So, I thought about different possibilities for Horton Salm with the new Twin Laser Turret (TLT):
Horton Salm's ability reads:
When attacking at Range 2-3, you may reroll any of your blank results.
The TLT reads:
Attack: Perform this attack twice (even against a ship outside your firing arc). Each time this attack hits, the defender suffers 1 damage. Then cancel all dice results. Attack: 3. Range: 2-3.
Salms ability works really well with the TLT, but what about other upgrade options, namely Astromechs?
R2:
The generic R2 astromech makes all speed one and two manoeuvres green. That helps against stress, and if you use the title and cannot shoot out-of-arc, you should consider it, as you might have to fly some K-Turns, and being able to do something different than a 1-or-2 straight to shed the stress helps.
R2-D6:
This gives you an EPT slot. I want to mention Marksmanship here. You have two attacks were you can reroll all the blanks, so a Target Lock does not help you much. The other action a Y-Wing can do is focus, which helps with one attack or in the defense. Marksmanship modifies both attacks and gives you the equivalent of two TL+F attacks. The additional crit helps not so much. If you use the title, it works even on all three attacks.
R4-D6:
Helps against non-critical damage for stress. Since your reroll ability works even with stress, it can help Horton survive longer.
R5:
Helps against criticals. With five Hull-Points, it could trigger during a game. I guess it depends on your local meta, how many crit inducing abilities are around, whether R5 is better than R4-D6. Note: R5 triggers during the endphase, so if you are destroyed, he can't help you.
R3-A2:
Stresses your target and you as well. With the title, double stress is possible. Again, your rerolls work when stressed, so it could be an option for control. But if you double stress yourself, you will either need two rounds of 1-or-2 straights to shed the stress, or you forfeit actions for the rest of the game. You will lose the 3-turn and the 4-kturn.
R5-K6:
Lets you keep a target look after you spend it, if you roll an evade. Since you can reroll blanks, you can as well take a focus for the eyes, so it doesnot help you much.
R7:
Lets you spend target locks defensively. Can be better than a focus on one defense die, so why not? Less damage is always better.
R2-F2:
Increases your agility by one for an action. But then, you will not have modifiers for the defense die. The more ships attack Horton during a round, the better it gets.
R5-D8:
For an action, you have the chance to discard one facedown damage card. For three points, you could also take
R5-P9:
For an action (Focus), you can recover one shield during the end-phase. Better than R5-D8, because shields help against crits and if you have the token, you will always recover one shield.
R7-T1:
Getting a target lock and boost. Can only be used if you are inside the arc of a ship in range 1-2.
R2-D2:
Lets you recover a shield after a green manoeuvre. Makes you too predictable, I think, with only the 1-or-2 straight being green.
Summary:
I think the best options are either an generic R2 or R7 astromech, R3-A2 or R5-P9. If you need Horton to live longer, either a R7 or R5-P9 helps, R2 for the mobility, and R3-A2 for control.
What do you think? How will you equip Horton?