With the impending release of Wave 5, most of the focus has been on Dash Rendar and the various builds he represents. The initial concern over the Decimator has largely died down as the impact of zero agility has become more obvious. Still, this is a fun and viable craft. I wanted to explore pairing this craft with one of the more venerable large base ships, the Firespray. This craft, capable of firing in two directions with a good dial and stat line, poses a serious threat to the enemies of galactic peace.
This article is intended to explore a number of Decimator/Firespray builds, speaking to their strengths and weaknesses. This is not intended as an exhaustive list and more to encourage more exploration of these craft.
Builds:
Boba Fett (39)
Outmaneuver (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Moff Jerjerrod (2)
Intelligence Agent (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Boba Fett has been largely maligned due to his pilot ability. A large base ship, on a field of asteroids with a cliff off which the spaceships can fall, rarely has two possible banks that are viable. Further, better players who are better at predicting opponents get less use out of the ability. It can be useful, but it rarely has a major impact on a game.
That said, Fett should not be dismissed. With PS8, he is quite effective against the new Dash for instance. He has an EPT which can be put to good use in a number of ways. Outmaneuver is one such interesting upgrade on the Firespray.
When a ship with outmaneuver has an enemy in their firing arc and that enemy does not have the attacking in their firing arc, that enemy loses 1 agility against the attack. It should be noted that the Auxiliary Firing Arc on the Firespray counts as an arc. This is both in defense against Outmaneuver and when attacking with it. Fett can thus catch an enemy with the rear firing arc, reduce their agility, and perform a devastating attack. Further, Fett now has been Boost action thanks to Engine upgrade. This allows him to adjust his firing arcs to bring cannons to bear on victims or to escape their firing arcs.
Rear Admiral Chiraneau's ability is quite potent. At range 1-2 when attacking, Chirpy may change one Eye to a Crit result. As this ability is not an immediate ability, Target Lock can be used to reroll attack dice first. This largely negates the purpose of the focus action, as with zero Agility, there is little purpose in keeping it for defense. Chirpy is also PS10 with Veteran Instincts, allowing him to swiftly punish Phantoms. Add to this, engine upgrade allows Chirpy to boost out of arc or into close range of an enemy to activate his ability. Finally, Intel Agent is of limited usefulness in this build with two high PS ships. But Intel Agent has another purpose. Moff Jerjerrod is all too eager to throw this hapless crewman out the airlock to flip a crit face-down before sacrificing himself for the same. In this way, Chirpy is able to protect against two possibly game-changing crits over the course of the game.
This build has the capability to maul Phantom and Interceptor builds with regularity, due to large firing arcs and high PS shooting and movement. Further, Fett can chase down Fat Han, denying that ships Agility against his attacks and thus negating C-3P0. He is lower PS, so it will take some finess, but Intel Agent can aid in detecting the enemy movement plans. The list doesn't fair well against a skillfully flown swarm, as both craft can be focused down. Engine Upgrade helps, allowing both ships to boost out of arcs. It's a viable, fun list but it suffers a bit from low firepower (as dual falcons does) and action starvation (boosting means a lot of unmodified attack and defense rolls).
Boba Fett (39)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Proton Bombs (5)
Tactician (2)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Patrol Leader (40)
Tactician (2)
Tactician (2)
Gunner (5)
Here, we see Fett again. Replacing Outmaneuver with Veteran Instincts makes him PS10 and a serious threat. Engine Upgrade is retained to allow him to ruthelessly pursue prey or to escape firing arcs, while gaining it himself. Tactician is an interesting addition because, when he attacks at range 2 out of either firing arc, his opponent gains a stress token. If that opponent is being chased by Fett, this could well ensure the craft cannot escape or K-Turn to engage. Finally, because Fett moves at PS10, a Proton Bomb is an interesting possibility. The vast majority of ships will move before Fett. This gives him the best possible choice. If high value targets are in the bomb radius, he may drop his bomb causing havok and destruction. If not, he keeps it and the threat of the bomb will force the enemy to avoid that region of space next turn.
