I wasn't convinced initially. Tactician + Rebel Captive... Tactician + intel Agent... Fleet Officer + Systems Officer... Nothing was cutting it.

But then I ran the Death shuttle.

Rebel Captive

+

Darth Vader crew.

And to my surprise... It worked. Yes, it only gets 3 pops of Vader, but it is very effective at making them count. Rebel Captive may seem like a dumb idea on a ship that is going to kill itself, but it means a) If Scouts try to PS kill ya, you ruin one of their days and make their use of OC agromech much more difficult, and b) PTL aces, your primary targets to Vader, are going to be stuck with a tough decision when they have a shot on ya.

Alternatively, you can just run Tactician for a point cheaper, which, honestly, may be the better option because, well, Tactician is phenomenal and a point cheaper. But you become a much cleaner target if you do that.

Anyone else find their dream Tie Shuttle build yet? This one has been the only one that has done any good for me yet, and the only way I have found what I feel is a competitive use for the title thus far.

I think your build is the best you're gonna do in the current meta. Mara Jade is cool, but doesn't really help all that much against aces and U-boats. Tactician is a great control card, but you also need to be able to deal damage, and I don't see attack 2 guns without crackshot being all that scary, especially when they cost 18pts at least.

It's great in epic with Jonus + systems officer to pass TLs to your Ordnance-Raider. Other than that and your Vadar + Rebel Captive build I don't see it fairing all that great. Maybe something utilizing Tomax Bren?

28 Tomax w/ Crackshot, Shuttle, Kallus, Intel.

Is he better than 2x Blacks w/ Crack? Probably not, but he brings an intel to peak at dials and won't get 1-shotted at least.

Bomber buddy (Scimitar, Fleet, Systems, Mk2) is very solid with a pair of aces. It's cheaper than a palpshuttle and provides better, if less easily applied, bonuses, but needs to keep up with the squad. Running it with two defenders both of whom end up tokenned like soontir but with one of them having a TL and both having 3 shields each is nice...

Bomber buddy (Scimitar, Fleet, Systems, Mk2) is very solid with a pair of aces. It's cheaper than a palpshuttle and provides better, if less easily applied, bonuses, but needs to keep up with the squad. Running it with two defenders both of whom end up tokened like soontir but with one of them having a TL and both having 3 shields each is nice...

This is my favourite Shuttle so far, I too use it with 2 defenders. Brath can double focus easily, TL's help with Vessery's ability. Or just simply adding a few focus tokens can improve a ships survivability markedly, and at 22 points it doesn't break the budget for what it does.

28 Tomax w/ Crackshot, Shuttle, Kallus, Intel.

Is he better than 2x Blacks w/ Crack? Probably not, but he brings an intel to peak at dials and won't get 1-shotted at least

.

As a bolt-in to a TIE swarm, that's not a bad ship! Drop the Intel agent for a point and he can slot nicely into a swarm and give someone who's still moderately threatening after Howlrunner (inevitably) bites it.

• Tomax Bren, TIE Shuttle, Crack Shot, Agent Kallus
• Howlrunner, Crack Shot
• Black Squadron Pilot, Crack Shot
• Black Squadron Pilot, Crack Shot
• Academy Pilot
• Academy Pilot

I have been thinking of ways to use the crackshot Tomax and I like that swarm idea a lot.

Ran this recently:

Tomax with Cool Hand, Title - Fleet and System Officers. MkII engines

Rexlar Brath with VI, X7 and MkII Engines

Carnor Jax with VI, title, Autothrusters and stealth device

100 points

Having Carnor Jax equipped with a focus and target lock and Rex with a focus before they even moved was amazing. My opponents wanted to shut down Tomax ASAP but you play into that just focus on dodging arcs and popping Cool Hand for an evade. Whilst that is happening there is two PS10 heavy hitting ruining their day.

It felt dirty and it was.

Now there was one game (out of four) where Tomax was killed early on but I dropped a jumpmaster and half health another prior to that happening so Carnor's action economy was of little concern at that point. Especially since Rex was at full health.

Also this combo allows Carnor to slam into someone to deny a shot, whilst he still has a lot of offensive modifiers.

I have been having fun with Tomax, W/ Crack Shot, Kallus, and Tactician.

Do you find the extra points on the captive are worthwhile?

For a ship that self destructs, I keep finding I want it as cheap as absolutely possible.

