Star Wars: Imperial Tactics Episode VII: Darth Vader

General Forum Edition

*I blame FFG for incorrect GIF

Hit Crit Overview:

• Hit:

  • Two Actions Every Turn
  • 5 Forward
  • Pilot Skill 9
  • Evade Action
  • Barrel Roll Action
  • Able to Add 1 Crit
  • Feels character appropriate when chasing another ship

• Crit:

  • 2 Shields
  • 2 Attack
  • No Hard 1 Turns or 1 Straight
  • No Autothrusters

Pilot Card:

Dial:

EPT Upgrade:

• Veteran Instincts / Adaptability
  • These days PS10 and PS11 are critically important to the empire.
  • VI is particularly useful with Vader since he has built in Action efficiency
  • Most other aces that might take VI give up PTL or other EPTs they need to be useful
• Predator
  • Vader rarely spends his Target Lock due to Advanced Targeting Computer
  • Predator helps keep Vader from blanking out entirely on attack which does happen
• Lone Wolf
  • Similar to Predator but offers a defensive boost to. Useful if you burn your focus on offense.
• Intensity
  • Some people use this but I have yet to find a way to flip the card consistently.
  • Almost always end up spending the focus or evade since Vader is typically a priority target

Title

• Tie X1
  • Staple this to Vader and never look back
  • Reduces the cost of an equipped System Upgrade card by 4 to a minimum of 0

System Upgrade

• Advanced Targeting Computer
  • Only works with the Tie Advanced and allows you to add a crit when attacking a target you have locked.
  • Massive advantage for only 1 pt that combines nicely with Kylo Ren Crew and Harpoon Conditions.

Missile Upgrade

• Harpoon Missiles
  • Keep you from having to telegraph your approach like Cruise missiles
  • Vader can resolve the crit on the condition on his own which is awesome
  • Unfortunately if your opponent gets close taking 1 splash damage is a biggs deal for Vader
• Cruise Missiles
  • At PS11 and with a 5 straight maneuver Vader uses Cruise Missiles better than just about any other ship in the game.
  • Especially with the ability to Focus/TL after a 4-5 forward.
  • Cruise Missiles do not spend the target lock to fire which improves its efficiency considerably.
  • Don’t hesitate to re-roll any blank results. Do hesitate to use the focus since tokenless Vader falls apart quickly on defense.
  • You can target lock again next turn if necessary to get back to adding crits.
• Proton Rockets
  • Smash into Range 1 and throw 5 dice as long as you have a focus token
  • Really satisfying to use. Has the reverse problem of Cruise missiles where you are trying to get close but not to close.
  • With Proton Rockets commonly referred to as Prockets you want to get close but not over shoot or worst case bump. Boost makes that easier.
  • Outshined by both Harpoon and Cruise in most matchups since Prockets does not compensate for Lord Vader’s low primary attack dice limitations outside of Range 1.
• Ion Pulse
  • Fun to use if you build an entire list around Ion based Control to mess with people.
  • Sort of helps control other aces to but better off taking missiles that do burst damage.

Modification

• Engine Upgrade
  • Vader is very fragile, he lives and dies based on how well you can keep yourself out of harms way entirely.
  • Engine Upgrade makes that easier particularly with 2 actions every turn allow for Boost/Barrel Roll shenanigans.
• Guidance Chips
  • At PS9-11 Vader can set up missile ranges better than most ships.
  • Good mod if you need to save points but generally inferior to Engine Upgrade
• Stealth Device
  • Expensive defensive option, if you use a lot of Focus/Evade options each turn you can make Vader somewhat difficult to hit early on.
  • Particularly with Palpatine Crew somewhere on the table.
  • Unfortunately you won’t have access to autothrusters so it is not quite as tanky as it might need to be against a wide variety of TLT turret ships and bombs.

