Interceptors were my first love in X-Wing, and they're the thing I'm most excited to get back on the table in 2e. While I'd dig breaking out four or five saber squadron, I've only got three models on hand. I'm fiddling around (and seeking advice) on the following two lists.

This first one is fairly straightforward and relies on making sure the TIE/lns do enough blocking and ruthless-enabling to get Soontir to the endgame:

Saber Squadron Ace (40)
Ruthless (1)

Saber Squadron Ace (40)
Ruthless (1)

Soontir Fel (52)
Outmaneuver (6)
Afterburners (8)

Academy Pilot (23)

Academy Pilot (23)

Total: 194

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

Would swarm leader be too situational for Soontir here? It sounds fun to bump a wingman up to I6, but I4 is decent and swarm leader does nothing late.

The second idea looks hella fun. Coordinating Ciena Ree provides an enormous amount of unpredictability to the squints, and coming early in the initiative order means that they can dial in blue maneuvers and stay stress free for their own action(s). It's a somewhat lighter Soontir and has no bid. Keeping only Ree and the Tac Officer allows 15 points of play for bid, epts, and mods. Dropping Soontir to a Saber would free up a total of 27 points, enough to put predator and a hull upgrade on all three interceptors.

Saber Squadron Ace (40)
Marksmanship (1)

Saber Squadron Ace (40)
Marksmanship (1)

Soontir Fel (52)
Predator (2)
Stealth Device (8)

Scarif Base Pilot (41)
Ciena Ree (10)
Tactical Officer (2)
Hull Upgrade (3)

Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

Thoughts?

Well, here's my thoughts:

Ruthless is not a good idea when all you have is 3 hull ships. If you had more ships, like 7, then I'd consider it. But there's rarely going to be a situation where its a good idea to use in your list. For the same point, you could put Crack Shot instead. At first, you may find it hard to trigger with the bulls-eye requirement because it does take getting used to (you really have to plan your bulls-eye placement during the planning phase and figure out whether a boost or barrel roll will be required to get it based on where you expect your opponent to go). But once you figure it out, its basically a free point of damage (and so a better deal than ruthless, but just once per game). In fact, I'd say that there is no question that Crack Shot is the ideal Talent for Sabre Aces (they aren't always going to get bulls-eyes, but they are almost certainly going to do it at least once per game, and that's all you really need with crack shot). So I'd also say reach for that card over any of the other 1 point Talents.

Afterburners are entirely unnecessary on Fel. I tried it in two games and never triggered it once in either game, so I just dropped it and never missed it. The nice thing about the new interceptor's autothruster ability is that you don't always need it, especially on Fel. That means he isn't stressed all the time, and so it opens up his dial, allowing you to fly him a little less predictably.

I do think predator is a good fit on him, but again, it takes getting used to lining up that bulls-eye arc. Of course, you have to be careful about getting to 'predictable' with Fel, so its best not to go for it every time (at least in situations where you want to surprise your opponent). Having said that, Juke is also good on Soontir, but only if you take multiple Jukes in your list. Outmaneuver is certainly not a bad idea, but only if you plan on using Soontir as a flanker (splitting him off from the rest of your list).

Ciena Ree: Honestly, I feel that this is a trap card for interceptors. They are already the most maneuverable ship in the game thanks to an amazing dial coupled with the autothruster ability. You don't NEED any MORE unpredictability! And besides, I don't believe Ciena Ree will surprise veteran players. Not even a little. Its not too hard to predict when the best times to use it are coming up. So its an expensive card that will work best against scrubs. Do you really need that kind of edge to beat newer players? In my opinion, it is a waste of 10 points. Besides, Interceptors don't want to be stressed and actionless unless you are 100% certain they cannot get shot that turn (otherwise kiss that interceptor good bye). So there will actually be very few opportunities to safely use it. Generally speaking, you are almost always better off using autothrusters to get your ships into safe positions and turning them around back into the fight instead of red moves.

So onto list ideas! Since you built a list with a reaper, I assume that's something you want to use, so let's start with that:

Soontir w/ Juke = 56

Sabre Ace w/ crack shot = 41

Alpha Interceptor = 34

Major Vermeil w/ Juke & Darth Vader = 67

198

So this is potentially a dangerous squad to face. I suggest leading the charge with the Alpha (he's your blocker, and in doing so, he enables Juke). Soontir should flank because if he's too close to your other ships, his movement options will get constrained and since he's your closer, you really don't want him to get focus-fired on early. Vermeil and Sabre Ace have the same Initiative, giving you flexibility in activating them, but even so, you should keep a good gap between them so your Sabre has plenty of room to maneuver. It will take a while to get used to the medium base, and the reaper's dial is not the greatest, but this Vermeil has the potential to deal out incredible pain before he's destroyed (and likely that's who your opponent will shoot first).

