Your analysis is awesome, MajorJuggler.

I personally like a (core) formation of 5 Tie Fighters:

Howlrunner + 4 Academies (34 points left)

or

Howlrunner + 4 Obsidian (30 points left)

Then I ponder how to fill the 30 or 34 points:

30 points examples:

Fel + PtL

Gamma + 2 x homing + seismic

Gundark + Night Beast

34 points examples:

Bounty Hunter

Omicron + EU + FCS + HLC

Backstabber + Mauler Mithel

Backstabber + Dark Curse (+ Elusi for Howl)

...

and i don't own 5 squints ... (maybe soon)

This meets the criteria you asked only if you really squint your eyes:

Cowall+ PTL + stealth

Saber + PTL + stealth

Kir+ stealth

Backstabber

Not an all interceptor list and only 4 ships but I'll probably fly it before many of the 5 ship all interceptor squads.

For a certain definition of "Interceptor", and a certain definition of "5", eh?

Like I said... You really have to squint your eyes... And that's not an asteroid, it's a 5th ship...yes...yes...

THERE --- ARE --- FOUR --- INTERCEPTORS !!!

Wait, lights, I mean lights.

Wonder if it will be:

Carnor Jax with Alpha x4

So hard to field five actual Interceptors when you only 10 points of upgrade potential to maximize that yet you probably want initiative which can cut into that. So much more freedom when you go down to four Interceptor or even saying you want multiple Interceptors but allowing other ships into the mix.

I really like the idea of four Alphas + Kir Kanos and a Stealth Device. The Alphas can block lanes and dogfight while Kir sits back and snipes in relative safety.

I've been running the following 5 interceptor squad:

Lorrir's Wrath
23 Lt. Lorrir

23 "Fel's Wrath"

18 Alpha Sq. Pilot

18 Alpha Sq. Pilot

18 Alpha Sq. Pilot

100 TOTAL

It has been an enlightening exercise in maneuvering. I wanted to get the feel for interceptors without Push the Limit to better understand the way they fly, because the few times I ran PtL interceptors I either used it when I needed to K-turn the following round, or I neglected to use it when I ended up taking a green maneuver the next round anyway, and took damage for my mistake.

Anyway, for most of my games so far I have jousted with it and got mixed results. The final straw was when a Dutch, Biggs and Horton squad one-shotted two of my Alphas in the first round of combat. At that moment I realized I needed to stop this "full speed ahead" nonsense. The few games where I have started them spread out along my edge I have had 1) a lot more fun and 2) a bit more success.

In about 10 games, "Fel's Wrath" only used his ability once. I like running him because his PS 5 is good, and it works with Lorrir's PS 5 in the end game so I can maneuver them more easily. I also like to give the outcasts some love, you know? However, I am considering making him a Royal Guard Pilot + Veteran Instincts, giving me a cheap PS 8 pilot. Could come in handy. What do you think?

The other squad I've been running, which is also fun, is:

Soontir Fel (Push the Limit, Shield Upgrade, Royal Guard TIE, Targeting Computer)

"Backstabber"

Lt. Lorrir

Saber Sq. Pilot (Opportunist)

Yeah, this one is suffering from a lack of interceptors, too, but Backstabber does a good job flying with the aces. The idea here is to use PS 9, 6 and 5 to strip tokens so my PS 4 can use Opportunist. The interesting thing is that the poor Saber Squad pilot is always the first target. I guess that makes sense if high PS opponents can kill him before he shoots. But what it also means is that Soontir isn't taking fire early on, so he can TL + F with impunity. It also means that sometimes my opponent will choose not to spend a Focus on an earlier attack or defense roll in order to defend himself from Opportunist, which is a gamble that I like my opponent to make.

I like that idea of forcing them to decide to spend or not to spend in anticipation of Opportunist.

I like the mix of Interceptor and other, as I worry an all Interceptor list has too much glass and not quite enough cannon.

I know this has been mentioned before, but looking back at this now that we have the Imperial Aces released, I am thinking that the best 5 Interceptor squad is:

Carnor Jax + Swarm Tactics (28)

Alpha x4 (18x4)

It's kind of the reverse of the Howlrunner strategy: instead of buffing your allies, you debuff your opponent. Has anyone tried this?

I'm thinking of running a 4 Interceptor squad when Aces comes out. 4x Royal Guard with either VI, PtL or DD.

I had thought about something like a suped up Fel (PTL, SU, Royal, and either HU or SD) with 3 Sabers for the few time i play Imperial. Not sure how well it would work though

I know this has been mentioned before, but looking back at this now that we have the Imperial Aces released, I am thinking that the best 5 Interceptor squad is:

Carnor Jax + Swarm Tactics (28)

Alpha x4 (18x4)

It's kind of the reverse of the Howlrunner strategy: instead of buffing your allies, you debuff your opponent. Has anyone tried this?

I'd be concerned with Jax without defensive upgrades. He's only good @ range 1 so he could get blasted fairly easily. Swarm tactics also means you're staying in formation...not as big of a concern, but I think it makes it harder to keep your opponent guessing.

Am I missing something... why would you put Daredevil on a squint.

Am I missing something... why would you put Daredevil on a squint.

Daredevil is actually a very potent ability, particularly when you don't need to pay 4 more points for boost.

Basically, with Daredevil, you get a 180* possible difference with your facing.

Every turn is simultaneously a Koiogran AND a Straight, with several barrel-rolls. Or neither. Similarly for every other non-red maneuver in your arsenal.

