This has been an ongoing battle for me deciding which i like more. I lack the cards to run both and i dont think thats wise anyway.

Punisher Pros:
+Has Sensors upgrade: Advance Sensors is glorious on him, preventing uselessness on a turn he K-turns or dumping mines before moving.

+Has 3shields: nuff said

+Two bomb slots

+Deathrain frontal bombs + barrel roll

+Boost

Punisher Cons:

-Lacks EPT: Sadface, no Deadeye

-Fair bit more expensive (he's usually pushing 50pts for me, while the bomber runs ~35 at the max)

-No barrel roll outside Deathrain bomb ability

-Only 1 Agility, which personally kinda nullifies his shields perk to a degree.

-Moves like a **** tank.

Bomber Pros:

+Very good mobility (lack of a 5 forward and white 1hard is the only reason i say Tie Fighters are more agile)

+EPT: Yay! Deadeye!

+2 agility

+Major Rhymer nullifies range 1 problems on Proton Torpedoes and Concussion Missiles.

+Tomax Brax (unreleased) has Crackshot shenanigans for a third way to solidify ordnance damage.

+Deathfire (unreleased) bypasses lack of Adv Sensors for dropping Action mines/bombs before moving

+Barrel Roll

Bomber Cons:

-No shields, any crit at any point will do something.

-Only one Bomb slot

-No Boost

-Lack of Sensors upgrade, so no K-turn useless avoidance without outside help or past-turn setup.

I tend to bring the same build for both whenever i run them:

Tie Punisher: Deathrain (26)

-Extra Munitions (2)

-Proton Torps (4)

-Cluster Missiles (4)

-Seismic Charges (2)

-Cluster Mines (4)

-Advance Sensors(3)

-Guidance Chips (0)

Total: 45

Tie Bomber: Major Rhymer (26)

-Extra Munitions (2)

-Proton Torps (4)

-Concussion Missiles (4)

-Deadeye (1)

-Seismic Charges (2)

-Guidance Chips (0)

Total: 39

Before people say anything about the charges, i bring them because theyre cheap and enable me to damage charlie foxtrots. While i love Proton Bombs, 5pts for something i might not use is painful. I dont put cluster mines on the bomber because i find it difficult to use right without either Deathrain, Adv Sensors, or both.

The reason i use Cluster Missiles on the Punisher is range1 deadzones. Its not as powerful as Concussion since evade dice work more effectively against it and it doesnt have a die mod of its own, but its range1 so i kinda need it as a fallback. Major Rhymer doesnt care long as i dont draw that "Ignore pilot skill" card, so i can mod 2 dice with both torps and missiles.

I really cant decide which i like more lol. Both have been moneymakers for me. What are your guys' opinion between the two, both now and in Veterans? Not talking about tie shuttle since thats a totally different role.

Too many points into your deathrain imo for ordance you wont use. I love the punishers but typically keep deathrain to bombs full stop with 2 bomb choices+extra munitions and leave missiles to redline.

Does one have to be better?

The TIE punisher is best for maximisation and the bomber for customisation.

If you're looking to spend 20-25 then bomber; north of 30 might as well Deathrain (or redline).

I love Deathrain. I love bombs. Deathfire has my attention too. Will certainly run 1 of each next time I'm given the chance.

More interested in semi-competitive reasons. I dont do the major tournaments because 1) i find them annoying and 2) time and money blows. However the FLGS does a local tournament about every month, usually between 10-16 of us. Friday was the first one i participated in, granted i didnt know it was going on so i showed up with a less than favorable list but still took 7th somehow even though i had this Punisher build, a Tie Defender, and random shmuck tiefighter #5111431 lol.

I realize the Punisher should be more bomb orientated and the Bomber shouldnt even have bombs, but every time i run 0 missiles/torps or 0 bombs it winds up shooting my own foot.

I think the punishers although really cool looking are too expensive. I still think the original TIE bombers are the best choice. I'm going to run Brax as a crew carrier.

Brax - Crackshot - Title- Systems Officer - Twin Ion engine

Col. Vess - (Ion or fleccete canon) D-title - Crackshot or VI

Inquisitor - PTL - Title - AT

That's leaves a few points for some other upgrades...just don't know what.

