X-Wing: TIE Punisher Erweiterung

Fantasy Flight Games zeigen weitere Infos zum TIE Punisher.

X-Wing™ Wave VII is on its way, and today we continue our previews with a look at the Imperial Navy’s TIE Punisher Expansion Pack!

One of several advanced TIE-series variants developed in the wake of the Rebellion’s stunning victory at Yavin, the TIE punisher was designed for use as a heavy bomber during missions in which the Empire needed to deliver massive payloads to places that Star Destroyers could not venture.

Based on the spaceframe of the standard TIE/sa bomber, the TIE punisher can carry almost four times as much ordnance. Advanced weapons and shield systems add accuracy and resilience, ensuring that the Empire’s investment in the TIE punisher’s munitions aren’t squandered, and the bomber more than proved its worth during the Galactic Civil War by enduring withering enemy fire to deliver their huge payloads on target.

Similarly, in X-Wing, the TIE punisher boasts the shields, hull, and upgrade slots it needs to arm and deliver the sort of payloads that may soon make the ship an integral part of many Imperial strategies.

Getting More from Your Munitions

In last week’s preview of the Rebellion’s K-wing Expansion Pack, we discussed how the game’s different ordnance are increasingly becoming powerful wild cards in the ever-evolving X-Wing metagame, and if there are any Imperial squad leaders looking to take advantage of the rising value of munitions, they’ll do well to consider incorporating the TIE punisher into their squads. After all, it can carry a wider array of ordnance than any other ship currently in the game.

Of course, as already noted, if you decide to invest significantly in your TIE punisher’s munitions, you need it to deliver. Fortunately, the ship also excels in this regard, featuring a sturdy measure of three shields and six hull. It also comes with an inherent boost action, meaning that you could equip it with Autothrusters , offering it another measure of defense against the tough turret ships you’d likely want it to obliterate. Still, unless you’re playing with one of the expansion’s two ace pilots and their higher pilot skill values, it’s not as likely you’d equip Autothrusters as the Twin Ion Engine Mk. II modification, which would convert the ship’s two- and three-speed bank maneuvers from white to green, adding valuable options to its admittedly limited maneuver dial.

The TIE punisher’s fully loaded upgrade bar boasts two torpedo slots, two missile slots, and two bomb slots.

Meanwhile, the TIE punisher’s focus on delivering ordnance extends well beyond its carrying capacity and defenses. It also comes with the valuable systems upgrade slot, which you can use to further customize your punisher to excel at its designated role. For example, if you’re planning to focus on dropping Proximity Mines or the TIE punisher’s new Cluster Mines , you might equip Advanced Sensors to allow you to release your bombs before you fly away.

A Cutlass Squadron Pilot uses his Advanced Sensors to deploy Cluster Mines before flying away.

Alternatively, you might equip such a dedicated bomber with Enhanced Scopes . For two fewer squad points, Enhanced Scopes all but guarantees that your TIE punisher will be the first ship to execute its maneuver each round, meaning that you’ll be able to plot its course across the battlefield and discharge its bombs without needing to anticipate your opponent’s maneuvers.

As tempting as Enhanced Scopes may be for any TIE punisher pilot, it is a uniquely effective system upgrade for „Deathrain,“ who can choose to deploy bombs from his ship’s front guides. Judge his maneuver correctly, and you can easily fly right up to a ship like the Millennium Falcon to deploy and immediately explode your Cluster Mines for six attack dice against zero defense dice.

„Deathrain“ uses his Enhanced Scopes to approach the Falcon and deploy his Cluster Mines before Chewbacca even has a chance to maneuver.

You might instead choose to focus on battering your foes with seemingly endless barrages of missile or torpedo fire, in which case you’d do well to equip a Fire-Control System . So long as your TIE punisher continues to hunt and batter the same target, your Fire-Control System will grant you free target locks, allowing you to use your action to focus or boost into firing position.

Finally, the TIE Punisher Expansion Pack, like the K-wing Expansion Pack, comes with the Extra Munitions upgrade, which adds power and efficiency to any munitions-based strategy. For just two squad points, the Extra Munitions upgrade allows you an extra use of each of your missile, torpedo, and bomb upgrades, meaning that it’s entirely possible that a TIE punisher pilot like „Redline“ would be able to attack with his secondary weapons throughout a whole game.

Equipped with Extra Munitions, Flechette Torpedoes , Cluster Missiles , Seismic Charges , and Fire-Control System, „Redline“ flies a thirty-nine-point ship that can hit your foes for impressive damage from any range.

X-Wing ist unter anderem bei unserem Partner Fantasy Warehouse erhältlich.

Der deutschen Vertrieb der Fantasy Flight Produkte liegt bei Heidelberger.

Link: Fantasy Flight Games