I have been trying out various Tie/FO lists and have come to be really impressed with 5 Zeta Squadron Pilots (PS3) and Zeta Ace with Wired and twin Ion Engine.

The s-loop, shield and additional green maneuvers make the new Tie very tricky. They are very effective against the TLT lists and against most other lists to.

The extra shield makes a significant difference in survivability as well.

Flying somewhat loose formations and ganging up on a ship or 2 in the opponents force works as well with these beauties as it did with the old tie swarm.

The s-loop makes getting into position and out of arcs much easier and far less predictable than the old Tie.

I did try Epsilon Leader instead of Zeta Ace, but the excellent dial on the FO makes his ability somewhat superfluous.

What has been your experience with them?

I love the TIE/fo, but find they lack offense just flown on their own. The FO pairs well with Interceptors because of their dial. I love the idea of mixing in a few Alphas with a FO squad. Just wish the Imperial Ace pack would have come with Alphas....

I like the FO TIEs and can't wait for the expansions. Until then I can't fly a swarm. I have 2 TFA cores and I don't think I'm gonna buy another... unless Santee Claws hooks me up.

I like the FO TIEs and can't wait for the expansions. Until then I can't fly a swarm. I have 2 TFA cores and I don't think I'm gonna buy another... unless Santee Claws hooks me up.

I would have bought a second TFA Core had the upgrade cards been better. I'm still pissed it is the only way to get a copy of Wired....

I think the F/O goes great with the new advanced. A nice solid 5 ship swarms build with tons on customisabiliy.

Well, I've played a few games with 4 PTL Omega and Epsilon Leader, as well as 5 PTL Omega. Ships survive a bit better, but again, having 5 of two-attack-dice ships is far from competitive in the current meta.

Does having six of them instead of five make any significant difference, I wonder?

swarm hasn't gone anywhere

but there is a fun build with FOs

Omega Leader (ptl)

Howlie

Epsilon Leader

3 Obsidian Squadrons

I think the F/O goes great with the new advanced. A nice solid 5 ship swarms build with tons on customisabiliy.

This is brilliant. I'm going to have to try this. My first thought is just spam PS4

The new half points rule for large base ships helps out big time as well. They are remarkably good at getting into the TLT donut hole. The ship they hate most is Kenkirk and his Palp friend....

(Just FYI, I bought my extra FO's from EBay, so i didn't have to buy 3 cores :-) )

I like the FO TIEs and can't wait for the expansions. Until then I can't fly a swarm. I have 2 TFA cores and I don't think I'm gonna buy another... unless Santee Claws hooks me up.

I would have bought a second TFA Core had the upgrade cards been better. I'm still pissed it is the only way to get a copy of Wired....

I would like to see more named pilots for the TIE/FO (AKA iFighter because it looks like an apple product) just to keep things nice and uniform and not having to mix and match with Howl and co

I would like to see more named pilots for the TIE/FO (AKA iFighter because it looks like an apple product) just to keep things nice and uniform and not having to mix and match with Howl and co

There's six, and a PS4 generic with an EPT slot. How many would you want?

I don't know about swarms, but I love the new Tie/FO. Works great with Col. Vessery and the Tie Defender. I need to get 2 more FO's to do Col. V and 4 Epsilons.

At the moment, I fly Col. V w/ Maarek Stele and 2 Epsilon. It's a solid list.

One of the things I like about the FO is the S-loop. If you have a low PS and know you are going to bump, it gets hard to figure out where to do where you aren't out of the action for too long. The S-loop really helps them find a place to move and still have a shot. I just need to get better at not bumping with them when trying!

I have tried Weapons Guidance on the Epsilon, which was good as I knew if I needed to use the Focus for defense or not. My only problem was I tended to roll well enough with the FO's that I just didn't need it that often. I also scrapped them for Engine Upgrade on Maarek.

If it ain't at least 6, it ain't a swarm!

I would like to see more named pilots for the TIE/FO (AKA iFighter because it looks like an apple product) just to keep things nice and uniform and not having to mix and match with Howl and co

There's six, and a PS4 generic with an EPT slot. How many would you want?

yes, we have a vast and memorable cast of characters

Omega Leader (the locked ship, when attacking or defending against you, can't modify any dice)

Omega Ace (spend lock + focus to turn all dice into crits)

Zeta Leader (???)

