So the last time I used the Lambda I swore I would never use it again. It went that badly. "How can anyone fly this piece of junk?" Then i got back on the forums after a significant hiatus to find out what people were saying about the shuttle. Big thanks to SableGryphon, Brown Bomber and all the others who contributed advice and the benefit of your experience. This weekend I ran a squad like this:

OGP+Gunner+FCS+EU

BH+RS

Dark Curse

Backstabber

He ran:

Ten Numb+Autoblaster

2 Rookie X-wings

1 Prototype A-wing with clusters

It was over in 5 turns. He set up the bulk of his fleet on one corner, so i set up my lambda on the opposite corner with the rest of my fleet across from his. I slow played my main fleet while doing a 3 straight and bank in with my shuttle. He rushed his fleet foward. On turn 2 I completed my flank maneuver with the shuttle and moved my fleet forward. He lost the A-wing before it shot and Ten numb and 1 of his x-wings was damaged. The next couple turns resulted in the lambda getting behind his ships and doing the bulk of the damage to finish off his team. End result was I lost the two Ties and only took 1 hit on the firespray. The lambda was untouched.

Now I will say that his build was not ideal for what I brought to the table, he rolled badly and made some poor flight decisions. But the point is that my mind has been completely changed about this White Whale. I do think that next time my opponent will be better prepared for this build, but the lambda has earned a space in my Plano box.

I find it hilarious that the Thread topic got auto edited to Moby ****

Looks like a **** fun Empire build!

I might try it some time if you don't mind

I like how your thread title was censored lol...Moby ****...****...****...

****

I like that list. I cant decide if id rather have rebel captive, recon spec, or an ion cannon on the Bount Hunter, haha!

My first experience with the Buzzsaw Shuttle was:

Buzzsaw Shuttle

Howl + Swarm Tactics

Academy Tie x 4

Mostly because I like swarms a lot. I'd give your list a try though, doesn't force grouping up as much, which is nice! I always wonder whether I should pull my other forces from the fight when the shuttle is making its eventual turn, or if I should continue parking the shuttle, leaving him open to point blank shots.

I'm glad you had a good experience. It's incredible how much a few upgrades can improve the Lambda. It's a similar list to the one I've been flying with much success. Opponents don't want to chew through the HP of the albino star cow and decide to leave it for last because they can outmanuever it, so they just sit there soaking damage. Especially if it gets behind them. And if they try to focus it down, you can just escape by hitting the accelerator and boosting away to pounce on them again in a couple turns. Plus, if they split their fleet, it's usually super sad times for them as you can boost between the two.

I like that list. I cant decide if id rather have rebel captive, recon spec, or an ion cannon on the Bount Hunter, haha!

My first experience with the Buzzsaw Shuttle was:

Buzzsaw Shuttle

Howl + Swarm Tactics

Academy Tie x 4

Mostly because I like swarms a lot. I'd give your list a try though, doesn't force grouping up as much, which is nice! I always wonder whether I should pull my other forces from the fight when the shuttle is making its eventual turn, or if I should continue parking the shuttle, leaving him open to point blank shots.

I can't really tell you how effective the RS was on the BH. I've heard good things but I rolled so well that I don't think I spent more than 1 of the focus. So in this game it was a little bit of a waste. But you never know. I could have used focus much more if the game had lasted longer and he had actually been able to attack my BH. And I'm personally not much of a fan of the Ion Canon. Why pay to do 1 damage from the front arc when i get 3 possible damage from the front and rear arc stock?

I had a similar build I was thinking of but using a Vader shuttle and a couple of named ties and academ ypilots. I might still try it out but I've never much been a fan of the tie swarm. Its a little boring for me. I like using a variety of ships in my builds more than a buch of the same ship. But its just personal taste and i think a tie swarm could do really well with the Buzzsaw

I like the ion for those low agility B wings! And they are in every rebel list!

I have a wery good fwiend in wome named biggus ****us!

and his wife Incontinentia Buttocks......

