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I'm trying to find a role for the TIE Defender to excel in. It's moderately tough, can hit pretty hard but comes in at such a huge points cost. What are some ways people have maximized the use of this fighter? I love its looks, but it seems tough to justify it.

I have had good success with Rexlar Brath loaded with Predator, HLC and Ion Engine Mk. II. He is a heavy fighter, so I try and fly "sweeping" patterns with him and strafe targets. Honestly, the best analogy I can make is I run it like an A-10. It flys in straight lines, shoots a bunch of shots and then swings out to line up for another gun run.

Fair enough, it just seems rough to pour half your squad points into 6 hit points. For that, I could get Boba in a Firespray with the same offensive capability.

Yeah, if you're looking for friendly uses just run whatever you fancy, if you're looking for competitive examples it's so over costed as to be near irredeemable.

I've never really seen the defender do anything impressive. The problem is that expensive ships need a strong tank. If you're going to spend 1/3 to 1/2 of your points on a single ship it needs to be able to survive fire without (permanently) losing HP and the defender doesn't do that. It has some green dice, but no evade action or HP regen and no real ability to stack up defensive abilities. So it's going to take hits, and its HP pool is a ticking clock before it is inevitably destroyed. And that makes it a clear loser compared to ships like Fel or Corran that can completely dominate a game, laughing off shot after shot while the enemy ships are disappearing from the table.

Problem is, it's very expensive and has a very predictable dial. Like Peregrine said, it is just not as tanky as a Big ship, or one of the Rebel Regenerators (Mirands, Poe, Corran). It also lacks the maneuverability of Fel or Vader.

Catch is, it can cost more than some fat ships, and the only way to turn quickly is the white K-turn.

It's not a devastating ship for the reasons above.
A LOT of your points are tied up in that white K-turn, therefore you're best used trying to come up with ways to make use of that.


A cannon is always a good call. A lot of people default to heavy laser cannons - as noted, Predator, Heavy Laser Cannon, Twin Ion Engine MkII works well, if expensively. Try to roll in slowly from long range (where your heavy laser cannon and three agility makes you a fearsome jouster) then hit the gas and K-turn.

The other option can be just as nasty, though. The other cannons you should consider are Ion and Flechette weapons. Being able to ionize and stress people is nasty anyway, and the cannons are cheap. But when you can stress or ionize someone then pull a K-turn at will, annoying can become devastating.

Plus, these cannons do work with rexler's ability - allowing you to do criticals with the 'specialist cannons' as well as primary weapons.

Twin Ion Engines MkII is a good modification - making all your banks green - whilst the other one worth considering is engine upgrade; being able to come out of a K-turn into a Boost allows some tricksy moves. It's not as good as a Talon Roll or Segnor's loop, but it's close.


The pilot I've seen most people do well with, actually, is Vessery. He needs the right support in a squad, but can be very effective for his cost. Either pair him with something tough or multiple cheap things with the Target Lock action (TIE Bombers or TIE/fo Fighters) or with something high pilot skill that gets a target lock and keeps it rather than spending it. Omega Leader or an Advanced Targeting Computer TIE advanced is a nice pairing.

I've paired HLC Vessery with Vader and had a good time. Vessery's ability meshes well with the TIE/x1 title and allows you to focus every activation.

However, like everyone has pointed out, the ship has pretty poor defense since it has no regeneration options or an evade action. Hiding behind three green dice won't last forever.

I personally run Colonel Vessary with HLC, and Outmaneuver paired with "Redline" with his Cluster missiles. Really fun.

locarno24 wrote:
The pilot I've seen most people do well with, actually, is Vessery. He needs the right support in a squad, but can be very effective for his cost. Either pair him with something tough or multiple cheap things with the Target Lock action (TIE Bombers or TIE/fo Fighters) or with something high pilot skill that gets a target lock and keeps it rather than spending it. Omega Leader or an Advanced Targeting Computer TIE advanced is a nice pairing.

That's been my experience as well. Vessery has decent action economy if you can trigger his free target lock ability, which frees him up to spend his focus defensively if he needs to, or to perform barrel rolls against medium PS ships. TIE Advances are a great source for target locks, since they're not spending them. Otherwise, you need to pair him with lower PS pilots, since the spend their target locks after Vessery has shot.

