First, Han at PS 9, with his special rule that allows you to reroll all your dice if you are unhappy with the result. It's a weak target lock, but it does increase the reliability of your shooting.
 
Take Millenium falcon title allows you to Evade as an action.
 
Take C-3PO as a crew member. His rule is, once per round when making an evade roll, guess the number of evades you will roll, and if you are correct, you get a free evade. The optimal strategy is to guess 0 evades every time, so if you don't roll and evade, 3PO will give you one, and if you do roll an evade, well, you have an evade.
 
This gives you a big ship that can reliably avoid 2 damage per turn, once from the evade, and once from 3PO. The 'problem' with this is that in early game it's not so bad, but late game when you're fighting 1 or 2 ships, 2 points of damage per round is most if not all of the damage you would expect to suffer per round.
 
Finally, you can throw in Gunner or Luke crew, so that if your first attack misses (due to evade dice etc) you can make a second attack, and Han can reroll *that* attack as well.
 
Finally finally, you can *also* take Push the Limit and Engine Upgrade, allowing you to Evade->Push-> Boost as actions, potentially putting you out of arc of your attackers limiting the expected incoming damage even more.
 
It's a 60ish point build and feels like throwing eggs at a wall, that is also dodging and weaving, and can throw boulders back at you from over it's shoulder.

The problem with 'prisons' in 40k is that they exist for a more specific purpose than our ones, and it's mainly petty crime. Theft, murder, arson that sort of thing. Anything that's minor enough not to affect the state of the Imperium or the Imperial Creed. If its too big, they'll just get executed.
 
Prisoners are kept to be used as meat. Mostly for the Imperial Guard penal legions and for turning into servitors. There is no re-rehabilitation. Prisoners are a resource just like any other.
 
There are psyker prisons that planetary governments use to hold rogue psykers until the black ships come take them away, but it would be unlikely a temple assassin would be put there.
 
Now, if you're talking about highest level treason or someone with potentially universe changing knowledge, like this assassin, either the Inquisition knows about it and have him hidden away in some black ops site on an unnamed asteriod in some unnamed system that maybe 5 people know about. And the prisoner isn't in a cell so much as a stasis pod for eternity.
 
OR
 
The inquisition doesn't know about it yet and your warband has to try and verify the existence of this assassin in a penal prison population, find out what he knows, and report it back to the higher ups who will have him taken to this black ops site on an unnamed asteroid, yadda yadda.
 
Your choice of assassin is also harder to fit here. Eversor assassins are generally more of a shock and awe/terror type assassin. They have a potent mix of combat drugs in their system which puts them into a bit of a frenzy and you generally put them near an enemy warcamp and say "Kill everything there".
 
As mentioned earlier, Callidus is the spy/shape shifter. This would make it much harder for the warband to work out who the assassin actually is, but would make much more sense for the prison infiltration scenario you are planning. You could even do the whole, assassin kills the boss of the biggest mob in the prison and assumes his identity.
 
--------
 
That aside, another option for the party is to approach a number of prisoners scheduled to be delivered to whatever prison you decide to go with, and 'take their place'. If they do it right, they might get the favour of a local crime syndicate, and they can be sure they're actually going to get where they plan to go, rather than commit a random crime and hope they get sent where they want to go.

First, Han at PS 9, with his special rule that allows you to reroll all your dice if you are unhappy with the result. It's a weak target lock, but it does increase the reliability of your shooting.
 
Take Millenium falcon title allows you to Evade as an action.
 
Take C-3PO as a crew member. His rule is, once per round when making an evade roll, guess the number of evades you will roll, and if you are correct, you get a free evade. The optimal strategy is to guess 0 evades every time, so if you don't roll and evade, 3PO will give you one, and if you do roll an evade, well, you have an evade.
 
This gives you a big ship that can reliably avoid 2 damage per turn, once from the evade, and once from 3PO. The 'problem' with this is that in early game it's not so bad, but late game when you're fighting 1 or 2 ships, 2 points of damage per round is most if not all of the damage you would expect to suffer per round.
 
Finally, you can throw in Gunner or Luke crew, so that if your first attack misses (due to evade dice etc) you can make a second attack, and Han can reroll *that* attack as well.
 
Finally finally, you can *also* take Push the Limit and Engine Upgrade, allowing you to Evade->Push-> Boost as actions, potentially putting you out of arc of your attackers limiting the expected incoming damage even more.
 
It's a 60ish point build and feels like throwing eggs at a wall, that is also dodging and weaving, and can throw boulders back at you from over it's shoulder.

So if I was re-designing expose, I would make a 'jouster' upgrade, by rewarding players for placing ships in their enemies fire arcs.
 
Expose
If you are in the firing arc of a ship that is also in your firing arc, you may roll one extra attack dice when attacking that ship.
 
Thematically, it's encouraging you to expose your ships to enemy fire, rather than just applying a penalty to your defense.
Mechanically, it gives your opponent the option of *not* pointing his ships in your direction to deny you the extra dice.

But how many good YT-2400, E-wing, T-70, and even TIE Interceptor builds are there?
 
Many ships are pigeon holed into only a handful of 'good' builds. I think a lot of people overlook the Firespray; but between the aforementioned Boba build, Super Kath, and Attanni Mandalorian mercs... it's a very solid ship.

