So with all the talk of control either via stress or ions and the semi tankiness of Defenders can we start to see the TIE/D title shine? Since it dropped in Veterans it’s been mostly overshadowed (especially in the Meta) by the far more appealing X-7 even after it was changed. The Cost reduction on an expensive Chassis and free tokens are hard to pass up for a double shot that is only a 1 extra damage at most and possibly a secondary effect.

The high cost even for one makes it a bit undesirable and an obvious target, and with the Star Wing cannon variations it might still not see play. Though it may be worth looking at I know missle boats for super cheap with Harpoons has been the recent rage but as things adjust I see cannons potentially being the more potent option if for no reason than not having to reload.

Community thoughts?

I like the D.

After playing a loaded Ghost and Fenn with my Mynock Special, and watching a friend play against Nym Miranda with his T-70s; something got to give; some counter to this nonsense needs to be done to reduce these action/ability hogs....maybe TIE Ds are an answer? I’m hoping players with squad building prowess come up with some counters that push these beasts from the mats and let them become the new Punishers. Am I salty?!?

It's too expensive :/ But I love it

TIE/D's lack of autothrusters is unfortunately a pretty fatal flaw against turrets that means their positional control isn't nearly as potent as it could be

The biggest issues I see with the TIE/D in the current meta are Trajectory Protons and how relatively common the Black One title is.

The former causes problems by shoving crits into your relatively soft 3 hull, especially since there are very few crits that a Defender doesn't mind taking. You can't really arc-dodge them, either, as Rexlar is the only Defender pilot with a chance of getting to PS10.

The latter is an issue because it creates problems for Vessary, who is usually their most accurate pilot. It certainly kills Omega Leader, who is usually one of the best wingmen for Vess.

31 minutes ago, Ronu said:

So with all the talk of control either via stress or ions and the semi tankiness of Defenders can we start to see the TIE/D title shine? Since it dropped in Veterans it’s been mostly overshadowed (especially in the Meta) by the far more appealing X-7 even after it was changed. The Cost reduction on an expensive Chassis and free tokens are hard to pass up for a double shot that is only a 1 extra damage at most and possibly a secondary effect.

The high cost even for one makes it a bit undesirable and an obvious target, and with the Star Wing cannon variations it might still not see play. Though it may be worth looking at I know missle boats for super cheap with Harpoons has been the recent rage but as things adjust I see cannons potentially being the more potent option if for no reason than not having to reload.

Community thoughts?

Tie D Defenders are brutal.

I agree with you @Ronu, I feel cannons are better for a couple of reasons:

No lock or focus needed

No reload action needed if that's even an option

No discard needed

Looks more badass

You can fly TIE/Ds, and they're even really good against some things, but you better be really good at predicting moves. Really good.

I think the high cost and generally low PS is what is holding most people back from using Defenders.

May I direct your attention to the @hothie thread titled farve wing in the battle reports section. Free advice from a world champion on how to fly /Ds in this meta.

Hey guys what about this...

22 minutes ago, DXCrazytrain said:

May I direct your attention to the @hothie thread titled farve wing in the battle reports section. Free advice from a world champion on how to fly /Ds in this meta.

He's been doing well with them for sure. I'm following it closely. He's getting in a ton of games. I'm curious to see how things will go for him at a regional where there are more meta lists where I think he's been struggling a bit more, though who knows what he'd face. He seems to have done well against Nym/Miranda, which doesn't surprise me since he's got some high PS ion cannons and good damage output. I think the tough thing there, too is the adjustment to tournament play where those Ds will just plain have trouble catching things if they're down.

I've used Rexlar Brath with TIE/D, Expertise, Ion cannon and Twin Ion Engines in my last couple of games. At 45pts he's very pricey for a small ship with limited defence mods, but if he can get in a superior position he will dominate certain match-ups.

1 hour ago, JudgeDeath said:

I've used Rexlar Brath with TIE/D, Expertise, Ion cannon and Twin Ion Engines in my last couple of games. At 45pts he's very pricey for a small ship with limited defence mods, but if he can get in a superior position he will dominate certain match-ups.

And here in lies the issue with the TIE D. It’s Pricy. Sadly the biggest drawback is also their biggest boon. Pricy but with double shots they can hit like a truck. The issue is short of stripping down and giving up pilot skill for firepower it’s difficult for them to really capitalize on things. I took a Ruthlessness Vessery to a casual Tournament last spring, and he wore some list out, others eh kinda mediocre.

This is not a TIE/D but this might provide some inspiration:

Captain Oicunn (42)
Mara Jade (3)
Ysanne Isard (4)
Darth Vader (3)

Sienar Specialist (17)
Ion Cannon Turret (5)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Sienar Specialist (17)
Ion Cannon Turret (5)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

The idea is to ionize and ram Nym or Miranda with Oicunn.

