Hey all! I have a local tourney coming up so I was hoping to come up with a fairly decent beginner list that should be moderately easy to fly and somewhat forgiving of my mistakes (for an imperial list that is)

so what I was thinking was:

Zeta squadron Pilot (Tie Fo) w/ Weapon guidance -18

Zeta squadron Pilot (Tie Fo) -16

Turr Phennir w/ Veteran instincts and stealth Device- 29

Bounty Hunter +Cluster Missiles- 37

a basic 4 ship squad with 10 attack die, 3 ships at pilot skill 3 and one at pilot skill 9

I dont have a ton else I can use, I have a tie advanced, a tie phantom, and a lambda shuttle with all the card options they come with

any thoughts?

From what you have available I'd be tempted to drop the bounty hunter and Turr and replace them with whisper (phantom) and an omicron group pilot with Vader.

Dropping weapons guidance, the bounty hunter and Turr nets you 68 points, the shuttle will run you 24 of those leaving 44 left. Based on the cards you have available is go;

Whisper 32

Advanced cloaking device (4)

Fire control system (2)

Veteran instincts.(1)

Rebel captive (3)

42 total leaving 2 points left. I'd be tempted to put anti pursuit lasers on the shuttle too.

Let people chase after whisper whilst you chase them right back with the shuttle and ties. Vader crew is the bane of most aces knocking about at the moment but leaving whisper to run around unchecked is a dangerous gamble. Either way you have two strong peices which can't be ignored.

Have fun!

makes sense, Using the Lambda instead of the Bounty Hunter purely for Points reasons? and I assume you mean Vader the crew member

so the benefit of running a fire control system is the target lock? what about possibly going with sensor jammer? for the extra defense? that was my big concern with running the phantom was that it might be tricky and expensive if I screw up, but 4 attack die is pretty awesome, thanks for the help!

Fire Control System was the go to system for Phantoms pre TLT. Post TLT I've seen a lot of people go to Sensor Jammer. They're both great plays and are worth testing to see whether you favor the offensive + or the defensive +.

TLT = Twin Laser Turret btw.

Lambda with Vader crew is a cheap points sink for Vader's ability. It's the most excepted way to run a Lambda shuttle.

Fire Control System was the go to system for Phantoms pre TLT. Post TLT I've seen a lot of people go to Sensor Jammer. They're both great plays and are worth testing to see whether you favor the offensive + or the defensive +.

TLT = Twin Laser Turret btw.

Lambda with Vader crew is a cheap points sink for Vader's ability. It's the most excepted way to run a Lambda shuttle.

Unless the Lambda is carting Palpatine around.

Unless the Lambda is carting Palpatine around.

This is true and probably(?) more common now lol

I was looking at Palpatine, but to my understanding he only comes in the raider? which I just cant afford to get before the tourney, but he looks like a really useful card to have, alongside the Raider's upgrades to the Tie Advanced

I was looking at Palpatine, but to my understanding he only comes in the raider? which I just cant afford to get before the tourney, but he looks like a really useful card to have, alongside the Raider's upgrades to the Tie Advanced

Yes to all of the above! The shuttle can be a bear to fly, particularly without engine upgrade. So be aware of that if you are seriously considering subbing it into a tourney list. But the Doom Shuttle (Vader build) is a viable option.

That was why I originally had the bounty hunter in there, because of the better dial and increased agility with the same attack and total health, but I'm getting the consensus that the lambda is a better basic "gunboat" would an icon cannon on the lambda be worth it for the immobilization?

Absolutely agree about the so-called Doom Shuttle. Not my favorite version of phantom shuttle, but that's because my aces have been burned by it so many times before, and I'm bitter

I recommend setting out some asteroids at home and plotting maneuvers with that shuttle. It's fun to get your ships out to play around, and it will help you get a handle on maneuvering that thing. Doing this helps me with ships that have more restrictive dials, including the Lambda (and also the TIE defender, which I've gotten quite a bit better at now).

That was why I originally had the bounty hunter in there, because of the better dial and increased agility with the same attack and total health, but I'm getting the consensus that the lambda is a better basic "gunboat" would an icon cannon on the lambda be worth it for the immobilization?

