Advice on outfitting the CR-90

By Ringo67, in X-Wing

I've promised to bring my Tantive IV to my FLGS for a 300-point game on Thursday, and I'm unsure how I should kit it out.

I've played with it once (wow, that sounds dirty :rolleyes:) when I bought it last Thursday, and wound up with a crippled aft section ( ... no comment :wacko:) when we ran out of time. The main thing I got out of that game was that the quad laser cannons are the way to go when you're going up against smaller ships.

I'm hoping some of you might be willing to offer some suggestions for outfitting the CR-90 ... or even a list or two.

Thanks in advance.

Ok, so the fore section has two actions. However, to make your shots count, it should always be Target Lock. Han Solo crew, Weapons Engineer and Sensor Crew will mean you can target lock 2 things at range 1-5 and then, when you roll the dice, decide whether to use the TL as a focus or TL. It will definitely help improve your combat.

I would probably suggest one Single Turbo Laser and 2 Quad Laser for your hardpoints. This way you have coverage of both ranges.

Those are my initial suggestions. Engineering Team sounds like a great idea. However, get a feel for how you want to use it and go that way.

Ok, so the fore section has two actions. However, to make your shots count, it should always be Target Lock. Han Solo crew, Weapons Engineer and Sensor Crew will mean you can target lock 2 things at range 1-5 and then, when you roll the dice, decide whether to use the TL as a focus or TL. It will definitely help improve your combat.

I would probably suggest one Single Turbo Laser and 2 Quad Laser for your hardpoints. This way you have coverage of both ranges.

Those are my initial suggestions. Engineering Team sounds like a great idea. However, get a feel for how you want to use it and go that way.

This is pretty close to what I went with on my first Corvette outing, and it was surprisingly underwhelming. Not because of the build itself, mind you, but because the ship performs less well than you'd imagine in a purely offensive capacity. Loathe as I am to pay that much for an oversized support ship, I'll definitely be packing some more support options the next time I field it.

Edited by WonderWAAAGH

So many options.

2 quad and 1 single laser. That way you get 2 of each attack. Short and long. ( counting your primary as well)

I think Han would be nice. The were times where I wished I could focus,and that what Han basically does

Having the enginering team is a must Imo. You will need all the energy you can get to keep your weapons firing and the gunnery team Imo is also nice. Your bound to roll blanks when rolling 4-5 dice.

The gas supplies I think is a nice rather to have incase you get into a situation where you need more energy but are unable to do so. This can help keep your secondary weapons firing

All I had on mine was a single/quad cannon on the front with gunnery team.

Aft quad cannon, engineering team, and gas supplies

Edited by Krynn007

Ok, so the fore section has two actions. However, to make your shots count, it should always be Target Lock. Han Solo crew, Weapons Engineer and Sensor Crew will mean you can target lock 2 things at range 1-5 and then, when you roll the dice, decide whether to use the TL as a focus or TL. It will definitely help improve your combat.

I would probably suggest one Single Turbo Laser and 2 Quad Laser for your hardpoints. This way you have coverage of both ranges.

Those are my initial suggestions. Engineering Team sounds like a great idea. However, get a feel for how you want to use it and go that way.

I like your combo there. Thanks. But I don't think the fore section has two actions. I believe it's one action for the fore and one for the aft. The huge ship rules state:

Performing Actions from a Ship with Two Ship Cards

During the “Perform Action” step, ships with two sections may perform two actions. The first action must be an action in the fore section’s action bar or an action from one of the fore section’s Upgrade cards or Damage cards. The second action must be an action in the aft section’s action bar or an action from one of the aft section’s Upgrade cards or Damage cards.

As far as hardpoints, the single turbo lasers didn't help much against the small ships in the one game I played, because they double the defense dice. It's tough to get a hit when you're rolling against six defense dice for every shot.

He meant that it has two actions to choose from, but you should always choose TL. Nothing wrong with coordinate, but the Corvette really needs that extra oomph if you're going to do any damage at all.

As for doubling the target's agility, pick better targets. Shuttles are obviously best, followed by Bombers and Firesprays.

So many options.

2 quad and 1 single laser. That way you get 2 of each attack. Short and long. ( counting your primary as well)

I think Han would be nice. The were times where I wished I could focus,and that what Han basically does

Having the enginering team is a must Imo. You will need all the energy you can get to keep your weapons firing and the gunnery team Imo is also nice. Your bound to roll blanks when rolling 4-5 dice.

