Hey everyone.

I'll be playing in a statewide tournament this month and wanted to get some feedback on a build I've been trying out. Maybe you all will see a different option than I have built so far. Here is the list.

TIE Advanced: · Darth Vader (29)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
Proton Rockets (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
Engine Upgrade (4)
· Emperor Palpatine (8)
· Rebel Captive (3)
· Dauntless (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --

I found that I need to get as high of pilot skill as possible to move last. A lot of mindlink fenn skulking around, as well as defenders in my area.

Is the captive the right call? Proton rockets for a big shot?

Start completely over? (Hopefully not!)

Thanks for any input you give. I appreciate it.

I would get rid of the rockets or of dauntless and add VI on both.... Just making sure you've got the PS advantage...

I think vader at 9 is just fine, I'd rather use Juke or lone wolf so I can get more out of every attack instead of prockets, because at range one with juke you have 3 dice, a crit, and a sudo crack shot, that's plenty strong

As for rac, if you want to beat fenn, you just need hotshot Co pilot and gunner more then palp, because then you can strip two focus from a ship. Captive is good, but kylo crew goes with vaders crit and RAC's crit perfectly and can allow you to drag fenn ' s ps to 0

4 hours ago, dman busta said:

Hey everyone.

I'll be playing in a statewide tournament this month and wanted to get some feedback on a build I've been trying out. Maybe you all will see a different option than I have built so far. Here is the list.

TIE Advanced: · Darth Vader (29)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
Proton Rockets (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
Engine Upgrade (4)
· Emperor Palpatine (8)
· Rebel Captive (3)
· Dauntless (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --

I found that I need to get as high of pilot skill as possible to move last. A lot of mindlink fenn skulking around, as well as defenders in my area.

Is the captive the right call? Proton rockets for a big shot?

Start completely over? (Hopefully not!)

Thanks for any input you give. I appreciate it.

I'm in love with the Decimator so i got quite a few game with it. I believe Palp is a mistake on RAC. He will be the first target almost 99% of the time. When thats the case palp almost always have a purely offensive role unless your at range 3 and you do not have any agility reducing effect. At 8 points i believe you have better options for pure offense or a mix with some defense. As for rebel captive, stress doesnt have that much of an impact in the current meta... Suggestion:

Gunner + Kylo + hotshot copilot - probably the most effective choice. In your setup both Vader and RAC have some good potential to crit. Kylo creates some defense out of those crits. A ship that cant shoot at you for one round is a pretty good defense. So is reducing an ace PS to 0. Hotshot + gunner is there to strip focus tokens which is good for both offense and defense. You need an extra 2 points for those upgrades. IMO best option is to remove Prockets. You might also want to replace adaptability on RAC by predator. It helps to ensure your first shot misses (rerolling a hit) so you can get your second shot on a tokenless ship. If you do you will need to remove Dauntless. Not a big lost because that config is pretty effective even when actionless. Adaptability on Vader would probably be used to lower his PS to 8. You lose a bit of arc dodging but when you let RAC shoot first you have a soft , tokenless target for Vader. It's a though call...

If you really want Palpatine on a Decimator, i think the best pilot is Kenkirk. Hes the only one to get a reliable access to a defense die roll. Ysanne Isard works well in this setup. You get a tankier Decimator at the expense of some offense.

1 hour ago, Thormind said:

I'm in love with the Decimator so i got quite a few game with it. I believe Palp is a mistake on RAC. He will be the first target almost 99% of the time. When thats the case palp almost always have a purely offensive role unless your at range 3 and you do not have any agility reducing effect. At 8 points i believe you have better options for pure offense or a mix with some defense. As for rebel captive, stress doesnt have that much of an impact in the current meta... Suggestion:

Gunner + Kylo + hotshot copilot - probably the most effective choice. In your setup both Vader and RAC have some good potential to crit. Kylo creates some defense out of those crits. A ship that cant shoot at you for one round is a pretty good defense. So is reducing an ace PS to 0. Hotshot + gunner is there to strip focus tokens which is good for both offense and defense. You need an extra 2 points for those upgrades. IMO best option is to remove Prockets. You might also want to replace adaptability on RAC by predator. It helps to ensure your first shot misses (rerolling a hit) so you can get your second shot on a tokenless ship. If you do you will need to remove Dauntless. Not a big lost because that config is pretty effective even when actionless. Adaptability on Vader would probably be used to lower his PS to 8. You lose a bit of arc dodging but when you let RAC shoot first you have a soft , tokenless target for Vader. It's a though call...

