Soooo... what's it been like, both sides of the fence? Anyone field/face x8 yet?

Problem with Blue bomber is that it needs to be paired to be good. A single Blue bomber is the equivalent of 2 blanks 2 crits and 4 hits for an 8 sided die. So I don't think Defenders would be any better than an X-wing at attacking ships. Marek might be good at it.

So lets take a look at the other two categories Interceptor and escort/support. Well for escort support it lacks any traits like escort or intel to get bombers past the screen. Interceptors as a 4 die antisquadron value it can do some good damage. But lacking in traits.

I would class it as a Interceptor Low Investment. They do better against unescorted bomber squadrons but you would still use plenty of Anti-squadron firepower in your fleet. Also for bombers they more to supplement your fleets firepower not replace it. I would only take 2-3 Defenders and match them with 2 TIE Phantoms (or Whisper & Saber Squadron). The TIE Phantoms to cut through the escorts and the TIE Defenders to mop up the survivors.

I can't see running the full 8. At maximum, I think you'd want 6+Maarek+Rhymer for the first and second turn Rhymer bombing threat (backed up by a Bomber Command Center), and even then I could see a very good argument for replacing one or two of the Defenders with a Jumpmaster or Lambda, depending on your build and priorities.

Anyways, I've run 3 of them plus Maarek. I can run up to 6 but haven't yet. They're not cheap but they can take a pounding. They prefer to beat up on enemy squadrons and they're good alongside Raiders (as they can tank an alpha strike to keep enemies pinned near Raiders for flak but they're also fast enough to keep up with Raiders that need to step on the gas). In the late game their bombing can help finish off wounded ships but they'll never really be great at eating healthy ships alive like a "real" Rhymerball is. Maarek Steele is the exception, being an extremely proficient bomber due to his ability and Grit, but he can also dogfight.

The main issue with running 8 Defenders versus running 8 YT-2400s is the Defenders want their squadron commands with some regularity and you'll need to use Boosted Comms and/or Relay to make that happen alongside a competent carrier element. The YT-2400s just don't particularly care about that due to being Rogues. If you're committing the points and support to a serious squadron presence for the 8 Defenders at that point you should get more bang for your buck by substituting some of them out for other squadrons (more dedicated cost-effective bombers and tech squadrons come to mind immediately).

I like 4 with an ISD-II, anymore and you are starting to lose efficiency. There are other squadrons that pair well and should be used. The Lambda springs to mind.

They're pretty much the Imperial X-Wing. They're very likely to win the squad fight in large numbers and can flex to a solid bomber threat. Maarek and 5 is where I might try initially.

I ran 2, Boosk, and Zetrik for about 3 games these past two weeks. There's plenty of fuel in the form of hull for Zetrik to trigger his rerolls. His escort then makes a huge difference on how long the Defenders keep throwing their excellent dice, and Boosk gives you a nasty Rogue that can help punch through aces. I punched through over 120 points of squads once with them, so if the opponent ignores them to bomb, they're in trouble.

What I think, however, is that Zetrik and a couple of Defenders gives you the anti-squadron foundation in a much larger squadron ball. One could drop Boosk for another Defender or Ace, but otherwise, that's 70 points, and leaving more than enough to grab Intel, Rhymer and some bombers. I don't think you want Defender Spam, what you want is the Defenders to be able to knock back enemy squads threatening yours, while also being able to synergize later in the game when you finally chew through enemy squads, or early in the game if the opponent brings light squads.

I think a couple of them works very well with a raider 1. They are fast enough to keep up with the raider, and tough enough to pin down squads for the raider to mutilate. They also have bomber, so paired with the raider they can chew through straggling or isolated ships, and have the speed to get there.

Cheap option:

Raider 1: (Impetuous), Agent Kallus, Ordnance experts

2x TIE Defender

(87 points)

Expensive option:

Raider 1: (Impetuous), Agent Kallus, Ordnance experts, expanded hangar bay

Mareek Steele, 2x TIE Defender

(113 points)

I'm going to try this, that is a nice combination.

I planning on running 2 defenders, maarke Steele, Vadar, and Jeson. When used to alpha strike from flight controllered ISD, it should be devastating.

I'm itching to get my four on the table. Currently planning on four defenders and four interceptors, sent in by a Flight Controllers+ Extended hanger VSD to alpha enemy fighters out, lead with the interceptors,then the defenders clear out and are free to bomb late game. Will have to see how it translates into practice though. I'm just excited to have a good multipurpose fighter in imps, kinda wish they had Escort though.

Played against 8 x defender the other day. Didnt rate it. I field pretty minimal fighter screen, which of course died (although I took some with me!).

But once they start bombing they are just REALLY expensive tie bombers that aren't as dangerous.

