Firstly, I know a few of you will be horrified to see a three imperial ship build but like others i am on the eternal quest to find a good use for the tie advanced.

Anyway I played a couple of games the other night using

Vader squad leader, Rhymer ptl and a gamma.

A few rockets and bombs spread among them it doesnt matter.

Both games against a swarm and both fun.

Poor tactics in first game meant a loss but victory in the second.

The problem both times was garanteeing ordinance release with the gamma more than the others so it has led me to these three build ideas, see what you think, fly them please, i don't get more than two or three games in aweek so feedback welcome.

Squad 1

Vader + swarm tactics + assault

Jonus + swarm tactics + homer + proton bomb

Scimitar + cluster + concussion + proton bomb

99pts

Squad 2

Vader swarm Assault

Jonus swarm

Scimitar cluster concusion

Black squad + draw fire

99pts

Squad 3

Same as above but with an academy pilot instead of black and a seismic on each bomber

100pts

On the contrary, I love small Imperial lists. I played a list similar to yours, using Vader with Squad Leader, Jonus and Rhymer. All were carrying as many cluster missiles as they could. The list I went up against was two B-Wings and a Crow, so the matchup was tipped well in my favor. My opponent flew his list well nonetheless, but in the end a B-Wing trying to dogfight with a TIE Advanced was a difficult proposition at best.

I'll second that 'dogfight' comment. I Tried to take Vader with a Dagger pilot, just couldn't turn enough to make regular shots on him.

Rather than Swarm Tactics, wouldn't Squad Leader be more useful on Vader, and perhaps PTL on Jonus? That way both TIE Bombers can get TL+Focus on their missiles/torpedoes in a single turn.

I've been running Vader w/ Squad Leader with a Firespray (Kath) to great effect. I usually throw a concussion missile on Vader to give him a little extra bite. Firesprays become unbelievably annoying when they have a free evade/focus/target lock whenever they need it.

For the third ship I just run something that can be a solo nuisance like Backstabber w/ Stealth or a Saber with PtL.

I did run a list with Krassis w/ HLC, Vader w/ Squad Leader, and Jonas. I didn't really like the over-reliance on synergy with re-rolling the HLC shots. I think I gave up on the idea of HLC on Firesprays altogether--they have enough teeth without them, and you spend a lot of time using the rear arc.

So, basically, yeah, I've found some 3-ship imp builds that can hold up. I did beat an HSF build with Vader and Kath, and I think the high pilot skill of that build could take a 3-B-wing list as well.

Has anyone had any success with expose on vader?

I dont have cards on me but

vader

howlrunner

backstabber

mauler mithel

sprinkle for flavor

Firstly, I know a few of you will be horrified to see a three imperial ship build but like others i am on the eternal quest to find a good use for the tie advanced.

Anyway I played a couple of games the other night using

Vader squad leader, Rhymer ptl and a gamma.

A few rockets and bombs spread among them it doesnt matter.

Both games against a swarm and both fun.

Poor tactics in first game meant a loss but victory in the second.

The problem both times was garanteeing ordinance release with the gamma more than the others so it has led me to these three build ideas, see what you think, fly them please, i don't get more than two or three games in aweek so feedback welcome.

Squad 1

Vader + swarm tactics + assault

Jonus + swarm tactics + homer + proton bomb

Scimitar + cluster + concussion + proton bomb

99pts

Squad 2

Vader swarm Assault

Jonus swarm

Scimitar cluster concusion

Black squad + draw fire

99pts

Squad 3

Same as above but with an academy pilot instead of black and a seismic on each bomber

100pts

i like sqd 1. i think ur plan is to 'chain' the swarm from vader to jonus then to bomber to get 9,9,9 pilot skill right.

good move having missiles on all 3 ships. i agree squad leader might be worth a go on vader.

id be interested to see how ur testing goes.

Firstly, I know a few of you will be horrified to see a three imperial ship build but like others i am on the eternal quest to find a good use for the tie advanced.Anyway I played a couple of games the other night usingVader squad leader, Rhymer ptl and a gamma.A few rockets and bombs spread among them it doesnt matter.Both games against a swarm and both fun.Poor tactics in first game meant a loss but victory in the second.The problem both times was garanteeing ordinance release with the gamma more than the others so it has led me to these three build ideas, see what you think, fly them please, i don't get more than two or three games in aweek so feedback welcome.Squad 1Vader + swarm tactics + assaultJonus + swarm tactics + homer + proton bombScimitar + cluster + concussion + proton bomb99ptsSquad 2Vader swarm AssaultJonus swarmScimitar cluster concusionBlack squad + draw fire99ptsSquad 3Same as above but with an academy pilot instead of black and a seismic on each bomber100pts

i like sqd 1. i think ur plan is to 'chain' the swarm from vader to jonus then to bomber to get 9,9,9 pilot skill right.good move having missiles on all 3 ships. i agree squad leader might be worth a go on vader.id be interested to see how ur testing goes.

Yes the idea is to chain swarm.

My reasoning being that swarms don't generally swarm over pilot 8 which gives me initiative when shooting and if lucky against wedge or Han also.

I tried vader with squad leader but they always targeted the basic bomber before he could garentee releasing ordanace.

SqL does work very well with vader but by including jonus ( rerolls) I am hoping to negate the need for the double( lock+focus)

I tried out a Vader + bombers squad last week.

I won but only by a very small margin. Rebel A-wings circled me and did very well in avoiding my Cluster and Homing missiles. The big disadvantage for this squad list is that it needs to be flying in close formation and with an agile and speedy opponent it got quite stressful.

I did manage to get my opponent with double seismic bombs at a late stage in the game

My plan with these squads is hopefully to not give my opponent much choice.

If he comes straight at me cos I only have a few ships he will get everything in the face first combat then the squad will split.

If not I will try and Chase him down a few ships at a time with missiles mid to late game.

My biggest problem so far has been a friend who has started running 2x blue sq w/ ion and fc system and 2x gold sq with ion.

All his ships have so much shield and hull it is hard to make enough of a dent on the first pass, at which point i have prob been ioned and with the 360 nature of the gold it can be hard to get back on track.

I did not have Vader, but Swarm tactics with Tie Bombers is a must.

I went 3-0 with this 4 ship build on Saturday

Howlrunner w/ Swarm tactics upgrade
Tie Interceptor Alpha SQRN pilot
Tie Bomber Captain Jonus with Swarm tactics, Cluster missiles, Assault Missiles
Tie Bomber Scimitar SDRN Pilot with Cluster Missiles, proton torps and Assault Missiles