I am sorely tempted to fly in the face of common sense and fly a pure Interceptor list, but would you go with

5 times Avenger Squadron

4 times Saber Squadron with PtL and one with shield upgrade

4 times Saber Squadron with Veteran Instincts and Stealth Devices.

My gut screams list 2, but 5 ships is a lot of firepower.

Thoughts?

List 2 offers the best balance of firepower with added maneuverability and evasion. When Aces come out, you can run 4x Royal Ties, all with PTL for 100 points on the nose.

I like fleet A ( venger ) . 5 ships is definitely hard to argue with.

For the others, I'd have to wonder if the extra survivability from PTLs and/or Stealth Devices, along with better pilots, leads to more damage and survivability than simply having an extra ship.

As Interceptors rely so much on luck to survive, that's quite a bit of odds-juggling to figure out. Definitely love the idea, though.

Makes me wonder... Why just 5 Avengers? Here's an idea!

2x Alpha

Avenger

2x Royal Guard

Or, potentially,

3x Alpha

2x Saber + Squad Tactics

I am leaning hard to the 5 ships. Sheer firepower and the extra 3 hull seem to good to over look.

list 2 imo.

List 1, 5 ships, each with 3 agility and 3 attack. It is pretty nasty.

I like list 2 as well PtL is just so good on Interceptors.

Turr + PTL (28)

3x Saber + PTL (72)

Don't tank up with Turr by planting yourself with a focus + evade stack, or even a barrel roll+ focus double action. Always try to come close to a target with a single focus, and abuse his ability after firing. A barrel roll and a boost will get you out of a lot of diverse firing arc situations. Failing that, a barrel roll and an evade can help you survive.

I agree with the others.. list 2 is pretty.

The question is:

Is the survivability of list two so much greater that over the course of a game it will output more firepower than list one and finish the game with more points left on the board than list one would.

My instinct says no, but it is a close run thing. I have run list two several times and it can be lethal but you are bordering on needing higher pilot skills as losing one ship is debilitating to it.

You can hold the same true of list one on PS though.

List two has the advantage against a "bloody daggers" list or similar as at least it will have equal pilot skill, but loses out on firepower and HP's.

PtL is interesting here. On a four ship list turn 1, you could advance 5, boost and then focus or evade, then follow with any number of serious green options. PtL is very flexible on Ints.

I think list one is all out attack, list two is more defensive and requires you to snipe targets whilst positioning against damage.

Let's take a hypothetical and put both lists up against two possible lists.

First a bloody daggers list.

Two B-Wings with Advanced Sensors and Two Red Squadron X-Wings.

I think list two comes out on top here. List one will be shooting second and with less defense is likely to suffer losses quickly. List two will shoot on equal terms and has equal firepower. PtL will allow greater survivability.

Against Paul's World Championship build, list one will fair better, it will shoot first against the rookie and presents more firepower. Against Paul's list, which will kill one ship a turn probably, more ships doing more damage comes out on top.

Anyone care to add their comments in these scenarios?

Turr + PTL (28)

3x Saber + PTL (72)

I would go with this one for sure. I have played the 5 Avengers list a couple times and it just did not impress me much, I find having higher pilot skill and push the limit on an interceptor is well worth dropping one ship most of the time.

Once Imperial Aces is out I am leaning toward the 4x Royal Guard w/ push the limit, as it will shoot before/simultaneously with a lot of popular pilots (all PS4 generics, Biggs, Ibtisam, Chewbacca, Garven, all named TIEs besides mauler and Howlrunner) that Saber squadron pilots don't.

I also like:
Tur Phennir +PtL
Saber +PtL x3

100 pts

Side question to the assembled group... every time you look at the "Push The Limit" card, or even think about it in terms of using it for your squad.... do you not suddenly have that terrible song from Pacino's 1983 "Scarface" playing in your head?

I loved "Scarface", but that song sucks... and I'll be damned if it doesn't queue up every time I so much as think about that card. :/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEvwQgQPkF0

The issue I see with using Turr and three Sabers is Turr has "Kill Me First" written all over him....

but they all have identical stats otherwise..... if they are gung ho to focus fire him down, i don't see how it matters... in an all saber list, your enemy is likely to focus fire down one anyway? why not set up a strategy that maybe counts on that?

That has potential benefits and it does kinda smack of a well lead squad :-)

Sounds like a fun squad to field regardless

Any reason you didn't consider Howl?

Take this for a spin:

Fel w/ PTL

Saber w/ PTL

Saber w/ PTL

Howl w/ Determination & Stealth

So going all out with a four Int list, how about this. I have had great success with Turr and VI, Fel is money and the sabers will shoot before most things with VI.

Any reason you didn't consider Howl?

Take this for a spin:

Fel w/ PTL

Saber w/ PTL

Saber w/ PTL

Howl w/ Determination & Stealth

I had, but Howl is slower and less maneuverable.. I haven't yet tried it but I wonder how difficult it would be to keep her up with the Boys.

might give it a shot today.

My love of interceptors is well known but I haven't ever flown interceptors only. Mostly because I didn't buy 5 since I heard Aces was coming, but partially because I like them along side other options. I almost always play with 1 and most often 2.

Go with #2 I think. Maneuverability and survivability is required for an all out list, big teeth mean nothing if they get punched out before use.

I have flown them with other ships, the shuttle and Howl included, but I a really looking at all Ints, so for now, that's where I am sticking. Keep the feedback coming though, this is a really helpful thread.

The issue I see with using Turr and three Sabers is Turr has "Kill Me First" written all over him....

it also happens that the 4x Saber list has just enough points left over to upgrade one to Turr Phennir. If he dies, then you are left with 3 sabers, just the same as if you had 4 sabers to start with, and you aren't really giving anything up to get him. If you are really afraid of him getting shot down quickly, hold him back a little and give the opponent a reason not to shoot him first. After the first pass it should be dogfighting time, and ideally you are keeping your interceptors out of harm's way as much as you can, plus his special ability can help keep him safe. Assuming you aren't facing a YT1300, at least.

once Royal Guards are out you might have other ways to spread out the points, but currently it's more of a "there's not really any better uses for these leftover points" thing.

Out of your lists i like number 2 most.

I would suggest:

Turr Phennir w/PtL

3x Saber w/PtL

I mean you rely so much on not being hit that i would rather invest in Turr who can possibly dodge shots instead of a shield upgrade. Well except of course you want same initiative across the board!

You are selling me heavily on Turr :-)

What did you all think to the Fel, Turr, saber list I just posted?

Personally I don't like interceptors without push the limit, especially when you are using the more expensive ones that limit your total ship number pretty heavily. 4 interceptors is a measly 12 HP. Under those circumstances I really want to be able to barrel roll/boost to safety or just turtle up with focus+evade if I can't get away (turret) or don't know where the enemy will end up (higher PS).

Unfortunately, it is hard to fit Soontir into an all-interceptor squad without going all the way down to 3 ships or leaving some of your interceptors underequipped.

That's how I see it anyway

Well the 5 interceptors list is quite fun, but you must be careful of High Piloting skill enemies. I have had a nasty time with Han and Others.

I love the look on the other players face when they see 5 interceptors. Sometimes you can really get them off there game.

Also, it can be very unforgiving, since Int's have the same hull as ties and cost more, so you msut realy be careful when planning your moves.