I've been playing around with mindlink options since the card came out.

Palob and Manaroo have been consistent across all lists.

JumpMaster 5000: · Manaroo (27)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Unhinged Astromech (1)

HWK-290: · Palob Godalhi (20)

Attanni Mindlink (1)

Twin Laser Turret (6)

· Dengar (3)

Palob remains fairly unchanged unless I decide to put cloaking device on him. Manaroo may get Anti-Pursuit Lasers, feedback array, or remain as shown above so I can load up other options.

My most successful version, thus far, had been 2x Tansarii Point Vets with mindlink only. They have perform well, and tend to get ignored. The trade off is that Palob is my heavy hitter and he's always, no matter what list he plays in, is the first targeted because if his shenanigans.

I've tried it with Talonbane Cobra with cloaking device and EU and mindlink. TBC hits hard, and seems to be a bit more survivable that normal, short of me being stupid and putting him in too many arcs. He also becomes the first target, guaranteeing that Palob hangs a bit longer.

I've not officially tried it with Guri because I tried the Tensarri vets options, and have gone 5 and 1 so far in casual play. The Guri build would be autothrusters, virago, either sensor jammers or FCS and cloaking Device, and mindlink.

For those experienced with the mindlink lists, what do you feel is the best option.

If wave 9 was out, it'd probably be Frau, but not yet...

I went 3-1 with the following list last weekend at a tournament.

Tansarii Vet [Attanni, HLC, title]

Tansarii Vet [Attanni, HLC, title]

Manaroo [Attanni, title, K4, R5P8]

The Scyks provide tons of firepower and they can really tank up with Manaroo and Attani. On any given turn, one Scyk gets evade, focus, focus, TL. Manaroo naturally becomes the last ship to go down where R5P8 can seal the deal.

I've also had a lot of success (10-2) with:

Guri [title, SJ, AT, Attanni]

Palob [Attanni, TLT, Intel Agent]

Zuckuss [Attanni, Tractor Beam, title, 4-LOM, AdvSen]

Guri [sJ] and Palob have always paired well together, but their same PS makes Attanni even better on them. The Zuckuss is more for flavour, but he does take advantage of Palob's ability. Think of him as a 4-5 attack ship that gets to focus/evade when under fire, and focus/TL when not. Not bad for 34 points. I rarely use 4-LOM crew unless I get an arc on a Soontir or Inq where Palob's focus theft isn't quite enough. The AdvSen is there to help mitigate the ion token, but also works well with Intel Agent. The list's primary weakness will always be aces, but with two BR ships and Intel Agent, you have a decent chance. You could also swap out Zuckuss for Kavil [TLT, Attanni, R5P8] at the same cost.

Finally, I have also tried the same list but subbing out Zuckuss for TC [Attanni, Cloaking Device, SPA] for a 3-0 record. Hilariously, all three matches, my Cloaking Device crapped out immediately after activating. But at least with the new FAQ, you still get to decloak and the evade token on the next round. TC ends up with TL, evade, focus on the opening engagement. Like the list above, Guri and Palob do most of the heavy lifting. But TC (and Zuckuss) are heavy hitters that should draw some heat off of Palob. If your opponent still goes after Palob, then those two ships are free to do their work. Naturally, Guri stays alive until the late game where her SJ does tons of work.

Hope that helps!

Are you saying you've been running TBC, Guri, and Palob as a list? I've played with this idea as well, but Guri gets scaled down to AT and mindlink.

I tried out your Manaroo + 2 HLC m3as either earlier this week or last week. I probably didn't fly it all that well. I flew against Biggs, Horton, and Nera. The Psycks took out Biggs out in one round. Then one died (it died then got to fire before removing from table). The other played cat and mouse with Horton for a while before doing to TLT.

I found that once I took Manaroo out of support mode and put her into attack mode she kicked ass, but couldn't pull it out.

I've had decent success with a similar list to Zerotc:

Manaroo w/ mindlink, unhinged, K4 droid, proton torps, extra munis, guidance chips & feedback array = 40

2 Pt Vets w/ mindlink, heavy scyk, HLC & hull upgrades = 30 x 2

100

It takes a bit of practice to figure out when its good to let Manaroo keep her TL to fire a torp, and when its better to just hand it off to a Scyk for increased HLC damage. Generally, Manaroo doesn't need to fire her torps early because the opposition goes after the scyks first, so she's not always in a hurry to let loose with both torps (although sometimes its worthwhile). With Wave 9, I would probably drop feedback for Blackmarket slicer tools, since its much better and a point less.

Another list that Wave 9 has made possible:

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

2 Dawn Aces w/ mindlink, dawn protector & autothrusters = 27 x 2

99

The dawn aces ultimately have a better dial than the Scyk, access to boost, are much more stress agnostic, and thanks to autothrusters, they tend to be harder to kill overall. They don't hit as hard at R2-3 (but are better off at R1). Overall, this list is easier to use than the first because you don't have to worry as much about getting off ordnance, although it does not hit quite as hard...

Are you saying you've been running TBC, Guri, and Palob as a list? I've played with this idea as well, but Guri gets scaled down to AT and mindlink.

Yea, the list was:

TBC [sPA, Cloaking Device, Attanni]

Palob [TLT, Intel Agent, Attanni]

Guri [AT, SJ, title, Attanni]

I tried out your Manaroo + 2 HLC m3as either earlier this week or last week. I probably didn't fly it all that well. I flew against Biggs, Horton, and Nera. The Psycks took out Biggs out in one round. Then one died (it died then got to fire before removing from table). The other played cat and mouse with Horton for a while before doing to TLT.

I found that once I took Manaroo out of support mode and put her into attack mode she kicked ass, but couldn't pull it out.

Yea, don't be afraid to get Manaroo in there. With title and double action economy, she's a major part of your offensive output.

If they're shooting at Manaroo, it means they aren't shooting your Scyks.