I like to think I've got a pretty good handle on the game, and I understand why certain pilots can do great things, but Corran Horn escapes me. Players talk about him like he's a rock star if played correctly, but I'm missing something. I get that he spikes damage really hard, and that he recovers hp via R2-D2, but I don't understand what moves him from "solid choice" to "game-changing". Can anyone with experience help me out on this one?

play him with PTL+R2D2+sensor jammer+ stealth device.. Nearly impossible to hit. first turn is all offence next turn is all defense...

As the meta moves towards 2 ship builds Corran's tanking ability becomes more and more valuable. And so does the doubletap.

It pretty much is the combo of solid defence with CRAZY damage spike potential. No other ship in the game can match the sheer potential damage output on a single turn, and the following turn he can just go full defensive and reposition.

He does so much damage the enemy simply must deal with him...no "ifs", "buts" or "maybe later", now. And that draws attention from the remainder of your list, and he still doesn't drop easy.

For me, the trick with Corran is not to use his ability every turn. Use it when you're in Range 1 to put the hurt on someone, or especially if that second shot will destroy something. I really like PTL, FCS, R2-D2, EU. Shoot twice, then get out of dodge.

For most ships, the trick to flying is finding the perfect balance of getting shots and dodging shots. For a B-Wing, that usually means doing whatever it takes to get a good shot -- you don't really care about arc-dodging. For Interceptors, that means only taking shots when it is most opportune to do so, and running and hiding when it's not.

Corran breaks that mold. He lets you focus solely on offense one turn, and then solely on defense the next WITHOUT losing any offensive ability. He's like an Interceptor, but doesn't lose shots due to those turns where you run off and turtle. This makes him especially good in the current high-attack meta.

Plus, a ship with one hull left is still capable of doing damage. Two attacks on one turn can eliminate that ship; but one attack on one turn might leave it alive long enough to fire next turn, before you get in that second shot. Only rarely will Corran leave a ship limping, but alive.

His ability makes his play style incredibly unique. No other ship can basically oscillate between offense rounds and defense rounds with little to no penalty. It takes awhile to grasp, but once you do if you play against people who don't realize what they are up against you can stomp them pretty reliably. High PS just makes this even more true. In a one-on-one situation there isn't really any ship in the game that can handle a loaded Corran. And when they die he'll probably at full health.

Extropia I think has summed it up pretty good. With the righ upgrades he can be a monster. I have found that builds need to cater for the fact you may have to deal with him. This has a double benefit that if you can deal with horn you probably deal with whisper and fel when autothrusters comes out.

But the break down for me come in to play when he has advanced censors as that 2 actions with ptl with a green to clear the stress straight up. Then it's 2 unstoppable actions either defensive or offensive you chose what you need when you need it. So yes green dice do fail but when you have 3/4 shields that can regenerate its not so bad as you can usually handle a bad round of dice rolls plus you still have your evade and focus tokin to help.

The double tap is gold to finish off a ship on say 1 or 2 health, also this plays into your regen of your shields as your going to go off anyway even better if you have one less threat to worry about.

Stress and control list can shut him down though but that's not as easy as it sounds.

As others have already described, the damage potential is what makes Corran a 'rock star'. He is however fairly fragile and will succumb quickly to concentrated fire. Also, to get the most out of his ability and tactics you need to load him up with a lot of upgrades. Basically he's very high risk to play, but the reward when he pays off is equally great.

Thanks for the insight so far. Looking at his dial and options, it seems like he's more of a passive tank than an arc dodger. You get 3 green dice, Evade+Focus with PTL, and a shield at the end because of R2D2. Am I understanding this correctly? I suppose with PTL and barrel roll + Engine Upgrade, you can be as shifty as anything. You tank if you can't dodge, and scoot if you can?

Thanks for the insight so far. Looking at his dial and options, it seems like he's more of a passive tank than an arc dodger. You get 3 green dice, Evade+Focus with PTL, and a shield at the end because of R2D2. Am I understanding this correctly? I suppose with PTL and barrel roll + Engine Upgrade, you can be as shifty as anything. You tank if you can't dodge, and scoot if you can?

Because his a Jedi.

Thanks for the insight so far. Looking at his dial and options, it seems like he's more of a passive tank than an arc dodger. You get 3 green dice, Evade+Focus with PTL, and a shield at the end because of R2D2. Am I understanding this correctly? I suppose with PTL and barrel roll + Engine Upgrade, you can be as shifty as anything. You tank if you can't dodge, and scoot if you can?

VI Advanced Sensors R2-D2 Engine.

Best arc-dodger in the game.

We need Whistler, ewar astromech.

Don't forget the good ol' FCS to make that second attack as good as the first

Don't forget the good ol' FCS to make that second attack as good as the first

9/10, the second shot is even better. You have a guaranteed TL, and they ikely have no focus/evade/Stealth Device/ect. IMO this is what makes this ability even scarier. I rarely play as the Terrorists, but Corran/Dash is fun as all hell to play.

Dark Curse with Stealth Device (assuming it lasts long enough) is a great counter to Corran's double tap and really ensures that his FCS points are wasted so long as you have some other bodies to throw at Corran (and keep out of his arc!).

