I like this guy. PS 5, after green maneuver free focus action. No free focus...free focus action. No EPT slot. When learning this game I was Pro Rebels. The guy who teached me said "after learning the badics you must fly Empire". It was Wave 2 then... And Night Beast was my first Imperial named pilot.

And then it was good. No EPT but PS5 allowed to move after those tanky Red Vets. And it was like a mini Vader. If you went green free focus action! Even then he was quite mediocre but...2 actions! He was OK to me.

And even now he is playable. With Mk II Engine a little better. 16 pts filler. With that PS5 you can do some damage and say "Hello. I am 3 ctms away from your face. Focus + Evade"

Lack of EPT is lamentable. No problem playing friendly but a Juke Night Beast can be a pain. He looks quite angry to that new boys in the town with his EPT...but to my taste he is one of those mediocre guys who survives and even 9 waves later he survives. I learned to fly nimble ships with him. So I raise my cup of coffee...

Hey, careful Hexdot. Don't you know how Nighnnnng he got his name?

Whatever you do, don't say his name three times...

The Humble TIE and its parade of EPT-less Aces is a force that can surprise an opponent who underestimates them.

Great OP. These named TIEs are fantastic fillers that do surprise, no doubt. I was really hoping that FFG would release the Sabine's TIE with a TIE only modification that adds an EPT that was not Rebel specific.

Then I would actually purchase one or two.....that would have been sweet.

Night Beast is one of my favorites! The tie mk.2 engines are an easy choice, but a targeting computer isn't half bad either!

Also, gotta shout out to Backstabber. #1 pilot I want in a TIE Striker.

I love Night Beast, too! Whenever I start doing these various missions and such, he's one of the first ships I want to put it. He's affordable, but has the action economy. I love the mid PS Tie Fighters and agree that they are pretty good.

6 hours ago, FTS Gecko said:

Hey, careful Hexdot. Don't you know how Nighnnnng he got his name?

Whatever you do, don't say his name three times...

I actually looked him up on Wookiepedia one time. He got his name because he kept sneaking out of the barracks after hours to go partying.

The rules change that lets him get his free focus action when clearing stress was a nice buff for him, unfortunately it hit at a time where TIE Fighters without EPTs weren't particularly desirable (unless they were Wampa).

33 minutes ago, WWHSD said:

The rules change that lets him get his free focus action when clearing stress was a nice buff for him, unfortunately it hit at a time where TIE Fighters without EPTs weren't particularly desirable (unless they were Wampa).

I'll disagree. He's great for a list that has someone with Swarm Leader. Night Beast can take an Evade, but still get a Focus for defense.

Just now, heychadwick said:

I'll disagree. He's great for a list that has someone with Swarm Leader. Night Beast can take an Evade, but still get a Focus for defense.

Oh yeah, he would be great in a squad with Swarm Leader.

"I have you now"

Darth Vader (29)
Swarm Leader (3)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)

"Night Beast" (15)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Total: 100

When I was a beginner I always put him in my squad, 15 pts always focus/evade. Never regret this little guy !

Swarm Leader in conjunction with Coordinate and some of the token granting crew might actually make Kir Kanos useful. Kir Kanos's evade token can be used to give either himself or the Swarm Leader ship some extra damage.

One of my favorite squads was when the Decimator first came out. I call it "Defensimator."

VT-49 Decimator: · Commander Kenkirk (44)
Determination (1)
· Ysanne Isard (4)
Gunner (5)
· Rebel Captive (3)
TIE Fighter: · "Night Beast" (15)
TIE Fighter: · "Dark Curse" (16)
TIE Fighter: Academy Pilot (12)
-- TOTAL ------- 100/100p. --

People were like, "A Decimator and three TIE fighters? This squad's going down!" But then they realized just how tanky the ships are. I went undefeated at the release tournament and the following game night kit tourney, which felt really good.

But my new favorite combo is Night Beast flying with Chaser. Chaser evades, and when Night Beast spends his focus, Chaser picks it up for his attack. Say, that would fit nicely in a Swarm Leader squad like @heychadwick posted.

There was a long long time during waves 1-4 where my imperial list builds would pretty much start with

Backstabber 16

Nightbeast 15

It was pretty hard to find a pair of annoying flankers that could do some major contributions if ignored. BS was mini-biggs or a cheap interceptor. NB would often survive much much longer than any tie has a right to with focus and evade every round. The pair was also great at PS killing generics when they were still a thing.

I think Backstabber was my personal favorite, though. Man, people would get so pissed at him!

34 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

I think Backstabber was my personal favorite, though. Man, people would get so pissed at him!

I always preferred Backstabber to Dark Curse. It's a **** shame he doesn't have an EPT. I think you'd still see a lot of him if he had one.

I just had to make a post in a thread about Night Beast!

Night Beast remains one of my two "go to" TIE pilots; him and Howlrunner. Yes, there is still value in Wave 1 TIE pilots.

On 2/24/2017 at 6:39 PM, heychadwick said:

I think Backstabber was my personal favorite, though. Man, people would get so pissed at him!

Backstabber, Mauler and Scourge. For those times when you want three attack dice, but just can't afford 'em...

17 hours ago, FTS Gecko said:

Backstabber, Mauler and Scourge. For those times when you want three attack dice, but just can't afford 'em...

I had a list that had all the Ties that boosted their attack in a list I called "Imperial Gunslingers". It was Backstabber, Mauler, Scourge, The Inquisitor, and the FO pilot that does it. It was pretty fun, but Inquisitor didn't get PTL.

Night beast and Chaser with a swarm leader black are a cute trio.

Ahh the good old days when I used to fly Night Beast, Backstabber, Carnor and Soontir. Boy was this list powerful back then. No shields and no ship with more than 3 HP but still tough as nails as long as your flying skills didn't fail you. The enemy literally didn't know which direction to turn to without being flanked by something nasty. Sadly doesn't work that well anymore. Can't field ships with 2 red dice unless you've got some trick up your sleeve that makes them viable.