I don't think I've ever seen him flown, although he does appear to be better than Gunner. Is he just too hard to get into lists, or is there another reason for his apparent scarcity?

It's basically Gunner with a 1/2 focus token. 2 points for a 1/2 focus doesn't seem worth it to me.

Doesnt do much for an additional +2pts over Gunner. Still decent card though.

Yeah as said above gunner beats him.

If your playing thematic games it's good but for regular and competitive games those points can be spent elsewhere.

If you are running a gunner Han lost and have 2 extra points he's not a bad pickup, but generally those points can be better spent elsewhere.

Maybe if I was running a Han/Etahn or Chewie/Etahn list or something.

He is actually quite good on a Han that uses actions for defense (Engine Upgrade boost o Millennium Falcon Evade).

Versus low agility ships Han's own ability normally carries him through but against 3 evade dice foes (Fel, Corran, IG) the ability to take an Evade, shoot to try to strip the target of tokens and the shoot again with one focus becoming a hit (still with Han's own reroll) is very good. Then if you pair it with Lone Wolf (for extra survivability and a slight help on the offence) of Predator for all out offence it can be very lethal.

Try this:

Han Solo (Millennium Falcon + Engine Upgrade + C-3PO + Luke Skywlaker + Lone Wolf/Predator) -> 63 or 64 pts

3x Bandit Squadron Pilot -> 36ps

Total 99 or 100 points

To echo the chorus Luke may be fine but he's generally not 40% better than a Gunner as he should be when he costs 7 vs. 5.

Reminds me of a watered down version of RAC's ability, actually.

To chime in again, my feeling is that Luke was designed first, and gunner was developed to be a imperial equivalent crew since they were released first on the Falcon and Slave One respectively.

Problem is, while Luke is rebel only, Gunner is not. I think, if Gunner was "Imperial Gunner - Imperial only) we would see a lot more of Luke, and maybe a lot less fat turrets.

He has actually seen play in regionals. Top 8 in Kirklees, UK; win in Nebraska, USA; top 8 in Stirling, Scotland; Winner in Odense, Denmark.

That's somewhat substantial.

The problem with Gunner right now is the popularity of B-Wings, Y-Wings and Decimators. Against those ships, Gunner is almost always 5 points wasted and becomes a huge liability. Now imagine instead of wasting 5 points, you're wasting 7. And there's even a chance that on your second attack you don't roll any eyeballs, making Luke the same as Gunner, so there's no guarantee that the extra 2 points will actually be worth it all the time.

Uppgrading to Luke exacerbates the risk of taking Gunner for little gain.

Good points all around.

My take is if you are going to take Gunner and have 2 spare points, Luke is worth the 2 extra points. My Han Solo is Luke, 3po, EU, MF Title and Determination, on the second attack, I will use Hans reroll if I get less than maximum hits, because the odds are I will roll the same or better. I find it works well. Now with gunner, there are a lot of 3 point EPTs I could take instead of Determination, but I like it as is.

Gunner/Luke is always a risk when you run against low agility lists since its 5-7% of your list that you may never use, but it is such a bonus v high agility targets.

I want to add to/alter what I said. Luke MAY be worth it for 2 more points. It really depends what other upgrades you have on the ship, if you feel the 2 points would be better spent on offense or defense and what additional slots you have open. In my build he is worth it as its the Falcons only offensive upgrade (excluding Han). Just like how on Falcons with R2 and 3PO, Predator (or other offensive EPT) is near mandatory.

I would say he's decent if you're needing to punch through high AGI stuff. Rebels don't have Vader, and Luke is their best option for maximizing damage against very hard to hit stuff. He lets you use a Focus on the first shot, and sort of get a free Focus on the second shot. For general use, it's probably not great, as lots of ships are happy to just take a hit rather than risk a crit from Luke. For going after very high AGI stuff like Soontir Fel, it's probably worth it. Against a Stealth Device Soontir Fel, the second shot hit to crit can make a big difference.

I just can't defend Luke as crew. If the card read turn ALL [eyeball] to [boom] then it would be a different story. I'd pay 2 points for Gunner with focus.

I like him on Vrill

If you're playing a rebel list with gunner, and have two points left over, its viable to spend the two points on him.

Played against a Lando YT-1300 with Luke (&3PO) last night. My TIE fighters still hurt.

Luke is not a weak focus because a focus costs you an action, while Luke does not. And because his advantage is activated on the 2nd shot, he is more likely shooting at a target that has no more evade or focus tokens to spend. That makes his extra hit more valuable. The old "Han Shoots First" squad often had Marksmanship and Gunner, I suspect that switching Luke for these two cards might make sense because you're freeing an action and a squad point and an EPT slot. It's expensive, but in many ways quite economical too. From that perspective, the card has its place.

That is not say that on this board, with its anal fixation on 'only the best cards', a case can be made why Luke is definitly THE card you should pick in favour of everything that has been published after wave 2. Go ahead, forget about Luke, I'm sure there are better options. That does not make this a bad card. In fact, had it been 6 points, it would have been rather overpowered compared to gunner, I suspect.

I think Luke is worth the 7 points - especially on Han Solo ... but ... what I am telling. I am an imperial player.

Do what wou want with your points, I'll crush you anyway.

I got to step up and defend my boy Luke <crew>. I have been flying CHEWBACCA w/ Luke Crew, Predator, C3PO and title since Nationals last year. He has performed very well on a premier competitive level. But you have to be smart with him and think about why he's there: Luke allows me to take evade, and be confident in my ability to produce damage results.

If my first shot and re-roll(s) with Predator are a wash or strips a token(s) Luke steps in and makes sure that 2nd shot will hurt. And if you think gunner/Luke doesn't help VS low Agi, I have gotten so much damage on this tactic alone:

(no focus/TL attack against Decimator range 2)
ATTACK ROLL: blank, focus, hit.
(re-roll the 1 hit via Predator in to a blank/focus)
LUKE RE-ROLL: blank focus hit
(re-roll blank via Predator into a hit)
(Luke changes focus to hit)
3 DAMAGE

yes this is a risk , but the Luke roll is ALWAYS better. And yeah this is just text on a forum, but that tactic above against low agi ships has worked WAY more than it has failed.

and i didn't want to lead with this, because it's not a brag, but I took top 16 at worlds, Top 8 in 5 2015 Store champs in 4 states the 2015 Omaha regional using this crew. So i'm not talking out my ass.