One of the builds gunner plus engine upgrade has been esentially replaced with the IG-88B+C or also known as the Buzz Droids as they can take HLC and autothrusters. Slightly better firepower, much better maneuverability, only 2 hit points less but has 2 agility more also with autothrusters makes it tough at range 3.

Buzz droids have displaced the Buzzsaw shuttle.

As for doom shuttle you get more Vader when you put him on a Patrol Leader.

So yeah both competitive flavors of shuttle have been displaced by modern builds.

i dont see it much anymore.

it feels like its really hard to get shots on the slippery things now.

I think people are enamored with the Decimator rather than the shuttle lately.

I'm building TIE Advanced lists around Jendon.

I so wish Jendon's ability was R1-2 instead of R1. Its so restricting to fly with, esp now in this high mobility day and age.

I think people are enamored with the Decimator rather than the shuttle lately.

I'm building TIE Advanced lists around Jendon.

I so wish Jendon's ability was R1-2 instead of R1. Its so restricting to fly with, esp now in this high mobility day and age.

R1-2 abilities are for Rebels, man. That memo went out years ago.

I've always been a fan of Captain Yorr with Soontir Fel and Carnor Jax. It was especially good when everybody was running Rebel Captive to fight the TIE phantoms. Now I'm thinking about switching it up by adding Jendon to boost the TIEs' firepower, but stress is just as deadly as ever, so Yorr may still be my shuttle pilot of choice.

Made this becasue I was tired of deciding everything on "The Meta Game"- just wasn't fun anymore. Fly casual, have fun.I can routinely clean house with this list in our informal games. Demolishes the Fat Falcons, Chirpy, and other 2 ship lists. Not great against swarms. Fun though- More like hearding- You cruise around slowly at range 3 from each other and funnel ships into the space between for a "best of 2 bad options" scenario. EU is there to keep arc dodgers within the Decimator's turret. Vader is there when you need him, but positioning and getting the Mara Jade stress is more important.

100 points

63 points

Commander Kenkirk

VT-49 Decimator, Unique

If you have no shields and at least 1 Damage card assigned to you, increase your agility value by 1.

Ruthlessness (3)

Ysanne Isard (4)

Gunner (5)

Rebel Captive (3)

Engine Upgrade (4)

37 points

Omicron Group Pilot

Lambda-Class Shuttle

Fire-Control System (2)

“Mangler” Cannon (4)

Darth Vader (3)

Mara Jade (3)

Shield Upgrade (4)

I've been messing with an imperial stress build for a while:

Shuttle+FCS+EU+Gunner+Tactician

Kath +Tactician + various ways to make crits + other upgrades

Backstabber + possible upgrades

Been having fun with it, this is the first build I've really stuck with and experimented with over the long term, versus playing a completely different build every time I play.

I've been messing with an imperial stress build for a while:

Shuttle+FCS+EU+Gunner+Tactician

Kath +Tactician + various ways to make crits + other upgrades

Backstabber + possible upgrades

Been having fun with it, this is the first build I've really stuck with and experimented with over the long term, versus playing a completely different build every time I play.

AW, i like the look of ur list.

im tinkering with a similar mix of ships.

Soontir/PTL/AT

Kath Scarlet/Mangler Cannon/Expert Handling

Omicron/Darth Vader

4 omnicrons with manglers...

Agreed on most of these things.

Omicron Group Pilot w/ Darth Vader is better fielded as Patrol Leader w/ Darth Vader - the turret means you get shots on more turns, and the increased durability means you get more turns to get shots in.

Omicron Group Pilot w/ Gunner and Fire Control System can be substituted out for IG-88B with a Fire Control System - you get a much more agile and evasive ship.

I wouldn't say both builds are useless - they're still cheaper than their newer equivalents - but they've lost their 'unique selling points'.

I still see a shuttle get used, but it tends to be making use of it as a cheap crew caddy. Two Tacticians, or a Tactician and Mara Jade make it a mean stress generator, and the new addition of the Fletchette cannon makes it even better at this.

I've not used Fleet Officers much, but a Fleet Officer and an Intel Officer in a shuttle should make for a potent support unit for a pair of Autothruster-equipped Interceptors. Whether it's enough to justify removing the third squint.... I'm not sure.

Finally, the named pilots may make a bit of a come-back in the next couple of waves:

• I'm surprised I don's see Yorr more in Interceptor-based lists. The ability to keep an interceptor unstressed - or at least pull away the fatal second stress token from a Rebel Captive or Tactician - can be vital. Has anyone had experience using him like this?
• Colonel Jendon's ability to hand out target locks is nice for anyone but is primarily critical for generic bomber pilots - who need a target lock in the opening pass to get their initial salvo launch off. The next wave boosting up bombers, and the raider's Advanced Targeting Computer making TIE advanced target lock bunnies should therefore make him proportionally more tempting.
• For similar reasons, Captain Kagi is going to be really, really annoying for an Advanced Targeting Computer-equipped TIE advanced and if Torpedo-bombers become a big thing again he's just as good. Paired with a Sensor Jammer and Rebel Captive he is massively annoying for any squad relying on target lock-based weapons, so as they get better so does he.

