So I'm new and probably covering old territory here, if so I apologize.

I've got a limited Wave 4 collection of Imperial ships and this is what I'm going up against :

Raining IONs - 99 Points

Green Squadron Pilot (19)26

-Push the Limit (3)

-Cluster Missiles (4)

Gold Squadron Pilot (18)23

-Ion Cannon Turret (5)

-Blue Squadron Pilot (22)25

-Ion Cannon (3)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)25

-Ion Cannon (3)

This is such a slow and horrible death for an Imperial player. My collection consists of 1 of every wave 1, 2, 3, 4 Imperial ship and a couple of extra TIEs. Any advice on how to return the wrath of this ionic terror storm?

Well actually, interceptors eat B-wings for breakfast and laugh at a-wings paltry offence (even clusters are not really a threat unless opponent gets lucky). So they would be a good choice to counter this list provided you are comfortable with flying them and not making mistakes.

Another option is to pack as much firepower as you can. Either in the form of a howlrunner swarm (where individual ion shots have to be spread among your cheap expendable ships) or you could try to pack in high attack ships (heavy laser cannons or phantoms, for example) and just win by focus firing down one ion ship at a time (as long as you keep them in arc, being ioned isn't necessarily bad if you know your damage output is greater).

Also, when up against ions in general, its important to make sure your manoeuvre doesn't leave you vulnerable if you get ioned (for example, do not fly towards asteroids or the board edge).

Lambda Shuttles can work well. They take 2 Ion hits to be Ionized, and they just want to coast 1 forward most of the time. They are pretty cheap, too. Use him as a sacrificial cow, if you have to.

I think a Tie Defender would do well, too. Col V is great as long as other people have TL. You don't have to have an HLC, but it can help hurt those B-wings.

As stated, high PS Tie Interceptors that can arc dodge are great, too. Personally, I like Turr Phennir with PTL. You Focus as an action and then Boost and Barrel Roll out of the way after you fire.

Mauler Mithel would be a good Tie pilot. If he can get through on the approach and get behind some B-wings, he can snuff them out quickly.

Backstabber would be a great guy to snipe from the sidelines. They look like they want to Ionize something and then swarm it. Have him on the outside getting an extra die to fire in.

You know, Ionizing him back isn't a bad idea, either. Get one or two B-wings to float around with nothing to shoot at and you can focus on the other guys. If you can stop him from getting shots off is how you can do alright.

You know, Ionizing him back isn't a bad idea, either. Get one or two B-wings to float around with nothing to shoot at and you can focus on the other guys. If you can stop him from getting shots off is how you can do alright.

Actually yeah, a delta w/ ion cannon is 33 points and trumps b/y wings since they have only 1 agility vs your ion cannon (barring really bad rolls, that's good odds of ioning them every turn). And with the white k-turn, its easy to get behind them and they are helpless at that point (well the b-wings anyway, the y-wing still has its turret).

Ion Torpedoes work for those that can take it, too. You can Ionize them all with one shot.

You know, Ionizing him back isn't a bad idea, either. Get one or two B-wings to float around with nothing to shoot at and you can focus on the other guys. If you can stop him from getting shots off is how you can do alright.

Actually yeah, a delta w/ ion cannon is 33 points and trumps b/y wings since they have only 1 agility vs your ion cannon (barring really bad rolls, that's good odds of ioning them every turn). And with the white k-turn, its easy to get behind them and they are helpless at that point (well the b-wings anyway, the y-wing still has its turret).

yes But that Delta is 11 points more than a blue...which is almost a bandit. plus a delta's three dice are less of an impact if there is a predator around...2 red rerolls eeek

Any 4 ship builds or swarms list could do good. If you outnumber the ships in control you will always have a ship free to do damage and move around. Shuttles are real good because they are cheap and can take two so either 2 ships have to ion it or burn a one shot missile. At that time you can have another shuttle or other fighters move around to take out the attackers.

Tie Swarms will more likely tear apart any control. Sure Ion Torpedoes are a thing but it is only a 4 firepower attack that burn TL. A Tie Fighter has a good chance of not getting hit by an Ion Torpedo thus negating the splash.

You can also not fly in formation, as well.

yes But that Delta is 11 points more than a blue...which is almost a bandit. plus a delta's three dice are less of an impact if there is a predator around...2 red rerolls eeek

The list the OP mentioned does not use Predator, so that's a non-issue.

You can also not fly in formation, as well.

"Echo" ACD

"Soontir" PTL

"Bounty Hunter" Rebel Captive.

But Echo is just so vulnerable ionised and I don't feel like it's going to pack enough punch.

What I'm hearing from these suggestions (that I never really considered) is, big ships with a big punch. I like the sound of that.

I do like to skip about the board and set bait which is why I thought Interceptors would be my jam. It turns out I couldn't fly an Interceptor correctly to save my life.

I guess what I was looking for was the "hard and fast rule" for imperials against ions. I guess with such a diverse game the answers will be just as dynamic.

Also, when up against ions in general, its important to make sure your manoeuvre doesn't leave you vulnerable if you get ioned (for example, do not fly towards asteroids or the board edge).