Thinking of running a double Tie/SF list at an upcoming tournament. I expect to see a lot of Fenn Rau and possibly Kanan Biggs. I'm quite happy with the core build I have for the SF's, I want their pilot skill high, particularly Quickdraws. I'm just not sure what to partner with it. I'm not really interested in a support ship, but something that is a 3rd threat that can actually do some damage.

For the SF's I'd run:

TIE/sf Fighter: · "Quickdraw" (29)
Adaptability (Increase) (0)
Fire Control System (2)
Lightweight Frame (2)
Special Ops Training (0)

TIE/sf Fighter: · "Backdraft" (27)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Fire Control System (2)
Lightweight Frame (2)
Special Ops Training (0)

For a third I'm thinking of the below:

TIE Bomber: · Tomax Bren (24)
Crack Shot (1)
Extra Munitions (2)
Homing Missiles (5)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Good consistent damage with the HM reroll, Chips aren't really needed, and Crackshot helps to push damage through. Only downside is its only 2 missiles. LWF helps a lot with survivability.

TIE Bomber: · "Deathfire" (17)
Extra Munitions (2)
Homing Missiles (5)
Cluster Mines (4)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Deathfire is much cheaper, carries the same two missiles, but has no Crackshot. Deathfire also has two sets of clusters which can be brutal against aces. Each template has a 50% chance of doing damage. If I take Deathfire I can also fit Pattern Analyzer or primed thrusters on both SF's (or even a Homing missile on one!). Again LWF helps with survivability, GC not really needed.

There's also Vessery. Consistent damage but an ability that is nullified if he loses his teammates.

Lightweight Frame (2)
TIE Defender: · Colonel Vessery (35)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
TIE/x7 (-2)

I'd considered the Inquisitor too, but tbh I've really gone off it recently. I suppose he'd fit well with standard load out plus a procket.

I ran this at a tourney on the weekend and made it to top table for the final game, only to loose my final match. Totally my fault and played the final game like a complete noob

(98)

"Quickdraw" (36) - TIE/SF Fighter
Crack Shot (1), Fire Control System (2), Sensor Cluster (2), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

"Backdraft" (36) - TIE/SF Fighter
Ruthlessness (3), Fire Control System (2), Sensor Cluster (2), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

"Omega Leader" (26) - TIE/FO Fighter
Juke (2), Comm Relay (3)

Crackshot, ruthlessness and Sensor cluster, very interesting!

Any tips on flying? Anything you struggled against? I can see turreted ships and TLT being a big issue

17 minutes ago, Goseki1 said:

Crackshot, ruthlessness and Sensor cluster, very interesting!

Any tips on flying? Anything you struggled against? I can see turreted ships and TLT being a big issue

I flew the two sf together and OL as a flanker or even bait. Ruthlessness can be used to great effect to trigger QuickDraw ?

First game I was was able to take out a full health Nora with the 3 ships. QuickDraw shot first stripped tokens, then OL for some damage. Backdraft hit did some damage and put ruthlessness on QuickDraw to double tap killing her with a crack ****, I then just chased down fat dash.

dash Miranda was my last game and totally flew it wrong so what not to do is go after Miranda.

i also flew against 4x Xwing's and a bandit. In that one I used OL as bait to get his squad out of position. Was also able to get 3x double taps with QuickDraw. Ruthlessness against multiple ship squads is awesome

and the other match was double shadow caster and focus fired down the stress one, cant remember which one that is

trick is to pick your engagement and slow roll till you can slam into close quarters, then use the sf's slow moves to hopefully keep in range otherwise you have but shots. And ALWAYS save your focus for sensor cluster, saves your bacon every time. Being able to reduce a bit to a single shield is worth it's weight in gold

I literally just blogged about the list I went 5-1 with at my GNK, it's really good.

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.com/2017/05/show-me-again-power-of-darkness-flying.html

• Quickdraw - A Score To Settle, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Backdraft - Crack Shot, Primed Thrusters, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Colonel Vessery - Adaptability, Twin Ion Engine MKII, TIE/x7 (34)

14 minutes ago, SOTL said:

I literally just blogged about the list I went 5-1 with at my GNK, it's really good.

