There has been a lot of chatter about the new Astromech on the transport and the ewing. It got me thinking what are the best Droid-Pilot combos? What is the strategy to get the most out of the team? I have not had a ton of success with droids I would like to use them better.

Someone posted on BGG that R7 Astromech is perfect for Tarn Mison

Tarn gets a target lock on the attacker when he is attacked

R7 lets him use the TL to make the attacker reroll attack dice. He can use it every time he is attacked. Might make him harder to kill than Luke.

inb4 R2D2 + Luke.

Personally, I think R7-T1 + Wedge is going to be killer. TL, close to R1, reduce agi (perhaps twice if you have outmaneuver as well), shoot at PS9, kill target before target shoots back.

I also happen to think that being able to use a droid on a Y-Wing to get an EPT slot has great potential.

inb4 R2D2 + Luke.

Personally, I think R7-T1 + Wedge is going to be killer. TL, close to R1, reduce agi (perhaps twice if you have outmaneuver as well), shoot at PS9, kill target before target shoots back.

the wedge build allows you to not have to use PTL for the TL+F actions. Hmmmm I like this.

Easiest way to explain synergy I think is this. There are two basic approaches. The first is to take something that a Pilot is already good at, IE Luke is great at Survivability, and give him an upgrade (doesn't just apply to droids) that also improves survivability, like R2-D2. Luke+R2-D2 is quite a powerful combo, because Luke is likely to always get 2 evades and then you can recover a shield in the next turn. Could also apply with other upgrades in place of the pilot. Push the Limit causes stress, so R2 Astromech is a common partner to clear that stress out. A quite new example would be Tarn Mison, who can acquire a target lock on his attacker, and R7 Astromech, who can spend a target lock to force attacker rerolls. Another is Dutch with R5-K6. Etc

The next approach is giving a good pilot an additional or supplementary ability that may or may not assist his personal ability, but will increase his overall effectiveness. A heavy hitting pilot like Wedge can also benefit from R5-K6, in that he has a chance to reacquire a free target lock, freeing his action next turn and adding to his combat lethality. R3-A2 is a great match on Hobbie, because he can stress a target on his attack and fly off without penalty.

Read pilot and upgrade cards carefully. The idea is to get the most bang for your buck, without overcosting your ship.

inb4 R2D2 + Luke.

Personally, I think R7-T1 + Wedge is going to be killer. TL, close to R1, reduce agi (perhaps twice if you have outmaneuver as well), shoot at PS9, kill target before target shoots back.

the wedge build allows you to not have to use PTL for the TL+F actions. Hmmmm I like this.

Well, you still don't get the benefit of F... But you get the boost for R1 (since you have to be at least at R2 to begin with, assuming you're closing on the ship, you're almost guaranteed to be R1 at the end since 1 range = 2.5 maneuver and you're moving a min of 2 forward).

So if we were to compare 4TL vs. 3FTL you get an average hit of 3.00 and 2.81... so, boost + TL > TL + F. For offense at least. And now you're not stressed and you have a free EPT... perhaps for ST?

Someone posted on BGG that R7 Astromech is perfect for Tarn Mison

Tarn gets a target lock on the attacker when he is attacked

R7 lets him use the TL to make the attacker reroll attack dice. He can use it every time he is attacked. Might make him harder to kill than Luke.

R7 is limited to once per round, probably because of Tarn.

Someone posted on BGG that R7 Astromech is perfect for Tarn Mison

Tarn gets a target lock on the attacker when he is attacked

R7 lets him use the TL to make the attacker reroll attack dice. He can use it every time he is attacked. Might make him harder to kill than Luke.

R7 can only be used "Once per round when you are defending". Which still synergizes well with Tarn's ability, but not as significantly as it might have.

Edit: Defeated by minutes.

Hobbie + R3-A2. Target lock as your action. Attack someone in your arc, take a stress and give them stress, spend your target lock to hit them better, shed your stress. Rinse and repeat to hand out damage and stress every turn.

inb4 R2D2 + Luke.

