Have never really been a fan of expose + gunner. There's a good chance, rolling 4 modified dice, that a hit will get through, which makes the 5 points of gunner kind of a waste. Then, you're stacking on two action cards, which means you're not using 4/5 points of upgrades every turn.

When building a fat deci that's not the bump and grind Oicunn, I've had success pairing these two:

Whisper Chippy

Decimator - Rear Admiral Chiraneau (46)

Adaptability (0)

EU (4)

Darth Vader (3)

Ysanne Isard (4)

Phantom - Whisper (32)

VI (1)

FCS (2)

ACD (4)

Rebel Captive (3)

99 Points

You're running both at PS9 with a 1 point bid. Choose who moves and shoots. Strip tokens and push some damage through with Chippy, smack 4/5 TL'd dice with whisper. Use Vader sparingly to reach out and crush those annoying aces.

If you ignore either of these two, the other one will come out of the weeds to make you pay. I wouldn't mind having either in the end game...

Have never really been a fan of expose + gunner. There's a good chance, rolling 4 modified dice, that a hit will get through, which makes the 5 points of gunner kind of a waste. Then, you're stacking on two action cards, which means you're not using 4/5 points of upgrades every turn.

Expose only really works if you take Experimental interface (or push the limit). With Yssard you can focus, get an evade token and then expose.

Too bad you can't take Rear Admiral Chiraneau on Rear Admiral Chiraneau with EI.

Expose only really works if you take Experimental interface (or push the limit). With Yssard you can focus, get an evade token and then expose.

Unfortunately EI clashes with EU and PTL clashes with Expose itself. I guess they limited such combos for a reason.

I really like Parallax55's build. I played the following a while back:

Chiraneau (Gunner, Vader)

Rexler (Lone Wolf, HLC)

100 points

It could usually remove an ace like Soontir in 2 turns max (Gunner + Vader). But that was before TLTs... and now triple Jumpmasters. More recently, I played the following with solid results:

Chiraneau (VI, Palpatine, Engine)

Wampa (Hull)

Colzet (x1 title, ATC)

100 points

Simple, one-trick pony that showed consistency. Facing more than 2 TLTs meant trouble though and, again, that was before triple Jumpmasters.

Expose only really works if you take Experimental interface (or push the limit). With Yssard you can focus, get an evade token and then expose.

Unfortunately EI clashes with EU and PTL clashes with Expose itself. I guess they limited such combos for a reason.

PTL works fine, you just have to remember to use it as a reaction to Isard's action at the beginning of combat. So Boost , Focus, or TL for action, then evade token at the beginning of combat, and PTL to either focus , Expose or TL, depending on what you did during activation. EI only works if you want to Expose after Isard triggers, but doesn't give you the option to boost, TL, or focus. However, it doesn't occupy the Elite slot. Personally, I'd rather use the elite slot, as PTL gives me more options, including actions after repairing crits.

I meant PTL clashes with Expose in the sense that you can only have one EPT.

I meant PTL clashes with Expose in the sense that you can only have one EPT.

Oh yeah, good point. So if the goal is to pull off an expose while still getting an evade and either a TL or Focus, then use EI to use Expose. Personally, I think with a Decimator, want to avoid an action dependent build anyway. The dial doesn't have any red, which is nice, but its green is pretty limited too. Isard's ability is a free action, so being stressed means you're wasting 4 points/turn of upgrade if you're constantly stressed, or you're having to take greens, which means you're out of range fast.

If you want a mean Chirpy build try this,

RAC

VI

Gunner

Vader

Engine

Whisper

VI

Kallus

FCS

ACD

Heavy damage out of RAC on any target and Whisper plays it safe doing what she does and securing you the strongest end game force around.

I really like to fly Chirpy with ruthlessness. Being Ps 8 gets him in the way of some pilots so then he can fire and still be able to put damage in the ship that bumped. Provided he is within range 1 of target. And with Deci you are usually only playing a two ship build. So hurting your ship with ruthlessness isn't as big a deal. I also like to use Palp on him as well. Helps your other ship as well as damage potential with Chirpy. I also like to add Mara Jade or Ysard. Depending on what you are trying to do.

Blech, I'm not a fan of Jade on a Decimator. Too easy to stay beyond range 1 of them.

PILOTS

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (66)
VT-49 Decimator (46), Predator (3), Proximity Mines (3), Rebel Captive (3), Ysanne Isard (4), Darth Vader (3), Extra Munitions (2), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Personally, I like to use Kenkirk for this rather than the Chirp. Decimators get into hull fast, so adding one fickle green dice plus Isard's token starts to make for a (relatively) harder to hit Decimator. Rebel Captive means that the first enemy to pull the trigger every turn gets a stress, which is *really bad* for ace pilots like Soontir (that probable PTL'd and already has a stress) or a phantom that wanted to recloak. Expose gives you one extra red die in your build, but Predator gives you 1-2 rerolls, is one point cheaper, and doesn't negate Kenkirk's bonus (though admittedly not as handy on Chirp). Anti-pursuit lasers for anyone that thinks about bumping so they won't be targeted for shooty goodness, and prox mines, because prox mines don't care about green dice or autothrusters. Darth Vader, because /ragequit! Low to no-shield aces simply need to get into range 3 of you, and they become a priority. If an interceptor gets close enough, Vader is worth his weight in gold. You don't actually have to hit them to start landing those crits, and because the Deci is a 360 arc, basically, if they get within 3 without bumping, then its "welcome to critsville", and if they do bump, then APL triggers. Basically, this build is all about using things that don't allow the opponent rely on their green dice. The slightly lower PS of 6 on Kenkirk vs 8 on Chirp doesn't really bother me, as most aces are fighting for PS 9-11.

