We all know how the x wing is not an amazing ship. But we also know this place has become a huge echo chamber where people who probably don't even fly an x wing complain that it's terrible (you can tell this when you see comparisons of the x wing with supposedly better ships for the same cost - but which nobody really flies)

This creates problems for us that actually fly some ships that could use some love. Like the interceptor.

Oooh we had our sweet soontir, but the current meta is a bit hard on him, and there are other great imperial aces to pick from. Jax isn't bad, but again he competes with some really cool aces.

The t-65 on the other hand has the amazing Biggs, who is always relevant and reliable, and their generics don't get blown with one shot like a generic interceptor.

Is the interceptor a bad ship? Of course not. But hey, if there's a new thread every single day complaining that a ship that is seeing more play than the interceptor desperately needs fixing, well maybe we should start doing the same thing and get ourselves a new ps11 soontir or something!

The problem with the interceptor is those repositioning moves are better value on a high PS ship than low PS ship but the price scaling is still as per normal. This is a consistent problem with FFG's implementation of high-agility ships and one of the reasons you rarely see the generics fielded.

Turr Phennir is still one of the most wonderful pilots in the game.

The alpha squadron has a place in the odd squad here or there (usually in a 4 ship list) - the p.s.1 blocker, at 18 points is fairly cheap, and can be ignored with other higher value targets on the field - and when ignored, it can cause a lot of extra damage. Well worth the 6 points over an academy pilot. Jax has a strong place in the current game.

2 minutes ago, Ravncat said:

The alpha squadron has a place in the odd squad here or there (usually in a 4 ship list) - the p.s.1 blocker, at 18 points is fairly cheap, and can be ignored with other higher value targets on the field - and when ignored, it can cause a lot of extra damage. Well worth the 6 points over an academy pilot. Jax has a strong place in the current game.

That's the theory... In practice, I no longer see any interceptor on the tables... Not even Soontir.

I imagine that is simply because a TIE Defender can survive the ultramodified overclocked 4 or 5 attack dice onslaught that will inevitably come your way, (which are a common occurrence in actual meta) whereas the humble interceptor will not.

It could be your local meta - strong offense can swat them down so quickly that they aren't worth it. And a lot of people fly the new hotness / competitive net-lists. They really do excel in a list where they can be built to be ignored - you can do that with an alpha, or with lt lorrir, but you can't build a Turr / Soontir / Jax that doesn't draw aggro.

Ahh... the Interceptor. Love that ship. But every time I play them they attract fire that melts them - probably my flying skills don't help! Much rather take an x7 Defender or even TIE Advanced with Accuracy Corrector (boring). Also the TIE Striker is a point less for PS1 if you want a 3 attack PS1.

I've often thought the low PS pilots (5 or less as they don't get the title) could do with something like a free shield upgrade but perhaps restricting the boost for only after a green manoeuvre. If I recall correctly Thrawn put shields on Interceptors as he valued pilots and resources.

The striker is your new interceptor

Not counting jax and soontir and thurr ofc, theyre still their own beasts

Nah defenders are the new Interceptors. TIE strikers are their own thing (pocket ace is probably the best definition).

Defenders are too durable to be interceptors

Interceptors dont joust

2 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

Defenders are too durable to be interceptors

Interceptors dont joust

I more mean in terms of how they fit into Imperial lists. Strikers just don't occupy the same slots.

1 hour ago, ficklegreendice said:

The striker is your new interceptor

^This
Having flown Sabacc and crushed some rebels with him, I feel like strikers are what interceptors should fly like. If only we could put Adaptive Ailerons on interceptors, then they would be worthy.
I would gladly take it over Royal Guard Tie.

Interceptor was always my favorite TIE design. I always felt the TIE Adv felt just as boxy as the basic TIE thus not threatening looking at all. Interceptors looked a lot meaner, when you see one you typically went "Oh crap interceptors" but you never did that against TIE Advs (any starwars flight sim).

My how the mighty have fallen. Interceptors in Xwing are abysmal outside of the two highest PS, and even then theyre only powerful because of arcdodge powers. If those two abilities were on P3-6 you probably wouldnt see them either.

I dont see any way to fix Interceptors though without a complete revamp (ffg would never do that) or buffing the top two into insanity. Ive tried bringing basic TIE Interceptors as a glass hammer, since the PS1 guys are actually pretty cheap, but they have enough threat to draw the attention of the initial volley even when naked and simply will NOT survive it.
The strikers i feel are a good replacement for a cheap glass hammer. Ive had a striker in every one of my imp lists since they came out and even the PS1 idiots dont disappoint me. The ability to jolt in from the side without costing an action is awesome.

So why are the forums flooding with a torrent of suggestions for x-wings and not interceptors?

Have we been infiltrated by Rebel operatives who are spreading propaganda? Something's wrong I tell you! Imperials unite!

you see more xwing fixes both because its the iconic ship of the entire genre and its only commonly seen pilot is nothing more than a meatshield. While on the other side of the coin, two Interceptor pilots are seen quite a fair bit and are a common problem to deal with. It "appears" the interceptor is better off because 2 of its pilots are seen, while only 1 xwing is seen (commonly).

