X-Wing: Imperial Ordnance
Rebel & Scum beware: There is a new sheriff in town and he’s packing HEAT. The Imperial Ordinance has arrived!
Hello X-Wing Aces – I hope you’re all ready to duck and cover because when Imperial Veterans hits shelves it may be too late. If you haven’t seen the preview, you should definitely check that out. The Bomber is BACK with a vengeance. But don’t count the TIE Defender out either. Let’s talk about the Bomber first!
We already covered the basic build with this guy:
Scimitar Squadron Pilot – TIE Bomber – 24 pts
- Extra Munitions
- Concussion Missiles
- Seismic Charges
- Long Range Scanners
This is a REALLY effective Alpha Strike. You’re able to Target Lock on turn 1 and be ready to focus on turn 2 when you’re actually in range to open fire. Ouch. Oh and don’t forget as they are zooming by you to drop those charges out the back. You did remember to do a K-turn to get them back in your sights, right?
Personally, I’d swap out Concussion Missiles for Cluster Missiles and laugh all the way to the bank. However, The TIE Bombers will suffer (if anyone is left alive) from not being able to acquire any more Target Locks at Ranges 1-2. Dog fighting is NOT this ships specialty. But it’s not like the Imperial Garage is hurting for good dog fighters. I’m not going to go into Whisper vs Echo or Turr Phennir vs Soontir Fel…They are all really good pilots and very dangerous. Just don’t leave your Bombers un-escorted. They are tough but not invincible.
What about the TIE Defender? Well I’m glad you asked! For that, I want to look at the new Title Cards coming out:
Most players (myself included) want to jump right on the TIE/x7 – I can’t blame them! It’s a beast and with the right upgrades that ship becomes very tough to pin down. But don’t overlook the TIE/D. Especially with the right pilot.
The Colonel here got overlooked by …well just about everyone! For 35 points (ouch) it’s quite the investment. And the ability is kind of weird. It’s not like Imperials have a way to get early Target Locks on things…until now. Couple that with the extra TIE/D attack and your going to get a Target Lock one way or another! Personally, I think I’d like to throw a Tractor Beam on this guy. Why? Because it’s cheap and it helps setup the Alpha Strike like nobody’s business.
The Tractor Beam is a REALLY cool card. Most people will just skip down to the “I get to move their ship onto an asteroid” and completely forget what a great debuff this thing is: You’re reducing the Agility Value of the Target by 1 down to a minimum of 0. That lasts the entire round! And since that hits first, you can follow-up with a 3 dice primary. Not too shabby. But that’s just the first step remember how I said he setups that Alpha Strike? Well now when your Bombers come in with their Cluster Missiles you’re rolling 2 sets of 3 dice and the defender is down 1 agility for EACH set.
If a defender normally has Agility 2 and both TIE Bombers are firing, in total you would normally be rolling a total of 12 attack dice vs 8 defense dice. It’s probably still going to be a painful turn. But with a single Tractor Token you’ve cut that down to just 4 defense dice. So what’s 12 attack dice vs 4 defense dice? That’s one dead JumpMaster 5000. “But the Contracted Scout is PS 3 – it will shoot first!” Very true. Good thing we’re running a 3 ship vs a 4 Scimitar Squadron Pilot list – so lets take some better pilots!
The Gamma Squadron Vet is my choice at PS 5 they will after and shoot before those pesky Contracted Scout JumpMaster Jerks. And the observant reader may have noticed one small addition to the skill bar: The Elite Pilot Talent. Is that whole “not Target Locking at Ranges 1 & 2” thing got you down? Take “Deadeye” and now you can just “focus” to fire your Cluster (or Concussion) Missiles. Or if you want to get some more synergy in your list (or if you like flying in formation) you could also take Captain Jonus:
Don’t forget that the Tractor Beam is ALSO a secondary weapon!
With the same load out as the other TIE Bombers, Jonus clocks in at 31 points. But he’s PS 6 and tosses out re-rolls to guarantee those Alpha Strikes make contact.
So lets put it all together! Here is my obligatory list:
Imperial Ordnance: Bringing the BOOM – 99 Pts
Colonel Vessery – TIE Defender – 40 pts
- TIE/D
- Tractor Beam
- Adaptability
- Engine Upgrade
Gamma Squadron Veteran – TIE Bomber – 28 pts
- Extra Munitions
- Cluster Missiles
- Seismic Charges
- Long Range Scanners
- Deadeye
Captain Jonus – TIE Bomber – 31 pts
- Extra Munitions
- Cluster Missiles
- Seismic Charges
- Long Range Scanners
- Deadeye
Now, you could always swap Jonus for another Gamma Squad Veteran and take those 3 points and re-invest in Vessery with PTL or maybe Predator or …you get the idea. Plus it’s actually 4 points because the list is only 99 points total. So go nuts.
First turn you’re going to Target Lock your victim biggest threat. Then you’re going to fly up second turn and focus. The Colonel takes his shots and the Bombers are hopefully unloading on a sitting duck! Don’t forget that the Vessery is also tossing in 3 more attack dice from his own primary. Hopefully that Tractor Beam has done it’s job and the pain train is effective. Drop your mines and spin around to get the next one. If you can keep Jonus close to Vessery (at least for the initial volley) you’ll be able to assist with the re-rolls if you need them. Ideally Vessery will have a focus to start the attack and then his ability will trigger to give you a free Target Lock as well.
I like this list as it’s a trio of big, beefy ships that can hit really hard and can deal out at least 2 volleys of missiles and bombs. It’s a LOT of damage potential to throw around. So give it a shot and see how it works for you. Or just run 4 of the Scimitar Ships…but have fun dealing with U-Boats!
BOMBS AWAY!
