I'm trying to make up for an unproductive summer by putting out some easier to write articles. No diagrams or schemes, just some thoughts on topics that interest me.





In that vein, this article is the first in a series on ships that I like. This isn't to say they're good, just that I like how they play. It's not likely to be convincing, but if you like these sorts of ships already, maybe this article series will get you to try some stuff you've always been borderline about, or maybe you'll be inspired to squeeze a little more out of these ships yourself. I'll be discussing why I like them and a little of how I play them, but it won't get super technical, because these are supposed to be quick to write.





I'm starting off with the TIE/fo (henceforth referred to as the FO) because it was one of my favorite ships in 1.0. It was a TIE Fighter, but it had just enough extra stuff (shield, lock, dial improvement) that it was just about a "real ship". I don't have a good definition of "real ship" in my head, I just apply the tag to a ship that I expect to consistently contribute on its own in more ways than just blocking or support. There's a lot of ambiguity there, I know. In 2.0, the stats and role of the FO didn't really change at all, which is fine, but the points always seemed high compared to similar ships of the same capabilities (I'm looking at you, RZ-2s). Consequently, I left them alone as there was so much else to try anyway. With the recent points shift, most of the FOs have dropped 1-2 points, which really adds up for that sort of low-end ship.





What I like:

Statline: It's a TIE Fighter with a shield. 4 HP, 3 AGI, and 2 Attack put this ship squarely in the "durable" as opposed to the "punchy" camp. Normally I'm not a huge fan of ships whose needle points to the durable side of the dial, but the FO has other attributes that make it interesting. For one, it's become cheap enough that it's less a bad offense/good defense ship and more an okay offense/good defense ship. Furthermore, it's the kind of ship where you sometimes want to just throw it at something to occupy it and get in the way. The defensive slant is useful in that kind of role, and lets you convert defense into offense by getting close (and not immediately dying). That extra hit point makes a big difference in durability over time as well. Old TIE/lns sometimes go pop, and sometimes last forever. FOs likewise sometimes last forever, but are a lot less unlikely to just pop from as bad round of dice.

This means more ships in the mid and late game.





Actions: The FO can Focus, Lock, Evade, and Barrel Roll, all the normal stuff except Boost. The Lock is the real key action compared to the old Imperial TIE, and it does work on the FO. FOs block a lot. Blocking is a great time to take a Lock because you're not getting shot. They're also cheap and kind of bad targets because of their defensively oriented profile. This means FOs can often take a slight risk in uncertain situations and grab a Lock to save for later instead of a Focus. There's usually turns when you're chasing an opposing ace where you know you don't get shots, but you're cutting off zones where you don't want the ace to be. These are great turns to lock, and it means the FOs have a better chance to have telling shots when they get those shots.





Dial: The FO has a nice dial. It's got all the standard TIE fighter moves, with a couple bonuses. The 2 turns are blue, giving more options to drop stress. Scorch excepted, these ships don't tend to stress themselves, so the bonus is more "keep options open when incidental stress happens". More importantly, it has 2-sloops. These moves are great. For one, they're combined with the 4k, so you have 3 turn-around options and can face 3 different directions on a red move. Another good thing about the sloops is that they're short. With two dice, FOs don't do threaten much damage at long range. The 2-sloop keeps them close to the action, able to maintain close proximity to opposing ship. This ability works great with the lock action, as you can move, block, lock, then Sloop next turn and have a modified shot.