Generic Xwings have a place. Theyre not the best, but they have a place. Ive hammered some pretty good lists with 3 T65s and 1 T70 in a list, 2 of which were generic rookies. Like i said in my other post, ive tried to use cheap generic interceptors: they simply cant do anything. 3hull no shields and no tokenstack makes ANY 2+ hit attack a problem to them, which is why they need to arcdodge. Xwings can take a hit, so they can usually survive the initial joust unless they get completely focus fired (which leaves the others unscathed). Ive never had an interceptor without the PTL/Auto/SD build survive being shot at by anything with 3+ dice. That random crit always gets them. Xwings on the other hand virtually never go down to 1 attack no matter how bad it was (Fenn w/ APTs notwithstanding).

And im one of those guys that plays into the "Your life is a resource" mentality. If i think i can coax you into thinking youre safe because you'll kill me before i punish you for being in this position, i will gladly take a hit in the face to kill your ship afterwords. Heck sometimes that mentality has gotten me free kills because my opponent didnt think i "would do something that stupid" lol

I think a good way to boost the interceptors are some of the ideas presented in this ongoing thread.

1 hour ago, haritos said:

So why are the forums flooding with a torrent of suggestions for x-wings and not interceptors?

Have we been infiltrated by Rebel operatives who are spreading propaganda? Something's wrong I tell you! Imperials unite!

Ummmmmm

the game is called "X Wing"......just saying

as for the Interceptor, I love playing them, it's like an Indy car compared to a stock car, fast as bejeebus but oh god if something hits you, well you can't look away from the train wreck lol

Just a few ideas:

- TIE Fighter: Title: (Close range fighter) If an enemy ship executes a maneuver and bumps you, perform a free evade action. (1 pt)

This is a buff to the /ln and /fo, irrelevant to the /sf.

- Interceptor: Title: (Interceptor) After executing a Speed 3+ maneuver, after the Perform: Action step, you may perform a free evade action. You may not perform any more actions this round. - 0 Pts

This is a buff to generics, as aces will prefer Royal Guard TIE. Do note that PTL can't be triggered off of this.

- TIE Bomber: Title (Fast Bomber) After dropping a bomb, you may perform a free boost action. (1 Pts)

I think it's pretty thematic for a bomber to get out asap. I recall these soaring dudes from ESB...

- TIE Striker: Modification (Bomb loadout) Your upgrade bar gains the *bomb* icon. You must equip 1 "Bombardier" upgrade card. (0 Pts)

Just checks out.

- TIE Punisher: Modification (Cluster Explosion trigger) When an enemy is forced to roll to check whether his ships take damage due to a bomb, you may force him to reroll one red die. (0 Pts)

Imho a fun buff.

- TIE Adv/Proto: Ship is fine :-D

- Decimator: Modification (Heavy Gun Loadout): When attacking a target within your firing arc, add one red die to the dice pool. (4 Points)

Note: no Engine upgrade. Not so scary considering the both the ghost and rey. I just love menacing decimators and hate arc-dodging PWTs ...

[rubs hands together] Now this is a topic I am really passionate about. I am a fan of the TIE interceptor, and a HUGE fan of the lower-PS pilots. Lt. Lorrir is my favorite pilot in the game - I love his ability (minus that whole stress bit. Lame). But generics. They are an interesting puzzle, aren't they. Here's my favorite squad that I've ever flown:

Alpha Fleet Officer
4x Alpha Sq. Pilot (72)
Omicron Group Pilot (Fleet Officer, Advanced Sensors, Intelligence Agent) (28)
100 TOTAL

I've played this squad 45 times (which is a lot for me) and have only about a 50% win rate. So it's not a great squad in the competitive arena. But one of the most interesting things I noticed playing this squad is how the good and bad matchups shifted with the meta. While everybody was crying about Palp Aces, this squad won almost every time. This has enough bodies at low PS to block the action-dependent aces, as well as shrugging off their attacks (hooray for extra focus tokens!). However, when I went up against triple aces squads, especially ones that contained the new defenders, it was a lot tougher, and I ended up losing. Fleet Officer helped a bunch, and Intelligence Agent encouraged the shuttle to get into the fight, which added some much needed firepower - five, 3-attack ships is no joke.

@ficklegreendice: I agree that the TIE striker is the new generic TIE interceptor. What makes it so good is that it's able to pull some surprising moves and stay out of arc. After flying one of those, the Alpha Sq. Pilot feels so rigid and unmaneuverable. X-wings are even worse. But in addition to the movement, it gets to take an action, which is huge. I strongly believe a squad of generic TIE strikers has the power to make it to top tables at premier events like Regionals or the System Open series. It's just a pretty big buy in and TONS of practice for no guarantee, so I doubt anybody will try it.