The gas supplies I think is a nice rather to have incase you get into a situation where you need more energy but are unable to do so. This can help keep your secondary weapons firing

All I had on mine was a single/quad cannon on the front with gunnery team.

Aft quad cannon, engineering team, and gas supplies

Thanks Krynn. The gas supplies helped me get a shot off when I didn't have any energy left in the game I played. That's another must-have, IMHO.

I still am not sold on the single turbo laser, because the defender doubles his defense dice. That means six dice on a TIE fighter. That's a tough shot.

In the game, I was able to take out a couple of TIE Bombers with the quad laser cannons. On one of them I missed, and was able to spend an energy to fire again.

I am of the opinion outfitting it with 2 quads and a single turbolaser and then going for support is your best bet. Instead of trying to target lock run Dutch, Dodonna's pride, and pass out actions and target locks like candy. Run a single Comms Booster and try to work up as much energy as possible. The Cr-90 is a command center with teeth, not a fighter. It can't be run as a fighter, and it doesn't have what it takes to go full offense. Let your ships do that while it keeps them alive.

I am a big fan of Kyle, Garven, and Dutch sticking near it getting bonus focus tokens and helping the squad while 100 points or so of fighters and the CR-90 Dish out the hurt.

That said, the empire is going to be scary with huge ships...

Imagine what Jonus could do to a CR-90, let alone something with more hardpoints....

He meant that it has two actions to choose from, but you should always choose TL. Nothing wrong with coordinate, but the Corvette really needs that extra oomph if you're going to do any damage at all.

As for doubling the target's agility, pick better targets. Shuttles are obviously best, followed by Bombers and Firesprays.

Ah. That makes sense then. Of course, for most of the first game I played, I was only performing one action.

Regarding choosing targets, I only have limited control over what I can shoot at, and at least in that game, I had only TIE's and Interceptors to choose from. The Bombers I shot down came in from behind in the blind spot, but I was able to do some damage with the close-range lasers. And boy was I glad, as they both hadn't fired their munitions.

I've been playing though the Point of No Return and I found between the primary and 2 single turbo lasers you get in that, that the Vette makes a half way decent sniper. Sure you don't hit a lot, but you're rolling 12-13 dice with a TL, the mini-focus and maybe turning a blank into a hit thanks to gunner team.

While it's true that Tie Fighters and Interceptors get to throw a lot of defense dice, you still only have to land 3 hits for a kill.

So many options.

2 quad and 1 single laser. That way you get 2 of each attack. Short and long. ( counting your primary as well)

I think Han would be nice. The were times where I wished I could focus,and that what Han basically does

Having the enginering team is a must Imo. You will need all the energy you can get to keep your weapons firing and the gunnery team Imo is also nice. Your bound to roll blanks when rolling 4-5 dice.

The gas supplies I think is a nice rather to have incase you get into a situation where you need more energy but are unable to do so. This can help keep your secondary weapons firing

All I had on mine was a single/quad cannon on the front with gunnery team.

Aft quad cannon, engineering team, and gas supplies

Thanks Krynn. The gas supplies helped me get a shot off when I didn't have any energy left in the game I played. That's another must-have, IMHO.

I still am not sold on the single turbo laser, because the defender doubles his defense dice. That means six dice on a TIE fighter. That's a tough shot.

In the game, I was able to take out a couple of TIE Bombers with the quad laser cannons. On one of them I missed, and was able to spend an energy to fire again.

So many options.

2 quad and 1 single laser. That way you get 2 of each attack. Short and long. ( counting your primary as well)

I think Han would be nice. The were times where I wished I could focus,and that what Han basically does

Having the enginering team is a must Imo. You will need all the energy you can get to keep your weapons firing and the gunnery team Imo is also nice. Your bound to roll blanks when rolling 4-5 dice.

The gas supplies I think is a nice rather to have incase you get into a situation where you need more energy but are unable to do so. This can help keep your secondary weapons firing

All I had on mine was a single/quad cannon on the front with gunnery team.

Aft quad cannon, engineering team, and gas supplies

Thanks Krynn. The gas supplies helped me get a shot off when I didn't have any energy left in the game I played. That's another must-have, IMHO.