It's the only mobility-action that you can use to ram someone as well.

But I see people putting it on squints, and it comes in their expansion.. rather confusing, as I never really thought about it before

I guess.. on other ships it can be a boon, but squints have boost and the nice white 1 turn, so k-turn with an offset of a barrel roll, I guess... nice for maneuverability... ill have to test it, see what I think..

The best use of Daredevil on a squint (in my opinion) is to use your fast maneuvers (4 or 5 straight) to blast past the opponent's firing arc, then perform a speed-1 turn maneuver via Daredevil, so you get a nice range 1 shot at them, but they can't shoot you. That's actually how I get the best results with Lt. Lorrir, too.

I've been thinking about:

Alpha Squadron Pilot - TIE Interceptor x 3

Howlrunner - TIE Fighter

Turr Phennir - TIE Interceptor
+ Stealth Device or Hull Upgrade or Push The Limit

100 points on the nose.

The idea would be to fly Howl just in Range 1 behind the Alpha Interceptors as the primary gun line while Turr guns it around the outside to get into the rear of the enemy, slow running the Alphas as best you can to try and get Turr into position for shots at the same time the rest of the squadron engages.

It feels like it will work better than the rest of the Interceptor - heavy lists we've been talking about.

And, yes, I KNOW it's not 5 Interceptors, but I think we've seen every possible combo for them already!

Weird, I wonder why I multi-posted?

I posted it elsewhere, it's not 5 but...

Lorrir w shield and hull

3x alpha

Backstabber

The alphas are a dangerous gambit, if you take them on first to thin them down, backstabber and lorrir tear you apart. If you go after the flankers first, the 3 alphas tear you apart. It's probably best to save the alphas for last.

As for 8 ties to 5 ceptors? The trouble is that if you assume you lose your ships at the same rate, the alpha swarm losses offense at a much faster rate.

But 2 attack vs 3 defense isn't going to go well for the TIE Fighters.

Plus a head to head confrontation like this one IS actually going to favour the improved mobility of the Interceptor.

Sure, I see the math...

But against anything that doesn't rock a turret 2.6 points for boost and the improved Interceptor dial isn't such a bad investment.

Here's a point regarding jousting values and arc dodging. The claim was that ints would need to dodge 3/4th of the enemy ties, but that's not true strictly. They don't need to be completely avoided, they need to be kept from focus firing, and a couple dodged completely. Once the ints force you to spread your damage instead of focusing it, preferably while still focus firing themselves, Lanchester's law becomes much less valid, especially when guys like Soontir and Turr can focus and evade while arc dodging. I only need to dodge such that one or two ties have a shot at each and I stand a decent chance of taking no damage, especially since they're shooting first and can kill one of the attackers. That's an extreme case, but even in less extreme cases, Lanchester's law just doesn't hold well.

The best use of Daredevil on a squint (in my opinion) is to use your fast maneuvers (4 or 5 straight) to blast past the opponent's firing arc, then perform a speed-1 turn maneuver via Daredevil, so you get a nice range 1 shot at them, but they can't shoot you. That's actually how I get the best results with Lt. Lorrir, too.

Wouldn't this work better moving the 4 or 5 straight, and then boosting, you get the same move and no stress...

I think low PS interceptors are almost never worth it. All that boost is wasted when you have to move first. So I guess my answer would be that, at 100 points, 5 interceptors is probably not something I would recommend.

Your prediction skills have to be top notch when you move them first .. that's all.. I find once the snarl is started it becomes easy to predict some peoples moves... that is, with your regular group. In a tourney setting, unless your regular group is in it as well, it can be harder , but after a couple of turns you might get some 'tells' on your opponents movement style. It's a given that after a few rounds, you may be down enought for that to not matter as well.. just some thoughts.

The best use of Daredevil on a squint (in my opinion) is to use your fast maneuvers (4 or 5 straight) to blast past the opponent's firing arc, then perform a speed-1 turn maneuver via Daredevil, so you get a nice range 1 shot at them, but they can't shoot you. That's actually how I get the best results with Lt. Lorrir, too.

Wouldn't this work better moving the 4 or 5 straight, and then boosting, you get the same move and no stress...

I find that with daredevil, it's the things like three bank left, daredevil right, or one turn left, daredevil right combinations that are really useful.

The best use of Daredevil on a squint (in my opinion) is to use your fast maneuvers (4 or 5 straight) to blast past the opponent's firing arc, then perform a speed-1 turn maneuver via Daredevil, so you get a nice range 1 shot at them, but they can't shoot you. That's actually how I get the best results with Lt. Lorrir, too.

Wouldn't this work better moving the 4 or 5 straight, and then boosting, you get the same move and no stress...

I find that with daredevil, it's the things like three bank left, daredevil right, or one turn left, daredevil right combinations that are really useful.

So, we have several legitimate tactics where Daredevil is awesome.

but on a squint you still do this with boost, and no stress.. how is gaining the stress a good thing..

sure on other ships it could be cool.. but squints have boost..

I don't see the need for DD on a squint, what am I missing that you guys seem to think it's a good idea.. maybe I'm just being dense, IDK, but just not siing the use of it on a squint

but on a squint you still do this with boost, and no stress.. how is gaining the stress a good thing..

sure on other ships it could be cool.. but squints have boost..

I don't see the need for DD on a squint, what am I missing that you guys seem to think it's a good idea.. maybe I'm just being dense, IDK, but just not siing the use of it on a squint