Nice writeup. I find one often overlooked aspect of +1 endurance is that you are better at resting. Shyla's 4xp skills seem extremely good.

Just a couple of observations on Onar (though I agree he is rather unimpressive):

Rush: As a core ability this is pretty bad. It could be interesting when considering Gideon's Command and Fenn's Tactical Movement, however. Move one or two spaces to a nearby corner, push a figure out of LOS and get back if able.

Power Through: He gains the ability to double rest while wounded and keeps the +2 damage recovery, though he can also take Harmful status effects at that point. Additionally, none of his abilities use strain (EDIT: except for Haymaker) so a lot of each rest could be recovering damage depending on how frequently you strain to move. It's just too bad his endurance is 4, maxing it out at 6 strain/damage removed during a round where he's healthy.

Brute Strength: Will pair nicely with Get Down. Focus is only an issue if you use it at the start of an activation. It can be used after your two actions per activation as, once declared, performing the interact is dependent upon the attribute test based on the wording.

Hold Still: At first glance this one seems like it might be counter intuitive to Rush. If you move the figure away from you with Rush then Hold Still might be harder to trigger, but I think there are more situations where they can be synergistic than situations where they're not.

1 damage on Onar is better than 1 damage on another character. I still don't think that Stay Behind Me is valuable.

I'm not entirely sure this is true. Sure, Onar is inherently easier to take down than other heroes, given his lack of a defense die. But if he can help keep them alive, even once he's wounded, that's not too bad for the whole team. I'm beginning to think that Onar is almost more of a support class than a tank class- with the right player, he could be pretty good.

But, of course, we know by now that IA heroes tend to transcend class, anyway.

I'm not saying it based on him being bad, I'm saying it based on the fact that he has so much health thus more raw damage must be done to wound him whereas a lot of the effective hp of other heroes comes from actually mitigating damage.

Brute Strength: ... It can be used after your two actions per activation as, once declared, performing the interact is dependent upon the attribute test based on the wording.

I disagree (though it's probably worth checking). It triggers "when you would perform an interact"; I don't think you can meet that condition without being able to spend the action.

Okay, you and I interpret that part differently then. I read that as in a scenario where an Interact is applicable as opposed to an scenario where it is an available option.

I could see it both ways.

Vintro Hreeda:

Summary: Vinto is a fragile ranged damage dealer a-la Jyn (Ordan not Erso). He differs from her in that he's less mobile and can spread out his damage more (also the fact that he's not mechanically obliged to use pistols).

Boltslinger is the key to Vinto's spread damage. It'll trigger nearly every time you attack and mean that 1 health is effectively dead when Vinto can still activate.

Thread the Needle is great when you need it, I don't know how often you will need it but it's good to have.

Pinpoint Shot is weird. It's cool to be able to take a failed roll and still trigger boltslinger but I think it's mostly outclassed by rapid fire.

As I mentioned earlier Vinto is less mobile than Jyn. This means he will sometimes need to move and in those times Shot on the Run is nice to get an additional prick of damage out. I don't think that the bonus speed is as good on a ranged hero as it would be on a melee but its never not a good thing. The key value in this card is early on when your heroes aren't as strong and 1 point of damage will often be enough to finish an enemy.

Sharpshooter depends on the campaign. On some maps line of sight will often block you from shooting things at around 4 range (even with thread the needle). On others you might be able to shoot everything in a 9x9 area with rapid fire.

The re-roll from Battlefield Experience is worse than it would be on most heroes because Vinto will buy rapid fire and you're less likely to roll two attacks that need a re-roll than one. It's still pretty decent though, especially with the endurance boost.

Pretty much whenever you'd use the Off-hand Blaster it's better to use rapid fire.

What I just said about the Off-hand Blaster also applies to Dead On but it offers more leverage in combination with rapid fire.

Rapid Fire manages the impressive feet of making six of Vinto's nine class cards (including his base weapon) worse by comparison. I'd usually rather have something like Proximity Strike but the full mulligan on attack rolls is still good. The single damage to everything in range is the real seller though, it's probably worth using nearly every turn which will really stack up the damage.

Merciless would nearly always be overkill on nearly any other hero. The fact that anything Vinto can shoot probably already has a single point of damage on it makes it good.

Purchase Priority:

Shot on the Run->Rapid Fire->Merciless->Dead On->Battlefield Experience->Pinpoint Shot

I don't think either half of Desperado is that great (both have a tendency to give more than you need). It's still okay (especially with both halves together) but not as good as other reward cards.

I'm not saying it based on him being bad, I'm saying it based on the fact that he has so much health thus more raw damage must be done to wound him whereas a lot of the effective hp of other heroes comes from actually mitigating damage.

