Hey all,

Long time lurker posting for the first time.

Big fan of Kath Scarlet, having given her a snazzy paintjob for a friend before finding myself being unable to part with her. By all accounts she seems pretty saucy on the table too.

Been tinkering a lot with various options but here's my current set-up, coming in at exactly 100 points:

Kath - Push the Limit, K4 Security Droid, Mangler Cannon

4 x Black Sun Soldiers (although they're painted to look like Binayre Pirates because... fluff)

Hadn't tried cannons on Kath before this but I think she seems like a good carrier for them. HLC is another option of course... The thinking behind the Black Suns was to avoid Predator and to shoot before Thugs and low PS swarms. I'd been running Pirates up until this point - generally 2 Pirates and a tooled-up N'Dru - but thought that a more sizeable squad might make the list a little more durable.

I'd love to hear some people's thoughts on this list. Is there anything you would change? How would you fly it?

After a couple of runs with the above list I've concluded that cannons are a bit of a waste on Kath (although that could well have been my playstyle not doing it justice...) so I'm returning to what I think is the most consistently effective build for the big bootied pirate queen:

Kath - Push the Limit, K4 Security Droid, Engine Upgrade (48)

Been looking for the most effective wingmen and this combo has produced pleasing results so far:

Palob - Crackshot, Ion Cannon Turret, Greedo (27)

Binayre Pirate (12) x 2

Anyone got any thoughts on this? Strengths? Weaknesses? If you were forced to fly this list how would you go about it? Very interested to get some opinions or alternatives.

After a couple of runs with the above list I've concluded that cannons are a bit of a waste on Kath (although that could well have been my playstyle not doing it justice...) so I'm returning to what I think is the most consistently effective build for the big bootied pirate queen:

Kath - Push the Limit, K4 Security Droid, Engine Upgrade (48)

Been looking for the most effective wingmen and this combo has produced pleasing results so far:

Palob - Crackshot, Ion Cannon Turret, Greedo (27)

Binayre Pirate (12) x 2

Anyone got any thoughts on this? Strengths? Weaknesses? If you were forced to fly this list how would you go about it? Very interested to get some opinions or alternatives.

Your thoughts on the cannon are true-----Kath wants to shoot out her ass, so a cannon is not the most efficient choice for her. Plus, if it competes with engine upgrade, then it will lose every time. Engine is too valuable on a firespray to consider giving it up for a cannon...

Your list is okay, but Palob really really wants the moldy crow title....it synergizes very well with his ability. Personally I think running 4 z-95s like in your original list would be better because of PS3 and the fact that they can keep enemies tangled up and take some heat off of Kath...

I found tlt on 2 thugs with unhinged, gives room for a glitterstim. I feel autothrusters might slowly be taking out tlt as they were only utilised well when Kath was the threat

I found tlt on 2 thugs with unhinged, gives room for a glitterstim. I feel autothrusters might slowly be taking out tlt as they were only utilised well when Kath was the threat

Drop the Glitterstim and put R4 Aggromech on those Y Wings. You will enjoy having very accurate TLT shots. They become much more likely to hit a for with Autothrusters if you can modify every attack, or double modify a single attack.

To Scrubby:

My recommendation is to put TLT on Palob instead of Ion + Greedo. I DO enjoy an accurate Ion Cannon, but the damage from TLT is quite good and tough to give up.

Maybe running Greedo just scares me

PILOTS

Kath Scarlet (58)
Firespray-31 (38), Veteran Instincts (1), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), K4 Security Droid (3), Ion Pulse Missiles (3), Glitterstim (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Black Sun Soldier (13) x 3

It's 97pts, giving you a 3 pt initiative bid, which can be important at PS9. Kath shoots 4 dice out the front or the rear, double modified if you took a green maneuver and a focus. Glitterstim is amazing on round 1 of combat, and it allows you to take the evade action on that turn as well.

The Ion Pulse Missiles create an area of denial against large base ships, since they can never point too near the edge, as you may be able to trigger the target lock with the K4 Security Droid then Ion them off the map. This area of denial is very handy, as it restricts their movement, thus making it easier for you to keep arcs on them.

This list also retains your original theme; Kath + pirates. Enjoy.

Thanks for all the comments guys.

To Scrubby:

My recommendation is to put TLT on Palob instead of Ion + Greedo. I DO enjoy an accurate Ion Cannon, but the damage from TLT is quite good and tough to give up.

Maybe running Greedo just scares me

Running Greedo can be a little scary but fortune favours the brave (or bold, or down-right idiotic - something like that...). The Ion Cannon was one of the best things about the build the times I've played it. Really useful for a bit of control and lining stuff up for Kath to take down the following turn (get myself in a position to unleash that 5-dice rear-arc shot!).

The list didn't have too much of an issue dealing damage. Took down a list full of Bs and Ys the other day. I suspect I would begin to struggle against high-evade ships, however...

PILOTS

Kath Scarlet (58)
Firespray-31 (38), Veteran Instincts (1), Heavy Laser Cannon (7), K4 Security Droid (3), Ion Pulse Missiles (3), Glitterstim (2), Engine Upgrade (4)

Black Sun Soldier (13) x 3

It's 97pts, giving you a 3 pt initiative bid, which can be important at PS9. Kath shoots 4 dice out the front or the rear, double modified if you took a green maneuver and a focus. Glitterstim is amazing on round 1 of combat, and it allows you to take the evade action on that turn as well.

The Ion Pulse Missiles create an area of denial against large base ships, since they can never point too near the edge, as you may be able to trigger the target lock with the K4 Security Droid then Ion them off the map. This area of denial is very handy, as it restricts their movement, thus making it easier for you to keep arcs on them.

This list also retains your original theme; Kath + pirates. Enjoy.

Thanks for the comment. I'm unsure about sinking 58 points into Kath - it just feels like an all-eggs-one-basket situation (particularly when that basket only rolls a couple of evade dice and has no way to make itself more durable...).

So. A question.

As a few of you seem to lean towards the Kath + some-number-of Black Sun Soldiers build: how much more valuable is PS 3 over PS 1? Is PS 3 particularly well-placed at the moment?

As a few of you seem to lean towards the Kath + some-number-of Black Sun Soldiers build: how much more valuable is PS 3 over PS 1? Is PS 3 particularly well-placed at the moment?

Well, its higher than PS2 and since PS 2 is seeing a bit of a resurgence, it lets your z-95s shoot first and deal damage before getting blown up. It obviously doesn't help against high Pilot Skill aces, but in that sort of matchup, if you have enough of them, they can provide a credible threat by their bulk. You just have to fly them carefully and block higher PS opponent moves whenever possible. That is why I think your original list (with engine instead of mangler) is your best bet, because 4 z-95s can't be killed quickly and they should be able to accomplish something before they go down (unless you fly poorly, but then hopefully you will have learned something )

Thanks blade_mercurial, your comments are informed and informative. What a lovely forum this is.

My instinct was that the 4 Zs plus Kath is the more reliable build. More shields and more blockers to help Kath out makes sense, but I just really hate rolling a mere two attack dice I suppose it stacks up though, providing you've pointed them all at one target...

Thanks blade_mercurial, your comments are informed and informative. What a lovely forum this is.

My instinct was that the 4 Zs plus Kath is the more reliable build. More shields and more blockers to help Kath out makes sense, but I just really hate rolling a mere two attack dice I suppose it stacks up though, providing you've pointed them all at one target...

At range 1, its 3 dice, and suddenly not that bad. Getting there can be tricky for lowly generic Zs, but blocking with one certainly can help...