Personally, I think R7-T1 + Wedge is going to be killer. TL, close to R1, reduce agi (perhaps twice if you have outmaneuver as well), shoot at PS9, kill target before target shoots back.

the wedge build allows you to not have to use PTL for the TL+F actions. Hmmmm I like this.

Well, you still don't get the benefit of F... But you get the boost for R1 (since you have to be at least at R2 to begin with, assuming you're closing on the ship, you're almost guaranteed to be R1 at the end since 1 range = 2.5 maneuver and you're moving a min of 2 forward).

So if we were to compare 4TL vs. 3FTL you get an average hit of 3.00 and 2.81... so, boost + TL > TL + F. For offense at least. And now you're not stressed and you have a free EPT... perhaps for ST?

Yup. I missed the part on the mech where it takes an action to get the tl+boost. Still nasty

Hobbie + R3-A2. Target lock as your action. Attack someone in your arc, take a stress and give them stress, spend your target lock to hit them better, shed your stress. Rinse and repeat to hand out damage and stress every turn.

Combine that with flechette torpedoes (and munitions failsafe).

Porkins with R5-D8. And hull upgrade and PTL. Great.

Edit:

As for the two named E-Wing pilots, I cannot think of a good astromech. Maybe R2, depending on the dial.

Someone posted on BGG that R7 Astromech is perfect for Tarn Mison

Tarn gets a target lock on the attacker when he is attacked

R7 lets him use the TL to make the attacker reroll attack dice. He can use it every time he is attacked. Might make him harder to kill than Luke.

R7 is limited to once per round, probably because of Tarn.

Yeah just noticed that, le sad... Still decent, but not as amazing.

R5-P9 is gonna be Luke's new favourite robot ho. Makes focussing with him much less 'useless'. And costs a point less than R2-D2 for essentially the same benefit (plus it doesn't matter if your maneuver is green - as long as its not red). And if you can fit Predator on Luke, even better!

because Luke is likely to always get 2 evades

Can I borrow your dice?

Wedge + R7-T1 + PtL @ 35 points.

Hobbie + R3-A2 will be a potent combo.

R2-D6 gives 9 pilots the opportunity to equip an EPT.

Red Squadron

Tarn

Biggs

Hobbie

Garven

Gray Squadron

Dutch

Horton

Blackmoon Squadron

That's a lot of design space opening up.

Best Mechs? hmmm. . how about Summoner, Mad Cat or Catapult at least they are iconic representatives...

ok ... wrong size

and wrong universe, but hey

Thanks guys! Great feedback.

If you put an R2D6 in a y wing would be the EPT of choice? PTL? Not a lot of green on the dial to shake the stress.

If you put an R2D6 in a y wing would be the EPT of choice? PTL? Not a lot of green on the dial to shake the stress.

A stress-generating EPT is not a good idea.

Predator for offense. VI is an option. So is AR.

I'm not saying they are game wise the best, but I love Luke+R2D2. They are such a great combo. Luke can be really hard to hurt with 2 attack ties, and when they do, R2D2 just makes it all better.

One thing I love about this game is that when I build lists from who I loved from the game I end up with pretty good lists.

I'm quite partial to taking Dutch in my rebel lists and equipping him with the near obligatory ion cannon turret and I frequently cant find points for a droid or use the last point in 100 for an R5 for occasional annoyance of recovering hit points from directs.

However I'm going to look hard at trying to put a very shiny new droid in a very old ship and try equipping him with R7-T1 if only for the look on my opponents face the first time he sets up to take my y-wing at close range only for him to be target locked by Dutch, secondary target locked by Garven and then have the y-wing boost out of arc. I almost pity the (probably) interceptor that I'll do it to

I expect to pull it off perfectly about once ever but the look of horror at a boosting y wing should be worth all of the 3 points alone...

If you put an R2D6 in a y wing would be the EPT of choice? PTL? Not a lot of green on the dial to shake the stress.

A stress-generating EPT is not a good idea.

Predator for offense. VI is an option. So is AR.

If you're using a turret, gotta go with the one that gives you a bonus when you're shooting out of their firing arc. I think that's Outmaneuver, but it might have been Predator.