the main difference between palp and Tie Shuttle (and manaroo, while we're here, at least until she gets evades) is palp can also layer on top of existing modifiers

focus and re-rolls do not stack in the same roll

this makes the bomber (in addition to low offense and range restrictions, which the lambda and palp respectively do not suffer from) far more situational

now with Manaroo, who operates similarly to the support Tie Shuttle (albeit far more effectively because she packs feedback array and can therefore contribute to battle without using the modifiers she gives out like candy) discounting the unlimited range, there are a few ships that REALLY benefit from here ability

there's the advent of Dengaroo (with manny and her TPed BF), which abuses Dengar's ability with a BOATLOAD of mods courtesy of the lovely lady

there's also some of the most fun you will ever have: torpedo boats with manaroo as a bumpmaster (all you need is adaptability and feedback array)

with one measly focus , a torpscout can spit out a near guaranteed four hits. Manaroo seals that focus even after

• bumping (including self bumping, which you can use to deny range 1)
• going through obstacles
• stress (ESPECIALLY zuckuss; zuckuss on a torp boat is the best **** thing ever and you should try it)
• 4k or right segnor's (HERESY)!

etc.

so, if you want Tie Shuttle support to do work, you're going to want to find something that either chews through modifiers like an army of angry fire ants, or something capable of turning a single additional focus/TL into some impressive fireworks

if you find someone already swimming in mods, like an ace, palpatine is just superior

This is why I think it goes best with Defenders who will generally only have one action and with Omega Leader who likes to barrel roll to clear arcs. In particular, double-focussing Rexler is tight.

The other list I tried when the Bomber Shuttle was first spoiled is Adaptability Tractor TIE/D Vessery, Redline and a Bomber Shuttle. Obviously, you don't use Systems Officer in this instance so you can stick Tactician in there, or Rebel Captive, but giving two big hitters who can do double attacks with full TL rerolls, double focus each makes for REALLY tough choices about who to murder first.

sexy rexy basically has a blank card given my luck, so fleet officer is probably a good deal there

2.) 3x Gamma Squadron Veteran, 3x Homing Missiles, 3x Extra Munitions, 3x Deadeye, 3x Guidance Chips, and a Scimitar Squadron with TIE Shuttle and Fleet Officer. That seems good, Imperial U-Boats almost.

I've tried two variations on an Imperial u-boats analog, and I don't think it's worth it.

The version with support shuttle had 3 gamma vets with deadeye, plasmas, extra munitions, and your ordinance modification of choice with a gamma vet with the shuttle, adrenaline rush (k-turn and fleet officer), systems officer, and fleet officer. I guess you could also throw that setup minus the ept on a scimitar squadron pilot. I really want a pure support shuttle to work, but I don't think it's worth it. If you're trying to do Imperial uboats, you should play to your strengths, which is that you can get a 4th ps5 bomber in the group. 3 tie bombers with good dice isn't amazing when uboats has 3 jumpmasters with epic dice. Let me know how it goes if you guys decide to push the idea further than I did.

Think it would be better with Captian Jonus. Might make for a good jonus Bros. However with Glave squadron I have to drop systems for intel and ion cannons for tractor beams.

Jonus is solid for a bomber ordnance wave at Epic, but given you can only get 3 bombers at 100 points alongside him, I'd question whether he wouldn't be better just... shooting some boomsticks himself as well.

The principal advantage of the bomber buddy is that it is DIRT cheap, making it expensive by using higher-skill pilots doesn't normally make up for taking away from the rest of the list I don't think.

I've seen off and on talk about what my friend and I have been calling the AWACS bomber:

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Fleet Officer (3)

Systems officer (2)

That is not an AWACS,

This is an AWACS:

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Intelligence Agent 1

Intelligence Agent 1

TIE Shuttle 0

Ship Total: 18

I've seen off and on talk about what my friend and I have been calling the AWACS bomber:

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Fleet Officer (3)

Systems officer (2)

That is not an AWACS,

This is an AWACS:

Scimitar Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 16

Intelligence Agent 1

Intelligence Agent 1

TIE Shuttle 0

Ship Total: 18

Yup. That right there is a Bomber Buddy.

no it's not just you; crackshot is autoinclude

I suspect that we'll see 3 EPTs that end up on Bren with any regularity after the initial rush of "try all the things" is over.

Crackshot - With or without ordnance, Crackshot on every shot is solid.

Adreniline Rush - Using that 5 K-Turn to get behind your opponent and fire ordnance or to pull shenanigans with bombs seems like it will be effective.

