Ahh, my bad

No love for Rhymer?

I really wish I could, but he's a one trick pony - ATPs at range 2. That's strong, but not exactly busted for what you're spending in terms of points. I just think there are more competitive options out there.

I think Rhymer's utility goes well beyond the ATP. Extending a Concussion Missile or Proton Torpedo to Range 1 makes it far more viable to lock on one turn, and focus to fire on the next. For most pilots, trying that will easily put you inside the minimum range for the missile, and next thing you know it's dead in the tube.

Well well... that got a lot of attention. I like Jonas' abilities but think current missiles don't really work on him. Squad leader + maybe a seismic charge might be the best option. Without secondary weapons he probably lives long enough to get the full effect of his pilot ability and giving away actions. Throw that seismic charge on there for just an extra point of damage a round and he's probably offensive enough to justify points.

99pts

Jonus + squad leader + Seismic Charge = 26

Tempest + homing = 26

Scimitar + homing + Seismic charge = 23

Academy Tie= 12

Academy Tie = 12

Dropping 1 seismic leaves you with 3 pts but what do you do with them? You could drop both seismic and have 5pts (another missile) to play with but that makes your low pilot skill with 10pts of missile on it an easy target. You can upgrade to a storm squad or a gamma squad but an additional pilot 2 probably isn't going to make your day. Turn an academy into a named tie? Could be work it but if you can make seismic charges work for you will it upgrade you 2 damage (if you're dropping both for Mauler yes... short of that not so sure).

Keep the lists and theories coming. Jonus is strong. Advanced Tie are definitely in the running again. But then again, those extra 3-5 pts could upgrade a lot on the table= Mauler vs. Academy tie is a pretty fantastic improvement.

If you dropped a Seismic Charge, you could upgrade an Academy Tie to a Black Squadron with Draw Their Fire, helping keep the really important ships alive longer.

Why are people not fans of Jonus having a missile of his own? For 8 points (ptl + homing missile) you can virtually guarantee 4 hits on a ship to go with the rest of your ordinance. That 8 points isn't going to buy you another ship, though I suppose it will buy you another missile on a different bomber, but I think you want to get rid of the ordnance as quickly as possible by spreading it out across as many ships as possible.

Not sure how you believe it guarantees 4 hits. his ability does not work on himself. Assuming you wanbt PTL on there to make sure there is a focus and target lock is still far from a guarantee of 4 hits.

Excel tells me that a homing missile with a target lock + focus yields a 93.75% chance of 4 hits. That's close enough to guaranteed for me, and it pans out in game as well as I can't recall the last time I fired a Homing missile with focus and a lock that I didn't get 4 hits.

Wouldn't this mean that Vader or anyone with PTL could/should use Homing Missile not just Jonas?

That's something I hadn't considered until this thread - does Jonus breathe new life into the TIE Advanced? A TIE Bomber is a cheaper missile platform, but a bit less maneuverable, less agile, and more susceptible to Critical Hits.

• Tempest Squadron + Cluster Missiles x 3 = 75 points
• Captain Jonus + Squad Leader = 24 points

I didn't see anyone comment on this; Thoughts?

I'm still struggling with the idea of fielding a bomber without ordinance. It may make sense game wise but it just doesn't make sense otherwise. He should get out of that bomber and crawl into a shuttle, fighter, Advanced TIE, anything...

My 'issue' with Rhymer is he is expensive to start with, then you have to add more expensive ordinance to him making him a very large target with very poor staying power.

You also need to use more than one missile or torp to get full benefit, making him even more pricey and more of a target.

6 hull is good, but focus fire in round 1/2 will probably take him out or at least add crits which will hinder him.

This is of course theory until I can test fly all these new ships.

Major Rhymer's ability is also very good for cluster missiles, as they suddenly become better than X-wing guns at range 3 (because there's no extra defense die....)

That's something I hadn't considered until this thread - does Jonus breathe new life into the TIE Advanced? A TIE Bomber is a cheaper missile platform, but a bit less maneuverable, less agile, and more susceptible to Critical Hits.

• Tempest Squadron + Cluster Missiles x 3 = 75 points
• Captain Jonus + Squad Leader = 24 points

I didn't see anyone comment on this; Thoughts?

I'm still struggling with the idea of fielding a bomber without ordinance. It may make sense game wise but it just doesn't make sense otherwise. He should get out of that bomber and crawl into a shuttle, fighter, Advanced TIE, anything...

