I don't get as much exposure to tourney lists as the rest of you do. I know there are variations within a type of list label.

for example in the Merc Faction, Beast Machines will usually run something like Gideon, 3PO, HKx2, Bantha Rider & BT, Dev Scheme and fill out the 7pts with Nexu or HG or whatever strikes your fancy.

As Jabba comes out, how will that change?

I still think the HK droids are the best (one of the best) shooters in the game. Jabba giving them focus and extra attacks (and new Hunter cards) will keep them in the top of the go-to deployment cards.

Will the Bantha be placed to the side in favor of more shooters? or uniques (Bossk, Greedo/Vrinto, Shyla, etc) or the Rancor?

How do you see things shaking out and what types of lists do you see emerging as themed or hyper competitive enviroments?

Will the Gamoreans or Weequay ever see the table?

While I can't speak for what will happen, I think that the variety of Merc figures coming in this wave bodes well for the variety that we will see in lists. I'm hoping that the new unique see play as they look great fun.

I think we'll see lots of the Rancor and Jabba.

I also like Vinto and the Weequay Pirates quite lot and plan to use them in my lists.

I'm going to have a hard time not runing Vinto because he's just too dang cool looking.

Also his abilities look really fun and fit my style of play.

I agree! Vinto is awesome. 5 speed, ability to do 2 attacks AND move, 8 health for only 5 points? Compare to Jyn odan.....

All of the core set figures (outside of Gideon) would benefit from increased health or reduced price tag, just as the game has evolved, it's easier to get more damage through. I think that's one way the designers have kept unique figures alive.

I think Vinto would benefit from Prey on the Weak, a lot of the skirmish upgrades are pretty useless or overcosted, but on Vinto, who gets to shoot twice and probably needs a little boost in accuracy to keep him away and alive, I think it fits with him. You're almost always going to want to use his +1dmg, Weaken surge first to get some damage through, PotWeak helps with auto Pierce 1, Next you're going to want to use +2Acc, Hide to load him up for his next shot, that's 4acc minimum, the last surge would be great to add as well, to overcome some of the black dice/zillo/etc. I think you'll want the surges though. Hide is going to help keep him alive though and make his boltslinger a little more effective. Greedo gets it in the face first, but then can really smash someone with all the extra damage he can pile on, Vinto is a little more of a finesse player and spreads his damage out.

I predict that you will see 60% Jabba and rancor lists right after this expansion hits because they're going to be awesome to play with. Win or lose, they're just going to wreck things. I really like Vinto, Bossk, the female mandalorian, hks, and the new weequay pirates, so I'll try out a lot of mixing with those different elements to fill out the rest of the list. After a few months the rancor craze will die down some and then you'll see more variety and fewer rancor-focused lists, but they'll probably have more lasting power than the Bantha lists that flashed and then died down so quickly (at least, around me they did).

-ryanjamal

Bossk (8)

eWeequay Pirates x2 (14)

Vinto Hreeda (5)

Greedo (4)

Jabba (6)

Temp Alliance (1)

C-3PO (2)

Rancor w/Feeding Frenzy (11)

eNexu x2 (12)

Nexu x4 (16)

Beast Tamer (1)

~D

I think there is potential in these 2 archetypes (and I see some posts above me also have similar lists):

Big Beast:

10 Rancor / Bantha for 9

7 Elite Weequay Pirates / HK's for 8

6 Elite Nexu - this is so that Beast tamer has 2 targets so you can still put it to good use if you lose a beast

5 Vinto Hreeda / Wampa also for 5

4 Greedo / Hired Guns, also for 4

6 Jabba the Hut / Gideon + C3PO, also for 6

1 Beast Tamer

1 Devious Scheme

This is basically old Bantha but with some modifications. HK's are very good, but also fragile. Vinto seems very good to combat single units at terminals/objectives, or just harassment (Greedo or Hired Guns do the same thing).

Jabba vs the Rebel package is an interesting dilemma. The rebel package obviously has more focus and thus probably more damage, but Jabba gives command cards and VP (and potentially second attack sometimes), which is a lot more control oriented.

Bantha + HK vs Rancor + Weequay. This depends a lot on the new command cards. The command cards you normally spend on the Bantha, can now be spent on hunters/smugglers (like On the Lam, which can be very tricky to use, but very rewarding)

==

Bossk Melee

8 Bossk

8 Shyla Varad

7 Elite Tusken/Elite Weequay for 7/HK's for 8

5 Vinto Hreeda

4 Greedo / Hired Guns, also for 4

6 Jabba the Hut / Gideon + C3PO, also for 6

1 Devious Scheme

Yep, the control elements are roughly similar. That is probably going to be the case for most Scum lists (just as Gideon and C3PO are now and will still be pretty good).

Shyla looks to work nicely with Bossk; pull a target in range of Bossk. You can pair it with some Tusken for even more close range pounding (and use the command cards that make them nice), or go for a bit more range with Weequays or HK's.

A full rodian team could be a bit of fun

I love the Nexu list. I ran a list with 5 Nexu once (all I have) it was a blast, but in reality, I had a hard time placing them in usable areas where multiple attacks could happen and cleave would be used effectively.

