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| Fel's on the left. Look at that sex machine. |
I'm not gonna lie, but I'm pretty excited about this game in a big way. Over the last couple of days, I've been doing some serious research into the game system, strategy, lists and watching tournament videos. It's safe to say that as a hardcore gamer, I always do my research before jumping into anything. With that said, I think it's time to explore some list building of my own.
The list I plan on running is pretty straight forward. In fact, it's only 3 ships. As a Dark Eldar player, I'm used to playing with paper airplanes so it was only natural that I gravitate towards Tie Interceptors. Being a die-hard fighter junkie, I absolutely love the thought of aerial duels in space. As for the fluff and background, I just can't go out of my way to say that I'm a huge fan of Star Wars in general.
Regardless, I only really care about the game mechanics. I love customization, I love miniatures, and I love dogfighting. Time to show my list off and why I think it'll be pretty decent.
100 points
Soontir Fel — TIE Interceptor 27
Push the Limit 3
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0
Carnor Jax — TIE Interceptor 26
Push the Limit 3
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0
Turr Phennir — TIE Interceptor 25
Veteran Instincts 1
Targeting Computer 2
Stealth Device 3
Royal Guard TIE 0
First, let's go over the pilots and why I've chosen them for my fist list.
Soontir Fel will be my captain in this list because the guy's just so damn sexy. The main damage dealers here is Fel and Jax because they're the ones that have incredibly strong synergy with Push the Limit and Targeting Computer. Being elite pilots, they are all capable of taking the Royal Guard Tie upgrade. This allows them to equip two Modifications to their aircraft as opposed to the usual one. On top of the mandatory Stealth Device that should belong on any hotshot Tie Interceptor, you now get the ability to take Targeting Computer. This unlocks the Target Lock ability for your pilots and gives you remarkable killing potential with Push the Limit.
Alright, so how does this work with someone like Soontir Fel. Well, if you look at his unique ability, he gets a free focus whenever receives a stress token. This means if he pulls a K-Turn or something intense, he'll get a focus where he otherwise wouldn't be able to issue an action. To make things really interesting, he can chain with Push the Limit and get some crazy mileage out of it. On his Action phase, he can choose to Evade, trigger Push the Limit for a Focus, and once he receives the stress token, he gets another Focus. This gives him 2x Focus and 1x Evade on the turn he wants to be defensive, all for the price of a single stress token. Now try shooting this guy with 4x Aglity rolls (Stealth) with this combination. Due to the superior maneuverability of the Tie Interceptor, you will be able to keep pace with Rebel vessels while still find ways to shake off stress.
Now comes the fun part: On the offensive, Soontir Fel can really tear it up thanks to the Royal Guard Tie + Targeting Computer upgrade. He can do crazy stuff like Barrel Roll out of LoS of his opponent after they've moved thanks to his Pilot Skill of 9, Push the Limit to Target Lock on him, and then gain a Focus to utilize in his Combat step. Once combat starts, he can re-roll his misses and then turn all his focus into hits, all while going first due to his high PS while remaining safe from retaliatory action. At RB1 (range band), he's absolutely godlike thanks to Carnor Jax's special rule.
Jax is basically the same as Fel, but he's not as lethal with all things considered. It's his fantastic ability that keeps all three of these pilots as crazy threat. PTL in combination with RGT + Targeting Computer allows you to light up the combat phase. You're essentially looking at a guaranteed 4 hits for the price of a single stress token, all of which ignores enemy evade and focus tokens as long as you ride their ass. That's a ton of damage right there.
Lastly, we have Turr Phennir. I wouldn't say he's the black sheep of the ace and wingman, but he's equally deadly with some movement shenanigans. Since he's probably the only guy who can move during his combat phase, he can do some crazy stuff. Right now, I have him with Veteran Instincts for PS9 and Targeting Computer. This allows him to Target Lock for his Action and make his shots before his opponent. Once that's done, he'll simply Barrel Roll or Drive out of the way and there you go. The added free movement is pretty gigantic while maintaining his ability to do damage.
Well, there you have it folks. My stuff comes in today and I'm more than excited to get these guys on the table. I can't wait for Imperial Aces to come out later this year so I can field this list with the actual cards. For now, I'm just going to have to print them out and play with it. For now, I'm probably going to have to sub either Turr or Jax for 2x named Ties such as Backstabber and Night Beast. How do you think the list will perform with Fel, Jax, Backstabber and Night Beast?
