I do think its kind of funny that the one thing the tractor beam really can't do is slow down a ship you're pursuing; which seems like it should be the whole point.

A reverse boost would of been thematic but perhaps hard to balance. But even then you can slow down a ship you're chasing, by half a base worth. Not a huge amount I agree but you can pull them backwards a little bit.

It's absolutely a balance decision, IMO. Makes it harder to use it to get Range 1 shots, provides a lot of rule protection by reusing two existing rules, and isn't as abuseable as it would be if you started stacking it with Ion tokens. I just think its funny that the only thing the tractor beam doesn't really do is pull a ship towards you is all.

If it's a boost does that mean you can't move them backwards? That's a shame.

Punting someone into Carnor's bubble of suck will be hilarious.

Punting someone into Carnor's bubble of suck will be hilarious.

this is the greatest quote ever

Man, while I was at work I was really excited to get home and read about the tractor beam and the new pilots I'll be flying (against). And hoooboy, what a doozy! So, I kinda wanted to post about my nascent thoughts on the applications of this sucker. So I'm gonna say what I wanna say, and then I'll catch up on the thread. There's bound to be some overlap but I don't care.

1. I'm surprised they added the repositioning element: In a game that relies so heavily on artfully choosing a maneuver and calculating your end placement, this new mechanic is an absolute beast. There are so many implications and applications it's almost dizzying. Make no mistake, for the ships that can make use of it this will be a catalyst for complete overhauls in the way people build lists around a ship.

2. Many Rebel lists may benefit least: When you look at the Rebels, they tend to have a lot of ships with high attack values. B-Wings, X-Wings and their cousin the T-70, both YT Freighters (when the Outrider's cannon slot is used), which makes the tradeoff of losing at least one attack risky. Since the 3 dice attack, most high-agility opponents stand at least a decent chance to evade it entirely. This may reduce the effectiveness of many Rebel Ace builds, and brings questionable utility to standard generic offensive lists like spam B-Wings. Of course, there are exceptions.

3. There are a ton of uses for this weapon, besides the obvious 'push dope onto rock'.

- push an enemy that has Dead Man's Switch into range of his comrades before finishing him off

- push an opponent into range 1 of their friends, then utilize splash damage effects like Ruthlessness or Assault Missiles from ord-toting miniswarms.

- push an opponent out of range for their attack (or in such a way they are no longer able to fire on you). Since the reduced agility is best used high in the combat round, you're likely to catch a few people before they've fired.

- push or pull an opponent into closer range of a formation. This may actually give the beam some utility on mid PS pilots, who can push an opposing ace closer to their cheap formations after they've fired, giving a pack of Academy or Bandit pilots the Range 1 benefit while someone like Poe or Rexler was forced to fire without it.

- Make a cheap or otherwise unimportant target utterly terrifying. I mean, most people might look at an almost unadorned Omicron or Scyk as something to save until the end game. But the idea of losing agility, actions, or even being forced into a position where you can't help but fly straight off the board will suddenly draw much ire, possibly even more so than an ace or other more expensive ship. The psych-out game will be absolutely real.

But no matter who you utilize this new upgrade with...

4. The TIE Defender becomes the screaming unholy terror of the void: Almost any Defender pilot can make stunning use of this upgrade. Even the lowly Deltas, since the most important thing to consider about firing the tractor beam is "on my list, who shoots first". The 0 point TIE/D title reigns supreme. If you don't see what I mean, let me enlighten you.

Glaive Squadron + TIE/D + Tractor Beam + Outmaneuver

Because nothing says "Screw you and your turret-carriers" like Outmaneuvering them, utterly denying their ability to even attempt to evade even a single hit result, then pulling you into range 1 for a focused, outmaneuvered 4 dice attack. And you can field at least two of these in a list for, I'm guessing, about 76-78 points. If we're lucky, Glaives will be 34 points which would leave juuuust enough room to squeak in two more Academy TIEs. If both Tractor Beams hit, that's enough to reduce your average Rebel to zero agility. And if the first one hits, it becomes all the more likely that the second one will as well.

...

So, how will this single upgrade change the dynamic of the game? Only time can tell for sure, but I for one am tremendously excited. Also, good on scum for being able to benefit from this first, as Imperials won't see the benefit en-masse for a few more months, giving Scum pilots some time to play with their new toy before everyone else gets their grubby pilot gloves all over it. (assuming you don't have money to buy off-faction ships just for a single card.)

Question:

Stealth device and asteroid interaction.

When a ship takes damage from enemy fire, the SD turns off.

When you bump an asteroid, it does not turn off.

