The only way to avoid dying to the TIE Defender is surrendering, you Rebel Scum!

But yeah, high PS arc Dodgers seem to be the way to do it, I mean Soontir Fel did kill Countess Ryad...

Defenders are finally the space superiority fighters they were meant to be.

And just wait until people catch on with regards to the truly vile TIE/d builds out there.

In competitive play u boats make /D dicey where x7 let's you shrug off alot of those hits and once your down to PWT your not landing many hits at all.

Against small ship lists however /D is gravy you can front load your damage and kill stuff before defence becomes an issue.

I prefer /D personally but I totally get tournament players going for x7.

Honestly Miranda with TLT conner and crew of choice. Scum can go with palob (who will act as Biggs here, too).

Pretty much any efficient turrets can do work or anything that denies Evade. They're hyper efficient jousters so don't joust (hence turrets). We could see a fat Han come back into fashion if defenders become a thing.

Nah old defenders ate the falcon for breakfast the new ones would bypass creepio either with TB or juke, they've got the k turn that makes arc dodging hard because defenders like Bering at range they Arnt knife fighters.

You could take one TB two ion cannons and just walk Han off the board no sweat.

BOMBS or Vader crew or Feedback .......... always a fun way to damage high evade ships

Nah old defenders ate the falcon for breakfast the new ones would bypass creepio either with TB or juke, they've got the k turn that makes arc dodging hard because defenders like Bering at range they Arnt knife fighters.

You could take one TB two ion cannons and just walk Han off the board no sweat.

When? How? Seems like they are exactly the ship to be countered by Fat Hans bs. He always has higher PS with VI and boosts freely, Gunner punches through 3 greens easily, a white k-turn doesn't help at all when your opponent can just run away all game. Seems like it would be a slow, agonizing grind of fat turret nonsense.

Edit: Oh Defender counters, right. Well if you are boring, fat turrets seem good. If ou want some Imperial Veterans fun yourself, Homing Missiles don't care about evade tokens. Use Gamma Vets. I updated my Gamma Veteran spam list with some insights from Chadwick:

100 points

PILOTS

Gamma Squadron Veteran (27) x 2

TIE Bomber (19), Deadeye (1), Extra Munitions (2), Homing Missiles (5), Guidance Chips (0)

Gamma Squadron Veteran (27)

TIE Bomber (19), Crack Shot (1), Extra Munitions (2), Homing Missiles (5), Long Range Scanners (0)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (19)

TIE Bomber (16), TIE Shuttle (0), Fleet Officer (3)

Two Vets create a big scarezone, the third one a smaller even more scary one. The Shuttle makes all ships less action dependant, allowing for free barrel rolls. It can also block without wasting damage, keeping U-Boats at a distance.

It's not an interceptor though Vader has to get through three shields first so that's six hull before he causes a crit.

And pinging a defender just let's it kill you first, I've killed so many z95's in one shot I can never really feel threatened by them and with their dial you can out manoeuvre them so easily.

Conner nets will work but most other bombs just don't deliver bang for buck against the heavy fighter.

Lots of rerolls and the empire player blanking out is your best bet.

Nah old defenders ate the falcon for breakfast the new ones would bypass creepio either with TB or juke, they've got the k turn that makes arc dodging hard because defenders like Bering at range they Arnt knife fighters.

You could take one TB two ion cannons and just walk Han off the board no sweat.

When? How? Seems like they are exactly the ship to be countered by Fat Hans bs. He always has higher PS with VI and boosts freely, Gunner punches through 3 greens easily, a white k-turn doesn't help at all when your opponent can just run away all game. Seems like it would be a slow, agonizing grind of fat turret nonsense.

Nah faced fat Han and fat chewie alot never once lost a match with defenders, chewie was a long grind and the least fun I've ever had in a game but he went down.

Defenders don't want to be range one they thrive at 2-3 which makes arc dodging far less effective, gunner never enters play if I let you take one shield off I've got six hull per ship I can lose one a turn and have you dead before I am.

Don't forget I use Rexler as my ace of choice he will cripple your big ships robbing you of attack die or agility with each shot I punch through your tractor beamed and defenceless large target.

Same for dash honestly arc dodging and barrel rolling only help you if I'm up close and I won't be.

Interceptors need to kill you quick, defenders don't they have time on their side no need to expose themselves to range one fire at all.

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

It has its place but its expensive and in a 100point game the efficiency of a x7 juke is hard to get around. IMHO the D's come into their own in Epic play where they can really dish out damage

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

not really

Tie/D is a lot of naked dice rolling; even Vess is open to spikes of **** luck and bouncing off enemy green dice

Tie/x7 is a nice guarantee that opens up the lovely Juke ept

if palp aces ever become less prevalent (probably won't), Tie/D may make a comeback

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

It has its place but its expensive and in a 100point game the efficiency of a x7 juke is hard to get around. IMHO the D's come into their own in Epic play where they can really dish out damage

I'm not seeing Juke as being especially helpful unless you are running Vessery or Brath. Any lower in the PS, and you will already have spent that evade, right? Juke works well on Omega Leader because he's an 8.