Right, I get that. What I mean is that, regardless of that, Onar can further mitigate damage to other players using that ability. It's why he's the Bodyguard. It's not always going to be a viable option, and it'll often pay to just keep him alive for his activations, but it's an ability that could be certainly be used for a clinch.

I'm not saying it based on him being bad, I'm saying it based on the fact that he has so much health thus more raw damage must be done to wound him whereas a lot of the effective hp of other heroes comes from actually mitigating damage.

Right, I get that. What I mean is that, regardless of that, Onar can further mitigate damage to other players using that ability. It's why he's the Bodyguard. It's not always going to be a viable option, and it'll often pay to just keep him alive for his activations, but it's an ability that could be certainly be used for a clinch.

Clearly I was a bit too terse in my description. I agree that it can be used for those things; I just don't think mitigating that damage is very useful in comparison to the other things Onar can do.

Shyla and Vinto both start with great starting weapons. I think they're almost a solid addition to a team just from that as you could conceivably leave off buying them a weapon until tier 3 and not be too bad off.

Shyla and Vinto both start with great starting weapons. I think they're almost a solid addition to a team just from that as you could conceivably leave off buying them a weapon until tier 3 and not be too bad off.

Shyla's is pretty good. Vinto... I don't know. The reroll makes Hair Trigger pretty nice, but the surge abilities on the DL-44 make it a direct upgrade. Maybe that's making it seem worse than it is to me. Honestly I'd like to try him with the Hand Cannon with a Marksmanship Barrel and Merciless, maybe add Sharpshooter for the added accuracy.

Being 3/4 way through a campaign, I do agree with Norgath overall.

Shyla is a really good melee character with a lot of free movement and is not strain reliant. Her cards range from meh to amazing. There isn't a ton of wiggle room to her builds.

Full Sweep, Responsiveness, Proximity Strike, Deadly Grace, All-out attack - 12 pts

You can swap Proximity Strike and All-out attack for Swords Dance, which is pretty good in the late stages with a 3 dice weapon.

Onar is definitely B tier. He gets the job done, but not as easily as the A's and A+'s. Him as a tank is a bit of a bust, but he does fairly well as a bulky dpser. Adding a red die is really good, I have him with the Hand Cannon, Marks barrel, and extra ammo (reroll) and with Mutual Destruction and Hold Still adding extra damage if needed - he cracks heads. Don't Make me hurt you is the only really good card he has, and should be a priority imo. The rest of his deck is all on the same decent tier, and really comes down to personal preference of bulk vs damage vs utility. My favorite part about him, is that he has no weapon restrictions, making him very versatile that way.
Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Mutual Destruction, Hold Still, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Bulk: Don't Make me hurt you, Black Sun Armor, Get Down, Stay Behind Me, Keep Up - 12 pts

Brute Strength: Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Brute Strength, Mutual Destruction, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Vinto is really good at dealing with multiple smaller enemies.

I really want to like Offhand blaster+pinpoint shot, but at 4xp for both, it just isn't worth it. The rest are good/really good. I see 2 builds - depending on whether you go for Merciless or not. Merciless allows him to deal with higher health enemies, but the extra utility of Sharpshooter and Battlefield experience shouldn't be dismissed (The value of sharpshooter is in the extra range for his other skills more than the extra accuracy. You have no idea how many times I've been 4 spaces away from enemies and wished I had the skill, and 2 xp for extra endurance and reroll is really good).

Merciless: Rapid Fire, Merciless, Shot on the Run, Dead On/Sharpshooter/Battlefield Experience - 11/12 pts

Synergy: Rapid Fire, Shot on the Run, Battlefield Experience, Sharpshooter, Dead On - 12 pts

Being 3/4 way through a campaign, I do agree with Norgath overall.

Only half of Shyla's deck is good, but what is good is really good. It makes her strong but there isn't much wiggle room.

Full Sweep, Responsiveness, Proximity Strike, Deadly Grace, All-out attack - 12 pts

I like Swords Dance late game with a 3 dice weapon, but I think it is only good as part of a 13 pt build (Swords Dance+Remote Detonator instead of Deadly Grace and All-out attack), as there is no good way to use the extra point in a 12 pt build but there are no guarantees at getting 13 xp.

Onar is definitely B tier. He gets the job done, but not as easily as the A's and A+'s. Him as a tank is a bit of a bust, but he does fairly well as a bulky dpser. Adding a red die is really good, I have him with the Hand Cannon, Marks barrel, and extra ammo (reroll) and with Mutual Destruction and Hold Still adding extra damage if needed - he cracks heads. Don't Make me hurt you is the only really good card he has, and should be a priority imo. The rest of his deck is all on the same decent tier, and really comes down to personal preference of bulk vs damage vs utility. My favorite part about him, is that he has no weapon restrictions, making him very versatile that way.

Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Mutual Destruction, Hold Still, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Bulk: Don't Make me hurt you, Black Sun Armor, Get Down, Stay Behind Me, Keep Up - 12 pts

Brute Strength: Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Brute Strength, Mutual Destruction, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Vinto is really good at dealing with multiple smaller enemies.

I really want to like Offhand blaster+pinpoint shot, but at 4xp for both, it just isn't worth it. The rest are good/really good. I see 2 builds - depending on whether you go for Merciless or not. Merciless allows him to deal with higher health enemies, but the extra utility of Sharpshooter and Battlefield experience shouldn't be dismissed (The value of sharpshooter is in the extra range for his other skills more than the extra accuracy. You have no idea how many times I've been 4 spaces away from enemies and wished I had the skill, and 2 xp for extra endurance and reroll is really good).

Merciless: Rapid Fire, Merciless, Shot on the Run, Dead On/Sharpshooter/Battlefield Experience - 11/12 pts

Synergy: Rapid Fire, Shot on the Run, Battlefield Experience, Sharpshooter, Dead On - 12 pts

Could Skyla be the only new Tier A hero?

Being 3/4 way through a campaign, I do agree with Norgath overall.

Only half of Shyla's deck is good, but what is good is really good. It makes her strong but there isn't much wiggle room.

Full Sweep, Responsiveness, Proximity Strike, Deadly Grace, All-out attack - 12 pts

I like Swords Dance late game with a 3 dice weapon, but I think it is only good as part of a 13 pt build (Swords Dance+Remote Detonator instead of Deadly Grace and All-out attack), as there is no good way to use the extra point in a 12 pt build but there are no guarantees at getting 13 xp.

Onar is definitely B tier. He gets the job done, but not as easily as the A's and A+'s. Him as a tank is a bit of a bust, but he does fairly well as a bulky dpser. Adding a red die is really good, I have him with the Hand Cannon, Marks barrel, and extra ammo (reroll) and with Mutual Destruction and Hold Still adding extra damage if needed - he cracks heads. Don't Make me hurt you is the only really good card he has, and should be a priority imo. The rest of his deck is all on the same decent tier, and really comes down to personal preference of bulk vs damage vs utility. My favorite part about him, is that he has no weapon restrictions, making him very versatile that way.

Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Mutual Destruction, Hold Still, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Bulk: Don't Make me hurt you, Black Sun Armor, Get Down, Stay Behind Me, Keep Up - 12 pts

Brute Strength: Damage: Don't Make me hurt you, Brute Strength, Mutual Destruction, Keep Up/Get Down, Stay Behind Me - 12 pts

Vinto is really good at dealing with multiple smaller enemies.

I really want to like Offhand blaster+pinpoint shot, but at 4xp for both, it just isn't worth it. The rest are good/really good. I see 2 builds - depending on whether you go for Merciless or not. Merciless allows him to deal with higher health enemies, but the extra utility of Sharpshooter and Battlefield experience shouldn't be dismissed (The value of sharpshooter is in the extra range for his other skills more than the extra accuracy. You have no idea how many times I've been 4 spaces away from enemies and wished I had the skill, and 2 xp for extra endurance and reroll is really good).

Merciless: Rapid Fire, Merciless, Shot on the Run, Dead On/Sharpshooter/Battlefield Experience - 11/12 pts

Synergy: Rapid Fire, Shot on the Run, Battlefield Experience, Sharpshooter, Dead On - 12 pts

Could Skyla be the only new Tier A hero?

Probably, Vinto is close, but he is probably B+ similar to Davith

Thread the Needle is great when you need it, I don't know how often you will need it but it's good to have.

Remember this applies to all his free 1 point of damage things, including Rapid Fire. That makes it amazing; it means that the Imperials can't hide any weakened troops, and you don't need to be in a perfect position to maximize Rapid Fire damage.

Shyla and Vinto both start with great starting weapons. I think they're almost a solid addition to a team just from that as you could conceivably leave off buying them a weapon until tier 3 and not be too bad off.

Shyla's is pretty good. Vinto... I don't know. The reroll makes Hair Trigger pretty nice, but the surge abilities on the DL-44 make it a direct upgrade. Maybe that's making it seem worse than it is to me. Honestly I'd like to try him with the Hand Cannon with a Marksmanship Barrel and Merciless, maybe add Sharpshooter for the added accuracy.

The DL-44 is one of the most expensive (and most powerful) Tier I weapons, so it should make any starting weapon look bad...

Shyla's is pretty good. Vinto... I don't know. The reroll makes Hair Trigger pretty nice, but the surge abilities on the DL-44 make it a direct upgrade. Maybe that's making it seem worse than it is to me. Honestly I'd like to try him with the Hand Cannon with a Marksmanship Barrel and Merciless, maybe add Sharpshooter for the added accuracy.

