This post was lost in the shuffle and posted twice earlier, so sorry for the repost. Here goes:

I'm a new player, a lot of gaming experience but not much with X-Wing. I'd like some veteran perspective on this list. I tried to make a "pure" TIE/fo list, but wasn't happy with any of the results, and ended up with this that I'm fairly happy with:

x3 Omega Squadron +PTL

Epsilon Leader +Shield Upgrade

Youngster +Expert Handling

100 points

The basic idea is the TIE/fo's have an amazing movement dial, supplemented with PTL and "Youngster"'s EH, and use Epsilon Leader to soak up the stress whenever possible. Ideally the list should be super maneuverable, but I can see the mid-grade PS's hurting against Aces, as well as the overall lack of substantial firepower. I considered giving "Youngster" Expose instead, and modifying Epsilon Leader and Youngster's survivability upgrades. Anyone tried anything like this before?

Having a "swarm" with less than 6 ships is very risky. Even though the dial and the shield is great I strongly advice you that if you want to fly a swarm pick 6 ships at least, and you will need to include a lot of generics. Good luck!

5 F/o's > 6 ties with "a lot" of generics

Having a "swarm" with less than 6 ships is very risky. Even though the dial and the shield is great I strongly advice you that if you want to fly a swarm pick 6 ships at least, and you will need to include a lot of generics. Good luck!

So do what I say, not what I do? : https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/197026-new-swarm/

For my part, the only thing I would do is remove the Shield Upgrade and change Youngster for Howlrunner with PtL... or something else. But Youngster with EH is meh, only useful to maybe clear a TL or 2 since they all already have Barrel Roll.

youngster with EH is NOT meh...tie advanced (see vader) must TL every turn thus taking away one of his actions every turn. it also hampers any boat flying FCS orone with ordinance

Having a "swarm" with less than 6 ships is very risky. Even though the dial and the shield is great I strongly advice you that if you want to fly a swarm pick 6 ships at least, and you will need to include a lot of generics. Good luck!

So do what I say, not what I do? : https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/197026-new-swarm/

For my part, the only thing I would do is remove the Shield Upgrade and change Youngster for Howlrunner with PtL... or something else. But Youngster with EH is meh, only useful to maybe clear a TL or 2 since they all already have Barrel Roll.

Keep on reading the thread I opened, I ended up playing 6 TIEs.

5 F/o's > 6 ties with "a lot" of generics

In terms of durability, yes. But in terms of firepower, not really.

5 F/o's > 6 ties with "a lot" of generics

In terms of durability, yes. But in terms of firepower, not really.

yes in terms of firepower...can target lock...can sloop so will be in better position....can juke with comms

flying multiple TIEs is always a study in attrition. you must be the better tactician than your opponent turn in and turn out and show a great deal of patience. for those reasons 5 F/Os are better than 6 normals....having said that my go to list right now is 5 TIES but it s a mix:

soontir+PTL+AT+Stealth

2Xomega+crack shot

chaser

wampa

But can you fit 5 Fos with Juke and Comms?

no but thats not the point...the point is that when flying swarms you arent going to do any burst damage so must go for survivability and longevity....f/o's are more versitile in their movement, have ability for comms, target lock, and such. original TIEs are fragile....if you want to split the difference and run 6 boats then do this list thats in my library but havent used it yet:

zeta leader+wired+comms

4X zeta squad

academy (academy can be dropped for comms on everyone)

you're not putting out much of any damage in that get-up and PTL shuts off the majority of an amazing dial

Omega L (juke + relay)

Zeta L (predator)

Epsilon A (weapon guidance)

2 Zeta Squaddies

doesn't matter how super maneuverable a ship is. With only 2 dice, they're going to patter off of literally everything unless they have help.

the only FOs that punch above their weight are

• Omega L (juke + relay + ability = better than crackshot goes right through soontir)
• Zeta L (3 dice, more blanks; predator)
• Juke + Relay/Crackshot FOs (green dice mitigation)

Personally, I run Omega L + Zeta L + crackshot Omega w/Crackshot Howlie and Wampa. The two normal ties die like flies, but they provide a lot of additional offensive power that FOs in their point range simply cannot provide