TIE Bombers have really captured my heart. They are the cheapest ship you can put missiles and or torpedoes on, they come at a pretty cheap 16 points for the cheapest.

But I was asking myself what am I paying for. A TIE can be had for 12 points 4 whole points cheaper. So what do you get for a TIE Bombers that you don't get with a TIE

A TIE Bomber has one more hull point, and one less defense dice. It also has the target lock ability rather than the evade ability.

I think the argument could be made that a point of hull is at least as good as a agility dice, but it is a close thing.

Target Lock on the other hand seems pretty inferior to Evade if the ship in question only has two attack dice.

It seems like what you are really paying for with a TIE Bomber is the ability to upgrade it. But don't all those upgrades cost points? It doesn't sound like a great deal especially for one shot secondary weapons.

Bombers have 3 more hull.

They also have some great pilot skills.

Consider that agility potentially protects you every round, while hull and shields are ablative.

Yesterday I was idly comparing the cheapest X-Wing with the cheapest B-Wing, and it occurred to me that agility is weighted pretty heavily by the game designers, at least on the Rebel side.

Don't underestimate the value of missles and proton torpedoes. The cheapest Bomber with 2 missles is 24 pts, at a minimum. If you equate that to two Academy Ties, I'd much rather take the Bomber with the ability to inflict good damage with the missles than 2 ordinary Tie Fighters with only primary weapons.

Don't underestimate the value of missles and proton torpedoes. The cheapest Bomber with 2 missles is 24 pts, at a minimum. If you equate that to two Academy Ties, I'd much rather take the Bomber with the ability to inflict good damage with the missles than 2 ordinary Tie Fighters with only primary weapons.

See I am not sure I would. I have just had too many ships killed before they shot their second torpedo. And Torpedoes and missiles really only give you one shot. I have had lots of experiences where they just weren't that impressive.

That being said, I tried out missiles and torpedoes back when I first started, decided I didn't care for them and haven't used them much since.

Don't underestimate the value of missles and proton torpedoes. The cheapest Bomber with 2 missles is 24 pts, at a minimum. If you equate that to two Academy Ties, I'd much rather take the Bomber with the ability to inflict good damage with the missles than 2 ordinary Tie Fighters with only primary weapons.

See I am not sure I would. I have just had too many ships killed before they shot their second torpedo. And Torpedoes and missiles really only give you one shot. I have had lots of experiences where they just weren't that impressive.

That being said, I tried out missiles and torpedoes back when I first started, decided I didn't care for them and haven't used them much since.

To each his own. I typically load with Concussion and Cluster missiles, and yes, they are a gamble but it'd take the chance. The best roll I've had with concussion is 3 crits and 1 hit, but conversely I've also missed entirely. For the most part, I keep my Bombers in the back until they fire their secondaries, and then I use them for fodder afterwards.

Bombers have 3 more hull.

Your right. I missed that. 3 extra hull is worth 4 points even if you lose an agility dice.

The cheapest Bomber vs the cheapest Fighter has:

+3 Hull
+1 Pilot Skill

+Target Lock

Range 1 Banking

Range 1 Green Forward

Range 5 Koiogran

The cheapest Fighter vs the cheapest Bomber has
+1 Evasion Dice

+Evade

-4 Points

Range 1 Turns
Range 2 White Turns (vs Red Turns)
Range 3 Koigran

Range 4 Koigran

Range 5 Forward

However, the biggest advantage the Bomber has over the Fighter is the ability to pick up Bomb Upgrades. Bombs are practically free damage, be it the 1 en masse from the Seismic, the 3 roll against 1 from the Proximity, or the 1 Critical Damage (that bypasses shields, by the way) from the Proton. That is a MONSTROUS advantage.

Now, I've included the differences in the maneuvering wheels because those are also very important to figuring out advantage.
The bomber's 1 forward and bank, when coupled with the shared ability to barrel roll, is very effective at staying at Range 3, or letting persuing ships pass you.
The bomber's 5 Koiogran is the longest-ranged U-turn in the game (A B-wing using Adv. Sensors to boost before executing their 2 is equivalent to a 4 K.). It gives an absolutely overwhelming positioning advantage when attacking or fleeing. You can also use with a collision at the end as a stressful 5 forward, if you are particularly good at flying.

The ability for the Bomber to both focus and target lock gives it way more offense than the Tie Fighter as well, and this is all before the vast upgrade advantage the Bomber holds.

Which wins in a fight, 6 Bombers, or 8 Tie Fighters? Both have 4 points left over to spend for a 100 point fleet, but that gives the bombers 2 seismic charges, or 1 concussion missile, or 1 cluster missile, or 1 proton torpedo, vs giving the Tie fleet 4 level 3 pilots, or 1 level 3 and 1 level 5 Named Pilot, or 1 level 6 Named Pilot...

