Hi All,

Everyone has always lamented that Garven (Red Leader) doesn't have an EPT. Well, we got R2-D6 a while ago and can give him one. What do we give him, though? No one ever takes R2-D6 for Garven that I've seen. So...if everyone wanted to give him one, what is there to give him?

I like Gaven as he's middle points without upgrades (26 pts). His ability is pretty nice support for the rest of the squad. That makes me want to give him something defensive, but the only ability I can think of is Elusive. Lone Wolf wouldn't work on him as he wants to be close to others. Is it worth giving him a stress, though?

Veteran Insticnt might be best as it pushes him higher up to use his ability sooner. PS 8 isn't terrible, either, with more PS 7 ships around.

Any thoughts?

Calculation could be fun, but VI by himself or dtf with Biggs could be good, too.

Calculation could be fun, but VI by himself or dtf with Biggs could be good, too.

DTF?

I was just thinking of Biggs. I never really use him, but just looking at all the Regional results that have Biggs makes me think of using him. What about Biggs with R2-F2 while Garven has VI? Biggs gets the extra Agility and then gets the Focus on PS 8. It won't help against those PS 9 pilots, though.

I'd rule out Elusiveness, as you want Garven to be taking actions and passing Focus tokens as much as possible.

I'd also be tempted to keep it as cheep (like the budgie) as possible. Like Hothie says, Veteran Instincts, Calculation and Draw Their Fire (with Biggs) seem like decent options.

However - I'd also be tempted by Adrenaline Rush - so if you need to K-Turn you can still take and pass that Focus. Wingman might also be useful if he's supporting a PtL-wielding buddy.

You put Experimental Interface on Biggs to get him one focus. Garven takes that stress off with wingman

Biggs + R2-F2 + EI

Garven + Wingman + R2-D6

Then you finish off with 40pts of firepower (preferrably glass-cannon): Decked out Keyan, Wild Space Fringer with Outrider Mangler, Etahn(?), dunno.

Draw their fire, normally used with shield upgrade and R2D2 to keep Biggs alive longer. Usually seen on Luke for Canon sake, or Richard has been running that combo on wedge, winning a Regional with it.

Speaking of Biggs, has anybody tried the Biggs + action + R2-F2 + Garven-focus + Jan Ors (to be used whenever) combo? It amounts to Biggs 3 agility + focus + evade around PS6 time, you probably give focus or evade first depending on the situation. In my proposal, Keyan could very well have Jan Ors, which should be useful even after Biggs is dead.

edit:phrasing

Deadeye and a torpedo?

You put Experimental Interface on Biggs to get him one focus. Garven takes that stress off with wingman

Biggs + R2-F2 + EI

Garven + Wingman + R2-D6

Then you finish off with 40pts of firepower (preferrably glass-cannon): Decked out Keyan, Wild Space Fringer with Outrider Mangler, Etahn(?), dunno.

This is what I do too. Works great with anyone else. Plus you can remove stress from your stress bot if you want.

Hmmm....I really want to use a 4 Rebel ship list. There are great ideas mentioned, but they would push the 4th ship to be something like a Z-95. Anything that would keep it a Rookie?

Hmmm....I really want to use a 4 Rebel ship list. There are great ideas mentioned, but they would push the 4th ship to be something like a Z-95. Anything that would keep it a Rookie?

Maybe a rookie/blue and Airen for even more action economy?

heychadwick, on 29 Jun 2015 - 10:37 AM, said:

Hmmm....I really want to use a 4 Rebel ship list. There are great ideas mentioned, but they would push the 4th ship to be something like a Z-95. Anything that would keep it a Rookie?

Maybe a rookie/blue and Airen for even more action economy?

Then what EPT? Same ones? VI?

It's just kind of funny that everyone lamented Garven didn't have an EPT, but there just doesn't seem to be a good one for him.

Garven would like to be kitted out to do actions (Focus) as often as possible, so I would also shy away from the stress-inducing builds. He also likes ships with lower PS than him so they have the opportunity to use it for their attack rolls. I think VI is a great option, as was mentioned before, and Calculation is another solid one.

This is the 4 ship list I came up with featuring Garven:

Garven: R2D6, Calc (28)

Biggs: R5P9 (28)

Rookie: R3A2 (23)

Rookie: (21)

If only he could take bodyguard... That would be the best combo for Biggs...

Garven: R2D6, VI (28)

Biggs: R5P9 (28)

Rookie: R3A2 (23)

Rookie: (21)

I like that a lot! I think I'll try using it. I was wondering how to get R5-P8 into it. I'm not sure how often it will be used, but it could be quite effective with Garven. Biggs does a Focus action each turn.

I'll switch Garven to VI to ensure that he gives it over ASAP. If I try it and it doesn't do much, then I'll see about Calculation. It's a good one and could improve the damage situation.

