Fast, well armed and with wide weapon coverage, the Imperial Raider is apparently divided between "eat my laser" builds and ordinance spam. Lets see some builds of both types, and get some discussion of the Imperial Corvette going.

Epic raider with gunboats (300/300)
==================================
Raider Class Corv. (aft): Imperial Raider Corv. (aft) (50 + 24)
+ Courier Droid (0)
+ Weapons Engineer (3)
+ IG-RM Thug Droids (1)
+ Engine Booster (3)
+ Impetuous (3)
+ Ordnance Tubes (5)
+ Homing Missiles (5)
+ Concussion Missiles (4)
Raider Class Corv. (fore): Imperial Raider Corv. (fore) (50 + 7)
+ Supercharged Power Cells (3)
+ Harpoon Missiles (4)
TIE Bomber: Captain Jonus (22 + 6)
+ Swarm Tactics (2)
+ Unguided Rockets (2)
+ Lightweight Frame (2)
Alpha-class Star Wing: Nu Squadron Pilot (18 + 9)
+ Plasma Torpedoes (3)
+ XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1)
+ Xg-1 Assault Configuration (1)
+ Guidance Chips (0)
+ Linked Battery (2)
+ Flechette Cannon (2)
Alpha-class Star Wing: Nu Squadron Pilot (18 + 9)
+ Plasma Torpedoes (3)
+ XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1)
+ Xg-1 Assault Configuration (1)
+ Guidance Chips (0)
+ Linked Battery (2)
+ Flechette Cannon (2)
Alpha-class Star Wing: Nu Squadron Pilot (18 + 9)
+ Plasma Torpedoes (3)
+ XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1)
+ Xg-1 Assault Configuration (1)
+ Guidance Chips (0)
+ Linked Battery (2)
+ Flechette Cannon (2)
Alpha-class Star Wing: Nu Squadron Pilot (18 + 9)
+ Plasma Torpedoes (3)
+ XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1)
+ Xg-1 Assault Configuration (1)
+ Guidance Chips (0)
+ Linked Battery (2)
+ Flechette Cannon (2)
Lambda-class Shuttle: Omicron Group Pilot (21 + 12)
+ Fire Control System (2)
+ Heavy Laser Cannon (7)
+ Courier Droid (0)
+ Weapons Engineer (3)

Those 27 pt nus can swap out for:

Nu

Xg1

Aslam

Mangler

Flechette

Which is probably better than the ones in the list.

My favorite list to fly. I have more wins with gozanti, 8 nus, and the lambda. But the raider is so much fun to fly with the Cygnus jockeys. Engine booster and supercharged aren't really critical to the build but I use them enough to justify it to myself at least.

IMPERIAL ASSAULT CORVETTE

"Good. Our first catch of the day."

133 points

CR90 Corvette (Fore) (71)
CR90 Corvette (50), Shield Technician (1), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Gunnery Team (4), Sensor Team (4)

CR90 Corvette (Aft) (62)
CR90 Corvette (40), Weapons Engineer (3), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Engineering Team (4), Tibanna Gas Supplies (4), Automated Protocols (5)

Built to be aggressively anti-Starfighter at close range.

1 hour ago, Darth Meanie said:

IMPERIAL ASSAULT CORVETTE

"Good. Our first catch of the day."

133 points

CR90 Corvette (Fore) (71)
CR90 Corvette (50), Shield Technician (1), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Gunnery Team (4), Sensor Team (4)

CR90 Corvette (Aft) (62)
CR90 Corvette (40), Weapons Engineer (3), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Engineering Team (4), Tibanna Gas Supplies (4), Automated Protocols (5)

Built to be aggressively anti-Starfighter at close range.

That uh... looks like cr90 not raider..

If you want to arm the Raider with massed Quad Lasers and try and get in close, fair enough, but...I'm not sure 3 3-dice attacks, even with built-in gunner effects, is worth it.

It might be nice if you back it up with twin loadouts of cluster bombs, though. People often overlook those, and it'll make getting up close with a squad a dicey prospect.

Also, consider an operations specialist in one of the crew seats; whilst a raider can't use the focus tokens he generates, massed quad laser fire is likely to trigger him a lot and if the raider is leading the charge, it's going to be front and centre for your squad, meaning a massed force of TIE fighters and TIE interceptors on your flanks to benefit and to trigger him even more in turn.

21 hours ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

That uh... looks like cr90 not raider..

HA!! (Oops).

It is. I copied this from a word doc. Forgot about the days when the only way the Imps could have a heavy was for me to use the CR-90. It's in my folder of Imperial builds. . .

It was a cool repaint, though:

2 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

If you want to arm the Raider with massed Quad Lasers and try and get in close, fair enough, but...I'm not sure 3 3-dice attacks, even with built-in gunner effects, is worth it.

