Hi all,

What do you guys think to putting a Tie Striker into a standard Tie Fighter swarm?

I'm thinking, Howlrunner, zeta leader, Sabacc and 3 academy's.

The idea is to put the striker at the side of the swarm and break off after the first joust.

Hmm...

The big issue is that TIE strikers aren't good at flying in formation with other ships; given their move-move nature, and lack of ability to pull speed 1 turns thanks to ailerons (kind of the TIE fighter's party piece), you may have trouble keeping them in formation.

That said, if you can, he delivers one hell of a punch, and howlrunner's reroll makes up for the target lock he can't take (a bit). Plus, Sabbac's presence should draw fire of Howlrunner, which means she shouldn't be killed before she can support the academy pilots (the biggest problem with Howlrunner as opposed to Rage Youngster is that Howlrunner still has to be alive when the other TIE fighter attacks).

It's a good plan. To be brutally honest, I question whether having a plan as to what to do with Sabbac after the first joust is particularly important, because he's likely to be an expanding cloud of debris at that point. But as long as he gets one range 1-2 shot off, he's probably going to do more damage point-for-point than any other lightweight TIE (although a Weapons Guidance/Wired Zeta Leader does come close)

I think it could be awesome.

It's not a Swarm but I've recently run this build, which I call "Blackdrafting"

“Backdraft” (34)
Special Forces TIE (27), Veteran Instincts (1), Fire-Control System (2), Pattern Analyzer (2), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

Black Squadron Scout (23)
TIE Striker (20), Adaptive Ailerons (0), Crack Shot (1), Lightweight Frame (2)

Black Squadron Scout (23)
TIE Striker (20), Adaptive Ailerons (0), Crack Shot (1), Lightweight Frame (2)

“Howlrunner” (20)
TIE Fighter (18), Swarm Tactics (2)

It kicked major ***. I was wondering if I could swap Howlrunner for Youngster and then give Youngster the Expose EPT. But I'm not sure if Youngster's ability works on TIE Strikers.

I think it could work, but I wouldn't sacrifice Crack Shot for Sabacc...

Black Squadron Scout (21)
TIE Striker (20), Adaptive Ailerons (0), Crack Shot (1)

“Howlrunner” (19)
TIE Fighter (18), Crack Shot (1)

Black Squadron Pilot (15) x 4
TIE Fighter (14), Crack Shot (1)

This list give you six Crack Shots - which is a good amount in any swarm. The Striker will harass from the flank while Howlrunner et al. engage the juiciest target.

Youngster wonk work on Strikers.

If you do run a Striker in a TIE swarm, obviously you drop Adaptive Ailerons. That is of course, if you want to fly them all in formation. The striker still works fine without it. Alternatively, fly a single Imperial Trainee with adaptive ailerons in front of your swarm to act as blocker.

However, no matter what you end up doing, you won't be able to field a list that can fight well against all sorts of enemy lists. By its nature, you will have some strong and weak matchups. The weak matchups will be anything that can survive your initial damage and start deleting TIEs relatively quick.

Here's 2 different lists that use the Striker to good effect in a swarm:

'Sabaac Swarm'

Howlrunner w/ crackshot = 19

Pure Sabaac w/ crackshot = 23

3 BSPs w/ crackshot = 15 x 3

1 Academy pilot = 12

99

'Trainee Swarm'

Howlrunner w/ crackshot = 19

Imperial Trainee w/ adaptive ailerons = 17

Scourge w/ crackshot = 18

3 BSPs w/ crackshot = 15 x 3

99

Some really good ideas, cheers guys.

I will definitely take Alearons off. I had imagined leaving the Striker one space back to achieve the 1 turn, but thats difficult to achieve more than once.

Also, do you think it's worth dropping a crack Shot off of a black tie and replace with draw their fire?

2 hours ago, player2456237 said:

Some really good ideas, cheers guys.

I will definitely take Alearons off. I had imagined leaving the Striker one space back to achieve the 1 turn, but thats difficult to achieve more than once.

Also, do you think it's worth dropping a crack Shot off of a black tie and replace with draw their fire?

Its not a bad idea. I'd try it both ways and see what you prefer. DTF is situational (and that sort of thing doesn't appeal to everyone).