TIE/fo fighters are nearly identical to the Rebel A-Wing with retrofits. They're not as cheap as the classic TIE Academy pilot so their offense in a swarm isn't as high, yet they are tankier and have a mildly better dial than an Interceptor due to the addition of the Segnor Loop. They are far better suited for high PS than regular TIE Fighters due to the addition of a shield, lots of extra green maneuvers for PTL, and Tech. Mathematically they're fine when you compare stats and stuff, but still, I have trouble seeing when to use them since they occupy a weird space between an Interceptor, A-Wing, and TIE Fighter.

What is their role? When is a good/best time to use TIE/fo fighters?

(Inb4 you don't have enough TIE Fighters)

I keep running into the issue where I just don't see a place to slot them in. They are just a point or two too high in most cases, and are difficult to slot in with more powerful ships because you end up with 8-10 points you can't really spend (and obviously not enough room for another ship). Filling out a squad with one generic TIE/fo just usually feels bad and doesn't add a whole lot offensively. So, I end up trimming a few upgrades from other ships to make room for something with more impact.

Anytime you want to have fun!

Best I can come up with is "filler aces"

FOs have astounding maneuverability and a handful of awesome named pilots for a modest asking cost

Zeta + ptl (21)

-versus higher PS: blocker from hell

-versus lower PS: nearly soontir levels of arc dodge

Epsilon Leader (19)

-DAT ability

Omega Leader with PTL (24)

-price of two academy pilots that hits through all dice mods (except range bonus) and could very well out late-game FAR more expensive ships

We still got two unknown named pilots coming

The generics do not inspire outside their badass looks, but they have a godly dial.

The Epsilons are a great source of target locks for vessery. vessery-vader-epsilon is hilarious.

Anytime you think you can get more than just another HP out of the 3pt upgrade from standard ties.

You can't just slam one in a list as filler or even a mini swarm of them; you must have a plan for them before they hit the table, bit after.

Also, Comm Relay! At 18 pts, a generic epsilon w/ Comm Relay is far tankier than any TIE fighter could ever hope to be and makes a very effective blocker.

Omega Leader w/ comm relay + juke = best 26 pts you could spend on a single ship...

Honestly,

Howlrunner (18)

+ Swarm Tactics (2)

3x Epsilon Squadron Pilot (15)

Omega Squadron Pilot (17)

+ Draw their Fire (1)

Backstabber (16)

sounds like a pretty sweet neo-Swarm.

Hmmm... Blade_mercurial brings up a good point...

While the generic TIE is high relative offense per point, this new TIE/fo has the potential for an insane amount of defense per point, especially if you add Comm Relay and/or Stealth Device + Focus. You start reaching Darth Vader tankiness on a generic, and that's pretty darn impressive. Wow, I think I was looking at these guys all wrong!

Maybe these new TIE/fo guys are meant to act as a variable point cost tank/blocker? I think I get it now... maybe they're not MEANT to be your primary offense. They're extremely mobile front-line tanks. Shove like 4 of them (or 2 decked out ones with Howlrunner) for 60 points to act as the distraction for a flanker like Whisper at ~40pts.

What about...

Epsilon Leader

Twin Ion Engine MK. II

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

They have a pretty unique play style that takes some getting used to. I think of them a lot like old school interceptors when you would bug out and TL then come back and engage. If you're not in a timed game any of the banks/turns+TL then sloop or Turn again the next turn to reposition and re-engage give you a lot of approach points. I haven't liked them in swarms but as 1-2 ofs they have been great for me.

The foo fighters are not replacements for the TIE/Ln, but they compete for a similar niche. Don't take the /fo in a place where you would take an /Ln; use it as an interference flier or for one of the aces

What about...

Epsilon Leader

Twin Ion Engine MK. II <--

absolutely pointless because Epsilon's ability works on itself too

to the bid with thee!

What about...

Epsilon Leader

Twin Ion Engine MK. II <--

absolutely pointless because Epsilon's ability works on itself too

to the bid with thee!

Woah, really? THAT I didn't know.

Well then, 99 pt bid it is!

