So I play Imperial only for financial reasons, and I regularly play against PS2 K-Wing Bombers. I've been having a lot of difficulty flying against them, as it seems that whenever I can get a shot on them, they can advanced slam next turn and bomb me, which with Sabine means terrible things for my Imperial squishies. So, how do I approach flying against K-Wing bombers with both action and reveal bombs? Any tips would be appreciated!

Note: My current list is Stridan, Sabacc, Whisper

28 minutes ago, Featherbrew said:

So I play Imperial only for financial reasons, and I regularly play against PS2 K-Wing Bombers. I've been having a lot of difficulty flying against them, as it seems that whenever I can get a shot on them, they can advanced slam next turn and bomb me, which with Sabine means terrible things for my Imperial squishies. So, how do I approach flying against K-Wing bombers with both action and reveal bombs? Any tips would be appreciated!

Note: My current list is Stridan, Sabacc, Whisper

Whats your loadout for all three ships?

So this thought is super hard counter and probably will not do as well against other meta lists, BUT. Drop sabacc, add an ordinance tie bomber, get the schuttle in the mix and throw full mod fist-fills of dice!! Take the Sabine warden out first with this plan. Fly whisper, or maybe echo so they stay well outside range one and to the sides and rears, use your de-cloak to drop in behind at rng3 or in weird unpredictable ways so their first move hopefully puts them out of position. Try, I repeat try, it usually won't work or be an option, to put that shuttle in position to block those 2speed maneuvers that give them the most flexibility for advanced slam.

Sabacc: LWF and Title

Whisper: VI, ACD, FCS, Kallus

Stridan: Systems Officer, collision detector.

I'm not necessarily looking for list counters, rather just flying tips against low PS K-Wing bombers. Their range and manueverability for dropping clusters or Conner nets are just so immense.

I like the shuttle tip.

Here is some pointers, when you fly against bombing Ks. I never lost to bombing Ks, so it works

Stay at range 3 and try not to face them directly- shoot once and turn away. The reason for not facing them directly is because, then you can not get away quick enough and will be bombed. take your time and stay safe.

Use big asteroids and hide behind them. put the asteroids as close as possible. They will get an extra evade die more, but you will not get hit by bombs. They will of cause shoot back, but you roll more attack dice and win in the log run.

When you plan your move think of how you get away with your next move - plan ahead. Do not risk any ships for a good shot. Rather take the bad shot and stay in safe distance

Get behind them at range 2 or 3 its safe - never range one! If you are behind them at range 3 move slowly closer. If at range 2 get away, because next move they will turn or go slow to bomb you.

I never meant to give the impression that i woyld change anything. I just figured certain loadouts could change the way they are flown.

The shuttle is great for blocking. Hard to get there though, i would think. I personally would just focus fire from a distance. If they move to get in your face for a bomb drop then try blocking it.

My advice should work for sabacc and whisper. The shuttle is a problem to fly against bombing Ks. It will get destroyed rather quickly. The idea of blocking sounds nice, but in reality you block one K and get bombed by one or two. So my suggestion with regards to the shuttle against Ks is to try to push as much damage through before it is destroyed or just drop it.

Great advice all! Sounds like I'm going to have to really work on my range control. Is splitting up the ships a good idea - to keep the k' s divided or to ensure a flanker?

As a person who flys K-bombers.

Always look for their 2 moves with slams and their 3 moves with Slams a turn a head. It's tough. But if you can see where they might go to drop bombs then you can stay safe. Like someone daid. Staying near rocks and debris can help. It's tough to get around those and still drop bombs. But if you only have one or two moves to avoid rocks watch out as well. They will try to drop at those locations. Being a bit unpredictable in your men men's help as well. Try to target a Kwing with all of your ships. Kill it fast. The faster you kill it the less ordnance they will drop. Killing Sabine fast is also a great way to go about it. But good players will try to hide her as much as possible. It's a tough list to beat but it's a tough lost to fly as well. If they make a mistake try to exploit that as much as you can. Hope you roll bad for his bombs.

I don't know how helpful this is given the list you want to fly, but I have found Ion cannons work great against PS 2 K's. SLAM that 1 move all you want. Given all the averages, a K should get Ioned with every shot.

99 points

PILOTS

“Omega Leader” (27)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Onyx Squadron Pilot (36) x 2
TIE Defender (32), Ion Cannon (3), TIE/D (0), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

You can drop The TIE MK II on Omega Leader for extra Initiative, TIE /D allows you to Ion 2 K's while both Defenders focus on a single K. With 3 ships shooting you "should" be able to drop a K wing in a single turn of shooting.

Always try to keep something (asteroids, one of your ships) behind your vulnerable ships that blocks SLAM movements. It is very difficult to do and you always need to be planning at least one turn ahead. When you fail to do so, the game will feel like there is nothing you could have done. That is the problem why these ships feel so unfair to play against, the effects of your descisions are incredibly delayed.

6 hours ago, Featherbrew said:

Great advice all! Sounds like I'm going to have to really work on my range control. Is splitting up the ships a good idea - to keep the k' s divided or to ensure a flanker?

Its harder to fly formations then single ships, when trying to avoid bombs. I recommend splitting up. A good K-wing player will keep her ships together and go for one target. You can use this to you advantage. You can lure the Ks with Striker and swoop in behind the Ks with your other ships (not range 1). If you do this right and focus one K down (preferably Sabine or IA), and kill it, while the Ks kill Stridan, then you have a good chance of winning. But you MUST kill one K before or in the same round as they kill Stridan. Do not go for Sabines K if the chance of killing it is less than for killing the other Ks - MUST kill any one K before Stridan is off the board.

Remember against Ks its a position-game like chess. Its about not getting hit position-wise. Shooting is secondary - you take what you can get - no risk taking position-wise. A good K-wing player will allways get you, if you take risks. Do not care if shooting through rocks at range 3. You will properly only do one damage, but get none in return and do it again and again.

Bear in mind their bombing profile - basically they can hit anywhere in range 1-3 in arc, and anywhere in range 1-2 in the front half of their base. Assuming they don't have dial-bombs basically your only option it to fly in places they can;'t bomb because they're guarded by rocks, block them, or get behind them.

Or alpha them to death in one round before they can bomb you.

But basically, using anything Imperial that doesn't have a LOT of friends or a lot of hull/shields is asking to lose against bomber Ks. There's a reason that low-hull Imperial arc dodgers left the meta and bomber Ks are a huge part of it.

"Bear in mind their bombing profile - basically they can hit anywhere in range 1-3 in arc, and anywhere in range 1-2 in the front half of their base. Assuming they don't have dial-bombs basically your only option it to fly in places they can;'t bomb because they're guarded by rocks, block them, or get behind them."

This is helpful. Will require a lot of practice, but helpful to see that dynamic.

Now when you guys so plan one turn ahead, you are referring to envisioning where everyone will be at the next planning phase, and making sure to be in a non-bombable position?

Combination of guessing where your opponent will be and where you will want to move the next turn. Basically, you can never guess perfectly where your opponent will go, but you can guess at least a direction or a speed most times. With that info you want to think about where you want to be on this move AND where you want to be on the next move, with an emphasis on avoiding the bomb drops. It's not easy, I make bad guesses all the time. Though this is the mark of a top tier competitor and lowly rookies like me. If you make what seems like a perfect move, but then you don't see a way out of being in a bad position on the next move, you either miss guessed to opponent or you didn't think about your next move at all. Just remember, fly casual, learn to enjoy the one-sided loses, and always be humble when you rock someones world and make them think about selling their stuff