Building Bossk

By Deadwolf, in X-Wing

I've been playing around with Bossk in the squad builder and I am truly happy with the number of different ways to build him.

Do you activate his ability with marksmanship, calculation, or Mangler cannon? The cannon is the most consistent and frees the ept but is restricted to forward arc. Marksmanship works well with gunner and the whole 180 arc, but fails if you can't take an action. Calculation is the cheapest and synergizes with outlaw tech but is limited by the token and only changes 1 [eye].

Scum lacks strong "no brainer" crew like C3PO, Isard, or Rebel Captive, so other than gunner, nothing is a must have leaving several possible options.

It is however, hard to know the best modification without know what maneuvering fins does, or the other unspoiled mod.

A build that seems interesting to me:
VI
Mangler Cannon
Tactician

Tactician
Gunner
maneuvering fins/engine

Paired with IG-88 or possibly y-wings.

What do you think is the best way to field the famous Trandoshan?

Edited by Deadwolf

Your build is just fine. Though it is obviously beneficial to shoot first, VI's impact is somewhat diminished without more movement options. Fins aren't likely to give large correction options.

Predator may be good substitute. Expert Handling would be nice to help keep cannon in arc and control distance for tactians - though K4 or outlaw would be helpful to get offensive modifier.

I am also happy that there is no obvious build at the moment. Bossk is going to be a monster.

This is what I'm thinking for Bossk:

Bossk (35)
Calculation (1)
Recon Specialist (3)
Outlaw Tech (2)
Hound's Tooth (6)

Kath Scarlet (Scum) (38)
Determination (1)
Heavy Laser Cannon (7)
Weapons Engineer (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

It's 22 hitpoints (plus 4 from the Pup) and 2 very potent attacks per turn - Bossk gets a Focus token under just about every circumstance except a bump, and in most cases you will be able to use calculation and a regular focus, or save that regular focus for defence. Kath, meanwhile, gets 4 dice or more under all circumstances, and the target locks to make best use of them no matter where her opponent ends up. Finally, they both have the same PS of 7, making the order of movement and attacking up to you - potentially very useful, especially given the fact that, against two ship builds, Kath will have a TL on both ships at all times - letting Bossk go first against a weakened opponent may let her take on the remaining ship if Bossk kills the first guy.

I think it'd be a powerful list, but with the usual vulnerabilities to blockers and swarming that paired large based ships will almost always have.

This is something I was tinkering with.

Bossk (46 pts total)

Outlaw Tech

Merc Copilot

Greedo

Lone Wolf

Mangler Cannon

Basically this is a sniper. Use your slow movements and deadstops to stay in the rear and crit as often as possible with Merc Copilot and Mangler. The disadvantage of the dead stop is mitigated by Outlaw Tech giving you focus. Since we are trying to stay at range 2-3, I slide in Lone Wolf because it is inexpensive and I've found it to be solid. Predator would probably be better honestly, especially versus low ranking pilots but it is half the cost. Greedo slides in her because he can convert your hits into crits and also because I want to find a ship he actually fits in. If you aren't doing dead stops, I'd recommend using target locks because the more dice you can swap out, the better.

I've been toying around with an HLC version of the build too, since you cancel all your crits first and then you can modify them with your additional dudes like Greedo and Merc Copilot, but it would push the build up by 3 points and lose some crit consistence at close range.

I'll be running:

Bossk — YV-666 35

Determination 1

"Mangler" Cannon 4

Ion Pulse Missiles 3

Greedo 1

K4 Security Droid 3

Outlaw Tech 2

Inertial Dampeners 1

Hound's Tooth 6

Ship Total: 56

+2 Special K's with Glitterstim for 100 total. Determination+Greed is just awesome on a 6/6 ship.

Edited by Stilgod

Great ideas so far! Here's another:

Bossk (Predator, Mangler Cannon, Gunner, Merc Copilot, Merc Copilot, Inertial Dampeners, Engine Upgrade)

56 points (or 62 points with the Hound's Tooth title)

So, at range 3, one critical hit is converted to two regular hits, then the other crits are just gravy...

Edited by admat

This is what I'm thinking for Bossk:

Bossk (35)

Calculation (1)

Recon Specialist (3)

Outlaw Tech (2)

Hound's Tooth (6)

Kath Scarlet (Scum) (38)

Determination (1)

Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Weapons Engineer (3)

Engine Upgrade (4)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

It's 22 hitpoints (plus 4 from the Pup) and 2 very potent attacks per turn - Bossk gets a Focus token under just about every circumstance except a bump, and in most cases you will be able to use calculation and a regular focus, or save that regular focus for defence. Kath, meanwhile, gets 4 dice or more under all circumstances, and the target locks to make best use of them no matter where her opponent ends up. Finally, they both have the same PS of 7, making the order of movement and attacking up to you - potentially very useful, especially given the fact that, against two ship builds, Kath will have a TL on both ships at all times - letting Bossk go first against a weakened opponent may let her take on the remaining ship if Bossk kills the first guy.