You can chuck a bomber or two into your list and still take some other stuff.

A punisher is probably going to be a named pilot and it's gonna eat up some points and be more important.

I like both for different reasons. I tend to fly bombers more and I find that I can mitigate shield problems fairly easily. Until deathfire comes out the only ship i use for action bombs is Deathrain. I have problems justifying the extra cost on the punisher outside of epic. But in standard play when I do run a punisher, deathrain is a blast at around 40 points (deathrain with 2 proxy mines, extra munitions, advanced sensors, and experimental interface for triple action punisher shenanigans). Typical bombers only run me around 23 points (gamma squad with plasma torps extra munitions and chips). To help my bombers stick around to unload their torps I've been running 3 with a pair of black squadron ties with draw their fire. Really a durable little formation.

Edit: Spelling.

Punisher pros

1. Death rain

2. Redline

Punished cons

1. Bombers are more cost effective than all of the named pilots. The generics make little to no use of the system upgrade they pay out the ass for

So basically,

Conner nets/seismics? Cluster missiles?

Punisher

Budget conner nets (dfire)? Homing missiles?

Bomber

The bomber has always been my favorite ship in this game. So I pick bomber. It's easier to get multiples of in a list and they're pretty versatile with their upgrade slots.

I just wish rhymer was cheaper...

Defender

Punisher for named bombers for generics.

Well, i could see multiple Bombers purely because of Jonus: Make him the bomb/budget ordnance guy and Rhymer the primary one. Long as theyre within range 1 of each other, Rhymer now can fire his range1 proton torps and reroll 2 die, modify 1 focus to a crit, and modify one blank to a hit. Thats dope as hell and i want to do it, but i kinda dont wanna buy another Tie Bomber since there really wasnt anything in that kit i want multiples of and come Veterans i'll have 2 bombers anyway.

Course, Jonus will probably be permanently modified as the Tie Shuttle once that kit comes out. Barely any more points for one hell of a nice aura effect.

Bombers, though both are dangerous to you if you overload them with upgrades.

The Punisher, with all that ordnance behind one agility, is just like a 40-point B-wing: a gift of points you've packaged and served your opponent.

If you're looking to spend 20-25 then bomber; north of 30 might as well Deathrain (or redline).

I think this sums it up nicely. Cheap bombers are a nice surprise. Rhymer can be good with just PRockets and extra munitions or Advanced Homing. However I do LOVE Redline with FCS, and Clusters. He wrecks big ships.

I think we will see gamma squadron a lot once imp vets comes out just because of the cheap ept.

Bomber generics are pretty good, Jonus is amazing in Epic and should be pretty good in standard once Veterans hits, Tomax will see play both as a heavy hitter and as a support ship. Deathfire will be the go to pilot for a cheap (literal) bomber, while Rhymer is useless.

Deathrain and Redline are solid aces, but for the price of the generics you might as well go with Tomax, Deathfire or a Gamma. I suppose the Punisher does have two bomb slots, so a PS2 generic with Connors, Prox Mines and EM might just fill that niche, but that's all I can think of.

Named punishers, generic bombers

Outside of Pilot abilities, Bombers give you more ships, which results in more options in the movement and combat phases. Therefore if you just want something to carry Ordnance, two semi-light bombers give you more mileage than 1 Punisher.

On the other hand if you want abilities, you're comparing Jonus vs Deathrain and Redline. The named Punishers are singleton aces that you only run one of, with some other different archetype of ship to cover their weaknesses. On the other hand Jonus wants to be running with at least two other Bombers in order to maximise his ability, which is a completely different list.

If you want a solo threat, take a named Punisher. If you want more than one threat, take Bombers, either a couple of generics or Jonus + wingmen.

We're shortly about to see the Shuttle upgrade too, which might change the Bomber from "Ordnance carrier" to "Spammy cheap Crew slot" for Mara Jade or whatever.

