Came across this craft on Wookiepedia and it got me thinking that a Tie Bomber with a couple of crew spots but no bomb could be an interesting little addition to the game, especially as it technically appears in the original films.

I like what some of the new crew cards add to the game and I figure some of them would be very interesting in a smaller more mobile craft (Saboteur, Rebel captive maybe even Vader) that can appear in swarms. Perhaps it should even cost a point less than the bomber due to its inability to carry ordinance, but anyway the same in all other regards. Could also be good to have a unique pilot of PS6-7 with an interesting non ordinance but squad based ability, plus a few new crew cards.

Has this been discussed before?

Hmm, so a TIE Bomber with no secondary weapons, but two crew slots... certainly could be interesting.

Hmm, so a TIE Bomber with no secondary weapons, but two crew slots... certainly could be interesting.

And simple, too!

Hmm, so a TIE Bomber with no secondary weapons, but two crew slots... certainly could be interesting.

And simple, too!

Yup, could use the same miniatures (although I think it lacks the little bomb release pod thing, or whatever it is that hangs down on the bomber!)

Maybe drop the target lock ability, not needed for missile anyway and could justify dropping the PS2 two ship to 15pts. Or a PS1 Group pilot for 14? with Vader or the Saboteur on board for 17pts. Not broken, and different.

Not sure about dropping the Target Lock... actually, what would be cool is dropping the Barrel Roll for a Boost instead. It would make sense this thing might be faster than the same shaped craft with people instead of incredible amounts of rockets and bombs.

No bombs, no ordnance - just 2 laser cannons ...

What should this be good for?

No bombs, no ordnance - just 2 laser cannons ...

What should this be good for?

Cheap, fairly resilient, crew upgrades.

Like? Gunner? ... good joke. Darth Vader? ^^

For scenarios it would be ok. Like the Tie Boarding Craft is almost the same - carry stormtroopers to the transports and if they could dock with it, the stormtroopers will fight against the crews and rebel marines inside, this of course would need a few more rules for boarding fights ^^

No bombs, no ordnance - just 2 laser cannons ...

What should this be good for?

Supportship, I assume, like a MiniLambda

The image in the film is not that clear, so I thought that it was a Tie Advanced.

Some images have the wing/engines inversely flexed

It could be interesting with saboteur. Maybe future support crew will offer abilities that can support other allied Imperial ships. It could be as simple as a different Pilot card, same model, same dial, just slightly different upgrade bar.

Probably just a single Crew, based on the size. No other upgrade icons (and almost certainly no Elite Pilot Talents, since it's a transport). Would be fluffy, and things like Saboteurs or Intelligence Agents would be cool to include in a squadron of primarily TIE Fighters or Interceptors.

I remember something back in the RPG about a shuttle version. I like the idea and agree it could be handled with just a card with new upgrade options. A bomber is perfect for this as it has lots of room for personnel to work with some electronics to assist a swarm of other ships..

Good ideas guys.. i especially like the last couple comments..

I remember something back in the RPG about a shuttle version. I like the idea and agree it could be handled with just a card with new upgrade options. A bomber is perfect for this as it has lots of room for personnel to work with some electronics to assist a swarm of other ships..

Good ideas guys.. i especially like the last couple comments..

I'd recommend just making a custom Title Upgrade card for your group.

TIE Shuttle

TIE Bomber only. Replace the (missile), (missile), (torpedo), (torpedo), and (bomb) icons with the (crew) icon .

0 points.

I realize you could put it on one of the unique Bomber pilots, and thus get an Elite Pilot Talent (exactly the opposite of my last post), but there's really nothing wrong with that. Both Jonus and Rhymer have plenty of experience in different TIE platforms, so if mission control taps them for a "routine" transport run, there's probably a good reason why.

You can do similar things with other variants, like the Y-Wing "Longprobe" [replace the (turret) icon with the (system) icon].

Might be interesting if it pulled the ordinance off and added one to the primary weapon?

I really like it as a title. Might be interesting if they ever get around to giving the Bomber the Imperial Aces treatment.

I already have one of these made by FFG.

I like the upgrade card, my only change would be maybe 2 crew slots instead of one. I also like the weapons upgrade, but not sure if that OPs the Bomber.

Agreed there is a Shuttle, in the Lambda, but it isn't the only shuttle out there, and the Bomber shuttle would be more agile and is in use as a cannon concept. Makes good sense as well as some smaller ships might not have the hanger space for the Lambda, and a smaller ship would fit better in the roll.

I am a huge fan of the bomber, have been since I first saw it. I also like that because of it's size it can be made into a more versatile craft.

I would like 2 crew slots, and the wookie states they can take two crew. You lose a lot without ordinance, so two crew would be a fair compensation. But either way, I really like it as a ship tittle card to add to the bombers, a very interesting way to come up with a new ship dynamic.

Looking at other ships, a single crew slot equates to 2-4 personnel not involved in flying the ship, but with access to consoles, engineering spaces, and the like. I really can't see more than 1 crew slot on any small ship. It seems like a lot of icons to trade for only one, but crew slots are valued pretty highly compared to anything else (look at the HWK-290).

Sadly as much as I would -like- two Crew slots, I do agree that one would be the way to go with this considering the logistics of the game. Now the question is why would I want to use this if it only has one crew? I mean without heavy weapons TIE Bombers are really nothing that stupendous.

I'm not sure a crew upgrade would really fit. Its a shuttle, and you've got a couple guys sitting in a tiny little compartment, without even access to the cockpit. How much are they going to be able to accomplish from that position?

Rather than a separate ship I can see this being a special card, like the Senator's Shuttle, that is a mission objective. Something like "Remove all ordnance and add 1 shield. Ship must escape past Rebel Set up edge for an Imperial victory."