Zeta Ace (optional 2-roll)

Epsilon Leader (beginning of combat, remove stress from each friendly ship at range 1; himself included)

Epsilon Ace (???)

and then all the squadrons, Omega having an EPT

It's the three generic squadron names (which go up in PS in accordance with how cool the greek character looks, so that's easy enough to remember!). Then, the Ace and Leader of each squadron. Pretty straightforward! I would have preferred more code names like the TIE/ln pilots but I can see how that would have been supremely confusing with all the TIE/ln pilots we've got and are getting.

I love the TIE/fo abilities though, and I can't wait to find out what the other two are.

Edit: not super srs but ε then ζ and finally Ω

I am loving my FOs too. Been calling them Freak-Outs because well... I'm a nerd and I still call the other ones Eyeballs so...

Anyways I have been using my Freak-Outs as super blockers. I can't say I am impressed by the Aces, or at least the core set oTie Zeta Ace being the exception. I usually run them as Epsilons and then my Eyeball's are usually DC and NB. MM is great too but I prefer a defensive buff to an offensive one.

What do I like most about using the Freak-Outs as blockers? Their durability first, that extra shield is huuuge. Then the dial. The S-Loop is probably the single best manuever in a swarms arsenal. With a K you have to be bang on your measuring to get two ships behind a target. With the S you just select opposing loops and you have plenty of room. Its also nice not having to shoot at R3 after a loop too.

I guess the Freak-Outs are good for me because they take the Tie and make it just a smidge more maneuverable and the shield doesn't add too much. I think some were worried that the FO would replace the Tie but I don't think that's true.

My FO swarm is Howlrunner with hull and determination plus 2 epsilons and 3 zetas. I won a small local tourney with it, outlasting an 8-TIE swarm and brobots.

anyone who subscribes to MAthwing knew that the FO wouldn't do **** to displace the trusty Ln

as someone who played far more A-wings than is rational, however, I kinda had to see them as super Green Squadron pilots than the Tie 2.0

while I'm not sold on the generic Omega w/PTL due to Tie Fighters already existing and being quite awesome, so far all the named pilots have been very solid in their assorted roles

Omega Leader (proxied) is an cheap, amazing "fodder ace" that can take on even Vader/Soontir with his stupid awesome ability

Epsilon Leader is just silly good fun with mini-swarms and PTL (and for doing dumb things such as: Segnors! Blocked...Segnors next turn anyway!)

Zeta Ace is a massive pain in the ass for the enemy, being either the ultimate arc-dodger or ultimate blocker

Omega Ace...bleh. It's not bad, per say, but I can't imagine not having Leader instead.

Reading this just reinforces how much I hate that we didn't get any named pilots for the FO.

Reading this just reinforces how much I hate that we didn't get any named pilots for the FO.

Yeah, but how many years after A New Hope did it take to get names for those guys? You want people to have names for these guys right before the movie comes out?

Reading this just reinforces how much I hate that we didn't get any named pilots for the FO.

I'd guess that it's any of (or none of...):

1. No spoilers wanted from JarJar, LFL, or Disney, or combination thereof.
2. They don't have names.
3. Or no one thought to name them or the rest of the T70s, just like the other trilogies.

Reading this just reinforces how much I hate that we didn't get any named pilots for the FO.

Yeah, but how many years after A New Hope did it take to get names for those guys? You want people to have names for these guys right before the movie comes out?

given how arbitrary those names seem, however, we can just name them right now

Omega Leader is "El Presidente"

Omega Ace is "Perfectionist"

Epsilon Leader is "Magnanimous"

Zeta Ace is "Chamilionaire"

Aliases in quotes don't count as real names. Otherwise 'Dutch' would have been sufficient.

Aliases in quotes don't count as real names. Otherwise 'Dutch' would have been sufficient.

this has been the golden naming standard of Tie fighters since Wave 1

from "Howlrunner" to "Winged Gundark"