I've recently had a lot of success with this fleet:

Howlrunner (Adrenaline Rush, Stealth Device)
Scimitar Squadron Pilot (Proton Bombs)
Scimitar Squadron Pilot (Proton Bombs)
Academy Pilot
Academy Pilot
Academy Pilot.

And this has lead me to find that the Bombers have a hidden talent: Soaking damage from my opponents while my "useless" academy pilots eat their ships. The Bombers are very unpredictable in their flight patterns, having range 1 and range 5 options, making them wonderful Wild Geese. And in that case, the +4 points make for a prioritization advantage as well

I had the chance to play the Tie Bombers for the first time this past weekend and went 3-0 with a pair of them. The key is you have to fly them like bombers. Until I was hunting down 1 lone B-wing I kept them together in a tight formation where they could use the CPT Jonus ability.

Here is the AAR:

http://rallyroundtheflag.blogspot.com/2013/10/x-wing-wave-three-takes-flight.html

its really a tradeoff between agility (tie gets 3 defense) and hull (bomber gets 6 hull)

im of the opinion that bombers are only really worth it if u can really abuse or boost their offense with missile/torpedo attacks.

the most obvious way is to use Capt. Jonus to get two rerolls.

from my experience with target locks on tie-advanced id say that target locked attacks by a two-attack dice ship are rather underrated, especially at close range.

its really a tradeoff between agility (tie gets 3 defense) and hull (bomber gets 6 hull)

im of the opinion that bombers are only really worth it if u can really abuse or boost their offense with missile/torpedo attacks.

the most obvious way is to use Capt. Jonus to get two rerolls.

from my experience with target locks on tie-advanced id say that target locked attacks by a two-attack dice ship are rather underrated, especially at close range.

I had a game yesterday where I had 3 Bombers and a Lambda, even after all their ordinance was used they still felt fairly robust and maneuverable, and I would definitely say the 2 dice with target lock is noticeably better offensively than the 2 dice without on normal ties.

I used a 3 Bomber squad w a PTL Saber TIE a few weeks ago and didn't have too much trouble winning. But, most definitely, the key is keeping them together. I flew mine in a V formation w/ 2 Bombers having 2 ordinance each in front, and Jonus w Proton Bombs in the rear for aft protection and re-rolls.

I played a friendly game against 2 bombers last week and was constantly amazed at their dogfighting ability. They are totally worth it and capable.

How about this?

Hey Hrathen shouldn't your sig read "I shoot Chewbacca with Hair Laser Removal Cannons!"

I flew my first battle with TIE Bombers today. Captain Jonus + 2 more Scimitar Squadron pilots, backed up by Jerdon with a Heavy Laser Cannon. I think everything pretty well since it was basically the first time I had actually seen any wave three ships play. (my opponent used the Moldy Cow and a B-Wing, I loke those ships too.)

I really like my three TIE Bombers and how they performed. Colonel Jerdon was pretty good as support ship but trying to keep him close to Jonus to get the HLC boost was pretty hard.

In the future I think my shuttles will be either HLC platforms or support ships, they don't do both well.

The real suprise was how well the TIE Bombers did after they shot their missiles. Oh and I was far from disapointed with their missiles (Like I have been in the past with other one shot weapons)

Had a game last night and it came down to the Falcon with Chewie and 5 Hits left and Captain Jonus with 3 Hits and no ordinance, Captain Jonus won the dog fight.

Had a game last night and it came down to the Falcon with Chewie and 5 Hits left and Captain Jonus with 3 Hits and no ordinance, Captain Jonus won the dog fight.

HOW? That must have been some terrible die rolls for the YT.

Jonus is firing first, and moves second. He is also far faster and more maneuverable. So I was Jousting, Hans moved, couldn't target lock, then I was flying in on him and target locking. Which meant I was getting far more hits than him.. then once he was down to 2 hits, I went all out flew into close range and finished him off.

Also with a full set of asteroids the Falcon has some issues maneuvering around them, so I got at least a few turns where he either couldn't shoot or couldn't that actions.

Jonus is firing first, and moves second. ~ so I got at least a few turns where he either couldn't shoot or couldn't that actions.

I'm super glad you won, and had a good time with the bomber list, but results like that are FAR from the norm. What probably should have happened is the Falcon swinging around in a circle in the largest open area he could find, and throwing 3 dice at you until you died. The Falcon can reliably take down any 1 other ship, so long as it has more hit points than that ship, regardless of pilot skill. Congratulations on the win, but don't overestimate the Falcon, even with full asteroid coverage.

He is also far faster and more maneuverable.

The 3 + 4 koiograns and hard turn 1 + 2's on the YT-1300 would like to disprove that statement.