So I've been thinking of the possibilities with the new Tie Advance title + ATC and the ability of Jendon as Lambda pilot.

It comes down to this:

Cln Jendon, title, Palpatine

Juno Eclipse, title, ATC, Predator

Maarek Steele, title, ATC, Predator

100 points.

The shuttle does become expensive, but the possibilities of targetlocking anything on the field and passing it on to one of the tie advances is very nice.

Thoughts?

the possibility of flying in formation???

tie advanced are best slicing and dicing from the flanks

I think this looks nice. Keep the shuttle out of the way, maybe skirting around asteroids for defense, more than worrying about keeping enemies in arc, and let the Advanced hand out the hurt.

Predator helps you from feeling the sting of losing the ability to spend your target lock, so yeah, I'd say this isn't a bad spread at all. I'd be unhappy going against it.

... I really need to grab a shuttle. And get my hands on Palpy...

So I've been thinking of the possibilities with the new Tie Advance title + ATC and the ability of Jendon as Lambda pilot.

Cln Jendon, title, Palpatine

I've been puzzling over the same thing recently! Seriously, last night I went to bed and just lay awake thinking, "I'll bet Colonel Jendon + ST-321 can really help these poor TIE Advanced with Advanced Targeting Computer to enter the engagement having already locked on so they can take defensive actions." I also thought, "Why stop at TIE Advanced? TIE Punisher generics would love the early target locks as well." Followed closely by the thought, "I wonder if Emperor Palpatine has a place on that shuttle, or if it's too expensive."

I don't know the answers. The only way to find out is to fly it! Whether you use TIE advanced or TIE punishers, I think Palpatine will be worth it. For the Advanced, he can help them stay alive by modifying defense dice, while the Punishers benefit because Palpatine can make sure their expensive ordnance does maximum damage.

Also, Cubby09 is right that the TIE advanced don't really want to be in formation, but ST-321 lets you TL and pass it to a squad mate early, so they can zoom off and fly however they'd like.

Since reading KineticOperator's post about existing lists that do well against TLTs, I've been wondering if Lambdas don't have a place in the meta (cost less than a B-Wing with more HP and same firepower, if less maneuverability but a bigger base for blocking) so I've been flying them a LOT lately. Based on this recent experience, I think this idea has some merit.

In particular I've been flying a slightly modified Alabaster Hippo Ballet (full 35 point Soontir build in place of shuttle upgrades) so I'm always trying to set up range 1 shots from the flank with him on the same turn that my shuttles get in range - and you'd be surprised how often he ends up at range 1 of one of the shuttles. Plus, my experience with the Palpmobile so far is that he tends to be target priority number 1 for my opponents (not sure this is the optimal strategy but it is what it is) which a savvy player can use to his advantage.

TL;DR - I totally think that, with some practice, you can break your Advanceds or Defenders out wide to flank and have them arrive at range 1 of your shuttle when it matters. It'd work a lot like a triple Interceptor list, with the Palpmobile playing the role of Turr and charging up the middle. You'll have to pay close attention to the rule of 11 and watch your spacing, but I think it's totally doable and probably the type of list that rewards skillful play.

I've been playing the Palp denial list lately,

Kagi with Sensor Jammer and Palpatine

Jax with PTL, title, AT and Stealth Device

Strom with title and ATC

Have to lock Kagi, can't focus or evade due to Jax and no range modifiers due to Strom. Tricky to fly, light HP but heavy firepower list. Having Palp add a crit to Strom's attack is pretty nasty. I know we're talking about Jendon here and that's an interesting play too.

I've been playing the Palp denial list lately,

Kagi with Sensor Jammer and Palpatine

Jax with PTL, title, AT and Stealth Device

Strom with title and ATC

Have to lock Kagi, can't focus or evade due to Jax and no range modifiers due to Strom. Tricky to fly, light HP but heavy firepower list. Having Palp add a crit to Strom's attack is pretty nasty. I know we're talking about Jendon here and that's an interesting play too.

Awesome! I came up with the same squad, but haven't flown it yet. Actually, I had VI instead of ATC, and gave Strom free Accuracy Correctors. How has it been? Is it fun? Is it winning? What are its weaknesses? (So as not to derail this topic, you could reply over in this thread)

Keep the shuttle out of the way, maybe skirting around asteroids for defense, more than worrying about keeping enemies in arc, and let the Advanced hand out the hurt.

Have you seen the kind of damage Imperial aces an do in 2-3 rounds when they don't need to defend themselves?

Unfortunately, I have, and it isn't always good. Mainly I'm referring to Soontir Fel, who often rolls blank, blank, focus, hit when I get that sweet range 1 shot lined up. For elite TIE advanced Pilots with Predator I see the damage being much more consistent.

But I agree that the shuttle needs to be in the fight, because that shuttle isn't going to do anything for you in the end game.

Most people keep the shuttle out of the fight...i just dont see the logic in it...youre basically taking on 100pts of ships with roughly 70

Have you seen the kind of damage Imperial aces an do in 2-3 rounds when they don't need to defend themselves?

