I.e If I take some cheap tie bombers to be used as kamikaze RS victims, it still counts right?

(I'm unsure due to their Heavy engagement status).

Considering as a Rhymer counter

I.e If I take some cheap tie bombers to be used as kamikaze RS victims, it still counts right?

(I'm unsure due to them being Heavy).

Considering as a Rhymer counter

It sure does! And it even works with impetus...

Cheers Ginkapo, I just read about a glad-II, Squadron command, AS fire, RS combo. Reading it, it seemed quite an effective tactic

Tie bombers are perfect...as are yt 1300 and ys

Tie bombers are perfect...as are yt 1300 and ys

It's also the only real use for garbage trucks.

Just remember, though, that TIE Bombers are heavy, so your opponent doesn't even need Dengar to move their surviving Bombers out of range. You're going to get one, maybe two shots at this unless your Gladiator sits close to the Rhymberball's most likely target.

They are three points more expensive, but you could consider TIE Advanceds. They have the same hull, better AS damage output and they're not Heavy. Being able to lock down Bombers with Engagement won't stop an Intel Rhymerball, but with judicious placement, you could tie up a few bombers while still using RS to push damage. It would take three TIE Bombers plus an AS shot with RS from your Glad to kill a single enemy TIE Bomber. You could do the same with two TIE Advanceds.

Are you considering this as an addition to a Rhymer build with other squadrons, or as a standalone anti-squadron force? Personally, I prefer using squadrons to kill squadrons, unless it's a ship designed for the role (so Raiders). Otherwise, this setup suffers from a few major flaws. For starters, you need your Glad to be in Medium Range of the bombers, meaning it has to stick close to the bombers' likely target. This goes against the GSD's role, which is strongly anti-ship, and its low hull requires it to stay mobile to dodge powerful enemy arcs. Your gladiator also fires before it moves, so it has to start its turn within Medium Range to fire at all. Your opponent's squadrons are far less restricted in their movement compared to any ship, so getting into position will be difficult. For example, if you deploy the GSD to the primary target's left flank, the bombers can come in from the right. Now you have to loop your GSD around whatever the target is (say an ISD), which will likely cause a traffic jam. If you place the GSD in front of the target, you always have to activate the GSD first, making it predictable and easy to avoid. Behind the target, and now it has to play catchup, plus your opponent will get one or two rounds of bombing before your GSD will have an unobstructed shot, and the bombers can just fly around the target ship, causing your shots to be Obstructed. Lastly, you won't have enough firepower. Ignoring the potential for Escorts, four bombers and two Blue RS dice will destroy one TIE Bomber in a single activation. If you add in two more bombers on your end, that number only goes up to two enemy squadrons destroyed. Most Rhymerballs have four, five or six bombers (including Rhymer), so you've reduced its damage but haven't killed it. Now it will simply fly at Speed 4 away from your Heavy squadrons and ignore the GSD. The GSD which is likely out of position for engaging enemy ships.

I would suggest a few potential alternatives:

- Replace the Bombers with Advanceds. Same hull, can lock down squadrons with Engagement, and have better anti-squadron power (three damage per two Advanceds versus two damage per two Bombers).

- Replace the GSD with a RDR that has the Instigator title. You shorten the range, but the Raider has two clicks of Yaw at both joints when moving Speed Two and holds the Bombers in place. True, they can still fire at their main target, but two rounds of Black/Black AS fire with either Ordnance Experts or RS will chew up a Rhymerball fast. A savvy opponent will see the danger and kill it, so don't expect it to survive long.

As I mentioned, I feel squadrons are the best anti-squadron service you can go with. I consider AS fire from ships to be a bonus when there are no other alternatives, a critical squadron is near death, or your opponent has lots of TIE Fighters and Interceptors, and AS fire will reap a lot of points quickly.

Would you mind filling us in with what kind of fleet you would use this in? Maybe then we could suggest better alternatives.

I'd like to offer a slight alternative to Reegsk's suggestion.

Aggressors with the Tie Bombers presuming of course that the main use of this is to avoid taking dedicated carriers. Pretty good at holding up squads safe in the knowledge that instigator/impetus is close behind to wreck havoc on its enemies.

I'd like to offer a slight alternative to Reegsk's suggestion.

Aggressors with the Tie Bombers presuming of course that the main use of this is to avoid taking dedicated carriers. Pretty good at holding up squads safe in the knowledge that instigator/impetus is close behind to wreck havoc on its enemies.

Definitely a solid idea. The Bombers aren't really there to attack with a measly lone die, they're there to suck up RS damage. The Aggressors pose an actual threat to squadrons on their own, have five hull for RS when the bombers die, and don't need squadron commands to attack. Plus they have Counter. Not a bad combo, but expensive. Minimum of 50pts for two of each.