So with the drop in points to all the X1s and the point drop for FCS, you can now fit a perfect 5x Tempest w/ FCS.

TIE Advanced x1 - Tempest Squadron Pilot - 40
Tempest Squadron Pilot - (38)
Fire-Control System (2)

TIE Advanced x1 - Tempest Squadron Pilot - 40
Tempest Squadron Pilot - (38)
Fire-Control System (2)

TIE Advanced x1 - Tempest Squadron Pilot - 40
Tempest Squadron Pilot - (38)
Fire-Control System (2)

TIE Advanced x1 - Tempest Squadron Pilot - 40
Tempest Squadron Pilot - (38)
Fire-Control System (2)

TIE Advanced x1 - Tempest Squadron Pilot - 40
Tempest Squadron Pilot - (38)
Fire-Control System (2)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

If perhaps you don’t have that many TIE Adv. Another new option, and probably one of the ones I’m most interested in, is the Storm Squadron Special. They’ve retrofitted all their ships with hull upgrades since they know their ruthless squadron mates won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Finally, another variation, this time slippin g in Jendon in place of the fourth Storm Squadron. He gives them early locks and then provides meat for their ruthlessness.

Lambda -class T-4a Shuttle - •Colonel Jendon - 50
•Colonel Jendon - Darth Vader’s Shuttle Pilot (46)
Shield Upgrade (4)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

TIE Advanced x1 - Storm Squadron Ace - 50
Storm Squadron Ace - (40)
Ruthless (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Hull Upgrade (7)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

Seems exciting, perhaps TIE X1s might be fun now?

Once you buy 4 TIE x1s, I'm not sure anything is going to stop you from buying one more.

I'm kind of fascinated by the concept of Howlrunner and 4x Tempest. Your ships won't have locks on the first round, so having focus/reroll on the approach probably means they're a bit less pillow-fisted on round one. Round 2, Howl hopefully is granting rerolls still, so you might not even need FCS. 8 points for a Shield Upgrade on Howlrunner?

//

Also, huge buff on the aces. TIE Adv x1 always loved having Afterburners, and those also got cheaper.

Maarek Stele with Crack Shot, Fire Control System, and Afterburners is 55 points. That's kind of reasonable.

1 minute ago, theBitterFig said:

Maarek Stele with     Marksmanship , Fire Control System, and Afterburners is 55 points. That's kind of reasonable.

FTFY, although Crack Shot is also reasonable for pushing a crit through. Honestly I hadn’t even looked at the aces yet. Steele could easily find his way in to a list.

1 minute ago, Phelan Boots said:

FTFY, although Crack Shot is also reasonable for pushing a crit through. Honestly I hadn’t even looked at the aces yet. Steele could easily find his way in to a list.

There's also a hybrid style of list. Maarek + 2x Storm or Tempest + Jendon, for example.

Holy moly. I used a Vader/Maarek/Jendon list before and had quite a bit of fun with it even though I had to keep them somewhat light, but now:

Darth Vader (65)
Hate (3)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)

Maarek Stele (46)
Marksmanship (1)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)

Colonel Jendon (65)
Fire-Control System (2)
Jamming Beam (0)
Director Krennic (5)
Grand Moff Tarkin (6)
ST-321 (4)

Total: 194 pts

Man this looks great, got to load em all up with goodies and I still end up with a reasonable bid. Afterburners on both X1s will really help their maneuverability, and Tarkin+ST-321 can give enormous action economy. Coordinate and get a free lock on the next target when the X1s are just about ready to get a kill, then use Tarkin on the next turn to give the X1s free target locks on their next victim. Tractor Jendon + 4x Tempests is another that could be fun.

1 hour ago, Enigami said:

Colonel Jendon (65)
Jamming  Beam (0  )

Jamming isn't really useful on Jendon though, as no one is shooting after him.

4 minutes ago, Ikka said:

Jamming isn't really useful on Jendon though, as no one is shooting after him.

While I think it’s mostly included for the memes, there is an edge case to deny a Phantom from recloaking at the end phase.

10 minutes ago, Phelan Boots said:

While I think it’s mostly included for the memes, there is an edge case to deny a Phantom from recloaking at the end phase.

True enough, didn't think about that.

