I ran this the other day

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Scourge” Skutu - 33
•“Scourge” Skutu - Seasoned Veteran (32)
Marksmanship (1)

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Mauler” Mithel - 41
•“Mauler” Mithel - Black Two (32)
Crack Shot (1)
Shield Upgrade (8)

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Howlrunner” - 51
•“Howlrunner” - Obsidian Leader (40)
Intimidation (3)
Shield Upgrade (8)

TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 75
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (65)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)
Instinctive Aim (2)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

I know that if I remove the shield upgrades & talents that I could fit another academy pilot but I just wanted a little more padding on Howlrunner & Mauler just to soak up any damage taken during the first engagement.

After looking at the ships available for the Empire in hyperspace, the Reaper and the advanced are the only other tie fighters that have shields. Is the reaper worth it just for the shields or should I just run rebels if I want to manage a bunch of ships with shields? Or should I just not worry about shields on ties?

If you're looking for a good body-to-shield ratio, B-wings are your buddies.

Other than that, if you really want your TIEs to come in shielded, perhaps take a look at FO, where they come such out of the box? You should be able to fit 3 alongside Kylo Ren.

7 hours ago, pakirby said:

I ran this the other day

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Scourge” Skutu - 33
•“Scourge” Skutu - Seasoned Veteran (32)
Marksmanship (1)

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Mauler” Mithel - 41
•“Mauler” Mithel - Black Two (32)
Crack Shot (1)
Shield Upgrade (8)

TIE/ln Fighter - •“Howlrunner” - 51
•“Howlrunner” - Obsidian Leader (40)
Intimidation (3)
Shield Upgrade (8)

TIE Advanced x1 - •Darth Vader - 75
•Darth Vader - Black Leader (65)
Fire-Control System (2)
Afterburners (6)
Instinctive Aim (2)

Total: 200/200

View in the X-Wing Squad Builder

I know that if I remove the shield upgrades & talents that I could fit another academy pilot but I just wanted a little more padding on Howlrunner & Mauler just to soak up any damage taken during the first engagement.

After looking at the ships available for the Empire in hyperspace, the Reaper and the advanced are the only other tie fighters that have shields. Is the reaper worth it just for the shields or should I just run rebels if I want to manage a bunch of ships with shields? Or should I just not worry about shields on ties?

The first thing is that I don't believe Instinctive Aim on Vader does anything for you. You don't have a special attack on him, so you're not getting any benefit.

Secondly you might look at the following: downgrade Vader to Stele and remove all of the talents from the three others. This leaves you 42 points.

Throw in Iden. Or if you don't like Iden, Del Meeko or Gideon. Then you can start adding talents back in.

I'd not worry about the shields on TIEs.

If you want shielded TIEs, play FO. Spending any more than about 3 poibts in upgrades to a TIE/ln is probably a waste; TIEs live and die by sheer numbers, and each upgrade you take cuts into your budget for another ship.

A SU is really not worth it on a TIE. They still pop like no one's business. You want a Howlie crew and for Howlie to stay alive? Iden, Seyn with Marksmanship, and Del - they are Howlie's bffs