I'm trying to decide on which list to play in a tournament. I know there will be a lot of Decimator lists, and 4-5 Rebel ship builds. Any help would be great.

100 Points

I think the first list will probably do well vs. Rebel swarm, but will be more likely to preform poorly vs. a turret list.

I don't particularly like the second list much just because I always want a cannon (usually hlc) on my defender. I would personally drop the doom shuttle in favour of upgrading the defender to Rexler with hlc and predator. That leaves you 14 points to mess with for more upgrades like rebel captive and two shield upgrades.

Thanks for the input.

I would have to play really smart against a turret list with the first list, and use the Stygium Particle Accelerator at the right times. I think I'm liking it more.

I have thought about using that Rexler set-up, but I it is really hard for me to use 2 small ships in a tournament. I like the defender, but I just don't like the abilities on them.

I'm just aiming for the top 4, and I'm thinking there will be about 15-20 players.

One of my favorite Empire lists to fly is very similar to your second list. I call it:

TARGET LOCK THE TARGET LOCK-

Colonel Vessery

VI

36

Echo

VI

FCS

ACD

37

Omicron Group Pilot

ST-321 Title

Darth Vader

27

Alternate- Echo+RecSpec+FCS+Stygium and Adrenaline Rush on Vessery depending on your phantom taste.

I've noticed this setup has some great TL synergy to it, and the same PS is a great counter for rebel captive, which can immediately shut down most phantoms in today's meta. Then, just for some flavor, ST-321 lets Vessery get a jump start on his ability in case Echo isn't able to hit the same target first for a FCS TL, and Doom shuttles are crazy fun to work with.

Even if you don't take the second list to the tournament, I would definitely consider trying it out in casual games, because its pretty fun, albeit not without a counter or two, but which list doesn't have one?

I ended up using the first list. It did really well against turrets, and would have done a lot better if I had not been so rusty. It eats Decimators. I killed 1 Decimator in 2 turns, and another in 3. I had to make that first round of shooting count.

I think I might try the other list or something similar this week.

On the first list I'd probably save 4 points by dropping the Phantoms down to Sigmas and then put either Stealth Device, Hull Upgrade, or Shield Upgrade on Soontir. Against most lists that I've been seeing PS3 and PS5 are just about the same thing. You'll beat out generics but just about everything else is going to be at least PS6.