So, there are several gripes about the blaster turret. First off, it takes a focus to use, which means that you can be blocked, don't get your action, and therefore don't get any shot. Then there's the fact that it can't be used against DC, and is practically useless against Carnor. Third, it only costs 1 point less than an Ion, while doing essentially the same damage (assuming no second action) while not leaving the opponent ionized.

Those are valid points, but I was messing around with a B wing + Kyle crew after reading about it in another thread. I didn't end up with much luck getting that to work (on paper at least, since I'm at work) - I felt like the B wing dial doesn't have enough green to make it work on its own, and it's not worth dumping 4 points into Keyan to give him a defensive focus. And if you use Wingman to destress them, the only way they can really get stress then is via PTL, and which point they really don't need the extra focus token.

So I started fooling around with other ships, wondering how I could make this work, and I turned my eyes back to the HWK (after I quickly ruled out the YT because I don't play it) as the only other ship with a crew slot. Obviously I can't play Kyle, so that meant Recon Op, Roark, or Jan. The Recon Op and Roark don't really have a way to stress themselves - no EPT for PTL/Opp, and the dial isn't bad enough that I want to intentionally stress myself (and forego an action) this turn, in order to get 2 actions the following.

So, Jan it is! Jan has the unique ability to stress herself every turn (assuming that she isn't the only one alive). But since the dial has the same amount of green as the B (and X) wing, clearing that stress makes her rather predictable, and prone to action denial, which makes her a prime candidate for Kyle since then she would get a focus even if she was blocked. But that still means that if she's blocked, she only gets 1 action, so normally, I would think she'd still be better off with the Ion (even if she double focuses, then she has one for Defense). But... I am literally 1 point short in the following build. And I don't really see a good 1 pointer to drop to make room for the Ion. So what do you guys think of the following?

Luke w/ VI

Corran w/ VI + FCS

Jan w/ VI + Blaster + Kyle

It comes in at 100 points, and 3 PS10, 3 attack players, plus Corran's double tap, and Jan's +1 die. Being that everyone is PS10, I don't have to worry about shooting at cloaked phantoms, and I can also decide the best way to move to minimize blocks. Neither Corran nor Luke are rolling around stressed, so they have their full dial open, and while Jan can be predictable, she still gets at least a focus token - though with the turret, there's no reason for her to be marching straight up the front lines where she can easily be blocked - she can comes in from the edge and force the opponent to turn into her to block her predictable move - but have no shot on anyone else, or leave her untouched, in which case she gets a TL to modify her blaster turret.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

I looked at this list and I think it can work. Strangely, Jan is you Phantom killer here as they will be hard pressed to escape her turret, where as keeping the others on the target will not be quite so easy.

Horn may be better replaced with Wes for token stripping and a few extra toys, like R2-D2 on Luke for endgame havoc.

All in all, it's a delicate, but highly viable list IMHO.

I like rebel op, recon spec, blaster.

Your list looks ok.

Is blaster turret really considered useless?
Blaster Turret + Recon Specialist + Moldy Crow makes any HWK tanky and gives it good consistent damage output.
26 points for a Rebel Operative with this build is pretty effective and Roark with this loadout makes him more than just a support for 29.
Granted, I find that Kyle doesn't work too well because he loses focus too quickly and Jan is pretty pricey at 35 for this loadout.

What is the advantage of Kyle here versus recon spec? Maybe I'm missing something.

What is the advantage of Kyle here versus recon spec? Maybe I'm missing something.

It's in the OP, you get a focus even if you're blocked, which means that you always get to shoot, barring the presence of DC or Carnor.

Kyle activates when shedding stress and so cannot be blocked like a focus action can.

Jan is currently my favorite ship in the game. I think though you need the recon specialist/moldy crow combination. When Jan is doing her best Scrooge McDuck impression with focus tokens, she becomes a lot harder to kill. Having 6 tokens on standby means you can burn them on evade every turn, and use your 2 new ones to fire the turret.

Definitely doesn't look half bad. I'm definitely glad to see some of the lesser-used ships being flown. Cursed phantoms, disrupting the meta. Jan + Corran could prove to be a nightmare. I don't have the cards with me, but if I remember right, Corran would get the +1 for both attacks, right? Someone double check that?

