That actually makes sense, not only because I agree. But they are the only small empire ships that does not have expanded options in another expansion. Well asside from the Tie Phantom that is. But let's face it that ship is not in need of a fix anytime soon.
Tie defender, much more then the sum of its parts.
Ran Brath today for store champs. HLC, Lone Wolf, Stealth. Went 2-1. He was ok, but I'd have certainly preferred Soontir (especially w/ Autothrusters) or either Phantom. I'll keep with them, but there is just something missing.
What did you run with him?
3 Black Squadron pilots with Predator. Did OK except against an A-Wing heavy list, oddly.
Weird defenders usually cream a-wings because the k turn lets you stay in arc at range one and four red dice beat three green.
Of course that assumes the dice gods arnt feeling playful.
Edited by HobojebusTie Defender needs to be in a Empire aces, with Bombers. End of story.
This please. Though if the Advanced were W1 and are getting a fix only now, W4 Defenders have quite a wait on their hands.
Tie Defender needs to be in a Empire aces, with Bombers. End of story.
This please. Though if the Advanced were W1 and are getting a fix only now, W4 Defenders have quite a wait on their hands.
Yeah but it only took six months for autothrusters to make an appearance, if they think it needs a fix it'll come out when they are happy with it and not before.
Tie Defender needs to be in a Empire aces, with Bombers. End of story.
This please. Though if the Advanced were W1 and are getting a fix only now, W4 Defenders have quite a wait on their hands.
Yeah but it only took six months for autothrusters to make an appearance, if they think it needs a fix it'll come out when they are happy with it and not before.
I sit here with my fingers crossed!
I think the idea floated about that gives the defender an ion cannon that can cause regular damage would be great. I would love to see that in an ace's pack.
It's meant to be the best the Empire has to offer, with only the best pilots, but it can't do a 2 turn? Come on.
The cost vs the lack of EPT is a kicker I think. The Defender is a great cannon platform, so a way to discount that would be best I think.
Or maybe a decent PS5 pilot? Loads of ways it could be boosted a bi to make it worth the cost without changing it's movement patterns.
Weird defenders usually cream a-wings because the k turn lets you stay in arc at range one and four red dice beat three green.
Of course that assumes the dice gods arnt feeling playful.
I have had exactly the same experience. I have lost Rexler Brath to A-Wings more than to any other ship in the game!
The issue I think is that:
- A-Wings are super cheap. The opponent couldn't care less about loosing 1 or 2 A-Wings if it ties up a 50 point T/D
- A-Wings can be made vicious, x2 A-Wings with Proton Rockets is still cheaper than a single loaded T/D
- A-Wings have the 3 and 5 K-Turns which can place them in interesting spots compared to the 4 K-Turn only ships.
- A-Wings have the hard ones with boost and is the only other ship with a 5 Green Forward (so it is hard to do the usual trick of disengaging from the fight, then K-Turning and obliterating at range 2-3 with the Heavy Laser Cannon).
Personally I think the new A-Wing is very underrated. Tycho with PTL and outmaneuver is a very good ship and only costs 30 points. With that dial I don't find it hard to get out of most ships arcs. I still would say that the defender with HLC should be able to do some damage to A-wings on the alpha strike.
I have nothing to contribute to this discussion tonight. 
I have no response to that.
Then i guess it's time to say good bye to this thread.... shhhhhh.... let it go.... it will be okay, I promise..... shhhhhhh....
Quiet us usually better than burst of flames... quietly it can eventually fall prey to Zombiecide do to necromancy.
Poor a-wings what they need is working missiles to go with their two ept`s.
Weird defenders usually cream a-wings because the k turn lets you stay in arc at range one and four red dice beat three green.
Of course that assumes the dice gods arnt feeling playful.
Well, dice were a factor, but these were 4 A-Wings in formation supported by a tricked out Ten Numb. It was well-played and harder to crack than it sounds since I didn't have a blocker to bust his formation.
Ten Numb should be easy meat for a defender. Sporting a mangler cannon he will be pretty deadly for soon and require early attention. That sounds like an interesting list to fly against. I rarely come up against A-wings even after the buffs they received.
Poor a-wings what they need is working missiles to go with their two ept`s.
Proton rockets definitely work.
Greetings, fellow TIE/D believers!
This weekend at my FLGS Monthly tournament, I decided to use the following list:
Rexler Brath - Marksmanship, HLC, Experimental Interface
Col. Vessery - Veteran Instincts, HLC, Shield Upgrade, Proton Rockets
50 points a ship, so its reeeeaaaaaally easy to do the math regarding scoring at the end of the game.