Oicunn can weather a handful of bombs and his crew has a measure of control, defense and will deal unavoidable damage with Vader. The Aggressors of course are meant to prevent Nym from dropping bombs and to walk him off the board.

Everyday get more obvious that the title with a discount should be TIE/D, not X7 (or both?) because with TIE/D you even have to invest more points on a already expensive chassis.

TIE/Ds with Tractor Beams are brutal. I completely tabled my friends Starviper list with 2x TIE/D with Tractors and TIE Shuttle with Systems Officer & Fleet Officer, the ability to smash your opponent into a rock and drop their agility by one before you shoot at them is not to be ignored.

Colonel Vessery — TIE Defender              35
Expertise                                    4
Ion Cannon                                   3
Twin Ion Engine Mk. II                       1
TIE/D                                        0
                                Ship Total: 43


Nu Squadron Pilot — Alpha-class Star Wing   18
Linked Battery                               2
Heavy Laser Cannon                           7
Long-Range Scanners                          0
XG-1 Assault Configuration                   1
                                Ship Total: 28


Nu Squadron Pilot — Alpha-class Star Wing   18
Linked Battery                               2
Heavy Laser Cannon                           7
Long-Range Scanners                          0
XG-1 Assault Configuration                   1
                                Ship Total: 28

In theory TIE/Ds are the answer to some of the top meta lists, including NymRanda but the problem, as others have said, is the relatively low PS and the cost. I think that can be overcome by good play, but it's definitely not as easy as just flying the top meta lists yourself. The big problem with /Ds is the lack of accuracy on the two shots each gets. I struggled with this for a while, and the prevalence of Countermeasures and the Black One title have made the obvious answer of Vessery a little less attractive. However, I have used the list below with some success:

• Glaive Squadron: TIE/D, Ion Cannon, Predator
• Glaive Squadron: TIE/D, Tractor Beam, Predator
• Scimitar Squadron: Harpoon, EM, Seismic, LRS

The Defenders are pricey but the Predator re-rolls actually help them hit things consistently and if you hit with the TB the amount of damage you can do in one round is scary - even the Bomber's primary weapon attack can actually do damage.

I'm going to replace the Bomber with a Gunboat with just Harpoons and LRS to see how it does. I think it will be better but the bomb often proved handy on the Scimitar.

The 2 GUNBOATs with LRS solve the Black One and countermeasure problem to an extent, you just have to lock the same ship with both Gunboats!

Maybe something like:

- Glaive Tie Defender

- crack shot

- ion cannon

- Tie D title

X 2

- Nu Squadron

- Harpoon

- LRS

- Os 1 title

Comes in at 100 pts.

Use crack shot to confirm an ion hit, which in turn gives you the control you need to focus fire higher ps ships?

The main complaint against TIE/D Defenders seems to be cost. That's not going to change, but it might be mitigated somewhat by building the rest of the list with point-efficient ships. I'd really like to try out the following:

Vessery + ion cannon + TIE/D + Ruthlessness + TIE mk II (42)

Quickdraw + VI + FCS + advanced optics + spec ops training + LWF (36)

Nu + LRS + Harpoon (22)

Only problem is that I could see the list being a bit squishy - there's not a ton of arc dodging or HP. But with Quickdraw having FCS and Vessery attacking before the PS2 Nu, he should have ample target locks to pull from, and unless I'm reading his ability wrong, could pull TLs on each of his attacks. Ruthlessness also can trigger on both Vessery's attacks, so he ends up having pretty decent damage potential in addition to the ion control.

1 hour ago, horsepire said:

The main complaint against TIE/D Defenders seems to be cost. That's not going to change, but it might be mitigated somewhat by building the rest of the list with point-efficient ships. I'd really like to try out the following:

Vessery + ion cannon + TIE/D + Ruthlessness + TIE mk II (42)

Quickdraw + VI + FCS + advanced optics + spec ops training + LWF (36)

Nu + LRS + Harpoon (22)

Only problem is that I could see the list being a bit squishy - there's not a ton of arc dodging or HP. But with Quickdraw having FCS and Vessery attacking before the PS2 Nu, he should have ample target locks to pull from, and unless I'm reading his ability wrong, could pull TLs on each of his attacks. Ruthlessness also can trigger on both Vessery's attacks, so he ends up having pretty decent damage potential in addition to the ion control.

Its would be almost tempting to run Expert Handling on Vessery so you can shed the LRS TL when you hit engagement range. At the very least it would force your opponent to have to reacquire a lock.

Just now, Jo Jo said:

Its would be almost tempting to run Expert Handling on Vessery so you can shed the LRS TL when you hit engagement range. At the very least it would force your opponent to have to reacquire a lock.

Yeah Vessery's EPT is the part of the list I am still thinking about. I know Ruthlessness isn't very popular these days and I wouldn't expect many to support that choice, but without it I wonder if you have enough damage output. If you ditched TIE Mk II, you could give Vessery Expertise, which would be a pretty decent choice since it triggers each time he attacks.