I'm happy to see the new TIE's from the Assault Carrier expansion. I really hope TIE Fighters can make a come back and an Imperial Swarm would be feared once again. I worry about playing against Brobots having only two red attack dice. So, with the design of this list- I can, if flown correctly, fire 5 red attack dice at PS7 maybe 8 with swarm tactics at those pesky two ship lists. The key always remains when flying a swarm or TIE Fighters in general is the positioning and placement. Having 5 dice is nice, but never being able to fire it is worrisome. Here is what I'm thinking of flying for the upcoming Store Championship season.

Please provide any comments, positive or negative along with improvements you would make. Thank you-

99 points

Howlrunner with Swarm Tactics (20)

Scourge with Crackshot (18)

Mauler Mithel with Crackshot (18)

Youngster with Expose (19)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Nice list!

Personally i would change out scourge for backstabber, as his ability doesn't rely on the target already being damaged. That's totally personal preference though, as i like reminding my opponent about wich one is backstabber, and hoping they try to keep him in arc. just fly the rest of your ships so you can take advantage if he really does that

Not a bad idea- your reasoning is partly why I prefer to have Mauler Mithel instead of a naked Zeta Leader which could get the extra dice anytime. I think Mauler does what you're saying- keeps opponent aware of range and spacing. I might tinker with the Backstabber- but I just might want that extra PS, though. Who knows...

Well The only downside i see when taking backstabber is he can't take crackshot, so that's something to think about too.

I'd go full on crack and ditch Youngster and the awful Expose action. It costs you 4 points plus an agility, while a focus is just as effective.

"Howlrunner" (18)
Crack Shot (1)

"Scourge" (17)
Crack Shot (1)

"Mauler Mithel" (17)
Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)
Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)
Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)
Crack Shot (1)

Total: 100

You probably have to borrow some Crackshot cards though...

Ya, I don't have that many! LOL- The expose does hurt sometimes especially with the no focus or no evade and reduced agility with return fire. I still want some way to make Youngster work somehow.

I'd go full on crack and ditch Youngster and the awful Expose action. It costs you 4 points plus an agility, while a focus is just as effective.

"Howlrunner" (18)

Crack Shot (1)

"Scourge" (17)

Crack Shot (1)

"Mauler Mithel" (17)

Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)

Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)

Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14)

Crack Shot (1)

Total: 100

You probably have to borrow some Crackshot cards though...

I've considered this.

Normally when I run my 3x Black Squadron, 3x Omega Squadron, 6x Crackshot list and I sub one or two Omegas out for Howl or Mauler they're the first ones to go. But if you have 3 of them, maybe.

Omegas are still better though probably. Their nuts dial, TL, and shield are well worth the extra 3 points. Plus you get a unified pilot skill.

I've been trying to run named TIE pilots that don't have to fly in a swarm... I've tried youngster with Expose but found the extra dice not working if you don't have the focus... I don't need Howlrunner either as the TIE's are not dependent on the formation flying in this list. I'm not sure if this is any good but I really enjoy flying this list

100 Points

I've been trying to run named TIE pilots that don't have to fly in a swarm... I've tried youngster with Expose but found the extra dice not working if you don't have the focus... I don't need Howlrunner either as the TIE's are not dependent on the formation flying in this list. I'm not sure if this is any good but I really enjoy flying this list

100 Points

17 points

“Mauler Mithel”

17 points

“Scourge”

20 points

“Zeta Leader”

16 points

“Backstabber”

15 points

Black Squadron Pilot #1

Crack Shot

15 points

Black Squadron Pilot #2

Crack Shot

I really like the look of this!

I still want some way to make Youngster work somehow.

If you're taking an elite swarm with 4+ different pilot skill values, consider Squad Leader. It's not for any specific purpose, but being able to pass actions 'down the chain' once you end up in a furball can be priceless; on any given turn some of your TIEs will probably be out of arc of fire, and being able to pass their action to someone to barrel roll out of a shot (or to get a shot), or to provide a token to someone who koiogran turned and has got a shot when you haven't, is easily worth a couple of points.

If you're running Howlrunner, you should strongly consider running Wampa as well (I'm assuming you have him since you have Scourge).

~40% chance to deal damage to any ship no matter their agility is insane value.

If I go with squad leader (which is really nice and makes sense) I have to dump crackshot. Who to pull out if adding wampa? Maybe mauler since wampa and scourge work well together?

Ha! I just posted a list called "Tie Fighter Rat Pack" that has all the various Tie Fighters that can increase their red dice. I did include the Inquisitor, even though he's a TAP.

Zeta Leader w/ Crack Shot

Scourge

Backstabber

Mauler Mithel

The Inquisitor w/ V1, Autothrusters, and VI

Zeta could also go for VI.

What about:

Howlrunner

Juke

Hull upgrade

Youngster

Squad leader

Black Squadron w/ crackshot x 4

Howlie has added survivability and youngster can help hand out free actions so the gang can focus and barrel roll out of trouble?

I never see Howlrunner making her points.

I never see Howlrunner making her points.

I never leave home without her. Positioning is key. If you fly in a 2 x 3 block, Howl is often out of range or Range 3 and at the very least creates a Biggs effect.

And if she doesn't go down in the first pass, Crack Shot makes her ability worth it even if it's just for one round.

If I go with squad leader (which is really nice and makes sense) I have to dump crackshot. Who to pull out if adding wampa? Maybe mauler since wampa and scourge work well together?

