Please supid-check the below... Anything I'm obviously missing/misunderstanding?

Darth and whisper to scud around, keeping out of arc and laying on some damage - Ties to get in the way... Considering taking Soontir over Whisper... Opinions on that too please...

TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 73
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (65)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)

TIE/ph Phantom - •“Whisper” - 65
•“Whisper” - Soft-Spoken Slayer (54)
Juke (5)
Stealth Device (6)

TIE/ln Fighter - Black Squadron Ace - 29
Black Squadron Ace - (26)
Intimidation (3)

TIE/ln Fighter - Black Squadron Ace - 29
Black Squadron Ace - (26)
Intimidation (3)

Total: 196/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

So here's what I see as the core of the list: Vader with Afterburners, Whisper with Juke.

FCS is, a lot of folks have found, kinda optional on Vader. He's got such great action economy that he can generally get away without them. It's only 2 points so easy to fit in, but kinda something which can be cut. Afterburners will get you out of bad positions, so that's kinda mandatory for the Vader playstyle.

Whisper needs Juke because it's just so good on Phantoms. Stealth Device (or Afterburners, or Shield Upgrade, or Collision Detector) are all nice, but I wouldn't give up what I want in the rest of the list to get them.

Stuff might get added back later, but let's start from there. Personally, I've always been trash at blocking, and blocking-focused ships have never really worked for me. If you're amazing with them, Intimidation Black Aces could be right for you. I wouldn't fly them personally, however. For TIE Fighter options, I'd first look at the Inferno Squadron pilots. Del Meeko and Gideon Hask are both kinda neat, and only 1 point more expensive each (they don't really need to fill talent slots). Whenever I've flown against Del, I've kind of been surprised by how wide his range is in practice. If you get a few guns on a ship first round, you can get some nice perks from them. Wampa is also a cheap option.

Then there are four other ships which might serve in a filler roll. TIE Bombers probably aren't bad. Twice the HP as a TIE fighter, with the option to Roll and Lock. TIE v1 are interesting Barons of the Empire are 33 points without upgrades, have linked actions, and some extra shields. Maybe toss on Crack Shot or such. Finally, at 34 points are TIE Strikers and TIE Interceptors are both 3-red dice ships with a lot of mobility. Personally, I'd do better with Alpha Squadron Interceptors than Planetary Strikers, but that's going to vary from player to player. They're also going to be solid blockers, but they've got 3 red dice, so if they get ignored and left alone on a flank they can cause some serious damage.

Or there's also three Academy Pilots. That's just my own experiences--yours may be different. I just feel that I'll almost surely never get my value out of Intimidation Black Aces, but I might do better with harder-hitting ships, tougher ships, or maybe just an extra ship.

//

Soontir would also probably be nice. The great thing about a Soontir is how cheap he is, and it'd make it a lot easier to bring something like:

• Darth Vader (Hate, FCS, Afterburners) 76
  • If there are points, kinda why not throw on Hate? If Vader is taking hits, he's probably in need of more force points. It's not a strategy, but a hedge against a bad situation. I mean, the reason to cut it is for bid. It's a shame that Brilliant Evasion isn't out yet... I expect it'd be cheap and might be better than it's cost in bid.
• Soontir Fel (Predator) 54
• [two other ships...]
  • I'd go 2x Alpha Interceptor for 34 each, but something like Wampa and Mauler Mithel whatever would also be good, and leave a bigger bid.

I have something similar in my mind. Why not flying those 3 Aces mentioned above together?

(54) "Whisper"
(5) Juke
(9) Fifth Brother
Points 68

(65) Darth Vader
(6) Afterburners
(2) Fire-Control System
(3) Hate
Points 76

(52) Soontir Fel
Points 52

Total points: 196

You have lots of freedom when it comes to upgrade choices. Dropping the brother for a huge bid plus predator on Soontir is an option.

Another potential drop could be FCS what @theBitterFig mentioned or even hate. I don’t know what bids we’ll see after the recent point adjustments.

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

“Whisper” (54)
Juke (5)
Collision Detector (6)

“Echo” (50)
Elusive (3)
Collision Detector (6)

Total: 200

On ‎1‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 3:24 PM, Ryuneke said:

I have something similar in my mind. Why not flying those 3 Aces mentioned above together?

(54) "Whisper"
(5) Juke
(9) Fifth Brother
Points 68

(65) Darth Vader
(6) Afterburners
(2) Fire-Control System
(3) Hate
Points 76

(52) Soontir Fel
Points 52

Total points: 196

You have lots of freedom when it comes to upgrade choices. Dropping the brother for a huge bid plus predator on Soontir is an option.

Another potential drop could be FCS what @theBitterFig mentioned or even hate. I don’t know what bids we’ll see after the recent point adjustments.

I have been running a list very similar to this, unfortunately the hard counter is lists of 4+ ships that have 6+ HP (T-70 X-wings, Tie F/Os, Silencer, etc.). I have a couple experiment lists that are still on paper but have flown variations, what has been consistently needed for competitive play is burst damage for high value targets that doesn't require Vader or Phantoms being at the center of the fight in the 1st volley.

With a few weeks into the point adjustments I would appreciate feedback @theBitterFig @SoontirFel @Ryuneke @Ponczi

I dunno. They all seem like fine builds of solid ships. Not really many notes.

List 2: Echo could be Whisper without Collision Detector. I like ColDet Phantoms, but I kinda like Whisper more than Echo. To each their own.

List 1: While I like the OS-1 Proton Torpedo, I know a lot of folks have liked using XG-1, Ion Cannon, and Advanced Proton Torpedo (keeping Advanced SLAM and Fire Control System to taste). It's probably a bit easier to get a Lock to shoot a Range 1 torpedo than it is to shoot a range 2-3 one, and Ion Cannon provides lock-free shots. Just a common alternate build with it's own advantages and disadvantages.

On 1/31/2019 at 5:24 AM, Ryuneke said:

I have something similar in my mind. Why not flying those 3 Aces mentioned above together?

(54) "Whisper"
(5) Juke
(9) Fifth Brother
Points 68

(65) Darth Vader
(6) Afterburners
(2) Fire-Control System
(3) Hate
Points 76

(52) Soontir Fel
Points 52

Total points: 196

You have lots of freedom when it comes to upgrade choices. Dropping the brother for a huge bid plus predator on Soontir is an option.

Another potential drop could be FCS what @theBitterFig mentioned or even hate. I don’t know what bids we’ll see after the recent point adjustments.

I was thinking of this too except with BT-1 instead of 5th Bro and Brilliant evasion instead of Hate, then Soontir can take predator.

I might be wrong but thought Evasion would see more use than Hate?

Its so funny but these 3 was my very first list i built back in 1.0 that i tried to work but was always short of something on 1 of the 3.