Hi all

My question is, is there any way to make them work? I've had some success with k-wings built with proton bombs and conner nets and thought I'd try out some munition heavy bomber lists proxying guidance chips. The bombers just got destroyed before they could get a decent amount of their ordinance away

I feel that lacking a slam or boost they are just sitting ducks

Any suggestions or should I just not try to make them work pre imperial veterans?

if you've gotten bomber Ks to work, you should be looking at Deathrain

he's basically the imperial equivalent of the advanced SLAM warden, except he replaces a-SLAM with this

the proton (seismic, really) bombs are harder to adjust for the front-peg-deployment, but they can also lead to incredible shenanigans

note, only Deathrain is that cool. The generic punisher is really little to no better than the bomber, only it costs a lot more for basically the same thing

the bomber is a completely different animal, much more stiff but also much more cost effective. Homing missiles + extra +Seismics have worked well for me.

They're really the tie fighter approach to ordnance, sacrificing quality and capability for quantity (up to four in one list)

The TIE Bomber is the best ship to mix ordnance and bombs. 4 of them with Seismics, EM, Homing Missiles and LRS (coming soon in Imperial Veterans, Chips are also fine for now) are about to be a really solid list with quite a few good matchups.

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v4!s!50:126,-1,17,-1,-1:-1:24:;50:126,-1,17,-1,-1:-1:24:;187:152,153:-1:-1:;56:-1,-1,45,-1:-1:-1:&sn=New%20Squadron

This is a variant that I want to try soon, combines my all of my favourite imperial ships!

The shuttle upgrade for crew will make cheap tie bombers a very useful option. Mara jade and fleet officer. Or for trolling mass tactician.

Side-note: your /fo repaints are things of pure glory.

I've had a small bit of success running a couple of light generic bombers with proxy mines and plasmas, alongside Whisper and a blocker. Nothing outrageous, but it's always taken people by surprise. I've run novelty stuff like 5x Bombers with Seismics and EM before, but that's all it really is; a novelty.

When chips gets out, it should be a lot more viable to stick a few of them in a list. That and the title from Imperial Veterans, which will really open it up to shenanigans.

Basically, DON'T load them full. They can get maybe two ordnance shots off before being destroyed, so why give them any more?

Theory-crafting of course but it seems to me that Long Range Scanners will be more useful on generic bombers than guidance chips. That way, you roll in with TL in your pocket and can focus in combat. Will play differently than other ships but something like this:

A friend of mine has deathrain so I'll try him out, the pics are great

Would you take him with a couple Of bombers and go all in or match him up with some others?

Match him with different ships that don't share his weaknesses.

Not top tier but could be fun to try:

Not top tier but could be fun to try:

"Deathrain" (26)

Enhanced Scopes (1)

Extra Munitions (2)

Conner Net (4)

Proximity Mines (3)

"Howlrunner" (18)

Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (14) X3

Crack Shot (1)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

I actually went 4-0 in a tournament with that list - it is absolutely murder to aces; quite literally the last thing they want to see

I literally went into list builder, tossed some logical stuff on Deathrain and then said "How many crack-squads will fit?" Four. Four points left? Howlie.

It is a little scary how "cookie cutter" list building can get with stuff like crack shot.

That's a great list

The best bit being how unexpected it is (which I think is partly why my two k list was such a success)

Any reason why you've gone for proximity mines over proton bombs, purely because you can drop them into the enemy with deathrain?

The deathrain in the first pic is part of a hard counter-ace list that took a store champ just last Sunday

(Palp aces took the last 3, which is all of them locally; the one Drain won had two palp aces in 3rd and 4th; brobots in 2nd)

Juke relay Omega punches through even the toughest ace and vi Vader can outmaneuver everyone (even his evil clones thanks to a two point bid)

Deathrain clocks in at 37 (accuracy correctors, seismics, conners; extras)

AC punches some occasionally crucial damage (plinked a cloaked whisper and tickled some brobots) and the added damage really helps v TLT and let's you k turn (even after post seismic roll) with minimal issue

I can't fly him without it; 2 dice no mods is just so shite on a 34 point ship

The other list was the same rain, 3 tie/x1 corrector advanced. The advance are reliable v TLTs but just stonewall v poe/aces/brobots etc. Green dice get too hot

You could try him with 60 points of crackshot tie (4) o r maybe a deci or something

Maybe even a royal guard tie and soontur if you're swimming in TLTs?

List building is rough with so many points invested in a glass cannon, but for hunting expensive high PS ships there is no equal

(Except conner ks but they're rebel)

I've been playing Tie Bombers quite a bit for over a year now. I was the only undefeated in the top 4 of my 2015 SC before any fixes came out. Since Extra Munitions have come out, I've had a lot better luck with them. Guidance Chip and LRS will help them, but they are still good without them. I've been using:

4 x Scimitar Bombers w/ EM, Homing Missiles, and Seismic Charges.

if you have a lot of TLT's, then go with:

Bombs are quite powerful if youre opponents never havecplayed against them

(And no one plays bombs, so...)

