going to be bumped and safe or the enemy

Will overshoot them and thus not be able to target them. Finally, if I get to the endgame with a damages tie it's the perfect ship to grab a TL then run like the wind for a far table corner. This helps Vessery keep reaping his free TLs and if the enemy is stupid enough to pursue, keep getting his outmanuever bonus too.

I like to keep Vessery as light on points as possible. Good opponents will know to get him out of the game so rather than pump more points into him I try to make an effective list all around, hence the bombers over ties. With the ps meta as it is, PS 2 is still great for blocking what really needs to be blocked (Han, Dash ect). You reference target locking with a fighter and then running away to keep vess's free tl but all that does is lose 14 of your points. The thing I like about Vess is that while his ability is nice, it's not gonna wreck you if you lose your target lock support. Adding 3 hull for only 2 points is a good way to keep your target lock support alive longer.

And honestly I'm ok with vess being on his own in the end. If it's down to vess vs. another small ship, vess can usually come out on top. That's when that white k-turn shines

Breath is just sooooo situational though. shields cancel it, certain pilots don't care about many crits, and deciding when to spend the focus is a pain. Two hits and a focus. Do you spend it or not? 9/10 if you roll a focus on your Attack you're better off spending the token to get the extra hit, so you need to be getting natural hits on all your dice. PTL ain't great on the defender, so you need predator LW or some action passing to get rerolls. Predator is ok, LW restricts your playstyle and won't always be available (and you can't reroll focus) and action passing is expensive, especially when usually damage output won't increase, just you'll deal out some negative effects.

Rexler is like so many things in life. Good in principle, but in real life he just doesn't seem worth it.

Lone wolf with a 5 tie swarm seems counter productive

Barabel, I see where you're coming from but normally, my ties will evade. If they get shot three times, they have 'made up' that three hull from tokens, without considering thier natural higher agility. In my experience, bombers are no more survivable than ties.

It's not 14 points out of the game either, the tie can mix it up for the majority of the game, being mostly ignored whilst Vessery is chased. He only flees when heavily damaged and if having the free TL will ensure Vessery as the victor. He often comes back in, blocking and distracting again, but he has the option to do that. The bomber can also, but no where near as well.

I see the appeal of bombers but in my experience the 2 point less tie with TC does better supporting Vessery than my bombers

I had good luck recently, with the following:

Delta, Ion, Stealth device

Delta, Ion, Stealth device

OMI, Vader

Breath is just sooooo situational though. shields cancel it, certain pilots don't care about many crits, and deciding when to spend the focus is a pain. Two hits and a focus. Do you spend it or not? 9/10 if you roll a focus on your Attack you're better off spending the token to get the extra hit, so you need to be getting natural hits on all your dice. PTL ain't great on the defender, so you need predator LW or some action passing to get rerolls. Predator is ok, LW restricts your playstyle and won't always be available (and you can't reroll focus) and action passing is expensive, especially when usually damage output won't increase, just you'll deal out some negative effects.

Rexler is like so many things in life. Good in principle, but in real life he just doesn't seem worth it.

Lone wolf with a 5 tie swarm seems counter productive

Brath paired with a Shuttle & Fleet Officer becomes scary.

Ok trustybroom, now I'm interested.

Rexler

HLC

OGP

Fleet officer

Jeddon

Weapons engineer

ST-321

Looks good on paper. I hate that Jeddons ability is only rng1 though. Likely to only support the other shuttle, and even with rng2 on fleet officer it's going to be hard to keep Rexler in range. Worth a try though. Smells a bit too much like a rebel list with those shenanigans though

Barabel, I see where you're coming from but normally, my ties will evade. If they get shot three times, they have 'made up' that three hull from tokens, without considering thier natural higher agility. In my experience, bombers are no more survivable than ties.

That's a BIG if. Even TIEs who take an Evade action can get one-shotted, and if your opponent focus fires they'll likely not get a chance to take that second evade action, let alone the third. Bombers might get focused down, but they sure aren't getting one-shotted.

Plus of course, if you're taking the Evade action, you're not taking a Target Lock, which is kind of the entire point of flying Academies with Targeting Computer alongside Vessery in the first place.

Rex with Predator and HLC is epic. His ability doesn't come into play against small ships, but he's still a PS8, re-rolling, buffed HLC attack during a k-turn. I have 1-shotted Zs a non-trivial number of times with him. He'll also reliably pump a couple damage points through a tanked up Falcon. Vessery can do the same, but requires a little help.

I sometimes use Rexler with lone wolf in my squad (no cannon or missile). He does not get to use his ability very often, but people often fear how his ability can be used under certain conditions and as such, they gun for him early on. Lone wolf gives him the durability that he needs during those early rounds, letting the rest of his escort deal the real damage

Ok trustybroom, now I'm interested.

Rexler

HLC

OGP

Fleet officer

Jeddon

Weapons engineer

ST-321

Looks good on paper. I hate that Jeddons ability is only rng1 though. Likely to only support the other shuttle, and even with rng2 on fleet officer it's going to be hard to keep Rexler in range. Worth a try though. Smells a bit too much like a rebel list with those shenanigans though

Jendon is pretty expensive for what you get out of him.

If you slap Advanced Sensors on the OGP, it's even easier to pass out Focus tokens.

If you want to go really crazy, you can take two shuttles with Fleet Officer & put Predator on Brath. Brath can have a Predator re-roll & 3 focuses a turn.