I've noticed he's appeared in a couple of lists that have done well at store championships (Biggs + IA + R4 and Ello + IA + R4), including the winning list at the DarkSphere SC in London, and I'm trying to figure out what he's there for.

On the face of it, he seems useful but if I interpret the wording correctly he means you will be suffering two guaranteed hits even if he triggers. Is he a counter to HLCs? I can't see him being a good counter to TLTs because you need to cancel all the hits to avoid the damage. Is there anything else he's there for, or is he purely a damage reducer to extend Biggs' lifespan?

It's there so you can equip Integrated Astromech. Everything else is details.

You can argue over which 1pt Astro is best, sure, but if R4D6 has saved a damage from Biggs over the course of the game then great. Biggs is going to first and fast so any chance at prolonging his life is good.

Damage reducer for any ship like Soontir, Vader, Poe or anyone else that might roll 3 - 4 hits and you whiff in response.

He was a solid choice for Biggs before IA, now he's a no-brainer. There are so many 3 and 4 dice attack ships out there that inevitable when the green dice fail between 3 and 4 hits will pop up.

MJ probably has the exact value, but cancelling a hit for a stress is probably worth in the neighborhood of 2 points. So even if it triggers once, it's a net positive. If it triggers twice, and you get IA, you are talking about like 6 points worth of upgrade for a 1 point investment.

You're right, most of the time, if his ability triggers, he will still suffer 2 damage. Combined with Integrated Astromech, he is guaranteed to survive at least 2 attacks, possibly a 3rd and fourth. In the world of Heavy Laser Cannon, TIE Phantoms, and the Upcoming Ghost, this is a luxury of which he would not otherwise get to partake. And against Twin Laser Turret, he gains another HP, so can potentially survive an additional volley. In short, turrets HATE Biggs, and anything that makes Biggs more durable without drastically increasing his cost. This is the only upgrade I'd ever consider giving Biggs, because most other choices that increase durability increase his cost too much. You must consider that you will still lose him every match.

But, in general, the T-65 is still a poor choice, and Biggs is no different. He often becomes a 6 HP shield, but in the current state of the game, and especially if you're stacking stress on him, he'll never get to attack again after R4-D6 triggers the first time.

Works well on TLT Y-Wings as well, they get shot at a lot, and aren't that action dependent. Kept one alive for a surprising amount of time vs HLC Brobots the other day!

He's going to gain tremendous value after wave 8 drops with guidance chips. Those 4 hits missile volleys are better redirected at Biggs with that Droid than your squad's workhorse.

He's also a direct counter to Ordnance, when it becomes more prevalent.

Edit: Ninja'd

Also, what about Vader with ATC? Phantom? Lots of ships at R1. HLC. There are a decent number of high damage methods out there now. Ordnance is starting to show. Lots of things that can put the hurt on.

I think it's good that people are pulling out dusty astromechs and finding real uses for them.

This is a mathwing analysis, but not entirely up to date anymore:

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/104770-r4-d6/#entry1061778

Most notably, it does not include Integrated Astromech. However, while IA has made R4-D6 more attractive, the increased chance of scoring a crit (ATC!) make R4 less desirable. So he might not be a good counter to guidance chips - it depends on what ship is shooting him.

Overall, maybe it is still the case that he is best for a Y-Wing, or perhaps Biggs, who doesn't profit that much from other 1 point astromechs. I think he's good for tlt Horton, actually.

Just keep in mind it only works on 3+ *hit* results, and doesn't count crit results towards that. If the attacker rolls 2 hits, 1 crit, and you blank your green dice, it's all coming through . So you're not going to it to trigger often against Vader w/ ATC.

I took it to my tournament and came in 3rd. Put it on biggs, with Integrated Astro and faced HLC in every game. Well worth it's points for sure.

Indeed.... the last time I took the droid out for a spin my opponent launched a procket and rolled 4 crits and 1 hit. Somehow Biggs survived to the end game and victory but only because of integrated astromech, not R4-D6. On the other hand I've canceled 2 hits with it in another game, so it's use is very hit and miss.

Whilst not necessarily a bad choice, I do think some of its allure may be from people misreading the ability. In one of my games at the Dark Sphere SC, my opponent tried to use it to reduce the number of hit results before then applying the defence dice, which would be a whole lot more powerful!

R4-D6 + Biggs = Your opponents attacks won't deal more than 2 damage, vs a ship with 6 hp.

Therefore, you're removing a minimum of 3 attacks from attacking your squadmates.

Ships with PS>Biggs are unlikely to be flown in sufficient numbers to kill him in the first round with R4-D6, so he'll still get at least one shot off.

So the question is: Between the start of combat, and when your fleet is reduced to the point where it would be without Biggs' interference, can you deal more than 26 points of damage to your opponent?

R4-D6 + Biggs = Your opponents attacks won't deal more than 2 damage, vs a ship with 6 hp.

Therefore, you're removing a minimum of 3 attacks from attacking your squadmates.