Shuttles used to be in every list I played. I stopped playing them because they were too easily made useless by an enemy Phantom or boosting Turret. In the meta as it was, it was too easy for that shuttle to not feel worth it's points, even though they are so efficient. Doom Shuttle still sees play some times. I've also trended towards lists with flexible setups, rather than the Shuttle's more stationary setup. I certainly might come back to the ship mow, though.

I think my opinions are not far off what others have found.

I can't get shuttles to work and I've tried but including one tends to mean ill lose badly.

Agreed on most of these things.

Omicron Group Pilot w/ Darth Vader is better fielded as Patrol Leader w/ Darth Vader - the turret means you get shots on more turns, and the increased durability means you get more turns to get shots in.

Omicron Group Pilot w/ Gunner and Fire Control System can be substituted out for IG-88B with a Fire Control System - you get a much more agile and evasive ship.

I wouldn't say both builds are useless - they're still cheaper than their newer equivalents - but they've lost their 'unique selling points'.

I still see a shuttle get used, but it tends to be making use of it as a cheap crew caddy. Two Tacticians, or a Tactician and Mara Jade make it a mean stress generator, and the new addition of the Fletchette cannon makes it even better at this.

I've not used Fleet Officers much, but a Fleet Officer and an Intel Officer in a shuttle should make for a potent support unit for a pair of Autothruster-equipped Interceptors. Whether it's enough to justify removing the third squint.... I'm not sure.

Finally, the named pilots may make a bit of a come-back in the next couple of waves:

• I'm surprised I don's see Yorr more in Interceptor-based lists. The ability to keep an interceptor unstressed - or at least pull away the fatal second stress token from a Rebel Captive or Tactician - can be vital. Has anyone had experience using him like this?
• Colonel Jendon's ability to hand out target locks is nice for anyone but is primarily critical for generic bomber pilots - who need a target lock in the opening pass to get their initial salvo launch off. The next wave boosting up bombers, and the raider's Advanced Targeting Computer making TIE advanced target lock bunnies should therefore make him proportionally more tempting.
• For similar reasons, Captain Kagi is going to be really, really annoying for an Advanced Targeting Computer-equipped TIE advanced and if Torpedo-bombers become a big thing again he's just as good. Paired with a Sensor Jammer and Rebel Captive he is massively annoying for any squad relying on target lock-based weapons, so as they get better so does he.

I agree that Yorr will probably make a bit of a comeback with the increased popularity of Interceptors. You've got 5 points left over for upgrades on Yorr if you take him with Soontir and Jax (each with PTL, Autothrusters, and Shield Upgrade).

Jendon's biggest problem is that he can only pass a Target Lock to someone within range 1. If Bombers taking ordnance becomes a thing, they should be ok hugging Jendon for target locks. I think we'll see some people try to support ATC Advanceds with him but the range one leash will be prohibitive. The other issue I have with Jendon is that the temptation to take Weapons Engineer, ST-321, and FCS makes Jendon an expensive support ship in a hurry. Without taking some of those you might as well save a couple of points and just take Jonus with Squad Leader to enable ships with the Target Lock action at up to range two to take a Target Lock. You get more flexibility because Squad Leader can be used for more than just Target Lock and your secondary weapons get his sweet, sweet rerolls.

Kagi is expensive and his PS works against his ability. He really needs Enchanced Scopes to be effective in the opening exchange against enemies that aren't PS9+ (or PS8 without initiative). It also doesn't help his popularity that FCS (and some other abilitiies) ignore his ability.

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

I haven't seen a shuttle played in 6 months. I might have to break one out tonight for league.

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

Unless you run him naked, Kagi is going to make up a third of your list. The Advanced will need to be dominating the meta for Kagi to be anything but a very niche choice.

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

Unless you run him naked, Kagi is going to make up a third of your list. The Advanced will need to be dominating the meta for Kagi to be anything but a very niche choice.

By all means, continue to fly turrets and aces, derpy derp derp derp.

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

Unless you run him naked, Kagi is going to make up a third of your list. The Advanced will need to be dominating the meta for Kagi to be anything but a very niche choice.

By all means, continue to fly turrets and aces, derpy derp derp derp.

Kagi's great in epic play, where his ability combination of Sensor Jammer can cause problems for enemy huge ships. I have to agree with WWHSD that his ability is just too niche for standard play compared to the OGP or Yorr.

I've been wanting to try this. Calling it bumper cars.

