Righto.

As of the time of his release, there are 5 different Scum and Villany ships that can take crew.

The shields that Gonk regenerates are more effective when removed less often, so ships with 1 agility are at a disadvantage with him comparatively, and we'd really love to have one with 3 in the running.

2 agi: Slave 1, Punishing One, Moldy Crow

1 agi: Hound's Tooth, Mist Hunter

================================================================

Regenerating a shield for an action is similar to the Evade action with a Comm Relay.

Both cancel the next hit taken, and both persist even after combat ends for the round if you were not hit for some reason. There are minor and situational differences between them.

Notably among these, when dealing with attacks that neuter their own damage on a hit (like Ion Cannon or Twin Laser Turrets), the regenerated shield is almost always superior, until you get to the point where no-selling the attacks in question are likely.

​As such, if you have Gonk on board, and he has banked shields, using one is typically superior to taking a defensive focus, and almost always superior to an Evade action.

For a Defensive Focus to be superior to an Evade with otherwise unmodified 2 Agility, you should be attacked by 4 times for 2 hits a piece, in a single round. Fewer attacks, and the Evade token is generally superior.

As a Gonk-regen is similar to an Evade...

And if you decide on a 1 Agi ship, Gonking is always going to be superior to a defensive focus, unless you're at full health.

================================================================

I warned you in the title that this is a digression. That means my thoughts are meandering as I'm penning this, and have not actually mapped out a thesis or outline.

My 7th grade teacher will be thoroughly disappointed in how my essaying skills have failed to progress.

================================================================

Back to the ships.

Of the 2 Agi Gonk Carriers, the HWK stands out as a poor choice, as of out of all of the options:

• It has the fewest shields to regenerate
• It has the least hull underneath the shields
• It has the worst dial (making escaping to lick wounds and rejoin the battlefield unfeasible)
• It is the cheapest (so the price of Gonk weighs more heavily)
• It is the worst carrier for Experimental Interface (the clear combo piece) due to the previous two points
• Its title, which is the best candidate for extending its lifespan to make Gonk worth it, competes with the banking mechanic, and combos best with another Crew.

So, I'm sad to say, I do not foresee Palob Godalhi with TLT working well with Gonk, despite the action independence therein.

2 agi: Slave 1, Punishing One, Moldy Crow

1 agi: Hound's Tooth, Mist Hunter

================================================================

Jumpmaster vs Firespray is an interesting bout.

​After including a title for both, to even the attack-die stats, we have the following

Contracted Scout Benefits:

Turret Primary

Left Green Turn (two speeds)

Mech slot

Barrel Roll

​

Mandalorian Mercenary Benefits:

​+1 Hull

Right Green Bank (Jumpmaster is not an ambi-turner).

Cannon and Bomb slots

Evade

2 points cheaper

I don’t have a direct answer for you here, as it looks like it’ll wind up being a playstyle difference. Both clearly have their upsides, though.

================================================================

Potential Slotted Combos

Modification:

Experimental Interface, Engine Upgrades, Maneuvering Fins

Astromech:

Unhinged Astromech, R5-P8

Illicit:

Feedback Array, Glitterstim

System:

Surprisingly, all of them.

Crew:

Gunner, Greedo, Navigator

Cannon:

Ion, Tractor Beam

Pilot Ability:

Boba Fett, 4-Lom, Tel Trevura

Elite Talent:

Wired

Note: Some of these actually combo with Experimental Interface, as that is Gonk’s favorite pairing.

For a stress, it allows you to:

•Perform a non-Gonk action, then bank a shield onto him
•Perform a non-Gonk action, then regenerate a shield from him
•Bank a shield onto him, then allocate it

================================================================

Yes, some of those upgrades are only pairable on 1 agility ships. I never said to discount the Hound’s Tooth or the Mist Hunter, just that they had a disadvantage.

The Hound’s Tooth gives the most hull and shields available: a total of 12 HP for regenerative purposes.

It also allows Gonk to be combined with other Crew, or simply to be slotted into a spare slot.

