Thanks for that rundown

I find with 3 aces builds as soon as you loose one it goes down hill quick, thats more likely me as a player though. I've found that with the 4 ship build I have better chances at wins. That pesky academy gets ignored and actually causes a lot of damage.

I'm trying to avoid the 3 ship build but that is all down to my play style.

I have also considered dropping Vessery for Ryad like this:

Omega leader Com Relay Juke 26pts

Zeta Leader Adaptability 20 pts

Ryad PTL, x7, EU 39 pts

Winged Gundark 15 pts

Pretty much same concept in list but dropping the academy for a more punch named pilot

Or drop EU of Ryad for Twin engine and more points to spend on a named tie

I like the list with ryad as well. If it were me I'd build the list like this:

Ryad (36)

-ptl

-x7

-tie mk 2

Omega Leader (26)

-Juke

-comm relay

Zeta Leader (22)

-wired

-tie mk2

Back Stabber (16)

Typical ryad and OL. ZL gets wired because it's his elite of choice, makes him deceptively tanky. mk2 as well because you don't need a bid, and it's a couple more green options on the self stressing ship. I like back stabber better without upgrades than dark curse, but either could fit here. If they ignore back stabber he can put in alot of work. If they prioritize back stabber that's a win because they arent shooting OL or Ryad.

I tweaked it with ryad to this:

Ryad PTL, Twin, x7 36pts

Omega leader Comm, Juke 26 pts

Zeta Adaptability 20 pts

Scourge Adaptability 17 pts

99 its for initiative bid or chuck twin engines on Zeta

3 pilots with ps8 and ryad who really hard to hit

I like it. Should be fun and could be competitive. Get some games in! Good luck.

We have defenders that dominate our meta currently, all of them wit the X7 title. I've yet to beat a list (yes, I'm not that bad) with 3 of them in, even 2.

This is what we see:

Defender domination (100)

Colonel Vessery (35) - TIE Defender

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

Countess Ryad (36) - TIE Defender

Push The Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Delta Squadron Pilot (29) - TIE Defender

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

Palpatine Defenders- (99)

Omicron Group Pilot (29) - Lambda-Class Shuttle

Emperor Palpatine (8), Emperor Palpatine (8)

Colonel Vessery (34) - TIE Defender

Adaptability (0), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Countess Ryad (36) - TIE Defender

Push The Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

A defender with an evade an focus is really tough to kill. Through in Palpatine and its near impossible.

What would you say is better 3 pilots at ps8 or wired on zeta leader?

Scourge

Ryad ptl twin engine x7

OL com relay juke

Zeta leader

I have 1 point left do I put adaptability on scourge and zeta or wired on zeta and adaptability on scourge?

PS8 is kinda the new black. It lets you roll on the same level as OL, Inky, VI, Vess, Wes, Poe (PS8 version) and Corran. It also puts you ahead of such meta-favourites as Dash, all the ARC and Ghost pilots, most of the new T70 pilots etc.

3 PS8 pilots with a point left for bidding looks decent to me.

Whilst the reroll from wired is nice, it is not always that powerful. ZL gains the stress when attacking meaning you can already have a TL of Focus to boost your shooting. On defense it is handy but you need to roll a Focus then a Dodge which is only a 9% chance of kicking in per green dice.

EDITED - Because Wired allows any number of agility dice to be rerolled.

PS8 is kinda the new black. It lets you roll on the same level as OL, Inky, VI, Vess, Wes, Poe (PS8 version) and Corran. It also puts you ahead of such meta-favourites as Dash, all the ARC and Ghost pilots, most of the new T70 pilots etc.3 PS8 pilots with a point left for bidding looks decent to me.Whilst the reroll from wired is nice, it is not always that powerful. ZL gains the stress when attacking meaning you can already have a TL of Focus to boost your shooting. On defense it is handy but is only 1 dice and you need to roll a Focus then a Dodge which is only a 22% chance of kicking in (on 3 greens).

I agree with everything you just said. Except for wired only being one die. Wired lets you reroll any number of focus results while stressed, that and a comm relay makes for a ridiculously tanky (for his points cost) zeta leader. Ps 8 is huge though, so pick your poison.