It's mostly just there because it's 0 cost, I figure might as well stick it there. If it's remotely useful even in a very unlikely scenario, it's filling the slot if I don't want to spend points on anything there. I think jamming beams could have some use against uuupsilons too, especially if Hyperspace Tracking gets limited to 1. According to the rules of jamming tokens, the player causing the jam gets control of which green token is removed, and if I understand it right, you can pick any green token including Reinforce. So when the uuupsilons come in reinforced with tokens, you only need 1 hit to get through to strip the reinforce and expose it to the rest of your list. If you get 2+ hits with Jamming Beam, you can strip the focus token too (Tavson's wingmate should be I1-2 so target that one) and/or Target Lock and reduce its firepower before it gets to fire. The incoming 12 red dice will still hurt, but at the very least its Reinforce is gone and if you have 2 or more wingmates firing, they should end up doing as much or more damage than with the Lambda attempting to shoot it through Reinforce+Evades with its primary. Would help a bit for Lambda + 2 dice primary swarm lists that happen to run into them.

But yes, mostly useless on a Lambda + Aces list.

I like the Storm Special. I already have 4 TIE/x1, and was trying to figure out a list without buying a 5th. Having used it on generic TIE/ln I have a healthy respect for Ruthless, and trading a hit on me for a crit on you (thanks to advanced targeting computer) is a lot more palatable than hit-for-hit.

By comparison, if you're taking Jendon, then with Tarkin getting noticeably cheaper, the Tarkin/Krennic combo looks like a good buy:

• Storm Squadron Ace x 3
  • Ruthless
  • Fire Control System
• Colonel Jendon
  • ST-321
  • Collision Detector
  • Director Krennic
  • Grand Moff Tarkin
  • Hull Upgrade

2 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

I like the Storm Special. I already have 4 TIE/x1, and was trying to figure out a list without buying a 5th. Having used it on generic TIE/ln I have a healthy respect for Ruthless, and trading a hit on me for a crit on you (thanks to advanced targeting computer) is a lot more palatable than hit-for-hit.

By comparison, if you're taking Jendon, then with Tarkin getting noticeably cheaper, the Tarkin/Krennic combo looks like a good buy:

• Storm Squadron Ace x 3
  • Ruthless
  • Fire Control System
• Colonel Jendon
  • ST-321
  • Collision Detector
  • Director Krennic
  • Grand Moff Tarkin
  • Hull Upgrade

I quite like that. I've ignored the lower-Initiative TIE Advanced because the lack of Accuracy Corrector (and Evade) means they don't hit hard enough and aren't tough enough, but this looks quite a nice way around the problem.

Not sure I wouldn't rather have FCS than Clish Det on Jendon, though, given the amount of Target Lock that's likely to be happening. Could even slap an HLC on the shuttle with the spare points, since initiative bid is largely pointless with this list.

The reason you don't really need fire control is that Jendon isn't locking the person he's going to shoot at .

turn 1, Jendon 'pings' a charge, and the TIE/x1 acquire locks on lucky victim #1. Jendon locks lucky victim #2 instead.

turn 2(ish), everyone rolls into engagement range. Everyone fires 3 dice with focus at lucky victim #1, hopefully terminating them in a messy and painful way.

turn 3 (ish), in the system phase, tarkin pops his ability, allowing the TIE/x1 to acquire free locks on lucky victim #2 without regard to actions or stress.

As to Jendon lists, I think it's worth noting that 4x Tempest + Jendon fits, with only 2 points to spare for upgrades.

Tarkin might be enough of a cool trick, though, to justify a smaller ship count. Have the OptProt Storm attack last, since if you manage to eliminate the Lucky Victim #1 early, he could still use the OptProt to strip a shield.

Ved Foslo with Advanced Sensors and Predator is still one of my favorite Ace combinations. He gets access to what is essentially a full dial with a very, very healthy chunk of green (and a 3 or 2 tallon roll), predator gives you the reroll you lose from not having FCS, and you can always be where you want to be, or ensure you don't get blocked, with Advanced.

At PS4 this means you can absolutley railroad anything you outflank that has lower pilot skill, or, when needed, be a headache and block the heck out of anything higher pilot skill. He went up a little bit due to Adv. Sensors going up by two, but he's pretty good for 57. Not the most efficient thing ever, but plenty of room for three others. I had him with Seyn/Markmanship, Sabacc/Brother and Juke, and Rhymer/Proton Bombs, Marksmanship, Skilled Bombardier, APT. Due to points changes, this now costs 198 instead of 200, and you can totally swap off the bombs if you don't like it.

Seems like a fun Ved, @Cow-of-Doom . I'd been thinking of AdvS, but the Predator potential hadn't occurred to me.

