Looking at the Spring 2015 event we ran last weekend, it occurs to me that 4 of the 5 battles I fought were against a list that included a Firespray. (Good thing I didn't bring my flechette torps - btw, have I mentioned how annoying it is that they trigger or not based only on the original hull of the target ship instead of its current hull level? *sigh*)

The top 5 places for the event included 3 Rebel lists, and 2 Imperial lists...both Imperial lists with a Firespray.

It just seems...to be getting very common.

Mangler Cannon on Kath seems a popular pairing, for example. And that the forward and aft arc are counted as 'fire arcs' for purpose of interaction with autothrusters (IE., you don't get the blank->evade conversion unless at range 3) also seems to help improve their current utility.

Anyone else seeing similar?

Looking at the Spring 2015 event we ran last weekend, it occurs to me that 4 of the 5 battles I fought were against a list that included a Firespray. (Good thing I didn't bring my flechette torps - btw, have I mentioned how annoying it is that they trigger or not based only on the original hull of the target ship instead of its current hull level? *sigh*)

The top 5 places for the event included 3 Rebel lists, and 2 Imperial lists...both Imperial lists with a Firespray.

It just seems...to be getting very common.

Mangler Cannon on Kath seems a popular pairing, for example. And that the forward and aft arc are counted as 'fire arcs' for purpose of interaction with autothrusters (IE., you don't get the blank->evade conversion unless at range 3) also seems to help improve their current utility.

Anyone else seeing similar?

Hull doesn't change. It's always what it says on the ship card, or +1 if you have Hull Upgrade. You're destroyed when you've accumulated a number of damage cards equal to or greater than your Hull value.

As for your main question, no, but then again I've hardly managed to get any games in since Store Championships mid-March, between being busy and most of the people at my store going all in on Armada or Doomtown lately instead. I've been wanting to experiment with a dual Firespray list but again, that whole not getting to play many games thing...

I play with a group and as of late have been running oicunn with expose, bounty hunter on the firespray, and a shuttle. Ppl go right for the decimator and seem to forget that the shuttle (while slow) and the firespray also have 10 health each and a three attack dice. By the time they remember (usually when i start shooting haha) its too late. The firespray even though its the generic is the key to the list because next to the decimator it has the best firing arc and since ppl insist on attacking the decimator I have yet to loose the shuttle or the firespray in a game. I'm 3-0 with it

I think it was just a coincidence. Only 1 person in that tourney made top 4 (out of 12) with a Firespray, and he's one of the best players in our area (had I not been so crunched for time that day I would have wanted to play against him). The other 2 players in the top 4 were new(ish) players that, from what I know, have only been playing competitively for a couple of months, and the rest I understand to be mostly tournament regulars in the area.

The fact that our newer players without Firesprays did generally better than our tournament regulars running Firesprays (no offense to our new players, who definitely deserved their wins, but experience should count for something in this game) tells me that the Firespray's overwhelming presence was just because a bunch of people were bored with their lists and just happened to want to try it out that day, not because it's such an amazing ship. Also because there was so much variety in the Firesprays being run that day (more imperial than scum) and based on my own personal experience against the ship.

In my personal experience, the only Firesprays that I see as being truly competitive are Emon with Tactician and multiple Prox Mines, scum Boba Fett with VI and Engine, and scum Kath with HLC and either PTL or K4. I don't think any of the generics or Imperial Firesprays are strong enough to be true competitive powerhouses. This is just my opinion, based on what I've played against and what I've seen in other people's matches. But I definitely don't think we're about to be overrun by all manner of Firespray.

I think it was just a coincidence. Only 1 person in that tourney made top 4 (out of 12) with a Firespray, and he's one of the best players in our area (had I not been so crunched for time that day I would have wanted to play against him). The other 2 players in the top 4 were new(ish) players that, from what I know, have only been playing competitively for a couple of months, and the rest I understand to be mostly tournament regulars in the area.

The fact that our newer players without Firesprays did generally better than our tournament regulars running Firesprays (no offense to our new players, who definitely deserved their wins, but experience should count for something in this game) tells me that the Firespray's overwhelming presence was just because a bunch of people were bored with their lists and just happened to want to try it out that day, not because it's such an amazing ship. Also because there was so much variety in the Firesprays being run that day (more imperial than scum) and based on my own personal experience against the ship.

In my personal experience, the only Firesprays that I see as being truly competitive are Emon with Tactician and multiple Prox Mines, scum Boba Fett with VI and Engine, and scum Kath with HLC and either PTL or K4. I don't think any of the generics or Imperial Firesprays are strong enough to be true competitive powerhouses. This is just my opinion, based on what I've played against and what I've seen in other people's matches. But I definitely don't think we're about to be overrun by all manner of Firespray.

If you read taht again, all you've said is that every pilot exceptionally good except for the Mando Merc, who hasn't found a home. I think that warrants some possibility of the ship being.... good?