I suspect this could be a pretty strong strike - Jonus would be adding 12 rerolled dice at the alpha strike - I talk about this a bit more in another post

That's something I hadn't considered until this thread - does Jonus breathe new life into the TIE Advanced? A TIE Bomber is a cheaper missile platform, but a bit less maneuverable, less agile, and more susceptible to Critical Hits.

• Tempest Squadron + Cluster Missiles x 3 = 75 points
• Captain Jonus + Squad Leader = 24 points

I didn't see anyone comment on this; Thoughts?

I'm still struggling with the idea of fielding a bomber without ordinance. It may make sense game wise but it just doesn't make sense otherwise. He should get out of that bomber and crawl into a shuttle, fighter, Advanced TIE, anything...

I added a tie advance just to test this out. I think it does enhance the advance nicely and be extra shields over just Hull points might be worth it

I have a very similar list. I wanted 3 cluster missiles but i also wanted to ensure i could fire them all or at least minimizing the risk of losing a ship before it can fire.

http://x-wing.voidstate.com/view/20494/vader-3-tiebmr

With 2 PS9 cluster missiles, both with focus and Jonus. I'm hoping to get a kill, mitigating the damage going to the PS2 bomber. It's untested but I'm hoping it'll be fun.

I have a lists I want to try.

Howlrunner

4x Scimitar w/cluster missile

It leaves 2 points to play with.

I have a lists I want to try.

Howlrunner

4x Scimitar w/cluster missile

It leaves 2 points to play with.

I thought most people considered Cluster Missiles not worth the points? Jonas may help solve that but beyond him...

I not sure what changed.

Well the list gives you 8 attack 3 shots that reroll 1 die, then continuing on howlrunner will still give the other ships a reroll after the ordinance is off. Its basically intended to be a swarm that sacrifices some ships and agility for some early game damage.

I've personally always liked cluster missiles, I would rather fire more shots than a few big ones. Also the low PS Bomber will be a bit finicky with their target locks and probably need to be ready to fire their ordinance in short range which the cluster missile can do.

I don't necessarily think its a powerhouse build or anything but I think it will be something interesting to try.

Well the list gives you 8 attack 3 shots that reroll 1 die, then continuing on howlrunner will still give the other ships a reroll after the ordinance is off. Its basically intended to be a swarm that sacrifices some ships and agility for some early game damage.

Howlrunner's ability only applies to Primary Weapons.

Well the list gives you 8 attack 3 shots that reroll 1 die, then continuing on howlrunner will still give the other ships a reroll after the ordinance is off. Its basically intended to be a swarm that sacrifices some ships and agility for some early game damage.

Howlrunner's ability only applies to Primary Weapons.

doh....

I've been liking Rhymer so far. I've gotten to play 4 games with him loaded with APT, Homing missile, and PLT. Yes, he is 40pts, and yes he does tend to die if the game is relatively close. But, in all four games I was able to get both Ordnance off with target lock and focus. He is just brutal. Also, there were a couple times where I didn't need to spend the target lock from the homing, so got to save it for a APT next turn.

Besides a big team game, I ran him with 3 lvl3 Interceptors. I think it works well because if the enemy is focusing on killing Rhymer, the interceptors get free rein, and Rhymer will most likely get at least one Ordnance off. Yes, its a risky list, but fortune favors the bold right?

You cannot have 2 shield upgrades on a single ship mate.

The upgrade isn't twice, the whole package is.

Here's a list I've been playing with. It's not finished but this is the version I'm going to try next.

Scimitar Squadron Pilot, Concussion Missiles, Seismic Charges
Scimitar Squadron Pilot, Concussion Missiles, Proximity Mines
Scimitar Squadron Pilot, Concussion Missiles, Proximity Mines

Colonel Jendon, Weapons Engineer, ST-321

Jendon is there to hand out TL's, with ST-321 he can start locking on stuff on turn one. That means he'll have at least 2 TL's passed off by the time everyone gets into missile range, maybe 3 depending on how quickly you close. That lets 2-3 bombers fire with TL and Focus.

I'm not sure if the points for the mines and charge wouldn't be better spent elsewhere, have to try it a couple times and see. But I think the mines and charge would do a bit to discurage tailgaters.

Is taking Jonas without any ordinance really worth taking at all?