I ran this list last week at our weekly meetup. I went 1-1 which i suppose wasn't too bad considering my dice are on a mission to get me to quit the game. Couple that with some stupid decisions on my end, and there you go...

I enjoy this, and will run it again i'm sure. just need to be more mindful of the shuttles movement (or lack there of) dial.

So the last time I used the Lambda I swore I would never use it again. It went that badly. "How can anyone fly this piece of junk?" Then i got back on the forums after a significant hiatus to find out what people were saying about the shuttle. Big thanks to SableGryphon, Brown Bomber and all the others who contributed advice and the benefit of your experience. This weekend I ran a squad like this:

OGP+Gunner+FCS+EU

BH+RS

Dark Curse

Backstabber

He ran:

Ten Numb+Autoblaster

2 Rookie X-wings

1 Prototype A-wing with clusters

It was over in 5 turns. He set up the bulk of his fleet on one corner, so i set up my lambda on the opposite corner with the rest of my fleet across from his. I slow played my main fleet while doing a 3 straight and bank in with my shuttle. He rushed his fleet foward. On turn 2 I completed my flank maneuver with the shuttle and moved my fleet forward. He lost the A-wing before it shot and Ten numb and 1 of his x-wings was damaged. The next couple turns resulted in the lambda getting behind his ships and doing the bulk of the damage to finish off his team. End result was I lost the two Ties and only took 1 hit on the firespray. The lambda was untouched.

Now I will say that his build was not ideal for what I brought to the table, he rolled badly and made some poor flight decisions. But the point is that my mind has been completely changed about this White Whale. I do think that next time my opponent will be better prepared for this build, but the lambda has earned a space in my Plano box.

JMoose. wow gr8 to see ur having success with ur squad - sounds like u play a similar style to me preferring a range of different ships - it makes ur squad more versatile and is more interesting than playing lots of cheap identical ships eh?

thats quad u ran is the exact one i was toying with - its got decent PS ties and two very durable ships that dish out consistent damage. Backstabber is my favorite tie-fighter after howlrunner i think one thing that i sometimes forget about his game is how imp the setup of ur ships actually is - having a few high PS ships gives u some nice options to get a favou\rable position right at the start instead of being on the back foot.

Heh, this thread title made me think of that line from Matilda:

"It's not trash daddy, it's lovely. It's called Moby D!ck by Herman Melville."

"Moby what?! "

Anyway, congrats on the win, and I'm glad that you discovered a use for the white space bison!

JMoose. wow gr8 to see ur having success with ur squad - sounds like u play a similar style to me preferring a range of different ships - it makes ur squad more versatile and is more interesting than playing lots of cheap identical ships eh?

thats quad u ran is the exact one i was toying with - its got decent PS ties and two very durable ships that dish out consistent damage. Backstabber is my favorite tie-fighter after howlrunner i think one thing that i sometimes forget about his game is how imp the setup of ur ships actually is - having a few high PS ships gives u some nice options to get a favou\rable position right at the start instead of being on the back foot.

Yeah i definitely prefer a team with variety. When I am imps I usually build a team with the ships I like most (Firespray, Interceptors and now maybe Lambda) and then if i have 12-30 points left I throw in a tie or two. I also prefer ships that bring more firepower to the table over a bunch of ships with only 2 attack dice. I wish the interceptors had some way of avoiding turret weapons which are the only thing that makes them somewhat unreliable IMO

JMoose. once imperial aces hits the scene i think u might see red guard ships with hull upgrade AND shield upgrade combined. thats 5 dmg needed to kill a ship that has 3 attack dice - its on a par with the x-wing but with a better movement dial - question is will it be worth the added points investment?

JMoose. once imperial aces hits the scene i think u might see red guard ships with hull upgrade AND shield upgrade combined. thats 5 dmg needed to kill a ship that has 3 attack dice - its on a par with the x-wing but with a better movement dial - question is will it be worth the added points investment?

