It's been about a month since Silencers hit tables. Unlike the Gunboats, they didn't get a ton of pre-release play, so many of the initial build ideas were more extrapolation from similar ships than practice.

I started this thread to compile experiences of people that have put this ship through its paces in any if it's many, many build options.

So I'll start:

The first build I put in a serious quantity of games with is the PS4 generic with FCS, Advanced Optics, and Autothrusters. This comes out to 32 points and packs a ton of action efficiency. It feels like flying an ace, where you lost the bid. I wonder if some thing like this is what the Defender would feel like if it was made today. It has a similar ability to flip around (although not in back to back turns), and is very fast and very maneuverable. It feels like a terrific chassis overall, gets where it needs to go, and hits hard when it gets there. I haven't used the 1-hard so much since I was flying TIE Fighters.

I'll note that I was not prepared for how good Advanced Optics is, and whatever your build, Optics probably makes it better.

Having flown these PS4 guys, I added 10 points to make it PS11 Kylo. It flies very much like the PS4 guys, but you get to reposition a little and get some PS kills. It feels like a very solid 42 points that isn't going to blow anyone's mind, but is probably the best PS11 ship out there if you think the meta warrants it.

I also played some games with Kylo, title, Lone Wolf, Advanced Sensors, and Optics. It seemed like a very strong build that I never found a good match for. It was also early in my Silencer experience, which almost certainly had an effect. It did convince me that Advanced Sensors didn't require PTL, mostly because of how good Optics is. The ability to disengage, bank a Focus, and come back in is great. Alongside the considerable maneuverability that even a single action grants with Advanced Sensors.

This idea influenced another build: Blackout, Trick Shot, Advanced Sensors, Optics, Autothrusters, title for 40 points. I'm not at all convinced Trick Shot is good, but it's zero points and fits in the list i was messing with. I do really think I like Blackout. The ability is worth some extra damage, and it makes playing defensive by lurking behind asteroids also playing offensive. Advanced Sensors is tremendously useful for this asteroid dancing game. I'm not sure this is a long-term winner, but it is a lot of fun. I think you could go FCS on this guy and treat him like a high PS generic that occasionally got a nice bonus (much like Kylo). I don't know.

I'm still not experienced with the AS/PTL combo. This is largely because I don't really have a head for all those maneuvers. I've never really enjoyed flying Whisper either. I have trouble enough with that Blackout AS build. Consequently, I'm especially interested to hear how PTL/AS Kylos have been doing. On top of that, though, I know there are plenty of other builds out there that might be good, but not commonly discussed.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for any insights you can share on this ship.

2 minutes ago, Biophysical said:

I'm still not experienced with the AS/PTL combo. This is largely because I don't really have a head for all those maneuvers. I've never really enjoyed flying Whisper either. I have trouble enough with that Blackout AS build. Consequently, I'm especially interested to hear how PTL/AS Kylos have been doing. On top of that, though, I know there are plenty of other builds out there that might be good, but not commonly discussed.

I love the PTL-AS-AT-Primed FO Test Pilots. Unbelievable maneuverability and speed. One of my best ships now. I'm running two of them with an OGP hauling two Intel Agents. Knowing the enemy's maneuvers is HUGE with the PTL-AS boost and barrel roll. Combined with such a good dial, it's hard to land hits.

I'm considering changing the Primed to Optics. There are some rolls that I really regret not having a focus token. There have been times where I talon-rolled and was able to PTL of of it thanks to Primed and ended up to the side of someone who thought they knew what I was going to do.

The most fun build I've found in a long time.

15 minutes ago, Celestial Lizards said:

I love the PTL-AS-AT-Primed FO Test Pilots. Unbelievable maneuverability and speed. One of my best ships now. I'm running two of them with an OGP hauling two Intel Agents. Knowing the enemy's maneuvers is HUGE with the PTL-AS boost and barrel roll. Combined with such a good dial, it's hard to land hits.

I'm considering changing the Primed to Optics. There are some rolls that I really regret not having a focus token. There have been times where I talon-rolled and was able to PTL of of it thanks to Primed and ended up to the side of someone who thought they knew what I was going to do.

The most fun build I've found in a long time.

That sounds like a ton of fun. How much does your shuttle end up costing?

23 points. I originally had a TIE Shuttle in there, but it melted before I could use an Agent.

I use Kylo Ren a lot after several games the Tie Silencer and it's a really good ship and since I played most of my time with Tie Swarm or Tie interceptor, I'm happy to "dance in space" again without fear

My build is a classical : Push the limit / Title / Advanced Sensors / Prime Thrusters / AutoTruster and did good job. Of course my main complain is the ship have no evade action but since it's incredible maneuver I can't really blame that even when stressed...