VI - Sometimes you just want a PS 10 bomber.

I don't think that the other one shots will be useful enough, often enough to justify taking.

Adrenaline Rush has all but been replaced by Cool Hand except in a very limited number of circumstances (ie you want to do a red manoeuvre when stressed)

no it's not just you; crackshot is autoinclude

I suspect that we'll see 3 EPTs that end up on Bren with any regularity after the initial rush of "try all the things" is over.

Crackshot - With or without ordnance, Crackshot on every shot is solid.

Adreniline Rush - Using that 5 K-Turn to get behind your opponent and fire ordnance or to pull shenanigans with bombs seems like it will be effective.

VI - Sometimes you just want a PS 10 bomber.

I don't think that the other one shots will be useful enough, often enough to justify taking.

Adrenaline Rush has all but been replaced by Cool Hand except in a very limited number of circumstances (ie you want to do a red manoeuvre when stressed)

uhh... no?

So with Adrenaline Rush you can K-Turn as a white maneuver then do whatever action you like and finish unstressed, while with Cool Hand your K-Turn gives you more limited options on your action (basically going to be Focus) and leaves you stressed and unable to do another red next turn.

I like Adrenaline Rush Tomax, probably more than Crack Shot Tomax. I think Tomax is slow and cumbersome enough he probably dies before he can make much use of multiple Crack Shots, but multiple Adrenaline Rush may make him nimble enough to keep dodging fire. At PS8 Lightning Reflexes is pretty good too, just because it gives you the choice after you dial the maneuver.

no it's not just you; crackshot is autoinclude

I suspect that we'll see 3 EPTs that end up on Bren with any regularity after the initial rush of "try all the things" is over.

Crackshot - With or without ordnance, Crackshot on every shot is solid.

Adreniline Rush - Using that 5 K-Turn to get behind your opponent and fire ordnance or to pull shenanigans with bombs seems like it will be effective.

VI - Sometimes you just want a PS 10 bomber.

I don't think that the other one shots will be useful enough, often enough to justify taking.

Adrenaline Rush has all but been replaced by Cool Hand except in a very limited number of circumstances (ie you want to do a red manoeuvre when stressed)

uhh... no?

So with Adrenaline Rush you can K-Turn as a white maneuver then do whatever action you like and finish unstressed, while with Cool Hand your K-Turn gives you more limited options on your action (basically going to be Focus) and leaves you stressed and unable to do another red next turn.

I like Adrenaline Rush Tomax, probably more than Crack Shot Tomax. I think Tomax is slow and cumbersome enough he probably dies before he can make much use of multiple Crack Shots, but multiple Adrenaline Rush may make him nimble enough to keep dodging fire. At PS8 Lightning Reflexes is pretty good too, just because it gives you the choice after you dial the maneuver.

Tomax only really needs to get two shots off before dying: a range 3 torp or homing missile and a range 1 or 2 cluster missile. He cracks all three shots, discards crack shot for good, then expires secure in the knowledge that he's killed something.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

I know Jonus doesn't have the returning Crack Shot that Tormax has but.

He is two points cheaper than Tormax and give rerolls to more ships than System Officer does who is another two points.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

Also, congratulations, you've made yourself an unkillable 32 to 35 point fortress... with a 2 die arc-locked attack that can be comfortably ignored by all but the highest-PS ships until they've killed the rest of your list. What's the benefit here exactly?

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

I don't know that Ysanne is going to be worth 4 points on a Bomber. In a lot of games she may end up not granting more than one token. She doesn't trigger until you've taken a damage card so by the time you can use her your bomber may very well be over half dead.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

I don't know that Ysanne is going to be worth 4 points on a Bomber. In a lot of games she may end up not granting more than one token. She doesn't trigger until you've taken a damage card so by the time you can use her your bomber may very well be over half dead.

I wouldn't even go so far as to say I don't know: she's just not remotely worth taking on a Bomber Buddy. For it to be worthwhile it has to be scary enough to shoot first either because of the volume of mods it's handing to your side or the volume of bad it's handing to the opponent. Things that make it less likely to be targetted like Ysanne, Rebel Captive, etc just are not worth the points, because without some way to be threatening, it's easy to just ignore until the threats are dealt with.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

I don't know that Ysanne is going to be worth 4 points on a Bomber. In a lot of games she may end up not granting more than one token. She doesn't trigger until you've taken a damage card so by the time you can use her your bomber may very well be over half dead.