I think you and I disagree on the term 'meaningless'
 
Arbitrary? Certainly. And subject to change, too.
 
But if you understand what I mean by 'glass cannon' and 'jouster' and 'arc dodger' then I think the terms are conveying meaning.
 
And no, Soontir hasn't been a glass cannon for a while now. He's fragile, but that's not the same thing as being a glass cannon.

Problem is, that's about the only 'good' Firespray build. And it only works for Boba Fett because PS 10 is strong, and it only works for Scum Boba Fett because Imperial Boba has a substantially worse pilot ability.

I've been flying Bath with x7/LW/Stealth Device. It's fun, and he's a big pain to kill, but I'm still so stuck on what to pair him with.

Great. Now I feel like my favorite squad needs to be called "Brath Salts". Because it goes crazy and eats people right up.

A number of months ago, I discussed my thoughts in some detail regarding the new spoiled TIE Defender cards in the upcoming Imperial Veterans expansion.  Now, however, we have information on the last remaining new TIE Defender cards, and we have a different meta, with different challenges, than the one we had when this pack was first announced.  These thoughts are coming from someone with more experience flying Defenders than most, but never higher than the Regional Championship level, and not with the frequency that I would prefer.  As more and more players start feeling these out these ships, they may well develop their own ideas that diverge from my own and are better than the ones I’ve outlined here.  Until then, this is probably as good a resource as any.
 
 
Section 1:  The Titles
 
This is obviously the most important thing about Imperial Veterans from the TIE Defender’s point of view, and is the part of the expansion that is most likely to shape or challenge the meta.  TIE Defenders now have three options for titles, the TIE/x7 title, the TIE/D title, and no title. 
 
Title Option 1:  TIE/x7 Title
 
The TIE/x7 title provides a minor reduction in points and a big increase in defense at the cost of the cannon and missile slot.  MajorJuggler has stated that an x7 Delta Squadron Pilot will have a jousting value a bit better than an Academy Pilot (i.e. really, really high), but having the white K-turn of the TIE Defender.  Consequently, this is the title that I expect to see used most often.  It’s both straightforward to use and there will be many more squads that an x7 Defender fits in because it’s cheaper.
 
Why it will be successful:
A free Evade token is pretty good on its face, and I think it gets even better when you analyze it in terms of the meta-prevalent squads that one is likely to face.  An x7 Defender, moving fast enough to get the Evade token and taking a Focus token is going to be a very difficult nut to crack.  It has 3 AGI and good action economy, and it has a pretty respectable six hit points.  This combination is pretty powerful.  AGI3+Focus+Evade means that a single, 4-hit attack is on average getting only about 1 hit through.  It also means that you’ll need a lot of 3-dice shots or 2-dice shots with Crack Shot to really punch damage through.  The 6 hit points mean that you’ll need those things over several turns to kill one Defender.  That’s good for a single ship.  If the squad has a second or third x7 Defender, it’s quite possible that the enemy squad will just not be able to jam enough damage through to kill them in the time allowed, particularly if it is dealing damage with limited resources like Crack Shot or munitions.  Additionally, the high hit point total and the fact that the Evade is not action dependent means that traditional defense bypassing tools like blocking and automatic damage are not going to quickly take an x7 Defender off the board.  It will take a lot of concerted work over several turns and/or a lot of good maneuver setup with some very potent damage dealers.  There won’t be an easy to take hard-counter.  Even Carnor Jax will need to hang out near a Defender for several turns to give his squad enough time to eat through six hit points. 
 
Where it might struggle:  
There are two main concerns I have about x7 Defenders.  The first is lack of dial flexibility.  The title only provides the free Evade token on 3, 4, and 5 speed maneuvers.  This means an x7 Defender is having to make some difficult decisions about making a “good” slow move vs an “okay” fast move.  It also rules out the hard red turns almost entirely, as you go from 2 good tokens to 1 stress token, an enormous swing in action economy.  Consequently, you’ll either be more predictable, or more vulnerable, and an opponent who understands movement will understand when that decision makes you vulnerable.  A Defender pilot can use this to their advantage, too, though, and pull a shorter move and try and catch someone who is counting on one of the 3-speed maneuvers.  The second concern is lack of offensive output.  Even with the squad point reduction from the x7 title, a 3 attack primary is not strong, especially not for something costing a third or more of your squad points.  To make these ships perform the best they can, you’ll need to enhance that offense as much as possible.  Consequently, I think you have to play them aggressively and use actions to enhance offense more often than defense.  I think if you spend tokens and plan moves with the mindset of a conventional Imperial Ace, you’re going to have some almost undamaged ships that will have done very little damage in return.  An x7 Defender is perfectly willing to be shot if it gets a good shot in return.  It also is usually going to be content with accepting some damage to save its Focus to boost a good attacking opportunity. 
 
Upgrades options:
You only have two, so this is pretty easy. 
 
Modifications: 
TIE Mk2:  This is a solid choice on an x7 Defender, particularly if you’re taking Debris for your obstacles.  It opens up the red turns a little bit, because you can recover more easily, and those are useful moves to have once in a while. 
 