A good ship for this wave !

I'm only going to get to go to one regional this year (Omaha) so I'm not going to be able to get a good competitive sample but I've loved this list in practice.

Kylo Ren 35 + Veteran Instincts 1 + Fire Control System 2 + Advanced Optics 2 + Autothrusters 2[36] Quickdraw 29 + Veteran Instincts 1 + Fire Control System 2 + Advanced Optics 2 + Special Ops Training0 + Lightweight Frame 2[22] Countdown 20 + Adaptive Ailerons 0 + Lightweight Frame 2

FCS and Optics help with dice mods and VI usually allows me to go last so if I fly smart all I should need is boost or barrel roll to reposition.

QD is a beast and Countdown is blast.

I tried QD with 2 HLC CrackRhos but it didn't click with me. All 3 of these ships perfectly fit my flying style and have some degree of action economy.

The only thing I might change is dropping Countdown down to an Imperial Trainee to get either a 3pt bid or a 1pt bid and the title on Kylo. What do people think of the title? Is it worth it or is it redundant with FCS? Do I trade a lot of survivability on the Striker for a little on the Silencer?

As far as the PTL/AS vs VI/FCS debate, as long as Nym is around, I think VI is a must. If it weren't gor Nym I'd be running the PTL/AS version along side expertise QD and loving every minute of it. God I hate scurrgs.

Anyway, I like the Silencer a lot and I think I'll be playing it for a while.

My main issue is figuring out what to put with this thing. Unlike many Traditional Aces, if your flying Kylo the way the ship wants to be flown, his pilot skill has 0 effect on a game, which is an adjustment in and of itself. I personally didn’t care for or feel the need for PTL and AS when I tried it, mainly because I still want to react to things not anticipate with a high end Ace.

However, PTL, Auto, FCS, Threat Tracker is gold. Especially if you get to shoot first it’s really unfair. Even if you don’t the ability to either get clear of being shot by Boost and barrel roll or reposition Focus to line up your shot while not being shot is gross. And the fun thing is that combo works for the generic as much as the high aces.

Though as I stated my issue is wingmen. Drawing heat away from that has been difficult. Mainly because it really isn’t a filler ship, it’s an anchor. You build around it, or you struggle to get it into a list or at least add enough to make it really shine.

One of my friends always flies Kylo with PTL, Advanced Sensors, Autothrusters, Advanced Optics, and the title. That thing is a beast! Kylo's whole thing is being able to boost and barrel roll before moving. It's like a pre-nerf Phantom with more health. And the title and perma-focus make him almost as hard to hit. That is a solidly tier 1 ship!

But then my friend also plays it with Blackout as the other ship and a 12-point initiative bid! So I guess that's a tier 2 list...

I am not as good at flying Kylo. I tried him against a triple Resistance Bomber list, and I couldn't go anywhere without being boxed in by bombs. Kylo had a very bad day.

So, the thing I've noticed when flying against the Silencer is that it doesn't want to get shot...I know, revolutionary, but stay with me on this.

It's not that it's made of paper, but it invites itself to be built rather expensively and lacking regen or a native evade action can make even a single mistake highly costly. In that regards, my impression has been that the ship 100% needs to be able to Boost AND Barrel roll as needed and adding Advanced Sensors to the mix makes it far harder to block or box in effectively. Every time this combo isn't present the ship...well it just isn't hard enough to deal with for it's cost. I feel like it also just needs Advanced Optics. This ships all the action economy it can get. In that regards, the ship kind of builds itself just in terms of the components needed to have impact you'd expect for the cost (on Kylo or Blackout at least, haven't flown against generics). Advanced Sensors, PTL, AO, AT, Title. Deviation from this formula can definitely add interesting options, but creates glaring vulnerabilities to a frame that can suffer badly from small mistakes.

TL:DR The Silencer might be too expensive at high levels of play to allow for major deviations from the AS, PTL, AO, AT build and the versatility that build offers for action economy and positioning.

Now that I have the pack, I need to try an Upsilon with Expert Handling and Primed.

2 hours ago, DXCrazytrain said:

I'm only going to get to go to one regional this year (Omaha) so I'm not going to be able to get a good competitive sample but I've loved this list in practice.

Kylo Ren 35 + Veteran Instincts 1 + Fire Control System 2 + Advanced Optics 2 + Autothrusters 2[36] Quickdraw 29 + Veteran Instincts 1 + Fire Control System 2 + Advanced Optics 2 + Special Ops Training0 + Lightweight Frame 2[22] Countdown 20 + Adaptive Ailerons 0 + Lightweight Frame 2

FCS and Optics help with dice mods and VI usually allows me to go last so if I fly smart all I should need is boost or barrel roll to reposition.

