Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

With the Flight Controller upgrade released, I've been hearing that Howlrunner is now much less useful, or perhaps even unnecessary. Is this really the case? Could she still be utilized with TIE Interceptors/Fel and their Counter ability?

Flight Controllers does not invalidate Howlrunner. The former ability only activates on a squadron command.

Why not use both? Is there a reason why you wouldn't want to have more attack dice?

I'll need to read the cards again to see if those abilities stack, but they'd make basic TIE fighters quite potent at eliminating enemy fighters. Even a small flight of Howl + 2-3 TIEFs would be dangerous when activated by a ship.

However, these abilities are purely anti-squadron. So spending that much on these abilities only pays off if you're facing a lot of enemy squadrons, and you can get the drop on them with activations.

They certainly stack.

Howlrunner:

While another friendly squadron with Swarm at distance 1 is attacking another squadron, it may add 1 blue die to its attack pool.

Flight Controllers:

The anti-squadron armament of each squadron that you activate is increased by 1 blue die until the end of its activation.

NB, Howlrunner affects the Counter ability; Flight Controllers does not.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Vertrucio wrote:
So spending that much on these abilities only pays off if you're facing a lot of enemy squadrons, and you can get the drop on them with activations.

It's not just a matter of facing lots of squadrons -- it is also a matter of Rebel sqaudrons being stronger. Only Y-Wings are incapable of one-shotting TIE and TIE Interceptor squadrons. They need to benefit from both of these upgrades to do the same against Rebel squadrons (again, accept Y-Wings). But -- for that very reason -- you're certainly right about needing to get the jump on Rebels. After all, no matter if they're rolling three or five blue dice against squadrons, they still only have three hull points. This is where Howlrunner is particularly vulnerable.

Howlrunner also costs as much as two standard TIE squadron. Taking a standard TIE and Flight Controllers is still 2 points less than Howlrunner. I don't think that makes Howlrunner a worse choice, however, because her ability doesn't rely on a ship taking a certain command. This is especially important because of the screening role TIE squadrons often play. She remains IMO the most important ace the Empire offers.

It comes down to how much you're prepared to invest in a fighter superiority force.

And I'll be honest, wiping the floor with the enemy fighters can often generate enough points to win the game. If you've got a few squadrons lurking by a capital ship, ready to get flung out by a squadron command, then having both is a good idea - you're only going to get a 'punch' equal to your ship's squadron value - between flight controller and howlrunner, a four-squadron attack gains enough bonus dice to represent six squadrons of normal fighters - add in the swarm bonus and that's enough to stop a fighter attack dead.