No practice this week means another building blocks article, and since last time I promised Soontir he could come back to the blog, today’s article will be about the TIE Interceptor as a whole. Unlike the Firespray-31, the Interceptor as a class, at least in wave 1, is a collection of pilots largely trying to do the same thing: Avoid enemy firing arcs as much as possible while still facing said enemies. The TIE Interceptor’s ship ability, Autothrusters, helps with that mission by being the purest form of dual-action until Wave 2’s Poe Dameron hits the field. All Interceptors naturally have the ability to perform a free, red boost or barrel roll after taking any other action. We’ve got 4 pilots to choose from in this chassis, each bringing their own special talent to the table (yes, even the generics.)

At 52 points, no pilot exemplifies the term “Ace” better than the Ace of Legend himself, Soontir Fel. It must be mentioned that his Initiative value of 6 is shared currently by only 1 other Imperial pilot, 3 Scum, 3 Rebel, and 1 each revealed from Resistance and First Order. His pilot ability is somewhat changed from first edition, now requiring an opponent to be in his bullseye arc, rather than simply requiring that he gain a stress token, in order to gain his free focus token. This does have the benefit of not having him forced to take a certain pilot talent in order to trigger his ability now (and hopefully they never re-print that particular talent,) and often results in many, many more turns with his full dial available.

Turr Phennir takes the second named slot at Initiative 4 for the Interceptor at 44 points, and his ability is actually improved over his first edition counterpart. While he still does the same effect as before (after attacking, you may perform a boost or barrel roll action,) he is now no longer limited by stress. Additionally, like Fel, Phennir no longer needs to take Push the Limit in order to combo off of that action, though he is now restricted to whichever of the two he didn’t already do vice what he could have had before.

The first generic pilot is the Saber Squadron Pilot, coming in at 40 points. Tied with Turr for initiative, and having all the same slots, the Saber is pretty much just Phennir with no post-attack re-position (interestingly, Turr’s ability appears to cost 4 points.) Finally, the 34 point Alpha Squadron Pilot is the only TIE/IN without a Talent slot. It also sits at the lowest possible initiative score of 1. We’ll explore why this guy may be worth 11 more points than an Academy Pilot TIE/LN a bit later.

Stat-wise, the Interceptor doesn’t seem like much: 3 Attack, 3 Agility, 3 Hull, and no shields (just guts,) it appears not much more imposing than the standard TIE Fighter. It shares 3 actions with its more basic counterpart (Focus, Evade, and Barrel Roll,) adding Boost to its bar. Finally, in addition to most of its pilots having a Talent slot, the TIE/IN has 2 modification slots. And that’s it, that’s the ship. Just like last time, I’m going to cover some upgrades from each slot (though this time, that section will be far shorter!)

Talent

Unlike the Firespray-31, and in fact, unlike MOST ships in the game, the TIE Interceptor is very capable of lining up its bullseye arc on all large, most medium, and even a lot of small base ships. Fel, naturally, wants to line his up, but all 3 talented pilots can make decent use of Predator, Crack Shot, and, to a lesser extent, Marksmanship. Predator, specifically, helps with the fact that the TIE/IN lacks the Lock action. Meanwhile, their crazy maneuverability ties in well with Outmaneuver, especially on the higher initiative Fel. Another potential option would be Daredevil, in order to get the most out of the enhanced re-position ability (especially on Turr for his post-shot re-position.) Some counter-picks (as in, taking these is generally a bad idea) include Squad Leader (TIE/INs live and die by their actions,) Composure (no free focus for a failed Autothrusers action due to stress,) and Trick Shot (except on Turr, shooting through a rock often means plowing through it next turn for a small-base, forward-arc ship.)

Modification

The TIE Interceptor has 2 modification slots, and at first glance, it may seem best to fill both to maximize either the survivability or maneuverability of the ship. However, at the end of the day, the /IN is still a TIE fighter, and they tend to explode with the slightest of breezes. I caution against the trap of Stealth Device, as without the mad token stacking of First Edition, the extra die often doesn’t mean the safety it used to. Afterburners is also very situational for it’s 8 points, though the fact it can be used through stress can set up some surprising plays around S-loops and K-turns.