I'm not a fan of Rexler - his ability is a catch 22. Spending the focus on the attack dice to generate an extra hit is almost always more effective than saving that focus to flip damage cards (but dealing 1-2 less damage in total).

The generics are just overpriced. Darth Vader /w ATC is the same price as a PS1 defender, and is a vastly more capable ship.

Non-competitively I play

Rexler Brath (37)
- Heavy Laser Cannon 7pt
- Stealth Device 3pt
- Predator, lone wolf or push the limit

2x Royal Guard Pilot (22)
- autothrusters (2pt)
- veteran instincts (1pt)

Total 99-100 points

They're all PS8 so the interceptors can hit first and take out shields then rexler can attack and potentially use his ability. Its fun and simple but Rexler Brath is pretty much always going to be focus fired...

I'd like to see the TIE defender get a "Linked Guns" card, preferably somehow via a title. Something like:

"When your opponent receives one or more uncancelled hits or Crits from your primary weapons, they also receive one uncancelled hit from an equipped [Cannon] or [Missile] Weapon"

That sounds like a good fix to me - make them crazy gunboats. I like it better than the defensive fixes I've seen people throw out. Imperials already have several super-defensive ships, so I wouldn't mind seeing something that plays different.

The word on the street is that an "Imperial Veterans" pack is coming with fixes for the Defender and Bomber. The reported release date is March 2016.

Probably need something about discarding the missiles- unlimited shot Assault Missiles could get ridiculous.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
The word on the street is that an "Imperial Veterans" pack is coming with fixes for the Defender and Bomber. The reported release date is March 2016.

Yep.

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/195850-imperial-veterans-expansion/page-1

I would not be surprised if one or both ships get a cool title like the TIE Advanced did.

 TheWaspinator wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
The word on the street is that an "Imperial Veterans" pack is coming with fixes for the Defender and Bomber. The reported release date is March 2016.

Yep.

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/195850-imperial-veterans-expansion/page-1

I would not be surprised if one or both ships get a cool title like the TIE Advanced did.

There's a link on the community discussion. We've Got:

Marek Steele Gets a second Ship to Fly! PS 7, seems to have same ability (Just Like Hera). Toman Bren (Bomber, PS 8) allows you to recycle one-use EPT's. New Generic Defender Has PS 6, and I'll wager an EPT like Royal Guards. New Bombers are PS 5, have an EPT slot.

TIE Shuttle: Lose all your ordinance, Gain a crew slot. 0pt.

Looks like two cards for the TIE Defender, but I cannot read them. One seems to be like the shuttle in that you lose secondary weapons (This is a guess, both the cannon and Missile Symbols are present), but after executing a speed 5 maneuver, you assign something. Second is once per round, and seems to refer to Secondary Weapons with Power 3 or Less.

Long Range Scanner (Modification): Can acquire target locks beyond range 3, but cannot acquire them within range 1-2. You also cannot equip something.

There's also a new Imperial-only crew card.

Edit: TIE Shuttle Gets two crew slotss, cannot equip crew worth more than 4 points.

New titles:




New Modification (this can buff other ships as well!):



The addition of Maarek Stele in a TIE/D is pretty awesome, sine he spent considerable time in TIE Fighter flying one.

The article is up. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/12/14/rule-the-skies/

And YES! FINALLY! Forget the boring and irrelevant bomber, that defender fix is awesome. Free evade tokens for going fast (like you will by default) and a cost reduction OR a double tap with your ion cannon and primary weapon. It's still going to be expensive and more fragile than the high-end aces but getting that evade token is a huge step in fixing the problem.

Yeah, those are cool. The cost reduction plus free evades should make the Defender a lot more competitive.

Okay. That TIE/X-7 is exactly what we needed. Looking at our Friend Col. Vessery, he can now take a red maneuver and still get a target lock and evade token. The combination of Point reduction and free evade also put generics and Rexler back on the Table.

Also, I am now really curious how the Tractor beam works, because the TIE/D seems designed for it. Paralyze your target and hit it with primaries... bliss... Worth Noting that Col. Vesery's ability is worded such that he may acquire targt locks on both of his attacks. My one complaint about the TIE-D is that you can't take a Mangler Cannon on Marek. There's probably a reason that the cutoff is at 3 points.


