TIE/in Interceptor - Saber Squadron Ace - 41 Saber Squadron Ace - (40) Marksmanship (1)

TIE/in Interceptor - Saber Squadron Ace - 41 Saber Squadron Ace - (40) Marksmanship (1)

TIE/ph Phantom - Sigma Squadron Ace - 58 Sigma Squadron Ace - (46) Juke (4) Advanced Sensors (8)

TIE/ph Phantom - Sigma Squadron Ace - 58 Sigma Squadron Ace - (46) Juke (4) Advanced Sensors (8)

Total: 198/200

Designed as a fun list that has a bite, but not a lot of staying power without some good maneuvering. Probably won't be considered even close to a competitive list, though I might run it in the first one or two 2.0 tourneys just to try it out and surprise some people. Any thoughts on it?

Actually, you'd be surprised by how 'competitive' this type of list actually is. Its strong against swarms and barrage rocket bombers (the kings of jousting currently). Those are going to be some of the dominant lists in the early days.

The other 'strong' lists are going to consist of higher Initiative aces. The majority of which are going to depend on their green dice to mitigate damage. So for that reason, I strongly suggest Crack Shot instead of Marksmanship. Marksmanship is best against low agility stuff with lots of hull that can't evade your damage well. Frankly, those kinds of ships are not super strong out the starting gate (with maybe the exception being the ghost....but honestly, I think a list like yours can handle that thing just fine). So you don't really need to tech against it right now.

On the other hand, Soontir, Vader, Luke and even Wedge are really going to dismantle your list fast unless you can put reliable damage on them. Crackshot isn't super easy to trigger on the higher Initiative guys (and neither is marksmanship), but at least Crackshot presents a greater threat and maybe forces them to spend their actions on movement (to escape your bulls-eye) instead of possibly target-locking and piling on the damage before you get to shoot...

Admittedly, they are both circumstantial, and so having one or the other isn't going to make a huge difference in performance in the grand scheme of things. But really, that's the only change I can see bothering with. The list is fine, really.

Personally, I'm keen to try Composure on Saber Interceptors. Boost or Barrel Roll, then attempt to perform a boost or barrel roll which fails. Maybe you're too close to the enemy ship to boost, or you've got an asteroid along side you. Then, after failing the action, you don't take stress, but can perform a white focus action. It's not that different than what an Interceptor can normally do with Autothrusters, except they don't take stress, leaving cool stuff like the 1-hard open for next turn. I have no idea whether it'll actually be good or not, but I'm keen to try.

I also think Marksmanship isn't good here. Crits are nice in 2e, but pushing damage through Crack Shot or rerolls with Predator just seems like it'd be better.

I'm not sure on Advanced Sensors. They easily could be good, but they also cost a lot. I wonder if something cheaper might be better, like Collision Detector. You can easily deliberately place yourself behind rocks, and then ignore them, Dash knows is a really cool trick. With Decloak already allowing you pre-move repositioning, some of the the benefits of AdvS are a bit lower than on other ships. That's an on-table thing, though. Both allow you to do something potentially potent.

53 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:

Personally, I'm keen to try Composure on Saber Interceptors. Boost or Barrel Roll, then attempt to perform a boost or barrel roll which fails. Maybe you're too close to the enemy ship to boost, or you've got an asteroid along side you. Then, after failing the action, you don't take stress, but can perform a white focus action. It's not that different than what an Interceptor can normally do with Autothrusters, except they don't take stress, leaving cool stuff like the 1-hard open for next turn. I have no idea whether it'll actually be good or not, but I'm keen to try.

I also think Marksmanship isn't good here. Crits are nice in 2e, but pushing damage through Crack Shot or rerolls with Predator just seems like it'd be better.

I'm not sure on Advanced Sensors. They easily could be good, but they also cost a lot. I wonder if something cheaper might be better, like Collision Detector. You can easily deliberately place yourself behind rocks, and then ignore them, Dash knows is a really cool trick. With Decloak already allowing you pre-move repositioning, some of the the benefits of AdvS are a bit lower than on other ships. That's an on-table thing, though. Both allow you to do something potentially potent.

Composure offers a very circumstantial benefit in that case. Most of the time, an Interceptor is not that bothered taking a stress token. So the opportunity cost is 2 points and you can't take a 'better' Talent. Now granted, crackshot or predator are not *much* better, but this kind of list needs as much offense as it can generate, especially in the early stage of the game when the interceptors are most vulnerable.

As for Advanced Sensors, I'd say they are ESSENTIAL! You're running a squad that wants to split up. The interceptors DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT TO JOUST! So adv. sensors allows you to throw the phantoms into the face of a strong jousting squad at lower initiative and have no fear of getting blocked. It can also give you some interesting moves to catch your opponent by surprise. Meanwhile, your interceptors can safely flank (more or less). It also has the advantage of making k-turns a much more attractive option, since with that evade token, you have the option of switching it for a cloak token (even if you are stressed).

Good point about the Marksmenship, I use it as mostly a placeholder Talent until I think of something more useful to throw in there.