Seriously though, I now want a second TFA core set and I guess wait for the expansion Fo to hit so I can try this out.

Biggest concern will be keeping Epsilon Leader alive. That, and high agility ships could be difficult... but being able to TL+Focus non-stop should mean your namesake happens eventually. And really, that's how I started with designing this list: TIE/Fo has Target Lock... so how can I exploit that?

And really, that's how I started with designing this list: TIE/Fo has Target Lock... so how can I exploit that?

Quite frankly... I don't know. You see, the "problem" is that there already exists a solution for your re-rolls, and that is Howlrunner. I think the new TIE/fo fighters are just less dependent on her in the event she dies or is out of range. TL seems more like a backup plan than anything, which is good because consistency is nice.

100pt (all ships 20 each)

The TIE/fo fighters don't really need Epsilon Leader unless you want to do crazy red maneuvers every turn. They have a dial with an amazing amount of green, so it should rarely ever be a problem. This setup allows you to have pseudo-perma-TL with Howlrunner while using PTL every turn for Focus + Evade. You have consistent damage and extremely stubborn defense.

Eps' wording is friendly ships versus "other friendly ships" and ships are considered friendly and within range 1 of themselves. Sadly, because he works on himself, FFG omitted his ept

The TL on the FO exists to even further promote PTL

It's particularly amazing on the Omega "named" pilots. Omega Leader specifically needs to maintain it on a target and thus benefits a lot from howlie or weapons guidance even after he takes a lock.

Otherwise, you use TL when you're not shooting or getting shot to set up for the future

And really, that's how I started with designing this list: TIE/Fo has Target Lock... so how can I exploit that?

Quite frankly... I don't know. You see, the "problem" is that there already exists a solution for your re-rolls, and that is Howlrunner. I think the new TIE/fo fighters are just less dependent on her in the event she dies or is out of range. TL seems more like a backup plan than anything, which is good because consistency is nice.

100pt (all ships 20 each)

Howlrunner

Swarm Tactics

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

Omega Squadron Pilot

Push The Limit

The TIE/fo fighters don't really need Epsilon Leader unless you want to do crazy red maneuvers every turn. They have a dial with an amazing amount of green, so it should rarely ever be a problem. This setup allows you to have pseudo-perma-TL with Howlrunner while using PTL every turn for Focus + Evade. You have consistent damage and extremely stubborn defense.

Aye, they have a solid amount of greens... but Epsilon opens them up to do ANY maneuver the turn after PTLing or s-looping. You can hard-1, PTL turn after turn... which sounds murderous. And focus/evading to turtle with em' is pretty pointless as long as either Howlrunner or Epsilon Leader are alive, as any sane player will ignore the Omegas and instead shoot at the named pilot. And if they're grabbing TLs anyways, sort of defeats the purpose of having Howlrunner along.

I don't think she's a bad choice, and she'd open up it up to be able to BR+Focus and still get re-rolls which isn't shabby in itself.

But Epsilon Leader:

• Lets the Omegas use any movement on the dial following a PTL turn
• Allows the entire squad to use any maneuver and still PTL following a K-Turn/S-Loop
• Has one more health than Howlrunner, making him slightly harder to kill
• Can S-Loop with the rest of the squad to stay in formation
• If you're PTLing to TL+Focus, you might still have that TL on another turn freeing the Omegas to Focus/Evade turtle after Epsilon goes down and still have another turn of double modifiers.
• If Howlrunner dies that turn before the Omegas shoot, they lose her buff. Epsilon Leader just has to survive until the start of combat to clear their stress one last time.

I think it'd still work out just fine and there's some nice shenanigans you can pull with BR+Focus, and there's going to be times when Howlrunner is out of arc but the Omegas are still taking shots and she'll shine by letting them Focus, Evade, and Howl reroll. But opening up literally the entire dial (save reds) to PTL off of the next turn... that's just grand.

Otherwise, the squad is literally identical if/when their leader gets shot down, and I think the Omegas are solid enough PTL platforms with their A-Wing(ish) dial.