However.. an asteroid damage CAUSED by enemy fire (tractor beam boost/barrel-roll)...

Which was does it work? (i suspect it doesn't break the SD, but still...)

Someone above thought already of the first thing that popped into my mind- flinging ships in front of epic ships... Delicious panicking

How ridiculously dangerous did asteroids just become?

Oh, hey POE.. it's be a SHAME if you happened to land on that asteroid... (especially if tractored before he got to shoot... i.e fellow PS10/11 with cannon.. Boba maybe?)

Anyone even want to contemplate flying through asteroids once the new defender titles come out?

Question:

Stealth device and asteroid interaction.

When a ship takes damage from enemy fire, the SD turns off.

When you bump an asteroid, it does not turn off.

However.. an asteroid damage CAUSED by enemy fire (tractor beam boost/barrel-roll)...

Which was does it work? (i suspect it doesn't break the SD, but still...)

Someone above thought already of the first thing that popped into my mind- flinging ships in front of epic ships... Delicious panicking

How ridiculously dangerous did asteroids just become?

Oh, hey POE.. it's be a SHAME if you happened to land on that asteroid... (especially if tractored before he got to shoot... i.e fellow PS10/11 with cannon.. Boba maybe?)

Anyone even want to contemplate flying through asteroids once the new defender titles come out?

You lose the stealth from a tractor beam 'hit' regardless of if it forced you on a rock or not. It still counts as a 'hit', even without any damage.

Pulling someone in front of an epic ship might be nasty, but still very hard to make work, since that ship would move BEFORE the epic ship moves again. Now if it's ioned as well...

Well i can really see it help any faction!

Obviously it will be absolutely awesomesauce on Defenders with /D title. My bet is still on Vessery with VI and Tractor as top candidate. But also good for 3 genercis!

But actually there are also Rebel and Scum squads that will benefit hugely from it!

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)
Fire-Control System (2)
Tractor Beam (1)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)
Fire-Control System (2)
Tractor Beam (1)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)
Fire-Control System (2)
Tractor Beam (1)

Blue Squadron Pilot (22)
Fire-Control System (2)
Tractor Beam (1)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

You can flexibly sacrifice one or 2 B-Wing shots in order to really mess up the other guy's positioning, and then your free TL's make your fire very scary. If you think you have enough tokens on a ship, the others can fire normally and finish'em!

The best thing is that you can pull TLT Y-Wings into Range 1 or kick them away, so you can focus others with your fire or dodge shots. We might see the B more again in the meta.

Binayre Pirate (12)
XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1)

Binayre Pirate (12)

Binayre Pirate (12)

Binayre Pirate (12)

Cartel Spacer (14)
Tractor Beam (1)
"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (Cannon) (2)

Cartel Spacer (14)
Tractor Beam (1)
"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (Cannon) (2)

Cartel Spacer (14)
Tractor Beam (1)
"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (Cannon) (2)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Can it revive the Scyk? No idea but this looks solid! You enable the Z-95s to get off their damage even against high agility targets. And if you can roll someone on an asteroid or off the table (does that work too)? even better!

Oh the humanity!

TB's for every mofo with a hull point!

Good luck Aces!

Question:

Stealth device and asteroid interaction.

When a ship takes damage from enemy fire, the SD turns off.

When you bump an asteroid, it does not turn off.

However.. an asteroid damage CAUSED by enemy fire (tractor beam boost/barrel-roll)...

Which was does it work? (i suspect it doesn't break the SD, but still...)

Someone above thought already of the first thing that popped into my mind- flinging ships in front of epic ships... Delicious panicking

How ridiculously dangerous did asteroids just become?

Oh, hey POE.. it's be a SHAME if you happened to land on that asteroid... (especially if tractored before he got to shoot... i.e fellow PS10/11 with cannon.. Boba maybe?)

Anyone even want to contemplate flying through asteroids once the new defender titles come out?

You lose the stealth from a tractor beam 'hit' regardless of if it forced you on a rock or not. It still counts as a 'hit', even without any damage.

Pulling someone in front of an epic ship might be nasty, but still very hard to make work, since that ship would move BEFORE the epic ship moves again. Now if it's ioned as well...

