So I played two games today, one was an epic game (which I won) and the other which was a 100 pt. Dogfight (which I also won). The squad stuff varied, but in both games I had:

Maarek Stele (Defender) 35

Calculation 1

TIE Mk. II 1

/x7 -2

In the first game the crits he got to select didn't matter too badly, but in the 100 pt game he became an utterly cruel beast. Admittedly, losing an EPT like Predator means he loses maybe some of his offensive punch but not much, and the title keeps him fairly evasive. But the crits! Oh the sweet, sweet crits. I handed out about 5 of them during the course of the game, some naturally, some Calculated. But chief among them were Blinded Pilot, Major Hull Explosion, and Damaged Sensor Array (at which point my opponent conceded, as that was his last ship).

Soooo much fun.

I run him with juke. Helps push the crits that I roll get through. But I tend to have Palp's help as well. I prefer him over Vessery, unless I am running D on Vessery.

Never run him myself, but we have a guy locally who runs him all the time alongside Vader and a Palp-Shuttle. I've seen him remove a fully healthy ship from the table more than once with a good roll & 'good' crit-draw

Never run him myself, but we have a guy locally who runs him all the time alongside Vader and a Palp-Shuttle. I've seen him remove a fully healthy ship from the table more than once with a good roll & 'good' crit-draw

He hit a U-Wing whose shields had just been lost. Hit, Hit, Crit, Calculatied Crit. U-Wing dodged one hit, took the second Hit, Direct Hit, Major Hull Explosion, and then I don't remember what the last one was because it didn't matter because he was already at -1 hull. Pro tip: don't use Sensor Jammers on someone with Calculation... you'll only make yourself sad.

Hmmm been using predator. Might have to try calculation.

Hmmm been using predator. Might have to try calculation.

Usually I use Predator too. I'll admit he's a tad more open to enemy fire this way, as you're basically relying solely on the evade token and your greens for defense, instead of both the evade and focus for defense, and the rerolls for attack. So, is it tournament competitive? Probably not. Is it fun? Oh goodness yes. Is it terrifying in Epic? YES. VERY YES.

Edit: also it's a good 2 point reduction if you're trying to just squeeeeeeeze something else into the list.

I like the point reduction. It would allow me to add a mkII Engine on him and another ship in my list.

I'm looking to try this one for fun next time I play.

Gamma Squadron Veteran (19)
Determination (1)
Mara Jade (3)
Tactician (2)
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
TIE Shuttle (0)

Maarek Stele (TIE Defender) (35)
Calculation (1)
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
TIE/x7 (-2)

Rexler Brath (37)
Predator (3)
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
TIE/x7 (-2)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Rexler firing first is usually intended to help bring down shields or strip tokens so that Maarek's shot has a better chance of going through. I've used them together like this, but in a slightly different list (and a few times in Epic) and it's worked out quite well.

I used to run a nasty Stele in the Advanced, alongside Vader and Palp, at my LGS.

Colonel Jendon - 26 points

- Emperor Palpatine - 8 points

- ST-321 - 3 points

Maarek Stele - 27 points

- Calculation - 1 point

- TIE/x1 - (-4 points)

- Advanced Targeting Computer - 5 points

Darth Vader - 29 points

- TIE/x1 - (-4 points)

- Advanced Targeting Computer - 5 points

I was forever switching out upgrades on Vader in an attempt to find my favorite build for him. Predator was a nice offensive bump, Engine Upgrade makes him a decent arc dodger, ect. But the real powerhouse in this build was Maarek Stele. I've oneshot several ships with him over the couple dozen games I've played with this list. One of the best moments was bringing down a YV-666 which still had 1 shield and six hull. Stele got into range one and rolled a blank, an eye, and a hit. With ATC, he added his crit, with Calculation, he converted the eye into a crit, and Palpatine modded the blank to a crit. Then the YV blanked on its single evade, lost a shield to the hit, and took three Direct Hits from Stele. It was beautiful. Pretty much every game I've played with this build has ended in a similar way, with my opponent mistakenly thinking Vader is the biggest threat on the board and trying to get a bead on him, only to have Stele shred their ships in a single attack.

So far, I haven't gotten around to playing with Stele in the new Defender (Been doing the Imperial faction for so long they're starting to grow stale to me, so I've been dipping into other factions), but I'm excited to try him out one of these days.

Looks like a very fun build. Now, if only I could bring myself to stomach the TIE Advanced