If you think you see a lot of them now, wait until all they have access to Extra Munitions and the new bombs...

Firesprays have also been one of the unsung ships from the first few waves. They have never been considered Top Tier previously, aside from maybe triple Bounty Hunter. If they actually have a shot at the prime time for once, good for them. Sounds like that tournament was just a coincidence, however.

They struggle against B's, Fel and loaded Corran. Those things are common enough in many locales that they get beat pretty bad. They are pretty good but some match-ups are just really bad.

If a ship that costs less can kill you about 80% of the time(assuming equal player skill) then you're going to struggle with the current game format.

I've run Firesprays in a lot of tournaments. They're wayyyy underrated.

Dominating, no. Visibly present, yes.

Frankly, I haven't been impressed by the Firespray to date, either in Scum or Imperial form. I've flown against a number of them, and the only game to date I've lost was a store champs game where both Mandalorian Mercenaries died quickly but Soontir Fel made it up by killing all of my ships (so it was a loss for the Firesprays but a win for Soontir).

The Firespray has a good stat line but I think the large base without a turret is just too big of a handicap with its dial and cost.

That said, I still keep coming up with Firespray lists, so I'll have to run one at some point to see what its like from the other side.

Dominating, no. Visibly present, yes.

Frankly, I haven't been impressed by the Firespray to date, either in Scum or Imperial form. I've flown against a number of them, and the only game to date I've lost was a store champs game where both Mandalorian Mercenaries died quickly but Soontir Fel made it up by killing all of my ships (so it was a loss for the Firesprays but a win for Soontir).

The Firespray has a good stat line but I think the large base without a turret is just too big of a handicap with its dial and cost.

That said, I still keep coming up with Firespray lists, so I'll have to run one at some point to see what its like from the other side.

IMO the Scum Firespray is drastically better. I just find way more success with the upgrades and squad builds for Scum. I won a tourney early this month without losing a ship, with Scum Boba as my centerpiece.

Dominating, no. Visibly present, yes.Frankly, I haven't been impressed by the Firespray to date, either in Scum or Imperial form. I've flown against a number of them, and the only game to date I've lost was a store champs game where both Mandalorian Mercenaries died quickly but Soontir Fel made it up by killing all of my ships (so it was a loss for the Firesprays but a win for Soontir).The Firespray has a good stat line but I think the large base without a turret is just too big of a handicap with its dial and cost.That said, I still keep coming up with Firespray lists, so I'll have to run one at some point to see what its like from the other side.

Won all of my stores events using dual firesprays and another ship. I say another ship because of using them pre scum. Pre scum I used dual bounty hunters with various upgrades and a doom shuttle. Post scum used Kath and a merc with a z95. They just take practice to use effectively. I usually had one of my firesprays cover the blind side of the other while my shuttle picked them off long range. Post scum used hot shot blaster to cover those times I didn't have a shot and always made sure I had a TL on whoever I saw would be coming at the side. All in all firesprays have done very well for me ide say overall about 80/20 win to loss ratio. And that's over probably close to 20 games. Others might have different numbers but they have worked well for me.

Looking at the Spring 2015 event we ran last weekend, it occurs to me that 4 of the 5 battles I fought were against a list that included a Firespray. (Good thing I didn't bring my flechette torps - btw, have I mentioned how annoying it is that they trigger or not based only on the original hull of the target ship instead of its current hull level? *sigh*)

The top 5 places for the event included 3 Rebel lists, and 2 Imperial lists...both Imperial lists with a Firespray.

It just seems...to be getting very common.

Mangler Cannon on Kath seems a popular pairing, for example. And that the forward and aft arc are counted as 'fire arcs' for purpose of interaction with autothrusters (IE., you don't get the blank->evade conversion unless at range 3) also seems to help improve their current utility.

Anyone else seeing similar?

They seems to be a competitive option, but they don't dominate my local meta or the meta at large. Even if they did, at least it's not some obnoxious large based ship with innate barrel roll with an HLC turret that can ignore obstacles and access to a white hard one so it can essentially just pivot in place.

The firespray doesn't have access to that obnoxious crap, and the auxiliary arc is fun to use, and also fun to exploit when facing one.

There is one guy with a good Kath Scum list. He goes with Smanglers (Mangler Cannon Scyks). Kath boosts forward for rear shots and arc dodging and the Scyks slow roll. You go for one and the other gets you.

I designed this and thought it was quite fun:

BOBA CALLED IN SCYK TODAY

100 points

PILOTS

Boba Fett (48)
Firespray-31 (39), Calculation (1), Recon Specialist (3), Inertial Dampeners (1), Engine Upgrade (4)

Cartel Spacer (26) x 2
M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (14), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Stealth Device (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Basically I just fly Boba straight into the face of the enemy and try and keep him range 1 with one of his firing arcs. I keep the Scyks at long range and use them as heavy artillery. 3 dice + 1 for stealth device + 1 for range 3 (+1 for asteroid) keeps them alive long enough to obliterate enemies if flown well.

