I'm going to try this:

Maarek Stele [ion Cannon, Calculation, TIE/D] (39)

Countess Ryad [Push the Limit, TIE/x7, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (36)

Valen Rudor [TIE/v1, Autothrusters] (25)

"Re-Po(e)(sition) Squad

Ryad

PTL

x7

Mk2 engines

Rudor

PTL

Prockets

AT

Title

Turr Phennir

VI

AT

title

Stealth Device.

I'll be using Maarek+TIE/D+Marksmanship+Ion Cannon+TIEmk2.

I'll figure out the rest of the list later...

Too bad Attani Mindlink is Scum Only. Some Glaive Pilots with X/7 and that would be awesome.

I'm thinking.

" shouldn't this mess hit store shelves this week?"

I'm thinking.

" shouldn't this mess hit store shelves this week?"

Time frame is any time from late May through June.

I'm thinking.

" shouldn't this mess hit store shelves this week?"

Time frame is any time from late May through June.

if it hits before this weekend, i can bring an X7 to my regional saturday

Just says not yet released. They actually gave a street date for Wave 8. And i am hoping they do the same here. I would really love to see it wait until after May 21st. I really don't want the meta to radically change until after the only regional I get to play in this year.

Just says not yet released. They actually gave a street date for Wave 8. And i am hoping they do the same here. I would really love to see it wait until after May 21st. I really don't want the meta to radically change until after the only regional I get to play in this year.

Im in the same boat but i have to wait til june 18th. Im hoping the boat hits an iceberg.

Just says not yet released. They actually gave a street date for Wave 8. And i am hoping they do the same here. I would really love to see it wait until after May 21st. I really don't want the meta to radically change until after the only regional I get to play in this year.

I'm in the exact opposite boat. My regional is the 28th, and I'm chomping at the bit to at the prospect of flying my double Defender list that weekend.

As a fan of the mini-swarm, I hate to see 3 ship lists....unless they are all Tie Defenders.

I know right... IMPERIAL GLORY RESPLENDENT... My Imp-Brahs!!!

I'm hoping defenders shake up the meta.

I'm looking forward to someone complaining how the defenders are now part of the palp aces list with nearly every other imperial ship.

I'm hoping for a rebel aces pack original xwings and ewings. And an ace pack for scum for scyk and kihraxz.

I think that while she's middle ps a 36 point countess (ptl, mk2, x7) is going to be a tough 36 points to beat in terms of value. She just is a extremely solid ship and doesn't get fancy with synergy because she doesn't really need to.

A thing that no one has mentioned (to my knowledge) so far is that there is a distinct downside to using x7.

First, it makes it harder for you to focus-fire when you zip around. This is important when you play 75 minutes. Even more so at 60.

Granted, the white K-turn does help, but a smart player can (and should) place obstacles + plan her/his approach so that the K-Turn shenanigans are impaired.

During play-testing we found that it only really pays to have one x7 Defender in your list, more than one and you run into weird almost forced target swaps/unpredictable/swingy games. YMMV.

Personally I think it is because the Defenders NEED that Defensive token (or added damage and control from TIE/D) to be viable, so; you either go super fast/self-bump or go nuts with low cost cannons.

One more thing, Ruthless Tractor Vesper will ruin so many games for your opponents to the point of being a NPE.

So it is a GOOD thing he is natively "only" at PS 6.

This was one of the reasons I wanted to run a Defender in the first place, to see when I would acquire that token. So here is what happened.

Triple U boats:

Opening move was a three forwards from both Omega and Inquisitor, moving up towards the opponents board edge. The Defender, facing right, performed a white, speed three turn to get into formation. (one token, pointless, but still, I got a "token")

Second turn, all ships slowed down, speed two straights. Just waiting for the U boats to pull their sorry butts through the asteroid field. .

Third turn, they took the bait and now in the asteroid field!, all my ships pulled a hard three left into the centre of the board. (another "token"). ALL of my ships were staring at a single U boat, focussed, target locked and with an "evade" token. It was glorious.

Nine red dice later and it beautiful. Target priority was easy because I didn't actually have an evade token so naturally they fired their protons at Vessery, who only took a single hit, one which would of been avoided if I had my token!!

After that, Vessery disengaged with a three bank (another token).

Next turn, four K, another token.

Re-engage, five straight, token.

one bank for the kill shot.

So in reality, it is actually quite easy to pull of consistently when you need to, just need a bit more forward thinking.

Since you cant take Cannons with the X7 title, you've really gotta keep track of all the extra damage you did because of the HLC's 4th red dice AND the denial of range 3 bonus agility.

Vessery with ONLY his 3 dice gun doesn't hit nearly as hard as Vessery with HLC. He might live longer to dish out the same or more damage, but he isn't killing things nearly as fast.

Conversely, when playing the Tie/D title with any cannon, you've gotta look at the extra damage you are dealing because of the cannon, the control effects you are gaining, and the upgrades you are getting with the 4-6 pts you save by not playing an HLC. But you also can't forget that the HLC's 4 Dice can more likely punch damage through higher agility targets.

Conversely, when playing the Tie/D title with any cannon, you've gotta look at the extra damage you are dealing because of the cannon, the control effects you are gaining, and the upgrades you are getting with the 4-6 pts you save by not playing an HLC. But you also can't forget that the HLC's 4 Dice can more likely punch damage through higher agility targets.