If you really want Palpatine on a Decimator, i think the best pilot is Kenkirk. Hes the only one to get a reliable access to a defense die roll. Ysanne Isard works well in this setup. You get a tankier Decimator at the expense of some offense.

I disagree with this assessment.

I've flown Palp on a decimator quite a lot, and while the decimator usually dies first, that doesn't mean Palp doesn't get used enough to be worth his points. Palp on a decimator is a wrecking ball. You try to keep it alive of course, but the main thing is to do considerable damage on the enemy before it goes. Your endgame ship is the ace accompanying him. I like Vader because he's a got few weaknesses (turrets being the only thing....and Lone Wolf helps to mitigate that). As long as you can set up a favourable endgame, you win.

I've been flying this recently and its been extremely effective:

RAC w/ VI, kylo, palp, dauntless & engine = 64

Vader w/ title, ATC, lone wolf & engine = 36

100

Its not as easy to kill RAC as you might think, thanks to Kylo. You have two ships with extremely accurate fire that are going to be generating crits all the time. Because most enemies at PS9 want to give you initiative (so their PS9 can move last), your RAC + Vader usually shoot first. Its very easy to put blinded on an enemy PS9 with such shots. Now RAC is living longer because less fire incoming. Next opportunity, put damaged cockpit on the enemy PS9 and Vader can easily handle him solo.

1 hour ago, blade_mercurial said:

I disagree with this assessment.

I've flown Palp on a decimator quite a lot, and while the decimator usually dies first, that doesn't mean Palp doesn't get used enough to be worth his points. Palp on a decimator is a wrecking ball. You try to keep it alive of course, but the main thing is to do considerable damage on the enemy before it goes. Your endgame ship is the ace accompanying him. I like Vader because he's a got few weaknesses (turrets being the only thing....and Lone Wolf helps to mitigate that). As long as you can set up a favourable endgame, you win.

I've been flying this recently and its been extremely effective:

RAC w/ VI, kylo, palp, dauntless & engine = 64

Vader w/ title, ATC, lone wolf & engine = 36

100

Its not as easy to kill RAC as you might think, thanks to Kylo. You have two ships with extremely accurate fire that are going to be generating crits all the time. Because most enemies at PS9 want to give you initiative (so their PS9 can move last), your RAC + Vader usually shoot first. Its very easy to put blinded on an enemy PS9 with such shots. Now RAC is living longer because less fire incoming. Next opportunity, put damaged cockpit on the enemy PS9 and Vader can easily handle him solo.

Thank you all for the input.

I am leaning more towards flying palp merely from having experience flying with him already. I like the idea of kylo on board as well. That is a different take and one that I will have to try.

I will have to get in some table time with the gunner combo before I feel comfortable with it, but it is definitely a strong suggestion I have heard locally too. Especially with all the token stacking going on with mindlink and the defenders free evade.

I have until the end of the month to send in my list so I will be flying both of these builds in the mean time.

2 hours ago, blade_mercurial said:

I disagree with this assessment.

I've flown Palp on a decimator quite a lot, and while the decimator usually dies first, that doesn't mean Palp doesn't get used enough to be worth his points. Palp on a decimator is a wrecking ball. You try to keep it alive of course, but the main thing is to do considerable damage on the enemy before it goes. Your endgame ship is the ace accompanying him. I like Vader because he's a got few weaknesses (turrets being the only thing....and Lone Wolf helps to mitigate that). As long as you can set up a favourable endgame, you win.

I've been flying this recently and its been extremely effective:

RAC w/ VI, kylo, palp, dauntless & engine = 64

Vader w/ title, ATC, lone wolf & engine = 36

100

Its not as easy to kill RAC as you might think, thanks to Kylo. You have two ships with extremely accurate fire that are going to be generating crits all the time. Because most enemies at PS9 want to give you initiative (so their PS9 can move last), your RAC + Vader usually shoot first. Its very easy to put blinded on an enemy PS9 with such shots. Now RAC is living longer because less fire incoming. Next opportunity, put damaged cockpit on the enemy PS9 and Vader can easily handle him solo.

