The counter play to HSCP is the Evade or TL action. So basically, any ship that relies on a focus to be used WHEN THEY WANT and not when they don't want will be hurting. Of course, there will be many times an opponent WANTED to spend a focus on attack or defense (if they roll focus), so many times it won't earn value.

Also, since it works on defensw, it is good for both low PS and high PS ships.

I agree, and initially iwas quite excited for this card. I think i would still be if it was 2pts or so. But as it stands, this is one of the most expensive crew in the game and given that most ships have somewhat of a natural soft counter (just take TL or evade instead of focus depending on your situation) or there will be situations where they might have wanted to use a focus anyway because they rolled accordingly, this card doesnt seem all that great. There is just so much competition for crew slots nowadays, i'm not even sure this has will see play on multi crew ships like the deci, much less single crew ships. If anything this looks like a niche card against certain matchups.

You actually can always spend a focus, even if there aren't any dice to be modified. They FAQ'd that a while back to help out Garven Dreis and Keyan Farlander. In other words, this upgrade is a hard counter to Poe. May actually see him running Sensor Cluster if HSCP becomes very common, that way he can get some benefit when it triggers.

By Jove, he's right. This is mega sucky for Poe. Hopefully the points cost and the crew slot put everyone off....

or you can use Biggs

don't need to care about spending the focus if you're not getting shot at

Then why use poe? really any ship with a focus action and 3 dice would do since you are not getting shot at so don't need poe's defensive side. If poe is beside biggs he is basically a generic x-wing until biggs dies or is out of position.

In the case of Poe, he will probably be shooting first anyways so gets to do an offensive use of his ability then spend it on defense once anyways. Sure it hurts him against focus fire but not a complete counter.

Anyways for 4 points its a pretty strong card, except when its not then its 4 points doing nothing. Its right in line with sensor jammer, doing something very similar... forcing focus tokens to be spent (well incentiveisng it with jammer), however senor jammer works against multiple people shooting you and against people without a focus token. (i understand they are actually quite different but i still feel its a good comparison)

You actually can always spend a focus, even if there aren't any dice to be modified. They FAQ'd that a while back to help out Garven Dreis and Keyan Farlander. In other words, this upgrade is a hard counter to Poe. May actually see him running Sensor Cluster if HSCP becomes very common, that way he can get some benefit when it triggers.

By Jove, he's right. This is mega sucky for Poe. Hopefully the points cost and the crew slot put everyone off....

or you can use Biggs

don't need to care about spending the focus if you're not getting shot at

Then why use poe? really any ship with a focus action and 3 dice would do since you are not getting shot at so don't need poe's defensive side. If poe is beside biggs he is basically a generic x-wing until biggs dies or is out of position.

In the case of Poe, he will probably be shooting first anyways so gets to do an offensive use of his ability then spend it on defense once anyways. Sure it hurts him against focus fire but not a complete

so Poe doesn't get concentrated down to nothing and you can set up a strong late game for him instead

Poe takes concentrated fire better than most, but he's still just a 2-agi T-70. He ain't dengaroo

every rebel regenerator can benefit from Biggs greatly ******* your opponent's target priority, because they're almost universally the best targets to take out ASAP since they tend to almost auto-win the late game by virtue of how powerful regeneration effects are

sure, you don't need Biggs (unless you're a slow as crap, 1 agi ARC), but if you're worried about hotshot copilot there's no reason to fear taking him

You actually can always spend a focus, even if there aren't any dice to be modified. They FAQ'd that a while back to help out Garven Dreis and Keyan Farlander. In other words, this upgrade is a hard counter to Poe. May actually see him running Sensor Cluster if HSCP becomes very common, that way he can get some benefit when it triggers.

By Jove, he's right. This is mega sucky for Poe. Hopefully the points cost and the crew slot put everyone off....

or you can use Biggs

don't need to care about spending the focus if you're not getting shot at

Then why use poe? really any ship with a focus action and 3 dice would do since you are not getting shot at so don't need poe's defensive side. If poe is beside biggs he is basically a generic x-wing until biggs dies or is out of position.

In the case of Poe, he will probably be shooting first anyways so gets to do an offensive use of his ability then spend it on defense once anyways. Sure it hurts him against focus fire but not a complete

so Poe doesn't get concentrated down to nothing and you can set up a strong late game for him instead

Poe takes concentrated fire better than most, but he's still just a 2-agi T-70. He ain't dengaroo

every rebel regenerator can benefit from Biggs greatly ******* your opponent's target priority, because they're almost universally the best targets to take out ASAP since they tend to almost auto-win the late game by virtue of how powerful regeneration effects are

sure, you don't need Biggs (unless you're a slow as crap, 1 agi ARC), but if you're worried about hotshot copilot there's no reason to fear taking him

I was not saying don't take biggs, i was saying i question taking poe with biggs, instead of any other x-wing. Since if you are flying correctly poe's ability is generally useless until biggs goes down... when you could have had say wes doing the same damage but keeping biggs alive longer.

You actually can always spend a focus, even if there aren't any dice to be modified. They FAQ'd that a while back to help out Garven Dreis and Keyan Farlander. In other words, this upgrade is a hard counter to Poe. May actually see him running Sensor Cluster if HSCP becomes very common, that way he can get some benefit when it triggers.

