So I'm trying to theory craft some lists to try for the upcoming store champs in my area. Was looking through some older stuff I had and started thinking about the Imposing Astral Walrus. Has TLT's driven the Opalescent Ecliptic Mammoth to extinction? Or just put into the endangered species list?

I was thinking about trying this:

TIE Phantom (42)

Whisper

VI, ACD, Int Agent, Sensor Jammer

TIE Interceptor (30)

RGP

PTL, Title, AT, SD

Luminous Celestial Whale (28)

OGP

Accuracy Corrector, EU

Total: 100pts

Any opinions about how the Imposing Lunar Narwhal will contribute to this list?

PS: Shout out to Geordanr for making an awesome name generator.

The albino void pachyderm will strike fear into the hearts of your opponent; don't underestimate it's psychological impact.

I'm no expert though anyway so my opinion counts for nothing, but I think it will be a nice tank for you. You're not spending too much on if and there's some more HP on the table.

At the Covenant SC yesterday, 4 of my 5 opponents were Imperial. Of those, 3 flew Palpmobile or Doomshuttle.

And there were two other shuttles I saw, including one that was helpfully painted like a cow.

Of 35 players, 5 (or more) is a substantial fraction, suggesting it's not dying out yet.

Without Advanced Sensors you're probably not going to be able to get the Lambda's ample posterior turned fast enough to alleviate its glaring weakness - that if the enemy gets behind it, it's screwed. So Engine Upgrade is probably a waste of points. If you're not going to be taking Palpatine for a ride or making it a Vaderbus, you might be better off just building it super light (maybe just an FCS or Accuracy Corrector) and using the spare points to promote your Interceptor to a named ace. Then your opponent has the tough choice of going full-bore at the shuttle and letting your aces harry his flanks, or else concentrating on your expensive ships and giving the Lambda cheap shots.

I still fly a doomshuttle regularly, and am looking forward to saving some points by replacing the Engine Upgrade with an Electronic Baffle.

For a less suicide-y shuttle, I think you want to make sure that there is a better (looking, at least) target for the enemy to focus on. Which means probably keeping the point cost down as much as possible.

Then, of course, there is the Palpmobile, because Astral Vacuum Buffalo are the prefered mode of travel for the stylish evil overlord.

The lambda had already lost some steam before TLT, and the imperial options in the 25 points or less range have massively increased with things like the TIE advanced coming back to life, the TIE/fo release, and soon the advanced prototype

The palpatine shuttle and the vader shuttle are still around, but things like the old gunner/fcs and advanced sensors/engine upgrade builds might be a thing of the past. Still, just about anything is worth trying, and there is always the consideration of personal playstyle

So I'm trying to theory craft some lists to try for the upcoming store champs in my area. Was looking through some older stuff I had and started thinking about the Imposing Astral Walrus. Has TLT's driven the Opalescent Ecliptic Mammoth to extinction? Or just put into the endangered species list?

I was thinking about trying this:

TIE Phantom (42)

Whisper

VI, ACD, Int Agent, Sensor Jammer

TIE Interceptor (30)

RGP

PTL, Title, AT, SD

Luminous Celestial Whale (28)

OGP

Accuracy Corrector, EU

Total: 100pts

Any opinions about how the Imposing Lunar Narwhal will contribute to this list?

PS: Shout out to Geordanr for making an awesome name generator.

O.o where?!

I NEEDZ IT! *gollum, gollum..*

I would wait for the release of Electronic Baffle. The ship has 10 health, meaning you can easily take a damage to remove stress for a turn or two while turning around or absolutely mucking up the opponent's plans by continuously stalling. This allows the Space Pope's Vatican Vessel to be kitted out a bit more offensively since it can turn around in only two turns.

Or, as always, you can do a Vader Shuttle. Vader + FCS is a mean 26 points.

Rumors of its demise are greatly exaggerated. Although it may be endangered in some parts of the world, small communities still exist in others. Inspired by Dom Cairo's Alabaster Hippo Ballet, I had space cowboy Soontir Fel wrangling three of the said beasts to a top 2 finish at a store championship this weekend. The proceedings included two run-ins with a quad-TLT list. I had also previously won a winter kit tourney with the same list, once again having to face a quad-TLT list in the final game. Fel was the reason I ultimately closed out those games, but the charging bulls certainly did enough damage to get me to that position.

http://lists.starwarsclubhouse.com/get_tourney_details?tourney_id=1074

People tend to undermine the raw power of shuttle. This might be odd but people in my area bought shuttles strictly for the cards and never actually use 'em because they thought it's too heavy to steer. Sadly they never bothered using this weakness to their advantage. Too many Poes died trying to sneak ambitiously behind my docile OGP, only to be stuck in its derierre and focus fired by Vader and Soontir later on.