General Tips

• The upgrade options for Darth Vader are fairly limited without a lot of variation available.
• Use the Title, Advanced Targeting Computer, Engine Upgrade, and a missile whenever you have the points.
• VI, Predator, or Lone Wolf for the EPT.
• High skill ship that punishes mental mistakes during every phase and round of the game.
• He generally melts under sustained concentrated fire without rocks or range in the way to help.
• Vader without tokens for defense can and will blow up often in one turn against a large # of lists.
• Get close but not to close.
• Round after you arrive at Range 1 can present very awkward movement.
• Can result in 1-2 rounds without a shot if you don't plan ahead.
• Choices often boil down to fly away and token up behind a focus/evade combo or boost/barrel roll out of range or behind a rock to fight again.
• This is true for a large # of aces if you don’t have the guts to pull a K-Turn particularly against a turret ship flying away.
• Use boost and barrel roll to your advantage when making an attack approach.
• You want to set yourself up to arrive at an ideal range to your opponent depending on what your goals are.
• That might be Range 2-3 to fire a Harpoon/Cruise missile.
• It might be Range 1 to give you a better shot at an important crit to resolve a condition.
• Whatever you are doing always try to think 1-2 rounds ahead to set up next turn.
• Its the only way to consistently keep other ships inside your firing arc without overuse of Boost/Barrel roll
• Repositioning to much often forces you to sacrifice an Evade or a Focus for Defense against turrets.
• When shooting a Harpoon or Cruise sometimes depending on my approach its occasionally safer to take the Target Lock and an Evade instead of a Focus
• Bombs spell doom.
• Think about the tradeoff of using a boost or barrel roll to avoid a bomb but then taking turret shots from multiple ships without defense tokens.
• Try not to end up in spots where you have to choose but sometimes your opponents list won't let you.
• If you do end up in range of a bomblet often the only choice is just to pray to the dice gods and roll for the damage.
• When in doubt Focus/Evade and don't joust

Favorite Partners:

• Quickdraw - Mixes it up with an opponent and forces them to target QD while Vader disengages if necessary.
• RAC - Pretty straight forward and super efficient but I eventually get bored with just two ships.
• Pure Sabacc - Forces opponents to think twice about focusing on Vader early
• Major Stridan - Coordinate for an evade on key turns or use System Officer/Fleet Officer to get TLs and Focuses
• Whisper - Her presence pulls heat off Vader. Opposite corners and flank with whichever one the opponent doesnt chase!
• Captain Yorr - Palp and Stress relief for those moments when Assaj decides to cramp Vader's style
• Boba Fett - By far my favorite casual wingman for Vader, put Kylo on Fett with Expertise, Cruise Missiles or Bomblets, Mangler, and Engine Upgrade!
• Triple Support - 2x Tactician Bombers & 1 Ion/Unguided Rocks Aggressor flying in formation while Vader does Vader things
• QD & TLT Kestal - Sort of self explanatory but well balanced list with the added threat of a PS9 TLT on the table
• Kylo Ren Upsilon - With as much mobility as possible using both Expert Handling and Engine Upgrade or with Electronic Baffle. Vader to land the crits.
• Tie Bomber - Shuttle with Kylo Ren

Questions:

• WRONG ABOUT THE THINGS?

• HOW GIT GUD?

Previous Episodes:

While not useful in the current meta, Crackshot is an excellent EPT on Vader.

Vader’s problem (and it’s a problem of many repositional front arc ships) is that sustaining fire on the same enemy can be quite difficult in a tight confrontation. Unlike a turret, rear arc or white k-turn, Vader sometimes just wont have the right angle to sustain fire on his target. Learning when to run away or how to set up the correct approach for sustained fire is pretty important.

Vader still isn’t terrible against Turret Ships. TLT is a problem but he generally has higher PS than all other turrets and they cost more than him so he knows if he has to focus evade or fly away for a better angle. If he can come in for a sustained series of attacks against a turret ship he should get the better of them. Behind his focus/evade and 3 Dice, most Turret ships have only 1 mod and 1-2 Defence Dice. Vader’s biggest problem is that Turret ships often come in pairs so the rest of your list needs to help you remove one of the Turret ships fast (hopefully the TLT one).

Vader is a very controlled ship with a lot of maneuverability - more than Soontir Fel. Despite the fact that turrets are everywhere in the current meta he remained one of the 3 best Imperial Ships right now (Quickdraw and RAC are the others). 5 health can actually make up for the autothrusters a lot of the time and is especially useful against bombs.