Well, you could force the ship into a place where it can't dodge from, or its next maneuver has a high chance to be crushed when you move. It depends on the dial the ship has, the exact positions, and all that. You can kinda j-turn a Huge ship's fat arse out to the side a bit, which might make you able to destroy them. For instance, let's just say that an A-Wing approaches the aft section at a perpendicular angle from its starboard side to strafe it, with the intention of boosting 5 straight or k-turning to the aft port side next round. The Tractor Beam forces the A-Wing to barrel roll backwards and to the starboard side. Now, his 5 straight may no longer be enough to clear the aft section of the Raider if it happens to bank to starboard (swinging it's aft section farther out where it may potentially overlap the resting position of the A-Wing should it move straight). It also can't safely turn or bank to starboard, risking an overlap should the Raider bank to port. The only safe choice would then be for the A-Wing to turn or bank to port (completely away from the Raider), and therefor spoil its shot or force it to use its action boosting to reacquire a firing angle.

That all being said, you might be able to push a small ship that has closed distance to the Epic ship back out into range of some devastating secondary weapon like Single Turbolaser.

Question:

Stealth device and asteroid interaction.

When a ship takes damage from enemy fire, the SD turns off.

When you bump an asteroid, it does not turn off.

However.. an asteroid damage CAUSED by enemy fire (tractor beam boost/barrel-roll)...

Which was does it work? (i suspect it doesn't break the SD, but still...)

Someone above thought already of the first thing that popped into my mind- flinging ships in front of epic ships... Delicious panicking

How ridiculously dangerous did asteroids just become?

Oh, hey POE.. it's be a SHAME if you happened to land on that asteroid... (especially if tractored before he got to shoot... i.e fellow PS10/11 with cannon.. Boba maybe?)

Anyone even want to contemplate flying through asteroids once the new defender titles come out?

You lose the stealth from a tractor beam 'hit' regardless of if it forced you on a rock or not. It still counts as a 'hit', even without any damage.

Pulling someone in front of an epic ship might be nasty, but still very hard to make work, since that ship would move BEFORE the epic ship moves again. Now if it's ioned as well...

Well, you could force the ship into a place where it can't dodge from, or its next maneuver has a high chance to be crushed when you move. It depends on the dial the ship has, the exact positions, and all that. You can kinda j-turn a Huge ship's fat arse out to the side a bit, which might make you able to destroy them. For instance, let's just say that an A-Wing approaches the aft section at a perpendicular angle from its starboard side to strafe it, with the intention of boosting 5 straight or k-turning to the aft port side next round. The Tractor Beam forces the A-Wing to barrel roll backwards and to the starboard side. Now, his 5 straight may no longer be enough to clear the aft section of the Raider if it happens to bank to starboard (swinging it's aft section farther out where it may potentially overlap the resting position of the A-Wing should it move straight). It also can't safely turn or bank to starboard, risking an overlap should the Raider bank to port. The only safe choice would then be for the A-Wing to turn or bank to port (completely away from the Raider), and therefor spoil its shot or force it to use its action boosting to reacquire a firing angle.

That all being said, you might be able to push a small ship that has closed distance to the Epic ship back out into range of some devastating secondary weapon like Single Turbolaser.

All good points, I still think it's gonna be hard to intentionally set it up for an actual crush most of the time (could be wrong). But forcing a bad maneuver? Yeah, that you'll be able to do without the huge ship, with the huge it only gets easier.

All good points, I still think it's gonna be hard to intentionally set it up for an actual crush most of the time (could be wrong). But forcing a bad maneuver? Yeah, that you'll be able to do without the huge ship, with the huge it only gets easier.

The pilot will be like that one mouse in the little imperial remote control car thing.

if they release a "death beam" im all for Death beam phantoms.

Is a "death beam" supposed to be what the Death Star uses?

Because that's called a Composite Beam in-universe.

Wouldn't a 'death beam' just be blasters?

I like it, my only concern is the ability to force a ship to lose it's attack by landing it on an asteroid. Kinda makes it pointless to be so good at avoiding the obstacles if your opponent can just say "nope" and make you lose your attack anyway.

The saving grace is that most of the things that can take canon have low defense dice, with the exception of the Defender...but then Defenders are expensive so you don't have as much coming at you.

I trust that it's been playtested enough though and I am sure if there is a problem it will either be FAQ'd or a counter card will make itself known in a future wave. It also introduces another token into the game which in turn can allow other cards more interactions. I foresee a pilot that gets +1 attack dice when attacking a ship with a tractor token.

I also got a little excited, there is finally a way to make Dash suffer the effects of obstacles...but then I remembered, duh, he's a large ship and you cannot barrel roll or boost a large ship with a tractor beam.

I actually think it sucks.

You want it on high ps ships (for the reduced agility benefit) but you don't want to give up your attach on those ships.

On low ps ships that are cheap and have a cannon... So like the m3a you are basiccaly giving up your attack for some control and I have never seen an m3a ion cannon appart from my own lists.

Low pilot skill cheap swarm is about it and the defender with title... But even the defender I would be hard pressed to take it over an ion.