It is such a hard decision right now. I thought TIE/Ds would be a little different from my HLC Defenders, but I'm finding that I fly them even more aggressively. Ion Cannon/Ds are really Range 1-2 creatures against hard targets. They basically are hoping to get lucky/strip tokens against anything with Autothrusters, whereas an HLC would take the shot and try to push something through. However, at Range 2, they're typically stronger, even against high defense stuff, and at Range 1, the IC/Primary combo is monstrous. Of course, the more you land that Ion Cannon shot, the more range 1 shots you get.

The upgrade from a 3-dice primary to a 4-dice cannon is just huge. Against AGI3 stuff, my rule of thumb is that it about doubles your damage over the course of a game.

Also, I was resistant to this build at first (preferring Predator, even with Ryad's crazy greens), but I'm testing it out a little, and it's straight up nuts.

Ryad, Ion Cannon, TIE/D, PTL, Engine Upgrade 44

Even with the Countess's greens, PTL is not an every-turn sort of card. This ship is just incredibly hard to block, though, because even if you know who the Countess's target is going to be, she can go after it from hugely different positions. You just have to guess and hope you guess right.

\D is my preferred choice on vessery with TB he strips defence with ion he does 4 damage and adds control both work well.

X7 suits Brath well.

Maarek can go either way marksmanship combines really well with /D, calculation with x7.

Three named x7 pilots are alot of fun.

I also imagine triple Glaives being pretty strong. You can run them as either 3 x7 with vi or crackshot or 2 x7 juke and 1 adaptability (or naked x7). Feels vaguely like imperial Brobots to some degree.

I also imagine triple Glaives being pretty strong. You can run them as either 3 x7 with vi or crackshot or 2 x7 juke and 1 adaptability (or naked x7). Feels vaguely like imperial Brobots to some degree.

Imp Brobots with 3 dice guns (no HLC), no gunner effect, no FCS. I think they "defend" like Brobots, but from what I've played with them, they don't "hit" like Brobots. The caveat is you get 3 ships, so you MIGHT be able to make focus firing make up for that lack of damage.

I DO like that the x7's can live a LONG time, though. They certainly get plenty of chances to plink away and make their shots count. It's just a pain to rely on single modded red dice, and only 3 of them, at that.

I also imagine triple Glaives being pretty strong. You can run them as either 3 x7 with vi or crackshot or 2 x7 juke and 1 adaptability (or naked x7). Feels vaguely like imperial Brobots to some degree.

Imp Brobots with 3 dice guns (no HLC), no gunner effect, no FCS. I think they "defend" like Brobots, but from what I've played with them, they don't "hit" like Brobots. The caveat is you get 3 ships, so you MIGHT be able to make focus firing make up for that lack of damage.

I DO like that the x7's can live a LONG time, though. They certainly get plenty of chances to plink away and make their shots count. It's just a pain to rely on single modded red dice, and only 3 of them, at that.

Well right, hence 'vaguely' similar. Brobots pros are hlc, gunner effect, fcs, 2 extra hp. Triple Glaives pros are 3 ships, small bases, slightly better stress/action denial resilience due to the white k and free evade from going fast. Triple Glaives can play attrition much better I think but certainly don't punch as hard on any given attack as the bros.

I also imagine triple Glaives being pretty strong. You can run them as either 3 x7 with vi or crackshot or 2 x7 juke and 1 adaptability (or naked x7). Feels vaguely like imperial Brobots to some degree.

Imp Brobots with 3 dice guns (no HLC), no gunner effect, no FCS. I think they "defend" like Brobots, but from what I've played with them, they don't "hit" like Brobots. The caveat is you get 3 ships, so you MIGHT be able to make focus firing make up for that lack of damage.

I DO like that the x7's can live a LONG time, though. They certainly get plenty of chances to plink away and make their shots count. It's just a pain to rely on single modded red dice, and only 3 of them, at that.

I agree. My biggest concern with the x7 title is that it will make a lot of games go to time, because the ships don't actually hit that hard for the points they cost. Consequently, I'm thinking that your EPT always has to be some kind of damage boost. I'm looking at something like this for a triple Defender list:

Delta, x7 28

Maarek, x7, Predator 36

Vessery, x7, Outmaneuver/Ruthlessness 36

or

Delta, x7, Engine Upgrade 32

Glaive, x7, Juke 34

Glaive, x7, Juke 34

In both cases, the Delta is there as a tough blocker to jam up the works of Uboats or Crack Swarms. It also frees points for more consistent damage from the other two Defenders.

Will /D push more towards large base ships, as they are less effected by Tractor beam and Ion cannons? Any indications from Proxy or vassal games?

Will /D push more towards large base ships, as they are less effected by Tractor beam and Ion cannons? Any indications from Proxy or vassal games?

If people take a lot of Tractor Beams, I'd expect yes. If people take the stronger choice and bring Ion Cannons, probably not. Large ships need 2 ion tokens, but a 1-straight on a large base is a lot of drift, and can do bad things. Large ships are generally pretty easy to hit with the Ion Cannon as well, so you are free to leave that shot unmodified most of the time.

I wonder, is /d good enough to make the old triple ion delta list legit or is that still just not enough?

It will be fun, at least.