hey guys,

so in my never-ending quest to never ever be productive, I thought we'd take a look at the Lancer-class itself to try and parse out just how (or why) we'd put it on the table

to start, I want to split into categories of things we know, things we don't know, and "things we sorta know but it's an ffg article so hmmmm...."

[Things we know]

1.) The Lancer is basically a firespray

it's got the same total health, almost the same action bar (minus "rotate mobile arc") and the same exact pricing

given the relative dearth of firesprays in a competitive environment, this doesn't really bode well

2.) we know the mobile arc is an action tied to the action bar, which encourages PTL (dial pending, article provides clues...but it's an FFG article so, you know...)

because it's an action, it also encourages high PS to rotate AFTER most everyone has moved

HOWEVER, FFG has done a smart thing by making the highest PS pilot (ketsu) not able to her mobile arc from her primary without sacrificing her ability.

So they're getting really good about the game design on this one

3.) double illicits! (oh, baby!)

[Things we don't know]

1.) the exact nature of the dial

2.) the exact nature of the mobile arc.

We can assume by its designation as an "arc" that it will function basically like an auxiliary arc without the distinction of being an auxiliary arc (see Ghost's special arc versus tail gunner for as to why that matters), but we can't be 100% positive

[Things we sorta know but it's an FFG preview article so hmm....]

It's got at least a white 3-turn (like the spray)

it seems to have a green 3-bank based on this picture

[Putting it Together]:

Assuming the teaser image is correct (green 3-bank), then we almost certainly got ourselves a shoe-in for PTL

PTL works with the rotate mobile arc action on the action bar, allows you to stack focus and evade (or rotate arc and focus etc.) while the crew slot (ie dengar or k4) will grant you full mods without a moment's hesitation

while it doesn't have the same range of motion as an interceptor, that far greater arc coverage more than compensates

hell, unlike the firespray, the ability to rotate your arc will lend to a FAR easier time flying around the battle-field with EU while still getting your shots off. So, while nowhere NEAR as obnoxious as a fat PWT, you still have yourself the case for a fat (and far cheaper) arc-dodge

EXCEPT, you're looking at a relatively low PS grade. Topping off at 7 (6 if you want more freedom with your arc re pilot ability), this thing certainly is no fat han nor VI cheri and will still require a lot more predictive skill than either the aforementioned ships.

to emphasize this fact, we turn to the pilot abilities ALL of which require the mobile arc AND a range restriction; Ketsu's in particular which requires her primary as well

Ketsu's ability is so **** restrictive that blocking is perhaps the only reliable way to trigger it (not counting the fact that it can affect friendlies, of course )

suffice it to say, it only took 6 waves for FFG to do a proper PWT

you can further spice up your build with Rigged Cargo Holds. While they cannot be PTLed (so no boost debris, sadly), they can really force your opponent's hand and, especially in combination with ventress' ability, really screw them over

Sample build:

Asajj "Don't Stop Me Now" Ventress - (37)

*ptl

*dengar

*eu

*rigged hold

*rigged hold

[49 points total]

NOTE: also keep an eye out for Heroes of the Resistance's "Burst of Speed." Since you can't dodge U-boat torpedoes by running into them (higher ps; can't block) the ability to instead SLAM into them to deny shots is very attractive especially when you get your pilot ability anyway

unlike your standard Kath or Brobot, Ventress is not a raw powerhouse of a pilot. In terms of raw damage, she simply lacks the 4 dice HLC brobots and Kath are capable of putting out and she doesn't have access to green dice mitigation ala crackshot or tailgunner.

what she has is stress.

against everything not supported by manaroo (unless you can stress manaroo, ofc), denying actions via stress will be what gives her the edge in combat

so...you want to keep her mobile arc on people without trading dice if you're able. Hmm...sounds an awful lot like you should be blocking with her too!

this means that she's going to be a more flying-dependent, more tricksy pilot than what we're typically used to. If you can dance her around, though, primarily avoiding strenuous combat until her ability and debris fields can get to work crippling the enemy, she will probably do well

In short, expect a relatively high skill cap and floor

WITHOUT PTL...well, you still have some options but you're going to have to be careful as you're sacrificing either maneuverability or action efficiency

Sabine is probably the exception here, as even without an ept the combination of her (pretty **** cool) ability, a crew (dengar/k4) and a double dose of stims give you a pretty modified pilot for a total of two rounds. With stims you basically have a reinforce token (versus everyone in your mobile arc and at range 1-2), which you can stack with an evade action for no offensive loss (stims takes care of offensive focus; dengar/k4 takes care of re-rolls). For 42 points, she isn't too prohibitively expensive.

that's kinda cool

for other epts (assuming the mobile ARC is, in fact, a firing ARC) we have fearlessness, specially with Ventress. See, Ketsu's ability doesn't play nice with maximizing your arc coverage, but Ventress doesn't care (and, unlike sabine, she actually has an ept ). The stress from her ability could even help enable fearlessness simply by limiting the opponent's options

bonus points, if you're good about using Shadow Caster (mobile arc only) and fearlessness against lower PS pilots, you can have your cake and eat it too

if the greens are good enough for PTL, Expert Handling (especially in combination with k4) is always an option. The low ps (lower than omega and inquisitor etc.) might make this less attractive as anything but a large-ship vector thrusters. But hey, since Ketsu wants to block...