@Karhedron: I agree with your assessment that the point differential between generics and aces does not scale well for repositioning craft. In a way, repositioning makes these things among the best blockers in the game, earning that higher cost, but they lose their defensive action doing so, and blocking has, to a large extent, become less effective with all the free actions and tokens flying around these days.

Even still, I bought 4 of these things (plus two Imperial Aces boxes), and I love to see them on the table. Here's one thing I've learned. In the early days of this game, it became quickly apparent that to spread your ships across your starting edge is a disaster. Your opponent could easily zip into range before you brought your forces together, and pick your ships off one by one. I've completely revised my opinion on this matter. If you have low PS ships, especially ships as maneuverable as TIE interceptors, you spread those things out along the very back end of your deployment zone. This allows you to see where your opponent sets up his higher PS ships. Once you know their locations, turn everybody in towards center, with the ships furthest away from the enemy executing faster turn maneuvers. This allows you to hold your approach and bring your entire force together for that opening engagement. If you do it right, you can get one of your ships behind enemy lines to pummel them at range 1. You also force your opponent to think about five different ships, instead of one pseudo-ship, which adds to unpredictability (always a good thing). Use blocking liberally to deny shots to your injured TIE interceptors, and try to force your foe to split their fire. I love this type of flying. Block flying is so boring to me now.

Fixes are nice, but I am far less interested in hypothetical cards to fix the ships I like; I prefer a discussion of what to do with the tools we have. If the consensus is that it's not a good ship, fly something else. If the idea is that we're missing something, in the strategy or squad composition to increase their effectiveness, I totally want to brainstorm how to make the most of these pilots.

Whenever I've flown Int's or heck even A wings in a "pure" squadron, by which I mean all of one type, I have always flown them with the idea of being a mosquito

you are not going to get that big homerun (usually) from them instead you need to play small ball, pick at them be annoying, frustrate your opponent. In my opinion if you have an Int in the same quadrant of the board in back to back turns, either you got on someone's tail and are about to go all Rick James on them or you probably didn't plan out the moves in advance

part of the other issue I see for Ints is that they were the first Aces pack and the likelihood of seeing them get buffed again is probably marginal no matter how many players love the look and feel of them

Oddly enough thats exactly how i fly my Awings, but im usually abusing PTL to do it.

Greenwings with PTL + VTs + either Juke or Snapshot is insanely annoying, though rarely the deal-breaker (i say that even though my last game where i had a pair of such snapshot greenwings get lucky as hell and manage to kill a Protectorate with SNAPSHOTS alone lol talk about bad luck on his end). Some people are smart enough to ignore them and go for the real danger (Han, Poe, Miranda, Dash, etc) since odds are the Awings wont win on their own. The ones that get pissed off at the Awings are the ones that lose to those lists lol.

I think if the interceptor got a 1pt mod to give it a free boost or b-roll after a green maneuver, that could bring the mid PS ships into the meta a little bit. It lets them get some reposition plus another action (similar to Snap). They can still equip autothrusters since they have two mods, and it wont OP Soontir or Jax since they usually like Stealth Device anyways.

3 hours ago, haritos said:

So why are the forums flooding with a torrent of suggestions for x-wings and not interceptors?

Have we been infiltrated by Rebel operatives who are spreading propaganda? Something's wrong I tell you! Imperials unite!

X Wings have been bad for a lot longer than squints have been bad.

Squints (well, Carnor and Soontir, anyway) are still good, just outclassed by more reliable options in the Imperial fleet. X-wings are just bad.

11 hours ago, Karhedron said:

The problem with the interceptor is those repositioning moves are better value on a high PS ship than low PS ship but the price scaling is still as per normal. This is a consistent problem with FFG's implementation of high-agility ships and one of the reasons you rarely see the generics fielded.

Mobility, re-positioning, firepower means it will go to high pilot skill ships

Good Jousting Value, cheap point cost, means it will go to low pilot skill ships

Anything in the center won't cut it.

14 hours ago, thespaceinvader said:

Squints (well, Carnor and Soontir, anyway) are still good, just outclassed by more reliable options in the Imperial fleet. X-wings are just bad.

Yes my friend, but what does "x wings are just bad" really mean? People keep repeating this. And the only argument they offer is a stat by stat efficiency comparison with other rebel ships.

But you yourself just replied that interceptors aren't bad, you just have better alternatives. The exact same argument people (maybe not you) use to say X-wings are bad!

I hope you see the irony. I mean I see people comparing the x wings stats with the lambda for Christ's sake! Seriously, I wonder if those people have actually flown an x wing, or a lambda.

Same goes for b wing comparison. People say just take the generic bwing, they may be right, but what I know for sure is that again they never mention the dial, and you still don't see b wings flying around, so who is this divine entity that's concluded that bwing is better than x wing?

I hope that people can see that all this x wing complaining is literally a mess. And if we follow the logic people use, well we basically need to see a buff on 10 more ships.