I keep coming back to the TIE/fo and wondering about an update to the TIE Fighter All-Stars, which used to be my default squad (the 6 named TIE fighters prior to the Carrier coming out).

I'm not convinced any pure TIE/fo elite squad will work, but I've surprised myself with a pure Epsilon squad recently - 6 TIE/fos, including 4 Epsilon Squadron Pilots, Epsilon Ace and Epsilon Leader.

The big problem with elite TIE/fo fighters is that you only get 4 of them, and 4 TIE fighters is....a questionable idea for a squad. On the other hand, that is a disservice - whilst they still only have 2 attack dice base, they are massively more capable than basic TIEs and have a lot of ways to make those dice count for more than they should.

I figure that Epsilon Leader is probably the least useful pilot - he doesn't let pilots take an action on red maneuvers, and TIE/fo fighters generally have no problem removing stress with their (excellent) green dials. Back-to-back K-turns and Segnor's Loops are very powerful with a swarm of blockers, but less important with 4 'pocket aces'.

I also figure that Zeta Leader and Omega Leader are automatic choices. Omega Leader is infamous as a cheap Imperial Ace for a reason, and Zeta Leader is essentially a 3-dice attack ship on a budget.

That leaves a choice of 2-from-3 out of the "Ace" pilots: Zeta Ace, Omega Ace, and Epsilon Ace. Each one does throw in some genuine advantages, and I'm not sure which way to go.

Option The First: Epsilon Ace & Zeta Ace

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Zeta Ace - Intimidation, Primed Thrusters, Stealth Device
• Epsilon Ace - Comms Relay, Stealth Device

With taking the two cheaper aces, you get points for toys. Epsilon Ace is a surprisingly good ace-hunter at PS12, and Zeta Ace functions as a blocker.

Option The Second: Epsilon Ace & Omega Ace

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Omega Ace - Push The Limit, Comms Relay, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Epsilon Ace - Comms Relay

Losing a few toys lets you fit in Omega Ace, whose pilot ability is....situational but theoretically devastating. If you can clobber something like a VCX-100 or Decimator, the Leaders can (hopefully) drop its shields, and landing a string of three automatic criticals into a ship is going to hurt. Meanwhile, Omega Leader and Epsilon Ace are not bad at ace-hunting.

Option The Third: Zeta Ace & Omega Ace

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Omega Ace - Push The Limit, Comms Relay
• Zeta Ace - Intimidation, Primed Thrusters

Zeta and Omega should work together well - Zeta blocking someone and allowing Omega to come in and 'Jackpot' them at range 1. So, as they say, goes the theory. Zeta Leader gets the Ion Engines upgrade because he'll be using his pilot ability whenever he fires, whilst Omega Ace will probably only push when about to use his pilot ability.

Insulting Comments welcome - if in any way related to the above squads, so much the better.

I think your breakdown of the various squads is well thought out. I've played with this idea myself but I still think that 4 TIE/fo is not enough.

I really like the hammer that is Omega Ace but it is just like trying to get ordnance off. Getting TL+F takes too long while your TIE is getting chewed up. Hopefully PtL can help there. The only saving grace is the high PS. Although I like him I don't think he procs often enough.

On the other hand, I really appreciate the attention you've given Eps Ace. Thematically, he is my favorite /fo to fly. Have you considered a shield upgrade instead of stealth device? Not sure on the math there.

Of the three I would rank them in the same order you have them listed, but that is more because of the ships I like, not as too which is most effective on the mat. I'll leave that to others.

Thanks for posting /FO All-Stars.

I love the TIE/fo. I ran this for a while:

"Omega Leader" (29) - TIE/FO Fighter

Juke (2), Comm Relay (3), Stealth Device (3)

"Omega Ace" (29) - TIE/FO Fighter

Push The Limit (3), Comm Relay (3), Stealth Device (3)

"Epsilon Leader" (21) - TIE/FO Fighter

Weapons Guidance (2)

"Epsilon Ace" (19) - TIE/FO Fighter

Weapons Guidance (2)

I ran into issues with attack dice and hit points; not enough of either.

On the other hand, I really appreciate the attention you've given Eps Ace. Thematically, he is my favorite /fo to fly. Have you considered a shield upgrade instead of stealth device? Not sure on the math there.

Of the three I would rank them in the same order you have them listed, but that is more because of the ships I like, not as too which is most effective on the mat. I'll leave that to others.

