I want to claim this squad first

VVOO

______

Vader + VI + ATC

Vessery + HLC + Crackshot

Obsidian

Obsidian

Why it works:

Nothing imperial hits as hard as this Vesseri. He laughs at y-wings with stressbot and the green 5 forward is a thing of beauty to pass your oponents and stay at their six for the rest of the game. It's the only defender that can take a hard 1 turn in order to keep focusing fire on a target as will have Vader's TL for offense.

Vader, unlike Soontir, has consistent damage output. If you go after him first it's good for me as Vessery will spend focus on offense and you'll get 4 hits coming your way. Sadly, Vader needs VI to deal with Phantoms.

Unlike Soontir, both can roll 3 green blanks and be fine with it. Against multiple 2 attack at R3 I feel safe.

Obsidians helps against PS2 TLT, Gloomshutles and decimators but shine when an ace is blocked because it means Vessery will murder it.

Most matches end the same way with Vader and a Obsidian dead so MOV is not that bad (44 points)

Go take it for a ride, it defeats most things present at the meta right now and looks cool on the table!

Vader & Vessery have some natural synergy and crack shot is a nice 1 pt Elite. However, I don't think the obsidians are the best fit. When Vader dies, there's no one left to feed Vessery's ability.

I prefer VI Vessery for one reason: Dash. While TIE defenders are pretty good at trailing big based ships, Dash can be problematic when you have to move first (at least PTL dash with his boost + BR shenanigans). Yes there's Vader, but Dash might kill Vader before you can finish Dash off. Being able to move last means you have much better chances of sealing the deal.

I have a very similar list that I've used a couple times with good results:

Vader w/ lone wolf, x-1, ATC & engine = 36

Vessery w/ HLC, VI & hull = 46

Dark Curse w/ target comp = 18

I plan to drop Curse for an Epsilon with Comm Relay when its available. Makes for a better blocker at PS1 and can more safely grab his target lock with the extra shield + evade token. Even Dark Curse is taking a risk when he goes for TL early in the game.

Of course, I feel that Whisper + Vader might be even better than the Vess + Vader combo, but I'm still testing that list out...

I'm keen to test new listings based on Defenders. I already tested it with a Royal Guard Interceptor, and with 2 Interceptors (lower SP was hard to counter against aces, and even with Carnor the Defender is always primary target).

But now i'm testing a listing that is very similar, more or less in the same direction that Blade pointed, mine has some minor modifications, for example Vader goes with Calculation (those 4 dice of HLC plus the 2 possible crits of Vader can be awful for every target):

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/351922/vvoe#manoeuvres=hide

I also have the same list with Mangler instead HLC, and with the 3 extra points added as Stealth Device on the Omega Expert (5 dice on the first approach can save your life, and the first TL is important for Vessery).

In my book every squad should be able to do 2 things in order to succed:

Kill a y-wing per turn

Block Soontir and send him 4 hits backed with Crackshot

By thinning aces' upgrades to the minimum we get two bad ass end game killing machines and 4 ships. If both Obsidians are at R1 of a prey you'll be tempted to fire at them producing sort of a Biggs effect. Sinergy is limited but in my experience lasts enough to make a difference as to end the sinergy you are giving free shots to Vessery and that I like !

I don't feel your squads have enough answers but glad they work for you. I may need to batrep the next tourney

Btw, Vader without VI needs init bid imo

Btw, Vader without VI needs init bid imo

Wedge---you don't want to be in his fire arc. period. Block him or get behind him. Vader has the firepower and action economy to end him as long as he doesn't get hit too badly in return

Solo---moving last is definitely huge against this guy. However, with Vessery + Vader, you have to get some damage on him early and start piling on some Vader crits. Damaged engine, sensor array, injured pilot, loose stabilizer etc. These make this fight much easier.

Whisper---you actually want to shoot first against her. If the opponent takes initiative, you can possibly arc dodge or zoom past her to force a k-turn.

Fel---you certainly want to move last against Fel, but again, you don't really want 1v1 on him. Block him and kill him early (you have the firepower to do so). If that fails though, Vader can still win by forcing range 2 engagements. With lone wolf + ATC he hits harder and can crack the stealth device eventually. Lone wolf + double action gives almost as much defense as Fel, and if you still have shields left, you can afford to trade a R1 exchange even. But then you risk getting arc-dodged, so better to block and force a turn around (again, try to re-engage at R2 to deny autothrusters).

VI Jake or VI Xizor---these guys can murder Vader at R1 so stay out of it. Again, block the R1 engagements and force R2 engagements to deny autothrusters. Vader's strength is his damage so he will win the damage trade at R2 against either of them.

Against anyone PS10/11 initiative bid is immaterial. So yeah, I don't see why Vader at PS9 needs an initiative bid...

Now you can't always ensure R2 because your opponent might be able to adjust range to 1 or 3 depending on the situation. If you feel you can't get R2 and your ships are somewhat close, its best to block and turn around. If you end up at R3, its not all bad, just unlikely you will get damage through and if you token up, you are unlikely to take damage too.

Against most of these matchups (except Solo, Whisper and perhaps Xizor) you are winning on points if it comes down to 1v1. So you don't need the kill for the victory

You can turn the two Obsidians into Omega Leader with Juke and Comms Relay (OK, not right now, but sooooon, and for the rest of your life)