So the newly spoiled Tail Gunner is obviously good on the ARC-170, however it also works on the firespray - and is absolutely insane with the Scum version of Kath Scarlett. Let's see if we can abuse this:

Kath Scarlett (38)

- Tail Gunner (2)

- Engine Upgrade (4)

- Attani Mindlink (1)

- Inertial Dampeners (1)

Manaroo (27)

- Attani Mindlink (1)

- K4 Security Droid (3)

- Unhinged Astromech (1)

- Feedback Array (2)

- Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Kaa'to Leeachos (15)

- Attani Mindlink (1)

- X-23 S-thread Tracers (1)

Kath's rear arc is absolutely monstrous - minimum four attack dice and reduce the defender's agility by 1 is not to be trifled with. Manaroo makes sure Kath gets full mods every shot, leaving her free to boost or evade as neccessary, while also acting as a bumpmaster to ensure I catch aces in Kath's arc. Kaa'to flies as a wingman. Any thoughts?

I don't know about "obviously" good on the ARC; need to test to see if it's worth paying two points to balance out the drop in red dice between the front t and rear arcs

Of course, it has promise with anything abusing the rear arc (like bb8, which doesn't need to risk red manuevers to turn the ship when you have a rear arc to use) but we need table time to see if it's worth it

Anyway, using manny to overcome the lose of dengar is probably the right idea

However, i think leechy is the obvious weak link here. He's just a sh*tty Z at the end of the day

Not to mention mindlink is super redundant with manaroo. You're going to end up passing two focus to a Kath that'll already have at least one.

So I'd make a choice between link or Manny and I'd rather have Manny (bumpmasters are too fun) which lets you VI Kath up to PS 9

If you choose Manny, you can move k4 to the ept as PTL and mindlink to the crew as int agent for sheer blocking goodness

You can then ditch leechy for something more useful, which would probably be most anything even adaptability Ndru

With the pfighter coming out, though, and probably being 18/19 points for a PS 1 boost blocker that'll be something to keep an eye on

Looks like an awesomely fun list.

I started playing with the Kath-Tail Gunner idea a few days ago.

I'm looking expose on Kath with tail gunner. You get range 1, auxillary arc, expose, and tail gunner, that gets you throwing 6 red dice and the opponent takes a -1 to their agi. Maybe toss Dengar on board and experiential interfaces for rerolls and some action economy.

Tail Gunner and Dengar on Kath?

1 crew firespray buddy

Tail Gunner and Dengar on Kath?

1 crew firespray buddy

Oh yeah, duh. I keep forgetting trail gunner is the crew. Tis why I should not write without consulting my list builder first...

I think Kath is way better with Dengar and HLC, 4 dice every throw with the ability to reroll 1-2 dice per shot. Tail gunner should be utilized on the Imp Firesprays to help them out.

I don't know about "obviously" good on the ARC; need to test to see if it's worth paying two points to balance out the drop in red dice between the front t and rear arcs

Of course, it has promise with anything abusing the rear arc (like bb8, which doesn't need to risk red manuevers to turn the ship when you have a rear arc to use) but we need table time to see if it's worth it

Anyway, using manny to overcome the lose of dengar is probably the right idea

However, i think leechy is the obvious weak link here. He's just a sh*tty Z at the end of the day

Not to mention mindlink is super redundant with manaroo. You're going to end up passing two focus to a Kath that'll already have at least one.

So I'd make a choice between link or Manny and I'd rather have Manny (bumpmasters are too fun) which lets you VI Kath up to PS 9

If you choose Manny, you can move k4 to the ept as PTL and mindlink to the crew as int agent for sheer blocking goodness

You can then ditch leechy for something more useful, which would probably be most anything even adaptability Ndru

With the pfighter coming out, though, and probably being 18/19 points for a PS 1 boost blocker that'll be something to keep an eye on

Definitely trying out those suggestions. I went with Mindlink because allowed Manaroo to keep a focus for herself, but if she's playing bumpmaster it's probably not necessary - i like VI a lot more now that I think about it. And Kaa'to was only in there because I couldn't think of something better off the top of my head.

I think Kath is way better with Dengar and HLC, 4 dice every throw with the ability to reroll 1-2 dice per shot. Tail gunner should be utilized on the Imp Firesprays to help them out.

Definitely agree that that Kath build is strong as hell, but I was looking to try something different. It's not quite as versatile but the rear arc is terrifying (think of it as wedge with 4 dice instead of 3), and it's quite a bit cheaper points-wise. You might be onto something with the Imp firesprays as well - Scum pilots have a ton of good crew (Dengar, 4-Lom, Zuckuss, etc.) but there's nothing filling a similar role in the Empire. Don't see it being that good on Kath or Krassix (Krassix wants to shoot forward and Kath wants people to be able to cancel her crits), but Boba can probably use it well due to his innate repositioning.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Dengar or 4LOM or Zuckuss are all better options on a Scum Firespray unfortunately.

As with pretty much everything from the ARC so far, I'm really struggling to figure out where Tail Gunner fits. It's a neat upgrade, but it sucks that it's only affecting half your arcs.

However, i think leechy is the obvious weak link here. He's just a sh*tty Z at the end of the day

One of the better uses for him is Bodyguard. in a mindlink he can double up his focus by stealing someone else's (who then gains it back) but even a double-focused Z-95 is a long way from scary.