I prefer the Bombers over the Punisher if only for customization potential and manuverability.
I fly a Rhymer/Jonus/Inquisitor build out like this:

Jonus: Munitions Failsafe, Adaptability + (cause it's free), Extra Munitions, Proton Torps, Cluster missiles
Rhymer: Guidence Chip, Adaptability+, Extra Munitions, Cluster missiles x2
Inquisitor: TIE Mk2, TIE/v1, Expert Handling, xx-23 S-Thread Tracers

Inq hauls ass into range locks the tracers onto the inevitable Rebel TLT then runs away so the bombers can toss a 1-2 proton torp/ Cluster into the baddie with focus tokens.
Fat Han builds hate me.
The pro to this is that most enemies get so engrossed trying to kill the bombers, that the INq can take pot shots at Range 3 for full damage.
or They get wise to INq and leave the bombers to cause havoc.
The con to this build: No shields, most fo the point cost is tied up in munitions, and only 3 ships.

Wicked fun to fly though.

Bombers for sure. Punishers are just way too expensive for what they offer over a bomber. The punisher should have kept the 2 agility that the bomber has, without that they are just way too fragile for the amount of points you have to invest in them.

I'm also pretty miffed that they gave us the punisher instead of the Missile Boat, as that would have been a far superior counterpart to the K-Wing with SLAM.

Actually I prefer bombers over punisher because I don't have all my eggs in one basket as to say

But both your lists are not that great.

Deathrain is a bomb carrier. Ordnance is a waste of his ability, and rhymer costs way to much naked, and dies way to easily to focus fire.

If I use a punisher for missles I go with redline with fcs extra munitions,

concussion missles guidance chips and maybe cluster missles, and I fly something equally scary and something that'll make my opponent ignore redline, because otherwise he'll die extremely fast with lot of wasted pts left on him

Deathrain wants bombs and advanced sensors but his dmg output is not as good as redline

If I'm flying bombers it's usually scimitar.

Rhymer is overcosted.

Don't put all your pts into one of these ships. Redline can be pretty decent if he has a good squad to back him up, but otherwise your just giving up a lot of easy pts

Scimitar make great blockers and are tanks. If kept somewhat cheap (21-25 pts) You can fit 2 or 3 and still another decent ship

In most cases when I see rhymer across from me he dies usually usually only getting 1 shot off (6hull and 2 agility will die fast, and susceptible to crits) sometimes I get a blinded pilot on him before he shoots and doesn't get to shoot at all before he dies.

Rhymer is probably the worst of the bomber pilots out there. Scimitar imo is the way to go, until the Imperial ace pack comes out, then it'll be Gamma vets with deadeye.

Jonus will make an excellent support ship with Fleet Officer as well.

I never load up Jonus because he's a support ship. His ability doesn't effect him, so no sense dumping a lot of extra pts that he'll not benefit from

Punisher.

I fly Redline with plasma torps, cluster missles, extra munitions and FCS.

I pair him with a full loaded out Soontir Fel and two Tie/lns for blocking. Most opponents ignore Redline, who hangs out at range three, and concentrates fire on Fel who is usually in their face zipping around at range 1.

That leaves Redline free to cruise in slowly and unload hell. In the last game I played, the Tie/ln's managed to block a super Dash and redline proceeded to strip all of his shields in one round of shooting. Fel and one of the Tie/lns then finished up.

When Imperial veterans drops I might swap out Fel for Vessery with the Tie/d title.

Big fan of the punisher but the generics could be about 3 pts cheaper then what they currently are imo. And if you aren't using the system upgrade might as well go for a bomber for cheaper.

I prefer Punishers, especially the named pilots.

I would keep Deathrain around the 35-38 mark. With FCS/Advanced Sensors/Accuracy Corrector, the 2 dice primary can get a little damage through. If you wanted a torpedo, stick to Flechette for the utility.

Generic Punishers, I would not put any torpedoes or missiles on. Stick to Seismic charges. Maybe FCS or AC so they can plink away with primaries.

I think the punishers biggest flaw is that it is priced at the same place as the shuttle and the TIE Advanced. Unless you are exactly at 21 points and want a new ship you would build the Shuttle or the TIE Advanced instead. The Punisher might make a good tank but since low agility is just getting hammered these days it won't last long.

I mean in this meta an YV-666 is killed before it can make a second attack. A punisher won't survive the first round of combat.

Trick with the punished, re Drain, is just to act like soontir and dodge

Dude is tricky and can get out of situations even the baron couldn't escape from

For redline, just be a godly flanker or trade him for a jumpmaster + at least two torps. Points inefficient, but sets you up for a great late game