Probably is both a boon and a bust. They want to emphasize the ability to take a few high end ships instead of filling up on generics, so if you can stay alive with your better stuff, or clean up enough generics, it is easier to get your win. I think one of the previous posters had it, though. The Swarm is getting some hurt in new releases, but I think that is more of a balance as FFG takes a nod to the common play style. Even the TIE Defender preview nodded to the effectiveness of the swarm and its application. I know there has been a lot of grumbling about partial wins causing people who should have been top ranked to be pushed down, and this might be a method to even it up, especially since both sides now have fragile cheap ships at 12. You circle each other, and one lucky shot (either ship could be killed in a single shot), could mean the match. I believe before the lucky number was 33? It also capped how many points you wanted to sink into a ship, as you didn't want one ship to mean defeat, so it pushed the overall ship point level down. With the cap at 12, I think it will now do the opposite as you may want to invest more in your ships survive-ability rather than spreading it out into a whole lot of naked generics.

You can use more than one per round. You can only take the Focus Action once per round, but you can use multiple focus tokens. It is in the FAQ. For example, If I am a HWK-290 with Recon Specialist and Blaster Turret can use the Focus Action, gain 2 Focus Tokens, then spend one to use the Blaster Turret to attack, and one on the attack roll to modify dice.

Vessery (35) + Outmaneuvre (3) + Cluster Missiles (4) -42 Omicron Group Pilot (22) + ST-321 (3) -25 Bounty Hunter (33) -33 Total: 100 I like this list because its tough, and everything has 3 attack. I can send in the White Buffalo slow, while the bounty Hunter tags along as a main force, and send the Defender around the side to 5 forward and then white K turn and come in the back. With the prevalence for Falcons and B Wings, the cluster missiles will do a ton of damage, especially with OGP's target anywhere, and then Vessery attacks on PS6 with both attacks, rerolls on each, and then the OGP can use his target lock to reroll too if in range. I've had good luck on Han Shoot's First lists with this build. Outmaneuvre against a 1 agility ship is pretty hilarious. A 5 hit cluster missle barrage at range 3 with no agility dice allowed is pretty nuts to start things off. The bounty Hunter and Vessery killed a B Wing in one round. I think I lost the Shuttle and the Bounty Hunter was pretty bad before it was all over. I've only played this list twice, both against Han Shoots First variants (xb and xx)

Wow. Interesting direction. I like that this game is enjoyed by all kinds of people, from kids, to advanced engineers. It makes for really great conversations. Seriously. As a Devil's Advocate here, I'd like to mention that most weapons in Star Wars are blasters. They use electro-magnetic fields to contain plasma until impact. Or so the fiction says.... I think the weapons are called laser cannons though, I think a good comparison would be the Tokamak reactor, which houses plasma held by powerful electro magnets. So these aren't lasers per se, but controlled plasma melting targets, and probably the heat setting off fuel to cause explosions. If this could be imagined, considering the super powerful ion engines on TIE's are the tiny doo dads (technically speaking) to the sides of the conical disc on the back. Well, maybe not. Perhaps I was looking at older books, this is from Wookipedia

I like the initial list, but as an Imperial Player, I would have to agree to drop the Target Lock. Putting the extra point in and giving Soontir a Stealth Device has always been my way to go. I do like a single bomber with ordnance. I fly a lot more casual than tourney, but I like to use the ordnance to finish off something an Interceptor scored on, rather than as an initial volley. Therefore, I'd probably use concussion missiles, cluster missiles or a homing missile (last one would help a lot with hitting, as you can use the TL to reroll). Maybe I'm just a missile guy though, playing Imperials and not putting torps on BH's. I feel like once the ordnance goes off, you fly into the thick and try to bump and grind with that O'Bomba, while constantly shouting THANKS O'BOMBA, and see what happens. I have some great shots of me playing Rebels in a 200v200 battle where the MVP was a bomber flying inbetween Wedge, Chewbacca, an A Wing, and a Y Wing, making all kinds of trouble. It's pretty easy to be in the way of a Falcon with a bomber, pushing it back to its starting spot, and right where your Interceptors want it. with 6 hull, and a focus, you can survive for a while. At 16 points, its a ridiculous steal. (+ordnance).

Is making the shuttle a 'buzzsaw shuttle' an idea? I believe that is Gunner, FCS, Engine Upgrade Its an expensive Albino Great Planes Buffalo, but when you whiff, Target Lock, Shoot again and then make those double turns and fly right into the other players business from the wings, it'll be worth it. So, put the White Rhino up one side, the three compadres up the other side, then swing them both in to strike? Other option might be to put Antipursuit lasers on the Great White Whale, pushing it into the middle of their ugliness. Just some thoughts. No argument on Soontir. He and I are BFF's. As an Imperial Player, he sings loudest in most of my lists, with a kill count thats better than any ship I've flown, even the vicious Kath Scarlet Cowgirls (which are phenomenal by the way. (Nothing like Gunner, Marksmanship, with an ion cannon white buffalo wing man, any EVERYONE has stress.)