Do you find the extra points on the captive are worthwhile?

For a ship that self destructs, I keep finding I want it as cheap as absolutely possible.

It's insurance against your opponent's list. If they've brought low HP aces like Soontir, they'll want to remove this ship ASAP. Captive protects it from aces burning the shuttle down quick. It's just a disincentive to shoot at the shuttle, which gets you more Vader uses.

Ran this recently:

Tomax with Cool Hand, Title - Fleet and System Officers. MkII engines

Rexlar Brath with VI, X7 and MkII Engines

Carnor Jax with VI, title, Autothrusters and stealth device

100 points

Having Carnor Jax equipped with a focus and target lock and Rex with a focus before they even moved was amazing. My opponents wanted to shut down Tomax ASAP but you play into that just focus on dodging arcs and popping Cool Hand for an evade. Whilst that is happening there is two PS10 heavy hitting ruining their day.

It felt dirty and it was.

Now there was one game (out of four) where Tomax was killed early on but I dropped a jumpmaster and half health another prior to that happening so Carnor's action economy was of little concern at that point. Especially since Rex was at full health.

Also this combo allows Carnor to slam into someone to deny a shot, whilst he still has a lot of offensive modifiers.

I like that... alot!

I really want to try Moffy-J and Isard on the shuttle for maximum survivability.

I run bombers all the time. Love 'em. But they're crit magnets and can die fast.

I want to try out Tomax w/ Crack Shot and Rebel Captive. Tomax is effective and will slowly wear you down the longer he lives. Rebel Captive just delays people wanting to shoot at him even more. I like the idea of him being more of a sleeper or late game guy.

No matter what type of shuttle you take, I'd throw on Moff Jerrord for a 2 pt Shield Upgrade if you can find the points. IF you have points. Tie Bombers attract crits like crazy.

The Inquisitor (25)
Push the Limit (3)
Autothrusters (2)
TIE/v1 (1)

Tomax Bren (24)
Crack Shot (1)

"Howlrunner" (18)

"Omega Leader" (21)
Juke (2)
Comm Relay (3)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Bomber buddy (Scimitar, Fleet, Systems, Mk2) is very solid with a pair of aces. It's cheaper than a palpshuttle and provides better, if less easily applied, bonuses, but needs to keep up with the squad. Running it with two defenders both of whom end up tokened like soontir but with one of them having a TL and both having 3 shields each is nice...

This is my favourite Shuttle so far, I too use it with 2 defenders. Brath can double focus easily, TL's help with Vessery's ability. Or just simply adding a few focus tokens can improve a ships survivability markedly, and at 22 points it doesn't break the budget for what it does.

Something like this?

Scimitar Squadron Pilot [ TIE Shuttle, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II, Systems Officer, Fleet Officer] (22)

Colonel Vessery [Tractor beam, Veteran Instincts, TIE/D, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (38)

Rexler Brath [Tractor beam, Crack Shot, TIE/D, Twin Ion Engine Mk. II] (40)

View | Tweak | Export as XWS

Seems a number of you like the Systems+Fleet combo. You all must be better pilots than me, because I found the aces end up too far from the Tie Shuttle for the combo to work as well as I hope. Maybe Defenders are the choice there as they usually stay a bit closer with all those K-turns?

I really want to try Moffy-J and Isard on the shuttle for maximum survivability.

I run bombers all the time. Love 'em. But they're crit magnets and can die fast.

Moff unfortunately is one of those cards that could have been good but just doesn't quite cut it from my experience. Every once and awhile I see it and go "Oh! That works great!" But then after a second I again realize it doesn't even get rid of the damage card, it just flips it... At the cost of a crew. I think discarding a crew to discard a crit would have been fine and it would probably see some decent play if it did that, but far too late for that now.

Seems a number of you like the Systems+Fleet combo. You all must be better pilots than me, because I found the aces end up too far from the Tie Shuttle for the combo to work as well as I hope. Maybe Defenders are the choice there as they usually stay a bit closer with all those K-turns?

I don't know why people don't want to fly more than 3 ships in an Imperial list. I tend to dislike lists with so few ships.

I'm all for using some Academy Pilots and such. They are great blockers. Also, I've used Fleet Officer from a Lambda before and been really surprised at how well Tie Fighters with a free Focus do. They can Evade and get the Focus, which makes them a lot more resilient than it does at first glance.