For example, I think this is a fun build:

[Freaks off the Leash]

PILOTS

Commander Kenkirk (58)
VT-49 Decimator (44), Lone Wolf (2), Ysanne Isard (4), Rebel Captive (3), Darth Vader (3), Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

“Whisper” (42)
TIE Phantom (32), Recon Specialist (3), Fire-Control System (2), Veteran Instincts (1), Advanced Cloaking Device (4)

Kenkirk

Predator

Engine upgrade

Proximity mine

Palpatine

Ysanne Issard =66

Is also a very very potent combo. Once Shields are gone and with Palpatine you can stop a guaranteed 2 damage a round (at least) which doesn't sound like much but with 16hp to play with it really does make the Decimator last in a lot of situations, (Focused Ordinance aside). The engine upgrade is great too, it's amazing how much ground a large base ship can cover. Also having a big ass mine to drop helps put extra damage out and can dissuade people chasing close behind.

Some people like push the limit over predator to allow you to focus as your action, then in the combat phase use Ysanne Issard and PTL to target lock or boost. That's fun but I don't really like being stressed with the Decimator as it's quite fun trying to arc dodge with longer maneuvers. I will admit I've not tried the PTL combo enough to give a full opinion on it though.

I've had a lot of luck pairing it with

Inquisitor

Title

Push the limit

Proton rockets

Autothrusters = 34

If people ignore the Inquisitor as they often do he can snipe quite safely from range three. If they go after the Inquisitor he is a very slippery customer and leaves a full health Decimator to roam the field taking shots modified by Predator.

Depends on your meta but putting the Decimator on the board these days is just asking for trouble. Triple U boats will put 9 hits and 3 crits into you pretty quickly and then its just a matter of one of them blocking your support ship to punish it with even more torps.

I would wait until the meta shifts a bit before revisiting the Decimator or go low and try Oicunn.

Thankfully no-one in my meta runs triple U boats or crack swarms or TLT squads as that would be boring as **** and people probably wouldn't want to play with them. Wouldn't be surprised to see that stuff in regionals etc obviously though.

I would recommend:

Blech, I'm not a fan of Jade on a Decimator. Too easy to stay at range 1.

It works better on Occan. But with the big base you can get up there and it shuts done K turns on you from swarms. Just saying there is a place for her.

One thing I've been meaning to test some is this little list:

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (63)
VT-49 Decimator (44), Veteran Instincts (1), Emperor Palpatine (8), Ysanne Isard (4), Engine Upgrade (4)

“Zeta Leader” (23)
TIE/fo Fighter (20), Predator (3)

"Wampa" (14)

Wampa and Palp is a well-known combination, as is VI RAC; however, Zeta Leader and Predator together hit like a TRUCK for a measly 23 points. Colzet's a one-trick wonder, but ZL can win games for you by himself.

I'm also tempted to cut Isard off the list, maybe put Intelligence Agent on RAC instead, and put a standard Omega Leader in there - the nightmare of "who do I shoot first?" Wampa HAS to be the first target, then Omega Leader the second, but you do NOT want a full-HP RAC with Palpatine as the last ship you face.

“Zeta Leader” (23)

TIE/fo Fighter (20), Predator (3)

Or instead use Wired. 2 points cheaper, and since you are likely to be stressed due to his ability, it works wonders, especially since it's a defensive buff as well.

I'm also tempted to cut Isard off the list, maybe put Intelligence Agent on RAC instead, and put a standard Omega Leader in there - the nightmare of "who do I shoot first?" Wampa HAS to be the first target, then Omega Leader the second, but you do NOT want a full-HP RAC with Palpatine as the last ship you face.

I think this may be your best bet. If the opponent has to make that decision, I think he might have forfeit in the decision pool as well. I might even drop EU and keep Isard, making the decision even tougher, as a fat Chirpy is usually more painful than a fast Chirpy. Personal taste there I suppose.

Wired sucks. Full stop. The restriction to rerolling eyeballs gives it a high chance of irrelevance - no surety in it at all. If I were to get a one-point EPT it'd be Crack Shot; being able to push damage through evades is worth its weight in gold.

There are two things stopping me from using RAC/OL/Wampa:

1) Fat Kanan. Fat Kanan beats RAC unless RAC is packing Gunner, and even then it's not a sure thing. If it's a full-fat Ghost+Phantom, it spits out a LOT of damage, and I'm not sure that OL and Wampa can kill it fast enough with RAC's help. One of my friends has taken to running his with Raging Tycho and it's a hard kill.

2) U-Boats. A U-Boat player will just ignore OL/Wampa and dive straight for RAC, ruining him in the first exchange of fire and killing him the second - probably with PWTs. Yes, skilful use of Boost will help, but it's really hard to arc-dodge R3 on 3 ships, and even then their PWTs will still push damage through on RAC fairly handily.