I know the advantage of Imperials is in their numbers, but now they have some better power players. So, with the new Interceptors and Slave 1 being much more costly, are there viable 4 ship Imperial builds now? I got to thinking about this while building this squad:

Soontir Fel with Elusiveness (fun little combo)
Turr Phennir with Daredevil ( would be really fun if you have someone on your back to do a 1 turn, then 1 turn, then attack, then barrel roll out of their firing arc.)
Mauler Mithel with Expose and Stealth Device (imagine shooting with 5 dice at Range 1. Nevermind the dichotomy of both Expose and Stealth…)
Dark Curse with Stealth Device (REALLY like this combo now.)

I know this build has no synergy, but that kind of frees you up to fly however you want. I dunno. I'm just kind of playing around with new Imperial builds for now. And this build doesn't even include a Firespray or an Advanced.

I really want to do an all Interceptor Squad, but I just don't think it's viable. I definitely concur that Fel/Phennir may be nice together. I enjoy the liberty of of not having a 'synergy' squad, because once it fails, it fails horribly. We've already run into the problem with the A-Wings and Interceptors that they are simply too fast to be anything other than independent.

I don't know… I think that even without pilot skills, a 5 Interceptor squad could be devastating. Their stats are amazing and boost is a game-changer.

AlKusanagi said:

Possibly, it's just their fragility and 'lone wolf' nature that concerns me. You'll have to maneuver in a way to secure an alpha-strike of sorts. It's a challenge I am going to accept, I'll tell you that.

Yeah, I think that Interceptors lose some of their cost and game effectiveness if you try to chain them down to a formation, like with Howlrunner or another pilot with Swarm Tactics. So they have to be able to fly freely, in my opinion. They make a good 1 of the 1-2 punch due to their speed and maneuverability., and added attack die vs a regular TIE.

I really want to try my 'Fly Fishing' strategy with an all-interceptor squad. Move up at 5, boost in the direction I need to, then 5 Koiogran behind my opponent. Sounds easy, but I'm sure it's not…I think it has some merit as long as the opponent doesn't crawl too much.

hothie said:

Don't think Daredevil works on Turr Phennir in the way you suggested. After you use Daredevil, you'll have a stress token, preventing you from using Turr's free barrel roll or boost action (unless I've been playing "free actions" and stress incorrectly this whole time?).

I've been thinking about 4 Interceptor squads as well. This is what I came up with:

• Soontir Fel with Push the Limit and Stealth. Push the Limit for 3 actions? Yes, please! And Soontir's ability says to take a focus token, not a "free focus action", so you can get 2 Focuses with him if desired
• Turr Phennir with Stealth
• 2x Alpha Squadron Pilot (1 with Stealth)

I know it seems like a lot of Stealth, and I was leery of it at first, too. 3 points is kinda steep for something that goes away with one hit. But that extra Agility die combined with Evades is crazy talk. And, if you really want to have your opponent pulling their hair out, give Soontir Elusiveness like Doug suggested. It's hilarious.

Since we're talking about 4-ship squads, I was also toying around with a Grab Bag squad containing all 4 types of ships.

• Howlrunner
• Kath Scarlet with Gunner
• Tempest Squadron Pilot
• Alpha Squadron Pilot

Nothing terribly fancy here. Howlrunner is interesting when combo'd with a Firespray with the Gunner upgrade.

editted: Cause I said something silly and realized it. Yay!

Hmm,you're probably right about that. I'll have to tweak it a little.

With the new wave of ships coming out and all the new upgrades, I belive that now the game might, "dont quote me on this" might shift to quality of ships not quanity. The upgrades that are coming soon make good ships better. Now the possibilities are definitly endless and now there is alot of build options on your ships. This game just got upgraded to crazy fleet builds. And this is a great thing, because now there can be more of an imagination behind list builds than just seeing a no brainer TIE swarm build. these new upgrade options to the new ships and previous will bring an infinite freshness to this game. I like this alot. More options mean hey now my ships wont be like everyone elses. And thats great thing because I belive everyone would rather have there own custom build of a tie fighter or x-wing to fit there own play style. We dont have to be sheep any more and have lists that everyone else has.

Grave13 said:

You said not not quote you so I just had to quote you. I don't think it is going to shift the game so much as Diversify it. A swarm fleet hasn't been turned into a bad idea. There are just so many other good ideas out there. Before Vader was really the only expensive Imperial that I found to be worth his points, now we have many more options.

PS I want to try Stealth on just about everything. Like a whole TIE interceptor force all with Stealth. 3 Attack Dice, 4 Stealth Dice, evade every actions there is even a hint I might be fired upon.

I taught a guy at my LGS how to play 10 minutes before the Kessel Run. He said, "Yeah I wanna play this!". So I gave him a 4 TIE advance squad, all with concusion missles. He came in second, and won a Firespray. He even beat a 6 TIE build with a full win. So I think the 4 Imp builds can work.

Tawnos said:

From the FAQ:

Q:If a ship is required to skip its "perform action" step, is it allowed to perform free actions outside of the "perform action" step?

A: Yes

soo….

Learning to play with ships that can act independently is only going to help Imperial players, as the Assault Missile that we see in the YT-1300 kit is going to wreck TIE lists that need to stay close together to function well.

The R5Don4 Star II said:

Rulebook Page 17 under Stress:

While a ship has at least one stress token, it cannot execute red maneuvers or perform any action (even free actions).

I think what the FAQ is covering is if you have something like expert handling on lets say Howlrunner, you can do the free barrel roll before you move. Then move and do your normal action.

The stress section seems to be quite clear on the issue of free actions not being able to be done. Maybe if the pilot ability didn't list it as an action and more like Fel's it wouldn't be an issue.

DeadInkPen said:

Actually, the FAQ is commenting on situations that prevent you from taking your Action Step, such as a collision during movement. Expert Handling doesn't do what your example says it does. It's just an Action like any other. Do your movement, then do the Expert Handling barrel roll action. It doesn't let you do a barrel roll before you move at all.

But yes, any stress tokens (like you said) prevent a pilot from taking any Actions at all, including free actions.

hothie said:

Im leaning towards an Interceptor Squad supported by an Advanced. The Fighters will get outpaced by the Interceptors and left to fend for themselves, so my logic is that you need something that can hold it's own a little better.

So I took Daredevil off of Turr and added Push the Limit. That could be fun.

I still like Soontir, Turr, and two interceptor scrubs, all flying stealth devices…

Hrathen said:

Daroe said:

Other than the 4 interrceptor squad ive posted elsewhe im tempted to run a 3 model squad with fel, phurr and vader. With the interceptors running stealth and daredevil and vader running concussions and vet instincts to pump his skill and allow him to get where he needs. If i had the points id squeeze an engine upgrade onto vader and daredevil…. Just because 3 action vader is sick

Grave13 said:

4 Tempest Squad TIE Advance and 4 Concusion Missiles. 100 points even

hothie said: