Also, every new upgrade, every new ETP and bomb works AGAINST the swarm.

Because there is no room for upgrades. At least if you play canonic swarms like me.

Canonic? I guess that means no Z-95s.

Nobody has mentioned it yet but how many people have 7-8 Ties if they didn't get into the game in wave 1-2? Personally if I got into the game now I would much rather buy 3-4 different ships (after a 2nd core set) instead of buying even a 3rd core set or 2-3 extra TIE Expansions

Well, technically I got into the game in wave 1-2. I bought the core set sometime in 2013, but I never really got going. I bought an extra X-wing and a TIE advanced but that was it. I was a 40k guy back then. I got back into X-wing a month or so ago and bought a second core set plus 4 more TIE fighters. Once I found out that TIE swarm was a thing, that was all I needed.

So it does still happen, but I'm probably an outlier.

Phantom. You'd end up losing a TIE or two killing the non-Phantom if you were lucky, and then with your remaining 5-7 ships you'd be losing against a 44 point buzzsaw Whisper. The only possible way for a swarm to beat Phantom Decimator pre-nerf was to kill the Deci ASAP and then hope that the massive amount of time it takes to move a swarm would rob the Phantom player of enough turns to kill TIEs and win.

MoV.

60 minute rounds.

Hyper ships like Super Corran and Super Dash and other game breaking BS can wipe TIEs off the board one by one.

Hypermobility. (pre)nerf phantom, Super Dash, fat turrets in general with large ship boost, etc. You can't really deal with it at all in a TIE Fighter.

Weirdly enough, Dual IGs are the easiest to deal with as a swarm. They're super susceptible to being blocked, and 2 dice against 4 agility already wasn't getting through so I don't think autothrusters is really relevant.

Once Soontir gets blocked he goes from invincible to about as durable as a TIE Fighter. He's also super predicable. The green hard 2 is a great move but you know he's going to do it turn after turn, and if he's already stressed from PtL he can't K turn. He's leagues easier to deal with than probably even a post nerf super whisper.

Price of entry is also a factor for newer players. It generally takes two core sets plus three TIE expansions to build up a decent swarm, and that's before you get into all the other upgrades you'd need to make it function.

Price of entry is also a factor for newer players. It generally takes two core sets plus three TIE expansions to build up a decent swarm, and that's before you get into all the other upgrades you'd need to make it function.

That's the one good thing about the obnoxious two ship meta. You can kind of just buy two ships, a Defender purely for Predator, and get a handful of the power upgrades you need ala engine upgrade, VI, FCS, Gunner, etc. and you have yourself a competitive list.

Dual Aggressors you can just buy two of them and there you go. Hell, you don't even need your own templates, just request your opponent's. XD

Dual Aggressors you can just buy two of them and there you go. Hell, you don't even need your own templates, just request your opponent's. XD

A TO could DQ you for not having your own components from the core set. Also, you need your own damage deck, dice, and tokens. It's kind of annoying to having to lend my stuff out to people who share 1 core set among 2-3 people (1 core set is intended for 1 player).

Do people think the mini-swarm is viable currently?

For the last few waves, I've leant on Howlrunner + 3/4 TIES, supporting a single flanker of 30-40 pts. This used to be an Interceptor; now a Lambda; could be tempted by the Decimator.

I hate the idea of dropping my mini swarm just to suit the current scoring system. Decimator + Phantom is just so REBEL! But it would help me push my way up the rankings (I generally win more games than I lose)

Swarms are still scary. I took Chewe Leebo to our regionals and went 5 nil in Swiss 1of the 2 times I lost Leebo was to a swam. The only loss for the swam player that day was to me in Swiss and again in top 2 and he took Dark Curse over Howlrunner