Here's my list

Soontir 27

Stealth 3

Auto thrusters 2

Push the limit 3

Title 0

[35]

Rear Admiral Chiraneau 46

Push the limit 3

Gunner 5

Darth Vader 3

Ysanne Isard 4

Engine upgrade 4

[65]

100 even.

Ive flown this list to great success plenty of times, know the ins & outs, plus I've won multiple tournaments with it.

My biggest strength is being able to snipe out the other Aces who would threaten Soontir.

Be that other soontirs, vader, whisper, etc. So even if i lose the decimator, I still have soontir to clean up.

Against larger ships i do my best at arc dodging or closing to range one to throw as much damage down as possible.

Despite the fact its been out for a few weeks now, I haven't gotten to play test against all of the fancy new wave 8 as much as I'd like.

The biggest lists being any Ghost build that includes the phantom & either a TLT or Autoblaster turret.

& the all famous 3 jumpmaster lists.

Against the ghost if i dont arc dodge im in trouble, but if i do im taking 4 damage from tlt. So i would hope to close to range 1 out of arc. Not so easy with a big base ship. But then again, i could run & have soontir flank & try to whittle it down.

(I forgot to add how much i hate Kanas! If im not range three im only throwing 2 dice against him, or 3 at range 1, but hes throwing back 5.)

If its the auto blaster version, i have to be extremely careful with Soontir & try to peel shields off with the decimator.

I havent even had a chance to consider what to do against the 3 jumps or even a 3 ace list like Vader, Soontir, Inquisitor.

Do you think this list is viable, or should i try a build with plasma torpedoes & mines. Theres also rebel captive & tactician to counter some of the action heavy lists.

Or should i try a new list all together, until Ive practiced this one more?

Im attending the regionals in Marietta Georgia this Saturday.

Hoping to score some of those awesome "Christmas dice" lol

The list is definitely viable, and you have proved it. The jumpmasters are going to try to blow up the decimater with it's 0 agility as fast as possible, and they are going to go for blocks a lot. Their best shot at taking out Soontir is block him with one ship and torpedo him with another one. That means if you can get them down to one ship or run them out of torpedos, you can coast to victory with Fel.

I think the new list to maybe think about facing is Super Dash + Autoblaster Lothal Rebel. Can't get close, and can't stay back.

I still think stick with the list you are most comfortable with, list building is only about a quarter of the game. Fly well, roll okay, set your asteroids right, and you can beat anything.

Thanks for the insight on the triple jumpmasters. Will definitely be a tough one but possible.

Haven't seen a han or dash build in a long while, but that list sounds like a hammer & anvil. Nasty combo. Gonna file that one away for later use, lol.

I love that "Fly well" saying you did.

Thanks for the confidence boost.

I appreciate it.

I've always preferred a Soontir that hits harder. Dropping Stealth Device for Targetting Computer is what I normally do with Soontir. It then also gives you 99 points for a chance at choosing who gets initiative.

As it is your way, you will always be given initiative especially is they have at least 1 ps9 ship so Soontir can't do his boost/barrel roll magic to get out of arc/into range.

If you know how to fly this build then I really wouldn't worry about changing it. You know how to fly it so leave it as is.

I'd spend more time working on strategy against the different builds in the meta.

Know what you plan to do against Palp Aces, Triple Toilet Seats, Crackshot Swarms, etc.

The one thing you can do is replace Ysanne with Rebel Captive. I'm not finding Ysanne very useful these days but I know you probably PTL off of her evade action.

With that reduction and swapping out SD for TC you get to 98 points and a reasonable chance at initiative bids.

The one thing you can do is replace Ysanne with Rebel Captive. I'm not finding Ysanne very useful these days but I know you probably PTL off of her evade action.

With that reduction and swapping out SD for TC you get to 98 points and a reasonable chance at initiative bids.

If you drop Ysanne, might as well swap in VI, two actions aren't THAT viable for RAC especially.

I love putting TC on Soontir but i would have to be extremely careful withkeeping him out of arcs.

Captive & VI on RAC sounds powerful. It would help make my opponents predictable. Plus it would completely wreck whisper.

Im tempted to drop both ptl & Isard for captive & vi. Im just not sure about dropping stealth from soontir for TC. My biggest goal for him is to survive till the end game, for clean up. Being able to evade HLC's & ghosts is an awesome thing.

On the other hand, if i changed both ships, it would drop me to 96 points,basically auto winning me the initiative every game.

Solid list, but I'd make one or two tweaks ....and here they are:

What about the dauntless title? I could bump to reduce shots coming back at me, & still be affective against the wingmen. It would put the VI/Captive list at 99.

Dauntless for what? Your actions are meant to increase your attack accuracy, but Predator and RAC already do that. If you bump one ship and there's another in range, shoot at the other one and the one you bumped can't shoot you. If there is nobody else nearby, no harm, no foul. Shoot at them next turn.

Ive been racking my brain for several hours & this is what i came up with.

Soontir with PTL stealth title & thrusters

The RAC with predator, gunner, agent Kallus, rebel captive, engine upgrade, ion bomb.

My reason for soontir is, ive flown him for years & stealth alongside the new thrusters makes him almost invincible. Yes they fail me sometimes but if im out of arc, i never have to roll them anyway. Plus being able to confidently dodge a 4 dice attack from a ghost or even a hlc is nice. Yes his attack isnt steller all the time, but its more like war of attrition. As long as i peg you for 1-2 over & over without getting hit myself, ill win. Plus by the end game you should be pretty hurt anyway.