Cool article.

If you are being economical and don't want to spend 4 points on engine upgrade, 1 point on Twin ION engines gives you 4 more options for clearing stress.

I hope you know...

The model in the GIF has a hair on it...

3 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

I hope you know...

The model in the GIF has a hair on it...

why did you have to point that out...

Intensity is awesome on Vader, it’s by far the best ept for him in my opinion, and I’ve flown him for a long time(tie advanced is my favorite ship visually so I try to make it work) the only problem with it right now is the **** ps race, but if ps 10 nym isn’t a thing, intensity really kicks *** on him.

3 minutes ago, TheOz said:

Intensity is awesome on Vader, it’s by far the best pet for him in my opinion, and I’ve flown him for a long time(tie advanced is my favorite ship visually so I try to make it work) the only problem with it right now is the **** ps race, but if ps 10 nym isn’t a thing, intensity really kicks *** on him.

How do you consistently get to the end of the combat phase without having spent a focus or evade?

Or is it the kind of deal where if you use it once or twice it still did its job?

2 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

How do you consistently get to the end of the combat phase without having spent a focus or evade?

Or is it the kind of deal where if you use it once or twice it still did its job?

Well basically you only use it when you need to of course, but it’s more then once or twice in a game. You see I run Vader and QuickDraw, plus another ship, lately countdown, and Vader needs to zoom in and out of combat, so usually I’ll use it when I’m trying to be aggressive, then zip out of dodge and reset it, not all game long but that strategy works pretty well, you think of Vader like corral horn style tactics. Keeps him alive longer too

also it creates better opportunities for opponents making targeting mistakes. If Vader tries to arc dodge and slightly fails, or is dealing with turrets, it allows him to not be naked. If QuickDraw rolls up with no focus, and Vader can slip into a great position and still have focus evade, now the opponent has a difficult choice to make, but if Vader ever doesn’t have tokens, he can just die, if he doesn’t dodge arcs, he could still just die lol, intensity gives you that killer triple action play that he needs every once in a while.

Lately I had been running ps11 version and I can feel the lack of options and the harsh consequences, plus Vader needs to confidently reposition because his dial isn’t that great, especially not having 1 turns. Plus there are turns where you want to target lock, and reposition, but once again...no tokens can mean death if you don’t successfully dodge everything.

And every once in a while you token up and don’t have to spend both

Here is the list I have been playing with

I disagree with the assessment that Vader’s dial isn’t that great. There are very few ships in the game that have multiple actions that have a dial as good as Vader. PTL Soontir for example has 7 moves. That’s it. Vader has 15 including the short banks.

I agree completely that Vader needs to zip in and out of combat, but that is true of almost all non-Turret repositioners. Vader is certainly better at it than most and I can see how Intensity helps him - not as much as VI right now and not as much as Intensity helps Poe but as ships who get to actually get some use from Intensity Vader is one of them.

But for 2pts it’s hard to pick Intensity over Lone Wolf, and right now it’s hard to pick anything other than VI but that won’t be forever. The beauty of Vader is that his EPT slot is so open.

Well Vader’s dial starts looking terrible once he has a stress token on him. Lone wolf is not bad on him, but I personally don’t like using it on him. I do agree though his ept slot is very open to how you wanna play him

Good summary. I think there are 2 other EPT's worth considering for Vader, but both require him to be more of a squad player than a solo-performer.

The first is Squad Leader. With 2 actions you may find it more important to help another ship boost or barrel roll out of arc or into a better attacking position, particularly if you know Vader himself won't be attacked that turn (e.g. out of range or arc - not everyone has a turret). This goes double if you still have an enemy target locked from a previous turn so may just need a focus for offense.

The other EPT is Swarm Leader. Obviously this requires you to build most of your squad around him to provide the evade tokens, but with the Advanced Targeting Computer and ability to take 2 actions he can deliver an effective 5 dice attack at long range that, unlike the missiles, is potentially repeatable. Harder to pull this one off but I've seen it tried and think it's worth experimenting with.