Listen to heychadwick, he along with the mentioned Darkhorse gave me my introduction on how to Bomber properly. This is the article: http://dockingbay416.com/darkhorses-strange-love-or-how-i-stopped-being-afraid-and-learned-to-love-the-bomber/

I would also add Sablegryphon into the mix, his 2014 worlds report taught me another incredibly strong approach on how to fly Bombers: http://teamcovenant.com/general/victory-is-mined-2014-worlds-list-recap

I recently ran a list I haven't run since a tournament right before the release of the Tie Phantom. It is four bombers. This time I proxies Guidance Chips and the new thread tracer missiles. It crushed a mixed group Rebels list(KAAZ) and did ok against PalpAces, but lost in the end. The list is:

Jonus with thread tracers x 2, EM, guidance chips

Scimitar with assault missiles, cluster missiles, EM and guidance chips x 2

Scimitar with two Flechette missiles and Guidance Chips.

It's a pretty fun list to fly, but Vader elwith Advanced Targeting computer and Palpatine give tons of crits hurts. Alot.

Jonus with thread tracers x 2, EM, guidance chips

Scimitar with assault missiles, cluster missiles, EM and guidance chips x 2

Scimitar with two Flechette missiles and Guidance Chips.

I used to run a Jonus list, but I found him to be the weak point. He's a lot of points and doesn't get to use his own ability. Once Extra Munitions came along, I found it better to just go with 4 generics and Homing Missiles. Homing Missiles are better than Jonus, because you don't have to spend the TL if you roll well, can re-roll as many dice as you want (more than 2), and the enemy can't use an Evade token. All this for 1 more point a ship is a lot cheaper than Jonus. Also, once Jonus dies, you don't get to use his bonus. A Homing Missile can be used even if he's the last guy. Lastly, you don't have to fly in formation, which makes you particularly vulnerable to arc dodgers.

Fly a list with Captain Jonus and three bombers.

What kind of missiles /torps you prefer is personal.

I, for instance, like cluster missiles a lot on the generics and a homng missile on Jonus.

Add extra munitions and some seismic charges as indeed many people forget what bombs are / do.

Last: if you play with the original damage deck, give Jonus determination. It is annoying to lose his abillity early on due to a lcuky crit.

Four of these might prove effective against the impending Jumpmaster apocalypse. If that first tracer can hit, look out:

I think what's important about Bombers is that you need to control the approach. The dial has enough tools to do any speed you want, including going 1 forward and barrel rolling backwards. Well, it can't do 5 forward, but not everything can. So, the best thing to learn how to fly Tie Bombers is to practice a lot on the approach. It's important for low PS Bombers to get good at this.

Once LRS comes out, it will be a different game, but still important to know movement. It will be a lot easier to get someone in the sweet spot. It will also be nice to stagger your bombers to cover more arcs. You only need 2 Bombers to get Soontir in arc to kill him. It becomes a lot easier when you try to trap him in arc.

Asteroid placement can be important. I like to have one or two in the middle and the rest on the corners. If your opponent has a flanker this is especially true. Place your Bombers in the middle and hope your opponent places the flanker on one side of the asteroids and the rest of his/her list on the other. Gun it for the flanker and try to blast him to pieces before the rest of the list gets there. It will make life MUCH easier.

I found I don't like formation flying with Bombers. I try to keep them near each other starting off, but not so much after that. Even near each other should have at least a base length between them. Keep things loose and let them fly to cover each other's flanks. Let them converge on ships and maybe not even at the same speed. If they are gunning for one ship, slow roll it just out of arc while the others go in. No point in sending one in to die just for formation's sake. Keeping ships alive for the end game is important. I've had Bombers with 1 hp come back from the edges to grab that TL and fire that last Homing Missile on something to win the game. Or even just bump the enemy to allow the other Bomber to get the shot.

The dials are pretty nice in the mid to late game, as well. You can often grab the TL at that point without really having a shot, but that's OK. With the dial and BR, you can often get into a good position. I've had 2 Tie Bombers vs. ace A-wing and that guy had a really hard time finding a way in at the Bombers out of arc. The dial gives you banks and turns combined with BR to put you in a lot of unexpected positions.

When it comes to target priority, go for the ships you need to blast first. That's the ships that either shield regen or you won't hit with your pea shooters. So, Soontir is probably highest on the list of ones to go for. Save the shuttle for last as you can pea shooter it to death. Shield Regen pilots for Rebels are your primary target. If they have more than one, go for whichever is easier to kill first. Kill Poe before Miranda, as even your pea shooters can hit the K-wing while you won't hit Poe. Face rush, drop bombs, and K-turn works great vs. Poe. The bombs helps trip shields and then 2-3 Homing Missiles should get him.

Hope this helps. So much to talk about and work calls...

Face rush, drop bombs, and K-turn works great vs. Poe. The bombs helps trip shields and then 2-3 Homing Missiles should get him.

Which bombs do you go with?

If you go proton you can do it without having to strip the shields

I'm sure there was some tactical discussion in here. But all I saw was "Oh Snap!!! Repaints!!!"

I've been thinking a lot about protons. I've managed a hit on my opponents' entire squad with a single proton in a game. This was way before extra munitions, and it didn't play out all that great. Yes, the B Wing was now only at 2 hull but it still had all of its shields. Same for the rest of the enemy squad. My point here is it's not all that great to bet your strategy on landing a crippling critical. There are enough random factors in this game as there is. I'm going to try 'Fickle's load out for bombs next.