I'm fairly new to the game (only played three times with friends). I love the defender and enjoyed reading about the dual defender post by Biophisical.

My question is...with all the hype about auto thrusters,is it going to be the prevailing mod of choice? Point cost aside, how does it stack up defensively vs. stealth device, shield upgrade, or hull upgrade?

Going to my first organized xwing at a gaming store an hour away this Saturday. Even though I like the phantoms, I don't want to fly anything complicated. Maybe two or three imperial ships max. I have core, xwing, tie fighter, slave 1, interceptor, hawk-290, imp aces, z-95, 2 defenders, 2 phantoms, yt-2400.

Ok, here is what I was thinking of flying:

Rexler Brath (Defender) 37

Delta Squadron (Defender) 30

Soontir Fel (Interceptor) 27

Push the Limit 3

Hull upgrade 3

Total: 100

On the four ships that can take it, Autothrusters will be a very popular modification. Almost all Interceptors will take it (unless they just can't find 2 points) because they get modification slots with the RGP title. Most ships won't have it as an option.

Autocorrector works out to be very strong for its cost assuming that you are in situations that it triggers.

what do you mean by 'the four ships that can take it'? I thought all ships could have one modification.

As a general rule, certain types of ships lend themselves to certain upgrades.

-Does the ship have a Boost action? Autothrusters are the best.

-AGI 3+? Anything is good. You pick Stealth Device if you're hoping to be lucky or have a lot of tokens to make sure you don't get hit. Shield/Hull are more reliable, but have a lower ceiling on the amount of protection they provide.

-AGI 2? You probably only want Hull/Shield unless you have some plan to boost your defense to mitigate poor rolls. A Firespray with Lone Wolf and Recon Specialist could do okay with Stealth Device, but I'd be wary for most builds.

-AGI 1? Not Stealth Device. Probably not Hull or Shield as it's only being protected by 1 Agility. The lower the Agility, the less the Hull and Shield are worth.

In regards to your list: Delta Squadron Pilots are the only Defenders I really like flying without upgrades. If you downgrade him to another Delta, you'd have 7 points to put another mod on Fel (if you have Imperial Aces) or give them a couple of Ion Cannons.

I could adjust it to:

97 points

Delta squadron defenders x2

Soontir Fel Interceptor

Push the limit

royal guard tie

shield upgrade

hull upgrade

-Or-

99 points

Delta Squadron defender

Turr Phennir interceptor

Push the limit

shield upgrade

Soontir Fel interceptor

push the limit

royal guard tie

shield upgrade

hull upgrade

what do you mean by 'the four ships that can take it'? I thought all ships could have one modification.

I could adjust it to:

97 points

Delta squadron defenders x2

Soontir Fel Interceptor

Push the limit

royal guard tie

shield upgrade

hull upgrade

-Or-

99 points

Delta Squadron defender

Turr Phennir interceptor

Push the limit

shield upgrade

Soontir Fel interceptor

push the limit

royal guard tie

shield upgrade

hull upgrade

That's a decent list. Personally I like VI on Turr as he gets to usually boost/barrel roll every turn anyway. It helps keep him stress free opening up the entire dial. With the two points you spare, you can always throw an Ion on the Delta. It will help give you some control on your opponents.

Once Scum hits, Autothrusters will be near auto-includes on most interceptor builds. It will help keep them a live a good bit longer in the turret heavy meta we have.

I've done a fun list with:

Col V w/ VI

Turr Phennir w/ PTL and Shield Upgrade

Omnicron Shuttle w/ Weapons Engineer, Engine Upgrade, and.....something else. I can't recall.

I came in 3rd at a small, local event. The worst was a Fat Han list that I almost trapped, but didn't and lost.

In regards to your list: Delta Squadron Pilots are the only Defenders I really like flying without upgrades.

For Brath I can understand, but I've been flying Vessery a lot lately and the more I use him without any upgrades, except maybe for Veteran Instinct, the more I like it.

Having no cannon on him tend to lower the urgency of my opponents to kill him first. They'll often go for the bombers providing the TLs since they are targets easier to catch and destroy. Which leave me with a PS8 Defender for the end game and a nearly destroyed bomber running for his life tagging for him. It also has the benefit that, if your opponent decide to go for Vessery first, and do get him fast because of bad luck, he's worth less points so it's easier to come back. 3 Attack dice is still really decent when you attack ''each'' turn with a focus and target lock.

Here's my latest list:

Vessery with VI (36pts)

Scimitar Squadron (16pts)

Scimitar Squadron (16pts)

Soontir Fel with Push the Limit and Targetting Computer (32pts)

Not giving a HLC to Vessery allowed me to take Soontir Fel in the team and relieved a lot of pressure from Vessery while not affecting his offense too much. There is now 2 big threats in the list instead of one and people tend to be more afraid of the Baron than the Colonel. The 2 Bombers tag, block and soak some damage.

Bottom line, with VI, he's only 6 points more than a Delta but act at PS8 and have a killer ability. No need to put yet more upgrades on him.

I like that option with Vessery. I will keep that in mind.

I really like:

Fel w/ PtL & hull upgrade

2 deltas w/ ion cannon

Having 2 ion makes it easy to deal with a falcon or decimator because you always know where they'll end up. Its also great against phantoms since its likely 1 of them will get an ion through.

Once autothrusters is out, it gets even better because you can switch hull upgrade on Fel for autothrusters + targeting comp.