However, the fighter's two damage die really just aren't enough. End-game Corran is deadly unless you can get lucky with attack rolls or Corran gets unlucky with defense rolls. The ability to K-turn, double tap, take some hits (or none at all), green maneuver to recover shield + turtle up, then repeat the K-turn firing is nigh impossible to counter if it comes down to 1-on-1 fighting.

His popular companion right now seems to be Super Dash, and while I've lately been taking out Super Dash first (and quite reliably) I'm beginning to think Corran is the larger threat. The only issue is, if Corran doesn't go down soon, you can open yourself up to potentially 12 damage dice in a single turn through Corran's range 1 double tap and Dash's HLC bombardment. It makes for some fun scenarios to fly against and victory that much sweeter, though!

I used Corran Horn the other day in a 75 point game teamed up with Cracken who was armed with Cluster Missiles against Boba Fett. Cracken went first and fired his cluster missiles giving Corran two extra actions. Corran target locked, and used marksmanship then followed up Cracken's Missiles with two shots at range one. Slave 1 was defeated in the very first round of shots.

Maybe Corran is worth the cost after all...

Because
Jedi

Hmm, Should i run:

Or

Assuming i can get lonewolf to trigger every turn. I am getting better at judging distances after maneuvers.

Also, Would:

be better than just R2D2?

Corran is good, but can be dogged down. He is very powerful, and the double tap is enough to damage and or kill anything in the known universe that is on a small base. There are several builds of him, but the one i am scared most of is:

Corran Horne

Push the Limits

R2-D2

Shield Upgrade

Fire Control System

However, if you can engage him at range 2 with some concentrated fire, he normally goes down quickly. often, putting 3 or 4 damage on him in a turn is enough to make the pilot burn off his double tap in one turn at less than optimal results, and from there, it's unlikely he will kill his target with 6 dice (although whisper is in trouble, and Soontir can be if he didn't focus up with PTL) but is enough damage to hopefully put the rebel pilot in a "use him or loose him" capacity (even more so if you can do it with HLC at range 4) and from there, Soontir and SOMETHING or Wedge and SOMETHING else can hopefully get a shot few shots on him next turn, putting him in complete defensive mode with 3 or 4 health left, and you should be able to get that though in a turn with concentrated fire.

Where Corran gets freaking scary is when the other pilot doesnt take the bait, and knows just how far they can push the edge, and get the range 1 double taps, because i have lost 2 ties in one turn to him before, and i have had one shuttle go down to 2 hull against him in one turn before, so when you get some damage on him, stay on him and dont let him recover.

You will often see him with Biggs Darklighter to protect him, with Dash Rendar flying buddy with him, or with a few other heavy hitters like B-Wings with HLC, or escorted by some Tala group pilots to give him some finishing shots on whatever he didn't kill with his double tap. He can be hard to kill, and if there is Biggs he can be very difficult to deal with, because you have to chew through Biggs, who is probably protecting him exclusively, and that can take an amazing amount of pressure and damage to do, allowing Corran extra time to set up his kill shot. Many times, he will take the shot at range 3 just to get that target lock first, allowing him to focus up and maintain target lock going into his double tap turn, and that means that if he can close to range 1 he will almost always (or at least it feels that way) hit with ALL 8 DICE, and thats going to kill an aweful lot.

As an Imperial player I simply hate his ability coupled with high PS. Any Squint that isn't Fel shoots after him, as does any Phantom other than Whisper with VI. If the Rebel players knows you're bringing either then he simply straps on VI instead of PTL and is sitting on PS10, which you can't match, and so you cannot even remotely think about jousting with him, even if he's sat on 2hp. Vs something like the YTs you can at least wear shields down over time while using rocks for cover, R2-D2 precludes that.

Of course he can also do horrendous damage to a Decimator or Shuttle with their almost complete absence of defence capability, resulting in them eating a minimum of 6 damage or more every time he strafes them. Swarm is just about the only thing Imperial that he doesn't hose.

Hmm, Should i run:

This one has my vote

Or

Assuming i can get lonewolf to trigger every turn. I am getting better at judging distances after maneuvers.

Probably not

Also, Would:

be better than just R2D2?

I don't think so. Green dice are fickle. Here, you take a stress to gain one green die. This keeps you from performing your extra actions that Corran loves so much.

Hmm, Should i run:

This one has my vote

Or

Assuming i can get lonewolf to trigger every turn. I am getting better at judging distances after maneuvers.

Probably not

Also, Would:

be better than just R2D2?

I don't think so. Green dice are fickle. Here, you take a stress to gain one green die. This keeps you from performing your extra actions that Corran loves so much.

Agreed. What makes R2D2 so good on the E-wing is that the ship has the shield HP and agility to live through a bad turn and R2D2 lets you rebuild to do it again. Corran's double-tap lets you flirt with those bad turns. Overexposing yourself for a range 1 shot is silly. Doing it for 2 good shots might be worth it. Doing it for 2 shots when you can rebuild your shields actually starts looking pretty good.

No other ship in the game can match the sheer potential damage output on a single turn

Opportunist Fett with vader and clusters can. For one turn.