How's this for a TIE x3 list?

• Ved Folso (Predator, Advanced Sensors, Afterburners) 63
• Maarek Stele (Elusive, Fire Control System, Afterburners) 57
• Darth Vader (Hate, Collision Detector, Afterburners) 80

Gotta swing myself an extra copy of Afterburners...

Looks good. In particular, Ved Folso with afterburners and advanced sensors is a great combination - since the trigger for afterburners is the speed of the manoeuvre you execute , not the one you reveal, Ved can dial in a speed 2 turn or bank and either drop it to speed 1 or kick it up to speed 3 + boost. That's a lot of variability in final position from the same dial start-point, and even more so with advanced sensors thrown in - since Ved can roll, link to a red focus, reveal a speed 2 bank, execute it as a blue speed 3 bank and de-stress, boost with afterburners, and then target lock some poor fool who assumed what was on his dial bore any resemblance to where he was actually going....

Collision Detector rather than Fire Control on Vader seems like a waste but I guess it opens up a lot of movement options and it's not like he's short of actions. Besides, it'd only save 3 points and with Homing Missiles going up in cost I'm not sure what else you could spend them on.

17 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

As to Jendon lists, I think it's worth noting that 4x Tempest + Jendon fits, with only 2 points to spare for upgrades.

Probably Tractor Beam on Jendon. Since you have to massively telegraph your initial target, being able to "oh no you don't" and roll or boost an elusive target back into the TIE/x1 firing line might be a good idea, quite aside from the agility reduction....

4 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Looks good. In particular, Ved Folso with afterburners and advanced sensors is a great combination - since the trigger for afterburners is the speed of the manoeuvre you execute , not the one you reveal, Ved can dial in a speed 2 turn or bank and either drop it to speed 1 or kick it up to speed 3 + boost. That's a lot of variability in final position from the same dial start-point, and even more so with advanced sensors thrown in - since Ved can roll, link to a red focus, reveal a speed 2 bank, execute it as a blue speed 3 bank and de-stress, boost with afterburners, and then target lock some poor fool who assumed what was on his dial bore any resemblance to where he was actually going....

Alas, if it were only 1e Advanced Sensors, which didn't block you from all other actions. I still kinda like it on Ved. Dial in a 2-hard, then you can do something like barrel roll away into a 1-hard back in to barely move, or not use AdvS resolve as a 3-hard and boost (maybe even into Focus/Roll).

4 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Collision Detector rather than Fire Control on Vader seems like a waste but I guess it opens up a lot of movement options and it's not like he's short of actions. Besides, it'd only save 3 points and with Homing Missiles going up in cost I'm not sure what else you could spend them on.

ColDet Vader might not be worth it. The ability to just fly through stuff is nice, but it's mostly that Vader gets so many actions that he can just spend his locks and not have to worry.

FCS and a baby bid doesn't seem bad, though. I'm kind of a fan of baby-bids. Lots of folks have the mindset of 15 point bids or none, so a 2-4 point bid can sometimes slip in and do some good.

4 hours ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Probably Tractor Beam on Jendon. Since you have to massively telegraph your initial target, being able to "oh no you don't" and roll or boost an elusive target back into the TIE/x1 firing line might be a good idea, quite aside from the agility reduction....

Makes sense. Four 3-dice attacks is certainly in the range for where trading a Lambda's shot for a tractor beam is likely to add damage.

Even without the second action, advanced sensors makes you nigh unblockable when you want to be (assuming you don't fly yourself into a giant furball) and allows you to be exactly where you want. I'll have to try him out with afterburners though, that seems incredibly fun for maximum insanity (Black One eat your heart out).

1 hour ago, theBitterFig said:

ColDet Vader might not be worth it. The ability to just fly through stuff is nice, but it's mostly that Vader gets so many actions that he can just spend his locks and not have to worry.

FCS and a baby bid doesn't seem bad, though. I'm kind of a fan of baby-bids. Lots of folks have the mindset of 15 point bids or none, so a 2-4 point bid can sometimes slip in and do some good

Thing is, whilst you can 'just spend your locks', Vader does normally only get one force back per turn. I mean, yes, Hate , but it's not like I want him to get shot, and if he does there's a good chance I'm going to spend 1 or more force reducing the damage anyway. On those occasions I don't need to spend a lock because there's one or less blanks in the roll, it's essentially a force charge saved for next turn, when I might need it.