Paired with this threat is a Patrol Leader. At PS3, this craft is still a potent enemy. On board we find two Tacticians. When the Patrol Leader shoots at a target in his arc at range 2, both Tacticians lend a hand to add two stress to the target. One stress usually mandates the enemy fly a green maneuver next turn to ensure they get an action, but two means that they are actionless for at least a full turn. But this is coupled with Gunner. If the first attack misses, the ship can perform another attack. This may be a different target. If the new target is in arc at range 2, it gets two stress. This could mean two attacks against a single target giving it 4 stress (FIVE if Fett also added one) meaning it will likely never act again. Against ships which need actions to survive, this could well be a death sentence.
This pairing can wreak stressful mayhem on the unwary. After the first couple rounds of engagement, the enemy will likely escape the range 2 arc of the Patrol Leader, though it will force them to fly differently. The two Tacticians and Gunner is more a gimmick than a tournament winning strategy. Crushing if successful, but avoided with moderate ease. Still, even out of arc, Patrol Leader with Gunner is not to be underestimated. All the while Fett is hunting prey down like the bounty hunter he is.
Kath Scarlet (38)
Lone Wolf (2)
Recon Specialist (3)
Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)
Expose (4)
Ysanne Isard (4)
Experimental Interface (3)
Kath Scarlet is another Firespray pilot with a lackluster ability that rarely comes into play. When the enemy cancels one of her Crit results, they get a stress. As crits show up, on average, once in three attack rolls with 3 attack dice and are the last results to be canceled those few times that the ability would work the players are almost sure to forget it. As such, she is often seen more as an EPT carrier rather than for her ability.
That said, she has her uses. Lone Wolf is an interesting upgrade for her. When she is out of range 1-2 of a friendly ship, she may reroll one blank when attacking or defending. In a list with a single friendly ship, this can be a potent ability. Coupled with a Recon Specialist, that often means two evade results on a defense and a focused attack.
Chirpy here has an interesting combo. First, Ysanne Isard is a potent defensive ability for Chirpy. After taking 5 damage, at the beginning of each combat round he may take a free evade action. This ensures that the Decimator cancels one hit every turn.
Expose is often regarded poorly. It costs an EPT slot, which is the most valuable slot in the game. 4 points is a steep cost, only rivaled by Opportunist. It decreases the agility of the carrier by 1, leading to more absorbed damage. Most damningly, however, it costs an action. Any attack with +1 attack die is worse than adding a focus or TL.
Experimental Interface states that, when a ship takes an action, it make activate EI to perform one free action of any upgrade with the 'Acton:' header. Here's how this all comes together.
Chirpy moves as normal. Upon completion, if the Decimator was not blocked or otherwise prevented from taking an action, at the start of combat he gets a free evade action. This triggers Experiment Interface which in turn activates Expose. This gives Chirpy a stress and reduces his agility to zero from zero. Chirpy now has a base 4 attack dice, a stress, an evade token, no agility penalty, possibly a TL on his victim and an opponent in serious trouble.
It is important to note that Range 3 and asteroid bonuses are not bonuses to Agility. They are extra defense dice. Thus, they are not impacted by reductions to Agility.
Krassis Trelix (36)
Heavy Laser Cannon (7)
Tactician (2)
Captain Oicunn (42)
Predator (3)
Mara Jade (3)
Proton Bombs (5)
Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)
Krassis is an interesting Firespray pilot. When attacking with secondary weapons, he may reroll one attack die. As such, he is often paired with HLC as he is here. HLC allows him to roll 4 attack dice at all ranges, with a reroll at range 2-3 and denying the range 3 bonus defense to the enemy. Paired with a Tactician for adding stress at range 2, there is no good range to engage this craft.
