I've been using a Vader Onager build since Wave 8 was released and have gained experience versus opposing Wave 8 builds. I posted the battle reports here .

Based on what I learned from those battles, I modified my Vader Onager build as follows:

Vader OnagerSD-OBPC ISD2-Avenger Jerk-zonti Goz-CN (0/390/400)

Onager Star Destroyer (110)
• Darth Vader (36)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Gunnery Chief Varnillian (6)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Orbital Bombardment Particle Cannons (5)
= 167 Points

Imperial II (120)
• Reeva Demesne (4)
• Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams (6)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• SW-7 Ion Batteries (5)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Avenger (5)
= 153 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Slicer Tools (7)
• Suppressor (4)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 43 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Repair Crews (4)
= 27 Points

Total Points: 390

Assault: Advanced Gunnery
Defense: Planetary Ion Cannon
Navigation: Solar Corona

------------------------------------------------------

Originally I had Vader on the ISD2 with the Devastator title, but IME it wasn't worthwhile. In two re-matches, my opponents made Most Wanted the least-worst objective card choice, they chose my ISD2 as the objective ship, and went all out for it. My flagship was so points-heavy that when one of them destroyed it, it was nearly impossible to win. I decided to move Vader to the OSD to distribute points more evenly between my two large ships and hopefully make my opponents re-prioritize targets to the OSD. If they take the bait, I can flank them with my ISD2 and catch them in a crossfire.

Devastator proved to be ineffective and became a liability. With ECM protecting Brace, any Accuracy's rolled would block my Redirects, so I couldn't exhaust them and then discard them with Vader's reroll; and by the time Contain came into play, I wanted to keep it. Reeva Demesne was useful for readying Brace for a second use, which was vital for surviving double-arc attacks from the Starhawk; but Reeva was also hindering Devastator. After Devastator was destroyed in the 1st re-match, I changed tactics for the second game, pulled off a Speed-1-to-3-Jump, and escaped the Starhawk's frontal assault. That maneuver rendered Devastator completely useless and also made for a very unsatisfying victory because there was no "clash of the dreadnoughts" moment. I didn't want Devastator to dictate my tactics and maneuvers, or waste so many points, so I swapped it for Avenger, which is always useful -- especially now that Suppressor is in play.

I formerly equipped Ion Cannon Batteries (and Slicer Tools) as part of my plan to counter the Starhawk's MCTBA Speed-0 trick and Rakehell's Speed-0 maneuvers, but I only ever used it once against Rakehell. My opponents figured out what I was planning and knew I would out-activate them, so they never used the MCTBA at Speed-0. I replaced ICB with SW-7 Ion Batteries so that blue dice will always inflict damage; I shouldn't need Accuracy's as much because Suppressor will exhaust Brace and Avenger will stop the enemy from using exhausted defense tokens; and XI7 Turbolasers will mitigate Redirect's effectiveness. I realize that SW-7 Ion Batteries would synergize well with Devastator, but I doubt I would take full advantage of it.

I kept the Phylon Q7 Tractor Beam because it proved valuable in my battles; I enjoyed the irony of my Star Destroyer using its normie Tractor Beam to mess with the Starhawk. Another reason why I'm keeping it is that it forces enemy ships to spend Nav tokens, which could preserve the Speed-0 trap without my opponents realizing it. More importantly, it messes with their speed and pressures them to queue Nav commands instead of CF, Squadron, or Repair. Tractor Beam is perfect for dropping a Starhawk to Speed 1 and running away.

I had great success with the OSD with SCBT superweapon, but I rarely needed Cataclysm's quick-aiming ability after the 1st round; and its 1st round Special Battery attack never inflicted enough damage to justify its points cost. Without Cataclysm, I didn't need CF tokens anymore so I chose to swap Comms Net for Repair Crews on the 2nd Gozanti. In my battles, I was queuing Repair commands in rounds 5 and 6 to discard face-up damage cards; Repair Crews should be a better choice and allow me to restore shields with Repair commands instead. SCBT's Special Crit damage mostly served to drain shields from other hull zones and eventually rendered Redirects pointless. However, SCBT doesn't synergize with XI7 Turbolasers, which was why I equipped Linked Turbolaser Towers instead (which also helped against enemy squadrons). I decided to try OBPB, mainly for long range Ignition token placement, which I'm hoping will allow me to place the token closer to the target and use blue and black dice more often. I doubt I'll ever use OBPC's Red Crit ability to damage nearby ships and squadrons -- but it might surprise me.

The Gozanti with Slicer Tools proved to be vital in my battles, particularly at changing Squadron commands to prevent enemy squadrons from activating. However, the Gozanti was too vulnerable at medium range and was inevitably destroyed or forced to escape with 1 hull remaining; either way, it couldn't use Slicer Tools after Round 4. I'm hoping the Jerk-zonti configuration will help it survive longer, and Suppressor is the perfect counter to ships using ECM to protect Brace or enemy flotillas using Scatter.

These modifications reduced my total points cost to 390, which is a more competitive Initiative Bid to ensure I can get 1st player. That should render my Objective Card choices moot, but just in case, I made Advanced Gunnery the most appealing choice, which is useful now that I dropped Gunnery Team from the ISD2.

I realize that this build is even more vulnerable to enemy squadrons now that I've given up Heavy Fire Zone and Linked Turbolaser Towers, but Slicer Tools and my battle tactics effectively neutralized them, and Suppressor and XI7 Turbolasers should make it even easier to destroy the enemy's carrier(s).

I'll be trying out my revised Vader Onager build this weekend.