For the RAC, i have to say ive never flown him without vader, so i feel naked in a sense lol its the weirdest feeling. Because against low health aces, vader changes games, even against ships with 1 hp. If i can end you now, vs waiting another turn, thats huge. But i feel hes become a crutch to me.

With Kallus & predator, it feels like it would up my offense tremendously. Because without a focus or target lock, all i need is a hit & two focus at range 1-2. My ability changes one & Kallus the other. Plus i have a free reroll from Pred. I like the idea of ion bombs. They give me a threat & control factor. Anything that k turns or chases me, runs a huge risk.

I will have to try to get in some play time with this build, but what do you think?

I feel more confident against bigger ships now, but i feel i may not be as strong against high PS aces now. Without Vader, i cant just drop a ship whenever i want. But at the same time, maybe not throwing away 2hp on such an expensive ship, isnt such a bad thing.

Do you not have Palp? I would swap out Gunner and Ysanne for Palp. I have been running RAC with Palp, Predator, and Engine Upgrade and I am consistently getting three hits per turn. Defense dice cannot keep up with the consistency of that combo.

With Kallus & predator, it feels like it would up my offense tremendously. Because without a focus or target lock, all i need is a hit & two focus at range 1-2. My ability changes one & Kallus the other. Plus i have a free reroll from Pred. I like the idea of ion bombs. They give me a threat & control factor. Anything that k turns or chases me, runs a huge risk.

I will have to try to get in some play time with this build, but what do you think?

You don't really need Kallus. He makes sense on a phantom, a bit questionable on a decimator, but on Chiraneau? Its simply not going to come up often enough to be worth 2 points. You'd be much better off with Vader.

Predator + captive + vader + gunner + engine = 64

That's a pretty solid Chiraneau build right there. About the only thing it will struggle with is torpedo scouts, but as long as you get to shoot twice (hopefully 3 times!), you should be able to kill one if Soontir can also get a shot or two, and then Soontir is left with 2 torpedo scouts (very difficult to win that, unless you can avoid getting blocked and torpedo'd). Everything else though you should have a decent chance against...

Do you not have Palp? I would swap out Gunner and Ysanne for Palp. I have been running RAC with Palp, Predator, and Engine Upgrade and I am consistently getting three hits per turn. Defense dice cannot keep up with the consistency of that combo.

Nah, Palp and Vader together on the same ship is just counter productive. One wants to commit suicide for damage, the other wants to stay alive as long as possible.

Palp/Gunner on the other hand is very strong.

VI RAC/Palp/Gunner/Engine with VI Vader/ATC/Title/Engine is a painfully strong build. Moves last, shoots first, hits HARD when it does.

And fully turtled Vader with palp support is very tough to kill without big focus fire, which you will always work hard to prevent.

Do you not have Palp? I would swap out Gunner and Ysanne for Palp. I have been running RAC with Palp, Predator, and Engine Upgrade and I am consistently getting three hits per turn. Defense dice cannot keep up with the consistency of that combo.

Nah, Palp and Vader together on the same ship is just counter productive. One wants to commit suicide for damage, the other wants to stay alive as long as possible.

Palp/Gunner on the other hand is very strong.

VI RAC/Palp/Gunner/Engine with VI Vader/ATC/Title/Engine is a painfully strong build. Moves last, shoots first, hits HARD when it does.

And fully turtled Vader with palp support is very tough to kill without big focus fire, which you will always work hard to prevent.

Unless palp is there to protect your other ships he is useless on a decimator that can't survive long. I prefer having vi, gunner, vader and eu on him. PS10 and hits like a truck but not for long leaving the support to clean up whats left.

Ran this with whisper the other night and it was very effective.

The only decimator pilot that palp is ok on IMHO, is Kenkirk due to his ability. Tack on Ysanne and he can survive.

Just to think out of the box, how about this?

Chirpy with Predator, Gunner, Fleet Officer, Rebel Captive, and Engine Upgrade for 64 points

or

Chirpy with Expose, Gunner, Rebel Captive, Agent Kallus, Experimental Interface, and Seismic Charge for 65 Points

With Kallus & predator, it feels like it would up my offense tremendously. Because without a focus or target lock, all i need is a hit & two focus at range 1-2. My ability changes one & Kallus the other. Plus i have a free reroll from Pred. I like the idea of ion bombs. They give me a threat & control factor. Anything that k turns or chases me, runs a huge risk.

I will have to try to get in some play time with this build, but what do you think?

You don't really need Kallus. He makes sense on a phantom, a bit questionable on a decimator, but on Chiraneau? Its simply not going to come up often enough to be worth 2 points. You'd be much better off with Vader.

Predator + captive + vader + gunner + engine = 64

That's a pretty solid Chiraneau build right there. About the only thing it will struggle with is torpedo scouts, but as long as you get to shoot twice (hopefully 3 times!), you should be able to kill one if Soontir can also get a shot or two, and then Soontir is left with 2 torpedo scouts (very difficult to win that, unless you can avoid getting blocked and torpedo'd). Everything else though you should have a decent chance against...

Agree with Blade about Rebel Captive, but and you should definitely include Vader OR Gunner. I lean Gunner, but Vader is acceptable. You should absolutely not cut Ysanne over any circumstances. Rebel Captive is an MVP in a ton of games, but Ysanne Isard is a super star in others.

The way a Decimator takes a commanding advantage over other turrets like Ghosts with Dorsal Turrets and the title, or other Decimators or Falcons or even U-Boats is by having that 1 free evade token per turn. It's how you win wars of attrition when arc dodging is not an option. Make your third crew Vader or Gunner, but if you're not running Palp, you should be running Ysanne and Captive for sure.