I still am not sold on the single turbo laser, because the defender doubles his defense dice. That means six dice on a TIE fighter. That's a tough shot.

In the game, I was able to take out a couple of TIE Bombers with the quad laser cannons. On one of them I missed, and was able to spend an energy to fire again.

The single laser canons are best against low agility ships. Shuttle, bwings, ywing,bombers, Firespray and etc.

But my Shuttle went down in 3 attacks. Single turbolasers will shred huge ships, and eat 1 agility ships without worry. They aren't useless by any means. Just tough to use on fighters, like they're supposed to be.

Ya, 2 agility ships still get 4 defense dice but that is all better than 6, and we all know that rolling crap is a lot easier don't with evades over attack dice

I would never field a single turbolaser at this point. When Empire gets their Huge ship, then one might be worth it... but at 8 points still expensive.

The main problem I have with the single, is the energy cost. Way too much when 1 shot costs 50-66% of your energy creation at optimal speeds.

I am trying to justify the costs of the CR90. I used one with just 2 QUADS and ran into energy issues trying to heal from the 0 agility.

Even the quads imo aren't that great imo. Though I probably will have to try the Weapon Engineer and use TL every round.

Can't really use the CR90 as a support ship either, cause if you were... you may as well outfit 2 Transport for point savings and get about the same hull, 2 actions and more mass on the field to run crap over.

This is pretty close to what I went with on my first Corvette outing, and it was surprisingly underwhelming. Not because of the build itself, mind you, but because the ship performs less well than you'd imagine in a purely offensive capacity. Loathe as I am to pay that much for an oversized support ship, I'll definitely be packing some more support options the next time I field it.

This is what I feel right now... fielded one with 2 quads, tib Gas, Farr, and Dodonna Title, Shield upgrade gen.

I felt the weapons was not worth the 120 fielded. My opponent was more pissed about Farr stripping tokens and about getting run over then have even 3v3 or even 4v6 dice match ups.

At one point was (still am) thinking 2 transports with farr and slice tools etc would cause more hurt then 1 long range pot shot and 2 unmodified 3 dice shots against Imperials. Probably for cheaper too then one loaded CR90.

Yet some ideas in this thread will be tried...

Was even thinking Gunner... If the opponent has lots of 1/2 agility, you get a free long range shot (primary) if the quads whiff on the close range ships... granted not good for focus fire but getting some free shots for 5 points isn't too bad. From what I saw too 3 v 3 dice results in no hits often enough with the CR90.

Even the quads imo aren't that great imo.

3 dice with a built in gunner isn't that great?

Even the single is pretty good, I don't think I'd equip more then 1 if i had the option (you don't when playing the campaign). Sure the defender doubles the defense dice, but 4 w/mini-focus vs 6 dice isn't that bad, not at range 3-5. Remember the Singles don't allow for extra defense dice due to range.

We played though the whole campaign this weekend, and the firepower of the CR-90 was rather good IMO.

Was even thinking Gunner...

Can't use gunner per the Tournament rules. If you don't play by those and use Gunner, be careful when you use it, because you can lose other attacks if you use it too soon.

Edited by VanorDM

Even the quads imo aren't that great imo.

3 dice with a built in gunner isn't that great?

Even the single is pretty good, I don't think I'd equip more then 1 if i had the option (you don't when playing the campaign). Sure the defender doubles the defense dice, but 4 w/mini-focus vs 6 dice isn't that bad, not at range 3-5. Remember the Singles don't allow for extra defense dice due to range.

We played though the whole campaign this weekend, and the firepower of the CR-90 was rather good IMO.

Was even thinking Gunner...

Can't use gunner per the Tournament rules. If you don't play by those and use Gunner, be careful when you use it, because you can lose other attacks if you use it too soon.

3 dice attack range 1-2 that uses 25-33% of your energy income. Limited dice modifications. The "built-in" gunner costs an energy, which is expensive. If you have 2 quad and a single you can't even fire all of them unless you have the upgrade card and perform the same moves EVERY round.

I played a 250 pt epic match, my opponent had 12 ships. The best the CR90 did was run over a Tie and a Shuttle. The guns did maybe 5-6pts of damage. (Could the weapons engineer boost this, maybe??? Would try).

