The generally idea is to put together something similar to Palp Aces, but changing it to the [independent Contractors] faction. Manaroo takes the place of the Palp-Mobile for support, Fenn Rau acts in The Baron's Role as a flanker, and Zuckuss works for a bit of control.

Fenn Rau (28)

-Push the Limit (3)

-Concord Dawn Protectorate (1)

Manaroo (27)

-Push the Limit (3)

-Recon Specialist (3)

-R5-P8 (3)

Zuckuss (28)

-Veteran Instincts (1)

-Mist Hunter (0)

-Tractor Beam (1)

-Ketsu Ono (1)

Total: 99 Points

My 2 biggest concerns are that it may be better to have a Slaver with multiple crew instead of Zuckuss, because... well: Zuckuss...

Secondly , I think I may be getting too cute with the upgrades. It feels like a bit too much of a "test new stuff" build.

Cheers!

I like the idea, but Manaroo's token pass probably works better on ships with more agility who can benefit from the tokens on defense.

Additionally, if you're going to PtL with Manaroo, maybe you want Unhinged Astromech? With the points you free up, you can add autothrusters to Fenn Rau.

Here's a link to a Manaroo Aces list I posted awhile back, although there are two Manaroo builds, and the second version with K4 Droid and Unhinged Astro is the one that I now prefer.

https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/227759-manaroo-aces/?p=2367180

I think that Talonbane can be replaced by any solid ship with 2 or more green dice, including Guri or Serissu with HLC and another Hull Upgrade.

Yeah, the 1 defense die on Zuckuss may be antithetical to what I was going for. Is Talonbane feasible now? Cause, Khiraz is generally considered... suboptimal? I think maybe vectored thrusters helps him substantially. He does still get the five dice at Range 1 that I am so excited to throw FTL on top of with Manaroo.

One other question: does Fenn need Fearlessness or Autothrusters? Admittedly, I have never flown any of these ships before. Fly 'em first in tournaments, I always say.... then to the bar...

Autothrusters are always good, Fearlessness not so much.

You could drop R5-P8 from your list to give Manaroo Unhinged instead and fit Fire-Control System on Zuckuss to give hive offense the missing punch.

The list CB linked to is awesome as well. I've flown it at a tournament, and though I did poorly that had a lot more to do with my flying than the list. Talonbane is good now, still not great, but a lot of fun at PS9 alongside Rau.

Only thing tht shies me away from CB's list is that I am really not sold on Mindlink. Is it better than having Recon? It would seem the biggest difference would be point savings, but at the expense of not being able to double re-position.

Attanni Mindlink is a very easy card to underestimate. You may not be able to double reposition, but your dial will also almost always be more open - you will only be stressed when you or someone else takes a red move (or a shot from R3-A2). And even when you get stressed and decide to do a white move anyway, you still get two Focus tokens. I was a fan from a moment I flew the Mindlinked version of Scum Aces.

That said, I do hope to try a RecSpec version soon to see how it compares.

Attanni Mindlink is a very easy card to underestimate. You may not be able to double reposition, but your dial will also almost always be more open - you will only be stressed when you or someone else takes a red move (or a shot from R3-A2). And even when you get stressed and decide to do a white move anyway, you still get two Focus tokens. I was a fan from a moment I flew the Mindlinked version of Scum Aces.

That said, I do hope to try a RecSpec version soon to see how it compares.

I would like to use atani in my list. But not sure I want to give up predator. Its helped me out so many times.

One from Mindlink, One from Manaroo passing a second focus, Fenn TLs as his action, or Manaroo passes a TL too if she has K4.

Finally something worth talking about!

Thanks for bringing this up as I think this is a developing Scum arch-type and deserves our attention. Let me share a list I've been using and talk about it a little.

[post=https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Scum%20and%20Villainy&d=v4!s!173:-1,-1,-1,122,118,112:-1:-1:;212:18,-1:-1:15:;135:188,-1,145:-1:8:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron][/post]

Now here the idea is that we're utilizing two of the most powerful PS9 ships in the Scum arsenal to deliver the hardest one-two punch we can under the Manaroo Aces arch-type. This list epitomizes the term Glass Cannon as both your ships can melt extremely easily, but if flown right can drop even the hardest targets with ease. This list demonstrates a great example of target priority in that you provide your opponent with several hard choices. Go after the Empress Manaroo who can provide TL & focus nearly every turn? Try for an Ace and perhaps minimize the damage potential? The neat thing is that you can influence these choices more effectively with Manaroo than you can with Palpatine. Fenn can influence target priority as well thanks to his PTL arc-dodging and Talonbane brings a special kind of target priority too. In this sense you have more control over what your opponent is going to do than they may well realize, more so than a Palp Aces list. Also, there is the damage. My god the damage. If you can get both your Aces into R1 and have focus & TL on both of them... it's just brutal. I have played this list several times now and it is what I would call a high skill level list, simply because you can so easily lose, yet the sheer damage potential makes it a serious threat. I think the Feedback Array on Manaroo may be a bit over rated since you may want to bid for initiative better, but it has come in handy. That being said I think that for any Manaroo Aces list she really needs Unhinged and K4, perhaps even only just that...

Anyways I don't want to write a book but Manaroo Aces is definitely a thing worth exploring and I encourage people to try it out because it sure is a lot of fun. Throw a couple of your favorite ships in a list with the Scum Empress and let us know how it works!