Stealth Device/Hull Upgrade/Shield Upgrade:  You’re already skewed toward defense on the ship, so I’d think pretty hard before I put these on an x7 Defender.  They can work, but you need to make sure your squad has a way of generating the necessary damage to win games before you spend points on these cards for an x7. 
 
Engine Upgrade:  This is a pretty interesting choice.  It makes a fast ship into a very fast ship, and since you’re often getting an Evade token, spending your action to Boost is less of a concern.  Low PS Defenders become better blockers, and high PS Defenders get some maneuverability advantage.  You’ll get to pull moves that are very rarely seen in X-wing, like K-turn + Boost, and 3-turn + Boost. 
 
 
EPTs:
Juke:  Juke is a very strong card on a ship that reliably gets an Evade token, but still gets an action to modify an attack.  So it’s a very strong card on an x7 TIE Defender.  It does worry me, a little, though, because you’re doubling down on taking one of those 3+ speed moves.  It makes your slow moves all the weaker, because you’re effectively not getting your EPT.
 
Predator/Lone Wolf:  These are always top choices for a Defender, and with the x7 title, make the Defender an especially action independent ship.  You can get some defense and some offense, even if blocked or stressed, or if you spent your action to Barrel Roll (or Boost with EU). 
 
VI/Adaptability:  You can make a useful PS bid with a lot of Defender pilots, but it bears keeping in mind that this ship isn’t going to fill that “Ace” slot in the game.  It doesn’t generally win through reactive maneuvering.  Denying reactive maneuvering to an ace can be nice, but it comes at a cost of being weaker vs everything else.  Don’t just throw a PS upgrade on your ships unless there’s a particular problem you’re having with a higher PS pilot. 
 
Crack Shot:  This is a very popular card right now, and for good reason.  I wouldn’t throw it on an x7 Defender without a specific reason, though.  Crack Shot is amazing on Black Squadron Pilots because they’re cheap, and it’s cheap, and you’re pretty likely to get full usage out of Crack Shot before the BSP goes down.  An x7 Defender is going to last a while, though.  It should get many shots in before it dies, so it should have time to put those more expensive EPTs to work. 
 
Everything Else:  There’s a lot of EPTs out there, and probably some very decent x7 specific combinations I’ve not considered.  I’m happy to hear about them, but Predator sets a high bar.
 
 
 
Meta Impact:
 
The TIE/x7 is a seriously tough ship.  It’s got meaningful resistance vs burst damage, massed attacks, and automatic damage because of its combination of token stack, high AGI, and relatively high hit points (half of which are shields).  This will make it one of the best sustained jousters in the game, with no real hard counters.  This probably makes a fairly undramatic impact, though, because their offense isn’t high enough to really break an opposing list, it just will be a solid contributor over time.  Being tough enough to resist alpha strikes (normally the reserve of high HP, low AGI ships) while also being difficult to destroy with massed attacks is a pretty significant advantage against a lot of squads.  It probably won’t change the kind of ships people take in squads, though. 
            Both U-boats and Crack Swarms can have trouble killing more than one x7 Defender.  Its Evade is action independent, so blocking will only do so much, it’s got he hit points to weather some bad dice.  The x7 also likes to be in close, and because it’s a Defender, is great at staying engaged and keeping its guns on target.  It will do a lot of damage against K-turning swarms or Scouts with no torpedo shots. 
            The x7 vs Ace matchup is interesting.  The aces will have trouble putting enough damage into the Defenders to stop the Defenders from killing something, but the Defenders will have trouble getting multiple arcs on an ace (although they can kill the PalpShuttle without too much work in squads that take one of those).  Whisper, Omega Leader, and Carnor Jax are probably the most worrisome aces.  Whisper, because her firepower will tear through the tokens anyway, and OL and Jax because they’ll prevent spending the tokens in the first place.  Unfortunately for the x7s, there’s a certain list with Whisper and Omega Leader that has been doing pretty respectably in competitive play recently. 
 
 
 
Title Option 2:  TIE/D
 
The TIE/D title is about offense, control, and versatility.  It lets you pack that much more power and utility into one small-based ship.  I feel like TIE/D Defenders are a more dramatic option than TIE/x7s.  x7s are solid, reliable ships.  TIE/Ds can change a game in a turn, but are more susceptible to the opposition’s plans. 
 