Had a lot of fun running

Omega Leader (Proxy) w/ptl

Howlrunner

EPs Leader

3 obsdians

Surprisingly in love with Epsilon. The flexibility you get post PTL or K (or failed red maneuver; eps lets you try AGAIN) is honestly astounding

I've been having fun with

2 academy's

2 epsilons

Omega ace with PTL and ion engine

Zeta ace with PTL and ion engine.

I've found omega aces ability to be awesome. Zeta ace might get the chop though....

I've been having fun with

2 academy's

2 epsilons

Omega ace with PTL and ion engine

Zeta ace with PTL and ion engine.

I've found omega aces ability to be awesome. Zeta ace might get the chop though....

Zeta Ace is a great ship, butI think his ability makes him much more suited to being a flanker than flying in a swarm. He's still not terrible, and I've considered subbing one of my four Omega Squadron Pilots for him (still have a point free, which is all it takes to squeeze him in).

With that said, flying him in formation seems like it might remove some of the fun of his ability. Then again, I'm also relying personally on being able to spam PTL thanks to the presence of Epsilon Leader in my squad, and Zeta could very easily fling himself out of the no stress bubble with one of his BRs, and to what end if he's flying in formation? He just strikes me as a guy that wants to fly on his own.

So... for now I'll probably stick with my Epsilon Leader and his quartet of PTL Omegas.

I have a hard time justifying a standard Epsilon over a Black Squadron Pilot with any 1 point EPT. However, I do think the named pilots are pretty good. The Omegas will really shine with Comms Relay. Right now Omega Ace is a bit to fragile for my liking, but with an Evade going into battle he'll be a bit more tanky.

I might proxy 5 Omega Squadron Pilots and PTL or Predator. They actually might be pretty good against 4 TLT.

I was running Epi leader with 3 shuttles with Ion Projectors for hilarious results. Hit an enemy with the three clumped up. 0 move, then 0, then 0. The poor Ywing wasnt able to move even when not ioned. The ability to 2 turn and then 2 turn is great to get a shot.

I'd recommend against comms relay

part of the point of the FOs is that the elites are relatively cheap for what they bring, but with only 2-reds they heavily discourage point stacking.

if they die, then it's fine because that's kind of their job. They're still tie fighters, at the end of the day. PTL + dat dial make it a lot harder for them to do so, but if you're not losing more than 24 points, then it's not a huge deal.

would recommend Epsilon leader with any swarm, though. He's hilarious, even when it just comes to getting your segnor's blocked and not giving a **** because you can just do it again next turn

I'd recommend against comms relay

part of the point of the FOs is that the elites are relatively cheap for what they bring, but with only 2-reds they heavily discourage point stacking.

if they die, then it's fine because that's kind of their job. They're still tie fighters, at the end of the day. PTL + dat dial make it a lot harder for them to do so, but if you're not losing more than 24 points, then it's not a huge deal.

would recommend Epsilon leader with any swarm, though. He's hilarious, even when it just comes to getting your segnor's blocked and not giving a **** because you can just do it again next turn

While I know you don't want to stack a bunch of points on a single TIE/Fo, I definitely think there's a place for Comms Relay on em', especially on non-generics. But Epsilon Leader, Omega Ace, and Omega Leader? All of those I can see wanting it:

Epsilon Leader: Can't take PTL, but this will allow him to have a Focus+Evade on some turns to help keep him alive, especially on that critical first pass

Omega Ace: Can now PTL and utilize his ability without becoming defenseless and soon dead.

Omega Leader: Then enemy you're TLing now will likely have an Evade to try and get through as well.

Really, the question will become "is it worth the three points"? I think, with those guys, probably.

Definitely wouldn't use it on generics, though. Too expensive to keep a ship alive that no one is probably going to focus on anyways.

Comms Relay is essentially a 3 point Shield Upgrade that you can possibly use more than once. I think the Omega named pilots will get a lot of use out of it. Omega Leader with Push and Comms is going to be a really hard ship to kill. If you can get him into the end game, he'll be worse than Dark Curse.

On Omega Ace, it gets him a bit more durability going into battle. You likely won't have any defense dice modification as you are going to spend his focus for his ability. I have found that he draws a lot of hate because no one wants to eat 3 crits at range 1.