Talk:Omega Squadron Pilot/@comment-104.186.108.142-20180129050535/@comment-454133-20180129085720

Hi there!

I suppose posting to this page feels a little random because Omega Squad Pilot isn't in either fleet, but that's not such a big deal. You're asking about TIE fleets, it's all good. Welcome to the wiki, let's talk TIEs!

That first one looks like a good, simple starter fleet. As for elites, Predator works pretty well, granting 1 or 2 dice rerolls every time you attack, even if you're stressed or you bump, etc. If you can Focus on top of that as your action then you'll be quite accurate. It's a straight-forward upgrade that almost always pays off, and many of your TIEs can't target lock so this is a fine source of reroll (see also Howlrunner below).

Alterantely, PTL lets you Focus + Evade, or Focus + Barrel Roll etc, so long as you can cope with the stress next round. It gives you more versatility during a critical round, and then you can clear the stress later (e.g. after flying away to safety), but planning for that stress is more complicated. You can't k-turn next round (cannot perform red while stressed), and you'll be missing out on actions if you have to do a white maneuver and cannot clear it. So PTL is definitely a two-edged sword, and it may take you a round or two to learn how to use it well.

Your Turr Phennir fleet is also fun looking; IMO I think I'd prefer it, though it is a bit more complicated. Turr would enjoy Predator or PTL too. If you give him PTL, there's a trick to using it well. Hold off on using the extra PTL action for after you attack so you're not stressed when you shoot (stress would prevent you from using his ability's free action). Then you can shoot, boost/roll, and then optionally PTL off of that action. The PTL action could be an evade, or maybe a boost/roll (whichever one you didn't do before -- you can only take each action once in a round, so no double rolls). It's quite handy having the option, and it could get you out of the enemy's kill zone, or let you Evade to shed a bit more damage. Alternatively, predator's role of passively improving average damage is always a solid bonus, and TIE Interceptors do love extra free damage.

Black Squadron Pilot is nice in that he can take an elite too, and he's cheap. Wired or especially Crack Shot are good for him, or PTL or Predator. "Crack Black" is actually a name for a black squadron pilot with crack shot -- efficient and effective. Use crack shot to force an extra damage through, which your opponent would have otherwise evaded. Snap Shot could also be fun, basically making your foe a bit more twitchy about where he moves, and occasionally scoring some damage.

Backstabber is an excellent choice because any time you can flank your foe, you get an extra die, and that works amazingly well with a focus token. It's like upgrading your TIE to a TIE Interceptor or X-Wing in terms of attack power, as long as you're not in their arc.

You may want to fit "Howlrunner" into your team. Both your squads are entirely reliant on primary weapons, so any time she's able to be near an ally she'll be granting them a rerolled die. It's like having Predator as an aura for allies (though not for herself -- for that she could equip Predator). The trick is, she's a whole 18 point ship, and that may be tough to fit into the team without removing other fun stuff? Maybe Turr with Crack Shot + Backstabber + Howlrunner. Or Howlrunner + Academy Pilot + 2x Epsilon Squadron Pilot (no upgrades, but 3 allies enjoying howlrunner's boost). The other trick with Howlrunner is she needs to stay very close to her team mates to have any effect, and sometimes scattering is way better (formation flying has benefits and challenges). She's an option, but not madatory; that 2nd team is already pretty fun looking IMO, so perhaps no need to tinker.

BTW in case it proves handy to you, maybe try using "Yet Another X-Wing Squadron Builder" to tinker with some arrangements. It can make building fleets easier, though you don't have tons of options to consider at this time so you're not hurting for a tool.

Last item: sometimes it's useful to leave a point unspent in your fleet, so don't necessarily worry if you have 1 or 2 below your 60 limit. If your fleet is worth fewer points than your opponent's, you get to choose who gets initiative (instead of leaving it to random chance), and sometimes that's very valuable (Empire, for example, frequently cares). For example, if there's another PS7 ship, Turr very much wants to have initiative so he can shoot that foe, then barrel roll/boost out of their arc so they can't get revenge when they activate. But other TIEs want their same-PS enemies to have initiative, so they can activate after the enemy and know whether to barrel roll. Check out the Initiative page for info.

Sorry for the massive wall of text, friend. I hope these ideas help!