Vader, title, ATC, calculation, EU

Howlrunner crackshot

Black Squadrom crackshot X 3

This clocks in at 99 points.

I'm thinking of flying this against my regular opponent. I think it should be a reasonably fun list.

TIes go in first, Vader slow rolls up for clean up duty/ end game.

Any suggestions?

Parameters are: Must have Vader, must have Ties. I'm open to suggestions.

If you're OK dropping the initiative bid, swap Calculation for Squad Leader. It's fantastic on Vader and gives Howlrunner a focus+evade for defense. The other obvious option is VI; I'm pretty sure being able to hunt/arcdodge Soontir and friends is better than getting an extra crit.

I would add Crack Shot or Juke to Vader, whichever is your taste. Don't worry about Initiative as much. You fly this list like a swarm, Vader in the rear getting 4 green dice and an evade each turn. When the Ties disentegrate, Vader 5-straights and PS kills whatever is left.

Fel won't readily approach this, so you want to trap him to one side of the mat and scissor him between Vader and the Crack Shots. Versus U-Boats, you have to arc-dodge the whole game. Do not attempt to joust and then S-loop behind a JM-5K - they do that better than Ties (somehow...). Dengaroo? Joust. Flank with Vader but don't be tempted by Manaroo if she kites closely.

I like the list, but with only a 1pt bid, you should slap Adaptability or VI on Vader. No reason not to make sure he's the top dog.

Once Vader is PS10 or PS11, you bring the swarm in from one direction and Vader in from another. If the enemy ships go after Vader, he turtles up while the TIE Swarm does as much unchallenged damage as possible, even moving to block Vader's escape in subsequent turns. If they focus on the TIE Swarm, Vader will be a nightmare in the endgame. My advice is to never, ever bring Vader and the swarm in from the same direction. If you keep that in mind, I think it's a good list.

The only reason I would ever play Vader these days is to have a PS11 with boost/BR on the board. So, I would definitely take VI on him. Sure, Juke or Crack shot could be really nice but then I would rather just pick a Defender.

Great ideas guys!

What do you think about dropping one of the Black Squadron down to an Academy and upgrading another one to Mauler Mithel?

Great ideas guys!

What do you think about dropping one of the Black Squadron down to an Academy and upgrading another one to Mauler Mithel?

You could do it, but then you'd be flying a TIE swarm composed of four ships with four different pilot skills. It kind of limits your options when executing maneuvers, and frankly, you'd have to be a better pilot than I am to execute it successfully.

What about dropping 1 Black Squadron down to academy and then give Vader P-rockets and Juke? Even 100 points. Vader has some real oomph and you have a PS1 blocker.

I think I'll go for that one and see how it works.

You don't need to drop all the way down to an Academy to fit prockets in, just down to Wampa.

Blackshot + Blackshot + Wampa + Howl w/ Crackshot = 63pts

Adaptability Vader = 34pts

3 points left for PRockets, but now your list has 100% more Wampa.

Wampa!

I love the Vader miniswarm. I agree that Wampa is pretty great in there, especially with Howlrunner. I guarantee that your opponents will be trying to decide which one they need to kill first. That also takes some of the pressure off of Vader.

Do NOT fly Vader with the swarm. He is your end game. You want to flank with Vader. This is why I don't like an Academy TIE in there. Ideally, you want to set up your swarm after your opponent places at least one ship. If they have at least one PS 3 or lower ship, you are golden. Set up the swarm to charge in, and bring Vader in from the side. If they turn toward Vader, he can turn off and the swarm is flanking. If they face the swarm, Vader can make a strafing run.

Just be patient with Vader. He doesn't really need to do a whole lot until the end of the game. His mere presence is often enough to direct the action.

I love the Vader miniswarm. I agree that Wampa is pretty great in there, especially with Howlrunner. I guarantee that your opponents will be trying to decide which one they need to kill first. That also takes some of the pressure off of Vader.

Do NOT fly Vader with the swarm. He is your end game. You want to flank with Vader. This is why I don't like an Academy TIE in there. Ideally, you want to set up your swarm after your opponent places at least one ship. If they have at least one PS 3 or lower ship, you are golden. Set up the swarm to charge in, and bring Vader in from the side. If they turn toward Vader, he can turn off and the swarm is flanking. If they face the swarm, Vader can make a strafing run.

Just be patient with Vader. He doesn't really need to do a whole lot until the end of the game. His mere presence is often enough to direct the action.

I went with Wampa and Juke on Vader. I played against a Sootir/Inquisitor Palp aces build. In the end I think I was lucky with the dice and managed to avoid any damage on Vader with a point-blank exchange on Soontir, and successfully one shotted him. Hit crit (direct hit!). He (foolishly) used Palp and focus to mitigate poor attack dice, so had nothing to offset my hits and juke came thru for Vader to nullify his one evade.

I want to fly this list again, but wondering if Howlrunner is worth her extra points. She's a squishy target that goes down to focus fire fast.