I would never give anything to him except perhaps a seismic charge, and one could argue about a cheap skill like determination fir example (not sure if he has a medal though). He does not make himself reroll. So minimize his cost and maximize the payload on your other ships.

Not sure if 2 academy ties are worth it. Makes the list a bit more versatile, but think about a 4th bomber with payload, or a shuttle for further boosting your shooting. Essentially it's all about Jendon boosting shots here. And you want a maximum of those.

As for the 7 ship swarm with 4 Scimitars and 3 academies, i don't like it. The hitpoints make the bombers deceptively tough, but they're not. No evade and 2 defense thats prettymuch X-Wing Durability but without its firepower and manoeuvers.

If you wanna go swarm, stay with Tie Fighters they are tougher than the bonbers even with 3 less hitpoints just because of evade and 3 agility.

That being said i agree that Tie Bombers have huge potential and i firmly believe that some people will come up withvery very competitive lists based around them.

I like this for 100 points:

• Major Rhymer (Advanced Proton Torpedos x2, Cluster Missiles x2)
• Captain Jonus
• Colonel Jendon (Ion Cannon, ST-321)

I want to have this kind of mechanic but can't figure out how to distribute the points effectively. Basically Major Rhymer gets to focus and have a target lock given to him by Colonel Jendon. The Advanced Proton Torpedos are 5 hits which need to be dodged. Jonus allows 2 rerolls for each cluster missile and ion cannon attack. The three work very well together but it is possibly too expensive.

If anyone has tried this how does it work? For senators shuttle missile I can't imagine it lasting long!

Brace for impact II:

Captain Jonus — TIE Bomber 22, Homing Missiles 5, Seismic Charges 2

Gamma Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 18, Concussion Missiles 4, Seismic Charges 2

Gamma Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 18, Concussion Missiles 4, Seismic Charges 2

Gamma Squadron Pilot — TIE Bomber 18, Assault Missiles 5

I've been liking Rhymer so far. I've gotten to play 4 games with him loaded with APT, Homing missile, and PLT. Yes, he is 40pts, and yes he does tend to die if the game is relatively close. But, in all four games I was able to get both Ordnance off with target lock and focus. He is just brutal. Also, there were a couple times where I didn't need to spend the target lock from the homing, so got to save it for a APT next turn. Besides a big team game, I ran him with 3 lvl3 Interceptors. I think it works well because if the enemy is focusing on killing Rhymer, the interceptors get free rein, and Rhymer will most likely get at least one Ordnance off. Yes, its a risky list, but fortune favors the bold right?

I like the idea of 3 PS 3 ints. Nice one. I was running him with 5 APs and a concussion instead of homing for initiative. I'd keep Rhymer back for the initial engagement, and force enemies to wade through 5 ties if they wanted him, or sometimes flank with him, but instead of turning to engage when I knew my opponent was going to turn for him, I'd turn a random direction out of the fight, ties now at the flank, and bring Rhymer back after that to seal the deal. He's a really fun tool for that APT, it shouldn't be underestimated how much 5 auto hits can be. A real terror for X Wings.

Is taking Jonas without any ordinance really worth taking at all?

I would never give anything to him except perhaps a seismic charge, and one could argue about a cheap skill like determination fir example (not sure if he has a medal though). He does not make himself reroll. So minimize his cost and maximize the payload on your other ships.Not sure if 2 academy ties are worth it. Makes the list a bit more versatile, but think about a 4th bomber with payload, or a shuttle for further boosting your shooting. Essentially it's all about Jendon boosting shots here. And you want a maximum of those.As for the 7 ship swarm with 4 Scimitars and 3 academies, i don't like it. The hitpoints make the bombers deceptively tough, but they're not. No evade and 2 defense thats prettymuch X-Wing Durability but without its firepower and manoeuvers.If you wanna go swarm, stay with Tie Fighters they are tougher than the bonbers even with 3 less hitpoints just because of evade and 3 agility.That being said i agree that Tie Bombers have huge potential and i firmly believe that some people will come up withvery very competitive lists based around them.

I agree with a lot of what you said. My only qualm with bombers is how easily a game can be messed up from poor piloting or just one bad Crit. Blinded pilot is toooo good, though rarely seen, it sucks when it does. Also, if you mess up your first engagement, it can be tough to come back. You just seem more reliant on what your opponent does with his manuevers. Blocking and the like becomes a real headache for bombers, moreso than many other lists.