The Mist Hunter brings the most options for minor combos, particularly when noting that every System option improves Gonk in some way, and using Experimental Interface with 4-Lom is ultra-potent.

================================================================

So, there you have it. A meandering on a theme of Gonk.

Gonk.

Really though, I always enjoy your write ups.

Also: Gonk.

And one day you should actually start writing novels or something

And one day you should actually start writing novels or something

Bah. That involves making "Sense" and having "Narrative Flow" from one paragraph to the next. :-p

I did not understand these words:

"...until you get to the point where no-selling the attacks in question are likely."

Otherwise, thanks for the thought exercise!

I did not understand these words:

"...until you get to the point where no-selling the attacks in question are likely."

Otherwise, thanks for the thought exercise!

No Sell definition

Here, I am using it as "Cause the attack in question to Miss".

When that becomes likely, the +1 modifier of an Evade token catches it up to the damage prevention of regenerating a shield, with the added benefit of not getting an Ion Token, or what have you.

I like it best on a Firespray (mainly Kath) and the Jumpmaster (mainly Dengar or Tel). Hound's tooth really wants to be able to boost with engine upgrade to get that 180 arc on target while the turret and double arc Firesprays are easier to point at the enemy. Kath does really well at kiting and regenning while pushing 4 dice out the back while Dengar/Tel constantly shoot 3 and probably have R5-P8 blasting damage back at the enemy constantly. Wired IMO is a must with this setup as is experimental interface. You bank up 2-3 tokens before the initial engagement then once you run out of those banked tokens you start losing your Focus/Evade/Barrel Roll/TL action to regen a shield, which is where wired comes in.

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

I'm definitely looking forward to someday trying it on the YV-666. You're not going to sacrifice too much thanks to the three crew slots to get him on there, and with it's big base, underrated dial, and a EU you should have little trouble getting out of combat to regenerate. The downside will that requires not having Experimental Interface, which is the definite combo that we'll be seeing a lot of. Still, you could slow roll forwards and get a small stack of tokens and simply beat a hasty retreat when it's time to regenerate.

With that said, I'm not going to get a Gonk super soon unless I come into a little extra cash I can use on X-Wing, and I'm also already looking forward to giving 4-L0M a whirl aboard the YV (and as a pilot in his own right!).

But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of throwing a Gonk on a Mando Merc. You could take PTL, an EU, and GONK and I think you'd be set. Build up some tokens, GONK regen then PTL for an Evade or TL or Focus or Boost or whatever you want and keep firing out the rear as you pass by. Only limiting factor is the Firespray's dubious amount of greens to clear your stress with.

Build up some tokens, GONK regen then PTL for an Evade or TL or Focus or Boost or whatever you want and keep firing out the rear as you pass by. Only limiting factor is the Firespray's dubious amount of greens to clear your stress with.

Not a bad idea, but I balk at calling the Firespray's greens "Dubious".

Those are some of the most often used maneuvers in its repertoire even if you're not stressing yourself, simply due to how the thing winds up flying.

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

Would it be wise to evade and then Gonk, or does one really want at least one focus token before needing to rely on those Wired rerolls?

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

Would it be wise to evade and then Gonk, or does one really want at least one focus token before needing to rely on those Wired rerolls?

My solution was to do it on 4LOM. Juke, fcs, gonk, exp interface. You evade/gonk for your actions, have target locks and juke for offense (and evade to block a damage as needed)

My solution was to do it on 4LOM. Juke, fcs, gonk, exp interface. You evade/gonk for your actions, have target locks and juke for offense (and evade to block a damage as needed)

Ooh, that sounds pretty sweet. I actually really like that.

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

Would it be wise to evade and then Gonk, or does one really want at least one focus token before needing to rely on those Wired rerolls?

I haven't done the math , but being able to re-roll blanks would make me think that Focus gets a lot stronger with Wired.

Of course, the fact that you get it for offense is also nice.

I've done the math (incorrectly, twice; the latter due to not reading Wired).

​Against a single attacker, when you have 3 agility.... I did the wrong math.