I'm surprised that you don't have any love for the elite Gamorean Guards. I think even with auto dmg for tuskens, the eGGs get equal or greater damage. Their cleave is better, their offense and defense is better, (and Reach makes their movement better). They do not have Jundland Terror, but brawlers have Parting Blow, Counter Attack and Close the Gap, I lean towards the eGGs but Tuskens are good too.

I'm also surprised by the love for Weequay. I wanted to like them so much but when spoiled, I keep comparing them to HK and they fall short in literally every category. Their Hide ability is cool and 6 health is better than 5 but for the 1 pt more you get more damage, range, surges, I think this is one of those spots where the Campaign trumps Skirmish again and we're left with a lackluster card. 4/6pt cost for them and I'd be singing a different tune as they would fall in a middle to cheap range that would be great to fill. Having Trooper instead of Smuggler would have also benefited the Weequay and given a boost to the lackluster, and under utilized WingGuard.

Good thoughts and lists.

I think it's too early to say. Mercs are getting so many new toys that it's going to take a while for the dust to settle.

I think we'll certainly see lots of Vinto and Jabba.

Rancor may replace the Bantha in most situations. It's rare to see 2 massive figures but it does happen... maybe the rancor can pick up where double Bantha fell short.

I think Weequays have a really good chance of replacing HKs. They do similar damage with more health at slightly less range... They can still reroll X-men or their attack dice and can get hidden. They seem like a very flexible unit... but perhaps they might suffer from being too much "jack of all trades"

Elite Gamorrean Guard are also pretty solid. They would do really well on the new ISB map. Lots of tight corridors and corners to hide around.

It's really going to come down to the command cards to see what gets the most play. I assume we'll see lots of new hunter and smuggler cards, so those may be the more favored units.

It's certainly going to be fun. I'm looking forward to the Dewback Riders and new creature cards. Something like 3 Dewbacks + Rancor + eNexu and some officers. There's going to be lots of crazy options now.

I was thinking 3 dewbacks, but never thought to use the OTHER temp alliance card (forgot it existed even) that is a fantastic idea

7 Capt. Terro

6 Dewback

6 Dewback

1temp alliance

10 Rancor

6 eNexu

2 officer

2 officer

They all fit assuming the elite dewbacks are 6points. I could see them being 7 pts with different abilities, surges and health just to be different than Terro

I was thinking 3 dewbacks, but never thought to use the OTHER temp alliance card (forgot it existed even) that is a fantastic idea

7 Capt. Terro

6 Dewback

6 Dewback

1temp alliance

10 Rancor

6 eNexu

2 officer

2 officer

Good points on the Gammoreans, they slipped my mind. I can see them being better than eTuskens, if you can spare the extra point (Tuskens also have brawler though, so thats not an advantage the Gammoreans have. But the Gamorreans do have guardian..)

eWeequays versus HKs is an interesting dilemma which comes down to:

+ Point less than HKs

+ Smuggler keyword (On the Lam and that other smuggler card that lets you move if someone moves into melee range, forgot the name)

+ 1 more HP

+ When hidden, the accuracy deduction from enemies

- less reroll

- must be hidden to be comparable in range and damage

- droid keyword (but that isn't interesting as you won't play droid cards in Scum skirmish anyway)

- no extreme long range (10+)

If you hide the eWeequays, they actually match the HKs for both range and damage really well (if you don't take into account rerolls, which the website (http://mattyellen.github.io/imperial-assault-calculator/) doesn't account for).

The deciding thing will probably usually be the extra point (as was the case with the Gammoreans vs Tuskens too).

It's nice to have multiple options so close in points.

I'm sure they are close in comparison, I just see the reroll on the Targeting computer and the Versatile Weaponry are too good. The optimal keyword is Hunter as far as I'm concerned, there are way more offensive-minded cards in the Hunter than Smuggler. I've never been able to use any of the Droid cards for anything useful. I've always felt that if you're forced to use Slippery Target, you're probably going to die anyway soon. 6 health might get you one more activation though. Against similar pointed models, you could survive a few more shots. We all know that 3 dice is way better than two dice though, even if you are Hidden. You don't want to have to spend your surge on accuracy and being closer puts you at risk. I have a feeling they may perform better than my first reaction, but they are not going to replace or fill the reliability and versatility of the HKs. Like I said earlier or in another post, if they were costed 4/6 then you would take them because they would fit better if you ran out of points, the gap would be greater and therefore more appealing. But at only 1pt difference, I think you find a way to fit the HKs

I don't think the Rancor needs Beast tamer as much as the Bantha does. You can take your time walking forward slowly with 2 black dice for defense and 15 health. It's basically a Darth Vader that's massive and has reach.

The Rancor can hit every square in a 6x6 room tile. It's got a pretty huge threat range. Giving it 2 move from an officer is probably enough to get it into the middle of most maps on the first turn (depending on doors etc).

I agree officers are more expensive, but they also give more activations and can sit on terminals etc... There's pros and cons to both.

I only mentioned this list because eNexu can be terrifying and I'm really looking forward to dewback riders.

Can easily swap the rancor for Bossk and an officer or something =P

There's going to be so many new options soon. I can't wait.