I designed this and thought it was quite fun:

BOBA CALLED IN SCYK TODAY

100 points

PILOTS

Boba Fett (48)

Firespray-31 (39), Calculation (1), Recon Specialist (3), Inertial Dampeners (1), Engine Upgrade (4)

Cartel Spacer (26) x 2

M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (14), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Stealth Device (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Basically I just fly Boba straight into the face of the enemy and try and keep him range 1 with one of his firing arcs. I keep the Scyks at long range and use them as heavy artillery. 3 dice + 1 for stealth device + 1 for range 3 (+1 for asteroid) keeps them alive long enough to obliterate enemies if flown well.

Mmm I like it quite a bit. If there were points to throw around, I would personally swap engine upgrade for Predator or Expert Handling, and maybe a bomb or something. I just found in my experience Boba did a fine job of closing range without boost, and the extra attack reroll with predator or the barrel roll with EH is a much stronger threat.

You go for one and the other gets you.

If I had to claim I had a primary play style, this would be it. I try to create double-threat builds where you can either split up enemy ships or cut them down with the threat that is ignored. I don't like building around one ship that, if lost, basically loses the game.

I designed this and thought it was quite fun:

BOBA CALLED IN SCYK TODAY

100 points

PILOTS

Boba Fett (48)

Firespray-31 (39), Calculation (1), Recon Specialist (3), Inertial Dampeners (1), Engine Upgrade (4)

Cartel Spacer (26) x 2

M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (14), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Stealth Device (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Basically I just fly Boba straight into the face of the enemy and try and keep him range 1 with one of his firing arcs. I keep the Scyks at long range and use them as heavy artillery. 3 dice + 1 for stealth device + 1 for range 3 (+1 for asteroid) keeps them alive long enough to obliterate enemies if flown well.

Mmm I like it quite a bit. If there were points to throw around, I would personally swap engine upgrade for Predator or Expert Handling, and maybe a bomb or something. I just found in my experience Boba did a fine job of closing range without boost, and the extra attack reroll with predator or the barrel roll with EH is a much stronger threat.

You're right, I didn't really end up using boost. An alternate version would utilise Tactical Jammer to have Boba Fett block attacks on the Scyks, to give them a whopping 6 green dice if I am able to keep them at range. It should at least keep them alive long enough to get one or two rounds of HLC fire in.

I designed this and thought it was quite fun:

BOBA CALLED IN SCYK TODAY

100 points

PILOTS

Boba Fett (48)

Firespray-31 (39), Calculation (1), Recon Specialist (3), Inertial Dampeners (1), Engine Upgrade (4)

Cartel Spacer (26) x 2

M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (14), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Stealth Device (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Basically I just fly Boba straight into the face of the enemy and try and keep him range 1 with one of his firing arcs. I keep the Scyks at long range and use them as heavy artillery. 3 dice + 1 for stealth device + 1 for range 3 (+1 for asteroid) keeps them alive long enough to obliterate enemies if flown well.

Played against this exact list at store champ. It had some bad matchups with high-mobility.

If you read taht again, all you've said is that every pilot exceptionally good except for the Mando Merc, who hasn't found a home. I think that warrants some possibility of the ship being.... good?

He also didn't mention Bounty Hunter, Imperial Kath, Imperial Boba or Krassis

So, he said that 38% of the ships are good when built certain ways, not that 75% of them are good

I'll reiterate my opinion:

Scum unique Firesprays = good

All other Firesprays (Mandal Merc + Imperial) = bad/mediocre

Although some of the guys at the LGS have me intrigued by Imperial Kath Scarlet with VI and Mangler Cannon.

The closest firespray I've seen to "dominate the meta" is a Boba + IG88B build.

Well after just seeing the results of a Soontir tank against a Falcon+C-3PO go at it I can see some advantages the firespray has over the big turreted ships. Still I think arc dodgers have enough room to skit along the sides of a firespray and avoid both back and rear arcs.

I will say I think the Firespray auxiliary arcs is way superior over the Hounds Tooth fire arc. Yeah the hounds tooth can shoot at the sides but if you get any where behind it it is defenseless unlike the Firespray which doesn't mind if it is being chased.

I've flown duel scum Firesprays before they annihilated duel iggy, bobba and Kath are both really good.

Imp named are not so hot but the merc has served me well before.

I have found mandalorian merc to be really good. Bounty hunter is also undoubtedly good from every match I've seen with 3x firespray. The generics need to work with the rest of their squad to cope with bold arc dodgers. The way I see it, the unique pilots need to take advantage of PS while generics can bully ships around with the rear arc.