Things become more difficult for the enemy due to Captain Oicunn. If Oicunn rams an enemy craft, that ship takes one damage. As Oicunn is often ramming, Predator helps alleviate the lost actions by allowing all his attacks to reroll 1 die, plus an extra die for attacking PS2 or lower victims. Any ships still within range 1 of Oicunn at the end of the turn get a stress if they don't already have one, eliminating the ability of most ships to K-Turn to get behind him.
The Range 1 fun is still not over. If an enemy ship runs into Oicunn instead of the other way around, they suffer one damage 50% of the time. Finally, any ship must think very hard to going directly behind Oicunn as they risk a proton bomb to the face. Proton Bombs result in a craft suffering one face-up damage. This bypasses shields and can cripple or even destroy ships.
With Krassis sitting at range lobbing rocks into the fray and Oicunn causing chaos and destruction to hapless foes, this combo could bring ruination to the unwary.
Boba Fett (39)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Mara Jade (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Commander Kenkirk (44)
Lone Wolf (2)
Ysanne Isard (4)
Countermeasures (3)
Fett returns to this list. With VI, he is a PS 10 threat who can shoot first and move last in most situation. Engine Upgrade allows him to arc dance and to adjust his firing arc. Here, he also has Mara Jade sitting next to him. Thus, as he is chasing down the enemy, he can ensure they are constantly stressed to deny actions and make them more predictable. Able to boost into range 1, he should be able to hound his prey quite effectively.
He is joined by Kenkirk. When Kenkirk takes 5 damage, he gains an ability die. This is usually not particularly worthwhile. This is coupled with Ysanne Isard, giving him 1 agility and a free evade action every turn. Lone Wolf allows him to reroll one blank attack and defense, further increasing his potency and survivability. Countermeasures are interesting, as this card can be discarded at the beginning of the combat phase. Upon so doing, one TL is canceled, which could prevent ordnance to be dumped into him. This also increases his agility for a turn. As such, for one turn the Decimator could be a 2 agility ship with a reroll on every defense. This craft will live far longer than expected
Bounty Hunter (33)
Proximity Mines (3)
Captain Oicunn (42)
Proximity Mines (3)
Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)
Proximity Mines (3)
This was inevitable. Three ships, so not strictly a Firespray/Decimator build, this still poses an interesting challenge to the opponent. Fancy upgrades and costly abilities are stripped out of the build for raw hull and firepower.
Proximity Mines have been explored a lot recently. These devices are dropped 1 speed behind a ship as an action. Any ship that touches the mine with base or template suffers three unavoidable damage. Here one is found on all three ships.
The Scimitar Squadron Pilot is 16 points. 2 attack dice, 2 agility, and 6 hull with a good dial means that this is a threat. Add in 3 points for the prox mine and this 19 point monster can move before most ships, use its action to drop 3 dice of damage on its victim, and still shoot that round. Capable and durable, this ship lasts longer than expected and do enough damage over the course of a damge to be worth every point put into him.
The Bounty Hunter is PS3, with the well known Firespray stat line and threat level. It can move before most large threats. As such, it can fly passed an enemy and spend its action to drop a prox mine on a vulnerable craft. This will do 3 immediate dice of damage to the target. If this is not sufficient, the Firespray's rear arc can follow-up on this attack to cause even more damage.
Oicunn moves at PS4. With his turret, he can pose a threat to all ships in a wide area. He can ram, causing one immediate damage. If he can't ram, he can still move passed the enemy and drop a prox mine for 3 dice of damage.
Taken all together, this could be 9 dice of prox mines in the activation phase, followed by 8-11 attack dice in the combat phase. Far higher damage output than expected from 3 ships, even if it is unmodified. This list is not to be underestimated.
Conclusion:
These two craft pair fairly well. Both are survivable and can pose a serious threat to the enemy. Not invincible and vulnerable to certain builds, this pairing still poses a fun and new challenge. Further, both ships are highly customizable and this will only increase as new upgrades are released. This means that these builds can fly very differently and surprise the opponent with new tactics and threats. They should not be dismissed as a gimmick or a non-threat to any list. Beware Decimation by Fire.
