With the of the Skystrike Academy expansion pack for X-Wing, new life has been breathed into both the TIE/d Defender and the TIE Interceptor. Below we are going to go over the new additions and some old favourites.
First up is the Standardised (if equipped to one ship, it must be equipped to all {the other}) TIE Defender Elite Configuration. You become a far more offence-orientated ship using the TIE Defender Elite Configuration, swapping out Full Throttle for Advanced Fire Control, and increasing the difficulty of your Koiogran Tun manoeuvres in order to decrease the difficulty of your Turn manoeuvres.
Personally, I am finding it difficult to justify equipping that upgrade, though, using two weapons per round does seem advantageous, I do feel it’s more of a trap to try and reduce the longevity of the TIE Defender.
The new Talent, Interloper Turn seems to be trying to force the TIE Defender into a more of a knife-fighter role, engaging at very short range with a Stress Token but with some flexibility in manoeuvrability. For the life of me, I can only see this being situationally useful, and rarely at that, as you almost always want your actions. That said, we haven’t had Structures released, revealed, or otherwise hinted until this pack was released, so, who knows, maybe this Talent is more of a gem than a hunk of rock?
The Delta Squadron Pilot is a very interesting choice here. I can see one hidden in a pack of Academy Pilots or escorting a Limited pilot of some type. Maybe it’s a fire-magnet to give your other ships a chance at getting some action in because players have been conditioned to hurl many red dice at any TIE/d Defender they encounter because they know the hurt it can put out. This is a pilot I still have yet to get around to actually trying.
Captain Dobbs comes to us from the Skystrike Academy Expansion, and at Initiative 3, gives us a Limited pilot on the lower end of average, with a very interesting ability of gaining an Ion Token to cancel a Hit damage from an ally when not ionised and in the attack arc.
This ability could be useful to keep a different pilot alive longer or to bait a kill-box trap for the following round as your opponent will know exactly where you’ll end up.
The Onyx Squadron Ace gives you a Talent slot and an average Initiative value for a non-Limited pilot. This is, perhaps, the ideal wingman for Darth Vader or any of the other named TIE/d Defender pilots available. The Onyx Squadron Ace can pack a similar load out and has the same manoeuvrability so they should rarely be parted.
Countess Ryad is a very fun pilot to fly, changing up the usual predicatability of the TIE/d Defender by allowing a Kiogran Turn at any forward speed, in exchange for it being treated as white instead of blue. There are several uses for this ability, chiefly, the ability to slow-block an opposing Ace with a speed 1 Kiogran Turn, or slamming away fast and spinning around with a speed 5.
At Initiative 4, Countess Ryad works well with either Colonel Vessery or an Onyx Squadron Ace, or with other Initiative 4 pilots available to the Galactic Empire. Countess Ryad is a strong pilot in a strong ship which means you can’t go wrong.
Colonel Vessery is the second Limited, Initiative 4 pilot up for grabs. This can make list building an interesting challenge as you want wingmen who can Lock to set up an ability trigger, while at the same time being careful not to base your entire strategy on the ability.
Vult Skerris comes to us from the Skystrike Academy expansion. Now, we have a new (to me) icon on his Charge count, which looks like the charge depletes itself, and I’m guessing here as the Rules Reference hasn’t been much help, during the end phase when recurring charges recover. If that’s the case, then this does make for an interesting ability.
Being able to perform an action after spending a Charge means Skerris could double reposition. Something new for the TIE/d Defender, or even go equipped to the fight with a Lock, Focus, and Evade, if not upgraded with the TIE Defender Elite configuration. It’s important to note, that, using his ability every turn after the first will result in a Strain token, which reduces the agility by one until either a Blue manoeuvre or Skerris Defends. All in all, I think I can get behind having Vult Skerris on the table, maybe with some Interceptors or even bulk standard TIE/ln Figters to box opponents in quickly.
Rexler Brath makes his appearance here now. Rexler is strengthened by attacking ships that either are unshielded or already damaged, with the Full Throttle ship ability instead of the TIE Defender Elite configuration being equipped. This is an ideal situation though. If you are equipping the configuration, I highly suggest leaving Rexler at home, as there are better uses for your post-move action than Evading.
All that in mind, Rexler Brath is a great hunter. Pouncing on wounded enemies, getting close and dealing devastating damage, or herding opposing ships for a higher-initiative wingman.
It has happened. One of the scariest combinations imaginable, Darth Vader in a TIE/d Defender. Now, the design of this card is so much better than it could have been. The pilot ability of the TIE Advanced X1 has been replaced (phew!), and Vader has been prevented from spending Force anywhere except when attacking which allows him to spend (only!) 1 force to change one Blank to a Hit result. Nasty, but, not overpowered.
This does mean, though, no force power-based shenanigans, but more passive abilities may be useful. Let’s take a look at what powers could be used:
Power: | Situation |
Instinctive Aim | Using a secondary weapon with action requirements. |
Predictive Shot | Target in Bullseye arc and has the potential to roll more defence dice than you have hits or cries. |
Hate | Useful for fast regeneration of Force charges. |
Sense | Only if you are trying to see where an enemy at range 0-1 is planning on going. |
As you can see, Vader still has a healthy amount of Force powers to choose from, depending on how much you want to invest in this already pricey pilot.
There we have it. Perhaps my favourite Imperial ship has been updated and refreshed by AMG/FFG for 2021 with some new pilots and upgrades. While it has certainly become more versatile and less predicable, it may also get more fragile, good news for those facing them, not so much for Imperial fliers.
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