Howdy all

Would love to get some feedback on an article I posted on my blog about Imperial Fett if anyone is up for a read.

www.thatsnomoon.info/blog/boba-fett-rising

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Cheers

I have a lot of experience running Imperial Firesprays: I played them in tournaments at least once in every wave from Wave 2 to Wave 6. I think the Bounty Hunter is currently undervalued in competitive play.

With all of that said, there are really two problems with them:

• They pay too much for PS. This isn't exclusive to these guys, but because they start higher than most Imperial ships and top out at 8, it's very relevant.
• The unique pilot abilities aren't very good. Krassis gets a single die reroll, Kath's ability typically only works when she misses, and Fett's ability... I'll talk about more in a minute.

I think one of the real strengths of your article is that you do a good job of showcasing the diversity of different "looks" the ship can have. Consider how different these two ships are on the table:

Kath Scarlet (38)
Deadeye (1)
Rebel Captive (3)
Concussion Missiles (4)
Extra Munitions (2)
Guidance Chips (0)
Slave I (0)

Boba Fett (39)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Navigator (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)

The problem, though, is that the ship just isn't very strong, and Fett is probably the weakest because you pay so much to get him. Even a relatively cheap build puts you in the mid to high 40s, and at that price you're looking at Whisper or even a light Decimator build.

And his pilot ability is one of those that sounds like fun on paper, but starts to pall when you get it on the table: a friend of mine joked once that there are between zero and one useful moves for a given ship in a given round, and while that's hyperbole there's a lot of truth in it. You pay an extra six points over a Bounty Hunter for a PS that's not terribly effective and an ability that comes into play rarely. It's a really hard trade to justify, even if you're a fan of the look and feel of the ship.

I think the Bounty Hunter is currently undervalued in competitive play.

Agreed. I think BH's and defenders will make a nasty combo. With BH's and the buffed Defenders, you can mix and match a lot of high hp/ag ships, and they tend to fly well together.

99 points

Colonel Vessery (37)

TIE Defender (35), Tractor beam (1), Veteran Instincts (1), TIE/D (0)

Bounty Hunter (36)

Firespray-31 (33), Recon Specialist (3), Slave-1 (0), Long Range Scanners (0)

“Omega Leader” (26)

TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2)

I think the Bounty Hunter is currently undervalued in competitive play.

Agreed. I think BH's and defenders will make a nasty combo. With BH's and the buffed Defenders, you can mix and match a lot of high hp/ag ships, and they tend to fly well together.

99 points

Colonel Vessery (37)

TIE Defender (35), Tractor beam (1), Veteran Instincts (1), TIE/D (0)

Bounty Hunter (36)

Firespray-31 (33), Recon Specialist (3), Slave-1 (0), Long Range Scanners (0)

“Omega Leader” (26)

TIE/fo Fighter (21), Comm Relay (3), Juke (2)

I dunno about LRS, but otherwise this is a thing of beauty. So much beef.

What do you mean you don't know about LRS? You can start the initial engagement with a TL.

What do you mean you don't know about LRS? You can start the initial engagement with a TL.

^This. Start out with a TL for Vas, and the BH starts engagement with a TL and 2 focus tokens.

Thanks for the replies guys.

I am certainly looking forward to Imperial Veterans coming out as I have a few ideas to put them to good use right away with the Firespray.

What do you mean you don't know about LRS? You can start the initial engagement with a TL.

And after spending it, you can't TL at Ranges 1-2. It also paints an enormous target on the ship you choose to TL turn 1, meaning the player owning that ship can just stay away or force your list into engaging that target while letting the rest of their list go to work.

I guess I've played Scum Firesprays so much lately that I always assume a Firespray is going to have K4 (which synergizes not-at-all with LRS), which doesn't really apply to Imperials. Still, though, I'm not convinced LRS is going to do much for a Firespray other than turn 1. You have to TL a ship with Omega Leader in the list above anyway, so why not just rely on that TL to proc Vessery's ability? It keeps your opponent guessing instead of immediately informing them who you want to kill first. Also after the opening exchange it may take a turn or two for your Firespray to get far enough away to acquire another Lock.

EDIT: I guess I should clarify -- I'm not saying LRS is bad. I just literally said "I don't know about it." There have been many times after an opening engagement where, because of the rear arc, I can TL an enemy ship at Range 1-2 and not worry about return fire.

Not being able to do that because of LRS seems kinda crappy, and if you do spend your TL in the opening round of fire, it could prevent Vessery from getting another lock on that ship for a turn or two -- meaning you paid a premium for an ability that you will use less often. Rarely after an opening pass are ships at Range 3 or greater.

The Bounty Hunter in this list is also the lowest PS; that combined with its large-base size allows it to act as a great blocker against enemy lists. Blockers don't excel at staying far away from other ships. With Recon Specialist, I understand that 2x Focus is usually the action of choice on these guys. However, some turns (depending on the board state) it may be better to take a TL, go for the block, then Focus the next turn for a fully modified attack. LRS prevents some of these situations and makes the ship slightly less flexible, which I personally dislike.

I haven't played a game with LRS yet, so I don't know how I feel about it. On-paper, it doesn't seem like something I'd want to use, but who knows.

Imperial Fett is also one of the pilots that can use the 22.5 degree setup to good advantage.

I've never thought about that deployment opportunity to be honest. Nice call.