How to play TIE Defender?

[Biophysical 15,761]

I would say Phantoms are quite a bit different than Defenders.  Stuff that counters Phantoms counters them really hard, Defenders don't really have hard counters, but they aren't as strong as Phantoms.  If you've got a Turret shooting before a Phantom, it's got to kill 4 HP at AGI2, AKA a Z-95.  The same turret would have to get through 2 more HP at AGI3 with the Defender.  Obviously Phantoms are amazing, but they can run into a wall against certain types of lists.  

[haslo 950]

Basically as above. The most competitive I've been able to make defenders are Delta + Delta + Soontir

 

And, honestly, Wave 6 makes them better

 

Delta Defender (Flechette)

Delta Defender (Flechette)

Soontir Fell (Push the Limit, Royal Guard Tie, Stealth Device, Auto-thrusters)

 

The change from good ole ion to stress is significant, but it's not exactly a loss. Flechette cannons are brutal against large ships (especially aggressors, who basically won't be able to shoot you the turn after), they still render non-defender ships unable to joust, and being able to slap on both defensive upgrades on Soontir makes him worlds more survivable (until you roll four blanks, which no joke happened last night, but an evade and auto-thrusters made sure he lived with only one direct hit )

 

That's a seriously cool list! I'll have to try it out! Any experiences and opinions on it?

[Hobojebus 11,341]

He's a few tips:

1) defenders live at range three so fly slow and learn how to use that 1 bank there's no need to ever use the red turns.

2) named defenders want a HLC if they are your only defender, they snipe while you send in blockers.

3) he who five pulls a five forward then k turns the next turn lives to kill another day, you want range don't worry about losing a turn of shooting if it gets you to range three.

4) if your enemy expects a k turn then bank instead they'll end up flat footed and in a bad position.

5) don't let maths put you off, your not going to joust if you have any sense so learn how it moves and it'll serve you well.

[ficklegreendice 34,362]

you're also not going to "joust" because you're the only one pulling consecutive K-turns while the other poor bastard has to waste a turn performing a green

[Shadowmax 211]

Basically as above. The most competitive I've been able to make defenders are Delta + Delta + Soontir

 

And, honestly, Wave 6 makes them better

 

Delta Defender (Flechette)

Delta Defender (Flechette)

Soontir Fell (Push the Limit, Royal Guard Tie, Stealth Device, Auto-thrusters)

 

The change from good ole ion to stress is significant, but it's not exactly a loss. Flechette cannons are brutal against large ships (especially aggressors, who basically won't be able to shoot you the turn after), they still render non-defender ships unable to joust, and being able to slap on both defensive upgrades on Soontir makes him worlds more survivable (until you roll four blanks, which no joke happened last night, but an evade and auto-thrusters made sure he lived with only one direct hit )

something similar... kinda

 

Sootir + title + AT + SD+ PTL

sigma + reconsp + SPA + FCS

delta + Ion C

100pts

[YwingAce 2,546]

 

It violates Vorpal's "rule of one", which I think is a pretty good guideline, but it is pretty thematic and has decent synergy.

...the code is more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules.

More fundamentally, I'm trying to say that you shouldn't just splash any number of Defenders into a list. You have to think carefully about why they're there and what they're going to accomplish, and that's a far easier determination to make with one Defender than with two.

Same with EPTs, cannons, etc.: if there's a particular reason you want or need a particular upgrade, you should use that upgrade no matter how expensive it is. But do it with forethought, not just because you have an empty upgrade slot and some leftover points.

But if you have a clear idea of why you have two Defenders in your list, then go for it! I've played Jonus/2x Delta + Mangler quite successfully, which violates all of my own rules.

 

Nice PotC slip in there

 

That said, in keeping with the code, I just thought of a fun list to run

 

Delta

Delta

Patrol Captain

 

Smack at a hundred points. Probably won't win any tournaments, but it would be fun :lol:

[TheRealStarkiller 3,446]

How about 2 heavy hitters and a control shuttle?

 

Delta Squadron Pilot (37) x 2
TIE Defender (30), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

 

Omicron Group Pilot (26)
Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Ion Cannon (3), Tactician (2)

[Panic 217 1,857]

Here in the Xwing Battle report Forums is a tried and tested 2 Defender List see what you think about this.

[Jo Jo 4,808]

 

 

1.) 5 forward, target lock as action.

2.) Enemy ships bump into you.

3.) 4 k turn, focus as action.

That's pretty much it. In general try flying in such a way that a 3 turn/bank or 5 straight would be good. You really lack the ability to do any tight close in dogfighting at all.

 

What about upgrades?

 

I was thinking of fielding it without any, and just take the Delta sqn pilot. Will that be eaten alive?

That's probably the best way of doing it. 3 PS is meaningless now that the Phantom has completely eliminated sub ps 9 bidding.

 

 

 

Not meaningless. If you have the points bumping up to PS 3 from a generic isn't a bad thing. Predator is very popular and at PS 1 or 2, your opponent basically has a free TL every time he wants to shoot at one of your ships. Also, rebel swarms are kind of a thing. Shooting before the PS 2s can mean taking one off before it gets a chance to fire.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Jo Jo

[BigManTiki 5]

Nice PotC slip in there

 

That said, in keeping with the code, I just thought of a fun list to run

 

Delta

Delta

Patrol Captain

 

Smack at a hundred points. Probably won't win any tournaments, but it would be fun :lol:

 

ive been playing this list for half a year and it works quite well

[zerotc 1,011]

How about 2 heavy hitters and a control shuttle?

 

Delta Squadron Pilot (37) x 2

TIE Defender (30), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

 

Omicron Group Pilot (26)

Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Ion Cannon (3), Tactician (2)

 

If you can get the shuttle behind your enemy, sure. Otherwise your control component will probably only get 1 round of control before it has to start turning back. 

[blade_mercurial 2,091]

 

How about 2 heavy hitters and a control shuttle?

 

Delta Squadron Pilot (37) x 2

TIE Defender (30), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

 

Omicron Group Pilot (26)

Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Ion Cannon (3), Tactician (2)

 

If you can get the shuttle behind your enemy, sure. Otherwise your control component will probably only get 1 round of control before it has to start turning back. 

 

Depends.  You can set up the asteroids to help the shuttle 'trap' your opponent.  Try to place asteroids so there are a number of gaps with just enough room for the shuttle to fit through.  Plop your shuttle somewhat middle=ish on the board.  Slow roll with it (red stop or bumping into your own ships) until you see which direction the enemy ships are approaching from.  Have the shuttle fly into the asteroid gap that they are heading towards.  Once there, between bumping and your stop move, you should get at least 3 turns of shooting (including the approach) before the enemy manages to get behind the shuttle...

[BigManTiki 5]

 

Nice PotC slip in there

 

That said, in keeping with the code, I just thought of a fun list to run

 

Delta

Delta

Patrol Captain

 

Smack at a hundred points. Probably won't win any tournaments, but it would be fun :lol:

 

ive been playing this list for half a year and it works quite well

this tie defender list is fun since it has 28 hull and shield and nine attack and even though it has low pilot skill it doesn't care a lot about what people can do to the ships due to the fact that there are no upgrades and the ships have verylow pilot skill to begin with so you just have to put the ships down.  the other part is it forces most lists to have to prioritize either killing the patrol leader which just floats around while tanking damage or have to go after the defenders  and try to outmanuver them as well as get through there defence. the deployment of this list is to put the patrol leader in the middle and the defenders on the far sides in hopes of breaking up the opponents deployment and since the ships dont synergize due to being bare you dont need to clump up.