That certainly is the question isn't it. I think it definitely makes these ships more viable, but at a significant cost. Soontir Fel just went from 27 pts to 34pts, now adding hull and shield. Yikes! I could take a firespray for that and it would probably be better. And now a PS9 Int Pilot cost 5 points more for the comparable PS9 x-wing pilot (+ 3 pts if you want PTL to have a reliable way to stress soontir). That's a lot of points to pay for a beter dial which can still be negated by the falcon. Not saying i won't try it, but i don't think it fixes the problems with the interceptor which i'm a bit disappointed about because they are a lot of fun to fly.

JMoose. once imperial aces hits the scene i think u might see red guard ships with hull upgrade AND shield upgrade combihi thats 5 dmg needed to kill a ship that has 3 attack dice - its on a par with the x-wing but with a better movement dial - question is will it be worth the added points investment?

That certainly is the question isn't it. I think it definitely makes these ships more viable, but at a significant cost. Soontir Fel just went from 27 pts to 34pts, now adding hull and shield. Yikes! I could take a firespray for that and it would probably be better. And now a PS9 Int Pilot cost 5 points more for the comparable PS9 x-wing pilot (+ 3 pts if you want PTL to have a reliable way to stress soontir). That's a lot of points to pay for a beter dial which can still be negated by the falcon. Not saying i won't try it, but i don't think it fixes the problems with the interceptor which i'm a bit disappointed about because they are a lot of fun to fly.

Don't forget the extra agility die! It really makes a difference as far as effective HP goes. It also goes a reallllly long way against 2 dice ships, and is still very useful for 3 dice ships. I've had plenty of tie fighters roll 3 dodges to avoid 3 hits that it is hard for me to ignore now! A shield upgrade + hull upgrade will make these ints very difficult to finish off, even with 1 or 2 good rolls. Maybe it's not as good on paper as a firespray, but I would venture to say it will perform equally, with more versatility on the field.

It is hard comparing souped up Interceptors to X-Wings. I can get an example of each at PS 6, Attack 3, Defense 3, Hull+Shield 5 for 29 points. The Interceptor still misses the TL but has Roll, Boost, and Evade options (along with the improved dial) to go against the X-Wing (Garven to be precise) ability to pass Focus tokens but loss of Defense (Stealth Device) once hit.

In theory if I could take a Red Squadron Pilot and give it VI (1) Engine Upgrade (4) and Stealth Device (3) it would cost 31 points which is the same as a Royal Guard Interceptor with Hull and Shield Upgrades and a Targeting Computer. Until other upgrades are added the ONLY edge the X-Wing has would be +1 Shield instead of the point of Hull while the Interceptor still gets Barrel Roll and Evade options, the better dial, and doesn't need to worry about losing a point of agility when hit.

This may not actually be possible but it says to me a tougher Interceptor could be as viable as an X-Wing.

Ok ok keep talking... your starting to make a believer out of me

Interceptor's for the win!

Even if I could boost an Interceptor with Hull and Shield Upgrades to make is as "tough" as an X-Wing I'd still go with a Stealth Device over one of those two options. The Interceptor already lives, and unfortunately dies, by its ability to dodge damage so there is little reason not to keep that strong. Perhaps one reason to add a hull or shield upgrade to an Interceptor is to lessen the chance of that "one shot kill" as landing FOUR hits after any cancellations is far less likely than landing three; you see 3 dice rolled far more often than 4 or more.

Even if I could boost an Interceptor with Hull and Shield Upgrades to make is as "tough" as an X-Wing I'd still go with a Stealth Device over one of those two options. The Interceptor already lives, and unfortunately dies, by its ability to dodge damage so there is little reason not to keep that strong. Perhaps one reason to add a hull or shield upgrade to an Interceptor is to lessen the chance of that "one shot kill" as landing FOUR hits after any cancellations is far less likely than landing three; you see 3 dice rolled far more often than 4 or more.

Yeah I agree that the best way to make this thing more durable is a hull upgrade and stealth device, with PTL if possible to take the evade every turn there is the slightest chance someone could hit you