Two attacks at 4/5 dice is scary, especially if he happens to have a FCS on him as well

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output. If you just fly it naked, then you might as well just use an Ion Cannon Turret. Either Recon Specialist, Kyle Crew, or Mold Crow title all cost 3 points.

So Blaster Turret really costs 7 points. And conversely, you could spend those 3 points on getting another ship an action, which would boost its damage output. So you are boosting the damage of Blaster Turret instead of something else. In a 3-ship list, occasionally it works out that that is optimal for that particular squad. But it is rarely the most universally optimal choice.

Having said that, the winning list at the Spanish Nationals, attendance 149, was:

Airen Cracken + Swarm Tactics

Roark + Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow + Chewbacca

2x Blue Squadron Pilot + Fire-Control System

Blaster Turret is optional in this squad, in my opinion. You could make it work fine with an Ion Cannon Turret. The main draw, I think, is the PS12 and extra action shenanigans.

Definitely doesn't look half bad. I'm definitely glad to see some of the lesser-used ships being flown. Cursed phantoms, disrupting the meta. Jan + Corran could prove to be a nightmare. I don't have the cards with me, but if I remember right, Corran would get the +1 for both attacks, right? Someone double check that?

Two attacks at 4/5 dice is scary, especially if he happens to have a FCS on him as well

She can fluff either of his attacks, but not both.

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output. If you just fly it naked, then you might as well just use an Ion Cannon Turret. Either Recon Specialist, Kyle Crew, or Mold Crow title all cost 3 points.

So Blaster Turret really costs 7 points. And conversely, you could spend those 3 points on getting another ship an action, which would boost its damage output. So you are boosting the damage of Blaster Turret instead of something else. In a 3-ship list, occasionally it works out that that is optimal for that particular squad. But it is rarely the most universally optimal choice.

Having said that, the winning list at the Spanish Nationals, attendance 149, was:

Airen Cracken + Swarm Tactics

Roark + Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow + Chewbacca

2x Blue Squadron Pilot + Fire-Control System

Blaster Turret is optional in this squad, in my opinion. You could make it work fine with an Ion Cannon Turret. The main draw, I think, is the PS12 and extra action shenanigans.

I think the Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow is better in this list. If you slow your approach you can get some good reserve focuses that can be used for more than just attacking. A focus reserve can be used for defense also, especially when focus-fired. Adding Chewie to that only makes the focus reserve from Moldy Crow that much more effective.

The blaster turret is also good in this list as a good Phantom deterrent. 3+focus vs 2 defense dice has a good chance of doing some serious damage to a Phantom and could potentially one-shot it (small chance). It's also more effective than an Ion turret in regards to large ships (YTs, Decimator, etc).

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output.

Not that I think you will disagree with this statement...

But half the point of the list was to find a way to make Blaster Turret worth taking, which I think he did. It may not be a list you are likely to see winning worlds, it's a good list and would be fun to fly I think. Plus Kyle really does do something to remove the biggest drawback of Blaster Turret.

I would go with Horton in the Y-wing w/ 2 Proton Torpedoes, Blaster Turret, R2-D6, and Deadeye. This way he just does a Focus each turn and either fires either his torpedoes or Blaster and gets 2 re-rolls (except range 1).

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output. If you just fly it naked, then you might as well just use an Ion Cannon Turret. Either Recon Specialist, Kyle Crew, or Mold Crow title all cost 3 points.

So Blaster Turret really costs 7 points. And conversely, you could spend those 3 points on getting another ship an action, which would boost its damage output. So you are boosting the damage of Blaster Turret instead of something else. In a 3-ship list, occasionally it works out that that is optimal for that particular squad. But it is rarely the most universally optimal choice.

Having said that, the winning list at the Spanish Nationals, attendance 149, was:

Airen Cracken + Swarm Tactics

Roark + Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow + Chewbacca

2x Blue Squadron Pilot + Fire-Control System

Blaster Turret is optional in this squad, in my opinion. You could make it work fine with an Ion Cannon Turret. The main draw, I think, is the PS12 and extra action shenanigans.

MJ and others: Have you seen on TeamCovenant the Rebel solutions for the meta/Phantom. That writer has used blaster turret Moldy crow EVERY time. Why?

Why on such a reputable forum???

This looks like a list from off there.

