I'm trying to build a list for a tournament, so far I've been running Soontir (PtL + SD + AT + title), Whisper (VI + ACD + Sensor Jammer + Intel Agent) and Scimitar Squadron Pilot with some ordnance, but I'm not too happy with him.
I was thinking about using the remaining 23 points for a Lambda with Vader, or replacing Sensor Jammer with FCS to free up 2 points, giving me 25 to work with. Any tips?
Ooooooohmega leader. Juke/Comm Relay. I've been running exactly this list in the current tournament round.
Drop to FCS rather than Sensor Jammer on Whisper.
Doomshuttle could also work, but would be better if you could scrape up the points to fit Gunner in as well, because getting stuff in the Ponderous Astral Mammoth's arc is tough and you'll want to take advantage whilst you can.
Ooooooohmega leader. Juke/Comm Relay. I've been running exactly this list in the current tournament round.
2 wins (crackshot swarm and Palpshuttle miniswarm) and two losses (dash/chewie and leebo/chewie) in tournaments, plus varying performance in practice sessions. I think it's a strong list that I'm not experienced enough with to fly well yet. Especially given that virtually every high level player at tournaments can outguess me with Soontir any day.
It's definitely strong, but it does have its counters. I dread running up against Decimator with Vader/Gunner in particular.
My two cents, which may or may not be useful to you, is that Whisper and Soontir aren't synergistic.
Soontir wants your opponent to have the initiative, so he can see where they're moving and arc dodge.
Whisper wants YOU to have the initiative, so she can shoot first, getting her MUCH NEEDED cloak token back.
Vader w/ VI, EU, ATC and Title = 35 points, the same as the standard Soontir... And he doesn't care WHO has the initiative (well, not really).
My two cents, which may or may not be useful to you, is that Whisper and Soontir aren't synergistic.
Two great tastes that, as it turns out, don't actually taste that great together. It works, but only when you're not facing an opponent with PS9 on the table.
I'd recommend changing Whisper out for Echo or changing Fel out for Carnor Jax + VI; both choices eliminate the initiative problem. Or you could do what I'm currently doing, and run Whisper/Omega Leader/Palpatine...
I shall point out that running Whisper + PS 9 ace does have one nice benefit: you don't care about initiative, so no need to put in a bid. You can build your list to 100 and whichever way the initiative coin falls, you have one of your aces with an 'edge'. If your opponent PS 9 gives you initiative, that's great for whisper. If your opponent PS 9 has initiative, that's great for your other ace.
Having said that, Whisper and Fel both share the same weaknesses: they hate being double stressed, they drop like flies against vader crew and they don't really like higher PS aces opposing them. For those reasons, I think you should not run them together because you are just making it harder on yourself to win those types of matchups.
I currently fly Vader and Whisper together (both at PS 9) and I find they work much better together. While Vader doesn't like being double stressed, he is not so badly done in by it as Fel is (and has enough hull/shield to make vadering him less ideal). Also, Vader and Whisper together put out quite a lot of damage (moreso than Fel), so even higher PS aces have to be extremely careful about ending up in both arcs (especially if your third ship is a blocker...)
We see a lot of Poe and a lot of Vader. I don't ever really care to take Whisper against either, so I'm generally just to worried to bring her, despite her being one of my favorites.
If we saw something else... More swarms, more TLT, lower PS in general... I'd feel better about it.
Until then, I'll be the coward hiding behind Soontir defense and splashed liberally with Omega Leader giving folks the finger.
Am I missing something with the points for this list... this one really interested me so I was putting all of it into a squad builder and it comes to 101 points. That's with dropping SJ for FCS...
It should be 99 with fcs and Doomshuttle.
Ooooooohmega leader. Juke/Comm Relay. I've been running exactly this list in the current tournament round.
Drop to FCS rather than Sensor Jammer on Whisper.
maybe i did misread it... i was building the list off of this comment
Whisper: Int Agent, VI, FCS, ACD
Fel: Title, PTL, AT, SD
OL: Juke, Com Relay
Yeah, OL does not fit by a point, I'd have to drop Intel Agent as well.
