1e X Wing Bare Bones (again), some quick sample squads.
The Empire
The Empire has the most distinctive fleet, made up entirely of agile-fragiles or brutish-bruisers. They are the fastest fleet on average (although they also have the slowest ship), the most manoeuvrable with nearly universal Barrel Rolls and Evades on their small ships, but also have the few ships that lack Target Locks or Shields.
We tend to play BB to a scenario with canon logical squads, which can stretch the Empire a little, functioning best with a mix of ships. Some of these may seem rigid and a little simplistic, but in BB, they are all viable.
The Tie Fighter.
Why is it, the bad guys like German WW2 Tiger tanks, WW1 Dr1 Fokker Fighters and Imperial Interceptors get our radar pinging?
The basic Tie Fighter is the Imperial staple, the original swarmer (which is a thing again in BB), but also the ideal squad filler. These things move well, have no real manoeuvre weaknesses and can Roll dual K-Turn and Evade.They “pop” easily and are offensively tame, but are cheaper by the dozen, with empowering pilots and speed.
The Obsidian Wall
18 Tie Fighter; Howlrunner (8)
15 TF; Night Beast (5)
15 TF; Winged Gundark (5)
4x 13 TF; Obsidian Squadron Pilot (3)
The classic boosted swarm. They work best in small self supporting sub-groups.
The Tie Striker.
The late comer to BB, the planetary defence fighter is as different to the Tie Fighter as you will get. Slow, but highly manoeuvrable, the Striker gives an Imperial squad a very different feel. The only ship outside of a few Scum able to execute S-Loops as well as a rare speed 2 K-Turn, it likes to and can stay close. Still no shields, less agile than other Ties and the slowest ship in BB, this thing hits hard and twists and turns like few others.
The Tie Interceptor.
The Interceptor is a Tie Fighter after a commando school regime. The only ship in BB with natural Roll, Boost and Evade Actions, as well as more green moves than most, it can be hard to nail down.
Offensively, it is basically the same as the Striker, but most of the Pilots are arc dodgers.
Raiders of the Dodged Arc
25 Tie Interceptor; Turr Phennir (7)
27 TI; Soontir Fel (9)
23 TI; Lt Lorrir (5)
24 TI; Tetran Cowell (7)
The Tie Advanced.
The Advanced breaks away from the previous ships in a few key areas. Unlike most it has a Target Lock, Shields and some Ordnance making it a natural Imperial equivalent to the X-Wing. The Homing Missile is limited to the Empire in BB, taking the place of the Advanced Targeting System upgrades that BB bans (no Titles).
The Black List
34 Tie Advanced; Vader (9) + Homing Missiles
17 Tie Fighter; Mauler Mithiel (7)
18 TF; Dark Curse (6)
16 TF; Back Stabber (6)
14 TF; Wampa (4)
The Tie Bomber.
The only true Ordnance platform in BB, the Bomber is two Tie Fighters stuck together, becoming a much less slippery aship, but gaining a TL action and 5 Ordnance slots as well as both ship’s Hull points.
How much you want to load them up with is tricky and very dependant on a sound squad strategy, but with no Ordnance safety nets in this form of the game, these are the only ships able to send sustained and varied pain at their enemy.
Cluster Flock
21 Tie Bomber; Deathfire (3) + Cluster Mines
27 TB; Gamma Vet (5) + Cluster Mines + Cluster Missile
2x 26 TB; Gamma Pilot (4) + Cluster Mines + Cluster Missiles
The Lambda Shuttle.
The iconic Lambda may have surprised early X-Wing players, offering the first true support ship in the game. The Shuttle is slow, but can pack a Cannon and a System upgrade and two Crew, all a stretch for the Empire previously.
The Pilots offer the now much rarer, thus more enticing, support options in BB like sharing TL’s with the bulk of Imperial ships that lack them, drawing enemy TL’s from these fragile ships or take a friends Stress like a passive Biggs allowing them their many Actions. They also add a tough and cheap ride to the powerful Crew options*.
The VT-49 Decimator.
A brute in BB, the Decimator is like a Falcon that did too many supplements or the mommy spider to the Interceptor babies. The only ship in BB with no Agility without help and one of only two with a three dice Primary Turret, three Crew slots (so Palpatine and Vader can share a ride), Bombs and Torps it is a squad defining ship.
Legends of the Empire
45 Lambda; Col Kagi (8) + Reinforced Deflectors + Palpatine + HLC
55 Decimator; Admiral Chiraneau (8) + Proton Torps + Vader + Kallus
So, five varieties of tadpole and two frogs. The Empire has all the elements needed to make strong and varied squads, but builds can seem limited, especially with three ships unable to take upgrades in BB (No EPT’s, Mods or Titles).
Who is special in BB?
Palpatine (as written), Soontir, Vader (Pilot and Crew), Howlrunner, Juno, Jendon, Cluster Mines, and Homing Missiles.