I've been playing for about a month and have been dead-set on playing Empire since before I'd started. I ran Rear Admiral with Whisper for a bit but found that I perform better with (and generally prefer) Soontir Fel to Whisper. I'm very much trying to figure out what my weakest points are and where I can improve the most. Here's what I have:

65 - Rear Admiral Chiraneau - Decimator (46):
- Predator (3)
- Ysanne Isard (4)
- Rebel Captive (3)
- Gunner (5)
- Engine Upgrade (4)

35 - Soontir Fel - Interceptor (27):
- Royal Guard TIE (0)
- Push the Limit (3)
- Autothrusters (2)
- Stealth Device (3)

Any feedback or suggestions on where the list falls short (and why) would be appreciated. Thanks to anyone who comments in advance.

The list seems fine, though I might change gunner into some other things instead, but I personally just dislike gunner.

I've found that these Decimator + Arc Dodger lists die really quickly to my favorite imperial build of Rexler Brath + HLC + Predator with a Firespray also toting HLC. This is simply due to the fact that the Decimator gets devoured by Rexler's ability and the HLC with rerolls, and the arc dodgers have a bit of trouble avoiding the back arc and the 4k forever, and then once one of the big guns turns on them, they evaporate pretty quickly.

Defenders aren't especially ubiquitous, so I'm not sure I'd worry too much about them.

Defenders aren't especially ubiquitous, so I'm not sure I'd worry too much about them.

This is a fair point, just sharing what I've observed from personal play, but yes, most people don't play defenders, so it's not a huge concern overall.

Looks good. Keep Gunner.

Stealth Device is 3 pts btw.

I see that. I'll edit it.

Did a double take to make sure it's still 100. We're good!

Keep gunner. Soontir can't kill some loadouts on Corran. Without Vader your list will struggle against a lot of Corran lists. Without gunner I'd call it a miracle if you managed it.

What about VI?

Pros

- PS10 - shoot PS 9 pilots before they shoot you!

-Take stress from rebel captive for Soontir!

- 2pt initiative bid to ensure you have initiative

Cons

- no reroll

I have found that VI on Chirpy almost always pays off, at least in my high PS meta.

I had tried SU/HU on Fel, and during that time, I had VI on RAC. It worked okay, but I ultimately didn't seem to like the HU/SU since it only really gives him some extra survivability.

In my experience with Gunner Chira I never used Gunner's ability... I would always get at least one damage through. I know this doesn't happen ALL the time, but if you have predator AND his ability, you are going to be rolling a lot of hits. Granted, this was pre-autothruster. Another possible change from Gunner is the Dauntless Title and Moff Jerjerrod. Moff can get rid of the most devastating criticals and Dauntless allows you to take actions if blocked, which happens quite a bit at the higher PS. Granted, if you keep Predator you don't really NEED dauntless, but it is nice to have. Downside is that it will conflict with Isard because you get stressed. Anyway, Moff Jerjerrod and a Seismic Charge could come in handy over gunner...just depends on how much it actually triggers for you.

Gunner + Predator (+ Chirpy) is a potent attack even without actions. Gives you a lot of flexibility to use boost for R1 or for defense.

If you always get damage through on the first attack with gunner it's because they're letting it through. Gunner mission accomplished.

If you always get damage through on the first attack with gunner it's because they're letting it through. Gunner mission accomplished.

I guess...maybe I just wasn't playing against high agility aces...and of course it was before autothrusters, so I can see gunner as more valuable now.

Seems fairly solid to me. I think Gunner in the Auto-Thrusters era is a good choice. One option would be to change Predator for PTL. You can trigger it after Isard, letting you get an action even if you are blocked.

With Fel, do you always want (or not want) the initiative? If so, dropping to 98/99 points for the initiative bid could be good. What to drop though - I don't know.

If you're concerned about durability I find that Kenkirk + Isard results in the Decimator living far longer than Chirpy + Isard.

As smart player will focus fire your Decimator down as quickly as possible then turn on your arc dodger; the longer that takes the more time the arc dodger has to eliminate the opposition.

Also, with Engine Upgrade Mara Jade might be a better choice than Rebel Captive; boosting into range to stress multiple ships is more valuable than stressing a single ship (but this is a wash against a two-ship list).

That's part of the concern: I'm not really sure where exactly I should be aiming. Local meta seems mostly all over the place; so, I suppose I'm looking to cover most of my bases while planning for a real meta simultaneously.

The aforementioned suggestions all seem positive, and worth consideration depending on where I land with it.

It may be worth making the Predator swap, but my only concern with PTL on RAC is forcing green maneuvers in the following turns. He's so limited on the dial that I could potentially put him in a situation where my opponent can just outfly him.

The initiative bid isn't a major concern, at least on the Decimator. I admittedly really seem like to like having it on Fel.

The Kenkirk suggestion is pretty appealing, but it takes his offensive ability down by such a large portion, and any time I've run him, I feel like games just grind on forever. It's not bad, but I feel like I stall more than accomplish, with him.

Mara Jade definitely seems like a decent idea, but the most ships I usually see are 3, and 2 more often-than-not. In that instance, is she still a better choice? Or the Captive, in spite of EU?

I like yor loadout, this is mine:

Rear Admiral Chiraneau — VT-49 Decimator 46

Push the Limit 3

Rebel Captive 3

Ysanne Isard 4

Darth Vader 3

Proximity Mines 3

Engine Upgrade 4

Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27

Push the Limit 3

Autothrusters 2

Targeting Computer 2

Royal Guard TIE 0

TC on Soontir means shooting at R1 with TL+ F almost every round. Imo Soontir without TL has no guaranted output and I have only 2 ships. SD makes shooting at Soontir less appealing and usually I like to give my opponents some R3 shots to keep fire off Chiri.

Rebel Captive is nice against everything, I specially cherish it vs. Han

Push the limit is great against double IG as I can TL+ Boost or drop the mine and TL. Mines against big base ships is my new fav toy

Isanne is there to help trigger PTL after everybody else has moved or after bumping.

Vader is my insurance against Ints, cheaper than gunner. I won a tourney using it maybe twice but imo for 3 points is a bargain.

Hope helps, like your list but I'd start removing SD and Gunner and rework things a bit.

Can you explain the interaction between Isanne and PTL? I'm looking it over and I must not be seeing the way this goes.

Others can explain better (english ain't my primary language) but I'll do my best. PTL triggers after performing an action regardless when is that action performed. Isanne gives u an action at the begining of the combat phase so you can trigger PTL then...Turr can do the same after shooting and BR/Boosting.