Unless they roll crits. A pair of hits and a pair of crits is still going to deal 4 damage.

I think R4-D6 is a great idea on Biggs, but it isn't as good as that statement makes it seem.

R4-D6 + Biggs = Your opponents attacks won't deal more than 2 damage, vs a ship with 6 hp.

Therefore, you're removing a minimum of 3 attacks from attacking your squadmates.

Unless they roll crits. A pair of hits and a pair of crits is still going to deal 4 damage.

I think R4-D6 is a great idea on Biggs, but it isn't as good as that statement makes it seem.

I tend to discount crits, as they're incredibly rare (for that matter, not every crit is a Direct Hit!).

But still, one of those Crits is likely to have been canceled by the Integrated Astromech, so in your scenario Biggs still has 1 hull remaining.

Also, if my opponent rolls 2 [KABLAM]s and deals 2 "Direct Hits!" against ​Biggs​, who somehow survived as I pointed out, they are likely to be demoralized. (Oh COME ON!)

R4-D6 + Biggs = Your opponents attacks won't deal more than 2 damage, vs a ship with 6 hp.

Therefore, you're removing a minimum of 3 attacks from attacking your squadmates.

Unless they roll crits. A pair of hits and a pair of crits is still going to deal 4 damage.

I think R4-D6 is a great idea on Biggs, but it isn't as good as that statement makes it seem.

I tend to discount crits, as they're incredibly rare (for that matter, not every crit is a Direct Hit!).

But still, one of those Crits is likely to have been canceled by the Integrated Astromech, so in your scenario Biggs still has 1 hull remaining.

Also, if my opponent rolls 2 [KABLAM]s and deals 2 "Direct Hits!" against ​Biggs​, who somehow survived as I pointed out, they are likely to be demoralized. (Oh COME ON!)

I don't think that crits are all that rare. I might be wrong but I think that attacks of 4 or more dice are likely to have at least one. Two shots that end up with 2 uncanceled hits and a crit are going to kill Biggs.

If I had more copies of IA, I would feel comfortable stapling R4-D6 and IA to my Biggs card as I feel that it is the best Astromech for him.

Works well on TLT Y-Wings as well, they get shot at a lot, and aren't that action dependent. Kept one alive for a surprising amount of time vs HLC Brobots the other day!

I've considered throwing him on Horton Salm, since he can at least re-roll his blanks. If you could get some some focus tokens even while stressed....

.... hey, both Kyle Katarn and Esege Tuketu can hand out focuses to stressed ships and carry TLTs.... hmmmm.....

R4-D6 + Biggs = Your opponents attacks won't deal more than 2 damage, vs a ship with 6 hp.

Therefore, you're removing a minimum of 3 attacks from attacking your squadmates.

Unless they roll crits. A pair of hits and a pair of crits is still going to deal 4 damage.

I think R4-D6 is a great idea on Biggs, but it isn't as good as that statement makes it seem.

I tend to discount crits, as they're incredibly rare (for that matter, not every crit is a Direct Hit!).

But still, one of those Crits is likely to have been canceled by the Integrated Astromech, so in your scenario Biggs still has 1 hull remaining.

Also, if my opponent rolls 2 [KABLAM]s and deals 2 "Direct Hits!" against ​Biggs​, who somehow survived as I pointed out, they are likely to be demoralized. (Oh COME ON!)

I don't think that crits are all that rare. I might be wrong but I think that attacks of 4 or more dice are likely to have at least one. Two shots that end up with 2 uncanceled hits and a crit are going to kill Biggs.

If I had more copies of IA, I would feel comfortable stapling R4-D6 and IA to my Biggs card as I feel that it is the best Astromech for him.

Crits account for 1/4 of all damage rolled if re-rolls are your only modifier.

If you used a Focus, they're 1/6.

So, to make it likely to have "at least 1 crit", you need to roll 4 or 6 damage, post modification.

I think this upgrade is pretty stellar on Wedge too. He is not an end game piece, but R4D6 buys him an extra round often enough.

It would seem that with only 1 agility and lots of health, a Y-wing would benefit more (Except for

IA, of course)

It would seem that with only 1 agility and lots of health, a Y-wing would benefit more (Except for

IA, of course)

It would seem that with only 1 agility and lots of health, a Y-wing would benefit more (Except for

IA, of course)

That's exactly what Khyros' post was about...

You're not wrong.

​Concensus seems to be that R4-D6 is better than any other astromech for Biggs, and is also great on Y-Wings.

It's there so you can equip Integrated Astromech. Everything else is details.

You can argue over which 1pt Astro is best, sure, but if R4D6 has saved a damage from Biggs over the course of the game then great. Biggs is going to first and fast so any chance at prolonging his life is good.

You know, I totally missed the fact that it's basically an extra hull for 1pt.

I confused myself thinking about the benefits of R4's ability.

Makes a heck of a lot more sense now. Thanks!