Not a bad idea, but it is an extra point. I never really paid much attention to Epsilon Ace before I tried using an Epsilon Squadron squad, and I was shocked by just how good he is. The four regular pilots fly with "Leader" and he hangs around nearby on a flank. More than once someone made a seriously stupid move because they forgot mid-game that he was moving after them - getting an action-denying collision on a Veteran Instincts Rear Admiral Chiraneau in one case, and being able to barrel roll out of arc into a range 1 shot on Veteran Instincts Darth Vader in another.

He's not devastatingly powerful, but with a Comms Relay, he's only 20 points, and he's essentially a title-less PS12 TIE Advanced.

I really like the hammer that is Omega Ace but it is just like trying to get ordnance off. Getting TL+F takes too long while your TIE is getting chewed up. Hopefully PtL can help there. The only saving grace is the high PS. Although I like him I don't think he procs often enough.

I love the TIE/fo. I ran this for a while:

I ran into issues with attack dice and hit points; not enough of either.

Epsilon Leader is great with PtL Omega Ace. Also good when the whole squad needs to turn around, and not be limited to green moves the following round.

The durability issue pairs with the attack dice issue. I found a lot of lists simply outlasted mine in a battle of attrition.

I use Epsilon Ace as a late game threat in a lot of lists, especially paired with Omega Leader. No one wants to face Omega Leader late-game, so they go after him early. Epsilon Ace clinched some games for me, swooping in from a flank at PS12 when the enemy was low on hit points and out of position after dealing with the rest of my squad.

this may be a silly question but wouldnt it be better to have the primed thrusters upgrade that comes out soon? i feel like that card is bonkers

I only started playing the game recently so this could be just straight up bad because i dont know what im doing.
but something like this feels more "ace-y"

"Omega Leader" — TIE/fo Fighter 21

Push the Limit 3

Primed Thrusters 1

Engine Upgrade 4

Ship Total: 29

Primed Thrusters is nice for Zeta Ace - because that barrel roll is so awesome - but the problem is that Comms Relay is so good for its cost.

PTL/Engine Upgrade/Thrusters on Zeta Ace allows some ridiculous shennanigans, I admit....but then after you line up your perfect shot, you remember you've got two unmodified red dice and miss.

The durability issue pairs with the attack dice issue. I found a lot of lists simply outlasted mine in a battle of attrition.

Which is why I keep thinking Zeta Leader is a good 2nd choice - that third attack dice, especially with weapons guidance & wired will (hopefully) go some way to 'gunning up' when facing stuff like a big ship or a Y-wing mob.

Well - somewhat delayed, but I got a chance to try out the TIE/fo aces yesterday, and ended up playing quite a few games with them.

I played with my default TIE/fo swarm (Epsilons Leader, Ace, Squadron Pilot x4) the day before, so I decided to use Option 3 - because it was the four TIE/fo pilots I've never used.

Thoughts:

• I continue to have respect for the durability of the TIE/fo. For a base 15 point cost they're annoyingly hard to kill, and the number of criticals that 'splashed' on the shield token is ridiculous. The one game I won was in part because I deliberately accepted a critical on Omega Leader to avoid spending his evade token.
• Neither Zeta Ace nor Omega Ace pulled their weight.
• I will correct myself their - Omega Ace did pull his weight; push the limit, twin ion engines MkII and pattern analyser is an awesome combination; getting me double-mod attacks and - in one case when he was dead anyway - segnor's loop, push the limit, stack up focus/target lock and blow someone away before he died. But any elite TIE/fo or TIE/sf could do that. I only once used his ability, on a shieldless decimator - and after all the faff the result was kind of meh.
• Equally, Zeta Ace's speed 2 barrel roll worked - at least once letting him dodge a range 1 shot from Ryad whilst still getting a range 1 shot himself. Primed Thrusters were likewise amazing. What didn't work in his case was intimidation. I'm not good enough to block aces with a single ship, and more importantly when you only have 4 you can't afford to dedicate one as a blocker because you need everyone shooting. He did do some sterling work blocking Dengar several turns in a row, and letting me get some damage in on him, but one of the main problems with him is that Manaroo and Omicron Group Pilot - the two support ships I saw most of - both move before him.
• I understand why people rave about Omega Leader - one on one he's amazing, and at his best he went head to head with Fenn Rau and kicked the Mandalorian's face in. You're not supposed to do that to a fighter about 1/3 more expensive than you. He did okay against Manaroo and Dengar, but against Palpatine & aces he couldn't keep all the threats locked at once.
• Zeta Leader was amazing. I know crack shot is all that, but wired - especially on him - is fantastic. In several games he voluntarily hung onto stress and kept dice rerolls, which saved him more than once, and with weapons guidance and wired when he did get a proper 'strafing run' I think he only failed to get three hits once.
• The one opponent I felt I had the most trouble with was (surprise surprise) TIE/x7 Defenders. Countess Ryad's free evade is annoying as hell to try and peck through. If I'd had all 6 TIE/fos, maybe, but with only 4 I just lacked the punch. Omega Leader can do it, but gets prioritized for that reason.

