I like the Delta Defender. They put out good firepower and are much more tanky than the typical Empire small base fighter. Personally, I like to run them naked or with a Stealth Device. I am not a fan of most cannons currently available because the incremental cost of increasing the damage from 3 to 4 is just not worth it to me. Also, I don't like decreasing my damage output just to ion somebody.

The last game I used a Defender, I used this list:

Colonel Jendon in the ST-321 Shuttle with a Weapons Engineer and Anti-Pursuit Lasers

Delta Defender with Stealth Device

Delta Defender with Stealth Device

I slow rolled the squad up in formation using the Shuttle as a screen and when it was time to engage I pulled the hand-brake on the shuttle and the Defenders burst out from behind the shuttle in formation and just ripped into the Rebel ships. The shuttle got into a bumping match with a stressed B-Wing that eventually took it out with the Anti-Pursuit Lasers. The Defenders just pulled 4-K turns several times in a row to clear out the opposing ships and they finally broke formation at the end to chase down the last ship. I would up tabling him without really taking damage and he was not happy. PS 1 made the Defenders good blockers and when he was denied actions, he just wilted to sustained Range 1 Defender fire.

I've been a fan of Defenders for a very long time, but you don't see many around. Which saddens me

I didn't want to be another guy with a turret and a few cheap ships, so I went with something I love!

The PS1 is great (shame no EPT though), and the green 5 with white 4K is extremely useful. The ions were utterly useless for me, as I'd choose damage, but maybe they'd have helped a few times if I'd thought it through better.

I've got another store champs in early March, and I want to use the Defenders again. It depends on S&V being legal what I'll use though, as I should have one of each Scum ship and the upgrades by that point.

Mangler and Flechette cannons intrigue me. But I'd tempted to put autothrusters on Fel and have him replace one.

100 points

Delta Squadron Pilot (34) x 2

TIE Defender (30), “Mangler” Cannon (4)

Soontir Fel (32)
TIE Interceptor (27), Push the Limit (3), Autothrusters (2)

I just missed out on a top 4 spot in a recent tourney with;

Vessery

VI

HLC

Omicron group pilot

Darth vader

ST-321

Sigma pilot

FCS

SPA

Intel agent

I lost to two fat Han builds and won against everything else. I've figured out a decent deployment now though so regardless of where Han employs I can get all guns n range in turn 2. In my practise games this has resulted in about an 80% win ratio vs fatty builds. Poor guy just can't handle all those att 4 target locked shots (vader basically making the shuttle att 4). Poor phantom rarely lives long but he does his job at drawing the offence away from a few turns so I end up with a vess/ shuttle vs support ships end game which is a breeze

Hopefully I'll take the defender to the top table in the upcoming event. It is deffinately an underrated ship.

I say ditch the Mangler Cannons and go with Stealth Devices. Or upgrade one to Vessery with Ruthlessness or Determination or Outmaneuver, depending on leftover points.