Ok, another squad idea with 2 Interceptors:

Turr with Ptl (I've said a lot about this already. Not going into it again.)

Mauler Mithel with Veteran Instincts

Fel's Wrath

Black Squadron Pilot with Draw Their Fire and Shield Upgrade

Academy Pilot

Essentially this is a kamikaze squad, meant to be played at Range 1. Mauler, Fel's Wrath, the bodyguard (more on that in a minute), and possibly the Academy Pilot rush in to try and get Range 1 quickly. While Turr can either hang back or get into the fray. I would love to put Draw Their Fire on Fel's Wrath, but he doesn't have an elite pilot talent so I can't. (So he could take crits even after his max damage level has been achieved.)

As the game evolves, it seems squads are tending toward fewer pilots but with higher skill levels, and everyone has Stealth Device or some such upgrade. Stealth Device is even more powerful at Range 3, and when attacking through asteroids. So, one way to get rid of the Stealth Device is to take advantage of the Range 1 attack bonus to primary attacks. Once Stealth Device is gone, ships tend to go down quickly from what I've seen. Crab all you want about Fel's Wrath, but at Range 1, he could be very useful for getting rid of Stealth Device. Ditto for Mauler. The Academy Pilot can either "block" or fly in the second wave with Turr. There are a few options with how to play the AP.

The fun part though is the bodyguard. You probably think I'm crazy putting Draw their Fire and a Shield Upgrade on a Black Squadron Pilot, and you're probably right. But with an aggressive squad like this, I thought it would be fun to have a bodyguard flying right behind them soaking up the crits that they take. With TIE squads, you want your opponent to spread the damage out amongst your ships, and this is the cheapest way to make him do so. Plus I had an extra 4 points, so I thought a shield upgrade would make him last a little bit longer. Plus, how great is it when Wedge crits Mauler, only to have the level 4 pilot take the damage?

This is a very aggressive squad, and in playtesting it, it may not turn out so well, but I thought it could be a fun twist.

why not use the remaining 4 points to upgrade the last academy pilot to Winged Gundark / Backstabber instead? works better with the theme of hitting others at range 1

or give the bodyguard an engine upgrade so he can keep up with the rest and be whereever he is needed

If I don't use Boost on Fel's wrath, the bodyguard should be able to keep up fairly easily. And I may look at Backstabber instead and see what I think of it. I dunno. I thought having a shield on the bodyguard would at least mitigate one of the crits without resolving its effect at all,which might make him last a little bit longer. But losing a 15 point bodyguard is easier to swallow than losing a 19 point one. Eh, I tinker and see what i come up with.

Although there is something to be said for being able to block Dutch from Target Locking, or blocking Biggs from using R2F2, or blocking Wedge from using Expose, etc. And I do like to do those things.

The more i thought about this today, the more I like the idea of upgrading the AP to Winged Gundark. He will be attacking after 3 of my other ships, so they will have the chance to take away some shields, meaning Gundark's crit will be more effective if it doesn't kill the ship outright. Plus that puts the squad at 99, which I'm not opposed to. And with initiative, I'll be moving before Biggs, Dutch, Wedge, or Vader anyway, so I can still block if i need to. Plus I like having a 15 point bodyguard rather than a 19 point one anyway. So after considering it today, I think I like the squad like this:

Turr Phennir with PtL

Mauler Mithel with Veteran Instincts

Fel's Wrath

Winged Gundark

Black Squadron pilot with Draw Their Fire

It may not be the end-all be-all, but it'll be fun! :)

And with Fel's Wrath, Winged Gundark, and Black Squadron Pilot, all TIEs that don't/won't see a lot of action, I think I'm calling this squad "The Island of Misfit TIEs." :D

hothie said:

I don't know if shaving off that extra point does you any good, since you like the squad where it is--but I've been having a lot of fun with Saber Squadron lately.

Well, the way I figure it, there will be enough ships at, shall we say level 6 or greater, that Fel's Wrath will likely be destroyed by a ship of higher pilot skill, especially with a kamikaze squad like this one is. And keep in mind, I plan on playing this squad at range 1 as much as possible, which means my opponent will be at range 1 as well when he attacks. Even with a bodyguard, I do expect him to be destroyed by someone higher than him. His ability just means that he will be able to get his last shot off before dying, which will hopefully be at Range 1, meaning 4 dice. That is what I have planned.

Another option is I face, say a Wedge with 3 rookies or some such. I fly Fel's Wrath straight at Wedge, because FW's ability is useless with the rooks. I get that. Likewise scenario with a similar Imperial build, I fly at Vader, or Fel, or whomever.

