I love my Raiders. I am especially fond of; Raider 1, Kallus, Ordnance Experts, and Flechette Torpedoes. I just wish I could come up with a way to get it into position better. I would love a Demolisher type title to shoot at squadrons after a move. I just struggle to make it worth the points to take, but I just love that little thing so much! What would you like to see added to the Raider? I am not talking about changes to it just different ways it can be used. Or, how can I use mine more effectivly?

A title that gives it obstruction vs Squads. Or a redirect, or SOMETHING to help it not get bombed to death instantly.

Otherwise i really like where the Raider is at. My current list flies two with OrdExp, ExRacks, and Brunson/Montferrat respectively.

I run my Raiders with Jerjerrod, and tend to stick at speed 4 on the flanks, hunting down red-dice small ships, flotillas or getting into the weak arc of large ships to drop a pile of damage.

When flying them as a squadron-killer they extra need a good squadron screen. Generally TIE Advanced, or good use of basic Fighters to get the job done. Focusing down their intel is imperative.

My favorite Raider is the Raider 1, OE, and Flechettes. Last first that thing into a squad ball and watch the table flip commence.

Second favorite is using it as a roadblock for mc-80s

Hard to use but wonderful little boat..I mean ship. An officer, title, or upgrade to give it a redirect would make it one of the best ships the imps have.

Here's an idea I've not tried yet but am now toying with:

Instigator with Tua and EWS. If you approach right you get to leave all the enemy squads in your EWS arc, so they're obstructed, but Instigator locks them down and keeps them from moving to other arcs. Expect a couple of them to escape that, but it should give them a few troubles.

Edit: I do feel like there's some part of this equation I'm forgetting that means it won't work. So please pick this apart if you spot it!

15 minutes ago, Akhrin said:

Here's an idea I've not tried yet but am now toying with:

Instigator with Tua and EWS. If you approach right you get to leave all the enemy squads in your EWS arc, so they're obstructed, but Instigator locks them down and keeps them from moving to other arcs. Expect a couple of them to escape that, but it should give them a few troubles.

Edit: I do feel like there's some part of this equation I'm forgetting that means it won't work. So please pick this apart if you spot it!

In theory it should work, but some squadrons will likely still be able to see another arc.

Still means you are using more shield zones, which is helping a big weakness of the Raider.

The problem with these sorts of combos though is the strength is very difficult to gauge with numbers alone, so just try it!

1 minute ago, TheCallum said:

In theory it should work, but some squadrons will likely still be able to see another arc.

Still means you are using more shield zones, which is helping a big weakness of the Raider.

The problem with these sorts of combos though is the strength is very difficult to gauge with numbers alone, so just try it!

Yeah, figuring it'll normally end up with one or two seeing either side arc, but most of them stuck in the front. Then fly through and put the EWS up on the back next turn, happy days. But don't know if it'll be even half as good in practice as it seems on paper. Poor Raiders.

I think it's better to keep Raiders quite cheap. The risk to loose them is very high!

At the moment I play quite often a list with a Vader List with a Cymoon 1 ISD with "Entrapment Formation!", which is guarded by 2 Raider I-class Corvettes (with APT only). The Cymoon is a brutal threat to everything at long range (one-shotting Flotillas and small based ships) and the Raiders will blow up what tries to get past it. Vader and EF! make them a very fast and threatnig force for only 49 pts. each.

My list has 90 pts. for fighter screen, but some help from the Raiders can come in very handy.

I'd like the poor bastards to get some free chaff token each round. Maybe out of a task force title.

I would kill for a title that gave them a tech team slot!

A Raider with Tua and EWS sounds tempting. Altough i would probably just go with Cluster Bombs and Quad Laser Turrets over EWS. (In combination with Instigator of course)

4 hours ago, Akhrin said:

Here's an idea I've not tried yet but am now toying with:

Instigator with Tua and EWS. If you approach right you get to leave all the enemy squads in your EWS arc, so they're obstructed, but Instigator locks them down and keeps them from moving to other arcs. Expect a couple of them to escape that, but it should give them a few troubles.

Love it. If you're trying to double-arc the particularly nasty squadrons you could always bring Ciena along to cover the other hull zone.

3 minutes ago, Dreadnowt said:

Love it. If you're trying to double-arc the particularly nasty squadrons you could always bring Ciena along to cover the other hull zone.

Add Valen Rudor, just for the annoyance factor!

It's the timing that usually gets me I suppose, if I manage to get into position is about the time it gets shot down. I also tend to have excitable captains on my Raiders, they end up too far away from the rest of the group.

What about spamming squadron command to make sure your escorts can stay close?

I'm a big fan of Raiders and think they're still quite viable nowadays but you need to be very careful around Vader Cymoons. It's neat that Raider-IIs are finally viable due to Disposable Capacitors and Heavy Ion Emplacements, and games with them so far have been pretty impressive (make sure to use Veteran Gunners if you're not running Screed or Vader, though). That said, I acknowledge that they're tricky to use well and take some time to learn. Starting at speed 2 (usually) was the crucial change that began to transform my understanding of how best to use them.