[TL;DR or In Summary]

1.) it's basically a more mobile (arc) firespray

2.) restrictions on pilot abilities and the overall lack of raw power on Ketsu and Ventress (contrast with Kath Scarlet and IG-88b) suggest a higher skill-cap/floor. I.e, don't expect to be able to take other fat ships on in a dice war and just win or to be able to joust very well at all (or, given the PS and mobile arc restrictions, just arc-dodge mindlessly like Han)

implication is then that you'll need to make the most out of the ship's unique capabilities (pilot abilities, double illicits; mobile arc) to come out ahead

Rigged Cargo Hold (and possibly "Burst of Speed") really emphasize the ship's "tricky" nature, as if the whole Tractor Beam theme didn't give that away already

Only Sabine (with double stims) seems to be an absolute murder tank, even if only for two rounds.

in short, this won't be an "Easy Win" ship (and therefore probably not immediately competitive either)

but, if you enjoy ships that perform proportionately to how well YOU perform (as opposed to the dice or just having a better pilot skill), then this might be the ship for you

if you like mid-PS pilots and, perhaps most importantly, BLOCKING then you should definitely consider this ship

given the green 3 and the size of the engines i wouldnt be surprised if its a "fast large ship" meaning the only? large ship without a 1straight but has a fair bit of high speed greens.

I'm genuinely curious if and how somebody will make this ship work competitively.

Ventress is probably the most viable pilot IMO, but she hovers in the 45-50 point area. That leaves too few points to slot in 2 aces (Scum still lacks the pocket aces the empire has, like Omega Leader or even Wampa), so you're left with either 1 big ship or an ace and some fodder.

Regarding big ships, main candidates would be Dengar and IG-88B. However, I highly doubt Dengar/Ventress is stronger than Dengaroo and IG-88B/Ventress is stronger than Brobots.

So what's left then? Ventress, Fenn Rau and some z-95 ? Or maybe Ventress, one of the other Protectorate aces and N'Dru ?

you'd have to re-define "stronger"

Ventress is weaker than just about anything in her point slot until her ability starts paying off (assuming you don't outplay the crap out of them with your two arcs, ofc)

as for who to use her with...hell if I know

if we're encouraging an "RUN AWAY!!!!" type strategy (probably are given Ventress isn't super great in a sustained fight, relative to what else you could buy at her price), we're probably looking at Kath or a TLT or another Shadowcaster

for example,

you can just straight up add a copy of Ventress via Ketsu (give ventress K4 instead of Dengar, she's more easy to do green with as her ability is FAR more flexible)

and you can then enjoy the sheer pleasure of dumping four more debris tokens on a table already choked with six obstacles

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v4!s!219:18,122,192,192:-1:3:;218:18,178,192,192:-1:3:&sn=GARBAGE%20DAY!!!

P-fighters are probably a good option; just wish the generics were more sensibly priced

Sabine is probably easier to slot into most lists, given she's both cheaper and easier to use (just send her at the enemy and stim up)

I think the Gyro-whatever mod is going to be critical to making this thing work well. If it's priced right and allows free rotations of the mobile arc as we suspect, then you no longer need to rely on PTL.

Another great write up as usual Fickle!

I think the Gyro-whatever mod is going to be critical to making this thing work well. If it's priced right and allows free rotations of the mobile arc as we suspect, then you no longer need to rely on PTL.

you do if you want engines (and mods)

the gyro-whatever seems to be a modification as well; probably more of sabine's or the generic's thing (or an expert handling EPT pilot)

actually, Gyro-whatever with Expert Handling K4 Ventress could well end up being the better bet just given how much cheaper it probably is (doesn't lend itself as well to dumping debris, though)

I think I'm looking forward to it paired with Kath. Use the tractor beam to put that sucker right in her rear arc, which now hits like a truck due to the new tail gunner crew. Hell, if it's Ketsu that tractors off the bump, that's suddenly every ace except a cloaked Phantom that has NO defensive dice, barring range 3/obstructed.

you'd have to re-define "stronger"

Ventress is weaker than just about anything in her point slot until her ability starts paying off (assuming you don't outplay the crap out of them with your two arcs, ofc)

Stronger (in the context of lists) is simple in my book: wins more. And I doubt Ventress' ability pays of often and well enough for that. Even versus Aces, whom are most affected by stress, I have serious doubts Ventress+anything I can think of right now outperforms Dengaroo for example.

Nice summery mate.

Ventress with Tactician. bout all you need right there

Doubt stress a target as well as slap them with a tractor if you hit'm. Completely non-consequential to you as well, while all the other doublestress require gunner proc or selfstress.

Given that tac works out of any firing arc, its effectively a 360 tactician with minor planning to point in the right direction.

