I'm going on a bit of a carrier kick lately, and seeing today's huge upset at Worlds makes me more interested in figuring out what might be future counters.

Imperial Star Destroyer 1 Relentless (173)

-Darth Vader

-Intel Officer

-Gunnery Team

-Boosted Comms

-XI-7 Turbolasers

-Relentless

Imperial Star Destroyer 1 Virulence (134)

-Intel Officer

-Gunnery Team

-Boosted Comms

-XI-7 Turbolasers

Major Rhymer

Mauler Mithel

Howlrunner

TIE Bomber

TIE Bomber

TIE Bomber

TIE Fighter

TIE Fighter

Most Wanted

Fleet Ambush

Minefields

The idea is that I can use any of the three objectives to force early confrontations with the ISDs and fighters, where I believe I'll have a strong advantage.

I'd think about contested outpost as well, fleet ambush is really good with ISDs though. I personally dislike running two ships, so I'd consider doing a boosted comms wulff combo on a victory to get 4 squads a turn. Then you can fit a raider in there somewhere for deployment and activation manipulation.

Lastly without chiraneanea, mauler doesn't have as big an impact, so you can cut him for another advanced/bomber and an upgrade somewhere else.

I'd think about contested outpost as well, fleet ambush is really good with ISDs though. I personally dislike running two ships, so I'd consider doing a boosted comms wulff combo on a victory to get 4 squads a turn. Then you can fit a raider in there somewhere for deployment and activation manipulation.

Lastly without chiraneanea, mauler doesn't have as big an impact, so you can cut him for another advanced/bomber and an upgrade somewhere else.

I don't have Chirnau and I refuse to buy a VSD expansion that I'll never use to get him. That said, he is an effective tool. However, the goal here is to clear through a bomber wing or hold it in place to skip past it. A big part of the reason Mauler is there at all is to ensure I can hit A-Wings without triggering further attacks in return.

The big advantage I see for ISDs is that they're surprisingly quick, an advantage they lose in Contested Outpost. Also, I'm limited to only a maximum of 120pts in a game if I hold onto it every turn, and there are much better objectives to maximize my score that work better with my fleet.

The Mauler looks like he'll get one jump in, for a couple of damage, and that's it. You could at least put something with Intel in there. The Jumpmaster is 12 pts and has swarm, so seems a good pick. Then you don't need Chirry.

Your Rhymer-ball is also quite weak for 400 pts. 4 black and 4 blue max. Same with fighter screen - you've some, enough to tie up the enemy, but hardly enough to do much more. No really a carrier list at all.

Seems wasteful to have 2 ships with boosted comms. How often will all of your squadrons need long-range commands? I'd say never, not with Rhymer and engagement. So one comms is an insurance, two is wasteful.

You've too many upgrades and too few ships for my taste, but at least your upgrades synergize well and fit your ships. You don't list total pts, but I'm counting 397, so you'll be going 2nd a lot. 2 ships and going second. A big no-no in my book.

I would drop Vader for Motti or Screed. Then you have more points to add another TIE and/or have a better bid.

And if you want my thought on a 2 ISD list (395 pt):

ISD II

- Motti

- Intel Officer

- Gunnery Team

- ECM

- Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (or XI7, I just don't have two cards)

ISD I

- Gunnery Team

- XI7

- Rhymer

- Dengar

- Boba Fett

- Firespray

- TIE Bomber

- TIE Advanced

Superior Positions

Precision Strike

Contested Outpost

The ISD II will probably activate first to try to Intel Officer the brace on a ship, while the ISD I will run forward at ramming speed trying to make as big a target as possible. It is very likely to go down, but it will take at least 1 ship down with it. The squadrons can all be activated in one round and will be poised to soften targets for the ISD attacks. 3 blacks, 3 blue from the bombers activating + 1 damage from Boba will soften anything barring Advanced Projectors, which is why we brought the Intel Officer and XI7. I would ignore fighters with anything but the advanced and just rely on Intel allowing me to fire on ships. One thing I am considering is replacing Boba and the advanced with Vader + Firespray, but I will have to wait for Wave 2 to find out which works better.