Been flying RACLo as it works against Nym. Typical build:

VT-49 Decimator: · Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
· Kylo Ren (3)
· Emperor Palpatine (8)
· Dauntless (2)

I've tried:

QD with LWF, VI, and SC

Backdraft with LWF, VI, and SC (2 pt bid)

I've seen:

Vader with EU, cruise missiles, and ATC (loses title on RACLo)

Ryad with x7, mk2 eng, and PTL

I like both SFs for their beefiness and the interaction of LWF with Palp. Backdraft also has butt-crits. I think Vader is the best closer. Ryad I guess is good for the beefiness?

Am I missing any other choices? What would you run in this meta?

It comes down a bit to your playstyle and local meta. If you're planning on going to a nationals or regionals, you should probably stick with QD or Vader.

You can potentially lighten your decimator a bit to fit in other ships and have more options. For example, if you fly RAC aggressively and are often in R1-2 to activate his pilot ability and run a wingmate like Vader, you don't really need Palp. You have your guaranteed crits already, so you would mostly be using Palp for Vader's defense rolls. You could use those points for other upgrades tailored to your area, or bring in a bigger wingman.

I personally fly RAC with QD, skip out on EU for anti-pursuit lasers and keep a 2 point bid for initiative or occasionally play around with EPTs on QD. It has done well, placing in first and second in tournaments at my store and some players in my area have tried to build around it (Determination sucks).

If you're looking for other options, it's going to come down to how do you want to fly them. If you want a durable wingman, you can't really beat a defender. If you want some janky "all the attack dice" build, put on swarm leader and a trio of tie fighters. A phantom was the old standby a few waves back. I've even seen a few double decimator builds and a decimator/firespray, although you're going to either drop kylo/palp or run a cheaper pilot. Tell us how you want to fly and what you're coming against, and we'll find a build that works for you.

Why QD and Vader for big tournaments? When running BD (or Ryad) I usually put whatever I'm killing last to PS0 then go through kill priority. Is it only PS that drives using QD and Vader?

As for what I see: I'm in the KC meta (which is to say no meta). Nym is common, but his wingmen vary widely. Nym will be maybe a quarter of the matchups. Past that I'll see some biggs, miranda, jm5ks. Typical stuff.

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 6:13 PM, RittsMJ said:

Why QD and Vader for big tournaments? When running BD (or Ryad) I usually put whatever I'm killing last to PS0 then go through kill priority. Is it only PS that drives using QD and Vader?

QD for the at least once double attack, Vader is a great arc dodger that can apply Kylo crits fairly easily. QD is also a bomb deterrent as if damage is taken he most likely gets a range 1 shot back, likely fully modified.

I personally say F it and fly Soontir with TC. Because Fel! Actually I took RAC/Fel to Top 4 in a store champs of around 30 a couple months ago. Depending on how you fly, it could be a boon or not. I didn't see much Nym that day. Based on what you expect to see, I'd guess Vader or QD would be best. JM5k's are tough for a TIE/D, ioning won't work much. You need more damage output like the double shot of QD, or even a cruise missle from Vader.

My current favorite is Quickdraw with Markmanship. Compared to Expose, it gives you a crit for ISTDS but it consumes an action. A Score to Settle is also a possibility but it is limited to one ship.

I'm using Echo. but I'm insane.

Both at PS8, knock Nym/Vader/QD/etc. down to 0 ASAP and the PS race doesn't matter as much. Of course Nym is still very lethal at PS0 as he is at 10, but it helps for sure.