Which do you prefer? Both are great, but everyone is going to have a preference.

I like the /x7 better, especially on the Countess. Getting that free evade token is just dandy.

the "D" stands for "Don't"

reason being: my name

Tie/d is for fun, x/7 is for winning.

And nothing is more fun than winning.

Tie D isn't bad, but X7 you get for -2 points, and it is honestly probably even more valuable than D.

TIE/D is more complex than TIE/x7. x7 is just flat out good whereas D needs some thought, hence x7 took off immediately and D is either a sleeper hit or a dud.

The TIE defender is a ship with good statline + modifiers (I really need a single word for this) and good positioning capability: it can both joust and arc-dodge as needed. TIE/x7 improves its defence at a small price of positioning ability (short maneuvers it probably doesn't want to use anyway) whereas TIE/D amps its attack. If used solely to aid the TIE defender itself x7 is probably stronger. Making TIE/D outperform TIE/x7 involves making those control effects pull their weight.

X7.

It is just so super efficient, it seems silly not to take it. I hate it for being so good.

apart from my name, the Tie/D has the problem of being stuck to dice rolls to get anything done (ie red dice) whereas the x7 can at least crutch on its evade

this becomes an issue even with Vessery against all the damage mitigation running around nowadays, as the guy only ever seems to average 2 hits with TL and even 3 hits just bounce off of ace level mitigation

now this isn't necessarily horrible , because then you have quasi-gunner in the two attacks you make, but in general Tie/D has felt far less reliable than Tie/x7

TIE/x7 is by far better. Stress-independent, guaranteed to get the token as long as you make a 3/4/5 move, you get it on a K-turn, which is a huge advantage for jousting plus you still get an action to reposition or token up with focus + evade. And all that with -2 points. Put that on Ryad with Stealth Device and Palp support and you have something that is nearly unkillable, bearing an all-blank roll that can point the right way every turn.

The way you win a game of X-Wing is to find or create a position in the planning and activation phases where the combat phase is weighted in your favour. You need to put yourself in a place where you'll do more damage to them than they'll do to you.

TIE/x7 is simple: that evade means you take less damage so jousting the enemy is more advantageous. It makes you a little easier to outmaneuver by soft-limiting your maneuver options.

TIE/D is less about finding favourable firing positions and more about creating them by debuffing the opponent. TIE/D can outperform TIE/x7: ioning them at a terrible moment, stressing them when they need to K-turn or throwing them onto a rock before they can shoot and debuffing their agility are all better than one evade token. The question is how reliably can you create those situations?

Summary: TIE/x7 is always good and TIE/D is situationally great.

About the only exception I'd make for the TIE/D would be paired with Ruthlessness - being able to stack two additional damage that can't be evaded is handy against swarms and miniswarms, especially when coupled with the Tractor Beam. In the right situation it can be useful against Aces as well, if they foolishly let themselves be too close to each other.

Darth Vader & Friends (99)

Darth Vader (37) - TIE Advanced

Predator (3), TIE/x1 (0), Engine Upgrade (4), Advanced Targeting Computer (5)

Onyx Squadron Pilot (31) - TIE Defender

TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Onyx Squadron Pilot (31) - TIE Defender

TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

This is my go to team. It has worked very well for me so far.

TIE/x7 if you like to win by out lasting the opponent. TIE/D if you like to win by destroying ships.

Juke x7s kill things just fine

the "D" stands for "Don't"

reason being: my name

Would everyone's opinion change if it could field a Mangler or HLC and dual attack?

X7 is about token stacking the Defender.

/D is about stripping tokens from the defender.

"WHAT is your favorite colour?"

"Blue"

WHAT is your favorite Defender title?

"D, no wait X7... ARRRGGGGGHhhhhhh..."

I'd only take D in an all defender list. When you run a sole defender with some other imperial ace(s), odds are the defender will be the easier to take down (no native Evade action, no Autothrusters, no Boost, usually no PtL), . Now, not only is a D Defender even easier to take down than an x7 Defender, but it's also more potent offensively, which makes it the obvious target in the list. I personally find that a pretty big disadvantage.

Juke x7s kill things just fine

"Killing things fine" is not as good as "unrelenting brutality".

I like Vessery with /D. It really forces more token spending.

the "D" stands for "Don't"

reason being: my name

Would everyone's opinion change if it could field a Mangler or HLC and dual attack?

Either of those in a TIE/D would be pretty broken.

ive played with both and im not gonna lie...

ion cannon on vessery with D is pretty friggin disgusting.

if it hits.. their ace is toast, and you can easily make him shoot the last of the round so tokens are gone.

I love /D ion Vessery, and I run him a lot. But the reality is that, even though he is far an away the best pilot for the title due to the double free target locks, he's still not as good as an /x7 Ryad. And she's cheaper. Part of the issue is that ion and tractor are far less useful against big ships and right now half the meta is J5ks.

/D isn't necessarily bad but /x7 is better in more situations and crafting a good list means it has to be able to work well in most situations.

Would everyone's opinion change if it could field a Mangler or HLC and dual attack?

Yes, I'll take the ability to Coran Horn double tap every. single. turn. over a free evade token any day of the week. Stele would see some play as his ability gets a whole lot more reliable and Vessery would quite simply be a monster able to drop 7 fully modified dice on things each turn. There's a reason they didn't allow this.

TIE/x7 if you like to win by out lasting the opponent. TIE/D if you like to win by destroying ships.

Have to agree with Bio here. I think a huge part of running a TIE/D is what list you build. You need to create target priority problems for your opponent or make it to where if they go after the TIE/D that's what you wanted in the first place.

why not have them both?

Vess' with /D is just great and can't be ignored. neither can ryad/glave with juke. let the other guy pick his poison, hammer him with the rest while dangling the carrot ;-)

I'd only take D in an all defender list. When you run a sole defender with some other imperial ace(s), odds are the defender will be the easier to take down (no native Evade action, no Autothrusters, no Boost, usually no PtL), . Now, not only is a D Defender even easier to take down than an x7 Defender, but it's also more potent offensively, which makes it the obvious target in the list. I personally find that a pretty big disadvantage.

My typical list is /D ion Vessery, /x7 Ryad, and Omega Leader. Vessery smashes face in the initial joust but the truth is I kind of want you to shoot him first. Both Ryad and Omega are amazing closers, one on one there's not much that beats them, whereas Vessery by himself is kind of a dud. So he's really there to create an early advantage in the initial rounds of firing that the other two can ride in for the win and be an imperial Biggs knockoff.