It might be nice if you back it up with twin loadouts of cluster bombs, though. People often overlook those, and it'll make getting up close with a squad a dicey prospect.

Also, consider an operations specialist in one of the crew seats; whilst a raider can't use the focus tokens he generates, massed quad laser fire is likely to trigger him a lot and if the raider is leading the charge, it's going to be front and centre for your squad, meaning a massed force of TIE fighters and TIE interceptors on your flanks to benefit and to trigger him even more in turn.

+1 for Operations Specialist. But crew on the Raider is a coveted spot, so you might consider slapping Operations Specialist on a nearby shuttle, like Captain Jonus.

If I'm taking all Quad Laser Cannons on my Raider, I have a hard time diving into battle without Tactician and Rear Admiral Chiraneau. The Rear Admiral let's you jump range bands a whole bunch, especially if you include Engine Booster - that's 6 ship lengths traversed by a huge ship in a single activation! If you catch fighters at range 2, you stress them, and potentially double stress them if you miss the first attack. If your opponent doesn't bring Comms Booster, they will next time.

When you're that close to the action, it's good to have something that makes them think twice about shooting you. Cluster Bombs fill in nicely here when multiple enemies close into range 1. Add Optimized Generators and Engineering Team for added energy efficiency, and you're pretty much set. Here's my "Impetuous Dagger" build, where I add just a couple more bells and whistles:

Raider-Class Corvette: Raider-Class Corvette (Fore) (50)
Optimized Generators (5)
Gunnery Team (4)
Cluster Bombs (4)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Raider-Class Corvette: Raider-Class Corvette (Aft) (50)
· Rear Admiral Chiraneau (3)
Tactician (2)
· Impetuous (3)
Engineering Team (4)
Engine Booster (3)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Total: 146

...yeesh. I forgot how expensive this build can be. You could probably cut the title and the team upgrades to save yourself 11 points.

12 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

+1 for Operations Specialist. But crew on the Raider is a coveted spot, so you might consider slapping Operations Specialist on a nearby shuttle, like Captain Jonus.

If I'm taking all Quad Laser Cannons on my Raider, I have a hard time diving into battle without Tactician and Rear Admiral Chiraneau. The Rear Admiral let's you jump range bands a whole bunch, especially if you include Engine Booster - that's 6 ship lengths traversed by a huge ship in a single activation! If you catch fighters at range 2, you stress them, and potentially double stress them if you miss the first attack. If your opponent doesn't bring Comms Booster, they will next time.

When you're that close to the action, it's good to have something that makes them think twice about shooting you. Cluster Bombs fill in nicely here when multiple enemies close into range 1. Add Optimized Generators and Engineering Team for added energy efficiency, and you're pretty much set. Here's my "Impetuous Dagger" build, where I add just a couple more bells and whistles:

Raider-Class Corvette: Raider-Class Corvette (Fore) (50)
Optimized Generators (5)
Gunnery Team (4)
Cluster Bombs (4)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Raider-Class Corvette: Raider-Class Corvette (Aft) (50)
· Rear Admiral Chiraneau (3)
Tactician (2)
· Impetuous (3)
Engineering Team (4)
Engine Booster (3)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Quad Laser Cannons (2 Energy) (6)
Total: 146

...yeesh. I forgot how expensive this build can be. You could probably cut the title and the team upgrades to save yourself 11 points.

I'd cut impetuous and gunnery team.

Gonna need the eng team to feed those boosts and guns and that's 139pts

Compare to missile raider at 138 pts and it becomes a flavour choice really. Although I'd rather lose range one than 3 cause surface area. I sure do love missile raiders lol.

1 hour ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

I'd cut impetuous and gunnery team. Gonna need the eng team to feed those boosts and guns and that's 139 pts. Compare to missile raider at 138 pts and it becomes a flavour choice really. Although I'd rather lose range one than 3 cause surface area. I sure do love missile raiders lol.

I've never tried a missile Raider, but maybe I should? Because I love Suppressor so much, I know things can go wrong if you rely too much on target locks. Granted, the Raider is safe from some of the things that mess up TL, like Black One and Suppressor , because it activates last, but it is still susceptible to Captain Kagi, Wes Janson, and the new Jamming Beam, although those cards aren't played all that much anyway.

I couldn't build your missile Raider anyway because I don't have Guns for Hire (Harpoon Missiles), the C-ROC Cruiser (IG-RM Thug Droids & Supercharged Power Cells) or the Sheathipede shuttle (Courier Droid). I've cut back on my non-Imperial purchases dramatically.

7 minutes ago, Parakitor said:

I've never tried a missile Raider, but maybe I should? Because I love Suppressor so much, I know things can go wrong if you rely too much on target locks. Granted, the Raider is safe from some of the things that mess up TL, like Black One and Suppressor , because it activates last, but it is still susceptible to Captain Kagi, Wes Janson, and the new Jamming Beam, although those cards aren't played all that much anyway.

