So, I've talked before about how much I liked flying Omega Leader, when I flew her along with Darth Vader and Colonel Vessery/two AC TIE/x1s. However, today was the first time that I got to fly four TIE/fo's together. I went with Omega Leader, Zeta Leader, and Zeta Ace all with Juke and Comm Relay, and Epsilon Leader with Comm Relay and a Stealth Device.

My foe today had Soontir Fel, Howlrunner with a Stealth Device, Mauler Mithel with Marksmanship, and two Academy TIEs. The match started off slow, with his mini-swarm deployed in the middle, my ships in formation in one corner, and Soontir in the farthest opposite corner. His swarm banked away in the first round, while mine banked inward and also stored Evade tokens. Fel booked it with a 5 straight and a boost, trying to come at me from the side. The next round, he 4ked with his swarm, hoping I'd go after them, but instead, I banked again and barrel rolled toward my edge, gunning for Fel. There wasn't any real shooting until round there, where only Fel and two of my TIE/fo's had shots. No damage was exchanged, and the next round was when things really got interesting.

He managed to correct the course of his TIE fighters, and had gotten them extremely close to my ships. Meanwhile, Omega Leader and Zeta Ace closed in on Fel, while Zeta Leader and Epsilon Leader flew directly into his swarm. Fel did a single damage to Zeta Ace, since Zeta Ace had lost his evade token in the previous round, and hadn't gotten the chance to regain it. Fel avoided all damage yet again, and when it came time for the two PS 7's to shoot, Zeta Leader used his ability to roll an extra attack dice, giving him four dice against Mauler Mithel at range 1. I rolled all hits and crits, Mithel only had one evade result. Which was promptly Juked into an eyeball, which Mithel could not undo, because he hadn't gotten to focus that round. With the heaviest hitting of his TIE fighters gone, and with only one of the other TIE fighters having a chance to return fire, I got away fairly unscathed.

After that, it turned into a game of cat and mouse. I managed to down an Academy, and he managed to down Epsilon Leader. Omega Leader downed Howlrunner, and Soontir Fel managed to tag Zeta Leader with Injured Pilot, then destroy him the next turn. Zeta Ace served me well, helping destroy his last Academy, but didn't survive Soontir for long. Finally, it all came down to a full health Soontir Fel against Omega Leader, who had already lost her shield and taken a damage. It turned into a countdown to death. Omega Leader had managed to get a Target Lock on Fel a few rounds earlier, so Fel was no longer able to do any dice modification against Omega Leader. However, he was still capable of outmaneuvering her. There were a great many mind games played, and some tough calls made. At one point, Fel and Omega Leader were face to face in range 1. Fel rolled three hits, and Omega Leader rolled two Evades. Rather than spending my token to save myself from damage, I allowed Omega Leader to take the one damage, putting her at 1 hull left, and returned fire on Fel. It paid off, as I was able to Juke an extra damage, bringing him down to a single hull as well. Several more rounds went by, with both of us doing our best to outmaneuver and outguess the other. In the end, it came to a joust. Fel didn't stand a chance against el Presidente.

I absolutely love the TIE/fo after tonight's game. This was the closest match I've ever played, and a lot of risks were taken on both sides. This game could've easily gone either way, and I can't wait to test this build against a few other types of squads. The action economy granted by Comm Relay is beautiful, as it basically grants the TIE/fo something comparable to Rebel's regen, and makes those 3 hull/1shield ships shockingly tanky. Hiding behind an evade and focus almost every round, especially with Omega Leader, means these ships last far longer than you would expect any TIE to. Not sure if this squad would be something I would take to a tournament, but in casual games, it's a hell of a lot of fun.

That 8/9 attack dice though.

I also like the TIE f/o a lot - it's got a wonderful dial. I've not had as much success with the aces though, although I haven't yet tried out the Juke + Comm Relay combo. My one outing with multiple 'named' pilots ended in disaster, so I have yet to really make that work.

The base 15 point spods though are a joy to behold in a miniswarm!

That 8/9 attack dice though.

The combination of Juke and Comm Relay really help to overcome the lacking attack dice. Besides, with their stellar dial, it's fairly easy to get into range 1. Not to mention Zeta Leader and Epsilon Leader are practically made for each other, allowing Zeta Leader to essentially always be a 3 attack dice ship. Not once in tonight's match did I feel like I wasn't throwing out enough damage against the ships I was shooting at.

I'd really love to see the math for Juke one of these days. It might be one of the best upgrades in recent history, if the ship using it lives long enough. I'd definitely take Juke over Crackshot any day.

At first I wasn't sold on the TIE/FO. I'd tried it when it fist came out with a bunch of Epsilons with weapons guidance, and found them to be a bit lacklustre compared to the equivalent amount of academies.

Recently I've started using the Juke-FOs, first in the form of Omega Leader, then just the regular Omegas. I have to say the Juke-FO is probably my favourite wave 7 (technically wave 8) ship currently. Omega leader at 26pts is an amazing cheap ace, who can really put the hurt on other aces. I've been flying him/her as part of a crackswarm and it's been awesome:

26 Omega Leader w/ Juke, Comms.

14 Wampa.

60 (4x) Black w/ Crackshot.

The regular Omegas aren't as individually good as Omega Leader, but if you take 3 of them, they'll absolutely shred enemy ships, especially if you pair them with something that denies actions:

34 Carnor w/ PtL, Hull, Royal, AT.

66 (3x) Omega w/ Juke, Comms.

I think the TIE/FO is OK, but the Juke-FO is amazingly good. It just lasts so long. As a frequent TIE player, I'm used to just losing ships before they can shoot, but comms relay makes them so tanky.

TIE f/o has pretty much the best dial in the game for me, at least until the TAP comes out, and even then I'm not sure the sloops aren't better than the speed 1s for my usual flying style. I really like it.

Plus, Omega Leader is The Best.

I played my first game against them on the weekend (picked up TFA core, T-70 expansion and Tie/FO expansion)

They are quite good. I had a lot of fun with the T-70's too.

I'm very happy with the TFA models in general, not just the TIEs.

That 8/9 attack dice though.

Dat 8-9 tack tack di dow!

I think the TIE/FO is OK, but the Juke-FO is amazingly good. It just lasts so long. As a frequent TIE player, I'm used to just losing ships before they can shoot, but comms relay makes them so tanky.

Indeed. I have to get out of the perspective of thinking of it as a swarm ship, really. With a shield, plus an evade token, it's essentially a mid-20s point, 5-hit starfighter, and Juke gives it something resembling the third attack die it doesn't normally have.

The whole thing behaves far more like a generic Starviper than a TIE fighter - albeit with better pilot skill and room for a couple of named pilots in the pack.

I'm tempted to try a swarm of them - but using just basic fighters - You can get a rather nice "Epsilon Squadron" force by taking 4 basic Pilots, Ace, and Leader, with a Comms relay on one of the latter two. You lack numbers on a classic 8-ship swarm, but you have far better dials and it's going to be harder to take out any specific ship in the squad.

I wasn't too impressed when I first saw them, either. I threw in a few Epsilon Pilots with Col. Vessery. I was pleasantly surprised with how well they worked. The S-loop was great when jousting and needing to turn around and stay relevant. The extra shield makes them more survivable, as well. I was happily surprised by them....and that was just the generics.

I haven't gotten to use the aces too much yet.

I'm gonna be getting practice in with Epsilon Leader for a while. He's great with a Raging Youngster swarm

Omega Leader with Juke, Comm Relay and Stealth Device is near impossible to kill.

Omega Leader with Juke, Comm Relay and Stealth Device is near impossible to kill.

For one enemy ship.