 
Why it will be successful:
The TIE/D title combines damage and control, which is rare enough, but it does it on a frame that is fast, and tough enough to stick around a bit.  It’s a little hard to talk about TIE/D Defenders generally, because the choice of cannon will change how they fly and fight other ships.  Although much of the excitement I’ve observed has been about the Tractor Beam for this title, I think the Ion Cannon is where it’s at, and that is the upgrade I’ll focus on for most of this discussion.  From a damage standpoint, the Ion/Primary combination is roughly equivalent to HLC damage against lower AGI targets.  It is strongest up close, however, and weakest at Range 3, unlike the HLC, which is largely range agnostic.  The combination of the Ion control element and the Defender’s excellent speed and k-turn option make it very easy for the Defender to exploit and then repeat its successes with an Ion Cannon hit.  Beyond control, the ability to split fire adds a lot of utility to an expensive fighter.  One target can be hit and controlled with an Ion Cannon, while a second target can be engaged with the Primary shot.  This could be useful if you have targets with only a single hit point left, or you have at target that you can remove from the fight for a turn with the Ion Cannon while you work on damaging a tougher target over time.  Finally, having two shots from the ship helps dilute defensive tokens and other one-use defensive buffs available to many aces.  The Ion Cannon shot, although limited at one damage, is as good as or meaner than a 3-shot primary to most Ace-type ships as it forces them to be predictable next turn.  It usually is a must-avoid shot, and this shot will often require expenditure of defensive tokens (or Palpatine) to avoid.  This allows the follow-up Primary shot to have a better chance of success.  The Ion/D’s strengths are compounded if you take a second one.  Two Ion/Ds gives you the ability to control two different ships, while combining fire on a third ship.  They also allow you to control a large ship in a single round of firing, which can have serious consequences for any large ship such as drifting off the board, or onto an asteroid.  Usually, though, a slow drift forward will be bad enough.
 
Where it might struggle:
For all its offensive prowess, the TIE/D Defender is no tougher than the pre-Veterans incarnation of the ship.  It’s tough enough to take a hit or two, but will not stand up to concentrated fire or a full munition alpha strike.  You will need to kill what is threatening you and avoid concentrated fire to have success, and that may not be easy, particularly as people become accustomed to dealing with these ships.  Additionally, like any jouster, its arc can be dodged.  You will need patience, good movement prediction, and good coordination with the rest of the squad to consistently draw arcs on aces.  Conversely, these ships will be priced like high end aces, but won’t fly like them at all.  They’re going to be forced to take fire to get a good shot at times, and so will be susceptible to dice failure in a way that many aces are not. 
 
 
Upgrade options:  You get access to all the Defender’s upgrades, Cannon (cheap ones, at least), Missile, Modification, and EPT (where available). 
 
Cannons: 
Ion Cannon:  The best of the three, the Ion Cannon does damage, and it has an affect that is detrimental to every ship in the game.  It also costs the most, but you’re bringing a serious heavy fighter, pay the points and do it right.  You don’t buy a Ferrari and drive it to maximize fuel efficiency. 
 
Flechette Cannon:  It does damage, and is occasionally useful against certain kinds of ships.  This is the weakest of the three options. 
 
Tractor Beam:  Against some ships this upgrade is murder, in others, it might as well not be there.  Generally, it’s strongest when everything has been worked out correctly (lots of guns on a particular enemy ship), which is usually when you need extra help the least.  I’d say it’s most reliable usage is when you’re building a squad to alpha strike down a particular jouster (like a Contracted Scout or TLT Y-wing).  If it can reliably hit (not going to be the case against Aces), it can help all your supporting ships do more work. 
 
Missiles: 
Proton Rockets and Cluster Missiles:  These are basically equal to or worse than the default attack at their pertinent ranges. 
 
Concussion Missiles are arguably better than the default shot at Range 3, but Homing Missile do the “long range quality shot against hard target job better for only a point more.
 
Homing Missiles:  These could be used to fill out points in a 2-Defender list, giving the ship a nasty shot to use against aces in circumstances where the Cannon/Primary combo would just bounce off (Range 3 vs Autothrusters).  They would also help if you’re going for a 1-turn shot to clear a TIE Fighter off the board at Range 3.  The points are probably better spent elsewhere in most lists, though.
 
Ion Pulse Missile:  These overlap too much with Ion Cannon to be taken in that context, but I wouldn’t consider it wasted points on a Tractor Beam TIE/D, especially because it can be pretty **** useful to make one of those big ships predictable for a turn, and you’re only giving up the Primary shot against something like that. 
 
 
Modifications:
TIE Mk2 Engines:  See entry under the x7 title. 
 
Stealth Device/Hull Upgrade/Shield Upgrade:  Unlike the x7, the TIE/D is heavily skewed toward offense, and a little extra defense can be very useful.  I lean toward Hull, because it’s a point cheaper than Shield, and a lot more reliable than Stealth.  The occasional presence of Wampa and Plasma Torpedoes also makes the extra Hull a good thing to have. 
 
Engine Upgrade:  I’ve not historically been a fan of EU on my traditional HLC Defenders, but the Ion Cannon/Primary fights so much better at close range than long, so I’m warming to it.  The ability to jump past Range 2-3 against a Contracted Scout is a pretty useful ability as well. 
 
 
EPTs:  Everything I said about EPTs for x7 is applicable to the TIE/D title, except the bar set by Predator is even higher, because it’s modifying two attacks each turn instead of just one.  Lone Wolf remains the EPT of choice for the defensive bonus it also gives, but only if you’re going to reliably activate it, which can be hard for a lot of squads. 
 
