Way back in the day before we had both the Cymoon and Kuat ISD, I found a great love for the IDS I. However recently the ISD I has fallen out of favor for multiple reasons and it is a shame because I remember good times with that ship and I also have the beautiful alt art ISD I card that just doesn't get to see the table quite as much anymore.
So I started thinking what can an ISD I do for you? You have the obvious battle carrier, however, the quasar is just too effective at pushing squads it’s just really hard to justify in the past but I think the ISD battle carrier can do something that can really help support squadrons now. The change to evade has made small ships a bit of a pain for squads to deal with and generally finding I want my squads to go after large ships though PDICs can sometimes be an issue. With the turbolaser slot, I have found the ISD I to be pretty effective at taking down small ships with H9s.
Imperial I (110)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• H9 Turbolasers (8)
= 122 Points
Even if you dont want to use the battle carrier with speed 3 and ISD I can be an okay flanker to chase down and quickly eliminate the little guys with the 8 dice with a accuracy from H9’s most little guys won’t last much beyond that.
Imperial I (110)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Leading Shots (6)
• H9 Turbolasers (8)
= 130 Points
We also don’t want to forget about boarding troopers with squadron 4 that can be a lot of pressure on defense tokens.
Imperial I (110)
• Skilled First Officer (1)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Enhanced Armament (10)
• Relentless (3)
= 127 Points
With Skilled first officer and Relentless, you will always have the con fire command to help make your double arc a little bit meaner and yes Enhanced Armament is a weird choice for an ISD but I am wanting to use boarding troopers and the double arc to put as much pressure on defense tokens as possible and follow up this guys attack with a big hit from demolisher or an Onager.
Another use is that sometimes it’s annoying when you bombers get tied up I think a well-timed Rapid Launch bays with captain Jonus on an ISD I with boarding team Vader and you will probably kill almost anything that can be put on the table especially if you take flight commander and can first last.
Imperial I (110)
• Flight Commander (3)
• Darth Vader (3)
• Rapid Launch Bays (6)
= 122 Points
Squadrons:
• Captain Jonus (16)
• 3 x TIE Bomber Squadron (27)
= 43 Points
Total Points: 165
The ISD I is for sure in a weird spot right now I mean you can take a Quasar and Gladiator for 110 points the same cost as the ISD I and after upgrades, they are not that much more expensive and you get two activations.
Quasar Fire I (54)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
= 64 Points
Gladiator I (56)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• External Racks (4)
• Demolisher (10)
= 74 Points
Total Points: 138
Though I do think the ISD I is probably a pretty good small ship bully with its ability to take H9’s and can put a lot of pressure on large ships with boarding troopers. Its a bit fragile with no defensive retrofit, but I think that makes it a great fit to bully smalls and hit and run a large. How have you used ISD I? What do you think they can be used for? Until next time have a great week!
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