That is a pretty expensive list to field with 2 Imperial Aces, 3 Slave I, and 2 A-Wings. That is like 180 dollars to get the cards.
ReplyDeleteI probably won't play outside my circle of friends and in some local tournaments. No worries about getting the cards :)
ReplyDeleteFriends are probably no problem but tournament rules say no proxies. That does not look like a very friendly squadron though to play with friends. One of my fears about this game is that one or two badly priced card combos could ruin it unless they are willing to change them after the fact.
ReplyDeleteI have started getting some ships myself and have enough to field 100 points on both sides but limited quantities of ships in the stores can cause problems for specific list building.
Love it. The least common X-Wing list is the elite Imperial list, and this list looks mean! Btw, outside a tournament, if someone wouldn't let you duplicate cards, then they're a douche!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a neat list; I have been playing around with similar lists. I love the Tie Interceptors; particularly Fel. The Imperial Aces expansion is really bringing a lot of great stuff to the game for them. The ability to get Target Lock is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteSubbing in Backstabber and Night Beast should work pretty well, as more numbers never hurts. Also if you could get in Howlrunner you could up your damage potential and take some heat off your expensive Interceptor pilots.
You see, I tried making a list with Howlrunner and whenever I include him, my points really take a hit. Do I keep the list skinny and take the elite pilots? Do I drop the Target Lock option for Fel and Jax? Heaven forbid I drop the PTL..
ReplyDeleteWith this list, I think the damage coming from Jax's ability and Target Lock + Focus from PTL is much stronger than bringing Howlrunner.
Having not played with the Target Locks with the Interceptors, I am not quite sure how they will work, however I imagine they will help by a large margin.
ReplyDeleteIn my experience I have found many people really fear Howlrunner and they focus a lot of firepower her way to get rid of her. If they ignore her they will be forced to deal with a lot more shots from your interceptors. If they focus their efforts at killing her, your most important ships will be unharmed and still be nearly as effective (target locks and Jax's crazy ability). If you take her you could try running her with an elite pilot skill (maybe expert handling) and another no name Tie fighter pilot.
How would you fit Howlrunner in a list with a 35 and 34 point pilot already? She's 18 base, needs some kind of protection, so you'll probably want Stealth Device and Expert Handling. It's quite difficult to fit in anything else if you take her along Fel and Jax. As much as I'd love to have her, I can't find room for her. I'll stick with Turr as my third :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, it will be pretty tricky to pull all that off with Fel and Jax as they are, you would be forced to take Howlrunner without upgrades and an academy pilot.
ReplyDeleteWhat are your thoughts on stealth devices? While they are good, you might be able to get away with not having them on both Fel and Jax. Fel is typically pretty hard to hurt with 3 defensive dice and an evade token.
My thoughts on Stealth Devices is: If you're already really hard to hit, you might as well make it even harder :D
ReplyDeleteEspecially since they go away when you do get hit.
ReplyDeleteThis list needs to watch out out for autoblasters but those are normally on slow ships and only have range 1. Just kill that ship first.
You should play DAWNPATROL then. Very old but very good WW I dogfight game. Also the fighter game in the SW Westend Games production was very very good.
ReplyDeleteMost "good" players won't ever take the autoblaster, as it's 5 points for something that statistically is almost always either breaking even or worse than the 3+1 dice for RB1 on a B-wing/Lambda. In some extreme cases it's definitely better, but it's generally regarded as a hugely overcosted upgrade (almost as bad as Expose).
ReplyDeleteYou assume that FF did not make the card availability the way it is for a reason (other than purely greed). If you are fielding a list that to get the real cards you have to spend 4-5 times the cost of the ships maybe you are playing the game in way that they did not intend.it to be played. X-wing has such great options for the lists that spamming upgrades should not be something done often for friendly games.
ReplyDeleteMy initial estimate was too low. I actually guess this list would be 3 Aces (1 Targeting Computer Each), 3 Slave I (1 Stealth Device Each), 2 A-wings (1 Push the Limit Each), 1 Interceptor (For the 2 normal unique Interceptor pilots) so 225 dollars.
i proxy on photopaper. family and friends only. not interested in the tournament scene. it's an amazing game.
ReplyDelete