Since this article is about more than a single pilot, there’s going to be quite a few builds to sift through. Keep in mind that these are built in isolation, and individual lists may require load-outs or enhance strategies that I don’t mention here.

Alpha Blocker

There are 2 qualities that make for an excellent blocker: Low Initiative value, and high maneuverability. The Alpha Squadron Pilot has both, and with Afterburners, has the ability to be a massive thorn in your opponent’s movement plans. The biggest drawback here is cost, but trimming Afterburners takes you down to 34 points for almost the same blocker, one who can still take 2 actions and throws 3 attack dice.

Juking Saber

The Saber Squadron is in a strange place when it comes to value vs cost. At 40 points, you can field 5 of these with no upgrades, and at Initiative 4, you’ll stand a decent chance of taking something down before it fires, or of dancing around your opponent’s ships. This version adds Stealth Device which, when coupled with Juke, gives the Saber good survivability against those same lower-Initiative ships, while adding a bit of a choice for your opponent: Spend the focus and send out a weaker attack, or save the focus and take an extra damage. A pair of these will serve as excellent wing-men for a strong ace, like Darth Vader or a loaded Whisper.

Daredevil Turr

As I alluded to above, Turr can utilize Daredevil to take hard turns on his boosts, which works well with his ability to re-position, while stressed, after he shoots. Electronic Baffle can serve well in the end-game against a lower skill pilot to free up his dial for a finishing turn. Adding a Hull Upgrade for 7 points may be a good investment to allow a safer use of the baffle, but also brings his cost up above what I’m comfortable paying for this particular flavor of Turr.

Flanking Turr

Rather than using his ability to constantly dodge arcs in jousts, I’ve found that Turr’s ability can be used to easily remain on his foe’s rear, and turning Phennir into a flanker is relatively easy. Lone Wolf helps Turr’s dice odds when distant from his friends (as a flanker should be) and Stealth Device will hopefully help keep him safe in games he gets turned into instead of being free to engage at will.

Squad Leader Fel

Soontir Fel, the Ace of Legend, is most renown as the leader of the 181st squadron, an elite force of TIE pilots. As such, he has a ton of flight time in leading junior pilots into combat. This version of Fel is set up to play counter to the usual Interceptor strengths, capping out his ability to take damage at 5 hit points, backed up by his usual 3 defense dice and ability to have both Evade and Focus tokens each turn. Swarm Tactics allows another pilot to share his high Initiative during the Engagement phase, potentially downing nearly any pilot before they get to shoot on a critical turn. However, this 70-point TIE/IN is not going to use his ship to the maximum extent…

Hyper-Ace Fel

Coupled with Outmaneuver and Afterburners, this version of The Baron is the ultimate Ace. Highest Initiative in the game, double-re-position, and reducing his target’s defense if you’re playing him correctly, Hyper-Ace Fel can out-duel nearly any other single ship, and with Afterburners, he can even speed around large-based mobile-arc ships with relative ease. The Shield Upgrade is there to protect against random terrible luck on the opening approach, and after that, it’ll take relatively flawless piloting to protect your 74 point ace.

Barebones Fel

When you look at most recent lists, when it comes to flying Soontir Fel, he is often tossed in as a “Pocket Ace,” a cheaper alternative to even his own more loaded versions, let alone the likes of The Grand Inquisitor, “Whisper”, and Darth Vader himself. This version also happens to be my personal choice. Predator, as previously stated, helps the Interceptor with its lack of rerolls, and the low price point (the same as his 1.0 base cost, for the record) allow him to have a ton of support, or to be a part of a much larger squad.

Ever since Wave 2 of First Edition, the TIE Interceptor as been my favorite ship to put on the table. Soontir Fel specifically has seen me through a ton of tough games, even during the height of the turret-domination meta of waves 5-7. Seeing the new breath of life that FFG has put into this ship with Second Edition has re-invigorated my passion for the ship, and with it, the game as a whole. So much so that, if I had a second Imperial Conversion Kit, I’d likely just take Saber Squadron out for a spin! Next time: Soontir Fel returns to the table! Fat Scum Han, because life and weekend plans didn’t agree!