As an expendable bodyguard, you can push Kath up to agility 3 - combined with a decent stash of focus tokens that actually makes her **** hard to hit.

However, i think leechy is the obvious weak link here. He's just a sh*tty Z at the end of the day

One of the better uses for him is Bodyguard. in a mindlink he can double up his focus by stealing someone else's (who then gains it back) but even a double-focused Z-95 is a long way from scary.

As an expendable bodyguard, you can push Kath up to agility 3 - combined with a decent stash of focus tokens that actually makes her **** hard to hit.

Another excellent idea!

So considering all the feedback I've tweaked the original list:

Kath Scarlett (38)

- Tail Gunner (2)

- EU (4)

- VI (1)

Manaroo (27)

- PTL (3)

- Unhinged Astromech (1)

- Intelligence Agent (1)

- Feedback Array (2)

- Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Kaa'to Leachos (15)

- Bodyguard (2)

- Feedback Array (2)

Total 100

The other thought I had - and I have no idea if this is better than the int agent + PTL build, probably not - was to go with K4 + intimidation on Manaroo (dropping Feedback on Kaa'to to cover the cost). Intimidation + tail gunner can lower the agility of a ship blocked by Manaroo by 2, which could be devastating. Again, the other build is almost certainly better but I think I'll give the Intimidation a spin too just to see how it plays.

There is also Outmaneuver+Tail Gunner. Outmaneuver would work out the rear arc, and give you a self contained reduce agility by 2 ability. If you caught an ace in a bad spot, that could be disastrous for the opponent.

Hmmm. That's a thought.

What's more likely trigger, expose our outmaneuver. I know which is better. Removing the ability to evade is better than an additional die of damage.

Hmmm. That's a thought.

What's more likely trigger, expose our outmaneuver. I know which is better. Removing the ability to evade is better than an additional die of damage.

4 naked red dice will on average get 2 hits;

5 naked red dice will on average get 2.5 hits;

4 red dice with focus will on average get 3 hits.

3 naked green dice will on average get 1.125 evades;

2 naked green dice will get on average .75 evades;

2 greens with focus will on average get 1.25 evades.

Bottom line is that your focus and rerolls to maximize hits will do better than just adding another die. However, you have Manaroo here to give those mods to you, meaning you may not have to make the choice between adding a die and modding dice. In that case, you just have to determine if the additional point cost in the squad and the loss of your own agility is worth it. The enemy will likely focus down on Kath already, so reducing her agility just doesn't seem like a great idea.

The enemy will likely focus down on Kath already, so reducing her agility just doesn't seem like a great idea.

Definitely. That's why I was suggesting Kaa'To as the cheapest Scum Bodyguard - either opponents can waste shots blowing away a Z-95 or else they're trying to hit a TIE interceptor with twice the hit points of an X-wing....

Feedback is a nice idea for him - a Feedback Z-95 is a good blocker. Alternatively for the same price, Glitterstim can be triggered to provide the protection he would have had from the Focus Token you've just spent to trigger Bodyguard.

I've taken pretty much the same list to 3 regionals now, and have had really good results/placings. I've been playing it like this:

Kath: Mindlink/Zuckuss

4-LOM: Mindlink

Manaroo: Mindlink/K4/Unhinged.

Kath is truly a beast, and takes most of the attention of of 4-LOM, who gets in close and hands out stress whilst hitting hard.

But...... With Tailgunner, this list gets much better. I really like the Veteran Instincts/Tail Gunner/Engine Upgrade that people have suggested, but I'll be going with this:

Kath Scarlet: Attanni Mindlink/Tail Gunner

Gand Findsman: Attanni Mindlink/4-LOM (or Misthunter/Tractor Beam)

Manaroo: Attanni Mindlink/K4 Security Droid/Unhinged Astromech

Whilst PS9 Kath with Engine Upgrade is great for re-positioning, I find the strength of the list increases a lot when all of the ships have Mindlink, for a few reasons:

1) Passing Manaroo's focus to Kath means that Kath has a focus for offense and defense + an evade, which makes a big difference over the course of a game. It also means that Manaroo will get a focus back after the transfer, and that really comes in handy.

2) It means that your other ship is free to TL and fire fully modified each round - chances are your opponent is trying to burn down Kath, so having accurate shots on your third ship is important.

3) If 2 of your ships are blocked/stressed, you only need one ship to move and focus, and suddenly you have slightly better than average action economy across your whole list.

Also, Manaroo can play in 2 ways:

1) You can have her skirt around the battle using her green banks, passing off tokens and shooting with her two dice turret.

or

2) She plays as a 'Bumpmaster', gets in the way, hits a bit harder and blocks. However, if Manaroo is in the middle of the action, it is a lot harder to generate focus for everyone, since you will often be using her barrel roll or be limited in the movements you can make, and as such, it's really important to have another ship that can take the focus for the squad.

But that's just me - I can totally see the appeal of having a higher PS and more maneuverable Kath. Either way, it's going to be a lot of fun to fly

I think Outmaneuver is way better than Expose. I have used both and I like the flexability of a no action cost upgrades. If you go with Outmaneuver then you can keep the PTL on Manaroo who really needs that, and K4 if you can fit it on Manaroo allows you to utilize your barrel roll to try to stay range 3 or dodge arcs.