Captain Oicunn (50)
VT-49 Decimator (42), Determination (1), Mara Jade (3), Dauntless (2), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Omicron Group Pilot (25) x 2
Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Fire-Control System (2), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Jendon's biggest problem is that he can only pass a Target Lock to someone within range 1. If Bombers taking ordnance becomes a thing, they should be ok hugging Jendon for target locks. I think we'll see some people try to support ATC Advanceds with him but the range one leash will be prohibitive. The other issue I have with Jendon is that the temptation to take Weapons Engineer, ST-321, and FCS makes Jendon an expensive support ship in a hurry. Without taking some of those you might as well save a couple of points and just take Jonus with Squad Leader to enable ships with the Target Lock action at up to range two to take a Target Lock. You get more flexibility because Squad Leader can be used for more than just Target Lock and your secondary weapons get his sweet, sweet rerolls.

I think Jendon/ST-321 will see some spike in popularity with the Punisher depending on how well that plays. The ability to gain that alpha strike could be worth the cost but there are too many unknowns to really guess if this is a strategy or a gimmick. And for a gimmick, Jendon/St-321 and Colzet could be a lot of fun, but at just over half a list cost that will probably remain a gimmick making it hard to disagree with your assessment.

Shuttles have a lot more competition for the points. When 3 red and 10 hits were novel for the Empire it had a stronger place, but it is hard to compete with turrets or maneuverability. The punisher may encroach even more. Still, this is the sort of thing that gets me thinking. Time to dust of the Lambda.

All this just leaves me thinking, it is high time for Lambda Aces, come on FFG, you know its time, we've all been waiting, shuttle pilots that can take EPT, you know we need it. I mean really, when your take a shuttle, aren't you always, pushing the limit ?

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

Unless you run him naked, Kagi is going to make up a third of your list. The Advanced will need to be dominating the meta for Kagi to be anything but a very niche choice.

By all means, continue to fly turrets and aces, derpy derp derp derp.

Huh? I'm not exactly sure what you're going on about. I don't know how you got "fly turrets and aces" out of "I don't think Kagi will be popular unless ATC Advanced's become a big problem".

At a third of your list Kagi is an ace. Forcing someone to shoot at an expensive target instead of another expensive target or at some squishy mook isn't exactly forcing a hard choice. Kagi only makes a difference when your enemy needs to target lock to be effective, doesn't have FCS, and doesn't want to kill Kagi. That means you're paying 6 points to for your list to have some extra protection against a few particular ships. If you aren't bumping into lists that use those ships very frequently those six points are better spent on things other than having a PS8 shuttle instead of one at PS2. If every other list you hit has Vader and Juno chewing up your Interceptors bringing Kagi might make sense. If that's more like once every five games Kagi is a bit of a waste.

All this just leaves me thinking, it is high time for Lambda Aces, come on FFG, you know its time, we've all been waiting, shuttle pilots that can take EPT, you know we need it. I mean really, when your take a shuttle, aren't you always, pushing the limit ?

I actually think they can't really put ept on shuttles because wingman means if there are generic ept shuttles they could just sit in a line and never move while facing forward.

I've been wanting to try this. Calling it bumper cars.

Captain Oicunn (50)

VT-49 Decimator (42), Determination (1), Mara Jade (3), Dauntless (2), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Omicron Group Pilot (25) x 2

Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Fire-Control System (2), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

A friend of mine runs a very similar list to that. Instead of APL he runs tacticians on the shuttles and on the decimator he runs rebel captive and engine instead.

Kagi will do a great job vs. TIE Advanced squads because the Adv TC needs to target the space cow before it can target your real threats.

I think we will see more of Jendon and Kagi when the raider hits.

Unless you run him naked, Kagi is going to make up a third of your list. The Advanced will need to be dominating the meta for Kagi to be anything but a very niche choice.

By all means, continue to fly turrets and aces, derpy derp derp derp.

Huh? I'm not exactly sure what you're going on about. I don't know how you got "fly turrets and aces" out of "I don't think Kagi will be popular unless ATC Advanced's become a big problem".

At a third of your list Kagi is an ace. Forcing someone to shoot at an expensive target instead of another expensive target or at some squishy mook isn't exactly forcing a hard choice. Kagi only makes a difference when your enemy needs to target lock to be effective, doesn't have FCS, and doesn't want to kill Kagi. That means you're paying 6 points to for your list to have some extra protection against a few particular ships. If you aren't bumping into lists that use those ships very frequently those six points are better spent on things other than having a PS8 shuttle instead of one at PS2. If every other list you hit has Vader and Juno chewing up your Interceptors bringing Kagi might make sense. If that's more like once every five games Kagi is a bit of a waste.

I missed the memo stating aggressive, math-wing, meta-lobotomized competitive play was the only way to play the game.

I'm not arguing anything you're saying, I'm just saying TIE Advanced makes target locks the new orange, and Kagi wears them so fashion.

Expert Handling, Countermeasures, Kagi, and Jendon *will* see more play than they did previously.

I find the notion that we should be ignoring the little toys that don't make top cut embarrassing.