I was thinking about running Carnor Jax in the next local tournament, but I’ve neither flown Carnor nor battled against him, so I’m wondering a few things:

1. What is better to get him into range one consistently: PTL or VI?

2. Did you find that his ability triggered enough to make him worth including in your squad…or….how much of a pain was he to fly against?

Thanks!

It's a TIE interceptor. At a high level PTL is the only EPT worth considering. Otherwise they just die.

I don't find him that useful, most of the time i don't like my interceptors in range 1. not to mention if you boost in to range 1 your stuck with either a focus or an evade. I would rather just take vader Or Fel at 35pt.

He is funny but you have to play him a bit different from normal interceptor:

Hull or even shield upgrade is very common on him due to fact that you constantly wanna be in range 1. He is more of support ship to get into that range 1, maybe magnet some shots, block those tokens, and setup kills for the rest of your list. With Vader/Fel and Palpamobile he can really mess up with enemy lists.

1. Dunno. If with palpamobile, autos and papa are fine keeping him alive long enough so VI. Without papa: PtL.

2. Yes, he can be pain to deal with. Its an interceptor after all, you need to do some shooting to take it down.

Either Jax+Fel+Vader or Jax+Vader/Fel+Palpamobile would be good place to start with Jax.

I have rather taken a shine to Carnor lately as his ability synergises so well with Juke. Normal Interceptor Ace build of PTL and autothrusters. Royal Guard upgrade in order to take extra shield or hull is nice if you have the points.

I would probably run something like this at 100 points.

34 Carnor Jax, PTL, Royal Guard title, Autothrusters, hull upgrade

22 Omega Squadron pilot, Juke, Comms Relay

22 Omega Squadron pilot, Juke, Comms Relay

22 Omega Squadron pilot, Juke, Comms Relay

Carnor Jax is great.

He is one of the highest threat ships the Imperials have in their arsenal. Why is this great? Because you can run him alongside other stuff that you want to protect (because your opponent wants to kill Jax first).

His ability is fantastic when you get it to work, but you have to be careful about positioning. For example, if you fly him straight at the enemy and end up R1, but in arc of multiple ships, he will die and you won't get much value out of him. Ideally, he works best in a flanking role where your opponent is forced to make a tough decision: go after Carnor or the other ships in your fleet. Often, your opponent will pick Carnor (if they have any experience against him). For that reason, its very important to position him carefully so that if your opponent turns on him, you have some exit path to escape getting shot up while the rest of your fleet moves in to deal some damage. Alternatively, if your opponent ignores him, then he moves in behind them and can just sit R1 behind enemies, denying their ability to use tokens (except target locks) turn after turn...

Generally speaking, I find Push the Limit best on him (like any elite interceptor). Veteran Instincts can work, especially if you have a palp shuttle nearby, but he is definitely more fragile because he cannot arc-dodge quite as easily with only 1 action and he does not stand up to focus fire...

He is funny but you have to play him a bit different from normal interceptor:

Hull or even shield upgrade is very common on him due to fact that you constantly wanna be in range 1. He is more of support ship to get into that range 1, maybe magnet some shots, block those tokens, and setup kills for the rest of your list. With Vader/Fel and Palpamobile he can really mess up with enemy lists.

1. Dunno. If with palpamobile, autos and papa are fine keeping him alive long enough so VI. Without papa: PtL.

2. Yes, he can be pain to deal with. Its an interceptor after all, you need to do some shooting to take it down.

Either Jax+Fel+Vader or Jax+Vader/Fel+Palpamobile would be good place to start with Jax.

Once Wave 8 hits I'm planning to try this:

Vader with VI, Title, EU and ATC (35)

Jax with PTL, Title, SD and AT (34)

Inquisitor with PTL, Title and AT (31)

I might replace PTL with Juke on the Inquisitor and replace Jax With Fel but I'm a bit leery of not having an initiative bid for Fel to do his shenanigans.

He is funny but you have to play him a bit different from normal interceptor:

Hull or even shield upgrade is very common on him due to fact that you constantly wanna be in range 1. He is more of support ship to get into that range 1, maybe magnet some shots, block those tokens, and setup kills for the rest of your list. With Vader/Fel and Palpamobile he can really mess up with enemy lists.

1. Dunno. If with palpamobile, autos and papa are fine keeping him alive long enough so VI. Without papa: PtL.

2. Yes, he can be pain to deal with. Its an interceptor after all, you need to do some shooting to take it down.

Either Jax+Fel+Vader or Jax+Vader/Fel+Palpamobile would be good place to start with Jax.

Once Wave 8 hits I'm planning to try this:

Vader with VI, Title, EU and ATC (35)

Jax with PTL, Title, SD and AT (34)

Inquisitor with PTL, Title and AT (31)

I might replace PTL with Juke on the Inquisitor and replace Jax With Fel but I'm a bit leery of not having an initiative bid for Fel to do his shenanigans.

Juke on Inquisitor (with Title) intrigues me especially paired with Jax.

I run Jax with the standard Interceptor build PTL + AT + Stealth. He pretty much needs PTL, just to guarantee range 1. If he doesnt get and stay in range 1, you may as well have a royal guard out there instead and save yourself the points. Its almost an advantage to have Carnor move first, because if you can read about where your opponent may move, he cant take a focus/evade. This is huge fighting ships like Poe that need the focus to survive.

But definately think of Carnor as a support ship. Many times I dont even care if he fires in the round, I will BR/boost anyway I can just to be within range 1 to help the rest of the squad.

I'm a big fan or Carnor, I like him over Fel personally.

I run him with PTL, autos and a shield (for that crit mitigation). As many people have said, its all about how you fly him. Play him like you would with any Interceptor, flank and stay out of arcs but when you see the opportunity get him into range 1 (out of arcs) and he can be a great buff to your other ships. He really makes people flying Fel , Jake and Poe re think their approach. He is pretty hardy with PTL and autos and is still rolling three dice.

There's a lot of debate about using Predator on Carnor Jax. The main reason is, that he's best played close up and personal in range 1, where you want to be able to use that 1-turn frequently or where you might end up being blocked or even intentionally fly into a ship and won't be able to use Push the Limit. Similar reasons apply to Stealth Device as well.

In the end, it's going to be a matter of preference, Push the Limit is great on any Interceptor. But Carnor is one of the few interceptor pilots, where you should think twice about Push the Limit.

If I have the points available, I'd play him with PtL/Predator, title, Autothrusters and Improved Shields.