Named Interceptor Thoughts

I now have had an opportunity to play all of the named TIE Interceptor pilots. Here are my thoughts on each one.

"Fel's Wrath" - Everyone's favorite zombie pilot. He is difficult to use well in my opinion. His ability essentially insures he will get to take his attack before exploding but I have yet to see an instance where it has made a significant difference in a game. He is also not an Elite Pilot thus further limiting him. But you could use him as a budget tank to soak fire knowing that you will always have an opportunity to attack with him. In my opinion he pays 1 point to lose 1 point of Pilot Skill in exchange for a Pilot Ability which is a positive trade in my opinion.

Summary Opinion: Worth it only if you are already taking Royal Guard Pilots and you do not need the Elite Pilot Skill.

Lt. Lorrir - His ability is powerful but very situational. Also the cost of a stress token is a tough price to pay. But he can be unpredictable and I am a fan of any ability on an Interceptor that increases its movement options. He is not an Elite Pilot but I don't feel he really needs it. Like "Fels Wrath" I feel he is paying 1 point to lose 1 point of Pilot Skill in exchange for a Pilot Ability which is a positive trade in my opinion.

Summary Opinion: Worth it only if you are already taking Royal Guard Pilots and you do not need the Elite Pilot Skill or are a big fan of unpredictable movement.

Kir Kanos - His ability will work often if you are careful to plan for it. I like Evade tokens and the fact he is Pilot Skill 6 actually helps him with his ability. He can wait to see what higher pilot skill pilots are going to do then he can choose to burn his token or to keep it if he feels he will need it. I also believe his ability is one of the only automatic hits in the game. The ability to simply insure you will do 1 damage is tremendously reliable. He lacks an Elite Pilot ability but I don't feel needs it.

Summary Opinion: Worth taking if you want reliable damage and you are reasonably sure you will be facing high Pilot skill models.

Tetran Cowell - His ability is interesting. Like "Fels Wrath" I believe he is hard to use well. But his ability is much more proactive and you do get an element of unpredictability from him. Also his Pilot Skill is 7 which is significant. Also he an Elite Pilot which is never a bad thing especially given the maneuver friendly Elite Pilot Skills which exist.

Summary Opinion: Worth taking if you are big fan of unpredictable movement. Has possible synergy with Lt. Lorrir.

Turr Phennir - Amazeballs. Easily my favorite of the named TIE Interceptor pilots. For starters he has Pilot Skill 7 as well as being an Elite Pilot. Then he has one of the only abilities in the game which allows him to move after shooting. Which lets him do drivebys. He can close to near point blank range, attack with 4 Attack dice, and then Boost or Barrel Roll out of opposing enemies arcs. I am not a fan of giving him any Action based Elite Pilot Skill and think he is well served by taking Veteran Instincts or Opportunist as both of these abilities are passive and leave his actions free,

Summary Opinion: Amazing. If you are looking for a late game Interceptor this should definitely be on your short list.

Carnor Jax - Very interesting but I have never seen him used effectively. While keeping your opponent from getting the value from certain actions does sound great in execution it is hard to get an appropriate amount of milage from this ability in the sense that you must be within Range 1 to use it and Interceptors aren't meant to knife fight. They are meant to make single passes with long sweeps and flank. So the ability is useful but runs counter to one of the core Interceptor play philosophies and is far too expensive for a suicide run.

Summary Opinion: Not sure where he fits in and so I would prefer to take Turr or Soontir who are in the same price range.

Soontir Fel - Second favorite and definitely one of the most popular choices. Both he and Turr are late game closers who can realistically take on whats left of your opponents force after the decisive mid game turns have played out. His ability adds a great deal of consistency and with the appearance of Hobbie and R3-A2 seems to have even more of an edge in countering some of the new Stress tech in the meta.

Summary Opinion: For your late game Interceptor you should consider Soontir very carefully among your available options.

75x75 - TIE Swarm (75 points)

x3 Academy Pilot
x1 Howlrunner with Swarm Tactics
x1 Mauler Mithel with Swarm Tactics 

This is pretty much a perfect Imperial list for the event and has a great combination of bodies as well as firepower. Also it should outnumber almost every other list there. I fukly expect to see at least one person run this on Saturday.

See you again on Thursday when I preview the custom painted A-Wing in the prize pool on Saturdays event.