I couldn't build your missile Raider anyway because I don't have Guns for Hire (Harpoon Missiles), the C-ROC Cruiser (IG-RM Thug Droids & Supercharged Power Cells) or the Sheathipede shuttle (Courier Droid). I've cut back on my non-Imperial purchases dramatically.

I uh. Have a problem lol.

But it helps that I split costs with a local buddy. We look at expacs together and divvy stuff up. He's a scum player who doesn't epic much so it works out.

And honestly the thugs, cells, and courier are really optional not necessary. The harpoon can swap to homing and be largely the same

22 minutes ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

And honestly the thugs, cells, and courier are really optional not necessary. The harpoon can swap to homing and be largely the same

...I'm not sure I agree. Harpoon+Thug droids pops the harpoon on the very next attack.

Just now, Rakaydos said:

...I'm not sure I agree. Harpoon+Thug droids pops the harpoon on the very next attack.

If ya swap the harpoon for a homing like the other fella said because he has no harpoons then the thugs become a "why not" instead of a "must"

But yeah on the poon raider they become "must"

21 minutes ago, Dabirdisdaword said:

But yeah on the poon raider they become "must"

Eyes triangular-shaped ship. Notes smooth, clean finish. Thinks, "This must have come from the shipyards in Brazil."

Would expect nothing else cap'n brannigan

Raider 1 (300)

Raider-class Corvette (Aft) (79) - Raider-class Corv. (Aft)
•Darth Vader (3), Quad Laser Cannons (6), Single Turbolasers (8), Engineering Team (4), Shield Projector (4), •Instigator (4)

Raider-class Corvette (Fore) (63) - Raider-class Corv. (Fore)
Ion Cannon Battery (6), Sensor Team (4), Backup Shield Generator (3)

•The Inquisitor (30) - TIE Adv. Prototype
Juke (2), TIE/v1 (1), Autothrusters (2)

•"Howlrunner" (18) - TIE Fighter

Academy Pilot (12) - TIE Fighter

Academy Pilot (12) - TIE Fighter

Academy Pilot (12) - TIE Fighter

Academy Pilot (12) - TIE Fighter

•Carnor Jax (31) - TIE Interceptor
Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)

•Colonel Jendon (31) - Lambda-Class Shuttle
Fire Control System (2), Weapons Engineer (3)

Granted, it’s not optimized, as a list. But, generally, I throw together something similar to this. The cheap TIEs help with blocking and theater control, while the Raider and some of his friends help to quickly and brutally kill things that miss actions. The single turbolasers a great for things like Ghost. Keep it at range with the blockers and blow it to ****.

The Knife Fighter

Raider-class Corvette (Fore) (50)
Quad Laser Cannons (6)
IG-RM Thug Droids (1)
Supercharged Power Cells (3)
Optimized Generators (5)

Raider-class Corvette (Aft) (50)
Shield Technician (1)
Construction Droid (3)
Ion Cannon Battery (6)
Quad Laser Cannons (6)
Engineering Team (4)
Gunnery Team (4)
Backup Shield Generator (3)

Total: 142

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Intensify Forward Fire Power!

Raider-class Corvette (Fore) (50)
Harpoon Missiles (4)
Sensor Team (4)
Backup Shield Generator (3)

Raider-class Corvette (Aft) (50)
Weapons Engineer (3)
Tactician (2)
Quad Laser Cannons (6)
Concussion Missiles (4)
IG-RM Thug Droids (1)
Gunnery Team (4)
Supercharged Power Cells (3)
Ordnance Tubes (5)
Impetuous (3)

Total: 142

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

4 hours ago, Darth Meanie said:

Eyes triangular-shaped ship. Notes smooth, clean finish. Thinks, "This must have come from the shipyards in Brazil."

Cheeky

Well raider is a gun ship so you need to use weapons (you are paying 100 points for it after all).

Thing for me is huge ship have a hard time hitting with weapons thanks to their lack of focus. So you need rerolls for as much as you can find or other ways to guarantee damage. MY best idea to guarantee damage is a build I call the Varaider.

Raider with instigator title. Vader is one crew and the other crew slot is filled with either a shield technician or construction droid (if you have no qualms of vader eating into the hull). Also single Turbolaser to give Vader <crew> a reach of a range of 5.

With this you will want to include some other energy boosting upgrades like optimized generators or tibana gas supplies as you will be burning through energy fast with all the recover actions. When ever you use Vader your opponent gets to chose which section takes the two damage so be prepared for the weakest section to start losing shield tokens fast.

If you want re-rolls you could always Fly Captian Jonus Near the rear of the Huge ship to give them the re-rolls for attacking with secondary weapons

Yep jonus is a raider's best friend.

Bonus points for the leader howl letting it fire at ps8 and get rerolls of the bow guns