I'm not surprising anyone with this ship build. There's a lot of people who thought about Rexler Brath when this card came out, but I wanted to expound on it a little bit (and maybe I just wanted to coin a name for it for purely egotistical reasons).
Rexpertise: Rexler Brath, Expertise, T.I.E MkII, TIE/x7 = 40 points
On paper, this is not dramatically different from a build I already really like: The 39 point version with Predator instead of Expertise. There are some substantial advantages, that I think put it on a whole different level.
1.) x7 vs x7 fight: Rex already has a PS advantage here, and he's more points, which means he'll win at time. However, it's no secret that x7 vs x7 fights suck, and they tend to negate the advantage of having Predator, because a lower PS ship can move to block, grab a TL, and when the fight continues, they'll both have re-rolls. With Expertise, Rex can grab a TL on non-combat turns, meaning exchanges of fire are that much more potent. Overall, Expertise just lets him overpower other x7 Defenders in ways that Predator does not. With strategic acquisition of Target Locks, Rex can have fully modified attacks and still have Focus/Evade for defense, if he gets shot at all.
2.) Hot Shot Copilot/Carnor Jax: Neither of these are rare right now, so being able to grab a TL and get fully modified attacks on stuff is terrific.
3.) Rexler Brath's pilot ability: Long one of the most unused abilities in the game, Expertise, combined with the growing stable of PS8+ pilots mean Rex is flipping cards more than ever. With the Predator version, you roll, and if you get eyeballs, you have to gauge if you want to try and save the Focus for flipping or do guaranteed damage. Expertise lets you modify eyeballs automatically, and if there's a few hits that get through to hull you can flip them. No worries about saving the Focus and maybe not needing it.
4.) Enhanced maneuverability and defense: A Predator Defender puts out a lot of damage, but is reliant on the Focus token for maximum damage. Expertise allows more frequent use of the Barrel Roll action, allowing the ship to dodge the occasional arc and still have modified attacks. Barrel Rolling no longer feels like a punt on the turn, Expertise lets you even Barrel Roll aggressively, moving from Range 2 to Range 1 to further enhance your offense with maneuvers. Likewise, Expertise allows the Defender to have modified attacks with uncompromised defense. This is especially important to Rexler Brath, who often fires before his targets. Expertise means there is no question about saving the Focus for Defense. The only question is if to spend the Focus to flip up damage cards, and if you find yourself in that situation, it's usually a good thing.
5.) Drawbacks: The stress deactivation is a significant drawback compared to Predator. You can do a few things to mitigate this. Having additional PS8+ pilots lets the preferred ship trigger a Rebel Captive, and it helps support Rex's pilot ability anyway. The Stresshog could shut it down for a couple of turns, but these days being able to wax a Y-wing before it fires is often a pretty doable thing. Dodging the arc is possible, but not guaranteed. Sometimes you just have to fight a couple turns without an action. Asajj is likewise pretty popular and can shut Expertise down pretty easily. Sometimes you can Barrel Roll out of arc, but if you run into Asajj a lot, Predator might be the better option. Another issue is the red hard turns available to the Defender. I like having those open, and Predator lets me take one and still get a little modification. With Expertise, you're just rolling naked dice unless you've banked a Target Lock from a previous turn. I think these drawbacks make Predator a reasonable choice in certain situations, but I think the upside of Expertise is high enough to make it the default.
Overall: Rexler Brath is typically the least loved TIE Defender pilot for people who aren't me. With Expertise, he's still a heavy hitting, damage soaking jouster, just as any TIE Defender, but his PS lets him moonlight as an ace against targets where it's advantageous. Additionally, the synergy of Expertise with his pilot ability lets him fully flex his muscles as a consistent crit dealer.
He also gets a cool* nickname.
*with a pretty broad definition of cool
Edited by Biophysical
Shows how much I'm in the know right now.