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 Peregrine wrote:
The article is up. https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/12/14/rule-the-skies/

And YES! FINALLY! Forget the boring and irrelevant bomber, that defender fix is awesome. Free evade tokens for going fast (like you will by default) and a cost reduction OR a double tap with your ion cannon and primary weapon. It's still going to be expensive and more fragile than the high-end aces but getting that evade token is a huge step in fixing the problem.

Bomber just stopped being

boring and irrelevant

. We are talking dirt cheap Tactician platforms, viable users of Fleet Officers, heck, if you wanted to you could probably make a lot of the PS 8- Arc dodgers a lot more viable with a Scimitar Pilot with a pair of Intel Agents.

I believe the Tractor Beam reduces the target's agility by one if it hits.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I believe the Tractor Beam reduces the target's agility by one if it hits.

That would be a very strong effect for only 1 point. We'll see what happens.

I wonder if the TIE/X-7 will make the generic defenders worthwhile. Depends on how expensive that PS6 generic is (I expect it will be 34 points).

This gives me hope for a Scum Aces pack with a Scyk and Starviper fix.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I believe the Tractor Beam reduces the target's agility by one if it hits.

You believe correctly. The rules card says that a ship's agility is reduced by one for every tractor beam token on it, and the tokens are removed at the end of the turn.

 DanielBeaver wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I believe the Tractor Beam reduces the target's agility by one if it hits.

That would be a very strong effect for only 1 point. We'll see what happens.

I wonder if the TIE/X-7 will make the generic defenders worthwhile. Depends on how expensive that PS6 generic is (I expect it will be 34 points).

This gives me hope for a Scum Aces pack with a Scyk and Starviper fix.

Took a look at the card they have pictured... and yes, it seems to do that. Also yes, it is cumulative. Most things, it is bad having to give up the damage output from your high-PS guys to get the effect. But not the Defender.

As for the Scyk, I could see Heavy Scyk and Tractor beam being useful- the Scyk has good PS, shooting at least simultaneously with your other generics. Vet Instincts Serrisu will even shoot before Dengar/Talonbane. So while I'll still hope for a Black Sun Aces Pack, I am actually considering how I can run Scyks now.

 DanielBeaver wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I believe the Tractor Beam reduces the target's agility by one if it hits.

That would be a very strong effect for only 1 point. We'll see what happens.

Well, take it with a grain of salt because I don't think it's confirmed. It's just what I read on the NOVA Squadron Facebook page.

I wonder if the TIE/X-7 will make the generic defenders worthwhile. Depends on how expensive that PS6 generic is (I expect it will be 34 points).

I would say possibly. The 3/3/3/3 stat line on the Defender isn't really bad; the biggest problem had always been the cost and the lack of an evade action.

This gives me hope for a Scum Aces pack with a Scyk and Starviper fix.

Me too!

The way to go with Tractor Beam is probably a swarm of same-skill generics with 1 or 2 having the Beam. Have the ones with Beams fire first, then smash the debuffed target.

It's a low-quality image, but that is definitely what it says in the preview.

 TheWaspinator wrote:
The way to go with Tractor Beam is probably a swarm of same-skill generics with 1 or 2 having the Beam. Have the ones with Beams fire first, then smash the debuffed target.

Another potential route is to grab 3 TIE/D's, and just watch as your opponents Agility gets lower... and lower... and lower...

Note: I do not claim this is super-competitive. I'm just saying it sounds funny and kinda dirty.

I almost squealed like a little girl seeing the imperial veterans set! I love the tie bomber and defender! yay!

Looks like Long-Range Scanners trumps FCS otherwise that'd be awesome... maybe it wont?

Redline would be good with Long-Range Scanners with the 2 target locks and saving one for range 1-2.

I'm mainly a Scum and Imperial player so this is welcome! I have a feeling in the coming months I will need anti ghost lists... I don't really want to play that monstrosity.

 Peregrine wrote:
a double tap with your ion cannon and primary weapon. .

Which is exactly how I used to fly it in TIE Fighter.