I think it'd be a powerful list, but with the usual vulnerabilities to blockers and swarming that paired large based ships will almost always have.

Trade Weapons Engineer for K4 Security droid and I think you have a solid squad. Your strategy isn't bad with wpn Engi, but what if you face more than two ships? K4 is just too good not to put on the scum firesprays.

Edited by Jo Jo

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Lightning Reflexes yet :|

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Lightning Reflexes yet :|

*small ship only*

I've been thinking.

Bossk

PTL

Mangler cannon

K4 droid

Recon spec

Gunner

Engine

Glitterstim

Hounds tooth

Palob

Bodyguard

Blaster or ion

Recon spec

Glitterstim

Moldy crow

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v3!s!131:18,110,-1,122,38,21,128:24:3:;125:105,37,38,128:3:-1:

Great action economy on bossk, and good support to boost his defense & watch his 6 with Palob

That's a 65 point Bossk... You do realize the ship is only 12 hitpoints with 1 agility die right?

No fortress builds yet?

Bossk - 44

-Wingman

-Mangler

-Outlaw Tech

-Tactical Jammer

Leachos - 17

-Wingman

Slaver - 37 points

-Greedo

-Gunner

-Tactician

=98 point initiative bid. (you'll want initiative)

Setup Leachos in the corner doing a 1 straight right into Bossk's left side who's right in front of him (have the bases touch). Put the slaver right next to Bossk, touching him. The YV-666 keep doing dead stops and Leachos wingmans off Bossk's stress and Bossk wingmans off the Slaver stress. Yes, FFG has made this a thing. Try and kill Leachos to kill the chain and he'll be harder to hit with the buff from tactical jammer. The only weak spot is the right or left flank that's only half a large base wide. Good luck getting a ship into it. Leachos can still shoot at that though.

Only way to really combat this is bringing Ion cannons or stress inducing mechanics. If you don't have those you are in for a silly match. I do hope FFG introduces a rule to not allow this to happen.

Edited by Jo Jo

In my play on vassal, I have found the cannon slot to be a waste of points, for the most part. It can work well but that arc is the true strength of the YV, and maximizing it's use has been key.

I've been thinking.

Bossk

PTL

Mangler cannon

K4 droid

Recon spec

Gunner

Engine

Glitterstim

Hounds tooth

Palob

Bodyguard

Blaster or ion

Recon spec

Glitterstim

Moldy crowhttps://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v3!s!131:18,110,-1,122,38,21,128:24:3:;125:105,37,38,128:3:-1:

Great action economy on bossk, and good support to boost his defense & watch his 6 with Palob

That's a 65 point Bossk... You do realize the ship is only 12 hitpoints with 1 agility die right?

Sorry I mistakenly thought large base ships with action economy &/or good damage output were pretty solid.

My bad. Think I should bin my falcons & decis then. Thanks.

I've been thinking about building an arc-dodging Bossk.

The build is Bossk + VI + Navigator + Gunner + Mangler Cannon + Engine Upgrade (52 points). The idea is that he is part of a 98 point list, which bids to give away initiative. He moves last and can activate navigator to arc dodge the enemy and then uses the 1 bank boost to get them in his auxiliary arcs. I think this kind of manoeuvring flexibility will be real shock to opponents.

I'm thinking of backing him up with 2 Warthog Ys or Latts Razzi.

One thing that is obvious with Bossk, while an offensive powerhouse, it has few ways to augment it's defense. Hull/shield upgrade and Flight Instructor is about it. Along with its dial it is rather vulnerable to firepower lists like 4 bwings.

Makes me wonder if Flight Instructor may be good, since it targets exactly what scares it most.

One thing that is obvious with Bossk, while an offensive powerhouse, it has few ways to augment it's defense. Hull/shield upgrade and Flight Instructor is about it. Along with its dial it is rather vulnerable to firepower lists like 4 bwings.

Makes me wonder if Flight Instructor may be good, since it targets exactly what scares it most.

That's one of the reasons I thought about the arc dodging build. If they can't shoot at you, they can't damage you. Given Player Nine's comments above, maybe it would be worth replacing Mangler with Flight Instructor so as to add some additional defence.

Bossk (35)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Gunner (5)
Navigator (3)
Flight Instructor (4)
Inertial Dampeners (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
Latts Razzi (33)
Weapons Engineer (3)
K4 Security Droid (3)
Gunner (5)
Inertial Dampeners (1)
Total: 98

Edited by ionic

I've been thinking.

