As a very practiced conga line player I think folks are severely overestimating ECMs. They exhaust on use, so it will only help you for one attack per turn. The real strength of the conga line is that it is really tough to approach without being in multiple firing arcs. One use of an ECM is not enough to be able to barrel right in. Bracing one attack out of four will still get your ISD killed.

Blocking is a good plan, but harder than it sounds with minimal margin for error.

I have had the most trouble when someone can maneuver to force my lead ship into multiple overlapping arcs. Plan a trap and set ships up where the conga line has to fly into overlapping arcs of its own.

Even if an ECM holder is bracketed by four different attacks, ECM can reduce one of them. Approaching two Assault Frigates with gunnery teams means I'm probably going to be shot twice, and I'd like access to Brace for at least one of those attacks. Even being shot four times out of a corner I'd probably kick it on the first four-dice shot that amasses a lot of damage. Same with MC80s, though defending on that one is going to be tough.

I just think the ability to reduce incoming damage this way is incomparable, and ECM helps guarantee that ability for anything other than an Intelligence Officer watching you. Even so, you can still kick it in spite of IO to handle atrocious damage amounts. Just as long as the ship burning the brace has a very good chance of seeing it's next activation to vomit damage, or if it will force another opponent's ship to use one attack and finish off the ship that just discarded the token, I think it's worth it.

I actually think ECM is great and probably the best Defensive Refit once wave 2 finally releases. im just not sure it is the answer to the OP's question on how to fight the conga line. It's good against any opponent though.

^ It's times like that where I feel ECMs are really useful because you still have a choice, even under accuracy, to deflect some amount of damage without playing the IO's game and using up your brace. IOs are the top of the "cancellation" pile (since ECMs won't work on their targets) but it's good that there can only be one of them on a ship, and it exhausts to trigger.

And what ship are you talking about Tirion, the MC30?

yeah

I'm gonna call it now, sensor teams are going to shine on this ship.

I'm not sure that's worth giving up Ordnance Experts for, though.

I'm gonna call it now, sensor teams are going to shine on this ship.

I'm not sure that's worth giving up Ordnance Experts for, though.

an auto accuracy is gonna be crazy with those black dice

an auto accuracy is gonna be crazy with those black dice

Yes, but at the expense of your two red dice. So you're generating an Accuracy result plus whatever the three (or four, with Rapid Reload) black dice provide you. That's all right but I don't feel it's as competitive as simply accepting whatever the reds give you plus rerollable black dice. You can always make Bracing/Redirecting worse with Heavy Turbolaser Turrets or XI7 Turbolasers or use H9 Turbolasers to provide an accuracy a different way (this method is better with the Torpedo Frigate as the blue dice will always give you what you want one way or the other).

I'm gonna call it now, sensor teams are going to shine on this ship.

I'm not sure that's worth giving up Ordnance Experts for, though.

an auto accuracy is gonna be crazy with those black dice

External support from Home One is much better than the Sensor Teams. Hell, Home One and XI7 means you can basically shut down all of the best defenses every time. Or, if the MC80 is too much of a points investment, HTTs work pretty well.

Those Ordnance Experts are just so important on this ship, I can't see ever running it without them.

it's all in the odds blacks have a 25% of missing a red accuracy on the other hand