The DL-44 is one of the most expensive (and most powerful) Tier I weapons, so it should make any starting weapon look bad...

You're right and maybe it's a bad example, but I never saw the 500 credit price tag as that huge of an investment since the rate of income doesn't change as the game progresses. I said that thinking there is no need to buy him a Tier 1 weapon might be a stretch.

Aside from your point, the other problem with what I just said was that I was thinking of the weapon in a vacuum. With his ability to deal damage outside of regular attacks, I'm thinking I was wrong to begin with.

Thread the Needle is great when you need it, I don't know how often you will need it but it's good to have.

Remember this applies to all his free 1 point of damage things, including Rapid Fire. That makes it amazing; it means that the Imperials can't hide any weakened troops, and you don't need to be in a perfect position to maximize Rapid Fire damage.

Even so, 9 missions in, I have only used it twice. Tho it may be more useful if you had Sharpshooter.

Thread the Needle is great when you need it, I don't know how often you will need it but it's good to have.

Remember this applies to all his free 1 point of damage things, including Rapid Fire. That makes it amazing; it means that the Imperials can't hide any weakened troops, and you don't need to be in a perfect position to maximize Rapid Fire damage.

Even so, 9 missions in, I have only used it twice. Tho it may be more useful if you had Sharpshooter.

Well, it may not get used much, but it will force the Imperials to play differently. Maybe you haven't used it because the Imperial player hasn't bothered trying to hide his units from Vinto.

I haven't used Thread The Needle yet either. I've never been in a position where using the strain to move a space hasn't been a better option. Line of sight in IA is so generous it's extremely rare you can't shoot what you want, especially for heroes who can strain move or attack with another character first to clear.

I am playing Vinto in the new Jabba campaign and since it was any of the players' first experience with Vinto, I ended up taking Shot on the Run and Pinpoint Shot. What should I go for next? Probably just Rapid Fire, but I figured I should see what everyone else has to say.

2 hours ago, Galactic_Popo said:

I am playing Vinto in the new Jabba campaign and since it was any of the players' first experience with Vinto, I ended up taking Shot on the Run and Pinpoint Shot. What should I go for next? Probably just Rapid Fire, but I figured I should see what everyone else has to say.

It somewhat depends on who else is in your party but most likely, I would recommend Rapid Fire next. Combined with Shot on the Run and Boltslinger, you can do 3 damage to a figure you aren't even attacking which is great for removing low health figures such as regular Imperial Officers and regular Stormtroopers, finishing off a figure that has already suffered some damage, or doing damage to a high defense figure. For the cost of 1 strain, you can often damage two or three figures which is a pretty efficient use of strain. Vinto excels at spreading damage around and dealing damage to figures he's not directly attacking so Rapid Fire doubles down on that which is really helpful if that's the role you're pegging him into. However, if you're having difficulty bringing down high health figures, you could also make a case for Merciless if you don't have any high single target damage dealers in your party. In our JR campaign with Vinto, we have Mak to deal with high health figures and use Vinto for taking care of low health figures.

2 hours ago, Galactic_Popo said:

I am playing Vinto in the new Jabba campaign and since it was any of the players' first experience with Vinto, I ended up taking Shot on the Run and Pinpoint Shot. What should I go for next? Probably just Rapid Fire, but I figured I should see what everyone else has to say.

Rapid Fire -> Dead On - > Merciless. I wouldn't have gotten Pinpoint Shot, but it's only 1 and it can be useful occasionally until you get a better gun.

I personally believe that people playing Onar for damage or as a tank really miss what makes the character tick. For me, he reads like a very effective semi-support, which in my playgroup often doubles as the "objective" oriented character. If you look at the interplay of Rush, Haymaker, Brute Strength, and Keep Up there's a clear ability to plow through to an attribute test whether the Imp player attempts to block it or not (realizing, of course, that Rush has a limit of once per move). On missions where there is no significant attribute test based objective, he still allows you to play the objective by increasing the survivability of your other teammates with Get Down and Stay Behind me. On top of all that, he can be really cost effective to build thanks to his class armor and no strong need for expensive weaponry or other upgrades. In this role, my group has found Onar to be an extremely valuable addition to the team, allowing us to focus on the Imps while he still makes progress on another objective.

With Keep Up, Rush can be used twice per round.

Oh, definitely! Then command can make it three, and tactical movement 4. Obviously that extra benefit is party composition dependent, but Onar can do so much work to prevent the Imp Player clogging out objectives or bottle-necking in tight hallways. In our group's current Bespin campaign, Onar has single handedly won the first three missions thanks to his incredible objective utility.

Don't forget Force Throw.