Honestly, Youngster is probably the one to drop. Squad Leader still costs an action, so it just replaces Focus to use. It's more for loading up one ship with multiple actions (e.g. Omega Ace) and less for generic swarms.

I like Mauler if you're running Scourge. The more PS7+ you can fit, the better Scourge can be. Zeta Leader with Crack Shot fits that bill and is incredible with Howl as well.

Alternatively, I suspect Scourge works well with Decoy - one of the few pilots who'd deliberately lower their own PS in the shooting phase.

In a TIE swarm pack, Scourge and Wampa seem a natural pairing (one delivers an automatic damage card and the other gets an extra attack because of it), as do Night Beast and Chaser (one gets a free focus token, and the other gets it after the first one uses it!).

Howlrunner is always good - there's a reason she's been one of the most planned for/cursed/used/abused pilots in the game since wave 1, and a natural pair for her is...well....someone to protect her; classically a Black Squadron Pilot with Draw Their Fire.

If we're sticking with only named pilots, then Youngster can take draw their fire instead; yes, all right, we're not using his ability, but he's a black squadron pilot with veteran instincts baked in; it's not like one point is going to cost you the game if you insist on taking uniques.

Alternatively, Marksmanship really isn't that bad on Youngster. Any TIE fighter who uses it becomes a target because they don't have a defensive focus token..... except Night Beast and Chaser can get them anyway - so can use Marksmanship quite happily. And are you really wanting to not shoot at Howlrunner? And..... well....okay, yeah. You use Marksmanship with Wampa whilst he's flying on Howlrunner's wing and he's eating laser bolts at the first opportunity. But he can afford to be in the back row because he doesn't care if he's only at range 3.

That'd result in a swarm looking like this:

• Howlrunner - Determination
• Scourge - Decoy
• Youngster - Marksmanship
• Night Beast - Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Wampa
• Chaser

That'd result in a swarm looking like this:

• Howlrunner - Determination
• Scourge - Decoy
• Youngster - Marksmanship
• Night Beast - Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Wampa
• Chaser

Nice! This looks actually quite good, even though its 'just' 6 TIE fighters. The only change I would make is crack shot on Howlrunner. Determination won't save her...

Howlrunner is always good - there's a reason she's been one of the most planned for/cursed/used/abused pilots in the game since wave 1, and a natural pair for her is...well....someone to protect her; classically a Black Squadron Pilot with Draw Their Fire.

I disagree. I never run her and am happy with my results. Some run her and love her, but I don't think she's necessary. She's someone that people usually plan for and deal with quickly in my area. I also think she forces you to fly in formation and a lot of high PS Tie Fighters don't always work best in formation.

I disagree. I never run her and am happy with my results. Some run her and love her, but I don't think she's necessary. She's someone that people usually plan for and deal with quickly in my area. I also think she forces you to fly in formation and a lot of high PS Tie Fighters don't always work best in formation.

I see what you're saying, and I personally have given up on formation flying. I mean, it really only lasts until shooting starts and then there's a furball and everything goes in different directions. Trying to keep your TIEs all in formation just makes arc-dodgers have an easier time predicting your moves.

Having said that, Howlrunner rarely lasts passed the first round, so I only see her as giving TIEs a bit of an alpha strike. She is more of an imperial biggs in that sense so keep her cheap. With just crack shot, she's almost guaranteed to deal 1 damage herself before she dies, and should give enough re-rolls that you squeeze in another 1 or 2 damage before she goes. Considering she's only 6 points more than an academy pilot, +1 or +2 damage for 6 points seems like a great deal to me. Once she's gone, you don't care about formation flying and you just carry on as usual for TIE fighters, trying to block and kill the enemy until there's nothing left. Of course, I've become quite enamoured with the TIE/fo lately, so I haven't actually flown howlrunner in a while, admittedly...

I understand the logic of Crack Shot - Determination is more or less the same idea; I don't care if she dies, as long as she lasts long enough for everyone to fire before she does; but it does avoid that ****** critical where you lose your pilot ability on the first hit.

Crack shot is probably more useful in the long run.

Inspired by this thread to try:

• Mauler
• Scourge
• Backstabber
• Wampa
• 2x Crack Squadron

with Predator on either or both Mauler & Scourge (only b/c I don't think I have 4 Crack Shot cards), though I'd be open to suggestions for more effective EPTs.

I understand the logic of Crack Shot - Determination is more or less the same idea; I don't care if she dies, as long as she lasts long enough for everyone to fire before she does; but it does avoid that ****** critical where you lose your pilot ability on the first hit.

Crack shot is probably more useful in the long run.

With the new damage deck, she can't lose her pilot ability

....And my copy of determination just went in the bin.

Due to some more practice and taking into account from this thread, I've decided to move on from Expose/Youngster. It hurts the already brittle TIEs way too much. Sometimes the dice go off and the red are on fire- but not often enough and doesn't make up for only two agility with no shields. My list was 99, I only own three Crack Shots- so I've decided to drop the 19 point Youngster in favor of backstabber (another +1 dice booster) and upgrading an academy to a "Crack" Squadron... lol

99 points

Howlrunner with swarm tactics 20 ​​(not enough love for the swarm here on this thread- the PS effect has saved me many times)

Scourge with crack shot 18

​Mauler with crack shot 18​​

Backstabber 16

Crack Squadron 15

Academy Pilot 12​​​