To me at least the ion feels like stronger control, unless you can place them on an asteroid. But even in that case you traded your attack for there's.

I think people are overlooking the opertunity cost of doing a no damage attack. If this hits top level play on anything but the misthunter (for the title) and maybe titled defenders I would be shocked.

Does no damage. Still has to hit to do anything.

Sure if you've got a point spare... I can't see it helping the syck at all.

The TIE Defender that can fire both weapons seems to be the only place i'd stick it, maybe one of the brobots.

Definitely more of the new Defender title which would make this useful. Now while the other half of the token has a neat effect on small ships I don't see it really doing that much more damage. You can expect maybe a 4 large rock with tractor beam swarm gimmick list but I don't think TB tokens will be as prevalent as Ion or Stress tokens for control. Sure tractor beam tokens are not affected by electronic baffle but I don't see many scenarios where you want the damage over the ion/stress token. I can't think of any system slotted ships that have continuous regen.

Two OGPs with Tractor beams and 4 Academy Pilot TIEs give you 8 points left to play with.

It may not be a top tier list but it will be satisfying to make a ship that has already attacked boost in closer to get shredded by TIEs.

Maybe smack Tacticians, Electronic Baffles, and Intel Agents on the Shuttles.

I think people are overlooking the opertunity cost of doing a no damage attack. If this hits top level play on anything but the misthunter (for the title) and maybe titled defenders I would be shocked.

I can see BroBots getting some use out of it, particularly Mangler/Predator builds that tend to have a point spare anyway. You can move opposing Autothruster ships closer to your second Bot; you can put regenerating ships you can't do meaningful damage to onto obstacles to set them up for next turn; you can move generics away from you so they don't get arc. You won't be using it every turn, but it will have uses.

I think people are overlooking the opertunity cost of doing a no damage attack. If this hits top level play on anything but the misthunter (for the title) and maybe titled defenders I would be shocked.

I can see BroBots getting some use out of it, particularly Mangler/Predator builds that tend to have a point spare anyway. You can move opposing Autothruster ships closer to your second Bot; you can put regenerating ships you can't do meaningful damage to onto obstacles to set them up for next turn; you can move generics away from you so they don't get arc. You won't be using it every turn, but it will have uses.

You just wasted an attack that hit the target to give your other ship a better chance to attempt to hit the target, think about that.

I like it makes taking vessery a solid choice at ps8 with VI he`ll open up large ships for mini swarms, at ps6 with ruthlessness he could ruin TLT lists day.

Don't know if I'd mount it on a bwing and give up its damage, I can see a scyk used to open up an enemy though.

I like it makes taking vessery a solid choice at ps8 with VI he`ll open up large ships for mini swarms, at ps6 with ruthlessness he could ruin TLT lists day.

Don't know if I'd mount it on a bwing and give up its damage, I can see a scyk used to open up an enemy though.

Big thing is which scyk. It has the most effect on the highest pilot skill and right now I don't see those Aces keen on sacrificing their attacks.

I think people are overlooking the opertunity cost of doing a no damage attack. If this hits top level play on anything but the misthunter (for the title) and maybe titled defenders I would be shocked.

I can see BroBots getting some use out of it, particularly Mangler/Predator builds that tend to have a point spare anyway. You can move opposing Autothruster ships closer to your second Bot; you can put regenerating ships you can't do meaningful damage to onto obstacles to set them up for next turn; you can move generics away from you so they don't get arc. You won't be using it every turn, but it will have uses.

You just wasted an attack that hit the target to give your other ship a better chance to attempt to hit the target, think about that.

If that better chance involves giving it -1 agility and shutting down Autothrusters, then I'll make that trade. The second bot is in no worse a position if you miss, and if you hit the target is basically dead.

If that better chance includes putting the target on a rock so that it will have very limited movement and no defensive actions next turn, again I will make that trade.

I see it on Serissu. She is a great support for your list with her ability and the tractor beam. She is a great budget support ship, and if she draws fire away from other ships, that is fine because they're the ones doing damage anyway.

I like it makes taking vessery a solid choice at ps8 with VI he`ll open up large ships for mini swarms, at ps6 with ruthlessness he could ruin TLT lists day.

Don't know if I'd mount it on a bwing and give up its damage, I can see a scyk used to open up an enemy though.

Big thing is which scyk. It has the most effect on the highest pilot skill and right now I don't see those Aces keen on sacrificing their attacks.

Remember, doesn't have to be high PS, just equal to or higher than the rest of your list. You could have 3 Deltas with titles all fire, and select the order that you fire in.