2.0 Defender/Phantom

By SDCC, in X-Wing Squad Lists

I know I'm going to use a Defender in my first 2.0 list. But I've been thinking about what to put with it. Then I saw the thread about Phantoms and it got my interest.

So here's a first pass at a list I think could be fun. Seyn backs up Brath's ability, while picking a target could be tricky for the opponent.

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom 52
Juke 4
Fire-Control System 3
Darth Vader 14
Shield Upgrade*

Rexler Brath — TIE Defender 84
Juke 4
Fire-Control System3

Seyn Marana — TIE Fighter 30

200 Points

How does whisper get the lock to use FCS? Phantoms don’t have the TL action like it was in 1.0. If you want the TL you should use Krennic crew.

I played Whisper with Vader a couple of times. The combo is really effective and fun to play.

suggestions: If you drop the shield upgrade and FCS you have some points left to upgrade the TIE fighter. I wouldn’t use FCS on the defender either to keep it as cheap as possible.

If you use Krennic + FCS you can fly one of the striker pilots with an upgrade.

This is my approach:

https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic Empire&d=v4!s!199:123,113,28,-1:-1:-1:;196:123,-1,-1,-1:-1:-1:;211:119,-1,-1,-1:-1:-1:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=

1 hour ago, Ryuneke said:

How does whisper get the lock to use FCS? Phantoms don’t have the TL action like it was in 1.0. If you want the TL you should use Krennic crew.

I played Whisper with Vader a couple of times. The combo is really effective and fun to play.

suggestions: If you drop the shield upgrade and FCS you have some points left to upgrade the TIE fighter. I wouldn’t use FCS on the defender either to keep it as cheap as possible.

If you use Krennic + FCS you can fly one of the striker pilots with an upgrade.

This is my approach:

https://raithos.github.io/?f=Galactic Empire&d=v4!s!199:123,113,28,-1:-1:-1:;196:123,-1,-1,-1:-1:-1:;211:119,-1,-1,-1:-1:-1:&sn=Unnamed Squadron&obs=

Thanks for that. I hadn't realised the Phantom didn't have TL!

I'm not so keen on the Krennic thing, so I'll drop FCS off.

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom 52
Juke 4
Collision Detector 5
Darth Vader 14
Ship Total: 73

Rexler Brath — TIE Defender 84
Juke 4
Collision Detector 5
Ship Total: 93

Gideon Hask — TIE Fighter 30
Crack Shot 1
Ship Total: 31

Whisper and Rex do the damage and Gideon follows up. Rex can pull out an unexpected move on to rocks if needed, lending him some unpredictability outside of the K turn. Whisper can do much the same and force some token removal or damage. They're both evading (hopefully) so Juke kicks in too to be really annoying.

I'd just drop Hask for Maransa with Marksmanship. She's a neat package that will start putting facedown cards under the shields of her opponents. Solid counter to Rebel (and Scum ? ) regen, costs the same as your Gideon. That way, once you get through shields, Rexler Brath already has cards to expose.

Honestly, I'd just drop the Collision Detector on Whisper. Unless I'm missing something, I believe it doesn't help with decloaking at all. You could throw a Hull Upgrade on her or a Shield or Stealth Device if you free up a point.

How about this list:
- [88] Rexler Brath / Juke

- [56] Whisper / Juke

- [56] Soontir Fel / Lone Wolf

200 points on the dot. Sadly no points for Init bid, but Soontir's Lone Wolf talent could easily become Predator or something else like Predator or Crack Shot to free up a few points :)

Thoughts? :)

40 minutes ago, Praetorate of the Empire said:

I'd just drop Hask for Maransa with Marksmanship. She's a neat package that will start putting facedown cards under the shields of her opponents. Solid counter to Rebel (and Scum ? ) regen, costs the same as your Gideon. That way, once you get through shields, Rexler Brath already has cards to expose.

Honestly, I'd just drop the Collision Detector on Whisper. Unless I'm missing something, I believe it doesn't help with decloaking at all. You could throw a Hull Upgrade on her or a Shield or Stealth Device if you free up a point.

I must admit I like Hask because the chap who played him is also in Arrow, a show I've watched since it began.

But I had my thinking the other way around - That Marana wouldn't be doing much for Rex. But I see what you mean now. Slip them in for later!

I do have a tendency to fill slots if they're free, so collision detector could go on Whisper.

That leaves me with this -

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom 52
Juke 4
Darth Vader 14
Shield Upgrade 6


Rexler Brath — TIE Defender 84
Juke 4
Collision Detector 5


Seyn Marana — TIE Fighter 30
Marksmanship 1

Dot on 200

Edited by SDCC
16 minutes ago, SDCC said:

I must admit I like Hask because the chap who played him is also in Arrow, a show I've watched since it began.

But I had my thinking the other way around - That Marana wouldn't be doing much for Rex. But I see what you mean now. Slip them in for later!

I do have a tendency to fill slots if they're free, so collision detector could go on Whisper.

That leaves me with this -

"Whisper" — TIE Phantom 52
Juke 4
Darth Vader 14
Shield Upgrade 6


Rexler Brath — TIE Defender 84
Juke 4
Collision Detector 5


Seyn Marana — TIE Fighter 30
Marksmanship 1

Dot on 200

I think FCS is actually really good on Rex. Frees up a bit for a good system on Whisper

2 minutes ago, Greebwahn said:

I think FCS is actually really good on Rex. Frees up a bit for a good system on Whisper

Could you elaborate?

Half the time I remember the old terms a card used, so the more info the better!

