I'm still new to the game even though I bought the core set when it first came out.lol Well I've noticed that when people here talk about the tie defender it sounds like it's not a good ship to run. As a rookie pilot I'd like to know what's wrong with it.

It is an expensive ship with a relatively awkward dial, green straights are the only greens it has, and the 1 and 2 hard turns are red.

It started out by being viewed as a super Interceptor, but it behaves differently and is NOT a big fan of stress. That made it bad for a lot of people.

But now, with the TIE mk II it is really starting to get the recognition it deserves and with the upcoming expansion pack with some titles it will probably start to dominate the lists in the coming year. If only for novelty value.

It's actually a very powerful ship. However it does have several buts as the above poster says.

It is expensive.

It can't turn worth a ****. It has a dial for going straight or straightest really fast. Can take a bit of getting used to.

Other ships can do whatever it can but better / more efficiently / cheaper.

Love the Defender? Don't we all.. worry not. The Imperial Veterans pack that has just been announced has some cool new tricks for the Defender that although untested by the player base at large, look like they wil make it a truely competitive ship!

Disagree, the Defender, especially the uniques, are particularly stress resistant.

The big issue is that it flies differently than many have expected. I love it, but it takes some getting used to flying.

what's wrong with the Defender?

well, for one, it doesn't defend **** it and instead just blows **** up

(and the issue isn't the dial, it's the stupid point cost; a problem which is getting handily addressed in the Imperial Veterans expac by making it more worth its cost)

I too have loved the defender. Col Meatgrinder(Vessery) has one of the best offensive abilities in the game. It does have a learning curve to be successful. I agree that it was a tad overpriced, in my opinion maybe 2 points but still well worth it. It was a ship that I thought could be run naked and be good because it had no glaring weakness if it was run right. Now though with the new updates it will be a terror in the hands of those of us who have been running it all along!!!

Thanks all. I just got back into x wing with the new core set and I bought a phantom and defender because I always liked the designs since I first saw them in a video game a long time ago.lol I'm looking forward to the new vet set. That's one set I must pick up.

Basically people flew it wrong trying to use it as a jouster which it isn't, it's a tough ship to master but a few of us did we even have a member that won using two defenders in competitive play.

Now we've just had an announcement about a veterans pack that has lots of goodies for the defender two titles which improve its offence and defence respectively, a new tractor beam that also works great with defenders.

So if you don't have any buy some before they sell out in the inevitable rush to catch up.

In the meantime, use it anyway. I'm sure I won't be the only one dusting theirs off before the new expansion hits!

For a ship called the Defender

A) no native boost, so cant take autothrusters

B) does not have the evade action

C) the value of the white K-turn seems to have been proven to be severely overestimated in the ships final squad points cost.

Fear not though the soon to arrive Imperial Veterans Pack will go a looooooong way to addressing these issues.

People don't like it because they can't just boost and barrel roll after everyone has moved to get into good position. Also it doesn't have very good token economy, it can not take an evade token (see new titles). In the age of boostwing white 4k isn't anything fancy. I swear everyone is just going to "Corran" the elites by putting on vi and engine upgrade. Congrats you saw what I did then took a boost or barrel roll.

The reliance on Autothrusters, and the community's tendency to call anything bad that doesn't carry them, is starting to become tiresome really.

Yes, they are good, but even if the Defender did have native boost, I'd take TIE mk II over AT.

For a ship called the Defender

A) no native boost, so cant take autothrusters

B) does not have the evade action

C) the value of the white K-turn seems to have been proven to be severely overestimated in the ships final squad points cost.

Fear not though the soon to arrive Imperial Veterans Pack will go a looooooong way to addressing these issues.

Because it defends the fleet by being personally offensive. (either to its opponents or its pilots...you choose)

It is inefficient. So are aces, but it lacks the tools to weather the storm.

For me, the lack of the Evade action is the single biggest negative on the ship. It forces them to rely entirely on their green dice to survive, which makes them feel less durable than a TIE Interceptor despite the three points of shielding. They have little to fall back on if they get a couple of bad defense rolls.