You have a number of ways to strip tokens, and that is the key to generating your squad's offense. First there's Alpha as a potential blocker. Then there's Vader. You also have the Jam action, although its rarely going to be the right call (since Evade on Vermeil is likely to help more). And of course, if Soontir and Vermeil shoot at the same target, at least one of them is guaranteed to juke damage through green dice. Not to mention Vermeil's own ability! And then of course there's still the Crack Shot from Sabre Ace.

Its not an easy list to fly though. All of your ships are squishy and you will have to be very careful where you place them. Learning when to kite and when to commit will be the biggest curve to getting good value out of this list.

List 2 (3 Interceptors + 2 Strikers):

This is the squad I plan on using for now (at least until I get two more interceptor dials, because I think Sabre Ace is ultimately superior to Black Squadron Scout).

2 Sabre Aces w/ crack shot = 41 x 2

1 Black squad scout w/ crack shot & proton bomb = 44

1 Black squad scout w/ crack shot = 39

1 Alpha Interceptor = 34

199

The nice thing about proton bombs on Strikers is that its extremely unlikely that any of your own ships will be hurt by it (since they are all really fast) and its possible your opponent will forget you have it since its a new 2.0 option for the striker that few people take advantage of.

I split these guys into 3 groups. Alpha has to deploy first, so he goes into the middle of the table (able to react to whatever side the opponent deploys on). Then the two strikers deploy one in front of the other (offset so their banks don't bump each other) and the two sabres do the same. Whether you put them all together in one corner or split them on opposite corners depends on how your opponent deploys. If given the option, I'd always prefer to flank with the Sabres (they are squishier and also better at staying behind slow moving enemy ships).

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the feedback!

1 hour ago, blade_mercurial said:

Ciena Ree: Honestly, I feel that this is a trap card for interceptors. They are already the most maneuverable ship in the game thanks to an amazing dial coupled with the autothruster ability. You don't NEED any MORE unpredictability! And besides, I don't believe Ciena Ree will surprise veteran players. Not even a little. Its not too hard to predict when the best times to use it are coming up. So its an expensive card that will work best against scrubs. Do you really need that kind of edge to beat newer players? In my opinion, it is a waste of 10 points. Besides, Interceptors don't want to be stressed and actionless unless you are 100% certain they cannot get shot that turn (otherwise kiss that interceptor good bye). So there will actually be very few opportunities to safely use it. Generally speaking, you are almost always better off using autothrusters to get your ships into safe positions and turning them around back into the fight instead of red moves.

Part of what makes this attractive is the fun I've had with Starviper Mk. II. With the coordinate happening before the activation, you can have a blue move dialed in on your interceptor, coordinate to a boost or BR with Ree and turn 90 degrees, take your stress token, then complete your blue move on the interceptor's activation, clear the stress, and still have an action (and the ability to chain/autothrusters if needed). That 90 degree turn can get a ship into or out of a furball really fast. That said, I do think it might be too situational for 10 points; you can only do that trick with one ship a turn, and you're using your reaper's action to do it. It might also be a little too early at initiative 1, since it gives your opponents opportunity to do things like rotate turrets or complete their own reposition actions with knowledge of which way you're facing. You can fiddle with it a little by dropping hull upgrade and tac officer and bumping the reaper up to Vizier, but that just takes you to I2. You can finesse things to get up to Vermeil and have the choice about which I4 things you activate first, but if you're upgrading to Vermeil just to do coordinate tricks, you're probably doing it wrong. (It's too bad it's got to be a coordinated boost or BR, because being able to turn a decimator 90 degrees at a key moment would be awesome.)

The suggested lists are interesting. Combining token stripping with interceptors seems really smart. Using Pred-Soontir instead of Juke-Soontir in that first list would allow you to swap in Whisper-Juke-Vader (at 70 pts) for Vermeil. That leaves you with just a one-point pseudo-bid, which isn't enough to make sure Soontir can line up for predator, but it does give you another ship with endgame potential.

If you want 3 interceptors, try 3 Alphas and a Tie Defender.

TIE/in Interceptor - Alpha Squadron Pilot - 34
Alpha Squadron Pilot - (34)

TIE/in Interceptor - Alpha Squadron Pilot - 34
Alpha Squadron Pilot - (34)

TIE/in Interceptor - Alpha Squadron Pilot - 34
Alpha Squadron Pilot - (34)

TIE/D Defender - Rexler Brath - 96
•Rexler Brath - Onyx Leader (84)
Juke (4)
Collision Detector (5)
Homing Missiles (3)

Total: 198/200