X-Wing Ship Parade: TIE Bomber and Lambda Shuttle
X-Wing Ship Parade is an ongoing review of the ships in our hobby, showing them off at their best and most iconic.
As always, all cards referenced can be found at Yet Another X-Wing Squad Builder.
TIE Bomber
Role: wait for it… waaaaait for it… aaaaand… bomber.
Long one of the worst ships in the game, the Bomber ate crits and didn’t do much in return. This is a ship that was built to carry ordnance in a game where ordnance was largely ineffective. The new design emphasis on ordnance and TIE Veterans expansion have brought about a mini-resurgence. The bomber can now effectively deliver ordnance with either Long Range Sensors or Deadeye to make launching easier, and Guidance Chips or Crack Shot to land the shots. The TIE Shuttle title gives another way to field the bomber as a dedicated support ship that can keep up with Defenders and the like.
Recommended: Scimitars help control costs, so are a good way to field the support abilities of the Shuttle title. Systems Officer and Fleet Officer are good choices and the whole package is only 21 points. Deathfire can land bombs with relative ease and economy, although Imperials don’t do bombs as well as the Rebels. Try Long Range Scanners, Extra Munitions, either Cluster Mines or Conner Nets, and a missile or torp of choice.
Lambda-class Shuttle
Role: Sacrifice
Hamstrung by the game’s worst dial (though the stall maneuver is pretty nifty), the Shuttle is a dead ship that just doesn’t know it yet. But, with a potent attack and two crew slots, the shuttle can provide excellent support before it dies. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing! A lot of the strategy in X-Wing is getting your opponent to attack the ships you want him to attack, and if he’s picking on the Shuttle because it’s a big, vulnerable, easy target, that can often play to your favor. Its inherent toughness can make that take longer than your foe thinks, and if you’re feeling especially cheeky Sensor Jammer drags things out even longer. It’ll still die, but more slowly, and that’s a victory on balance. Remember, the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Imperium… whoops, wrong continuity. Though, come to think of it, this is the preferred chariot for Emperor Palpatine…
Yes, this is the ship that’s the cornerstone of the infamous Palp Aces list, wherein the shuttle hangs back providing Palp support while the aces cut the foe to ribbons. Then, once the enemy is thoroughly bamboozled, the Shuttle barges in to help with the mop-up. I suspect that more Shuttles have been bought since the release of Palpatine than in the rest of the game’s history. Exactly which aces are brought along is almost immaterial; if you’ve got some high-agi arc dodgers riding shotgun to a Palp-mobile, you’re playing Palp Aces.
Recommended: Omicron Group Pilot keeps the costs down, a worthy proposition for a sacrifice.
~ What’s your best set of tactics for using the TIE bomber or the Lambda?