Anyways, if I was going to add something in the game to further help Raiders, it would be an offensive retrofit that allowed one of your attacks to be used after moving ( Demolisher- style) provided that attack was used against squadrons (never ships). Using Raider flak aggressively can be rather challenging due to how maneuverable its prey is, something like that would help a lot. Using Raider flak reactively isn't too tough, though, provided you're bringing 2+ of them to ensure decent coverage.

Raider with a boarding Vader and Flight Commander?

A "Vader Raider" if you will...

4 minutes ago, Aldyn said:

Raider with a boarding Vader and Flight Commander?

A "Vader Raider" if you will...      

Doesn't work - the boarding team squadron token/dial spend isn't part of a squadron command so Flight Commander won't allow you to use it after moving.

@CaribbeanNinja is a proponent of the Vader boarding team on a Raider, though, and has some success stories from it at Worlds.

2 minutes ago, Snipafist said:

Doesn't work - the boarding team squadron token/dial spend isn't part of a squadron command so Flight Commander won't allow you to use it after moving.

@CaribbeanNinja is a proponent of the Vader boarding team on a Raider, though, and has some success stories from it at Worlds.

Ahh, got it. Thanks for the clarification!

Still, I like the idea of the boarding Vader on a Raider as a chasing ship. Say, in an Ozzel list where you can abuse the speed shenanigans, or with Moff J for a crazy speed 4 turn.

The Vader Raider I used at Worlds was nothing short of amazing. (Raider 1, External Racks, Darth Vader)

50 points of fear in a dart. It cannot be ignored. It can sacrifice itself against a squad force, or kill an important card.

At Worlds the Raider: Killed a Hammerhead with a lucky 7 damage Eracks roll, killed Gunnery Teams, Admonition and Brunson. All the while, flanking and causing issues. I'm totally sold on it in the right fleet.

I've been using that exact same layout for a raider in a nifty raider swarm I've been running in vassal. There's nothing like scratching Admonition off of a mc30 hull!

I played with the Flechette Kallus Raiders for a while, and they were a lot of fun. But then I found much more success with the OE ExRax Raiders without titles.

The key for me was to fly it right next to a bigger fish / harder hitter, say an ISD or Demo. That way my opponent had to choose who to shoot at, and I was often able to punish their choice regardless of which way they decided to go.

Agree, I love wrecking squads with this. It's just hard to use. I think I need to try this Vader Raider, How important is going first with that?

5 minutes ago, zingerwhip said:

Agree, I love wrecking squads with this. It's just hard to use.  I think I need to try this Vader Raider, How important is going first with that?

Pretty darn important. Having Hondo in another ship to give you a squadron token (AND remembering to use him) allows for the concentrate fire dial to be used for a little extra punch.

Give it a redirect.

I haven't had a lot of success with Raiders... I feel they are too vulnerable to the kinds of targets they are designed to destroy. Fighters are going to be landing a lot of 1-2 damage hits when they swing and the Raider is not equipped to handle this kind of punishment. A redirect at least allows a player to do something about 1-hit damage coming into a facing arc. Since it can't, it has to take all of it in one facing, meaning a carrier can activate their fighters to clean off the 2 shields before opening fire with some critical results. Two evades is not helpful at all to this ship when it is in its preferred combat attack range.

Relying on an engineering to move shields takes away from what this ship needs to do best: Maneuver or attack before its destroyed.

D-Caps makes them useful at least on IIs, since now they can strike with long-distance hits to get some sniping 1-2 damage into an arc.

I think it's telling that the OP is asking for a Demolisher-like title to allow the ship to punch after it moves- because that's the only way it works best. It has to be in position at the start of its activation to make the most of its inherent abilities. Unfortunately this means (IMO) how well it lives or dies depends on whether a player can make this happen and allow the ship to live.

49 minutes ago, Norsehound said:

Give it a redirect.

I haven't had a lot of success with Raiders... I feel they are too vulnerable to the kinds of targets they are designed to destroy. Fighters are going to be landing a lot of 1-2 damage hits when they swing and the Raider is not equipped to handle this kind of punishment. A redirect at least allows a player to do something about 1-hit damage coming into a facing arc. Since it can't, it has to take all of it in one facing, meaning a carrier can activate their fighters to clean off the 2 shields before opening fire with some critical results. Two evades is not helpful at all to this ship when it is in its preferred combat attack range.

Relying on an engineering to move shields takes away from what this ship needs to do best: Maneuver or attack before its destroyed.

D-Caps makes them useful at least on IIs, since now they can strike with long-distance hits to get some sniping 1-2 damage into an arc.

I think it's telling that the OP is asking for a Demolisher-like title to allow the ship to punch after it moves- because that's the only way it works best. It has to be in position at the start of its activation to make the most of its inherent abilities. Unfortunately this means (IMO) how well it lives or dies depends on whether a player can make this happen and allow the ship to live.

Raiders can be excellent when built to a certain role, and flown well in that role. And one of two things will usually happen to the Raider by turn 5--it'll either be gone, hopefully a worthwhile sacrifice to the glory of the Emperor, or it will be disengaging at speed 3 or 4 from the battlefield with at least one arc of shields gone and a couple of damage cards.

They go POOF easily if they are not flown well. But they can punch well above their weight if flown well.

In other words, it's a rewarding ship when you are able to use it well.