The other day, I went down a bit of a mental rabbit hole thinking about Scyk fixes (O came up with one, but that's another thread). In any case, I came across a fact that I guess I was aware of, but never fully cognisant of the consequences. Of the right ships that can take cannons, only three are small base. If your cannon costs more than three points, and is restricted to small ships, only the B Wing, the M3-A, and an untitled Defender can take it.

So, what do all three of those ships have in common? They're all three struggling in the meta right now (remember, this is the pre-veterans Defender - obviously they're just fine with the titles). So, imagine a scenario where a new 4 attack cannon was developed, restricted to small ships only, costing 5 points (or four if you wanted to get really aggressive with it, but then you're stepping on the Mangler's toes a little too much), with the HLC's range and restrictions.

What does that result in? Well, first off, you get your glass cannon HLC Sycks at a price where they're actually potentially competitive, at least as filler in a scum list - effectively, the title becomes free. Granted, this doesn't solve the Scyk's problems - it's at best an incremental improvement. But it's a start, and it's easier to get into the wild (from FFGs perspective of finding a release to put it in) than a specific Scyk fix (which requires a Scyk specific release).

HLC B-Wings (already a solid ship, but struggling like any other jouster right now) gets a 2 point reduction - a free FCS or one point crew/E2 combo. The build I was thinking about as a U Boat counter was 3x Dagger, Sensor Jammer and Cheaper HLC for 99 points. I soon realised that that doesn't work because of the Agromech nerf, but that's still a solid little combo, IMO.

And the Defender, well, lets be honest, people are going to take the title anyway, so it hardly matters. And if they don't, well, then its another option for Defender players that probably just brings them closer to where they should have been all along.

The only downside that I can see it that it may somewhat warp FFGs ability to price future small base ships with cannons. But HLC already does that, to some extent, and the TIE/D or Mist Hunter titles have demonstrated FFG has the tools to get specific cannons on to ships if they need to.

Thoughts? Would this make enough of a positive impact to offset the potential downsides down the road?

I think if you are not happy with what the mangler bring to the table then you won't be happy with your proposed cannon.

Personally I am happy with where cannons are at, m3-a with mangler has been great for me so much so that I just picked up my 4th so I can run a quad m3a list. That being said what often makes it strong is the crits from the mangler I would be hard pressed to use your cannon and give up my crits.

Basically my personal opinion is the mangler is already better then the hlc in many ways, so if your cannon ships are unhappy with it they probably won't be happy with just a cheaper hlc.

In a world where a large base is only good for a PWT with a boost

it's not the small ones that need some love >_>

I'm not sure this will bring balance to the Force

Seriously though Homing Missiles are 5 points so at 7 points HLC is fair for any sized ship.

Hi, HLsycks are already competitive and a scary viable option

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/228243-attani-hlsycks-in-gencon-2016/

Think we need a:

Twin Laser Cannon (TLC)

3 Points, and exactly the same as the Twin Laser Turret (TLT) accept its stuck in your forward firing ark

Would make smaller ships a bit more interesting

Think we need a:

Twin Laser Cannon (TLC)

3 Points, and exactly the same as the Twin Laser Turret (TLT) accept its stuck in your forward firing ark

Would make smaller ships a bit more interesting

I think that 3 points is a bit cheap for that and 4 is more reasonable. The Ion Cannon is 2 points cheaper than the turret version so I think that sort of pricing is about right. Secondly I think at 3 points it would become a no-brainer option for /D Defenders and would make them just a bit too good.

In a world where a large base is only good for a PWT with a boost

it's not the small ones that need some love >_>

So, how is life in 2014?

In a world where a large base is only good for a PWT with a boost

it's not the small ones that need some love >_>

So, how is life in 2014?

PHANTASMIC

A cheaper HLC for small based ships? That would be horrible. That would be power creep like you wouldn't believe.

The Scyk just costs a little too much. You shouldn't want to put an HLC on that thing as it's way too fragile.

The B-wing will do better once jousters do better. Let's see how the meta changes after Wave 9 comes out, but I think it's quite possible we don't see as many PTL Arc Dodgers around. I think that would mean jousters can have a come back.

The Scyk just costs a little too much. You shouldn't want to put an HLC on that thing as it's way too fragile.

The sole reason for scyk being 2 points overpriced and title being 2 points overpriced

is the fear of HLK-scyk-spam.

A 5 point HLC would work out the same as the Scyk being two points cheaper. The cheaper Scyk opens up more options for that ship while keeping cheaper HLCs for better costed ships from being an issue.

Think we need a:

Twin Laser Cannon (TLC)

3 Points, and exactly the same as the Twin Laser Turret (TLT) accept its stuck in your forward firing ark

Would make smaller ships a bit more interesting

And Dash? I would definitely take a Lone Wolf Dash with the proposed TLC.

Think we need a:

Twin Laser Cannon (TLC)

3 Points, and exactly the same as the Twin Laser Turret (TLT) accept its stuck in your forward firing ark

Would make smaller ships a bit more interesting

And Dash? I would definitely take a Lone Wolf Dash with the proposed TLC.

nope, it's super-inferior compared to having a HLK that DERS the enemy 4\4 most of the time

Think we need a:

Twin Laser Cannon (TLC)

3 Points, and exactly the same as the Twin Laser Turret (TLT) accept its stuck in your forward firing ark

Would make smaller ships a bit more interesting

And Dash? I would definitely take a Lone Wolf Dash with the proposed TLC.

nope, it's super-inferior compared to having a HLK that DERS the enemy 4\4 most of the time

Not when my opponent just double downs with a token stack and laughs at my 4/4.