Another option is the YT/Firespray as an opponent. If facing one, I plan on those pilots being level 5 or higher as well, as most of them are, and especially the ones that are worth fielding. If one of those destroys FW, I still get my shot.

Yes, I know I may be crazy for fielding FW, but with the way the game is headed, I'll give it a shot. I'll run this list a few times, see how it does, tweak, etc. I may go with a cheaper option, but I do kinda like the squad as it is now.

And if he does get destroyed by someone with higher pilot skill than him, my opponent just got 23 points. But what if I kill something that's worth more with my final shot? Is that not worth fielding him? Barebones Dutch and Arvel are the same cost but higher skill. Would you run either of these without upgrades? The only other pilots that are higher skill level but cost less are the named regular TIEs, in which case FW may not be as worth his points, but certainly can take one of them out before being removed from the board.

100 points

The Black Squadrons with Draw Their Fire bodyguard for Vader and Phennir.  Vader with Boost and Daredevil does bootleg turns on the fly and can almost always get himself into a great position.  Phennir with 9 skill really benefits if they have initiative able to shoot other 9 skill pilots first and then get out of their Arc. 

I was skeptical about a 4 ship Tie build being that they would be outnumbered from the get go.  This squad has a surpising amount of offense and staying power.

hothie said:

I think Wrath is an interesting pilot, for exactly the reason you mentioned--his raison d'etre is to get close to the badguys, knowing you can soak up their best shot and still hit back. I also like that It subtly changes the stakes on how you spend your actions, particularly for Wedge: if you only get one action, can you afford to Target Lock, or do you Focus instead to preserve the defensive option? Can you afford to spend your Focus on the attack, or do you save it to help mitigate the counterstrike you can't stop?

Well, the max number of Interceptors you can have is 5, so how about this:

Turr with PtL

Alpha Squadron X4

I think 6-8 ship TIE swarms with 2 attack dice just aren't going to cut it with Wave 2 (whether or not they did in Wave 1 is arguable, but that's another topic), so I think an Interceptor swarm like this is going to be the new norm for swarms. I think you're going to see 3 attack dice be almost necessary now due to the overuse of Stealth Device. Swarms are going to go away from 6+ attacks with 2 dice to 5 attacks with 3 dice. You could replace Turr with Backstabber and an Academy Pilot in this squad, but I don't know if you get the same punch with those 2.

I do like Stormtrooper's (I think, if not, I apologize) "You can't touch this squad" of Alpha pilot X4 with Stealth Device and Dark Curse. Defensively it's pretty sound, and it packs the offensive punch of 4 Interceptors.

hothie said:

I ran your list, "The Isle of Misfit TIES" today in a quick game vs Wedge, Luke & 2 rookie Xwings.  99pts each

My opponent was inexperienced but I think the list proved itself.  Fel's Wrath performed exactly as you hoped he would.  Wedge & Luke fried him in the first volley, but he took both of Wedge's shields before he went.  Soontir Fel and Mauler slipped into Wedge's 6 the next round and killed him while Gundark & bodyguard stripped Luke's shields post koiogran.  Here is where my opponents inexperience hurt him.  He ran luke away, bringing the two rookies around to attack Gundark & guard, but he didn't realize I could Straight 3 destress, so the rookies ended up pointed the wrong way while my 4 ships closed the noose around Luke and iced him, but it took all 4 shots to do it (stupid inherent def buff :D)

We had to end it there since he had to leave, but I just wanted to let you know The Misfits are no joke!!  Keep up the good work, Hothie.

Ran  a 150 pointer last night, running Soontir and Turr both with ptl and stealth, 2 Tempest squadron with concussion missiles, Mauler with stealth and a black squadron pilot with elusiveness. Opponent was running Han in the falcon, Wedge with assorted upgrades (shields and r2d2) and two rookie Xwings. 

Won the game after taking the Falcon out ( which took an absolutely ridiculous amount of shooting). Soontir with ptl and stealth is almost impossible to hit; move, boost, ptl for evade, stress, focus. Three actions a turn. Was rolling 4 agility dice plus the evade. Frustrating as hell for my opponent. 

Love the interceptors and will be getting at least two more…..

hothie said:

Yeah, I'm kinda partial towards Turr over Fel myself, although PtL is great on both. Turr is a little cheaper for effectively the same thing. I just like being able to get out of my opponents firing arc after attacking with Turr, which is really nice.

After last night (see my post above) I'm actually a bit undecided between Turr and Fel. Fel with ptl and a stealth device is a nightmare to hit. Turr on the other hand can pull off insane maneuvers with the same cards. Hmmmm…..