Just looking for some thoughts on a defender build I am considering. The list is the following:

Countess Ryad (34)

X7 Title (-2)

Predator (3)

Stealth Device (3)

2 x Delta Squadron (30)

X7 Title (-2)

Stealth Device (3)

Total pts = 100

Is Predator good enough. Or is PTL better even without mkii upgrade. Is it worth it to put both mkii and PTL on Countess instead of above build. Or would she draw too much fire since she would be the one ship without Stealth Device in that case.

Thanks for the input.

Personally I like PTL on Ryad, particularly with Mk2 engines as she has 14 (yes really) green moves to shed stress on.

I don't rate Stealth Devices so highly on Defenders. If you don't have Palp and Autothrusters around, chances are those SDs will not last that long. Defenders are not un-hittable. Their advantage over Interceptors/TAPs is that they are a lot more durable meaning they can take a couple of hits without blinking.

I would drop the SDs and use the points to upgrade one of the Deltas to Vessery. With 2 ships to paint Target Locks for him, you can abuse his firepower immensely. This is how I would run Tri-defenders.

36 Ryad (34), PTL (3), /x7 (-2), Mk2 (1)

35 Vessery (35), Juke (2), /x7 (-2)

28 Delta (30), /x7 (-2)

99 Total

You can either keep the spare point for an initiative bid or give Vessery Mk2 engines for when you face Stress-dealing opponents.

I second Karhedron's build, it's pretty much the go-to for triple defenders. PTL Ryad and Vessery give you such a great action economy (basically the equivalent of 6 actions for two ships) you've got to have a REALLY good reason to chose any other combination of defender pilots (and upgrades in the case of ptl on ryad).

A new variant that came up with the striker expansion is putting swarm leader on vessery. In my opinion it's better than juke because it solves one of the core weaknessness of triple defender builds: Low offense. I know it's three ships with 3 attack dice each, but in this day and age three dice often don't cut it anymore. Having the option for a 5- or 6- dice attack really helps in certain matchups (Fenn Rau is an example).