New Defenders : Imperial Control

By TaGaDa, in X-Wing Squad Lists

IMPERIAL CONTROL 100 points

PILOTS

Delta Squadron Pilot [Flechette Cannon, TIE/D, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (33)

Delta Squadron Pilot [Flechette Cannon, TIE/D, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (33)

Delta Squadron Pilot [ion Cannon, TIE/D, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (34)

It's me or this will be famous ???

May be with 2 tractor beams and a Ion cannon

Edited by TaGaDa

You'd be better off having 2 ion cannons so you can ionize large-based ships.

Flechette cannon is meh. However, the TIE/D actually makes it a little more palatable. In order to get two ion cannons though, I think you'd be better off with 1 tractor beam.

Having said that, the biggest reason this is not going to be all kinds of awesome is the PS1...

Why not one of each, just for laughs?

Tractor beam to lower defenses, then Flechette and Ion with less defense to punch through. Once Ion/Stress control is established, finish off your target on subsequent turns.

I'm not sure this list has enough offense modifiers to be good, especially since you'll have probably used a focus token on the defense, but it sure is fun looking.

The one advantage of PS1 is that you will get to where you want to go without being blocked and losing Actions. Defenders are resilient enough to withstand some fire and still get shots off.

If only they had a System slot for Fire Control System. Then the TIE/D Title would be stupid good.

I'm very excited for Tie/x7 with Predator and Ion Engine at 36 points each. If they go fast, they got double modified attacks using Focus and Predator, but if they're attacked by aces before that, they're 3 green dice baddies with a focus and an evade token. They're fairly action independent with healthy green dials and white K-Turns. Super spicy.

Just gotta figure out what to do with my other 28 points.

I may try this list with a 35pt Vader, a 36pt Defender (to replace Soontir, who is awesome, but weaker to stress, bumps, can't re-roll blanks, etc) and 29pt Palp Shuttle. The Defender isn't as powerful as Soontir, but it's more accurate on the offense and can take a hit or two before it's in the danger zone. Plus dat white K-Turn. Me-ow.

^I'll be trying to shoehorn one into a Palpmobile list as well, though I think I'll want to see a Defender unique, maybe Vessery & whatever Advanced I can fit. I'd love to have Maarek in his Defender, but his ability triggers much more often in the Advanced, unfortunately.

^I'll be trying to shoehorn one into a Palpmobile list as well, though I think I'll want to see a Defender unique, maybe Vessery & whatever Advanced I can fit. I'd love to have Maarek in his Defender, but his ability triggers much more often in the Advanced, unfortunately.

But an advanced is not as good as a Defender. Defender has (arguably) a better dial, one extra shield and more firepower, so I think its totally worth it. The new TIE/D title is also pretty great for any named Defender. I could see two Maarek builds, one for crits, and one for raw damage where any crits you score are just gravy:

Maarek w/ x-7 & calculation = 35 points (assuming a base cost of 36 which is not confirmed yet, but highly probable). Compared to his advanced counterpart, sporting Push the Limit, X-1, ATC & Tie mk 2 engine at 32 points, that's only a difference of 3 points. For 3 points more you are getting the extra shield, but your crits are not quite guaranteed (but pretty close as you either get one naturally or roll 1 eyeball and activate calculation). You also get the free evade at speed 3+, which provides similar tankiness but no stress generation. Overall I'd say the Defender version is slightly more tanky and will only miss out on a crit occasionally.

Maarek w/ TIE/D, ion cannon & predator = 42 points. Much more expensive than the advanced version, but arguably more dangerous. Predator works on both attacks, so both are always getting at least one re-roll (plus possible focus token). You are missing out on the crit production, because only the main gun can score crits, and only if you are lucky enough to roll them (although predator helps here a bit). Overall though, I would say this version will deal more damage than the advanced one and the threat of ion control makes him even more versatile (and less likely to take as much damage thanks to the white k-turn + ion combo).

So I think Maarek in a Defender stacks up pretty good, all things considered...

My consideration for the Advanced is that they are, relatively speaking, dirt cheap. They can be great utility vehicles. W/ Accuracy Corrector, they can evade every action, or use TL to help out, say, Vessery. I think it's 21 points for the cheapest.

Then you have have a meatier Defender, which would be my preference. Darth Vader is nice, but he still can get burned pretty quickly. I'm less worried about losing the 21 pt Advanced and using upgrades/Palp to focus on the Defender.

My consideration for the Advanced is that they are, relatively speaking, dirt cheap. They can be great utility vehicles. W/ Accuracy Corrector, they can evade every action, or use TL to help out, say, Vessery. I think it's 21 points for the cheapest.

Then you have have a meatier Defender, which would be my preference. Darth Vader is nice, but he still can get burned pretty quickly. I'm less worried about losing the 21 pt Advanced and using upgrades/Palp to focus on the Defender.

If you are going to run a Defender with Palp, I would think Maarek is the best choice. He doesn't need any way to trigger his own ability other than the great Emperor himself...

Maarek would be my preference as well, though Vessery would potentially need less help from Palpy, so you can save the Emperor's ability some something other than his attack(s).

But I imagine my list would be Palpmobile (with optional sensor jammer), Maarek (VI, maybe EU, if not MKII), and then see what I have left for points (need the **** builder to add the spoiled items already so I can test some things). Soontir will never be a bad choice, even if you can only afford PTL and AT. But he's less safe in a control meta...

I'll have a dozen or so combinations once the builder updates (too lazy to bother putting things together otherwise).