I was running into energy issues and the weapons weren't that effective. At that point I was getting hit by 3-4 ships each with 2-3 attack dice and 0 agility. It was ugly.

The way I look at it is for 120 points what else could I field?

4-5 X-wings with 12-15 attack dice (vs the CR90 10), hull/shield of 20-25 (vs CR of 24), 4-5 actions (vs CR 2), lets also not forget 2 def dice etc etc

I am still going to try and rationalize the CR, try different combo's but right now it doesn't look too efficient for epic battles. For the points it might just be better to field 2 Transports.

I am going to assume the epic ships are more balanced against other epic ships.

Was even thinking Gunner...

Can't use gunner per the Tournament rules. If you don't play by those and use Gunner, be careful when you use it, because you can lose other attacks if you use it too soon.

Thanks probably would have eventually caught that... Just gimps the CR more imo.

I have to agree with dandirk, the energy requirements for the corvette simply cripple it. Theoretically, what makes the corvette good is the massive amount of firepower it can throw out each turn, except in order to actually fire all 4 potential guns it needs 6 energy a turn and it only generates 3 (or less). So it is either firing every other turn, or it realistically only has 1 secondary weapon to fire. And that isn't really even taking into account wanting some energy for other things, like shield repair. So instead you are paying 110+ points for 2 attacks each round.

I have to disagree. What makes the Corvette good is not its firepower. That is relatively average(14 attack dice at 110 points.) What makes it good is its ability to command a battlefield. Dodonna's Pride is absolutely amazing. Keep the Tantive well away from the fight, 2 range behind your fleet. Let the fighters engage while it punishes low agility ships and offers support to the rest of the ships via extra actions, focus tokens, etce, and charges itself up. Then bring it in as a nigh on impossible to kill finisher mid to late game.

It's other use is to take out other Epic ships.

I had no problems with it.

The quad lasers only cost 1 to use, and 1 to basically use like a gunner.

Hitting low agility ships with your primary and single laser canon before they are in range softens then up for your escorts to take apart.

Anything gets close to it gets chewed up by the quad laser canons. Took out a few squints and toes with the quads alone,and dmg a shuttle with the single laser canon.

I never had a problem keeping the energy on it. I only played the one game so far with it, but that is why I also had the gas supply. Good for that emergency reserver

Edited by Krynn007

So many options.

2 quad and 1 single laser. That way you get 2 of each attack. Short and long. ( counting your primary as well)

I think Han would be nice. The were times where I wished I could focus,and that what Han basically does

Having the enginering team is a must Imo. You will need all the energy you can get to keep your weapons firing and the gunnery team Imo is also nice. Your bound to roll blanks when rolling 4-5 dice.

The gas supplies I think is a nice rather to have incase you get into a situation where you need more energy but are unable to do so. This can help keep your secondary weapons firing

All I had on mine was a single/quad cannon on the front with gunnery team.

Aft quad cannon, engineering team, and gas supplies

Thanks Krynn. The gas supplies helped me get a shot off when I didn't have any energy left in the game I played. That's another must-have, IMHO.

I still am not sold on the single turbo laser, because the defender doubles his defense dice. That means six dice on a TIE fighter. That's a tough shot.

In the game, I was able to take out a couple of TIE Bombers with the quad laser cannons. On one of them I missed, and was able to spend an energy to fire again.

Wouldn't that be 7 defense dice for a Tie Fighter because of the range 3 bonus?

No, due to the lack of secondary weapon range bonuses.

Turbolasers double agility of the target but dont give range bonuses. If you want 7 defense dice then you need to hide behind an asteroid or another large ship.

The primary on the other hand gives +1 at range 3, +2 at range 4 and +3 at range 5 so still needs extra help to reach 7 dice.

Ah I see. Thanks for the clarification.

yesterday i won, using the corvette plus the transport and 3 xwings at 300 points

my opponent used vader, whisper, echo, howl runner...basically 1 powerful ship of each (and a defender)

.we set up in different corners each ..so when he got in range of the corvette it had full energy (and all weapons charged)

you DONT WANT that to happen. besides, i outfitted it with slicer tools and was lucky with my attacks rolls 2 or 3 times

the quad guns wreack havoc, you absolutely dont want to be in range 1-2 of a corvette with 2 quad guns fully charged

one of the engineers gives you 1 more energy if you reveal a straght movement, i think that is a must