Rogue Squadron- PS9 Swarm

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 Advanced Prototype “The Inquisitor” (Inquisitor’s TIE Expansion) (28 pts) (PS 7 or 9)

When attacking with your primary weapon at Range 2-3, treat the range of the attack as Range 1.

Title– TIE/v1 (Inquisitor’s TIE Expansion): After you acquire a target lock, you may perform a free evade action.
Modification- Autothrusters (StarViper Expansion)- When defending, if you are beyond Range 2 or outside the attacker’s firing arc, you may change 1 of your blank results to an Evade result. You can equip this card only if you have the Boost action icon.
Elite Pilot Talent- Adaptability (Mist Hunter Expansion)– Increase or decrease your pilot skill by 1.

TIE F/O “Zeta Leader” (TIE F/O Expansion) (25 pts) (PS 9)

When attacking, if you are not stressed, you may receive 1 stress token to roll 1 additional die

Tech– Comm Relay (TIE F/O Expansion): You cannot have more than 1 evade token. During the End phase, do not remove an unused evade token from your ship.
Elite Pilot Talent- Veteran Instincts (Millennium Falcon/Slave-1 Expansion): Increase your pilot skill value by 2.
Modification– Twin Ion Engine Mk II (TIE Punisher Expansion): You may treat all soft bank maneuvers as green maneuvers.

TIE Interceptor “Turr Phennir” (TIE Interceptor Expansion) (28 pts) (PS 9)

After you perform an attack, you may perform a free boost or barrel roll action.

Elite Pilot Talent- Veteran Instincts (Millennium Falcon/Slave-1 Expansion): Increase your pilot skill value by 2.
Modification- Autothrusters (StarViper Expansion)- When defending, if you are beyond Range 2 or outside the attacker’s firing arc, you may change 1 of your blank results to an Evade result. You can equip this card only if you have the Boost action icon.

TIE Fighter “Scourge” (Imperial Assault Carrier Expansion) (19 pts) (PS 9)

When attacking a defender that has 1 or more Damage cards, roll 1 additional attack die.

Elite Pilot Talent- Veteran Instincts (Millenium Falcon/Slave-1 Expansion): Increase your pilot skill value by 2.

Lock S-Foils in Attack Position

This is a pretty squishy list. No denying that. It’s only fourteen hitpoints which can be chewed through pretty quickly. But it’s also four Pilot Skill 9 ships that can all reposition if necessary and that, probably, are throwing three attack dice. Normally you only see three aces in a build. And while this list sacrifices some upgrades it benefits from an additional ship firing.

Because this is an Ace list you want to spread your ships out and come at your target from all sides. That will invariably mean one ship will get sacrificed as your opponent has to gun for someone but that’s okay. The sacrifice will almost always get to fire before dying (unless some PS 10 or 11 drops them in a single shot). And then your opponent has three aces on their tail they have to avoid.

You want to keep the Inquisitor in the rear, hanging out at range 3 whenever possible. He still gets to roll three dice like he’s at range 1, denying your opponent their bonus agility die and still gets his. The fact that the TAP has the most 1 speed maneuvers out of this group will help here. While he can’t go one straight he can soft bank or hard turn and those are green.

Scourge wants to shoot whenever a target has a damage card. This will probably be last in the first round but might be first in the next to finish off a damaged target. Getting in close with him is good as then he’ll fire four attack, unlike the Inquisitor.

Zeta Leader will be the most predictable out of the group. He’ll be stressing himself in order to get that bonus attack die which means he’ll be sticking to his green maneuvers most of the time, which denies him his S-loop maneuver. But since all of his two speed maneuvers are green and the TIE Mk II gives him green three banks, he’s got a fair number of choices in how to clear that stress. Also, the Comm Relay will help keep him alive when he does get targeted.

Turr Phennir is your wild card. He can risk getting up close and being in arc for his attack as his ability will give him the opportunity to escape. There’s nothing quite as frustrating to your opponent than having a fragile TIE Interceptor at range one shoot you and then barrel roll out of your arc afterward.

Variations

There are not a lot of variations you can make to this list and keep them all at PS9, which was the core idea. You can play with the TIE Mk II and Comm Relay to move some upgrades around without major changes. You also have one point you could use to give Scourge a TIE Mk II upgrade but then would lose your initiative bid.