Heck, she could even BAKE someone in stress since neither of those require them to be free of stress to get one. Give soontir 2 stress, he greens to get rid of 1, give him 2 more, now hes at 3. Shedding 3 stress feels like an eternity especially when you are heavily encouraged to keep the stress for a round and just flatout LEAVE as fast as you can to avoid being shot.

tact Ventress is certainly an option

I'm just working through my "full mods" paranoia plus my love of blocking. Poor tactician doesn't work in b2b (or range 1), but Ventress does

of course, you could always tactician someone else while blocking a ship

you'd have to re-define "stronger"

Ventress is weaker than just about anything in her point slot until her ability starts paying off (assuming you don't outplay the crap out of them with your two arcs, ofc)

Stronger (in the context of lists) is simple in my book: wins more. And I doubt Ventress' ability pays of often and well enough for that. Even versus Aces, whom are most affected by stress, I have serious doubts Ventress+anything I can think of right now outperforms Dengaroo for example.

ah, there's the rub

the problem with stuff like this (which is more flying dependent) is that the strengths aren't obvious

hell, even if I point them out here I can't tell you with certainty that it'll pan out in a certain manner (could be better; could be worse than imagined) because so much of it is dependent on the player maneuvering rather than the incredibly obvious over-efficiency of certain combos

best I can say is I don't think palp aces will be much of an issue for a well flown (re: ability abusing) ketsu and/or Ventress, and the EU caster has an easier time chasing Manaroo than most

but torp scouts?.........eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I plan on running ketsu with vi and engine. Killing aces is a lot easier if you move after them and can autotractor em.

I plan on running ketsu with vi and engine. Killing aces is a lot easier if you move after them and can autotractor em.

eh..

I'd rather live the dream of large-base block + ketsu t-beam out of base 2 base

actionless at range 1 and minus 1 agility...it'll be like that goat in Jurassic park

I plan on running ketsu with vi and engine. Killing aces is a lot easier if you move after them and can autotractor em.

Alternatively, you can bump them, move them back/laterally with the free tractor beam, then shoot them and tractor them some more.

Can you bump ships with the tractor beam? Might be evil to bump, move back, shoot, rebump. Checked the rules. No go.

Tractorbeam cannot "push" people away from you. Best you can hope is the barrelroll back-to-front doesnt put them out of arc in order to get that shot.

Unless someone is blocking that barrelroll though, you should always get it since if hes on your left just roll him to the right front to back and now hes on your right side but not touching you. And vice versa.

If someone is there, however, he'd either still be touching you or out of arc.

and you can then enjoy the sheer pleasure of dumping four more debris tokens on a table already choked with six obstacles

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v4!s!219:18,122,192,192:-1:3:;218:18,178,192,192:-1:3:&sn=GARBAGE%20DAY!!!

*cringes at the thought of buying four Shadow Caster expansions to make this work*

I like the ship, but I still need to know more about it. We still have the two Black Sun Slicer crews, along with the Gyro and dial.

Good article.

Man I can't believe large ships even get slam now to intentionally bump ships. That's going to be so obnoxious

Good article.

Man I can't believe large ships even get slam now to intentionally bump ships. That's going to be so obnoxious

Yup, they can intentionally bump an ace AND then throw them a free tractor beam for their trouble.

Or were you being facetious? I think it's pretty exciting.

and you can then enjoy the sheer pleasure of dumping four more debris tokens on a table already choked with six obstacles

http://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v4!s!219:18,122,192,192:-1:3:;218:18,178,192,192:-1:3:&sn=GARBAGE%20DAY!!!

*cringes at the thought of buying four Shadow Caster expansions to make this work*

I like the ship, but I still need to know more about it. We still have the two Black Sun Slicer crews, along with the Gyro and dial.

Then it's just two casters and a set of heroes

Course there's always feedback for ventress (Ketsu tbeams trickery makes me less tempted to give up attack opportunities)

Honestly don't know how useful two rigged holds would be (nevermind four) when you're an acyion dependent large base yourself...but it does seem hilarious

if anyone ever buys more than 2 shadowcasters i feel like theyre wasting their money. Theres no way dumping more than 2 debris would be that advantageous to buy the kit for that alone and so far nothing else in the kit that isnt unique is worth buying more.

Plus, somehow i doubt this is going to be limited to the shadowcaster. Theres bound to be more ships with that upgrade somewhere down the line.

Gyroscopic Targeting seems to read like:

At the end (of the activation)
phase, (if you performed a)
3-, 4-, or (5-speed maneauver)
this round (you may rotate)
your m(obile firing arc.)

That would be quiet brillant. Basically a free action without actually being an action. Like "aquire a target lock". Interessting to me is that implies 5-speed maneauvers on a large base ship. That's superfast and is in line with the flufftext, saying the ship sacrifices shielding for raw speed.
I'm just concerned, that the low speed maneauvers will be very constricted, then it will be hard to keep the Lancer in a fight, without overshooting the opponent. The most intriguing ship of wave 9 for me.

So, by sacrificing your pilot ability and crew slot, you can have a 10 health, 3 agility (except at range 3) PS5 180 degree arc 3 die primary, for 39 points.

Throw on glitterstim and countermeasures for good measure.