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.com/2017/05/show-me-again-power-of-darkness-flying.html

• Quickdraw - A Score To Settle, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Backdraft - Crack Shot, Primed Thrusters, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Colonel Vessery - Adaptability, Twin Ion Engine MKII, TIE/x7 (34)

Ooooohhhh......... I like this a lot, very solid. Was Crackshot worthwhile over VI on Backdraft?

Just now, Bonza said:

Ooooohhhh......... I like this a lot, very solid. Was Crackshot worthwhile over VI on Backdraft?

TBH I forgot it in 5 of the 6 games (I'd been Wired until then and switch to CS at last minute), so... no? Although my opponents managed to remember it more than I did and burned some tokens they didn't need to.

I've got several options to test for that slot but realistically it's going to be a toss-up between CS and VI.

3 minutes ago, SOTL said:

TBH I forgot it in 5 of the 6 games (I'd been Wired until then and switch to CS at last minute), so... no? Although my opponents managed to remember it more than I did and burned some tokens they didn't need to.

I've got several options to test for that slot but realistically it's going to be a toss-up between CS and VI.

Haha, yeah I just finished reading your blog. Well written BTW. Glad to see other people are enjoying the SF as much as I am, they've really refreshed my outlook on the game.

Same. In some ways they're a lot like Defenders - where the Defender had the K-turn to keep pressure on the /sf have their rear arc. You don't get that bonus evade all the time, but the higher PS and pilot abilities are good, you've got FCS, and you're not so obvious in your moves.

Takes a while to come to that comparison though, and until then you're probably undervaluing them.

There's this:

12 minutes ago, TheHumanHydra said:

There's this:

Soontir is too squishy, for my liking

6 minutes ago, Iksentrik said:

Soontir is too squishy, for my liking

I'm confident that third slot can fit an awful lot of good Imperial ships. I've even been considering 2 TIE Fighters to act as blockers. The funny thing is you'll notice that my list has almost the exact same loadout on the SFs as SOTL's. It's an efficient loadout that keeps most of the strengths of the SF with a minimal amount of points expended.

7 hours ago, SOTL said:

I literally just blogged about the list I went 5-1 with at my GNK, it's really good.

http://stayontheleader.blogspot.com/2017/05/show-me-again-power-of-darkness-flying.html

• Quickdraw - A Score To Settle, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Backdraft - Crack Shot, Primed Thrusters, Fire Control System, Lightweight Frame, Special Ops Training (33)
• Colonel Vessery - Adaptability, Twin Ion Engine MKII, TIE/x7 (34)

Thanks man, I'd just recently read your blog. I like Vessery a lot but I've kind of gone off Defenders recently (I'd retired a much fkown Kenkirk/Ryad list just before the Nerf was made public).

Had a great time flying the Double SF + Deathfire list I posted earlier. Managed to drop both clusters on the sane ship in multiple games, it was great. Didn't fire many of my Homers though.

I also need to try and be more conservative/defensive with the SF's. I barrel rolled or spent the focus on attack too many times.

I'll likely take the Deathfire list to the tournament, but I have a feeling there's something better out there for me

1 hour ago, Goseki1 said:

Thanks man, I'd just recently read your blog. I like Vessery a lot but I've kind of gone off Defenders recently (I'd retired a much fkown Kenkirk/Ryad list just before the Nerf was made public).

Had a great time flying the Double SF + Deathfire list I posted earlier. Managed to drop both clusters on the sane ship in multiple games, it was great. Didn't fire many of my Homers though.

I also need to try and be more conservative/defensive with the SF's. I barrel rolled or spent the focus on attack too many times.

I'll likely take the Deathfire list to the tournament, but I have a feeling there's something better out there for me

You can almost fit an okay DeathRAIN build with the points in that squad. I'm not sure it's better than Deathfire, but there is some janky appeal there that has my attention.

What're you thinking?

32 minutes ago, Goseki1 said:

What're you thinking?