In the meantime, use it anyway. I'm sure I won't be the only one dusting theirs off before the new expansion hits!

Pff. As if mine ever gathered dust… I think I've included them in about 66.6% of my lists since getting one at Imdaar Alpha.

Basically people flew it wrong trying to use it as a jouster which it isn't, it's a tough ship to master but a few of us did we even have a member that won using two defenders in competitive play.

I like to ask this question to people who say the white K is over rated. What would you pay to have the white k on any ship? If you could run Wedge or any other ace with a white K turn upgrade card it would have to cost a TON to make it not overpowered. That's the beauty of the defender that people don't realize. If flown according to its strengths which is don't close to fast since you have all the banks and can deal damage from range with 3-4 dice attacks, it is a powerful ship. Then you have the white K which in the vast majority of circumstances allows the defender a shot on something EVERY turn. That is a huge boon for a small base non-turret ship. There are hardly any wasted turns. It has the shields and green dice to get shot at multiple times and live. Those who complained THANK YOU! One of my favorite ships is now going to be insanely powerful!

I like to ask this question to people who say the white K is over rated. What would you pay to have the white k on any ship? If you could run Wedge or any other ace with a white K turn upgrade card it would have to cost a TON to make it not overpowered. That's the beauty of the defender that people don't realize. If flown according to its strengths which is don't close to fast since you have all the banks and can deal damage from range with 3-4 dice attacks, it is a powerful ship. Then you have the white K which in the vast majority of circumstances allows the defender a shot on something EVERY turn. That is a huge boon for a small base non-turret ship. There are hardly any wasted turns. It has the shields and green dice to get shot at multiple times and live. Those who complained THANK YOU! One of my favorite ships is now going to be insanely powerful!

It's one of my favourite ships too. But you're drastically overselling what it brings to the table.

It's not a matter of just learning how to fly it. The defender was overcosted for what it delivered, hence the strongest fix we've seen in x wing to date.

For a ship called the Defender

A) no native boost, so cant take autothrusters

B) does not have the evade action

C) the value of the white K-turn seems to have been proven to be severely overestimated in the ships final squad points cost.

Fear not though the soon to arrive Imperial Veterans Pack will go a looooooong way to addressing these issues.

A) that's not a negative lots of ships don't have native boost, and it predates Autothrusters which were not needed that badly before wave four gave us super fat Han.

B) you only evade if you can't get a shot, in a defender you have no excuse because of its k turn.

C) yeah the t-70 clearly points this out.

Huh. Hadn't looked at the T-70 until now. There's an EPT called Cool Hand. You can put EPTs on Luke. So… how many times has someone made a Cool Hand Luke reference since the reveal?

I did, but Cool Hand sucks, and even worse, makes little sense on Luke.

I like to ask this question to people who say the white K is over rated. What would you pay to have the white k on any ship? If you could run Wedge or any other ace with a white K turn upgrade card it would have to cost a TON to make it not overpowered. That's the beauty of the defender that people don't realize. If flown according to its strengths which is don't close to fast since you have all the banks and can deal damage from range with 3-4 dice attacks, it is a powerful ship. Then you have the white K which in the vast majority of circumstances allows the defender a shot on something EVERY turn. That is a huge boon for a small base non-turret ship. There are hardly any wasted turns. It has the shields and green dice to get shot at multiple times and live. Those who complained THANK YOU! One of my favorite ships is now going to be insanely powerful!

It's one of my favourite ships too. But you're drastically overselling what it brings to the table.

It's not a matter of just learning how to fly it. The defender was overcosted for what it delivered, hence the strongest fix we've seen in x wing to date.

No. The X7 and /D are no where close to the power of the X1 title. Especially combined with the ATC. There is absolutely no reason to never bring the X1 title. Whereas, there are some very good debates to be had about the two new titles. Biophysical would never have done as well as he did at Regionals if they were as overcosted as many claim.

Basically people flew it wrong trying to use it as a jouster which it isn't.

I'm confused. If it's not a Jouster, is it an arc dodger? A turret? An ordnance ship?

Come on. It's clearly a Jouster. Soon it will be a good one.