So, as many here in the forum, I have been itching to try my hand at the "2.0" version of the TIE Defenders, taking advantage of the upcoming Imp Veterans expansion. At the moment, I had the chance of using the following list in a very laid back game against a mate wanting to get back into X-wing, so I don't think it was a very realistic "baptism of fire". Anyway, this is what I flew:

Countess Ryad - Ptl, Twin Ion Engine MkII and TIE/x7 (36)

Rexler Brath - VI, Ion Cannon, Engine Upg and TIE/D (45)

Sienar Test Pilot - TIE/v1 and Autothrusters

Overall, it was great fun to fly (the Countess especially, as she is great at repositioning, particularly taking into account Brath's Ion Cannon and the degree of control it offers against the ionized ship) and I was able to make (relatively) short work of Chewie and heavily tanked up Keyan. However, I'm going to keep trying it in my local x-wing league matches to see how it holds up and, if the expansion launches in the meantime, I might take this in to a July store tournament.

Would be great to hear other player's thoughts on it and maybe any tweaks or combos you might think would work better?

I'd consider dropping Rexler for Vessery as he has a superior pilot ability, (at least whilst squadmates are alive and target locking). Im sure there's a good argument to be made around not taking the engine upgrade and spending the points elsewhere too.

If you drop the Mk 2 engine from Ryad I think you'd have enough points to take a Comms relay/Juke Omega Leader inatead of the TAP which synergises well with Vessery. That's quite a lot of changes though.

I'd consider dropping Rexler for Vessery as he has a superior pilot ability, (at least whilst squadmates are alive and target locking). Im sure there's a good argument to be made around not taking the engine upgrade and spending the points elsewhere too.

If you drop the Mk 2 engine from Ryad I think you'd have enough points to take a Comms relay/Juke Omega Leader inatead of the TAP which synergises well with Vessery. That's quite a lot of changes though.

I don't think you understand the purpose of the ships because your suggestions would make for a much worse list overall imho.

To OP:

I get why you went VI on Brath, but especially with engine and TIE/D, I would suggest predator. You'd have to turn the ion cannon into a tractor beam to make it happen, but I think it would make the list stronger overall. Don't make the switch though if you are really worried about arc-dodgers. You don't need to be though---after getting lots of practice with the list, hopefully you will figure out why

I've been testing out a couple of lists pretty similar to the OP, myself. It's got something to it, I think. I agree with blade_mercurial that Predator is probably something you want more than VI on Rexler Brath, although VI Rex with Engine is really good against aces, because TIE/Ds don't like fighting at Range 3 all that much. Instead of dropping Ion Cannon for Tractor Beam, though, I'd drop Autothrusters on the Test Pilot. That would give you the the points to get to Predator. The Test Pilot doesn't really need Autothrusters, because it shouldn't be taking too many shots. Look at it this way, if someone is shooting the Test Pilot before they're shooting at a Defender, that's probably good news for you. If they're saving the Test Pilot for last, Autothrusters probably aren't going to win you that end-game matchup. I would even consider dropping TIE/V1 for an Initiative bid.

I've been testing out a couple of lists pretty similar to the OP, myself. It's got something to it, I think. I agree with blade_mercurial that Predator is probably something you want more than VI on Rexler Brath, although VI Rex with Engine is really good against aces, because TIE/Ds don't like fighting at Range 3 all that much. Instead of dropping Ion Cannon for Tractor Beam, though, I'd drop Autothrusters on the Test Pilot. That would give you the the points to get to Predator. The Test Pilot doesn't really need Autothrusters, because it shouldn't be taking too many shots. Look at it this way, if someone is shooting the Test Pilot before they're shooting at a Defender, that's probably good news for you. If they're saving the Test Pilot for last, Autothrusters probably aren't going to win you that end-game matchup. I would even consider dropping TIE/V1 for an Initiative bid.

Hmm, the test pilot is indeed the low priority target, so I can see your point of stripping him down.

I admit to not having had the chance to actually look at the tractor beam mechanics...But I've had a look and they look kinda hilarious (i'm really not used to scum shenanigans so I'm coming late to that particular party).

In any case, thanks for the advice...I'll take that into account for my game this Wednesday.

While I think Bio's advice is sound, I personally could not drop the autothrusters. I fly generic interceptors quite a bit and have found the autos worth their weight in gold every game. Same is true for the Seinar Test Pilot.

You can try it both ways and see how you feel, but one thing I like about tractor beam in this particular list is that it sometimes allows the Seinar pilot's 2 attack dice to become much more threatening without having to be in range 1.

While I think Bio's advice is sound, I personally could not drop the autothrusters. I fly generic interceptors quite a bit and have found the autos worth their weight in gold every game. Same is true for the Seinar Test Pilot.

You can try it both ways and see how you feel, but one thing I like about tractor beam in this particular list is that it sometimes allows the Seinar pilot's 2 attack dice to become much more threatening without having to be in range 1.

A fellow squint pilot...

I'll give it a first go leaving the STP as is, but like I said, I'm curious about the tractor beam, so will try it out as well.

Cheers for all the feedback, btw.

This is why I love these forums. Have been thinking about Imp Vets and my list for after its release. Hadn't really considered a Sienar Test Pilot, but I think one was with proton rockets and auto thrusters will make an excellent flanker for my T/Ds. Thanks

Not a flanker, the tip of the spear. The test pilot is in front of the Ds and gets in the way of enemy ships, denying actions.