 
 
Meta Impact: 
I suspect TIE/Ds will have a more dramatic effect on the game than x7s, even if they are easier to counter due to their reduced durability.  This is because Ion Cannons can ruin the day of a whole host of ships.  Ion Cannons are not currently seen with meaningful frequency, because using them requires the ship to give up a Primary weapon shot, meaning that you have to decide between damage and control, and most Ion Cannon carriers don’t have the dials needed to exploit the control they inflict on their target.  TIE/Ds will have both control and damage, and they’ll be able to exploit the Ion Cannon’s induced movement predictability in order to acquire quality shots while avoiding the same.  The ships that will be affected most readily by the Ion/D are low AGI ships.  These ships are more likely to be hit by unmodified Ion Cannon shots, making control more predictable and less action dependent.  AGI 0 and AGI 1 ships will become very predictable in movement, even if they are large and require two Ion tokens to affect.  AGI2-3 will be affected a bit less, because these targets will more likely need an action to ensure a hit, so the TIE/D will more often have to choose between control and damage.  These higher AGI targets, however, are often hurt more by an Ion token than a beefier low AGI target, so even if the Ion Cannon does not hit, it can draw out tokens or Palpatine usages to make Primary weapons more likely to hit.  Two shots from a single source, like TLT, further encourages the use of Autothrusters where available.  If Vader was already being replaced by the Inquisitor, adoption of Ion/Ds in any meaningful numbers will push that transition to completion. 
            In the context of the popular meta lists, the Ion/D is a powerful tool against Contracted Scouts because they need both actions and firing arcs for reliable offense.  Ion Control can make both of those harder to get for the Scouts.  However, 9 hit points behind 2 AGI means that it will take time to destroy the Scout, and TIE/Ds are not very resistant to torpedoes.  The presence of Contracted Scouts does encourage the use of the modification slot on TIE/Ds, either as a Hull Upgrade to survive as long as possible or as Engine Upgrade to dodge into Range 1 and avoid the Torpedo shot.  Tractor Beam, I think, does some of its better work against Contracted Scouts, allowing the Defender’s squad more of a chance to take a Scout down before it can fire (or at least making it spend a Focus token).  Oddly enough, Flechette Cannons don’t look too bad against Scouts, as it severely limits their ability to turn around and keep ships in arcs for their torpedoes.  They’re still probably not worth it overall, though. 
            TIE/Ds have some of the same advantages against Crack Swarms as TIE/x7s, in that once the Crack Shots are spent, the swarm has a pretty hard time taking the Defender down.  The TIE/D (and supporting squad) is pretty likely to burn a TIE or A-wing down before the initial exchange anyway, and will have a solid strategy of attacking through obstacles as its default engagement method. 
            Against Palp-Aces, the Ion/D build, especially a pair of them, can take a Lambda out pretty quickly.  They also have the hit points to survive some attacks from the aces while doing it, and have enough dial options that the Aces need to be at least a little bit careful in case the run on the Lambda is a feint.  The Defenders will need to be careful against the Aces, though, as Autothrusters will severely hurt the Defender’s ability to do any damage at Range 3, where it’s easiest to keep an Ace in arc. 
 
 
Title Option 3:  No Title
Obviously, you only refrain from the new titles if you’re hellbent on equipping a cannon that costs more than 3 points.  HLC is the most interesting option, here, because HLCs are fantastic and dropping 4 red dice at all ranges is just a great thing to have.  There is, however only a few targets against which it’s arguably better than the Ion/Primary combo using the TIE/D title.  High defense ships, especially things with Autothrusters, have to be a lot more wary of the massive, steady offense of the HLC.  That 4 point difference is big, though, and gets you most of the way to a Homing Missile, which will do a lot to make of for the disparity in capability between the HLC and Ion Cannon, if that is really that important to you.
          The Mangler Cannon isn’t good on Defenders, and shouldn’t be taken, even with Maarek Stele.  There, I said it.  I’m not saying it’s not fun, but 39 points minimum for a single 3 dice attack with no extra movement shenanigans is crap.  Ion/D will do more damage and probably net you more crits, because you’ll be firing 4-dice primary attacks a lot on more-or-less stationary targets, with some re-rolls.  You’ll get your crits that way.  Besides, if you’re after is fun, take Maarek with an HLC, Marksmanship, and Experimental interface is way more awesome than a moldy old Mangler Cannon.  You just get to cut ships in half with that setup. 
          Oh, yeah, Autoblaster fits in this category also.  It's terrible, although I could see it being a hell of a lot of fun on a VI/Engine Rexler Brath if you were looking to just troll high defense aces.  It even sort of works with his Pilot Ability, because you know any hits you roll will be getting through (and subsequently flipped by a Focus token you might have).  
 
 
 
Part 2:  Pilots
 
A note on TIE Defender Pilots and their Pilot Abilities.  You’ll want to think about Defender pilot abilities a little differently than most ships.  In either the TIE/x7 or TIE/D form, the TIE Defender brings a lot of power to the table thanks to its great stat line, powerful dial, and endurance (TIE/x7) or offensive power (TIE/D).  In my experience, the most important thing a named pilot brings to the table is the Pilot Skill and EPT slot.  While the Pilot Abilities aren’t universally useful, they don’t really need to be.  The ship itself is a more important consideration than the ability.  Contrast this with Omega Leader  or Carnor Jax, whose abilities define how they are built and played on the table.  Instead, think of Defenders more like a pilot like Whisper.  Whisper isn’t built to maximize her Pilot Ability, she’s built to make the best use of Advanced Cloaking Device, to be the best TIE Phantom.  Likewise, TIE Defenders shouldn’t be built to maximize their Pilot Abilities, they should be built to be the best jousters in the game.  Consequently, I favor Predator as the default EPT for both TIE/x7s and TIE/Ds.  There may be plenty of reasons to take other EPTs (like Ruthlessness to do crazy splash damage with TIE/D), but for the most part I’m focusing on the obvious builds.
 