The Bounty Hunter is a better workhorse ship than the Lambda because of how terrible the Lambda dial is. It maneuvers like a drunken Winnebago while the secondary arc of the Firespray is really good. People like the shuttle to cart Vader around because it is cheap and you don't really mind if it dies after the first pass because it takes soooooo long to get it back in the fight. The Empire has only two non-epic ships to put Palpatine on, the shuttle and the Decimator. The shuttle is the much cheaper option and Palpatine has unlimited range so the shuttle wandering around the edge of the board is less of an issue.

as above

the Lambda's sole saving grace is how amazingly cheap it is for rock-solid stats; if you load to many upgrades onto it, you're getting rid of basically the only thing it's good for

the most expensive Lambda worth taking is Omnicron with Palpatine and nothing else, because Palpatine is pretty slick

Captain Yorr might be seeing more play, now that Heaver basically out and announced the BTL-A4 TLT R3-a2 Y-wing as "the best rebel ship ever" (it'll stress you twice at ranges 2-3, regardless of whether or not its attacks hit) it may be prudent to upgrade your 24 point Vader shuttle to a 27 point suicidal stress sponge

So for this weekend I'll probably run the list Rauhughes suggested for future list building suggestions The Lambda handles like pregnant whale but is redeemed by its low points cost so it's worth considering, whats the benefit to the Firespray- is it worth is points? and Imperial Aces- worth me getting? The tie interceptor is probably my favorite Star wars non-capital ship

The Interceptor is def worth getting.

So my moving forward buying list is definitely Imperial aces and maybe a regular tie fighter for Howlrunner? how do People feel about the Punisher and bomber? and I know the Decimator is our "Fat Turret" ship right? just so I can plan a few things out- With Howlie I can run some what a swarm and a deci would give me our best fat ship right?

Yeah imperial aces is a great expansion for the cards and the pilots. If you like flying interceptors it's going to be a must. Especially as you don't yet own a copy of push the limit which is a great go to EPT for most interceptor pilots.

A tie pack would be useful, but I'd probably recommend the original core first to get two ties, more dice ect. The punisher and bomber haven't really found there roles yet and whilst fun to play I wouldnt worry about grabbing them unless you really want to play them or like the ships. Id say the new tie f/o pack would be a better buy for you next when it drops.

In my experience with Bombers you either pot commit or go home. In other words, adding one to a list, generally, won't get you anywhere. Now if you have a Jonus led bomber wing, that is something. The biggest Bomber problem is that Jonus's ability does not work on himself so he runs around nearly naked giving ordnance and secondary weapons a ghetto Target Lock re-roll.

Now Redline, with her double-Target Lock mechanic, and Deathrain can operate independently just fine but they can get pricey fast.

so I was just able to trade some old stuff away (non-x-wing ) and get Imperial aces- because I love Tie interceptors and because it has some really strong cards - PTL Hull and Sheild upgrades so with these extra interceptors and abilities/upgrades what do you guys think? same list or switch it up? I'd really like to try to get an interceptor or two in there

An upgraded-to-the-gills Baron Fel is a monster. Push the Limit is practically mandatory.

Fel with Royal Guard Title, Push the Limit, Autothrusters, and Stealth Device is 35 points of awesome. Just don't joust with him.

Hi, welcome to the fleet!

I'd feel under no pressure to buy imperial aces, if I were you, maybe just run a squad from what you already have. One reason is cost - you're going to need the interceptor pack (for soon tier fel), aces (for royal guard free upgrade) and weirdly enough, star viper (for auto thrusters, a card you'll never take off the int once it's on).

The other is, you have the basis of a nasty list already.

I'd run the doom shuttle, Whisper, and perhaps a bounty hunter with tactician. A few people have posted about the shuttle being so-so, but I think they're doing so from a position of a veteran - I can't think of a nastier way to spend 24pts. Here's a few pieces of advice for starting off flying this beast:

- Bear in mind that once it's past your enemy, it has real trouble re-engaging.

- It only has one hard turn, and that's a red maneuver, and for this reason,many people start it off in a corner of the board, facing diagonally in, so that it makes the most of its large arc, and it can bank towards the engagement.

- don't get too attached to the fella, as it's designed to die in a ball of glorious death. If you have the chance to lay a crit on someone when their shields are down, but it'll mean the shuttle dies, well, go right ahead, and demonstrate the fervour of the empire!

- its best maneuver is full stop. Park it as soon as you have a shot, and lay unavoidable crits down on your wailing and gnashing opponent, unless you see the opportunity for some horrible blocking and critting. At range three it has 2 evade and ten health, which is very very nice, plus it shoots guaranteed cries.

- Every step towards your enemy hastens the point at which it become irrelevant to the battle for a period of fraught banking, or perhaps even until it's all over. Someone gets on its tail, it's all over.

- knowing all this, most of your opponents will prioritise it, even over whisper. Use this to your advantage.

Your bounty hunter offers more huge arcs of pain, dropping stress at range two, and being a nuisance. Whisper is your girl, treat her with respect and don't throw her away on a death or glory joust. Her side-decloak+hard-1-turn is a thing of beauty, allowing you to removed yourself from a fight, and to casually turn and pour the death on your would-be jousters.

Finally, do everything you can to practice with your list quite a few times before you start. Ain't nothing worse than forgetting to decloak, and having to spend the round floating around, admiring the scenery.

Good luck at the tourney!

Ps Do what Parakitor suggests!