It was a very fun list to fly! I finished with 1 win, 1 modified win, and 1 loss (to an eventual finalist, and all-round great dude)
Here's a recap of my fights, I'm posting this here, instead of the battle reports forum, because I would like to use this information to futher the TIE/D discussion:
Match 1 Opponent: Chewbacca (Wingman), 2 Blue B's, 1 Z-95
Result: Modified win.
I focused fire on Chewbacca early on as my opponent got him out in front and a little seperated from the B's. I managed initiate engagement with the wookie with both defenders just out of range or obstructed at range 3 of the B-Wings. My combination of Focus+TL or Marksmanship, combined with heavy laser cannon and a timely dose of prockets meant that I was able to take him down with 4 attack rolls, which is as efficient as you could hope for in that scenario.
Once the B's closed they were able to kill Rexler, leaving Vessery with 1-2 hull points left. The match came down to the last pair of rolls, as, in an attempt to salvage something from the match, I did a desperate 5 Straight (Green) then barrel roll to BARELY escape the arc of one B, though placing me firmly in range one of another B, in order to take a range 2 obstructed shot at his Z-95. I was forced into this move because it was the last turn of the match (60 minute rounds) and his Z-95 was the only thing i could POSSIBLY one-shot. Rolled 3 hits and a crit, and my opponent rolled 1 evade, meaning that 2 hits and that oh so important crit made it through - Shields stripped....crits up....DIRECT HIT, nuking the Z-95
And amazingly enough after that, My TIE/D survived the range 1 attack from a B, edging a modified victory.
Match 2: 100-0 Victory
Opponent: Guri (Stealth, other stuff), Xizor(Stealth, other stuff) PS-2 Scum Y-wing (stealth....yes, but surprisingly helpful, ion turret, unhinged astromech)
Rexler about died...had 1 hit point left, being chased by a surprisingly tenacious Y-Wing. My opponent was a bit spooked by the very successful opening volley which saw me all but obliterated Xizor. Guri followed not soon after....it was just one of those games where my attack dice efficiency was much better than his evade efficiency.
Match 3: Defeat, 38-100
Opponent Xizor (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Guri (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Serissu (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator, stealth)
Had a decent position to joust, but my opening salvos simply were not there this time...coupled with his rerolls on both defense and offense...it just ground me down after a couple of rounds of pew-pew. Not entirely sure there was much else I could have done in this one in terms of strategy.
Observations:
The Marksmanship + Experimental Interface combo on Brath simply wasn't worth it....it never created a situation in which that focus was needed to flip hits to crits. Next time I will defintely go back to Shield upgrade on Brath, as that extra HP would have been CRUCIAL in each game. I would also probably go with Lone Wolf as his EPT, as rerolls as the last TIE/D on the board would have been great to have.
I did like the prockets, I gotta say. They helped me murder Chewbacca early on in Match 1, and helped me nuke Guri in match 2. They didn't help much in match 3, as the attack was largely ineffective, but hey, 2 outta 3 ain't bad.
I do very much enjoy playing the list, because it requires you to strike hard and GTFO, only to turn the ship around to boom-and-zoom all over again.
Well, while we're here, figure i should add this:
I've updated Delta + Delta + Soontir w/Wave 6 tech
Soontir (PTL, Royal Guard Tie, Stealth, Thrusters)
Delta Defender (Flechette)
Delta Defender (Flechette)
[Total: 99]
This little list has impressed me all over again. It is particularly effective against the new aggressor menance, given that a single stress makes it impossible for non-defender ships to joust with the deltas and that Defenders are basically miniature aggressors in terms of statline. While I miss ion, Flechette cannons let me fit in autothrusters on Soontir and give the Defenders license to hamper large ships enough to bring guns to bear on it. The basic defender has repeatedly proven to be a very solid little ship, and the added utility of inflicting stress has proven to be very valuable.
Match 3: Defeat, 38-100
Opponent Xizor (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Guri (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Serissu (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator, stealth)
Had a decent position to joust, but my opening salvos simply were not there this time...coupled with his rerolls on both defense and offense...it just ground me down after a couple of rounds of pew-pew. Not entirely sure there was much else I could have done in this one in terms of strategy.
Observations:
The Marksmanship + Experimental Interface combo on Brath simply wasn't worth it....it never created a situation in which that focus was needed to flip hits to crits. Next time I will defintely go back to Shield upgrade on Brath, as that extra HP would have been CRUCIAL in each game. I would also probably go with Lone Wolf as his EPT, as rerolls as the last TIE/D on the board would have been great to have.
I did like the prockets, I gotta say. They helped me murder Chewbacca early on in Match 1, and helped me nuke Guri in match 2. They didn't help much in match 3, as the attack was largely ineffective, but hey, 2 outta 3 ain't bad.
I do very much enjoy playing the list, because it requires you to strike hard and GTFO, only to turn the ship around to boom-and-zoom all over again.
