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Hey all,

I wound up doing pretty well in the last regionals season; top 30% in the first and top 25% in the second. I'd say my successes were largely due to the extent to which I practiced with the basic list I brought to the tournaments (and refining the list as well)

As such (and not seeing many major changes to the meta in the coming months) I kinda want to settle on the framework of the list I'm going to be using for the next few months.

Option 1 (stick with what you know):
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LXX (Tournament)
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70th Imperial Fighter Squadron

100 points
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“Omega Leader” (29)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2), Stealth Device (3)

Countess Ryad (36)
TIE Defender (34), Push the Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Colonel Vessery (35)
TIE Defender (35), Juke (2), TIE/x7 (-2)
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This is the same hulls I brought to the first tournament, but with x7 and stealth device on omega leader instead of Vessery /D w/tractor beam and VI.

Yeah, defenders got nerfed, but with practice I should be able to learn to deal with stress lists and blockers (and avoiding obstacles hasn't been a big problem).

Option 2 involves bringing a new ship to the party (don't mind the name so much, I became a fan of being able to tl manaroo for Vessery)

=========================
Paratanni Hunters (Mk I)
=========================

100 points
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“Quickdraw” (39)
Special Forces TIE (29), Expertise (4), Fire-Control System (2), Sensor Cluster (2), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

Colonel Vessery (35)
TIE Defender (35), Crack Shot (1), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

“Omega Leader” (26)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2)
--------

I'm not so certain about this one: on the one hand, fcs on any ship like quickdraw is going to be powerful and I know from facing a Quickdraw/Backdraft/Omega leader list that it's a powerful endgame ship, especially with shields. But it did go to the top 4 at Hoth (though w/ pattern analyzer instead of sensor cluster)...

I'm also tempted to experiment more with this one: would outmaneuver be good for quickdraw instead of expertise? How about the mk 2 engine? Either way could get me a juke for Vessery ...

Or am I ignoring some other powerful imperial idea?

What do you think?

Omega Leader is always a popular 3rd pilot to run with Vessery and Ryad due to his late-game potential. However I have found he suffers from variance in the early game. One lucky hit can rob him of his stealth device leaving him vulnerable.

I prefer to run a slightly more aggressive wingman in the shape of Deathfire. For 17 points, this guy is a lot of fun to fly as he can really abuse Action bombs. Put on LRS and Homing Missiles and you have a handy alpha strike for the opening engagement.

36 Countess Ryad (34), Push the Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
35 Colonel Vessery (35), Juke (2), TIE/x7 (-2)
28 Deathfire (17), Homing Missile (5), Conner Net (4), Extra Munitions (2), Long Ranged Scanners (0)

That leaves you with 1 point spare. You could keep it for an initiative bid (although since your highest PS is only 6 I am not sure it is worth it). I would suggest giving Vessery Mk2 engines as well to help him shed Stress which might otherwise shut down his free Evade action (and hence also Juke).

A possible update for option 1:

===========
LXX (Mk 2)
===========

70th Imperial Fighter Squadron

99 points

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“Omega Leader” (26)
TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2)

Countess Ryad (36)
TIE Defender (34), Push the Limit (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

Colonel Vessery (37)
TIE Defender (35), Swarm Leader (3), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)
------
The idea here is that it's a potentially slightly stronger version of the Vessery defender swarm in that Omega is stronger than the Delta defender.

O-lead gets to juke his own shot before Vessery potentially spends the evade and its easier to slow roll with him to stay at r3 than an x7. And if my opponent goes after O-lead first, I possibly lose my cheapest ship (for mov/determining victory if the game goes to time).

What do you think?

And another idea for option 2:

=======================
Quick And The Dead (v3)
=======================

100 points
------

"Deathfire" (25)
TIE Bomber (17), Plasma Torpedoes (3), Extra Munitions (2), Thermal Detonators (3), Guidance Chips (0)

Colonel Vessery (39)
TIE Defender (35), Tractor beam (1), Lone Wolf (2), TIE/D (0), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

“Quickdraw” (36)
Special Forces TIE (29), Adaptability (0), Fire-Control System (2), Targeting Synchronizer (3), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)
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View: http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/703234/quick-and-the-dead-v3
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The idea here is to try to force my opponent into hard choices of what to try to kill first. If they go for the bomber (a common choice), then Quickdraw moves to the mid- to late game with shields intact for revenge shots. And "scorpion" Vessery is another ship that many people will see and say "that needs to die fast"

To some extent lone wolf on Vessery is a hedge against him being my last ship on the board, but it also gives him a defensive bonus if I use him as bait (the white 4k gives me a pretty good shot at getting back in the fight after running for a turn or two). And I can potentially use both him and deathfire as stalking horses to flush out my opponent's deployment.

I'm kinda tempted by wired as an ept on Vessery, though, as it gives him a bonus for making use of the hard turns that defenders normally avoid. But with adaptability on Quickdraw, Vi for Vessery is tempting too

What do you think?

I like Outmaneuver on Quickdraw, along with FCS to help out Vessery. I like your first QD list in your OP with those modifications, maybe also with Juke on Vessery instead of Crack Shot.

I used to love Wired on Dengar+Zuckuss, but really, if you're planning on shorting yourself with red manoeuvres constantly, I'm not sure that is the best bet you can take. If you don't take red manoeuvres often enough, you might have spent that point for VI, which makes you shoot earlier. And if you do reds just for the sake of using your EPT well...

So as I look through list juggler of the Worlds lists, I think I'm liking this variation:

98 points ------
"Deathfire" (26) TIE Bomber (17), Plasma Torpedoes (3), Extra Munitions (2), Conner Net (4) Guidance Chips (0)

Colonel Vessery (35) TIE Defender (35), Veteran Instincts (1), TIE/x7 (-2), Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (1)

“Quickdraw” (37) Special Forces TIE (29), Draw Their Fire (1), Fire-Control System (2), Targeting Synchronizer (3), Special Ops Training (0), Lightweight Frame (2)

Draw fire on Quickdraw to prevent a possibly debilitating crit on deathfire in the first pass (blinded pilots and damaged sensor array are the worst, I think)

Vi Vessery to tie Miranda and out ps asajj & old terroch to limit arc dodging

Plasmas on deathfire for a 2 point initiative bid and because there's a ton of ships out there with plenty of shields that need knocking out (Miranda so she can't drop dice, jumpmasters, even lancers may have an extra shield to kill given latts & evade tokens).

I'm still a bit tempted by lone wolf on Vessery, just in case he winds up as my last ship, but I don't think that's really a great idea.

So, improvement? I may to have to practice some deployments that let me get Quickdraw into formation with deathfire after a fake out so Quickdraw's position isn't telegraphed....