Unfortunately, I have, and it isn't always good. Mainly I'm referring to Soontir Fel, who often rolls blank, blank, focus, hit when I get that sweet range 1 shot lined up. For elite TIE advanced Pilots with Predator I see the damage being much more consistent.

But I agree that the shuttle needs to be in the fight, because that shuttle isn't going to do anything for you in the end game.

That's why I no longer take fel without targeting computer.

I wasn't meaning to keep him out of the fight -- simply under as much additional defense as you can. Don't need to circle the board, but, teamed with the Aces, the shuttle can play more defensively to keep Palpy in the fight. Don't avoid engagement with the shuttle (I agree, that's a huge waste), but don't worry as much about keeping enemies in arc every turn -- that's what the Advanced are for. And, when the enemies inevitably go for the circling shuttle, they leave openings for punishment.

I personally thing that flying the shuttle into direct combat while rolling with Palpy is silly -- of course the enemy is going to try and line up their shots on it -- if they're STILL bumping at that point, they're not terribly good at flying. Yeah, the Aces might be able to go defense-less at them for a round, but I'd much rather have them flank enemies baited towards chasing a defensively flown shuttle.

Disclaimer: I suppose I'm more concerned with swarms. Relatively low max damage potential 2-ship lists would be a different story, but I suspect the meta will shift away from that. The shuttle being focused down on by TLT swarms is unfortunate in the extreme.

Having flown PalpMobile builds since the Raider landed, I could not disagree more. I've actually become convinced that, as the opponent, going for the shuttle first is a mistake.

The logic behind sending the shuttle straight in is that you want the opponent to shoot at it straight away, as that will create the flank for your aces to smash. And since they don't have to worry about return fire, they can do so with reckless abandon and cause much more damage than the Shuttle is worth. In the event the shuttle goes down, then it has been a 10 health, unlimited range Biggs that's been able to chip in by rigging the aces' attack dice in addition to any attacks it has made itself. That's insane value, especially if all we're talking about is an Omicron.

In fact, your example right at the end of your post is a great case in point:

The shuttle being focused down on by TLT swarms is unfortunate in the extreme.

Because it's really not unfortunate at all. It will take the TLT-wings a minimum of 2 rounds to kill the Shuttle. In that time, it will have combined with the aces to at least drop one TLT-wing. Your guys have more than enough speed to remain in the bubble of the next Wishbone, so your opponent is essentially down half his list, and will soon be down to just a quarter, while you've lost around a third.

I'd call that a winning position, myself.

If the opponent resists the bait and goes for the aces first, you're in a worse spot. You'll likely need to use Palpatine to shore up their defences, which means less consistent offence and less opposing stuff off the table. But even then, you've at least got the shuttle coming onto the flank with its not-insignificant 3 attack dice and you'll have it around for longer. You just have to hope that rigged die keeps at least one of your aces alive, because a shuttle vs just about anything in the endgame ends badly for the shuttle.

The shuttle being focused down on by TLT swarms is unfortunate in the extreme.

Because it's really not unfortunate at all. It will take the TLT-wings a minimum of 2 rounds to kill the Shuttle. In that time, it will have combined with the aces to at least drop one TLT-wing, and in all likelihood you will have started on a second. Your guys have more than enough speed to remain in the bubble of that second Wishbone, so your opponent is essentially down half his list, and will soon be down to just a quarter, while you've lost around a third.

I'd call that a winning position, myself.

If the opponent resists the bait and goes for the aces first, you're in a worse spot. You'll likely need to use Palpatine to shore up their defences, which means less consistent offence and less opposing stuff off the table. But even then, you've at least got the shuttle coming onto the flank with its not-insignificant 3 attack dice and you'll have it around for longer. You just have to hope that rigged die keeps at least one of your aces alive, because a shuttle vs just about anything in the endgame ends badly for the shuttle.

I agree with you DR4CO, but I think its a bit overly optimistic to expect to kill 1 TLT y-wing AND get to work on a second with only 2 turns of fire. I suppose it can happen, but I bet math would show that as 'getting lucky'. Ideally, I would say having the shuttle in range of perhaps 2 turrets during the first round of engagement (and similar positioning for your aces) means that the shuttle will last 3 rounds, and so even if faced with bad luck, you have that extra round to eliminate 1 y-wing. As you say, trading the shuttle for 1 y-wing is favourable for the imp player, because while 3 y-wings might kill one of your aces, they can't kill both, so as long as it doesn't go to time, you should be able to destroy them all (barring some crazy bad dice)

Yeah, fair enough. I'll go back and get rid of that bit.

That sounds reasonable -- my inexperience with the shuttle is showing, beyond the times I've flown against it. I may have just been flying against inexperienced players or poor list match ups, because their shuttle goes down without landing too much hurt and I've never had Palpy on board an aggressive shuttle for more than three rounds of combat (usually two, because it's easy to keep in arc, but dice are dice).

I had a much harder time against a Deci rocking Palp, and am probably prejudiced from that encounter.