I too use to fly palp on rac, but I have to tell you, ever since I tried hotshot copilot, with gunner, it has taken that spot permanently

Palp may help you roll an extra hit, but if your opponent rolls eyes, he can dodge your shot no matter what. With gunner and hot shot, you can roll one hit, force their focus out, and then roll again and usually make it through with damage. Palp does nothing against their greens, hot shot gunner does

And palp does nothing for rac on defense...while hot shot and gunner at ps 10 keeps them from having double mods on their attack, so you leave their ability to hit all on the luck or rerolls...which are also luck.

And while palp may mod one die per round...gunner and hotshot help every roll of the dice that concerns rac. And the wingman can take advantage of that too...not to mention it's also great against mindlink...which you know, is kinda hot right now

15 hours ago, FixB said:

I would get rid of the rockets or of dauntless and add VI on both.... Just making sure you've got the PS advantage...

In fact keeping the rockets is good idea it gives Vader way more punch. But i agree about removing the title and adding VIs.

But nowadays if you run RAC+ Vader why no kylo?

So I thought I was gonna go the Palp route, but with the nerf, I'm all in on the RAC gunner hotshot combo.

How does this look and where can you see the trouble I may run into?

Ive never run RAC this way, so not sure I need dauntless. I need to keep him above vader to strip tokens, but I am reluctant to drag vader down and cut out his chance to move late and arc dodge.

Any help is of course always appreciated.

Thanks!

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Veteran Instincts (1)
· Kylo Ren (3)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)
Gunner (5)
· Dauntless (2)

TIE Advanced: · Darth Vader (29)
· Lone Wolf (2)
Proton Rockets (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
TIE/x1 (0)
Advanced Targeting Computer (1)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --

this is how i would change it, as they have said prockets do little for vader overall given the point cost.

DECIVADER!

100 points

PILOTS

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (63)
VT-49 Decimator (46), Veteran Instincts (1), Gunner (5), Hotshot Co-pilot (4), Kylo Ren (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Darth Vader (37)
TIE Advanced (29), TIE/x1 (0), Predator (3), Engine Upgrade (4), Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

6 hours ago, Jerval said:

this is how i would change it, as they have said prockets do little for vader overall given the point cost.

DECIVADER!

100 points

PILOTS

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (63)
VT-49 Decimator (46), Veteran Instincts (1), Gunner (5), Hotshot Co-pilot (4), Kylo Ren (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Darth Vader (37)
TIE Advanced (29), TIE/x1 (0), Predator (3), Engine Upgrade (4), Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

Yup this is pretty much the build for this combination of ships right now; the only real flex in it is the third crew (Kylo or Rebel Captive) and Vader's EPT (VI, Juke, Predator, Lone Wolf).

I knew I was missing something here.

I have another week or so to practice, but predator or lone wolf vader seems like my ept of choice on him.

Without dauntless on, it seems I will want to avoid the bump and just arc dodge instead?

I had been practicing to cause a bump and avoid taking too much fire in 1 turn. Kylo will help with that if I can force a blinded crit though I suppose.

If anyone that flies it has some advice on positioning them or on their typical game plan they use, I'm all ears.

Gonna skulk around the combat stories part of the forum for posts too.

Thanks!

Yup, RAC is all about the arc dodging.

You want both. Do not drop the title and do not drop engine upgrade. They are both instrumental upgrades to making this build work, but they won't be used all the time (and that's fine).

I also feel that without Palp around, Lone Wolf becomes even more essential on Vader, so I wouldn't change that neither.

So you end up with:

RAC - adaptability, dauntless, kylo, hotshot, gunner & engine = 64

Vader - Lone Wolf, X-1, ATC & engine = 36

100

17 hours ago, Jerval said:

this is how i would change it, as they have said prockets do little for vader overall given the point cost.

DECIVADER!

