So I got the GR-75 expansion as a gift and so far not a fan. I've tried to use it in a number of 150 point games to no avail. Different loadouts have had no effect so far either. For its cost it seems to have very little effect on the battlefield to the point where a few of my opponents have outright ignored it. When they don't ignore it it goes down like a sack of rocks because the only time it can defend it if I use Reinforce and thus consomme its action making if even more useless since I can't Jam or Coordinate. I hate this thing.

However looking around it seems I'm the minority here. So I'm going to ask people who have more experience than I with the game; How do I make this thing useful? I also think I may be using it wrong. Please don't tell me to simply ram smaller ships with it either.

I don't want to sound snarky, but using the transport in the intended 300pt Epic format as an action passer/stealer is really the way to make it shine. If you have a free afternoon and a couple buddies, a 2v2 with 200pts per person is really fun!

I agree with InstantAequitas. I haven't heard of any wildly successful GR-75 adventures at the 150 point level. But I can't really give advice because I've never run mine. I have flown the CR-90 a few times, but I mostly got the transport for the X-wings.

We've done loads of 150-point match ups at our FLGS, and I've used the GR75 a number of times. It's a blast (and not in the *boom* space dust kind of blast...)

What are you using as a load-out for it? That can make a huge difference to how successful it is, or isn't. You're remembering to use your "Energy" phase right, prior to the normal "Action" one? The rule section is kind of slipped in, so I find it's easy to miss what order to do it in as it's not clearly spelled out for Huge Ships and their extra steps for them.

This way, with the Energy phase, you're spending your Energy on other events like Comms Booster (my favourite), then for your Action use either Jam (with an equipped Frequency Jammer to stress an extra ship at range 1 from your target, especially useful with the Dutyfree title as you can Jam to range 3) or use Toryn Farr and really mess up the enemy ships and leave them vulnerable to your attack.

I'll use something like this for 56-point loadout leaving me 94 points for a fighter squad - almost a normal list really.

GR-75 Medium Transport 30
Toryn Farr 6
Comms Booster 4
Frequency Jammer 4
Combat Retrofit 10 (to buff the HP/Shields)
Dutyfree 2

From my experience, it's amazing but you need to keep the fight close to it. If your fighters stray away from it, they'll lose whatever benefits it can grant - and there's some pretty impressive ones.

And never underestimate the value of simply ramming something. It's very satisfying when the enemy ships go *squish*.

Keep it cheap, move it aggressively and use it to buff your other ships or de-buff the enemy. Don't worry so much about defence - if your opponent is attacking the transport, they're not attacking the ships which will be doing the damage.

GR-75 - Slicer Tools, Comms Booster, Duty Free

The Duty Free title improves your jam action, the cargo provides energy-based effects. Comms Booster buffs your stressed ships, Slicer Tools will dissuade the enemy from K-turning or using Push the Limit. You could also swap out the Slicer Tools for Jan Dodonna for an always-active passive effect or the Targeting Co-ordinator card from the CR-90 if you have it.

Can't tell you what you're doing wrong if we don't know what you're loading it up as.

Also remember that it starts on full energy.

The JamBus is the best way to run the GR-75, imo.
Max stress, really really crimps elite pilots from hitting hard, and by taking away their red maneuvers makes them much more predictable.

GR-75, Dutyfree title, Frequency Jammer, Raymus Antilles (optional), Engine Booster (optional, but fun). 45 pts.

This can put out up to 4 stress a turn on 2-3 ships, and costs you zero energy to use (unless you pop the engine booster)

Why the engine booster at all?

For surprise ramming!

No, you can't ram in the boost action, but you can use it to push your turns out further, catching people off guard sometimes

i.e., boost 1 fwd, then execute the 2 gentle for maximum reach...

If it dies too fast, I recommend a Backup shield generator (3 pts), which lets you burn spare energy in the end phase to regen shields, and lets you keep your actions for offense (and the above method burns almost zero energy, so you can dump it all into shields should you choose)

Lastly, mid-late game, when the enemy team ships all have 3-5 stress on them, you may wish that you had brought a slicer, to stress them apart.

But they cost so much! (7 pts)

Your Mileage May Vary!

So, 36 pts for the light stressbus minimum using the above.

I had it used against me, and the Baron got jammed by it,AND had a flecette torpedo fired at him.... 3 stress... he sucked for quite a while, and then they just re-jammed him (much tears)

Enjoy!

the build above is pretty good, though whether combat refit is worth it or not is debatable. I dont think a 50 point support ship works in a 150 point game. you are outgunned and outnumbered by too great a margin. 200 to 300 point games the transport rocks. think of it like a giant biggs but with garvin and squad leader thrown in as well. Let it buff your ships. I love comms booster and torryn farr, as above. make sure your are up on the latest FAQ with epic, as it does change some things, notably starting with full energy as mentioned above. I usually would not sink more than 50 points into it myslef, so I tend to leave the combat refit off. YMMV.

in a 150 point game, you dont have enough ships to support to make it worth it, and it's at least a third of your points gone. while I have seen it succeed in a 150 point game, I would not run it under 200 myself. in a 150 point game, I'd think about the hawk if I'm looking for a support ship.