Hi all,

So I think it would be fun to take Lord Vader out for a spin in his TIE Advanced before he permanently retires to become the Admiral for my fleet. The list is pretty simple: lots of ships, a sneaky surprise on the Gladiator, and some badass fighter/bombers.

Victory-I, Screed

Victory-I

Gladiator-I, Insidious, Engine Techs

Darth Vader (TIE advanced)

2 x TIE interceptor

2 x TIE bomber

299 pts

Opening Salvo

Hyperspace Assault

Superior Positions

The Victorys act as the main force with the fighters, providing squadron orders as needed and generally trading fire with the main enemy force. Insidious comes around the side at top speed with Engine Techs, then deposits a load of black dice into the tailpipe of the enemy ships. Vader and his buddies win the fighter battle, then start hitting the enemy fleet with some extra damage.

Thoughts?

Feels a little... disperse to me. But then again, I suppose the fact that you can threaten such a large area (both VSD's frontal arcs, wherever Insidious ends up, plus the squadron cloud) can also be leveraged effectively. Still I would probably trade one of the Interceptors for Expanded Launchers (or ACMs) on Insidious.

For casual play, I think the objective cards you've chosen are definitely the most fun. For tournament play, I'd probably take Contested Outpost over Hyperspace Assault on pretty much any double-VSD list.

For casual play, I think the objective cards you've chosen are definitely the most fun. For tournament play, I'd probably take Contested Outpost over Hyperspace Assault on pretty much any double-VSD list.

Yeah, Contested Outpost is guaranteed points in the bag, a reason for the enemy to close into black dice range, and knowing where they are going to be. However, for a game it would be lots of fun getting Insidious and 2 TIE bombers into someone's rear arc at an opportune moment!

I really wanted ACM, but Engine Techs felt like the better upgrade to fly at high speed into the rear arcs, plus manoeuvre for a double arc next turn. Could drop some squadrons for extra punch on the caps as you say, but then I would be losing some anti-squadron/ bomber capability.

Agreed, it's always a tough balancing act - unless you go all out one way or the other. If you're worried about bombers, you could drop both TIE Bombers - 18 points buys you another TIE Interceptor and ACMs, or a TIE Fighter and Expanded Launchers. Either way, you're essentially getting your two black dice back and a fighter squadron.

Good call. How about this for a revised list, 300pts on the nose:

Victory-I, Screed

Victory-I

Gladiator-I, Insidious, ACMs, Engine Techs

Darth Vader (TIE advanced)

3 x TIE fighter

TIE bomber

Enough anti-squadron still to smash through a fighter screen, some extra punch on Insidious (I prefer ACMs to expanded launchers, especially with Screed!) and some bomber threat from Vader and the bomber. Keep the same objectives, to try and have some fun getting into rear arcs!

Good call. How about this for a revised list, 300pts on the nose:

Victory-I, Screed

Victory-I

Gladiator-I, Insidious, ACMs, Engine Techs

Darth Vader (TIE advanced)

3 x TIE fighter

TIE bomber

Enough anti-squadron still to smash through a fighter screen, some extra punch on Insidious (I prefer ACMs to expanded launchers, especially with Screed!) and some bomber threat from Vader and the bomber. Keep the same objectives, to try and have some fun getting into rear arcs!

So I tried this list over the weekend. Played against double Space Whale list with all the usual upgrades (intel officers, gunnery teams, enhanced armaments, advanced projectors) led by Garm with 4 A-wings (one of whom was Tycho). He chose to go 2nd, and I picked Superior Positions (one of my objectives, so why not).

I sent Insidious on a wild goose chase around the flank, only reaching contact with the enemy by turn 5. However, I managed to turn my Victorys fast enough to block his attempts to flank me and get into my rear. He was so aggressive in the pursuit that one of his Whales flew right off the board, while the remaining Whale got hammered at black dice range by all 3 of my ships and blew up. All over by turn 5.

The squadron mix didn't really work so well. The bomber was ineffective, but Vader was decent against squadrons. I think some anti-fighter screen with a bit of anti-ship capability built in would work better. I think a better list next time would be:

Victory-I, Screed, ACMs

Victory-I, ACMs

Gladiator-I, ACMs

Vader (TIE advanced)

Soontir Fel

TIE advanced