Maybe Thermal Detonators, Cluster Mines, Extra Munitions, Lightweight Frame = 37

You've got to drop a Lightweight Frame from somebody to do it, unfortunately, but Deathrain can run up the middle, and make life hazardous for a wide variety of ships.

That's a pretty cool idea, though I don't have thermals. I'd be tempted to take some ordnance and forget the LWF him though. I think there's definitely almost something god there...

TIE Punisher: · "Deathrain" (26)
Extra Munitions (2)
Plasma Torpedoes (3)
Cluster Mines (4)
Collision Detector (0)
Guidance Chips (0)

I'm sold on A Score To Settle on QD. In practice, it's like a 4pt cheaper expertise that's immune to stress. The downside is offset by QD not particularly minding getting shot at . In contrast, SFs aren't dodgy enough to get the most use out of ps10, so I think it's a hard pass for me on adaptability.

As for a wingmate, 35 points gives a lot of options. Comsider Carnor; Focus is a big part of the meta right now, and Carnor nullifies a lot of it. Fly him far away from Fenn Rau and K-wing bombers and you'll be fine.

Alternatively, Palpshuttle is still very useful with lightweight frame (It's been floor-ruled at worlds that you can roll your 2 greens as normal, then decide to use palp before rolling the lightweight frame die. You can then turn any of the 3 dice to the evade.) Gives you room to pop sensor cluster on the SFs.

Lightweight frame is tie only

1 minute ago, Iksentrik said:

Lightweight frame is tie only

I'm referring to how Palp interacts with lightweight frame on the SFs

8 minutes ago, hargleblarg said:

I'm referring to how Palp interacts with lightweight frame on the SFs

Gotcha

miss read that

1 hour ago, hargleblarg said:

I'm sold on A Score To Settle on QD. In practice, it's like a 4pt cheaper expertise that's immune to stress. The downside is offset by QD not particularly minding getting shot at . In contrast, SFs aren't dodgy enough to get the most use out of ps10, so I think it's a hard pass for me on adaptability.

As for a wingmate, 35 points gives a lot of options. Comsider Carnor; Focus is a big part of the meta right now, and Carnor nullifies a lot of it. Fly him far away from Fenn Rau and K-wing bombers and you'll be fine.

Alternatively, Palpshuttle is still very useful with lightweight frame (It's been floor-ruled at worlds that you can roll your 2 greens as normal, then decide to use palp before rolling the lightweight frame die. You can then turn any of the 3 dice to the evade.) Gives you room to pop sensor cluster on the SFs.

I hope that gets FAQ'd. RAW that Palp interaction works but I'd be reticent to try that at a tournament without checking first!

I like to have PAs on my SFs, so my budget for my third ship is somewhat smaller than yours (since I also really like Expertise on QD), thats why I play Duchess as my third ship.

Gives you lots of movability with PS 9/9/10 and 1 point ini bid.

"Quickdraw" (29)
Expose (4)
Fire-Control System (2)
Pattern Analyzer (2)
Lightweight Frame (2)
Special Ops Training (0)

"Backdraft" (27)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Pattern Analyzer (2)
Lightweight Frame (2)
Special Ops Training (0)

"Duchess" (23)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Lightweight Frame (2)
Adaptive Ailerons (0)

Total: 99

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

However, dropping Expertise to add the Inquisitor might also be a thing as you mentioned (though I would prefer PAs over a rocket on him).

11 hours ago, Goseki1 said:

That's a pretty cool idea, though I don't have thermals. I'd be tempted to take some ordnance and forget the LWF him though. I think there's definitely almost something god there...

TIE Punisher: · "Deathrain" (26)
Extra Munitions (2)
Plasma Torpedoes (3)
Cluster Mines (4)
Collision Detector (0)
Guidance Chips (0)

I think Deathfire does the split bomb/torp thing better, for a lot cheaper, but I don't actually have experience with Deathrain, so who knows.

53 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

I think Deathfire does the split bomb/torp thing better, for a lot cheaper, but I don't actually have experience with Deathrain, so who knows.

Do you think Deathrain, or any punisher for that matter, is even remotely competitive?