1 hour ago, JudgeDeath said:

Good summary. I think there are 2 other EPT's worth considering for Vader, but both require him to be more of a squad player than a solo-performer.

The first is Squad Leader. With 2 actions you may find it more important to help another ship boost or barrel roll out of arc or into a better attacking position, particularly if you know Vader himself won't be attacked that turn (e.g. out of range or arc - not everyone has a turret). This goes double if you still have an enemy target locked from a previous turn so may just need a focus for offense.

The other EPT is Swarm Leader. Obviously this requires you to build most of your squad around him to provide the evade tokens, but with the Advanced Targeting Computer and ability to take 2 actions he can deliver an effective 5 dice attack at long range that, unlike the missiles, is potentially repeatable. Harder to pull this one off but I've seen it tried and think it's worth experimenting with.

Juke can also work. Vader normally wants to have an evade when inside the combat zone, so this makes it do double duty.

The one other systems upgrade which can work (though I'd rather use it on other TIE advanced) is Juke/Accuracy Corrector. It's not a massively powerful attack, but it is an extremely reliable one - and pairs up extremely effectively with Cluster missiles.

28 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Juke can also work. Vader normally wants to have an evade when inside the combat zone, so this makes it do double duty.

The one other systems upgrade which can work (though I'd rather use it on other TIE advanced) is Juke/Accuracy Corrector. It's not a massively powerful attack, but it is an extremely reliable one - and pairs up extremely effectively with Cluster missiles.

I like that alot! Juke on Vader makes so much sense. Whenever the pilot skill meta eventually calms down I could see using it as the EPT.

12 hours ago, TheOz said:

Well Vader’s dial starts looking terrible once he has a stress token on him. Lone wolf is not bad on him, but I personally don’t like using it on him. I do agree though his ept slot is very open to how you wanna play him

Stress on Vader is so rare as to be almost a non-issue. Lone Wolf is where its at. Best EPT for Vader hands down. It isn't quite as good as autothrusters, but its the next closest thing you can get to protect him from turrets and meshes well with his 2 attack, since you rarely need to re-roll more than one red die. It always feels worth more than 2 points on him whenever I use him (which is often!)

Also I just wanted to mention something about bombs. Vader is extremely adept at avoiding bombs. He's much better at it than Soontir, the Inquistor or similar aces. The secret is constant access to the long moves (3 hard turn, 3 bank, 3-5 straight). This is what gives Vader much greater positional flexibility than the alternatives and why I ultimately prefer him as my 'Imperial-go-to-Ace'. These moves are also excellent for arc-dodging, but its different than other arc-dodgers because you are often going wide to get outside firing arcs rather than cutting in on the enemy.

I'd say Vader's biggest weakness is getting into fights where, due to the opponent's ships/positioning, you are forced to switch Target Locks often. Also, the fact that Black One just makes Vader a sad panda.

Other than that, Vader is top-of-the-line Imperial Ace. 10/10 would play him again, meta-be-damned!

Best uses for Vader: 1) Kylo enabler; 2) fast, slippery flanker; 3) large-base, low-agility assassin (those crits really pile on!)

5 minutes ago, blade_mercurial said:

Stress on Vader is so rare as to be almost a non-issue. Lone Wolf is where its at. Best EPT for Vader hands down. It isn't quite as good as autothrusters, but its the next closest thing you can get to protect him from turrets and meshes well with his 2 attack, since you rarely need to re-roll more than one red die. It always feels worth more than 2 points on him whenever I use him (which is often!)

Also I just wanted to mention something about bombs. Vader is extremely adept at avoiding bombs. He's much better at it than Soontir, the Inquistor or similar aces. The secret is constant access to the long moves (3 hard turn, 3 bank, 3-5 straight). This is what gives Vader much greater positional flexibility than the alternatives and why I ultimately prefer him as my 'Imperial-go-to-Ace'. These moves are also excellent for arc-dodging, but its different than other arc-dodgers because you are often going wide to get outside firing arcs rather than cutting in on the enemy.

I'd say Vader's biggest weakness is getting into fights where, due to the opponent's ships/positioning, you are forced to switch Target Locks often. Also, the fact that Black One just makes Vader a sad panda.