Well all he needs to do is take a lock action on the target once and he always gets a free reroll there. So after he first locks, he can consistently have evade, focus, reroll.

I'm not quite sure on the math but that could give Whisper AdSen

Brath (juke, cool detector)

WHISPER (juke)

Sigma Ace (juke)

Can't really afford to splurge because defenders are outrageously expensive

You also don't need to. Phantoms don't need anything apart from juke to be effective

Edited by ficklegreendice

That looks solid. I think you'll get a lot of mileage out of Marana. She doesn't need support, she just floats around, stays out of arcs, and flips coins to see if she gets a hit to change to a crit to change to direct-to-hull damage. The other pieces are strong, so yeah, should be a solid list.

But if you like Hask...

  • INFERNAL PUNISHMENT ii (200/200)
    • Whisper (52) [66]
      • Juke (4)
      • Admiral Sloane (10)
    • Iden Version (40) [41]
      • Crack Shot (1)
    • Del Meeko (30) [31]
      • Crack Shot (1)
    • Gideon Hask (30) [31]
      • Ruthless (1)
    • Seyn Marana (30) [31]
      • Marksmanship (1)

You could swap around Marksmanship, Ruthless, and Crack Shot on Iden, Del, and Gideon, But I think this is a fun list. You could also switch out Sloane for Kallus to boost her offense, but I think Sloane swarms will shut down aces hard . Plus the four Inferno Squad pilots synergize very well. You can also drop to Echo so everyone is at I4, which could be convenient and give you a few points to change into Predator.

Fly Inferno in a neat formation and let Del Meeko take care of everyone while Iden saves someone when necessary. Fire with Seyn first, Del, Iden, then party with Hask on whoever Seyn dropped a facedown card on. Mostly Hask and Seyn are synergistic offense while Del helps defensively against the same enemies. You should give it a whirl.

20 minutes ago, Praetorate of the Empire said:

That looks solid. I think you'll get a lot of mileage out of Marana. She doesn't need support, she just floats around, stays out of arcs, and flips coins to see if she gets a hit to change to a crit to change to direct-to-hull damage. The other pieces are strong, so yeah, should be a solid list.

But if you like Hask...

  • INFERNAL PUNISHMENT ii (200/200)
    • Whisper (52) [66]
      • Juke (4)
      • Admiral Sloane (10)
    • Iden Version (40) [41]
      • Crack Shot (1)
    • Del Meeko (30) [31]
      • Crack Shot (1)
    • Gideon Hask (30) [31]
      • Ruthless (1)
    • Seyn Marana (30) [31]
      • Marksmanship (1)

You could swap around Marksmanship, Ruthless, and Crack Shot on Iden, Del, and Gideon, But I think this is a fun list. You could also switch out Sloane for Kallus to boost her offense, but I think Sloane swarms will shut down aces hard . Plus the four Inferno Squad pilots synergize very well. You can also drop to Echo so everyone is at I4, which could be convenient and give you a few points to change into Predator.

Fly Inferno in a neat formation and let Del Meeko take care of everyone while Iden saves someone when necessary. Fire with Seyn first, Del, Iden, then party with Hask on whoever Seyn dropped a facedown card on. Mostly Hask and Seyn are synergistic offense while Del helps defensively against the same enemies. You should give it a whirl.

An Inferno Squad...Squad, has intrigued me! I've already got 6 TIEs and I'll get several more from Core Sets.

The Defender is my favourite ship so I want to use it, but this is cool and I'll try to use it early on!!

33 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

Brath (juke, cool detector)

WHISPER (juke)

Sigma Ace (juke)

Can't really afford to splurge because defenders are outrageously expensive

You also don't need to. Phantoms don't need anything apart from juke to be effective

Had to look up the Sigma. Didn't expect it to be I4!

Yeah, phantoms are incredibly economical

3 hours ago, ficklegreendice said:

Brath (juke, cool detector)

WHISPER (juke)

Sigma Ace (juke)

Can't really afford to splurge because defenders are outrageously expensive

You also don't need to. Phantoms don't need anything apart from juke to be effective

I was playing with a similar thing earlier. Sort of ended up here...

Ryad- Daredevil, Adv Sen

Sigma- Juke

Sigma- Juke.

Then I had 3pts I didn't know what to do with.... So I stuck a Tractor Beam on Ryad :D

All being I4 is a big attraction to me.

Honestly no idea how it would stack up, I've not played any 2.0 yet. Attack mods are lacking/prone to stripping.

I was looking at Col Det on both Phantoms, with Rexlar instead of Ryad as well, no Adv Sen... There's lots of tough choices to make with the amount of points the bare ships leave to play with.

Edited by Cuz05

That Ryad is ridiculous. Boost into a 1-hard, then Green 5 K. You'll have nothing for dice mods, but the positioning possibilities! LOL

Just been informed, and it makes sense, it's easy enough to miss, but Ryad's Straight-to-K turns are increased difficulty, so only white. Makes the hard-boost a little trickier to use effectively.

Edited by theBitterFig

this was my version:

"Sigma Squadron Ace" (46)
Squad Leader (4)
Advanced Sensors (8)
Director Krennic (5)
Stealth Device (*)

Rexler Brath (84)
Juke (4)
Fire-Control System (3)
Heavy Laser Cannon (4)
Homing Missiles (3)

Seyn Marana (30)
Marksmanship (1)

Total: 198

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Pure support Phantom- able to Squad Leader a TL onto Rexler or barrel roll Seyn into a shot, while permanantly rolling 5 defense dice. Homing missile on Rex is fun, because it ALWAYS triggers his ability.