Delta Squadron Pilot: 
 
I think this ship is a nice 28 points with the x7 title.  It’s fast, it’s crazy tough, and it has the low PS you want as a blocker in this U-boat meta.  It’s also the cheapest possible Defender, so the relatively low offense of the TIE/x7 is not as much of an issue.  At PS1, you’re shooting last, but the ship is so tough that there’s not too much of a worry about it being destroyed before shooting.  Look at shooting last as a perk, it’s a 3-4 dice shot that is hanging over your opponent until the end, making them think extra hard about spending a Focus on offense.  The Delta as a 33 point TIE/D Ion Cannon carrier doesn’t look too bad either.  It provides a lot of firepower and some control for a pretty reasonable squad cost.  A low PS control cannon is a pretty scary prospect for a lot of ships, because they’ll never know how to best spend their defensive tokens. 
 
Interesting Builds:
Stripped down:  Delta/x7 = 28 points, a fast jouster and a blocker
Clarkson Pattern:  Delta/x7/Engine Upgrade = 32 points, an even faster jouster and blocker
Control:  Delta/Ion Cannon/D, A lot of power in 33 points, even if it is only PS1.  Still useful as a blocker (a couple of these leaves 34 points, and Imperials have a ton of stuff in that range).
 
 
Onyx Squadron Pilot:
 
This ship has the same capabilities as the Delta, but with 2 higher PS.  This means it’s less useful as a blocker, but will fire concurrently with Scouts.  I think I prefer the blocking ability more, but I could see it working, especially if a strong PS2 ship comes along. 
 
Interesting Builds:
Same as Delta Squadron Pilot
 
 
Glaive Squadron Pilot: 
 
The Glaive Squadron Pilot gets selected when you don’t have the point for Vessery or Maarek, but that PS6 is important enough that you don’t take Ryad.  The EPT opens up Predator, which significantly enhances any Defender builds, or some other EPT for more specialized builds.
 
Interesting Builds:
Reliable Jouster:  Glaive/x7/Predator (or Juke) = 35 (34) points, solid PS that will trump most generics, has boosts to attack and defense that are action-independent
Control Jouster:  Glaive/Ion Cannon/D/Predator (Engine Upgrade/Hull Upgrade are good additions) = 40 (43/44) points, the cheapest TIE/D hammer you can get, you take this when you want a quality TIE/D, but every point matters.
 
 
Countess Ryad:
 
Ryad is a low PS specialist, in that her pilot ability is built to gain a huge positional advantage on ships with lower PS than her (you know, like those two meta pillars U-boats and Crack Swarm).  It gives her great maneuverability and her K-turns become very, very difficult to block, which can be a huge boon against area-control lists like Swarms and Contracted Scouts.  She’s just as solid as any other Defender pilot against aces, as well, as the extra K-turn options are useful against any opponent.  I see two main builds, and they can be applied to both TIE/x7 and TIE/D titles to good effect: 
            1.)  Predator, just like any other Defender.  With Predator, she’s acting like a regular beatstick Defender, but has access to extra K-turn options, which will usually be worth the PS point compared to a Glaive.  PTL with Mk2 Engines to clear stress on the banks ends up playing pretty similarly to Predator, I think.  It’s probably a bit better with TIE/x7, and a bit worse with TIE/D, depending on the specific situation, but I don’t think it flies too differently than the Predator version.  Predator opens up the turns more, but PTL is a little joustier.
            2.)  PTL, with Engine Upgrade.  This version gives her an unprecedented sort of maneuverability.  She is an extraordinary knife fighter and arc dodger, but in a way that is completely different from all other arc dodgers.  I encourage anyone to give this one a shot at some point.  It’s really pretty nuts.  You only get to clear stress on straights (and therefore K-turns), but the occasional Boost or Barrel Roll thrown in there changes up your track in a useful way.  A nice perk of this build I wasn’t expecting is against TIE Phantoms.  I could dial in a straight, and depending on where they decloaked, I could leave it a straight or flip around depending on where I thought the decloak gave the best moves.  The Boost/Barrel Roll combo was enhanced this flexibility.
 
Interesting Builds:
Conservative PTL Countess:  Ryad/x7/PTL/Mk2 Engines = 36 points, you get 3 actions (effectively) each turn, on top of Ryad's sweet pilot ability.  What's not to like?
Unhinged PTL Countess:  Ryad/PTL/Ion Cannon/D/Engine Upgrade = 44 points, Defenders are fast, PTL/Engine Countess is even Faster, or slower, as you pull a 2-Kturn and boost/barrel roll back to more-or-less your original postion.  Who needs banks and turns when you just keep boosting off the K-turn?
 