In a solo game, I've used six including Stele. It's backed with Tempests, Jendon, and Dengar. It managed to shred a full docket of 6 VTs while having the squadron activation plus Flight controllers. I'm gonna try simulating it against a Rebel list to see what effect they have.

My observation is that of them, Stele stands out for his ability to deliver three hits on a bomb attack (nearly every time I used him in that capacity). So I'd use TIE/Ds for space supriority, then move in on the threat. They at least have an advantage over other interceptor squads by having the hull to take a hit, even though they lack swarm, and they also have Bomber to take advantage of BCCs. My goto squadron for now on.

So... 2 Defenders, Marek, 2 Bombers, Rhymer, Jendon, Tempest, Black Squadron for the ultimate Rhymerball?

And that's before the extra squadron points when the limit is raised to 500

I did make a list but having flown it yet of 7 defenders, stele, two assualt Gozanties, and a fully loaded isd2

Ran a couple of games a little earlier with the maxed 6x Defenders. Oddly, I find I'm missing TIE Interceptor's swarm and counter for engaging the Rebel ships. They're defiantely missed when flipping to Defenders.

Also, Shara Bey is scary. So scary I think it's wise to take along Intel to free your TIE/Ds from an unhealthy squadron like her. Ever since I first touched these I felt the TIE/Ds were kind of precious and need protection to serve well. Now they need Intel to get away from nasty key aces.

I may drop down from 6 to 4. That or I need to figure out better ways to use these. but aces in the field like Shara make me think Dengar/Jumpmasters are going to be valued more than the Lambdas/Jendon going forward.

Shara Bey makes me feel that IG88 is coming out of retirement

My observation is that of them, Stele stands out for his ability to deliver three hits on a bomb attack (nearly every time I used him in that capacity).

How does he do that with 2 blue bomber dice?

Probably with Jendon.

Played vs them, Defenders are super weak against scatter/brace heros.

Their 6 hull means they can do what Interceptors can't, and fight next to hostile ships.

They are also not useless when the opponent is low/no squadrons.

Quite happy with the results I've seen- so far I think they are well costed for what they do.

So, what you're saying is that they're great at being multipurpose fighter bombers but cannot beat a dedicated anti-fighter group.

That means its better to use them in combination with ig88 and interceptors

My observation is that of them, Stele stands out for his ability to deliver three hits on a bomb attack (nearly every time I used him in that capacity).

How does he do that with 2 blue bomber dice?

...I don't know how I thought Stele had a blue-black bomber dice. Well... I stand corrected again :\

Ever since summer I've had two simple wishes: let Maarek be 22 or less and a basic Defender be 16 so I could run 8. Now it's happened I feel obligated to swarm!

Played twice with them in 6+ builds. It was wondeful to speed 5 everywhere but deciding what you want to actually do with your Defenders is surprisingly hard. Am thinking that they are go to for space superiority followed by bombing which means Intel and Rhymer aren't so important. Next up I'm going to see what they are like paired with Vader and IG.

Ever since summer I've had two simple wishes: let Maarek be 22 or less and a basic Defender be 16 so I could run 8. Now it's happened I feel obligated to swarm!

Played twice with them in 6+ builds. It was wondeful to speed 5 everywhere but deciding what you want to actually do with your Defenders is surprisingly hard. Am thinking that they are go to for space superiority followed by bombing which means Intel and Rhymer aren't so important. Next up I'm going to see what they are like paired with Vader and IG.

So did you actually buy 4 imp2 squadron packs to get 8 defenders?

What do you plan on doing with the 6 Lambdas, 4 decimators and 8 phantoms that you now have that you will probably never use?

Well I will happily trade for shuttles

Decided i want fct, dtt, spinals, 1vcx and 1 shuttle, but cant justify buying expansions for single cards. Though may pick up a pelta anyway as the other stuff will come in handy one day.

Yeah I really would like an extra Flechette Torpedoes card, but I can't really justify buying a whole Pelta for it. I half want another copy of Rapid Launch Bays, but even at that, it's still not worth buying another Pelta just for a pair of cards (especially since I can't see my self using the Pelta itself any time soon...). It may happen in the summer, when the Armada/X-wing release schedule isn't competing for my dosh.

I'm not normally a squadron player at all, but I really fancy getting some Defenders onto the table. I'm not sure why, but they're speaking to me. I'm going to try out a pair beside a pair of Decimators, and see if I want that second squadron pack...

I feel like two isn't really hitting the sweet spot, Defenders strike me as a squad you should use 4+ of. Definitely unsure what to do with the two extra Lambdas I have now, may give the Decimators a swing though.

I ran a 250 game yesterday, paired two Defenders with two Interceptors and they smashed through my opponent's x-wings in a hurry. Their anti-fighter dice are fantastic, the anti-bomber was a bit underwhelming, but I feel like that was because I only had the two