​ ​Against a single attacker, when you have 2 agility, a Focus Token is worth appx 70% of an Evade.

As you add attackers (assuming 2+ damage to cancel per attacker), the odds of your Focus token remaining unspent shrink exponentially.

​So, vs 1 attacker, it's (117/256) ¹

​vs 2 attackers, its (117/256) ²

​And so on.

Now, the expected value of a spent Focus token with 2 agility and Lone Wolf is appx 1.23 Evades, there does come a point where the number of attackers make the Focus theoretically better value than an Evade (assuming that the Attackers are all dealing 2 or more damage per attack).

So the formula, here, is (1-(117/256) ⁿ )* 1.23 448 27 59... > 1

n happens to lie between 2 and 3, so with Wired and an expected incoming damage of 2 damage per attack, you should Focus rather than Evade if you're going to withstand 3 attacks that round.

​But it's bloody close at 2 attacks

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

Would it be wise to evade and then Gonk, or does one really want at least one focus token before needing to rely on those Wired rerolls?

I haven't done the math , but being able to re-roll blanks would make me think that Focus gets a lot stronger with Wired.

Of course, the fact that you get it for offense is also nice.

I've done the math.

​Against a single attacker, when you have 3 agility.... I did the wrong math.

You're talking about Boba specifically, right? I guess I was wondering about Firesprays other than his. I should have specified.

Ignore my previous post: Wired re-rolls EYEBALLS, not Blanks.

I suppose it's still valid for using Lone Wolf, but that's neither here nor there.

Okay:

Firespray of choice

Gonk

Experimental Interface

Wired

You Focus and Gonk, voiding 2 damage, and getting offensive and defensive rerolls on eyeballs. If it's on Boba, Wired can support Boba's native re-rolls, and you can get solid offense and really tenacious defense, if you've got the actions.

Would it be wise to evade and then Gonk, or does one really want at least one focus token before needing to rely on those Wired rerolls?

I haven't done the math , but being able to re-roll blanks would make me think that Focus gets a lot stronger with Wired.

Of course, the fact that you get it for offense is also nice.

I've done the math.

​Against a single attacker, when you have 3 agility.... I did the wrong math.

You're talking about Boba specifically, right? I guess I was wondering about Firesprays other than his. I should have specified.

I was just doing Wired Lone Wolf , not Wired Lone Wolf + Boba.

I dunno, the gunship build for the Tooth gets by without EU, so I don't see why you couldn't just ditch it in favor of EI. The hard 3s do a pretty good job of keeping you in arc more often than not.

I think Push The Limit + Gonk is worth considering as well. True, it doesn't let you stash and then recover a shield in the same turn, but it still could be strong.

For example, Tel Trevura + Gonk + Push The Limit + Hull Upgrade + Unhinged Astromech. Tons of green maneuvers to clear PTL stress, including a 3-bank right, going against the left lean of his dial. Minimum of 11 HP total without even triggering Gonk, and can probably reach 13+ HP per game pretty reliably unless he gets multi-stressed. I just wish there was something you could add to this combo to give it a little more offensive punch beyond the Punishing One title.

Dammit... why can't I just bring G-Dogg cause I need more GONK?!

Dammit... why can't I just bring G-Dogg cause I need more GONK?!

Just bring a giant brass disk, and strike it with a mallet whenever you deal an opposing ship a damage card.

Oh wait, no, that's a Gong...

Dammit... why can't I just bring G-Dogg cause I need more GONK?!

Just bring a giant brass disk, and strike it with a mallet whenever you deal an opposing ship a damage card.

Oh wait, no, that's a Gong...

Come at me bro a'la Scum

Dengar+P1+EI+'Gonk'

2x Black Sun Ace+Expert Handling

Dengar flies face on, high on Gonk, while the BSAs nibble at the edges and rolls out of arcs so he's the sole target.

Well, What if you

Trando Slaver -
GONK
Feedback Array

Bank shields, come in like a drunken bull, get tangled and bump, then regen on your slow turn around.