 
 
Colonel Vessery: 
 
Vessery is the out and out curbstomper of the bunch.  He does a ton of damage, although he needs a bit of help to do it.  The quality of his support and the efficiency with which you support him are going to be key to elevating him from “pretty dang good” to “borderline NPE”.  He’s got a ton of flexibility in EPT choice, but VI will be common to get him firing in front of his supporting ships.  I also really like Lone Wolf to give him an extra kick when his supporting buddies die.  He’ll be quality with x7, simply because he’ll be a target anyway, and the extra toughness from x7 keeps him fighting.  He’ll be murder in a TIE/D, however, and is likely to give a lot of players bad dreams.  The key there will be keeping him alive long enough to contribute and not making bad moves with his support just to activate his ability.
 
Interesting Builds:
The Hammer:  Vessery/x7/Juke = 35 points, you get a fully modified attack, an Evade token, and you force the targeted ship to hold a Focus.  He gets by with a little help from his friends.
The Reckless Hammer:  Vessery/Tractor Beam/D/Ruthlessness = 39 points, this Vessery gets help from his friends, and makes the target lose friends pretty quickly.  The interplay of Ruthlessness and Tractor Beam is a pretty strong one that gets through my overall cool opinion of Tractor Beam.
 
 
Maarek Stele:
 
Stele is the pilot you take if want to make a PS bid with a named Defender, but don’t want to spend the extra points on Rexler Brath.  So if you have you like paying a point to have a PS advantage over Vessery and non-VI Brobots and be on equal footing with Dash, that’s probably a solid 1 point investment over a Glaive.  I think there’s a desire in a lot of people to manufacture crits to trigger his ability, but you’ll be making a weaker ship overall if you do.  Juke/Lone Wolf/Predator for x7, or Lone Wolf/Predator for TIE/D are the EPTs of choice.  You’re rolling 3-4 dice and getting re-rolls.  The crits will happen on their own.  TIE/D Maarek does make an interesting case for Marksmanship (Maareksmanship?).  The EPT will work on both attacks, and will make your primary a lot more likely to generate a crit than just relying on regular rolls.  It results in a bit more offense than Predator, but it requires an action.  I like Predator better because of that, but I could see Marksmanship as a reasonable choice. 
 
Interesting Builds:
Stock Defender with a PS bid:  Stele/x7/Predator = 36 points, solid PS that has boosts to attack and defense that are action-independent, and a nice little ability that will kick in about half the time you deal a damage card.  
Maybe trying too hard:  Stele/Ion Cannon/D/Marksmanship = 41 points, you get modifications on both attacks, but you should probably also invest in a Hull Upgrade or Emperor Palpatine, because he's going to get shot down fast.
 
 
Rexler Brath: 
 
Brath is the high PS bid option, but he pays 2 points for the privilege over Stele.  PS 8 puts him equal to such illustrous company as the Inquistor, Carnor Jax, Omega Leader, Corran Horn, Miranda, Echo, and VI Brobots.  He should work fine with the standard builds, particularly if the Ghost keeps growing in popularity (flipping a whole handful of cards is not hard to do against zero AGI targets), but of all the Defenders, he’s probably the best choice for VI, just because it gets him up ahead of the big PS9 aces.  Keep in mind, he’s not an arc-dodger, so the PS bid is really more for denying the aces information about his own position, getting shots in ahead of Whisper, and making PS kills than it is about dodging arcs yourself.  Plan accordingly.  Fortunately with TIE/D, he’s got the firepower to make that work.  I’ll note with Engine Upgrade on a VI build, he’s a better ace hunter, because he can boost to get out of Range 3 and void Autothrusters, which makes a huge difference.  Honestly, the more I think about it, there’s some nice matchups that a PS 10 Ion/D Rexler Brath has on common aces.  He gets PS advantage on Whisper, Fel, Inquisitor, Corran, and non-VI Vader.  The common PS10+ ship right now is VI/Adaptability Vader, who doesn’t really have the firepower or defenses to crush Rex with maneuverability. With TIE/x7, however, I think his firepower is low enough and his defense is high enough that you’ll be best served to take a more offensive EPT than VI, and just outlast any aces that are higher PS than you. 
I’ll note that I think Brath’s ability is a bit better with Ion/D than the old HLC build I’ve loved so much.  His offense is a little more action-independent, as with fewer dice per shot, but twice the shots, his Focus isn’t quite as necessary to get the most out of each attack.  By comparison, HLC would often rely on Focus to hammer through the levels of damage necessary to make the build worthwhile.  The Ion Cannon can also eat a shield that would soak a damage from the HLC anyway.  Additionally, by getting natural crits from the primary weapon, you get the chance to double-dip on crits like Thrust Control Fire or Major Explosion that have an effect and are flipped.  That makes the decision to spend your Focus to flip cards or saving it for defense a little easier. 
 
Interesting Build:
Ace Hunter:  Rex/Ion Cannon/D/VI/Engine Upgrade = 45 points, I like the idea of pairing this guy with some jousters like Crack Squadrons.  The jousters flush out the ace, forcing the ace to dodge some arcs or eat Crack Shots, then Rex zooms in and Boosts or Barrel Rolls to bring the ace in arc at Range 2 and lets loose.  This build could work with Tractor Beam as well.  I feel like this could pair well with Ryad in a two-Defender list.  Ryad specializes in killing low PS stuff, Rex specializes in killing aces.  Depending on the exact builds, you have enough for a blocker as well.  
 