I can't wrap my head around the AWACS bomber (bomber buddy). This is the list I want to run. Yet to have the chance unfortunately.

TIE Defender: · Countess Ryad (34)

Predator (3)

Tractor Beam (1)

Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

TIE/D (0)

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Tactician (2)

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Tactician (2)

TIE Fighter: Academy Pilot (12)

TIE Fighter: Academy Pilot (12)

really doubt crackshot tomax will be a thing unless hes running ordnance. Hes really expensive for a 2die attack, even if it effectively reduces agi by 1, and hes not that hard to remove if he isnt abusing Cool Hand for evade tokens.

really doubt crackshot tomax will be a thing unless hes running ordnance. Hes really expensive for a 2die attack, even if it effectively reduces agi by 1, and hes not that hard to remove if he isnt abusing Cool Hand for evade tokens.

24 pts without anything else isn't that much. 15 pts for a one shot Crack Shot is considered worth it. Why not 9 more pts to have a ship that has more hull and can do it every turn? Can also throw on someone like Rebel Captive to ensure that he doesn't get shot at too much. That's a ship that will last a while in a game. The longer he lasts, the more his ability is worth it.

really doubt crackshot tomax will be a thing unless hes running ordnance. Hes really expensive for a 2die attack, even if it effectively reduces agi by 1, and hes not that hard to remove if he isnt abusing Cool Hand for evade tokens.

It's a shame that the Imperials don't have any decent cheap crew options like scum, I really can't see many decent options besides Vader, and maybe tactician an/or Kallus.

A little off-topic, but I am of the opinion that the best Crackshot-Tomax build is probably him with a single ordnance. Picture him slotted into this classic list:

26 Omega Leader w/ Juke, Comms.

29 Tomax w/ Crackshot, ConcussionM, Chips.

45 (3x) Blacks w/ Crackshot.

First of all he's decently cheap weighing in at about 2x Blackshots. At PS8 he can pretty reliably fire his missile at something before your opponent gets to shoot. After he's fired off his only missile, is your opponent really going to waste shots on an ordnance free bomber? If they do he's relatively tanky with 6HP at agility 2, but more importantly your Blackshots who shoot at PS4 aren't getting shot at, allowing them to survive and get their Crackshot off. If your opponent ignores him he's still got Crackshot to make him a pain. It's win-win.

I think there's some great combos, here's one I'm therycrafting now:

TIE Interceptor: · Soontir Fel (27)

Push The Limit (3)

Autothrusters (2)

Royal Guard TIE (0)

Stealth Device (3)

TIE Avanced Prototype: · The Inquisitor (25)

Push The Limit (3)

Autothrusters (2)

TIE/v1 (1)

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Intelligence Agent (1)

· Rebel Captive (3)

TIE Fighter: Academy Pilot (12)

-- TOTAL ------- 98/100p. --

I like this because it gets the initiative bid over the Palp Aces version with Soontir/Inq, adds a great control piece with Rebel Captive and IA to use both the bomber and AP as blockers. And obviously there are very few better closers than Inq or Fel.

The problem is actually going away from Palpmobile, which seems to be the strongest support ship in the game right now.

I think there's some great combos, here's one I'm therycrafting now:

TIE Interceptor: · Soontir Fel (27)

Push The Limit (3)

Autothrusters (2)

Royal Guard TIE (0)

Stealth Device (3)

TIE Avanced Prototype: · The Inquisitor (25)

Push The Limit (3)

Autothrusters (2)

TIE/v1 (1)

TIE Bomber: Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

TIE Shuttle (0)

Intelligence Agent (1)

· Rebel Captive (3)

TIE Fighter: Academy Pilot (12)

-- TOTAL ------- 98/100p. --

I like this because it gets the initiative bid over the Palp Aces version with Soontir/Inq, adds a great control piece with Rebel Captive and IA to use both the bomber and AP as blockers. And obviously there are very few better closers than Inq or Fel.

The problem is actually going away from Palpmobile, which seems to be the strongest support ship in the game right now.

I've tried running the Bomber as a blocker with a similar build, but it didn't do much for me. Something about the dial just doesn't get it done for me.

Im running the crack/tac shuttle with two defenders this weekend. I believe it is going to do well. I dub it Tocraktac.

When I first saw the TIE Shuttle card, my initial judgement was "dead on arrival". This thread has not convinced me otherwise.

You guys sure have presented a lot of fun ways to use it, though.