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

not really

Tie/D is a lot of naked dice rolling; even Vess is open to spikes of **** luck and bouncing off enemy green dice

Tie/x7 is a nice guarantee that opens up the lovely Juke ept

if palp aces ever become less prevalent (probably won't), Tie/D may make a comeback

If rolling naked dice is a problem, take Predator/a Support TIE Shuttle/Jonus.

From further up-thread.

Defenders are finally the space superiority fighters they were meant to be.

And just wait until people catch on with regards to the truly vile TIE/d builds out there.

I will be spoiling some of my own lists after this Regionals season is over.

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

not really

Tie/D is a lot of naked dice rolling; even Vess is open to spikes of **** luck and bouncing off enemy green dice

Tie/x7 is a nice guarantee that opens up the lovely Juke ept

if palp aces ever become less prevalent (probably won't), Tie/D may make a comeback

If rolling naked dice is a problem, take Predator/a Support TIE Shuttle/Jonus.

Tie Shuttle is horrible; predator is expensive

the most effective Tie/D is Vess, and even then the returns simply aren't that impressive. I'd much rather have the x7 cheapness and durability

the most effective Tie/D is Vess, and even then the returns simply aren't that impressive. I'd much rather have the x7 cheapness and durability

As did I, before I tried the TIE/d.

Green dice still suck. Focus fire will still bring down the Defenders.

I prefer /D personally but I totally get tournament players going for x7.

I am smirking at all this talk about "focus fire" and "roll lots of dice" because my pet squad consists of 4 Alpha Sq. Pilots and an Omicron Group Pilot. Bring on the /x7's any day. We're ready for them!

But TIE/D defenders? No thank you. They can absolutely ruin my squad. It's definitely an interesting time to be playing X-wing. It's fun how they game shifts every so often.

Defenders present a lot of the same problems that Brobots do. They have action efficiency, three greens, and a good amount of health. As such, many of the same strategies that work on Brobots will work on them.

One of the key differences is that the smaller base of the defenders makes them much harder to block. At the same time, the lack of the FCS Gunner combo makes Defenders much less offensive (though the possibility to have three ships negates this a bit).

I'd look to Aces, Gunner, and pure offensive firepower. Some have said not to joust them, but that purely depends on what you're jousting with. A good alpha-strike list should be able to take one of them off the board early, making life a lot easier.

I'm really surprised at the lack of Homing Missile comments. Oh, there are some and I agree with them, but Homing Missile works great vs. /X7 Defenders and Palp Aces. There are a lot of ships in all factions that can carry them these days. Even without Guidance Chip or LRS, these missiles are quite good. They have the dice modification that everyone says is lacking in ordnance.

Homing Missiles really work for about anything. They kill U-boats, Imp Aces, Defenders, Ghost, etc. There isn't a bad thing to shoot a Homing Missile at, really.

PTL Inquisitor with Homing Missiles isn't a bad option if you can find the points. Sure, he doesn't have GC, but the averages are still good, especially when they can't use Evade.

Cracken can dish out a Homing Missile and give someone else another action....like TL so they can fire a Homing Missile, too.

Maybe we will start to see something like Homing Missile on Han Solo? You want something that's sure to work? Try that! You can roll your attack...if it sucks, then re-roll. Even after that, you can use the TL. Or save it for next round. Sure, this one is far fetched, but I still like the idea. Outrider can get a Missile, as well.

I'd love to see Proton Torpedo Horton Salm be a thing. All those re-rolls for those Torpedoes and GC as well? Not a Homing Missile, but he already has the re-rolls.

I'd love to see Proton Torpedo Horton Salm be a thing. All those re-rolls for those Torpedoes and GC as well?

i faced double fletchette cannon defenders last night. That **** stress is annoying. It wouldnt counter any self-stressers since it doesnt stack stress and theyre already planning green moves, but against anyone else GOD ITS ANNOYING lol. I started burning my tokens on the fletchette hit to not get stressed and risk getting pummeled by the main gun just so i could friggen move lol.

Oh, and Flechette Torpedoes are only 2 pts and will give them stress.....as well as 3 red dice with no range bonus. Also good vs. Aces. A lot of people haven't really looked at Flechette Torpedoes enough.

probably because the majority of ships with torpedos either cant use them very well (decimators) or are ordnance boats so they want protons/chips.

Torpedos also have a hull restriction. For some reason the cannon doesnt, though it can only do 1 damage while the torps can do full damage and crits. Also torps dont have to hit so i guess theres that difference.

So it seems the X7 title is popular. No love for the TIE/D?

probably because the majority of ships with torpedos either cant use them very well (decimators) or are ordnance boats so they want protons/chips.

Torpedos also have a hull restriction. For some reason the cannon doesnt, though it can only do 1 damage while the torps can do full damage and crits. Also torps dont have to hit so i guess theres that difference.

It is interesting to use the Cannon and I'm not discounting that.

I think Flechette Torpedoes works for a lot of ships that aren't ordnance carriers, but can spend the 2 pts for it. That's T-65's, T-70's, B-wings, Starvipers, and TLT Y-wings. Also not a bad option for a secondary weapon on things like Tie Bombers, K-wings, and Tie Punishers, especially if you have EM. It's a 3 dice attack that also causes stress.