I was thinking about that, too, but I think the Tie Defender is actually using his Homing Missile, as well. So, the alpha strike wouldn't really be from the /D title. You can do a lot more damage with 3 Homing Missiles than just two and the -1 Agility.

I'd love to see a tractor beam move that pesky Biggs out of range 1 of the bombers' real target.

I'd love to see a tractor beam move that pesky Biggs out of range 1 of the bombers' real target.

I'm not sure it would work. You could bracket Biggs with other ships so there would be no where to Roll him. Easier to just smoke Biggs and go on with your life.

Yeah i usually just vaporize him immediately. I dont ever try to dodge him by not having arc on him or something, it usually ends up i STILL got him in my sights and now im on a wonky angle or i miss entirely.

Every time i try to avoid him, he causes me severe pain. Every time i make a b-line for his face he dies in 1 round. Xwings arent hard to get rid of, Biggs is a pain in the butt because hes a low value target you HAVE to deal with first thats tanky enough where at best you need 2 ships to take him out. Plus, 3 die attack means he can still do damage if you ignore him. Ive had Biggs take out aces before because my opponent was trying to arcdodge him (with their own arc) so they could hit fathan instead and got blasted range1 by him in the process lol. They didnt have to fire at him...but they died for it

Tractoring Biggs out of the way would be an interesting range3 strat, but like Bio said its really easy to box him in anyway so you cant roll. Plus if hes paired with 2 ships hes probably sitting between them anyway. At best, Tractor him forward for a better shot (perhaps) and reduce agility to vaporize him anyway.

If you're packing big dice attacks (as this proposed list is), dropping AGI against Biggs is almost meaningless if he has R4D6, which Biggs often does.

Gamma Squadron Veteran, Crack Shot, Homing Missile, and Long Range Sensors, with Extra Munitions = 27 points

Solid, but let's not forget that for 28pts you can get Deathfire with LRS, Extra Munitions, Homing Missiles, and Conner Nets.

You lose out on Crackshot,and your PS drops from 5 to 3, which is worse against U-Boats and Crackswarms, but maaaan there are a lot of sexy ways to drop a Conner Net, and it's gonna scare the poop out of Soontir.

You know....I've just got to say...

These defender threads are a real treat to read. The defender is a ship ive only used twice and never gave them much thought.

But these threads with you guys sorting them out like this is really inspiring.

I will be playing my defenders a lot this year i think.

Hopefully there wont be too much " bleh....you bandwagon jumpers ...weve been running defenders from day one." Because....man...i have my shoes laced and I'm getting a running start to jump HARD on this bandwagon.

Also...you guys are great. I don't actually expect there to be a shunning of the bandwagon jumpers and coat tail riders.

Gamma Squadron Veteran, Crack Shot, Homing Missile, and Long Range Sensors, with Extra Munitions = 27 points

Solid, but let's not forget that for 28pts you can get Deathfire with LRS, Extra Munitions, Homing Missiles, and Conner Nets.

You lose out on Crackshot,and your PS drops from 5 to 3, which is worse against U-Boats and Crackswarms, but maaaan there are a lot of sexy ways to drop a Conner Net, and it's gonna scare the poop out of Soontir.

You are absolutely right. I am currently running Miranda with Connor Nets and they can be game-changing. I wonder about the PS 3, though. That may be tough to pull off without a lot of good foresight on Deathfire's pilot's part.

I'm super-excited to try Deathfire, but not in a list like this. If he's not taking a Scout of the board before it fires, he's not adding enough. This sort of list doesn't have the staying power to go toe-to-toe with 3 Scouts.

You know....I've just got to say...

These defender threads are a real treat to read. The defender is a ship ive only used twice and never gave them much thought.

But these threads with you guys sorting them out like this is really inspiring.

This is a Bomber thread!

I thought all your threads were Defender threads? Just kidding actually..

However, anytime you talk about Defenders, I think we all listen...

So, question, why the Ion instead of say Tractor if youre trying to alphastrike? Reduce the agility, hit harder. If the ace is rolling 1 less die to begin with, the homing missiles will be even more painful because not only can they not use evade tokens they have less dice to begin with.

The 2pt save could also give you an init bid

Bio's mentioned elsewhere that he's not a big believer in the Tractor Beam. Plus, the Ion Cannon deals damage against everything, and also possibly adds control. Tractor Beams can't move Large ships, and do absolutely nothing at all against Ghosts and Decimators.

I think Crackshot + LRS is way better in this case compared to deadeye + GC.

LRS accomplishes the same thing deadeye does essentially, and since you will have focus+ tl, you are fine without GC. This leaves you with a free ept to get additional burst from Crackshot. The biggest issue would be reaccuiring the target lock, but you generally dont fire range 2-3 missiles/torps in consecutive turns anyway. Deadeye + GC would also allow you to save a point by going with concussions but denying the evade is pretty big vs aces.

Deadeye + GC works just fine with Homing Missiles. You just get to retain the Focus token instead of the TL. If you have chips, + Focus, you are actually more likely to get 4 hits. Using the TL for a reroll only comes out ahead if you whiff your first roll (2+ blanks).

OK TL + Focus is better and gives you a slightly more powerful alpha strike but it makes your beta strike significantly harder to pull off. Also it signals ahead of turn which ship you are gunning for giving your opponent more opportunity to react.

Is it better to have 1 really awesome missile strike with crack shot or a better chance of 2 pretty decent strikes? I guess that will depend on your targets.

...

Hopefully there wont be too much " bleh....you bandwagon jumpers ...weve been running defenders from day one." Because....man...i have my shoes laced and I'm getting a running start to jump HARD on this bandwagon....

Mythbusters proved that saying to be a bad idea fyi lol.

Anyway im fully expecting people to go bandwagon jumper when these things finally drop. Know what i gotta say to them? Hows your ghost or uboats?

New shiny stuff thats actually good is always going to be the "bandwagon" in this game. Both because its something new to throw a curveball in the meta people have to adapt to and because its NEW so its fresh and feels great to run something else for once.

Hence why i love doing these really random unorthodox lists i keep making comments about lol.

I thought all your threads were Defender threads? Just kidding actually..

However, anytime you talk about Defenders, I think we all listen...

95%

Definitely isnt everyone that listens. But i agree a lot of us do.

Soontir Fel, he wouldn't live the game. Oh, I might have lost to other ships, but Soontir always died.

As good as a win in my, and I imagine, many other books...