I dunno. It was nice to try, but I definitely think sticking with 4-5 TIE/fos is better.

The more I use them, the more I find myself loving Wired. You segnor a lot, and being able to hang onto stress and still be useful is very nice.

I was wondering about trying omega squadron pilots with Wired and Primed Thrusters - I can say that being able to barrel roll whilst stressed did me a huge amount of good.

I could fit in 5 Omega Squadron Pilots with Wired and Primed Thrusters and have 5 points spare, the question is what else to put on them. The two options I can see are (a) Twin Ion Engines for everyone or (b) swap one out for Zeta Leader with Wired, Weapons Guidance & Twin Ion Engines

I think pattern analyzer will help Omega Ace quite a bit, freeing him up of stress.

Maybe a fourth F/O is not the way to....GO

PILOTS

“Omega Ace” (25)
TIE/fo Fighter (20), Pattern Analyzer (2), Push the Limit (3)

“Zeta Leader” (21)
TIE/fo Fighter (20), Wired (1)

“Omega Leader” (26)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2)

Leaves 28pts:

The Inquisitor (28)
TIE Advanced Prototype (25), Adaptability (0), TIE/v1 (1), Autothrusters (2)

Gives you a PS9 ace.

Tomax Bren (28)
TIE Bomber (24), Crack Shot (1), Plasma Torpedoes (3), Long Range Scanners (0)

Attacks first. Reduces shields with plasma missiles, then has crack shot afterwards.

Delta Squadron Pilot (28)
TIE Defender (30), TIE/x7 (-2)

Gives the list some beef.

I think the two Omegas and Zetas are definitely the way to go. I've run a fair amount of all except Omega Ace, and the new tech upgrades look really excellent on him.

My thoughts on the builds:

-Omega Leader is basically locked in at her standard 26 points.

-Zeta Leader works awesome with Wired, just fantastic, but consider swapping it out depending on what you're having trouble against. If you face a lot of generics that you fire before, Wired is going to be the best because it activates before you get shot at, and you get it against every attack. Wired Zeta Leader is a TLT murdering machine. If you're looking to work smaller numbers of ships, Juke or Predator might be better for you. VI is even a reasonable pick if you're looking to try and mess with aces.

-I haven't really played Omega Ace, but that Pattern Analyzer/PTL build looks great. You keep the whole dial open, and you don't need Comm Relay as much because you can always just Focus/Evade if you need to with your actions.

-I think Zeta Leader wants an EPT with a little more teeth. The raw offense of these ships is a little lacking, so a single dedicated blocker is not ideal. Intimidation does admittedly enhance your offense when it works, but there are plenty of situations where it doesn't work.

My 4FO squad with current upgrades:

Omega Leader, Juke, Comm Relay = 26

Zeta Leader, Juke, Comm Relay = 25

Omega Ace, PTL, Pattern Analyzer = 25

Zeta Ace, PTL, Pattern Analyzer = 23

99 points, with enough for a Mk2 Engine upgrade on whoever needs it most.

If you take Push The Limit with Pattern Analyser, Twin Ion Engines on Omega Ace are definitely worthwhile. Being able to do a speed 3 bank and dial in your shots (or to focus/evade) makes a big difference - and, as long as you're doing green moves, makes up for the loss of the comms relay.

Zeta with wired and weapons guidance is fine.

I agree Zeta Ace needs more punch. I might well drop Intimidation to Wired. Zeta Ace spent a lot of time stressed, and barrel rolling like a loon. Getting rerolls as he does so would help.

I might also consider swapping Omega Leader's stealth device for a shield. Even with his ability he tends to take a lot of fire, and he can only have one person locked at once.