Also in that game that was features on this forum with Sunny Ravncourt and the Death Blossom move with Doug and Dom playing Tie Swarm and HWKBBB did he use Ion or Blaster?

Horton does not get elite pilot skills.

Horton does not get elite pilot skills.

He can with R2-D6 (who only costs 1pt) which gives your pilot an EPT.

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output.

Not that I think you will disagree with this statement...

But half the point of the list was to find a way to make Blaster Turret worth taking, which I think he did. It may not be a list you are likely to see winning worlds, it's a good list and would be fun to fly I think. Plus Kyle really does do something to remove the biggest drawback of Blaster Turret.

Yeah, I agree. It's not game-breaking good, but it is OK. You could probably optimize it a little more without Blaster Turret, but my main hesitation with this squad is simply having 3 small base ships. One of these days I will get around to mathing out a house rule for blaster turret that is appropriate.

The problem with Blaster Turret is that it requires another 3 points to give it a useful damage output. If you just fly it naked, then you might as well just use an Ion Cannon Turret. Either Recon Specialist, Kyle Crew, or Mold Crow title all cost 3 points.

So Blaster Turret really costs 7 points. And conversely, you could spend those 3 points on getting another ship an action, which would boost its damage output. So you are boosting the damage of Blaster Turret instead of something else. In a 3-ship list, occasionally it works out that that is optimal for that particular squad. But it is rarely the most universally optimal choice.

Having said that, the winning list at the Spanish Nationals, attendance 149, was:

Airen Cracken + Swarm Tactics

Roark + Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow + Chewbacca

2x Blue Squadron Pilot + Fire-Control System

Blaster Turret is optional in this squad, in my opinion. You could make it work fine with an Ion Cannon Turret. The main draw, I think, is the PS12 and extra action shenanigans.

MJ and others: Have you seen on TeamCovenant the Rebel solutions for the meta/Phantom. That writer has used blaster turret Moldy crow EVERY time. Why?

Why on such a reputable forum???

This looks like a list from off there.

Also in that game that was features on this forum with Sunny Ravncourt and the Death Blossom move with Doug and Dom playing Tie Swarm and HWKBBB did he use Ion or Blaster?

Of his 7 suggested HWK squads, 6 out of 7 used Blaster Turret. And virtually any squad he even thinks about much less plays has a PS6+ ship with Engine Upgrade or boost as a native action. More to the point, his squad in the Team Covenant Open is 58 Dash, which he is 4-0 with, and has only lost 1 ship. But that's another discussion entirely.

Dom had 3x Blue's, and Roark + Ion Cannon + Chewbacca.

Horton does not get elite pilot skills.

He does if if takes R2-D6.

Blaster Turret is not considered useless. It is considered very useful on a HWK, just not other ships.

I usually try to squeeze the points for it if I can. The damage output if you have any action sharing just goes up so much more than the ion cannon. Dead things don't shoot. Ionied things still have actions and shots. I do like an ion for disruption, but most of the time the times you ion somthing back to back a 3 dice focused shot twice would have just killed it instead.

I've been advocating blaster on Roark for awhile. Roark + 2 B's + another ship is a tough list. If that last one is Biggsy then even more so.

Wow, I was not expecting such a positive response from this. MJ, I still agree with you in that more often than not, the ion is better since it's basically 7 points to make the blaster work. But at one of things I've struggled with 3 ship lists these days is the fire power - which is gimped with an Ion (or a 2 dice attack... which I seem to find one or the other in all of my lists).

In a similar vein, I like this list.

Biggs Darklighter (27)
R7 Astromech

Nera Dantels (43)
Fire-Control System, Advanced Proton Torpedoes, Proton Torpedoes, Deadeye, B-Wing/E2, Recon Specialist

Roark Garnet (30)
Blaster Turret, Recon Specialist, Shield Upgrade

I don't think the blaster without predator/Lonewolf is all that good. Without the reroll it is not that consistent.

I don't think the blaster without predator/Lonewolf is all that good. Without the reroll it is not that consistent.

I entirely disagree with that statement. I've been using a HWK with Blaster Turret ever since it was released. The biggest benefit would be that typically, most players disregard the HWK for being a mere "support ship" and just let it roam the board at will, until it's too late to do anything about it.