I wouldn't even go so far as to say I don't know: she's just not remotely worth taking on a Bomber Buddy. For it to be worthwhile it has to be scary enough to shoot first either because of the volume of mods it's handing to your side or the volume of bad it's handing to the opponent. Things that make it less likely to be targetted like Ysanne, Rebel Captive, etc just are not worth the points, because without some way to be threatening, it's easy to just ignore until the threats are dealt with.

Tactician or Mara Jade seem like much better options if you want your TIE Shuttle to to be able to deal stress. I agree that there's no way to make a TIE Shuttle scary enough that Rebel Captive will come into play in a meaningful way.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

I don't know that Ysanne is going to be worth 4 points on a Bomber. In a lot of games she may end up not granting more than one token. She doesn't trigger until you've taken a damage card so by the time you can use her your bomber may very well be over half dead.

I wouldn't even go so far as to say I don't know: she's just not remotely worth taking on a Bomber Buddy. For it to be worthwhile it has to be scary enough to shoot first either because of the volume of mods it's handing to your side or the volume of bad it's handing to the opponent. Things that make it less likely to be targetted like Ysanne, Rebel Captive, etc just are not worth the points, because without some way to be threatening, it's easy to just ignore until the threats are dealt with.

Tactician or Mara Jade seem like much better options if you want your TIE Shuttle to to be able to deal stress. I agree that there's no way to make a TIE Shuttle scary enough that Rebel Captive will come into play in a meaningful way.

Captive/Tactician just MIGHT work, but even then, you're investing your resources in opposite directions. Tactician/Mara would be more sensible.

I'm liking tactician/rebel captive or Mara jade/rebel captive because you stick around longer. They do not want to shoot the lowly bomber while there are juicier targets around.

the issue with Mara is she doesnt stack stress. All she does is prevent you from be destressed at the end of the round if youre in range1.

Rebel Captive makes people not want to take potshots at you. If i got range3 on a ship with rebel captive unless i was planning on a green move anyway i really dont want to shoot.

Mara Jade wouldnt do anything until range1, which at that distance you might just blow up anyway. Great along with a support crew i.e. fleet officer though, since rebel captive wont help much when 2-3 people are focusing you.

Have also thought of running Ysanne instead of systems for the tankiest Bomber ever.

Tomax, title, Cool Hand, Ysanne, Rebel Captive. "Want to shoot at me? Enjoy the stress and trying to shoot through two evade tokens!"

Cool had implies stress, so you couldn't take the evade action from Ysanne.

I though it was what you chose first, timing and that she could still be used?

Ysanne takes place at at the start of combat, so unless you've got EI in there as well, you're not going to be able to trigger both her and Cool Hand.

I don't know that Ysanne is going to be worth 4 points on a Bomber. In a lot of games she may end up not granting more than one token. She doesn't trigger until you've taken a damage card so by the time you can use her your bomber may very well be over half dead.

I wouldn't even go so far as to say I don't know: she's just not remotely worth taking on a Bomber Buddy. For it to be worthwhile it has to be scary enough to shoot first either because of the volume of mods it's handing to your side or the volume of bad it's handing to the opponent. Things that make it less likely to be targetted like Ysanne, Rebel Captive, etc just are not worth the points, because without some way to be threatening, it's easy to just ignore until the threats are dealt with.

Tactician or Mara Jade seem like much better options if you want your TIE Shuttle to to be able to deal stress. I agree that there's no way to make a TIE Shuttle scary enough that Rebel Captive will come into play in a meaningful way.

Captive/Tactician just MIGHT work, but even then, you're investing your resources in opposite directions. Tactician/Mara would be more sensible.

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting taking either Ysane or Rebel Captve on a TIE Shuttle. I don't think either of them would be worth the points or the crew slot.

the issue with Mara is she doesnt stack stress. All she does is prevent you from be destressed at the end of the round if youre in range1.

Rebel Captive makes people not want to take potshots at you. If i got range3 on a ship with rebel captive unless i was planning on a green move anyway i really dont want to shoot.

Mara Jade wouldnt do anything until range1, which at that distance you might just blow up anyway. Great along with a support crew i.e. fleet officer though, since rebel captive wont help much when 2-3 people are focusing you.

I think Mara Jade serves a different purpose. It's not so much to keep PTL aces stressed as it is to help make sure that once you are behind the enemy it is easier to stay there. A Scimitar with Intel Agent and Mara Jade is going to be an annoying blocker.