Garven would like to be kitted out to do actions (Focus) as often as possible, so I would also shy away from the stress-inducing builds. He also likes ships with lower PS than him so they have the opportunity to use it for their attack rolls. I think VI is a great option, as was mentioned before, and Calculation is another solid one.

This is the 4 ship list I came up with featuring Garven:

Garven: R2D6, Calc (28)

Biggs: R5P9 (28)

Rookie: R3A2 (23)

Rookie: (21)

If only he could take bodyguard... That would be the best combo for Biggs...

Agreed about bodyguard. Kind of a shame it's scum only. It's uses seem pretty minimal at the moment, but hopefully will be more useful in the future.

It's just kind of funny that everyone lamented Garven didn't have an EPT, but there just doesn't seem to be a good one for him.

I used the following squad to good effect a while ago, it puts a good beatdown on non-standard lists but loses to the meta... gotta work on that

Luke Skywalker (28)

Arien Cracken (19)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

Garven Dreis (26)

-R2-A6 (1)

-Veteran Instincts (1)

Luke, Garven, and Cracken all shoot and move at PS 8, and can take actions and shots in any order. Garven and Luke can TL, Cracken can focus, shoot, give Garven a focus, he shoots and spends the TL and focus, passes it to Luke, who also shoots with TL and focus. For defense, Biggs can focus and catch a second focus from Garven if needed while either one can still TL from Cracken

Agreed about bodyguard. Kind of a shame it's scum only. It's uses seem pretty minimal at the moment, but hopefully will be more useful in the future.

Totally off topic, but I did just think of a use for Bodyguard:

Boba Fett w/ VI and Recon Specialist

Kavil w/ Blaster Turret and Agro Mech

Serissu w/ Bodyguard and (since there were points left) hull upgrade.

Boba and Kavil rush into the thick of it. Serissu leads the way and does a Focus each turn. Uses Bodyguard each turn on either of the two. Her ability kicks in and she lets them re-roll a blank.

Weakness is Serissu, herself, but you want to fire at her? Go for it! The rest of the list will punish you for it in short order. Unless you utterly flub your dice, Serrisu should last some attention. It should be enough to cause damage with the other two.

Other than that, I like the Cracken, Garven, Luke thing. That's cool to pass the token around. It doesn't do well vs. meta lists? It seems like it's got the firepower to punch through stuff, especially with TL.

Agreed about bodyguard. Kind of a shame it's scum only. It's uses seem pretty minimal at the moment, but hopefully will be more useful in the future.

Totally off topic, but I did just think of a use for Bodyguard:

I used Bodyguard once on Palob, to protect Kavil. Boosting from 1 agility to 2 discourages many opponents, and they go for Palob first. "Oh that's a nice focus token you have there, let me use it to boost a Y-wing to 2 agility."

Other than that, I like the Cracken, Garven, Luke thing. That's cool to pass the token around. It doesn't do well vs. meta lists? It seems like it's got the firepower to punch through stuff, especially with TL.

I agree here. How is this list not competitive against 2 ship builds? It seems like they will throw a ton of red dice that are frighteningly accurate. A decimator could easily eat 10 damage in a single turn. The action economy is beautiful!

Ha! I start asking about Garvin and what appears? The Plasma Torpedo card! So....a Proton Torpedo cost 4 pts and gave you 4 red dice. One eyeball was a crit. Plasma Torpedo is -1 pt and you don't get to get the free crit, but it still rolls 4 dice! How would you modify the dice if you did roll a eyeball? GARVEN DREIS!

Doesn't matter about the EPT, but it's still a boost for Garven. I can see using the Plasma on an X-wing or even Y-wing more so now, especially with Garven.

I've tried this:

Will Garven Dreis see more play when Esege Tuketu is released? Now Dreis can use one of Tuketu's focus tokens and give it back immediately.

And what EPT would be useful for that combo? Dreis doesn't need VI to make this work...

Ha! I start asking about Garvin and what appears? The Plasma Torpedo card! So....a Proton Torpedo cost 4 pts and gave you 4 red dice. One eyeball was a crit. Plasma Torpedo is -1 pt and you don't get to get the free crit, but it still rolls 4 dice! How would you modify the dice if you did roll a eyeball? GARVEN DREIS!

Doesn't matter about the EPT, but it's still a boost for Garven. I can see using the Plasma on an X-wing or even Y-wing more so now, especially with Garven.

Garven Dreis - R2-D6, Draw Their Fire

Biggs Darklighter - R5-P9

Blue Squadron Pilot

Blue Squadron Pilot

Garven and Biggs both Focus. Garven snatches any crits that come Biggs' way, and Biggs (hopefully) saves a Focus token to recover a shield in the end phase. Once Biggs pops, there shouldstill be a fair amount of hit points left on the table to chew through...