And it was super fun! I really enjoyed the way that each of IG88B and IG88C play together pretty well. There's something about being able to both boost and evade, and then the second attack using a Cannon...

I ran them like this, both with the same upgrades:

IG88 B/C

- IG2000 (duh)

- Inertial Dampners

- Fire Control System

- Heavy Laser Cannon

- Mangler Cannon

One thing I discovered is that the Fire Control System and the IG88B thing with the "fire a secondary cannon if you whiff with your primary" is pretty stinking fantastic. You attack at range three, roll one hit, that gets evaded, and then you get a target lock. Enter rolling a Heavy Laser Cannon attack at range three and you're now rolling one more dice, your opponent is rolling one less, and you have that target lock to spend. It's a pretty nifty combo to get you a target locked attack without having to take the target lock action, which allows you to boost (and get an evade in this combo) or evade, or focus, or whatever. I love that combo.

Another thing I discovered is that Inertial Dampners can be very powerful in the right circumstances, but out of two rounds I only used it once (potential of 4 uses). I used it well, but I'm not sure that it's %100 necessary. However, in the right spot it can be very surprising. Considering that you can only fire one direction, not in several directions as most other large ships, it makes this card potentially game changing. However, because it's situational I'm not sure it's going to be as auto-include as the FCS/HLC, but it's useful.

I took the second cannon, the Mangler, because I anticipated the potential for being at range one and whiffing my roll, which would then enable me to fire the Mangler while I couldn't fire the HLC. I never used it once. A couple times I thought about using it instead of the HLC, but each time I couldn't escape that 4 dice are better than 3. I guess the text of the Mangler is useful, in that the attack gets to upgrade to crits, but I couldn't take the 1 dice less. I got a few 4 hit/crit combos out of the HLC with the Target locks. I'm left asking the question - why does IG88 have 2 cannon slots?

I think next time I'll likely drop the Intertial Dampners for Hot Shots, and the Manglers for something else.

Jacob

I don't think you need to attack with your primary weapon in order to use the ability of B. At least the way I read it your first attack just needs to not hit. Your first attack can miss with the HLC and then the B's ability kicks in and you use HLC again. You just can't trigger B's ability at range 1 because of the HCL restrictions.

Inertial Dampeners aren't the slickest upgrade, but they remind me of FCS in that they offer a ton of value for a very low cost.

Like you, I took the Robots for a spin today. B+C, mirror builds (Pred, Mangler, Sensors, Autothrusters, Dampeners, Title, and an extra Seismic on C). The Dampeners helped me win a game I had no business winning, in which I would have been fairly helpless had I not had the opportunity to unexpectedly jam things up. It was versus Whisper and Echo; it ran around 8-10 rounds, and I took something like 4-5 shots all game, doing a pathetic amount of damage (like, one shield, I think?). But with the Dampeners I was able to coerce both Phantoms onto/through asteroids, deny one or two likely kill-shots, and set up a lucky shot for myself on the last turn which got rid of Whisper and took the game.

I almost brought Feedback Arrays, and while they would have helped me get reliable damage through, they might have caused me to die before I could take out a Phantom. I like the Hotshot, but it's fairly pricy for a one-use ability (and makes it too tempting to drop Autothrusters for a Failsafe). I guess it could pair nicely with FCS, though.

I can't bring myself to take HLCs. B's ability is too good, and I've spent enough time whiffing at R1 to want a cannon that can give me a mulligan from that distance.

I think the HLC is pretty important to keep this build competitive, as are the FCS upgrades. When you're only firing at most two shots, you need those shots to count. I was able to land damage with both ships consistently, and probably at an average of 3 damage at a time, probably an average of two damage applied per instance.

At range one, this thing throws 4 dice anyway. Like with a Firespray, it's 4 dice at all three ranges.

I hadn't thought to look through the EPTs, but I can see that Predator would increase the potential for applied damage. But I think it's unnecessary.

I have some ideas for my next trip out with these things. I'm curious with how others would adjust my build, so I won't tip my hand quite yet.

Jacob

I think HLC/FCS is a great combo to have when you run into Whisper or Echo. You are not going to get a lot of shots off so your attacks better bite. The same applies to Soontir or other high PS interceptors with Stealth/ATs. I just feel the Mangler doesn´t bring enough since those throw 4 green dice with an AT-evade at range 3. Another nice thing about HLC/FCS is that you can actually get crits on the TL reroll so you can somewhat make up for the crits the Mangler would have given you.

Which of the B/C combo do you think is the weakest, or would target first as a priority if I were to play against such a build?

I don't think you need to attack with your primary weapon in order to use the ability of B. At least the way I read it your first attack just needs to not hit. Your first attack can miss with the HLC and then the B's ability kicks in and you use HLC again. You just can't trigger B's ability at range 1 because of the HCL restrictions.

You could if you equip another cannon upgrade that has range 1 but that get a little heavy on the point cost.

Which of the B/C combo do you think is the weakest, or would target first as a priority if I were to play against such a build?

Always go after b first. If you succeed you leave them with a turtle that you should be able to harass with impunity.

Which of the B/C combo do you think is the weakest, or would target first as a priority if I were to play against such a build?

It depends on your squad makeup. If you are flying low agility ships, BBBBZ for example, then the gunner-like ability of IG-B is nigh useless and IG-C is your higher priority target. Conversely, if you have high agility ships, like a TIE swarm, then IG-B constitutes the greater threat.

Yeah, I agree that it's situational. It depends on what you're flying.

What I noticed is that with the Boost+Evade action available, I used that a lot. These ships are very mobile considering their large base. It's basically like a free MF title and Engine Upgrade without needing Push to take both actions. That's crazy good action economy, but the lack of turret makes it pretty much a necessity.

I'm also going to try other combos, like maybe A&D, and see what else I can come up with, but I really like these two for the style I play.

Jacob

I ran 2 88s the other day, I won with both ships on the board but with 3 total hull left. So I would not say I need to run them like that again. I love C with adv sensors and if I really want to spend the points Autocannon and pred. But I would rather run an 88 and some other ships.

The Mangler is downright nasty against Interceptors (or anything else that is dodgey and doesn't like crits) when you've got Gunner IG in your squad. There's no worse choice to have to make when you're playing Soontir Fel than, "do I spend this evade and risk a new damage roll or do I eat a crit instead?". For 7 points I'd rather take Predator and a Mangler over an HLC.

The Mangler is downright nasty against Interceptors (or anything else that is dodgey and doesn't like crits) when you've got Gunner IG in your squad. There's no worse choice to have to make when you're playing Soontir Fel than, "do I spend this evade and risk a new damage roll or do I eat a crit instead?". For 7 points I'd rather take Predator and a Mangler over an HLC.

The extra red die of the HLC gives you a good damage boost when facing other types of builds though, something like multible B-wings for example. I ran double Manglers the other day and had in fact a horrible time trying to punch a hit through on Soontir with Stealth Device and Autothrusters on one hand and on Whisper on the other. That´s why I´m trying the HLC/FCS combo the next game I get to play.

I ran with HLC+Ion a few weeks ago, and it wasn't bad, but I'd probably rather spend those 3 points on an EPT or Prox Mine.