Other than that, Vader is top-of-the-line Imperial Ace. 10/10 would play him again, meta-be-damned!

Best uses for Vader: 1) Kylo enabler; 2) fast, slippery flanker; 3) large-base, low-agility assassin (those crits really pile on!)

Considering Vader's weakness in target-switching, what ships do you recommend pairing him with to mitigate this weakness? What ships do you think compound this weakness?

Been flying Palp - Soontir - Vader recently for the giggles and i'm surprised at how solid they still hold up. However, with an increase in Fenn + Bane + Thweek lists, Vader becomes a sad little Sith.

That being said, when you win using this list against Miranda/Nym or Nym/Dengar or another current meta list, you actually feel like you accomplished something significant beyond just a win. Relying so heavily on arcs, multiple actions and the edge-of-your-seat dice from bombs or that famous three natural hits from TLT, actually makes the game enjoyable.

My Vader is rocking Lone Wolf, Title/Adv.Targ at the moment but I am thinking of dropping shield upgrade on Soontir in favor of engine on Vads. Missed it too much.

21 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

Considering Vader's weakness in target-switching, what ships do you recommend pairing him with to mitigate this weakness? What ships do you think compound this weakness?

Good question! If you can fly Vader as a flanker, that alone can lessen the need to switch TLs.

Alternatively, pair him with a ship that is even more scarier. Pure Sabaac and TIE/D Vessery spring to mind. Of course, these ships are not easy to use (and neither is Vader). So its a very high risk/high reward kind of list.

Another good ship beside Vader is a Decimator. Its exactly the sort of thing the opponent cannot afford to ignore, and that lets Vader easily get in behind the enemy and do what he does best (which of course is to make liberal A New Hope quotes as you pew pew with Vader!)

59 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

Considering Vader's weakness in target-switching, what ships do you recommend pairing him with to mitigate this weakness? What ships do you think compound this weakness?

Glad to see all the faith in Lord Vader!!

Super fun ace and very rewarding. Even with a Pilot Skill advantage he is extremely vulnerable to bad decision making.

Favorite Partners:

1. Quickdraw - Mixes it up with an opponent and forces them to target QD while Vader disengages if necessary.
2. RAC - Pretty straight forward and super efficient but I eventually get bored with just two ships.
3. Pure Sabacc - Forces opponents to think twice about focusing on Vader early
4. Major Stridan - Coordinate for an evade on key turns or use System Officer/Fleet Officer to get TLs and Focuses
5. Whisper - Her presence pulls heat off Vader. Opposite corners and flank with whichever one the opponent doesnt chase!
6. Captain Yorr - Palp and Stress relief for those moments when Assaj decides to cramp Vader's style
7. Boba Fett - By far my favorite casual wingman for Vader, put Kylo on Fett with Expertise, Cruise Missiles or Bomblets, Mangler, and Engine Upgrade!
8. Triple Support - 2x Tactician Bombers & 1 Ion/Unguided Rocks Aggressor flying in formation while Vader does Vader things
9. QD & TLT Kestal - Sort of self explanatory but well balanced list with the added threat of a PS9 TLT on the table
10. Kylo Ren Upsilon - With as much mobility as possible using both Expert Handling and Engine Upgrade or with Electronic Baffle. Vader to land the crits.
11. Tie Bomber - Shuttle with Kylo Ren

3 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

I like that alot! Juke on Vader makes so much sense. Whenever the pilot skill meta eventually calms down I could see using it as the EPT.

It’s actually not that great. It only works if you get a chance to take an evade which is not as often as you want. You need to get Vader into positions where he has free offense so he is usually spending his actions on that.

Juke AC isn’t terrible but is better reserved for the lower PS Advanced. And if all the Advanced were 2pts cheaper to compensate for the fact that Vader is correctly priced, and there was a generic with an EPT you might see it as solid filler.

Swarm Tactics also isn’t that amazing on Vader. Yes it looks good but due to ATC Vader has at best a focus for offensive modification. Not a lot of point adding extra dice when you don’t have good mods.