I have to agree on the poster above that a Falcon doesn't really count here. Then it's a discussion of how to escort your falcon, which is a large ship plus extras. Here, the discussion is whether to take 3 named small ships, or 1 named and 3 generics. I've been hit by both, and I can't vouch for which is stronger. I play Imperials almost exclusively, usually smaller swarms (5 or 6 ships). I feel like make up and ship dress up makes a huge difference, as the assault missile plus b wing ace plus x wing ace combo would be rough. TheMetalBikini did a nice write up on this same topic here: http://www.themetalbikini.com/2014/02/tournament-talk-3-ship-rebels-vs-4-ship.html

Hmm, hadn't thought about that. I like that with the cheap Green A Wings. I'll suit some up and give it a whirl (or whirl against, as I basically always play imperials...but I haven't used Concussion yet, and I think I might give it a try on some Vader builds I do instead of Cluster Missiles).

See the linked post. With Fel, you can use the focus action, then if you use PTL with some other action, such as Evade, barrel Roll, or Boost, you then gain a stress and are assigned a Focus token, thereby only taking the focus action once, and not breaking the above ruling, but ending with 2 focus which would allow you to use one on the attack and one on the defense. This is a common build and is used at official tournaments, so I'd say it's more than legit.

Don't you have to spend the focus to fire the missiles, as you would spend a TL normally?

I'm just excited that these guys are viable. I hate when some new hotness comes out, and just isn't anything special compared to the originals (such as Saber Squadron pilots)

A TIE Advanced Title would be nice and an easy way to add a Systems Upgrade slot. I do love the Shuttle. Getting a cheap one is easy, and they are pretty durable for the price. The big base is always in the way, and against many of the Rebel's low maneuverability on their ships, it can be great for action denial, and movement denial allowing your other Imperial ships get to where they need to be. And of course, it has the upgrad-ability to be many roles, such as a HLC to send in some love from afar, or Antipursuit lasers to be annoying, or an Ion cannon to try and stop enemies from getting around. I think you can do one with an Ion cannon for like 29 points or so. EDIT: Kagi with Ion cannon and Anti Pursuit Lasers is 29 points. Use the generic pilot and its 27. That's Soontir's base, so its pretty cheap. Not TIE Fighter 12 cheap, but still pretty cheap for a big ship.

I personally love me some interceptors. I like to roll mine with a Shuttle, but I really enjoy the shuttle for its beefiness and its ability to make my interceptors even nastier, either eating their stress, stopping secondary weapon by taking TL's, or just flying into the mix of the foe with anti-pursuit lasers and being annoying while interceptors circle like sharks. Anyone play tested Carnor Jax yet or Kir Kanos? I've tried Carnor Jax, and he made my foe pee a little I think when all his guys go shut down on focus/evade and I rolled in to open up on everything. I haven't seen Kir Kanos though. Anyone have any luck there?

I agree with the Turr+PTL build. From what I've seen, it's preferred over Soontir. In my circles, there is a preference for cheaper, lower Pilot Skill ships in order to stack up, so Turr's 7 doesn't affect him as much. I could see him having real issues with a Han shoots first squad though. I feel he can get real stacked too with the new Royal Guard mod, giving him a Stealth Device and Hull Point (or shield) although it would be quite expensive. I like circling this guy with another bare bones interceptor around my Stress eating Shuttle.

There was a list of Capitol ships. It was the Transport and Blockade Runner for Rebels, and the Lance Frigate for Imperials. Don't know when we'll see or hear about the Imperial Ship, but as an avid Empire fan, I'd like to see some HARDWARE pretty soon if possible. The leaks about large ship rules were pretty sweet two. Each one is treated as two separate vessels, and has 4 unique actions it can take that affect nearby ships. They also (naturally) have their own new movement tiles which are more lumbering. Excited for the Imperial Aces. Have no idea what wave 4 will be, but with the HWK 290, a ship that I, sorry, had never heard of before (as my computer for a long time was a real piece of junk, so I missed the whole Kyle Katarn series), it leads me to believe that we will be seeing a number of EU ships that could come from more sources than anticipated.