The other option is, I guess, a partial ace/swarm mix - 5 ships, with Zeta Leader, Omega Leader, and three lesser TIE/fo's.

You're short on points for upgrades, but could get either:

• Omega Squadron Pilot - Adaptability x3 (Matching the annoying PS5 all the better scum generics seem to have and allowing you to deploy after Manaroo)
• Omega Squadron Pilot - Trick Shot x 3 (in a close-quarter fight with lots of debris this has potential)
• Omega Squadron Pilot - Wired x 2, Epsilon Squadron Pilot
• Omega Squadron Pilot - Wired, Epsilon Ace - Primed Thrusters, Epsilon Squadron Pilot

Am pretty sure this is the squad I went up against in a tournament the other day;

Option The First: Epsilon Ace & Zeta Ace

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Zeta Ace - Intimidation, Primed Thrusters, Stealth Device
• Epsilon Ace - Comms Relay, Stealth Device

It certainly wasn't an easy squad to beat, but my opponent did fly very well.

It definitely can work. I felt like I had a chance in all the games I played (I did screw up a lot, which means I lost the games I lost rather than not having a chance of winning them).

Happy to give it more of a try, but my view is (a) if omega ace's pilot ability doesn't matter, I might as well swap him for someone cheaper (Zeta Ace) with that same loadout, especially since I didn't use intimidation much.

As a result, the fourth ship would be Epsilon Ace.

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Shield Upgrade
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Zeta Ace - Push The Limit, Pattern Analyser, Twin Ion Engines MkII
• Epsilon Ace - Primed Thrusters, Shield Upgrade

Having acquired a Special Forces TIE, am wondering about dropping one in. If you're scanty with the upgrades, you can fit one in instead of one of the TIE/fo aces.

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay
• Zeta Leader - Wired, Weapons Guidance
• Zeta Ace - Wired, Primed Thrusters
• "Backdraft" - Special Forces Training, Wired, Collision Detector, Primed Thrusters, Twin Ion Engines MkII

It only just occurred to me that pattern analyzer makes epsilon Leader pretty amazing. PA equipped FO's flying with epsilon leader can sloop, perform an action before stress, lose the stress in combat and have an open dial next round. Seems pretty neat.

It only just occurred to me that pattern analyzer makes epsilon Leader pretty amazing. PA equipped FO's flying with epsilon leader can sloop, perform an action before stress, lose the stress in combat and have an open dial next round. Seems pretty neat.

It's very interesting, but mostly a gimmick. It doesn't really impact game play vs. turrets, for example.

I do think Epsilon Leader is far more interesting than gets any credit. I flew against a mixed TIE swarm featuring the little bugger, and it had some serious moving power.

... But, because it creates a non-optimized mini-swarm, for the most point, it didn't really stand a chance against my Vess/OL/Jendon-Palp, and I suspect the same would be true with using PA on a bunch of FOs backed by Epsilon Leader. Worse against Palp Defenders.

How would you fly a list featuring 5 pattern analyzer and crack shot omega squadron pilots? It feels like it would perform in a simular fashion to the 5 A-swarm, only with better dials (imo) and a less useful reposition (barrel roll < boost, again imo).

One could call this list 'Faux Aces'. That's worth a lot right there.

How would you fly a list featuring 5 pattern analyzer and crack shot omega squadron pilots? It feels like it would perform in a simular fashion to the 5 A-swarm, only with better dials (imo) and a less useful reposition (barrel roll < boost, again imo).

Interesting Idea.

It dilutes the initial barrage - Weapons Guidance is better there, because it improves the ability to lay the smack down on the first shooting engagement where you still have crack shot, but afterwards you tend to find yourself using segnors loops a lot, so Weapons Guidance doesn't do as much as you'd like.

Pattern Analyser, by comparison, does nothing in the initial pass, but means you do get focus tokens (or whatever) after the inevitable segnor's loop the turn after, and it certainly makes the TIEs more capable in an extended fight (which is the same reason I'm an advocate of Wired). It also makes you more tolerant of Debris fields, which is worth noting.

I'll have to give it a try.

I genuinely think there might be some mileage in 5 kitted-out omega squadron pilots. There are a lot of good EPT/Tech combinations possible in 3 points - and more popping up all the time (the Hyperwave Comm Relay is another one, for example - being able to deploy a swarm after your opponent is an unpleasant concept).

I think Barrel Roll and Boost are pretty equivalent - saying one or the other is 'better' is very situation specific.