O.o where?!

I NEEDZ IT! *gollum, gollum..*

http://codepen.io/geordan/full/quneg

I don't have a raider. Adulting is likely going to prohibit me getting one before store champs.

I like the adv sen/EU combo on the Dignified Galactic Hippopotamus. Its nuts to be able to snap around like that. I was thinking about some actionless damage output. But the sensors may work out better.

I've never been a fan of the doomshuttle. Cutting my own throat for a crit seems like its not a good trade off. IMO.

O.o where?!

I NEEDZ IT! *gollum, gollum..*

http://codepen.io/geordan/full/quneg

I don't have a raider. Adulting is likely going to prohibit me getting one before store champs.

I like the adv sen/EU combo on the Dignified Galactic Hippopotamus. Its nuts to be able to snap around like that. I was thinking about some actionless damage output. But the sensors may work out better.

I've never been a fan of the doomshuttle. Cutting my own throat for a crit seems like its not a good trade off. IMO.

It seems that way until you sacrifice Vader for a Direct Hit on a 2-hull Fat Han.

I've never been a fan of the doomshuttle. Cutting my own throat for a crit seems like its not a good trade off. IMO.

In my list it is explicitly for killing the super agile aces. If I can sacrifice a 25 point shuttle to be guaranteed to kill a 35 point soontir or whisper that the rest of my list won't be able to touch, that's totally worth it.

I am very much looking forward to flying four omicron pilots, each with tactician. Two with ion cannon and two with tractor beam. I call it "Herd Mentality"

Buzzsaw is still good value in my experience. Not needing actions to damage ships is fantastic. Boost away every turn if you like (until stressed).

At the Covenant SC yesterday, 4 of my 5 opponents were Imperial. Of those, 3 flew Palpmobile or Doomshuttle.

And there were two other shuttles I saw, including one that was helpfully painted like a cow. (...)

including one that was helpfully painted like a cow. (...)

Any chance, you have a pic if that particular shuttle?

Buzzsaw is still good value in my experience. Not needing actions to damage ships is fantastic. Boost away every turn if you like (until stressed).

My Ominous Extraterrestrial Manatee is inclined to disagree.

Ahem

Bessie ain't gone forever, boyo.

My god the eyes on that Lambda... Why :'(

My god the eyes on that Lambda... Why :'(

If you stare at them long enough you will see why...

It needs tiny googly eyes

I think the shuttle will never truly be dead, its stats for points is incredible!

This is why I do not like upgrades on it except for Vader which in my mind is still the best upgrade for your buoyant star cow. You just need to cope with the dial and its firing arc, this means having a list that can let a Lambda roll in pursuit. I have seen people try flying it as a fighter but its like training an Olympic sprinter for a marathon, it simply does not get the same results.

In the late game the lambda looses power, that is why Vader compliments it so much, it does not have a long lifespan.

Palpatine also works but here It functions solely for getting your aces to the late game, its all about Palpatine and less about your shuttle.

Tips for using your white hole whale:

1. Bump it on your own ships, slow rolling is your friend.

2. The first turns setting up for position, a full stop is fine.

3. Range 3 is were the cool kids play.

4. Always set up for pursue.

5. Use it as no fly zones.

6. If you cannot do any of these use it as a blocker to your advantage.

(7. Actions are less relevant over positioning for ships with poor mobility)

It's also come back as a support ship for the new kids on the block.

Ran Colonel Jendon with ST-321 the other day in company with Omega Leader and Omega Ace.

Being able to set up 'Leader's target lock on the first turn before anyone got near was brilliant - you can bank an evade with comms relay at the same time, which means that by the time you actually get into attack range, you've got a full stack of tokens. Equally, Omega Ace can come in with a Target Lock without needing to Push The Limit.....

• Omega Leader - Juke, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Omega Ace - Push The Limit, Comms Relay, Stealth Device
• Colonel Jendon - ST-321, Advanced Sensors, Mara Jade, Rebel Captive, Engine Upgrade

I saw plenty of Snowy Solar Wildebeest at the FFG Store Championship on Saturday. I flew a Palp Shuttle, Vader, Omega Leader, and Wampa. The Massive Astral Hippopotamus was the hero in many of my matches as I am not afraid to get it into the scrum. In my match against a Crack Swarm, I flew it to perfection when on Turn 3, I used the 3 straight to jam 2 ties from firing, surviving the hits from 3 of them, and one shotting Howlrunner. My other 3 ships took down another tie from a flanking position. This quickly evened the match, and while my opponent continued to try and bring down the Scintillating Solar Manatee, the rest of my squad brought his down.