Nice. I feel the Defender fits the beefier multi-purpose role well. The Avenger, even though I'm afraid I don't have much love for it as I (blasphemously) never played the TIE Fighter game or any of the X Wing vs TIE Fighter games, and have no experience with it. I've had some experience with the Defender, but mostly from articles. I agree that the Defender fits a multi-purpose starfighter role, not equivalent to the B Wing, but as a heavy fighter. The Avenger appears to be an upgraded superiority fighter that could be proposed to replace the Interceptor with a beefier ship. I could see Imperials balking at it due its price tag, as Fluff wise, they would need to build a ton to man all the outposts, bases, academies, ships and more with a new ship./ Anyway, I would see the Avenger as having a good move counter, Interceptor or A Wing, with maybe less forward green, and the right and left turns green. I would think a System upgrade, and Missiles would fit well (since Imperials don't do the Astromech thing), Target Lock, Barrel Roll, Boost, Focus and Evade (I know 5 base right?), and about the same stats as a Defender here, 3/3/3/3, with maybe a 3/3/4/3 or a 3/3/4/2. It would be kind of pricey though, which would allow Imperials the option, same as the Defender, to go with a beefier squad of just a few ships much as the Rebels do currently. For abilities, I would have the Defenders with raw offense and the Avengers as maneuver upgrades like many Interceptors (see Turr and Soontir, our heroes). So there ya go...anyway...here are my Defender models. I bought three, but have only painted two. I'm thinking of doing my final one with a blue similar to the Interceptor and then do the 181st kill stripes on it. So here they are. I took one to show the magnets I used to attach them to the base, so they have 'quick release' bases, which will make it easy to swap the bases once I get nicer ones that are closer to the X Wing ones in size.

First off, great discussion. I love following threads like these. I also appreciate the MathWing. Some statistics and actual mathematics, albeit oddly placed when applied to sci-fi where the physics of the engines and many of the strange features of the craft, such as Star Wars complete disregard for true space physics and allowance of ships to fly in space as if they were in an atmosphere, are very gratifying. I'd like to chime in. I applaud the attempts at putting stats as similar to possible as the fluff, same as GW releasing the 'cinematic versions' of their space marines, where an entire army that had previously counted nearly 60 armed men in power armor with transports and artillery now consisted of 3 fellas with rifles. Therefore, despite the EU's way of taking everything found in the movies and adding +++ to them just so they are cooler or better or faster or whatever they need to make their novel stick out, I am a huge fan of the Defender. I feel like, as many have noted, it was the Empires answer to two issues: the first being the fragility of most TIE craft, and so their ability to handle multiple, or long scale engagements was essentially null, and two being the need for a multipurpose long range craft that did not require a support ship. I would think the previous ship to fill this role would be the skipray blast boat, which I don't recall being much of a dog fighter. Please correct me on that one. So, I picked up three of the Shapeways TIE Defenders, and have two painted up, one as a standard gray and black TIE and one as a Royal Guard craft, and used the previously posted cards with these stats: Carnor Jax PS8 (enemy ships in range one cannot use or gain focus or evade tokens) F 3 A 3 H 3 S 3 Focus, Evade, BarrelRoll, TL Missile, Elite, Cannon Cost: 36 Skye Vox PS7 (Roll 1 additional die on your next attack in the round after performing a green maneuver) F 3 A 3 H 3 S 3 Focus, Evade, BarrelRoll, TL Missile, Elite, Cannon Cost: 35 I gave each a homing missile, and put a Stealth Device and Adrenaline Rush on Carnor Jax. I had enough left over for a basic Bomber with a Proton Torpedo armament. We ran them in three scenarios. Despite the cries here for more shields or boost, these ran like beasts. Homing missiles on the approach, barrel roll and enough toughness to take a few hits through the high agility. They took out: Millenium Falcon plus Rookie Wingmen (close battle, used a Shuttle actually with PTL instead of Adrenaline rush on Carnor, and two or three TIEs instead of the second Defender). Then against a zerg rebel list, with Y, Rookie Rookie and an A Wing, all with Missles/Torpedoes. They faired pretty good against this list. The first time through, the foe took the bait and opened up on the Bomber, trying to get him before his low PS came up to stop those torpedoes. Being a decoy anyway, this let the two Defenders close in and evaporate some X Wings. The lack of maneuvering on the Y Wing, who went torps but no turret came to bear, and he did nothing after the first salvo. The player was new to maneuvering and put his A Wing in some bad spots, so we know how that ends. On the 3 missions, only a single Defender fell to enemy fire. However, I felt that they weren't unbalanced considering the high cost, and have to be played well or else they end up like Soontir in a bad spot, only for twice the cost. High risk high reward ships, and not sluggers like Firesprary or YT or B Wings. On a side note for stands, I used some basic flight stands, and used tiny magnets to connect the ships to the stands for easy storage.