QD is a beast and Countdown is blast.

I tried QD with 2 HLC CrackRhos but it didn't click with me. All 3 of these ships perfectly fit my flying style and have some degree of action economy.

The only thing I might change is dropping Countdown down to an Imperial Trainee to get either a 3pt bid or a 1pt bid and the title on Kylo. What do people think of the title? Is it worth it or is it redundant with FCS? Do I trade a lot of survivability on the Striker for a little on the Silencer?

As far as the PTL/AS vs VI/FCS debate, as long as Nym is around, I think VI is a must. If it weren't gor Nym I'd be running the PTL/AS version along side expertise QD and loving every minute of it. God I hate scurrgs.

Anyway, I like the Silencer a lot and I think I'll be playing it for a while.

I actually did a very similar build with Vader instead of kylo(before kylo was released) and I liked it a lot. Countdown is great and worth the extra points above the trainee, he kind of messes with your opponent.

but now that the gunboat is out, perhaps you just want to switch countdown out with a nu squadron with long range scanners and harpoon, still a fun ship, more solid, and hits like a truck, probably the best 22 points in the game right now

1 hour ago, TheOz said:

I actually did a very similar build with Vader instead of kylo(before kylo was released) and I liked it a lot. Countdown is great and worth the extra points above the trainee, he kind of messes with your opponent.

but now that the gunboat is out, perhaps you just want to switch countdown out with a nu squadron with long range scanners and harpoon, still a fun ship, more solid, and hits like a truck, probably the best 22 points in the game right now

I flew Vader QD and Countdown with poons and it's what led to this list. I just had trouble keeping Vader alive.

Like I said, Gunboats just don't click with me. I don't like having them out of the action for 2-3 rounds.

I drank the koolaid for them for a minute because i thought it was awesome that the community got it made but I'm starting to think FFG trolled us with it.

If they work for you, great, more power to you but I'd rather get silly with Striker shenanigans.

The Expert Handling idea above gave me this list idea.

Kylo: Ptl, title, adv optics, adv sensors,Autothrusters

RAC: Expert handling, experimental interface, inspiring recruit, intel agent

100 pts

Intel agent means you can know even when the highPS dudes are doing. And a barrel rolling decimator...

Its a special ship and "feels" fun.

At times it can be unforgiving but thats part of the appeal.

Other times it can ridiculously over powered particularly against anything low ps with only a forward arc.

Settled in to a rythm with PTL/Advanced Sensors which I run mainly like this:

Leaf On The Wind:

Enjoying it and while it it can be easy mode at times against a # of matchups its a very demanding to think through each turn properly.

Its really fun and has its weaknesses.

Had decent success with VI/FCS/Optics Kylo as well but its not nearly as entertaining.

I'm 5-0 when using my Tie Silencer. I always use a Kylo, PtL, Advanced Sensors build with assorted upgrades. Usually I use the above with Autothrusters, title, and Advanced Optics but that comes it at 47 points, so that is alot. I usually drop the title and autothrusters because turrets are pretty rare in my play group. But the Advanced Sensors/PtL combo is awesome! I can almost always get out of arc with a pre move boost+barrel roll and if I've banked a focus with Advanced Optics, you can still shoot pretty good. I've been pretty impressed with the Silencer in that it feels powerful but not totally OP.

4 hours ago, Boom Owl said:

Other times it can ridiculously over powered particularly against anything low ps with only a forward arc.

I have yet to play against any tie silencer yet, but that's what has me worried.

I prefer to play jousting lists that are mid to low PS without turrets. So adding another super ace to the game makes me upset.

33 minutes ago, markcsoul said:

I have yet to play against any tie silencer yet, but that's what has me worried.

I prefer to play jousting lists that are mid to low PS without turrets. So adding another super ace to the game makes me upset.

Like anything in X-Wing its not that bad as long as your willing to adjust your tactics, tech, and approach a bit.

Against stuff below PS8 the Silencer really has alot in common with PTL Sensors Corran...he just is without Regen or the ability to shoot twice in exchange for a greener dial and PS9.

In the right hands against the wrong list the Silencer is a game ender no doubt. Requires considerable patience and thinking ahead round to round though. Definitely not your traditional ace ( if there is such a thing ) since inside of range 3 its defense isnt stellar by any means.

Out of curiousity, what type of low ps jouster lists do you tend to play? Are you referring to Swarms or something else?

10 minutes ago, Boom Owl said:

Out of curiousity, what type of low ps jouster lists do you tend to play? Are you referring to Swarms or something else?

I don't run swarms that much. Usually 3-5 ship lists that are forward firing arc only or forward and aux. But rarely turrets or ace arc dodgers.