This is why I love these forums. Have been thinking about Imp Vets and my list for after its release. Hadn't really considered a Sienar Test Pilot, but I think one was with proton rockets and auto thrusters will make an excellent flanker for my T/Ds. Thanks

In that first game I played, I didn't really use him as a flanker, it was more of an agile ship to just get in there and just annoy, letting the Defenders come up behind and bring the pain. It did work, but as I said, it was the guy's first game in a couple of years so I had it easy

Now that you mention that, maybe you could take out the Test Pilot and bring in a Royal Interceptor? Or even one of the Alpha Sqds? I'm just thinking of it now, so don't know about the math.

Not a flanker, the tip of the spear. The test pilot is in front of the Ds and gets in the way of enemy ships, denying actions.

That was pretty much the theory exactly!

Yeah, I originally was thinking Alpha squad for that role, but now I like STP better as an idea

This is why I love these forums. Have been thinking about Imp Vets and my list for after its release. Hadn't really considered a Sienar Test Pilot, but I think one was with proton rockets and auto thrusters will make an excellent flanker for my T/Ds. Thanks

In that first game I played, I didn't really use him as a flanker, it was more of an agile ship to just get in there and just annoy, letting the Defenders come up behind and bring the pain. It did work, but as I said, it was the guy's first game in a couple of years so I had it easy

Now that you mention that, maybe you could take out the Test Pilot and bring in a Royal Interceptor? Or even one of the Alpha Sqds? I'm just thinking of it now, so don't know about the math.

I personally like the alpha better than the STP. I would take the STP hands down in a list with Vessery, but otherwise, assuming I have 20 points, I will take alpha over STP. Although again, it depends on how the points work out.

For example:

2 glaives w/ predator, TIE/D + ion cannon = 40 x 2

80

You have the points for the alpha w/ autothrusters in this list, but at 100, you might be nervous in a matchup vs IG88s (or other glaives since Defenders are going to get popular!). Dropping to the test pilot makes sense since its likely the 1 pt initiative bid will really help out in PS6 face offs. Of course if you never see any other PS 6's, then there's no reason not to go with the alpha instead.

Yeah, I originally was thinking Alpha squad for that role, but now I like STP better as an idea

Alpha gets 3 attack and PS 1 (better for blocking than the STP). The STP gets TL action and better durability. Since its an 'expendable' ship, the better durability doesn't mean much. However, the STP is also a point cheaper, and that does matter sometimes. Overall, the alpha is superior because the 3 attack means more damage potential and therefore its a greater credible threat so it will more likely pull heat off your more valuable ships and that is something you actually want.

This is why I love these forums. Have been thinking about Imp Vets and my list for after its release. Hadn't really considered a Sienar Test Pilot, but I think one was with proton rockets and auto thrusters will make an excellent flanker for my T/Ds. Thanks

In that first game I played, I didn't really use him as a flanker, it was more of an agile ship to just get in there and just annoy, letting the Defenders come up behind and bring the pain. It did work, but as I said, it was the guy's first game in a couple of years so I had it easy

Now that you mention that, maybe you could take out the Test Pilot and bring in a Royal Interceptor? Or even one of the Alpha Sqds? I'm just thinking of it now, so don't know about the math.

I personally like the alpha better than the STP. I would take the STP hands down in a list with Vessery, but otherwise, assuming I have 20 points, I will take alpha over STP. Although again, it depends on how the points work out.

For example:

2 glaives w/ predator, TIE/D + ion cannon = 40 x 2

80

You have the points for the alpha w/ autothrusters in this list, but at 100, you might be nervous in a matchup vs IG88s (or other glaives since Defenders are going to get popular!). Dropping to the test pilot makes sense since its likely the 1 pt initiative bid will really help out in PS6 face offs. Of course if you never see any other PS 6's, then there's no reason not to go with the alpha instead.

Yeah, I originally was thinking Alpha squad for that role, but now I like STP better as an idea

Alpha gets 3 attack and PS 1 (better for blocking than the STP). The STP gets TL action and better durability. Since its an 'expendable' ship, the better durability doesn't mean much. However, the STP is also a point cheaper, and that does matter sometimes. Overall, the alpha is superior because the 3 attack means more damage potential and therefore its a greater credible threat so it will more likely pull heat off your more valuable ships and that is something you actually want.

My Defenders are costing me 79, so your point about Alpha with Auto thrusters is well taken, that was my initial gut feeling on the matter.

Played a great match yesterday, against Echo, a Punisher (w/ Cluster Missiles, Guidance Chips and Extra Munitions and a Bomber (can't remember the actual pilots, and he was also proxying stuff, which made it even harder to keep track). I won it after trusting my luck to a 1-hull Countess Ryad at Range 1 (with TL and a focus), against the Punisher with three hull left. Overall, I wasn't able to use Rexler as much as I wanted, but he still managed to create some chaos with the Tractor Beam, ruining some shots for my opponent (by taking the ships out of arc, basically). On the other hand, the Test Pilot was blown away fairly early, so I had to manage with the two Defenders.

One thing that I kept forgetting was the **** TIE D title on Rexler, which would have helped in clearing the board earlier than I eventually did...But that's on me, and my opponent wasn't in a rush to remind me, of course.

Having a chat with another player, after the match, he argued for taking Rexler out and bringing in Vessery, but I dunno...It does seem to have potential, since with the Test Pilot, I'm already TL'ing as much as can to get that evade, and the Countess as well, to try and get rid of crappy rolls (which happen more often than I'd like to admit). With this, I'd either keep the Test Pilot or else bring in an F/O (because of the TL). The Interceptor here wouldn't help, unless I brought him with a TC which I don't think I will...

Anyway, the list as is seems a really fun one to run and with potential for improvement, as I get more used to it...

Vessery is a beast and is worth trying out. His ability is worthless when he's the last ship standimg though...