TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 76
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (70)
Fire-Control System (3)
Hate (3)

TIE/ph Phantom - •“Whisper” - 62
•“Whisper” - Soft-Spoken Slayer (52)
Juke (4)
Stealth Device (6)

TIE/sa Bomber - Gamma Squadron Ace - 52
Gamma Squadron Ace - (30)
Trick Shot (1)
Proton Torpedoes (9)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Proton Bombs (5)
Skilled Bombardier (2)

Total: 190/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Would ideally need help on the upgrades for each ship as im struggling for good combinations. Ideally I wouldn’t change any ships as these are the ones I’m most comfortable with. A punisher is out of the question as I don’t own one, hence why the bombers here.

• Bomber
  • That Gamma Ace seems way overloaded, and could easily die before it uses half the ordnance it carries.
  • I know you said you didn't want to change ships, but the named bombers are just better than generic ones, as a filler ship.
  • Personally, I'd run Captain Jonus (since he grants himself rerolls, too) with Barrage Rockets instead of any other Missiles/Torpedoes. Really solid for just 42 points.
  • If you really wanted a Bomber and it has to be Proton Torpedoes, I'd run Major Rhymer, with just Proton Torpedoes. Since he's able to get the shot off at Range 1-3 instead of just 2-3, you'll be better against range control from an opponent.
  • Keeping Proton Bombs is probably fine. Skilled Bombardier is also probably fine, but I'd probably rather have the bid, since you've got a lot of ships at fairly well contested initiative levels.
• Whisper
  • Whisper is solid. As long as you have Juke on Whisper, you're probably doing fine.
  • Since you're going with Vader as a pilot, I'd consider 0-0-0 crew. Either getting a Calculate token or handing out Stress are kinda useful, and it's only 3 points.
  • Stealth Devise is fine, but personally I prefer Collision Detector. It opens up a lot of nice moves, since you'll be be able to fly through an obstacle. Whether that's just clipping edges (it happens sometimes), facing off against Quadjumpers (really handy to shut those down), or intentionally decloaking/moving through an obstacle for position, I think it's a really handy upgrade.
• Vader
  • Vader is probably fine-ish.
  • I'm skeptical of Hate. There's something about it which makes sense as a cheap upgrade, but it only triggers when you take damage, and I want to avoid taking damage on Vader. I'd rather devote my points to something which helps me avoid taking damage in the first place.
  • The common build (boring but popular for a reason) is Supernatural Reflexes, Afterburners, and FCS (with FCS being the easiest upgrade to cut). Vader can use SNR to barrel roll before a move, and then use his ability to grab focus, lock, or both, before he moves. Perhaps you've dialed in a red move. Perhaps you think you'll bump. There's just a lot of options.
  • Afterburners are also a great upgrade. Often, a barrel roll alone isn't enough to get Vader out of a bad situation. Maybe your opponent guessed right, and you'll land up in the guns of a lot of ships. Boost more often than Barrel Roll can get you out of a firing arc.
  • Fire Control System, while nice, is probably the easiest one to cut, since Vader already has such great action economy. You don't really need to save your lock from turn to turn, since you can easily just grab a new one and a focus by spending a force charge. Ditching FCS allows Vader to be more opportunistic and less predictable. Keeping the lock on one ship and chasing it until it dies makes it easier for an opponent to guess where you'll go. Now, there's no reason why an FCS Vader can't change targets too, except the fact that it's easy to get distracted by the resources/action already sunk into grabbing a lock.

//

My version:

• Vader (Supernatural Reflexes, Afterburners, Fire Control System) 93
• Whisper (Juke, Collision Detector, 0-0-0) 64
• Captain Jonus (Barrage Rockets) 52
• Total 199, bid 1.
  • If cutting things for a bigger bid, I'd cut FCS, then 0-0-0, then Collision Detector.

I've played Rexlar, Echo and Rhymer. Which is sort of similar.

What I find is that the Bomber is liable to just go poof. For me, it was a temporary distraction/damage dealer, buying room and time for the aces to go where they please. So I liked it cheap.

APT Rhymer is a considerable shepherd for 40pt. If the opponent slips on him, he can swing a game. Because he such a one hit wonder, you can hold him off and create areas of threat, waiting for the big strike, especially against aces. Which can get the other 2 in great positions before shots are even fired.

If he can get clear, after delivering a hit and reload, you're laughing. I've never fired them again but the threat is so real at that point, resources are diverted to make sure it doesn't happen. Or they simply run away from him.

He can whiff, or just die, but 40pt....

Jonas offers a more reliable, but less punishing option. But I'd still go dirt cheap on him and then go all in on the aces.

But I might be wrong

I think Fig really covers the bases, but here's my 10 cents:

Vader does not want to be hit = Vader does not want Hate. Vade wants SR to avoid being hit and FCS for efficiency.

Whisper only needs Juke. CollDet and 0-0-0 are both great, but somewhat optional imo. Stealth Device? Not superb.

The Gamma is definetely way too much. Jonus with Brockets, ProBombs, and Bombardier fits nicely, as does Rhymer with Protorps, Probombs, and Bombardier.

Thanks everyone for their input. Having taken everyone’s criticism into account, I came up with this.

TIE/sa Bomber - •Captain Jonus - 42
•Captain Jonus - Disciplined Instructor (36)
Barrage Rockets (6)

TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 85
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (70)
Fire-Control System (3)
Supernatural Reflexes (12)

TIE/ph Phantom - •“Whisper” - 62
•“Whisper” - Soft-Spoken Slayer (52)
Juke (4)
Stealth Device (6)

Total: 189/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

I would’ve put 0-0-0 on to whisper, but unfortunately I don’t have a copy of him. I have also found that the stealth device on whisper makes her a very valuable piece in the endgame, as it rarely lets her take damage. Even if she rolls blanks, it’s another dice to modify with a focus or evade. I have also not put collision detector on her because in games where I’ve played it I’ve found that I don’t use it to great effect.

Now that the bomber is cheaper, I’ve decides to put supernatural on Vader. I didn’t put it on in the first version of the list because I’ve never used it on Vader. It seems worth a try though, and when I used it on the inquisitor it was quite fun.

As for the bomber, I’m much more happier with the Jonus build with it being cheaper and therefore more expendable. I would’ve put Jonus into the first list had I realised he could modify his own dice.

Again, thanks everyone for your feedback, it’s a massive help to me.