If this list is accurate, that player was cheating. Scyks don't have boost, so no autothrusters.
Well, while we're here, figure i should add this:
I've updated Delta + Delta + Soontir w/Wave 6 tech
Soontir (PTL, Royal Guard Tie, Stealth, Thrusters)
Delta Defender (Flechette)
Delta Defender (Flechette)
[Total: 99]
This little list has impressed me all over again. It is particularly effective against the new aggressor menance, given that a single stress makes it impossible for non-defender ships to joust with the deltas and that Defenders are basically miniature aggressors in terms of statline. While I miss ion, Flechette cannons let me fit in autothrusters on Soontir and give the Defenders license to hamper large ships enough to bring guns to bear on it. The basic defender has repeatedly proven to be a very solid little ship, and the added utility of inflicting stress has proven to be very valuable.
I honestly think this list has legs. It's got solid firepower, good toughness, some control, Fel, and most people will have no clue how to fly against it.
Flew 3 deltas with Ion Cannons on Saturday, called it "The Ion Mongers of DOOOM!"
went 2-2 with it and ended up 4th, fairly respectable I thought
played
1) Jake Farrell, B-wing (can't remember which one!) and kyle hwk.
lost this one, managed to take down the b-wing but only after it turned me inside out! I was flying really badly though
2) A tooled up, Vader and Mara Jade Oicunn Decimator and Soontir Fel with autoblasters and stealth
won, soontir flew over a roid and ended up with 3 defenders facing him and didn't last long, the decimator took longer to deal with as took one defender down with Vader then when on 2 hull he finished his own ship to take second defender rather than leave me to shoot at him
3) Ball and chain decimator and whisper
won again, whisper got ioned as went straight for her. then tried to get away and got ioned again and blasted into dust. Then focussed on Decimator and despite losing a defender managed to Ion the huge thing off the board as was stressed when first ioned.
4) Twin Aggressors B and C
Ass totally handed to me, got one down to hull and other hardly touched, got one ioned and the other bumped it when close to the edge probably saving it.
Great fun to fly but took some getting used to!
Match 3: Defeat, 38-100
Opponent Xizor (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Guri (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator) Serissu (Auto-Include-thrusters, predator, stealth)
Had a decent position to joust, but my opening salvos simply were not there this time...coupled with his rerolls on both defense and offense...it just ground me down after a couple of rounds of pew-pew. Not entirely sure there was much else I could have done in this one in terms of strategy.
Observations:
The Marksmanship + Experimental Interface combo on Brath simply wasn't worth it....it never created a situation in which that focus was needed to flip hits to crits. Next time I will defintely go back to Shield upgrade on Brath, as that extra HP would have been CRUCIAL in each game. I would also probably go with Lone Wolf as his EPT, as rerolls as the last TIE/D on the board would have been great to have.
I did like the prockets, I gotta say. They helped me murder Chewbacca early on in Match 1, and helped me nuke Guri in match 2. They didn't help much in match 3, as the attack was largely ineffective, but hey, 2 outta 3 ain't bad.
I do very much enjoy playing the list, because it requires you to strike hard and GTFO, only to turn the ship around to boom-and-zoom all over again.
If this list is accurate, that player was cheating. Scyks don't have boost, so no autothrusters.
It was stealth device, my mistake.
Also looking forward to running a variation of that Soontir, 2 Defenders list listed, will report back on it.
Last week, I played against (I **** you not) four double aggressor lists and faced half of them with Soontir + double defender
the last game against them I didn't lose a single ship because by then I had so much practice 
but in my first Soontir + double Defender vs Aggressors lists I was surprised I won at all, let alone killed either aggressor
So, it's the above list versus IG-88B & C (PTL, sensors, mangler, thrusters, feedback). I fly Soontir like an idiot and he dies in the first two rounds of fire (finished off by a bug-zapper ) and I only managed to take the shields off of C for those 35 points. I thought the game lost but we kept on playing, and the defenders ******* carried. Turns out that white 4k is immense when the Aggressors just go zooooooooommmminnnnnngggg past the pair, leaving them free to 2v1 down an aggressor on most turns.
It came down to 3 hull Ig-88B against a 5 health Delta pilot. In a timed match, I believe my opponent would have been able to run the clock (Defenders are fast and I got some damage on IG-88B while he ran, but holy **** are Aggressors impossible to catch) but he personally despises that sort of playstyle and was just running around to try to engage at an angle I couldn't defend against. The Delta wasn't have none of it, and he had to opt for a joust. So, they stare each other down after IG-88B enginners a turn where he can PTL and green maneuver with sensors. It's Evade + Focus + "gunner" versus Target-lock (Defender had to barrel-roll to guarantee a shot), and the sharp difference in health let the Defender take it out for the win 