The TIE Defender. A ship released just before the battle of Endor, it was leagues above prior models and was more than a match for the Rebel ships, easily performing maneuvers and bring firepower they just couldn’t handle.
Looking at the maneuver dial we see that is can do pretty much anything. And if you recall FF did say it would have a maneuver we haven’t seen before.
Don’t feel bad if you didn’t see it straight from the picture, i sure didn’t. But my jaw did a bit of a drop when I was told, a white K-turn. Let me say that again. A, WHITE, K-turn. As in you flip around, without stressing. Now that is a dangerous maneuver.
The pilots they’ve shown this time around are a bit of a mix bag though. First we have the base pilot ship, Delta Squadron. The stat line is super awesome, but that price. 30 points is a whole lot for a level 1 pilot, even if his stat line is awesome. Personally, I don’t feel like a basic one of these guys are gonna be used. Could be wrong there, but as is at this moment, I doubt I’ll be using it.
Next we have Colonel Vessery. Level 6 guy for 35 points. His ability, is sort of a ‘eh’ in my opinion.
You gain a target lock on a ship after you roll the dice if it is already locked on.
Now, if that means after you roll you have it, thus being able to use it right there for any possible rerolls. Not sure if that’s true, but if it is then he’ll go from ‘eh’ to awesome.
So lets say you attack, 3 hits. they roll 1 evade. so 2 hits go in, you pop your focus and boom, thats two crits. ones a double damage, boom, depending on the ship that suckers dead. From regular hits! Granted, it’ll leave you wondering if you should use focus for the attack or not, so unless you get some good rolls this ability might not come into play often.
Vader would be a good companion with him or Push the Limit would be damn nice on this guy, letting him focus and target lock for added chances to hit. Combo the two together to get double focus and target lock to almost guarantee 3 hits. Also this guy sounds like a good counter to Chewie on the Falcon.
Switching over to the new elite pilot skills from this set we see two really damn good ones again. This set is shaping up to be awesome. First is Outmaneuver. If you’re outside of someones firing arc you become like Wedge, lowering their agility value by 1, down to 0.
So double up with Wedge for added lulz. Least I thought about that. I need to ween myself off Wedge. Regardless, this ability is awesome and awards outmaneuvering your opponent. And for 3 points, its not that bad of a reward.
This ship will make Rebel players envious for the Empire for sure, and I can’t wait for its release to get my hands on the upgrades, and perhaps go to the Dark Side for awhile.
I cant wait for the new Tie Defender! Thanks for reading and have yourself a great day. -Super Kaiju
Checkout our sweet video un-boxing for the Imperial Aces Ships, and be sure to read our other Star Wars Tactics Articles.
