This question has been plaguing me since I got into the game a couple of years ago. The TIE Defender has been one of my favorite ships in the game not just because it looks amazing but because it has great stats. The only thing holding me back from using them is the HUGE cost of the ships! I mean a PS 1 ship costing 30 pts without anything on it! Then I see the Imperial Veteran pack coming out and I thought this might be the thing the Defender needs to see competitive play. If you're doubting how competitive the ship is I heard an interview with Adam Davey and in the interview they state that there was only 1 Defender at Worlds! The card I'm most looking forward to in the Vet pack is the TIE/D title. The ability to fire a cannon and then fire your primary weapon is amazing! My question to the community is, does this pack make the Defender competitive for the amount of points you're going to have to sink into it? I mean you're still sinking at least 31 to 33 points into a ship that still only has a PS 1. If this isn't the right place to post this please let me know and I will gladly move it. Thank you all for your input.

It's actually a minimum of 28 points now, and it's more outright powerful at 28 than 30.

Absolutely yes they will be competitive. A Defender with TIE/D and an Ion Cannon is just all sorts of goodness. The white 4-K-Turn makes them really not care much about stress. They don't generate a lot themselves and if they do get stressed it does not effect their maneuverability much.

I am going to run a lot of this list:

Vader in the TIE/x1 with Outmaneuver and Advanced Targeting Computer

Delta Squadron Pilot in the TIE/D with Ion Cannon x2

The Defenders ion ships making them extremely predictable and then Vader swoops in behind them for -1 Agility shots with an automatic Crit every shot.

Alternatively, a much more defensive build is:

Vader in the TIE/x1 with Predator, Engine Upgrade, and Advanced Targeting Computer

Delta Squadron Pilot in the TIE/x7 with Stealth Device x2

Now you have super Vader doing the killing while the Defenders can K-turn and get a Focus and Evade with 4 Agility. Good luck hitting that. The Defenders are super defensive and can still dish out damage with 3 base Attack and a possible Focus.

I'd love to use.....

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Colonel Vessery

Tie/x7

Juke

Twin Ion Engine MK II

I'd love to use.....

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Colonel Vessery

Tie/x7

Juke

Twin Ion Engine MK II

Only issue here is with both Defenders having Flechette cannons, if your focusing on 1 ship its only going to get stressed by the first one. Switching 1 out for an Ion Cannon would also allow you to ion and stress the same ship preventing any actions the following turn.

I'm a huge fan of the Defender. I took Brath and Vessery (both w/ HLC, Predator & Shield Upgrade) to my first tournament and came in 12th out of 28.

Currently I fly Brath (HLC, VI & Hull Upgrade) with Scourge (Juke) and 2 Blackshot TIEs. It's massively fun and handles almost anything rather well.

As soon as Imperial Veterans releases I expect I'll try **** near every Defender combo including as one of the Aces with a Palpmobile.

As soon as Imperial Veterans releases I expect I'll try **** near every Defender combo including as one of the Aces with a Palpmobile.

I expect Glaive to clock in at 34 points. That means that with the -2pt Title, Ion Engines, and Predator, they'll be 36 points. Fits perfectly into a list with 35pt Vader and 29pt Emperor Shuttle.

Currently Vader and Soontir both have a weakness to Stress and bumping, since they're fairly action dependent. A Glaive with Predator won't share that weakness. Also, Vader and Soontir both rely on Emperor to fix their blanks. Glaive won't.

For 36pts, it'll be a workhorse. If it speeds in on the initial approach, that's Predator, Focus, and an Evade Token on a ship with 3 red dice, 3 green dice, and 6HP, that can do white K-Turns! King of jousting. Exciting stuff. Real exciting.

I'd love to use.....

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Delta Squadron

Flechette Cannon

Tie/D

Colonel Vessery

Tie/x7

Juke

Twin Ion Engine MK II

Only issue here is with both Defenders having Flechette cannons, if your focusing on 1 ship its only going to get stressed by the first one. Switching 1 out for an Ion Cannon would also allow you to ion and stress the same ship preventing any actions the following turn.

I've thought of that, swapping one to the ion cannon and taking MK II off Vessery

I'm contemplating for a tournament on Saturday

Colonel Vessery 35

Outmaneuver 3

Ion Cannon 3

Vader 29

VI 1

Tie/x1 0

ATC 1

EU 4

Academy Ties x2 24

Why not replace Vessery's Outmaneuver with Lone Wolf? Then you can give him a Mangler Cannon instead of the Ion.

The TIE Defender is going to skyrocket into the top ranks of competitive play.

TIE/D + ion cannon turns the ship into a powerhouse.

x-7 is fairly easy to activate and keeps the ship alive much longer than you might expect.

Triple Deltas w/ ion + TIE/D is going to be a strong list. There's a ton of different options these titles opens up, and I am really looking forward to the Defender's 'reign of terror' in 2016! (assuming its not 'on the boat' until Christmas or some such...)

Vessery

markmanship (focus for both attacks!!)

Ion

Tie/d

Would be a rather strong ace, pityabout the cost

This is great I'm glad that I'm not the only one super excited for this pack. I agree with the sentiment that FFG can't get it out fast enough. I also am playing around with a build of Vessery with an Ion Cannon and a mini swarm of TIE/FOs but I have also looked at the triple Deltas with Ion. Would the PS 1 be a real weakness for this list or do y'all think that with the three ion counters going out and the added attack it could compensate for that?

This is great I'm glad that I'm not the only one super excited for this pack. I agree with the sentiment that FFG can't get it out fast enough. I also am playing around with a build of Vessery with an Ion Cannon and a mini swarm of TIE/FOs but I have also looked at the triple Deltas with Ion. Would the PS 1 be a real weakness for this list or do y'all think that with the three ion counters going out and the added attack it could compensate for that?

The reason PS1 is okay in the triple delta list is because you have 3 ion cannons + 3 primary shots. Its impossible not to ionize something with that many attacks (even if most are unmodified). So they joust quite well, especially if you can use your PS1 for blocks or set up your k-turns on ionized target(s).

But that's not to say its the ONLY way to go. There's so many different options, and I honestly feel spoiled for choice (which is nice!)

Here's some other Defender builds I've seen/considered:

2 Glaives w/ x-7 + crack shot (assuming 34 base cost and EPT) and Vessery w/ x-7 + crack shot = 100

DVD

Vessery w/ ruthlessness (or outmanoeuvre), TIE/D & tracter beam

Delta w/ TIE/D + ion cannon

Delta w/ x-7

The idea here is to use x-7 delta to rush forward grabbing target locks for Vessery. Vess then tracters something so it gets torn a part by focus fire.

2 Onyx w/ x-7 + TIE mk 2 engines = 31 each. These guys will be a great pair to go with any mid-high 30s Imperial Ace (I prefer Darth Vader, personally).

And that's just tip of the iceberg....