 
 
The End.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

No. You should play whatever you want. You just don't get to complain when other people play what they want and it's the same as you.
It's the old phrase "Put up or shut up".
If someone is unwilling to initiate or facilitate change in a circumstance, they have no right to complain about that circumstance not changing.

Watched some great X-wing streams today. A couple had awesome, non-typical lists take the top spot. This is exactly what we want from this game.
 
Yet, while these regionals gave hope for the diversity of the game, another regional had... 3 lists in the top 4 as mirrors...
 
 
All I want to say is, that if you don't like seeing this game devolve in to Palp Aces vs Uboats vs Imp Aholes, please be the difference you want to see. It's been proven that these are not the only lists that can win at the top level.
 
Be that guy that brings munitions BOSSK and wins. Be that guy that brings an Alpha Interceptor and wins. Be that guy that brings Gemmer Sojan and wins. Be the.. Heck, I don't know! The guy that takes the Tie Punisher and wins, or Mindlinked Talonbane, Guri and Palob and wins.
 
You are a CREATIVE, INTELLIGENT, HUMAN BEING. I promise you, even if you don't win, there is a lot of enjoyment to be had in competing with a list you came up with, even if you don't win. Heck, if you're anything like me, you'll probably feel better losing with a list you came up with than winning with one you did not. If you want, you can even use popular lists as a sort of template if you don't trust your list building abilities or your ability to judge a lists capability against the meta. But for goodness sake, do something to make the list your own. 
 
Now not everyone would feel I am being fair. Some people truly are hyper competitive to the point that a key creative aspect of the game, listbuilding, is unimportant to them so much so that they simply take what they believe from research to be the consensus best list available. To those people, if winning is that important to you, that is fine. Do what you need to do. But this post is more to those players that don't fall under this category who are still taking these types of lists. Please, don't succumb to the pressure! Don't take the easy way to wins! Fight to learn a deeper aspect of the game in list building! I promise you if you do, you will find a deeper appreciation for the game that you otherwise will never have found.

My take on it is, there are a number of abilities that can apply after a trigger, and if they all have the same timing then you can choose which order to apply them.
However, that does not stop an ability invalidating another ability, either by explicitly stating it like gunner saying no more attacks may be performed this turn, or by changing the game state like the second TLT shot hitting, which means gunner is no longer immediately after an attack that missed.
Valen is just another ability that triggers immediately after an attack and may or may not invalidate the second TLT shot or Gunner by changing the game state.
The sticking point for me for gunner TLT argument is that the immediately ability for TLT is a new and separate attack.

I have been asked for a bit more detail regarding how I played Miranda, especially around how to optimize bomb drops.  So in the same style of my Psycho Tycho write up last year, I’ll walk through some simple things regarding bomb drops, pictures included.  To start with, we’ll discuss the out of rock combat.  Specifically, dropping a Conner’s Net on a higher PS player (though it can also be used for a player who has already activated and ended in that spot).
 
If your opponent is within range and for the most part in front of you, you can get a bomb.  A 3 straight followed by a 3 bank slam will get any ship.  Whatever maneuver he does, the template will hit the Net.

 
If the player is slightly off center, then you can modify the strategy slightly and play a bit more risky with the edge.  For example, if the opponent is just in range, but off centered by range 1, you can almost guarantee a bombing.  To pull this off, you want to be greater than range 2 from the edge (but not much more than that) in order to have enough clearance to not fly off the edge.  A 3 bank towards the edge followed by a straight 3 will trap the opponent from everything except a 1 turn.  
 

 
Finally, the last opening round drop examples, if your opponent is just in your arc, a 3 bank towards and then again will guarantee a drop.  But all too often you’ll find that a rock will be in your way to complete this move.  In this case you can substitute the maneuver with a 3 bank left followed by a 3 bank right.  This will technically leave your opponent open to doing a right turn to avoid the Net.  However, that move will land the opponent on a rock.  
 

Ban Imperial Boba.  Never should have existed in the first place.

I'm happy with the cards as is.  I'm surprised about the VI hate.  That's one of my favorite cards: I like the PS bid it introduces.  To pay the 1 point tax and sacrafice an EPT or not
 
The only card I feel might be slightly overpowered is push-the-limit, but I like playing it too much (especially on a-wings), and it's available to all factions.

None, it's all fine.

Nope, I like the cards the way they are.

At the KC Regional running two TLT Y's and a Chewie, I came up on a Whisper/Inquisitor/Palp aces list.  After wiping out the shuttle and Inquisitor, Whisper moved towards the edge of the map to take out my Y-wing.  It had 4 hit points left and he rolls 4 hits and the Y evades 1 leaving him with 1 hit point.  At this point he has to fly up and finish him off.  Instead of 2 turning and staying on the board.  I FLEW MY Y OFF THE BOARD DENYING WHISPER THE SHOT AND DESTROYING ANY CHANCE OF HIS FOCUS RE-CLOAK COMBO...  It was a good feeling.

I'm excited to try;
Glaive with x7 and Wired
Glaive with x7, Juke
Rex with x7, Lone Wolf, Stealth Device
Steele with Mangler
Ryad with PTL, x7
Basically I'm just excited.