I really want to buy this ship for the weapons and upgrades, but what kind of squad would this ship for In? I am having a very hard time finding a spot for it. I fly imperial fairly regularly, and I usually run 3 aces or an ACE or two with academy pilot backup.

Is this ship going to be worth flying or am I basically upgrade farming when I add this to my collection?

I've been asking myself the same question, and I don't know what to say. I was thinking maybe two generics accompanying Vessery? Maybe this would allow them to skirt the edges with turrets while Vessery brawls in the middle and just k turns all day long.

The Aces fit in beautifully and since you can really customize to fit your needs they take the roll you want them to have. I see it as either the secondary Ace creating match up issues. It can be the center of a larger swarm set witteling down other Aces or large based ships creating time and space for a swarm to work. The Generics can also take a clean up roll and cause opponents to decide to deal with them first ignoring your ace(s) to deal with them or as a late game fighter with enough maneuvering and fire power to close out if need be.

I think an imperial ship with turrets will at least worth a try. And i may just be saying that because i have pre ordered two of them.

I am messing with a list that has an aggressor, a striker, and a phantom. Also a punisher list with the aggressor as well.

Kestral or Double Edge with Lone Wolf and TLT is a cheap kite. I think Defenders or TIE/sf could benefit from a kite. If an opponent chases the kite, the jousters can hit the flanks.

Need to see the dial

SF and an aggressor is probably your best answer to any SCURGG bomb woes you may or may not be experiencing

Until we get the dial it will be hard to say. Pricing wise, however, it fits the same bill as Strikers - a 20-25pt ship that is somewhat fragile but has a flight pattern to make up for it and enough bite to be a problem.

Kestrel, or whatever the top pilot name is, will be a problem. Coming closer to the 30pt threshold her ability can really scare the piss out of a lot of ships like the Protectorate. I am probably going to try and find a way to squeeze her into my Major Stridan w/ Hux list to dump focuses onto her. Not sure which is better though, TLTs which would be expensive as hell or Ion which would be cheap and easily let me just chain-thwak a protectorate (Oh you have autos? *cancels all blank/focus* Howd that go for ya?)

I'm a long time Imperial vet and the issue is that we've never had a ship like it. It's going to take a lot of tweaking to fit it in.

That being said I don't think it's a great ship. It's a hawk with more def and better dial (I assume) with TLT or an advanced with advancedTC except no evade and less shields with pseudo 3 AG if you put on guided rockets (assuming light weight frame on both). Neither of those are tearing things up. It can do both, but now we're talking cost. And both names pilots do have strong ability potential so somthing may emerge.

Oh it HAS to be better than a hwk

That stupid thing has an atrocious dial, no built in broll and a 1 die primary (matters at range 1, also ketsal could still put work in with it)

i dont think the meta will be very kind even to ps 5 TLTs, but the ship offers far more combat potential than the hwk

Preorder four of them and you'll solve your problem.

In seriousness, though, Kestal with an ion turret could be some cheesy goodness.

Kestal and Double Edge might be good enough.

More combat potential than the HWK isn't a high enough benchmark for my interest. I assume that is the case with pretty much every release; for the big "Imperials get turrets" reveal a more capable HWK if you spend more points is a solid "meh". And I like Scum HWKs.

Yeah i cant really devise any solid lists without the dial knowledge.

Kestral is usually ~32pts im finding, which means shes replacing a Defender rather than being a cheap third. The ion trollolol tactic could easily solidify her as deadly, but only against small ships that cant fight back afterwords. Large bases would still move normally every other turn and obviously theres little gain from ioning a turret/aux arc user unless the ion movement slams into a rock

Of course, you could always default to 4 with TLTzies and LWF for an exact 100pt list. Literally the exact thing as the 4ywing list except more agility in exchange for less overall health...meaning more luck based on how long they live. Yeah im not doing that lol

13 minutes ago, Vineheart01 said:

Yeah i cant really devise any solid lists without the dial knowledge.

Kestral is usually ~32pts im finding, which means shes replacing a Defender rather than being a cheap third. The ion trollolol tactic could easily solidify her as deadly, but only against small ships that cant fight back afterwords. Large bases would still move normally every other turn and obviously theres little gain from ioning a turret/aux arc user unless the ion movement slams into a rock

Of course, you could always default to 4 with TLTzies and LWF for an exact 100pt list. Literally the exact thing as the 4ywing list except more agility in exchange for less overall health...meaning more luck based on how long they live. Yeah im not doing that lol

I think there's something to be said for leaving a lingering Ion on a big based ship -- that's something they have to consider for the rest of the match, and limits their options when navigating around board edges, obstacles, or their own ships.

It's certainly not as good as it is vs smaller based ships, but I think it's more than an "every other turn annoyance," if you're using it correctly.

Indeed.

Speaking from experience, if you CAN reliably ion a large ship its insanely annoying. Especially if theyre in the cluster of rocks they usually hit one and almost always are facing a bad direction afterwords.

I imagine the Lancer would be rather pissed to get ioned constantly.

edit:
...you can bring Kestral with Ion, LWF, PTL or Predator with 2 TIE/D Ion cannon toting Delta defenders....
Kestral being 2pts cheaper lets you have a third ion in that list LOL

I haven't done the numbers yet, but I was looking forward to Lieutenant Kestal with TLT and Tie/SF Backdraft flying in formation. Either keep them stripped down and throw in an ace Interceptor, or beef them up and add in a Tie or Tie/FO.

Or palp

Lwfs, baby

Thinking of something like this, as someone said earlier, not sure what the maths is on Kestal with TLT, but I think it'd be a great distraction and the SF's being able to focus even after a red is very strong.

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

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

TIE Aggressor: · "Lieutenant Kestal" (22)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Twin Laser Turret (6)
Lightweight Frame (2)
-- TOTAL ------- 100p. --