100 points

PILOTS

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (63)
VT-49 Decimator (46), Veteran Instincts (1), Gunner (5), Hotshot Co-pilot (4), Kylo Ren (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Darth Vader (37)
TIE Advanced (29), TIE/x1 (0), Predator (3), Engine Upgrade (4), Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

The problem with using Vader as a companion is that you want predator on HotCop RAC. Without it hes good, but not "that" good. Vader forces you to VI RAC so he can shoot 1st. Thats why people play him with a defendre or with Inquisitor. Maybe the OP doesnt know but predator on RAC allows you to reroll a hit on your first attack to make sure it does not connect. Your 2nd shot is then vs a tokenless target.

On 3/2/2017 at 4:23 PM, blade_mercurial said:

I disagree with this assessment.

I've flown Palp on a decimator quite a lot, and while the decimator usually dies first, that doesn't mean Palp doesn't get used enough to be worth his points. Palp on a decimator is a wrecking ball. You try to keep it alive of course, but the main thing is to do considerable damage on the enemy before it goes. Your endgame ship is the ace accompanying him. I like Vader because he's a got few weaknesses (turrets being the only thing....and Lone Wolf helps to mitigate that). As long as you can set up a favourable endgame, you win.

I've been flying this recently and its been extremely effective:

RAC w/ VI, kylo, palp, dauntless & engine = 64

Vader w/ title, ATC, lone wolf & engine = 36

100

Its not as easy to kill RAC as you might think, thanks to Kylo. You have two ships with extremely accurate fire that are going to be generating crits all the time. Because most enemies at PS9 want to give you initiative (so their PS9 can move last), your RAC + Vader usually shoot first. Its very easy to put blinded on an enemy PS9 with such shots. Now RAC is living longer because less fire incoming. Next opportunity, put damaged cockpit on the enemy PS9 and Vader can easily handle him solo.

Gunner+HotCop:

- you get 2 chances to connect

- your 2nd attack is vs a ship with no focus

- your companion get to attack a ship with no focus

- The ship you attacked wont have a focus when shooting at you

vs Palp (the pre nerf one): you get to change one die inta a crit.

We both agree about Kylo :-)

16 hours ago, Thormind said:

The problem with using Vader as a companion is that you want predator on HotCop RAC. Without it hes good, but not "that" good. Vader forces you to VI RAC so he can shoot 1st. Thats why people play him with a defendre or with Inquisitor. Maybe the OP doesnt know but predator on RAC allows you to reroll a hit on your first attack to make sure it does not connect. Your 2nd shot is then vs a tokenless target.

Gunner+HotCop:

- you get 2 chances to connect

- your 2nd attack is vs a ship with no focus

- your companion get to attack a ship with no focus

- The ship you attacked wont have a focus when shooting at you

vs Palp (the pre nerf one): you get to change one die inta a crit.

We both agree about Kylo :-)

I can see what you're saying about predator.

So how about a whole new partner? I love flying the inquisitor. So how about this?

TIE Avanced Prototype: · The Inquisitor (25)
Push The Limit (3)
Auto thrusters (2)
TIE/v1 (1)

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Predator (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Gunner (5)
· Kylo Ren (3)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)
· Dauntless (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 98p. --

I get predator on RAC for reroll and their pilot levels match. I have some free points leftover. Not sure what else to pack.

I do worry I'll miss out on beating others in pilot skill, but I will just have to make sure I pilot skill 0 the highest pilot on the field round 1.

On 3/8/2017 at 11:04 AM, dman busta said:

I can see what you're saying about predator.

So how about a whole new partner? I love flying the inquisitor. So how about this?

TIE Avanced Prototype: · The Inquisitor (25)
Push The Limit (3)
Auto thrusters (2)
TIE/v1 (1)

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Predator (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Gunner (5)
· Kylo Ren (3)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)
· Dauntless (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 98p. --

I get predator on RAC for reroll and their pilot levels match. I have some free points leftover. Not sure what else to pack.

I do worry I'll miss out on beating others in pilot skill, but I will just have to make sure I pilot skill 0 the highest pilot on the field round 1.

This is a good build that already had some success :-) Another decent build at the moment is RAC+Carnor Jax. Carnor has his usual build and RAC is just like yours but replacing Hotshot by Vader. I think its a good call because we might see Aces make a comeback as a result of the last nerf. Jax takes care of tokens instead of Hotcop and Vader eat Aces alive I personally prefer Inquisitor because he survive a little longer and hes more forgiving if you make some small mistakes.