Palp Aces is a pretty dominant type of Imperial list which consists of Ace + Ace + Palp Shuttle for amazing support. We're all familiar with it. Some people hate it, some people embrace it, but we all know that it's a thing.

That all being said, is there any chance that Scum can put up a comparable list with the release of Wave IX? Here's what I'm thinking:

I like it, and I just can't see it being a bad list either. I put together a similar list a while ago:

Fenn Rau: Push the Limit, Autothrusters, Concord Dawn Protector

Talonbane: Attani Mindlink, Vectored Thrusters

Manaroo: Attani Mindlink, K4 Security Droid, R5-P8

I really like yours though and it's got me thinking. I've never tried Cloaking Device on Talonbane just because I'm awful at it but the Intelligence Agent helps to manage that while also helping keep Manaroo alive. I also like IA because it can help get the jump on rival aces. I have R5-P8 as a slight deterrent to attacking Manaroo, just because you know that if she's in range to get a target lock she's a really easy target to focus. I'm not sure how you plan to use R4 Agromech on Manaroo because you aren't really spending focus with her, mostly passing them out unless you're in trouble. I also prefer to have PTL on Fenn just so you can make use of double positioning to keep up with any aces the enemy has and he can STILL get his focus and target lock from Manaroo that turn. Another option I could see is to have Recon Specialist on Manaroo and just keep her out of the battle entirely. But no matter what variant you go with, it should be a good list!

I like the idea of it, but I'm not sure Mindlink is the way to go here.

Yes it can increase durability, but after playing around with Fenn Rau a bit, I have become convinced that he really needs push the limit. It might be my playstyle, but I find him to work almost identical to Soontir w/ target comp. And having the ability to boost/barrel roll adds so much more flexibility.

Having said that, I have been thinking about a similar list using different pilots. Its based on a list I've run before, except using Scyks:

Manaroo w/ mindlink, K4 droid, unhinged, slicer tools & punishing one = 45

dawn ace w/ mindlink, dawn protector & autothrusters = 27

dawn ace w/ mindlink, dawn protector & autothrusters = 27

99

Using the Concord Dawn Ace instead of HLC Tansarii Vets gives you +1 hull and the ability to basically not care about stress control. You do lose the power of the HLC though. They also gain boost, but lose the evade action, so positioning becomes even more important since you can't 'token up' to the same degree...

I'm not sure how you plan to use R4 Agromech on Manaroo because you aren't really spending focus with her, mostly passing them out unless you're in trouble.

Actually with the version I proposed, Manaroo passes her focus token but then gets it back thanks to Attani Mindlink. As a result, she should have one focus token per round to spend on either offense or defense. If she spends it on offense, she can retain a target lock to hand off on the following turn.

You get twice as many target locks and pass them out one turn earlier if you go with K4 and Unhinged Astromech, but that setup costs you the intelligence agent and 1pt more, so you have to decide if you want to prioritize blocking accuracy or offensive modifiers.

Manaroo w/ mindlink, K4 droid, unhinged, slicer tools & punishing one = 45

dawn ace w/ mindlink, dawn protector & autothrusters = 27

dawn ace w/ mindlink, dawn protector & autothrusters = 27

99

I love the list. I've been running Attanni lists a lot lately just to switch things up, and it's done surprisingly well at tournaments.

You could consider Stygium Particle Accelerator instead of Vectored Thrusters on TC as well. SPA might be better for an initial joust, but VT is probably still the right choice.

I'm not sure TBC needs Cloaking Device. The squad would benefit much more from K4 (and Unhinged) on Mana, which would bring them to 97 pts.

I've been toying with the same idea. I'm more of an unhinged+ k4 type of guy. Love all the greens and all the TLs. Manaroo can still block.

Right now, the biggest weakness for scum access is the lack of multiple targets. Xizor is cool at PS9, but stupid expensive, easily is 45% of your list. Cobra burns fast. Making your opponent's now choose between two ps9 5 dice throwing ships, help make sure you still got for per when one ace crashes.

