Rogue Squadron- Jonus' Defenders

Welcome to Rogue Squadron, pilot! In this series we will be looking at different squadrons you can fly in Fantasy Flight Games X-Wing miniatures game. We give you the squad, what expansion pack all of the upgrades come from and then give you the low down on how best to fly it. Strap in and get ready to fly…

All Wings Report In

TIE Bomber “Captain Jonus” (TIE Bomber Expansion) (26 pts)

When another friendly ship at Range 1 attacks with a secondary weapon, it may reroll up to 2 attack dice.

Elite Pilot Talent- Swarm Tactics (TIE Fighter/Advanced Expansion): At the start of the Combat phase, you may choose 1 friendly ship at Range 1. Until the end of this phase, treat the chosen ship as if its pilot skill were equal to your pilot skill.
Bomb- Seismic Charges (TIE Bomber/Slave-1/IG-2000 Expansions)- When you reveal your maneuver dial, you may discard this card to drop 1 seismic charge token. This token detonates at the end of the Activation phase.

2x TIE Defender “Delta Squadron Pilot” (TIE Defender Expansion) (37 pts)

None

Cannon- Heavy Laser Cannon (Lambda/Slave-1/YT-2400 Expansions)- Attack (4, range 2-3): Attack 1 ship. Immediately after rolling your attack dice, you must change all of your crit results to hit results.

Lock S-Foils in Attack Position

This list is another one of those that isn’t really your top tier list. But it can be quite effective if flown right. The TIE Defender is a tough ship to get a good feel for. They are generally considered to be overcosted by a few points and their elite pilots really don’t have the best abilities. Vessery’s is useless without squad support and Rexler Brath’s, while potentially devastating, can be hard to ever use.

But they can be tough to take down and their white k-turn is tough to combat. With this list you’re banking on their survivability and jousting preference to allow you dish out some pain early in a round. With Jonus offering his reroll support, the two Defenders can Focus and then fire their HLC’s with high odds of landing 3-4 hits. With Jonus boosting one ship to PS6 and it being very hard to take down a Defender, or Bomber, in the one round of fighting, you’re looking at two good rounds of damage. Even against a turtled YT-1300 you’re likely to chew through a lot of health.

Obviously, you’ll want to fly in a tight formation for as long as possible. Go slow and try and keep at range 3 as your HLC’s prefer that range. Between the Seismic Charge and the white K-turn you’ll discourage people from following you after the initial pass.

Your opponent will likely wipe out Jonus first since he is unshielded and easier to hit, but you prefer that. Two HLC Defenders in the late game is good for you. Even if they don’t, a Defender and Jonus is still potent.

Arc Dodgers will be your biggest weakness. Your Defenders move at PS 1 so there’s some blocking potential but they can’t turn worth a damn so it will be easy for ships to get out of your arc. You can throw some damage on a turreted big ship but if they get behind you, you’re in real trouble.

Variations

Swarm tactics on Jonus is only moderately useful. PS6 isn’t the greatest boost, though it is nicer than PS1. You might consider throwing Determination on him instead as protection against losing his pilot ability. Also, Adrenaline Rush works great here as it allows your bomber to do a white K-turn with your Defenders on the first pass.

Dropping all Jonus’ upgrades for two PS3 Onyx Squadron Defenders would also save you from facing a double Predator reroll and would allow your Defenders to potentially barrel roll away from any PS 1-2 ships they face in the late game.