Bossk

PTL

Mangler cannon

K4 droid

Recon spec

Gunner

Engine

Glitterstim

Hounds tooth

Palob

Bodyguard

Blaster or ion

Recon spec

Glitterstim

Moldy crowhttps://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v3!s!131:18,110,-1,122,38,21,128:24:3:;125:105,37,38,128:3:-1:

Great action economy on bossk, and good support to boost his defense & watch his 6 with Palob

That's a 65 point Bossk... You do realize the ship is only 12 hitpoints with 1 agility die right?

Sorry I mistakenly thought large base ships with action economy &/or good damage output were pretty solid.

My bad. Think I should bin my falcons & decis then. Thanks.

Those have turrets ;)

I've been thinking.

Bossk

PTL

Mangler cannon

K4 droid

Recon spec

Gunner

Engine

Glitterstim

Hounds tooth

Palob

Bodyguard

Blaster or ion

Recon spec

Glitterstim

Moldy crowhttps://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v3!s!131:18,110,-1,122,38,21,128:24:3:;125:105,37,38,128:3:-1:

Great action economy on bossk, and good support to boost his defense & watch his 6 with Palob

That's a 65 point Bossk... You do realize the ship is only 12 hitpoints with 1 agility die right?

Sorry I mistakenly thought large base ships with action economy &/or good damage output were pretty solid.

My bad. Think I should bin my falcons & decis then. Thanks.

Those have turrets ;)

And C-3PO / Ysanne Isard

I'm surprised no one's mentioned Lightning Reflexes yet :|

*small ship only*

Dreams shattered.

Regarding Flight Instructor, for one point less you can get Rec Spec. In what is still a two-ship meta, the double focus will have a better effect on your defense than Flight Instructor. You can reroll FI's focus into a blank or a focus (more likely than into an evade), and you can only reroll the blank if the attacker is PS2 or lower. It will happen, you'll eventually play against a number of low PS pilots across several games, but more often you're only rerolling that eyeball.

Rec Spec, in my opinion, is the superior defensive option.

Regarding Flight Instructor, for one point less you can get Rec Spec. In what is still a two-ship meta, the double focus will have a better effect on your defense than Flight Instructor. You can reroll FI's focus into a blank or a focus (more likely than into an evade), and you can only reroll the blank if the attacker is PS2 or lower. It will happen, you'll eventually play against a number of low PS pilots across several games, but more often you're only rerolling that eyeball.

Rec Spec, in my opinion, is the superior defensive option.

RecSpec also synergizes with Calculation, so you do have a point.

You can however, get both. ;)

We will have to see how the meta shakes down, but I feel Bossk really threatens decimators and Falcons. YV'S with tactician and gunner will also threaten Fel and IGs. If Bossk become really wide spread, we very much could see the return of 4 ship builds.

I like greedo and mangler cannon; change a dice to a crit, then explode the dice for two damage, then the first damage is face up. Add calculation for additional lulz

Or if shields aren't in play, change to a crit, deal two face up damage cards.

Granted, this relies on your opponents dice rolls, so not perfect.

Edited by joewrightgm

I would keep it fairly simple as it does not hold more than 12 hit points. All tho the Nashtah Pup will give some extra leverage for it, but I would not count on one Z-95 if your fleet is only two or three ships, no matter how good their Pilot Ability is.

Hound's Tooth(YV-666) 'Bossk' (35)

-Veteran Instincs (1)

-Outlaw Tech (2)

-K4 Security Droid (3)

-Navigator (3)

-Hounds Tooth (6)

K4 Security Droid will allow you new Target Lock after every green move and I would imagine people flying it with this setup with red 0 and green 1 in sequence. Veteran Instincs makes sure that you have the advantage of moving last and that is where the Navigator comes very handy, you can still adjust your ship according to the enemy movement and keep your firing arch on them. It would still leave people solid 50 points to play with and I would most likely add some headhunters for the squad.

Maybe in this manner..

Z-95 Headhunter x4 (48)

With total of 28 hit points and 11 attack points.

I would be pretty confident against any built with one Kick Ass Hound and four Z-95 backing up and most likely your opponent will focus their fire on Hound so that's why you have that one backup Nashtah Pup waiting for action. And you still have two points to play around with too. I would maybe take Dead Man's Switch for Hound if it will blow up in most cases, you may as well try take advantage of it or Glitterstim.

Any opinions? I did not read all of the builds here so I am sorry if this is identical for some of yours already, in that case I can delete this post! :)

Edited by Zazaa

But does Dead Man Switch on the Hound damage the pup?