Here is my mindlink fennrau list! Posted this to other tooic, but here is more appropiriate maybe! I like the ideaof Manaroo and Kad Solus creating lot of focus while Fenn Rau can enjoy having Manaroos focuses and tl.

JumpMaster 5000: · Manaroo (27)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Unhinged Astromech (1)

Protectorate Starfighter: · Fenn Rau (28)

Fearlessness (1)

Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

Guidance Chips (0)

Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Protectorate Starfighter: · Kad Solus (25)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

Guidance Chips (0)

Here is my mindlink fennrau list! Posted this to other tooic, but here is more appropiriate maybe! I like the ideaof Manaroo and Kad Solus creating lot of focus while Fenn Rau can enjoy having Manaroos focuses and tl.

JumpMaster 5000: · Manaroo (27)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Unhinged Astromech (1)

Protectorate Starfighter: · Fenn Rau (28)

Fearlessness (1)

Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

Guidance Chips (0)

Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Protectorate Starfighter: · Kad Solus (25)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

Guidance Chips (0)

I had a similar idea like this with Fenn Rau that would require you take Manaroo truly make it efficient.

Protectorate Starfighter: · Fenn Rau (28)

Expose (4)

Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

· Experimental Interface (3) or Autothrusters (2)

Concord Dawn Protector (1)

This is stupid expensive at 42/41 points. At R1, Fenn gets his additionally die for offense and defense. So, even with activating expose, Fenn will still have 3 evade dice, and if able to trigger the title, a guaranteed evade. In turn, he has 7 red dice to splatter all over a target with Advanced Proton Torps, and 6 reds on all subsequent turns. Use Manaroo to feed him the necessary focus tokens and Target Lock. It still isn't 100% as efficient as say Scouts, but this can all but 1 shot a Jumpmaster.

My new Fenn oriented Attaini mindlink list is:

M3-A Interceptor: · Serissu (20)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

M3-A Interceptor: Tansarii Point Veteran (17)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

Protectorate Starfighter: · Fenn Rau (28)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

Autothrusters (2)

Concord Dawn Protector (1)

M3-A Interceptor: Cartel Spacer (14)

M3-A Interceptor: Cartel Spacer (14)

-- TOTAL ------- 99/100p. --

This is awesome fun and gives you a good mix of action efficiency, good blockers, and a hella lot of red and green dice.

I like these two lists a lot!

Fenn Rau (28)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

-Guidance Chips (0)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Old Teroch (26)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)

-Guidance Chips (0)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Kad Solus (25)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Plasma Torpedoes (3)

-Guidance Chips (0)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Or another more modest list

Concord Dawn Ace (23)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Concord Dawn Ace (23)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Concord Dawn Ace (23)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

Concord Dawn Ace (23)

-Attanni Mindlink (1)

-Concord Dawn Protector (1)

I really wanted to make an 'All in' Manaroo aces list. So I went with this:

Fenn Rau: 32

Mindlink

Title

Auto Thrusters

Talonbane: 33

Mindlink

Cloaking Device

Vectored Thrusters

Manaroo: 35

Mindlink

K4 Security Droid

Unhinged Astromech

Plasma Torpedoes

Guidance Chips

You should be able to fire of 14 fully modified dice on the opening round, if you can get into a good position. I really like cloaking device on Talonbane - this kind of list will live and die by its ability to get around blockers - so the cloaking device makes it harder for your opponent to get a good block on the first approach.

Having played almost exactly the OP list yesterday (K4/Unhinged Manaroo), I can say (despite a 1-2 showing) it is not only good, but a lot of fun to fly. Mindlink is amazing , because your whole dial is open, you can use one reposition action and still end up with 3 tokens, and you can even take only a single Focus action between the 3 ships and have 4 Focus and a TL at the end of the day! I like the idea of R4 Agromech instead of K4 to set up TL's a bit later, except that means not spending Manaroo's Focus on defense. I'll have to give that a shot, though, because it leaves a little room for an Illicit/Mod and a bid.