I love Vader with Soontir and OL. Just too much stress being thrown around right now.
Yeah, OL does not fit by a point, I'd have to drop Intel Agent as well.
Yeah, Intel Agent goes. Run Whisper crewless.
I love Vader with Soontir and OL. Just too much stress being thrown around right now.
I am not good enough at Vader to play Vader, and that's unlikely to change given that I have to borrow him in order to play him at all and I'm not planning on buying a Raider. 
I'm probably sticking to Whisper/Soontir/OL until Wave 8 drops, possibly until Imperial Veterans, for my tournament list at least.
Thanks for all the tips.
I'm not that concerned about initiative, because VI Vader and VI Poe are quite popular in my area, so a bid against them is pointless anyway. For other PS9 aces, I'm fine either way, as blade_mercurial mentioned. I'll just have to adjust my playstyle a bit, using either Whisper or Soontir and my main attack piece depending on initiative.
I'll try Whisper/Soontil/OL soon and let you know how it went. The only thing I'm really worried about is mass TLTs, as they don't care about my maneuvering and will push damage through bit by bit.
For TLTs, you'll just want to fly them through asteroid fields, to make sure they don't bunch up, then keep Soontir out of arc so AT keeps him safe(ish). Soontir cant take TLTs, sometimes even multiple, but it's definitely best to divide and conquer. Even V-Dawg can take a TLT attack, if you play defensively.
'Course, Vader (or anyone, really) getting shot at by four TLT ships is going to be a bad time.
OL, despite his badass ability, is JUST a TIE (FO). Keep his ass away from any TLT he doesn't have locked. And, even then... blarg. I try to keep mine with a SD just for the odd TLT.
Dark curse. With stealth device.
Hard to hit (99)
Soontir Fel (35) - TIE Interceptor
Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)
"Whisper" (45) - TIE Phantom
Outmaneuver (3), Sensor Jammer (4), Tactician (2), Advanced Cloaking Device (4)
Dark Curse (19) - TIE Fighter
Stealth Device (3)
^You've just posted my first ever tournament list (been buying since wave 1, didn't play until MUCH later... hah). Didn't do too poorly, and I imagine I'd do much better now, after experiencing many more games.
Outmaneuver on Whisper is interesting, since he's usually out of arc anyway.
Outmaneuver on Whisper is interesting, since he's usually out of arc anyway.
Not that much. Echo I might consider outmanoeuvre on, but Whisper's decloaks are not always that hard to predict. And dropping to PS7 is risky given the prevalence of PS8/9 ships. VI + ACD gives her protection more often...
I'm not a great Imperial player (Rebel since day one) but I've been picking up some imperial ships here and there. I've run this twice and it's worked ok, but maybe not top tier.
I don't have much experience, but isn't Gunner kinda wasted on Whisper? With 4 dice, his attacks usually hit unless I roll abysmally. However, usually at least one hit goes through.
Buzzsaw Whisper puts in some serious work. Lets say your dice aren't super hot, and you roll 2 hits out of 4, your opponent rolls a pair of eyeballs but still has their focus token. They're forced to decide whether to take the two damage, or burn the token to evade it, giving Whisper another shot; this time, with a free Target Lock. If they play it safe, they take two damage. If they risk it, they could potentially see 4, and they'd have no modifier.
On the other hand, if you just happen to roll 4 blanks (it happens), or your opponent rolls god-tier natural evades (it happens to me all to **** often), you're set for a second shot.
It's both a psychological deterrent, and an insurance policy.
Hard to hit (99)
Soontir Fel (35) - TIE Interceptor
Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)
"Whisper" (45) - TIE Phantom
Outmaneuver (3), Sensor Jammer (4), Tactician (2), Advanced Cloaking Device (4)
Dark Curse (19) - TIE Fighter
Stealth Device (3)
I'd rather go VI, Rebel Captive on Whisper with this list. It does look fun though.