I know from years of doing it how to deal with arc dodgers with jousting lists, but it's always an uphill battle and usually requires luck or opponent making mistakes to win.

I think giving more ships the bullseye arc would help for those times you catch an ace in arc.

12 hours ago, Biophysical said:

This idea influenced another build: Blackout, Trick Shot, Advanced Sensors, Optics, Autothrusters, title for 40 points. I'm not at all convinced Trick Shot is good, but it's zero points and fits in the list i was messing with. I do really think I like Blackout. The ability is worth some extra damage, and it makes playing defensive by lurking behind asteroids also playing offensive. Advanced Sensors is tremendously useful for this asteroid dancing game. I'm not sure this is a long-term winner, but it is a lot of fun. I think you could go FCS on this guy and treat him like a high PS generic that occasionally got a nice bonus (much like Kylo). I don't know.

I'm still not experienced with the AS/PTL combo. This is largely because I don't really have a head for all those maneuvers. I've never really enjoyed flying Whisper either. I have trouble enough with that Blackout AS build. Consequently, I'm especially interested to hear how PTL/AS Kylos have been doing. On top of that, though, I know there are plenty of other builds out there that might be good, but not commonly discussed.

I came to the same build (I'm sure a lot did) with Trickshot. I love that pilot/ship! I've been pairing him with an upsilon for coordinate extra goodness, but haven't found a good trifecta yet with a 3rd ship. I also don't seem to fly PTL/AS Kylo very well after flying Soontir for so many years, but he does feel like a watered down Whisper. I tried the ol' 88 of Kylo and Whisper all kitted out. Whisper melts nowadays. Plenty of ordinance, and even more PS10+. With only two ships its very difficult to land those block/shot/bowling/set-em-up-knock-em-down shots. The list I used ages ago was Whisper/Fel/2x Academy at 99 points. Academies would force blocks, the other guys would make it hurt. MUCH different meta nowadays.

However, my current favorite (and seemingly competitive list) is:

Kylo/AS/PTL/AT/Title/Primed Thrusters (46 points)
Soontir/AT/PTL/TC/Title (34 points)
Dark Curse (16 points)

Totals out to 96 points. Hardly anyone in my area is using Expertise, so Dark Curse is able to get in and block, etc. LRS Harpoons/Cruise? Hope you roll good naturally. I can bait with either of the other 9's, which I'm also comfortable blocking with. I've found primed thrusters to be better so you can AS boost/barrel roll even stressed. I imagine a good bomb list will send this back to the binder, but for now I'm having a blast with it. Its absolutely true: If you don't take down either Fel or Kylo, you're not catching them if I don't want you to.

cool, got to get my Silencer on the table

A triple Analyst list with two of them having threat tracker, fire control system and autothrusters and the third with First Order Vanguard and Advanced Optics just got second place in our tournament today. I beat it out with some luck and a deadly Poe/Ghost/AP build but it's basically Interceptors with twice the health, fire control system and the ability to use their target locks to barrel roll/boost out of arcs if they get shot at. Poor interceptors need a boost hahaha.

Also curious how three of them would do with accuracy corrector, advanced optics and autothrusters. Then they could always use their actions to barrel roll/boost.

All in all I think there is something to be said for triple generics if the right combo is found.

Flew Kylo today with Primed Thrusters, and I'm never switching to another tech. This upgrade seems like it was made for Kylo, who sometimes has to carry over the stress from Adv Sen/PTL, but still needs Adv Sen options in the following turn.

As for my list, I've hooked up Kylo with Inquisitor and an Alpha-Class Star Wing. We've got Regionals in a couple weeks, and I'm hoping to get good enough with these guys to make a decent showing.

20 hours ago, Celestial Lizards said:

Now that I have the pack, I need to try an Upsilon with Expert Handling and Primed.

Primed Thrusters is small ship only.

I havs fallen in love with blackout. The next tweek In my blackout list I have to try out is:

blackout: trickshot, titel, collision, primed, autothrusters 36pts.

stridan: FCS, systems officer, kylo 38 pts.

nu squadron: a.s. harpoon, Os-1.

I try go keep the silencer cheap so I can get good wingmates. You can change stridan for backdraft, ryad or even whisper. But I love what the shuttle brings to the list: the gun boat can shoot every turn or blackout gets a kind of advanced sensor.

On 6-1-2018 at 4:18 PM, Biophysical said:

It's been about a month since Silencers hit tables. Unlike the Gunboats, they didn't get a ton of pre-release play, so many of the initial build ideas were more extrapolation from similar ships than practice.

It's been a month and I still haven't gotten time to play with it or even practice with it... Its practically still in the box (no it isnt )