By Jove, he's right. This is mega sucky for Poe. Hopefully the points cost and the crew slot put everyone off....

or you can use Biggs

don't need to care about spending the focus if you're not getting shot at

Then why use poe? really any ship with a focus action and 3 dice would do since you are not getting shot at so don't need poe's defensive side. If poe is beside biggs he is basically a generic x-wing until biggs dies or is out of position.

In the case of Poe, he will probably be shooting first anyways so gets to do an offensive use of his ability then spend it on defense once anyways. Sure it hurts him against focus fire but not a complete

so Poe doesn't get concentrated down to nothing and you can set up a strong late game for him instead

Poe takes concentrated fire better than most, but he's still just a 2-agi T-70. He ain't dengaroo

every rebel regenerator can benefit from Biggs greatly ******* your opponent's target priority, because they're almost universally the best targets to take out ASAP since they tend to almost auto-win the late game by virtue of how powerful regeneration effects are

sure, you don't need Biggs (unless you're a slow as crap, 1 agi ARC), but if you're worried about hotshot copilot there's no reason to fear taking him

I was not saying don't take biggs, i was saying i question taking poe with biggs, instead of any other x-wing. Since if you are flying correctly poe's ability is generally useless until biggs goes down... when you could have had say wes doing the same damage but keeping biggs alive longer.

well Biggs is going to die, so you'll get your pound of flesh out of Poe's ability inevitably

and now that PA exists, PTL poe is very much a thing (and is a lot less wet-noodle than his former VI incarnation). He's no Norra, but he might actually do reliable damage!

honestly, not a fan of Wes at all. The ability seemed neat back in the day when large ship deadeye was still a thing (Which wasn't that long about but still), but without that specific counter I find him really REALLY underwhelming

as a late game ship especially, he has NOTHING on Poe or most any ship in the game really.

Of course, you could always run all 3 of them

EDIT: forgot Black One exists; more reason to run with Biggs!

The counter play to HSCP is the Evade or TL action. So basically, any ship that relies on a focus to be used WHEN THEY WANT and not when they don't want will be hurting. Of course, there will be many times an opponent WANTED to spend a focus on attack or defense (if they roll focus), so many times it won't earn value.

Also, since it works on defensw, it is good for both low PS and high PS ships.

It's the same reason that even in games where Palob doesn't steal one token (which is almost every game I've ever had with him) his ability still may have been hugely effective. If you have an ability that never really triggers but changes your opponents behavior you still got your points out of it.

Exactly. Theres more than one side to an ability.

I put Tarn with Adv Protons and fly into the face of people all the time. Shoot me, i dare you, i'll acquire a TL and use this focus i got to blast you to hell and back. Or i'll just R7 your natural roll away because it was too good. Never gotten that torp off, but i have made a LOT of people take a range3 shot or even opt out of it entirely rather than give him a free APT retaliation lol

The counter play to HSCP is the Evade or TL action. So basically, any ship that relies on a focus to be used WHEN THEY WANT and not when they don't want will be hurting. Of course, there will be many times an opponent WANTED to spend a focus on attack or defense (if they roll focus), so many times it won't earn value.

Also, since it works on defensw, it is good for both low PS and high PS ships.

It's the same reason that even in games where Palob doesn't steal one token (which is almost every game I've ever had with him) his ability still may have been hugely effective. If you have an ability that never really triggers but changes your opponents behavior you still got your points out of it.

I agree, but there is so many good crew cards nowadays. Where would this card be a top option in your opinion?

It makes him expensive but I think as a second crew on tie shuttle crackshot Tomax gives him a lot more purpose Han just passing out focus. And with only a 2 dice attack most likely it will be a complete waste of a focus.

I could see that working, but boy does it make him expensive. Nice utility ship though, burning their tokens and using crack shot to push damage through whenever possible. I do wish he had an extra die though, which would allow him to push damage through much more often.

If you paired him with some heavy hitters, that'd work really well. Something like two phantoms, some ordnance carriers, or some defenders.

I really love flying tomax with 'draw there fire' QuickDraw. Unfortunately having QD at 9 dosn't allow Tomax to strip the tokens first.

Could still work with PTL, pattern analyser backdraft maybe. I am also biased in the fact that I love flying that combo pre-HSCP

I find it absurd that people are not liking the card because "they would just use the Focus anyways". That's not always the case. Look at a 1-2 Agility ship that probably wouldn't use the Focus for defense. Or look at the various ships that roll like a champ with all sorts of other modifiers and probably wouldn't use the Focus on offense. The best target is someone who is token stacked like Soontir Fel. He's got Stealth, a Focus, an Evade, and the Emperor. With 4 Green dice, he might not even need to spend the Focus when you attack him. Or...he can spend the one Evade and save the Focus for the next attack. What makes Soontir so awesome is that he's able to survive several attacks with 4 green dice, the Emperor, and 2 tokens. If you force him to spend the Focus on your attack, then it's just easier for someone else to get shots through.

People have dismissed Miranda as this card doesn't work with TLT's, but....she has a 360 main weapon. She doesn't need to use TLT's if she's trying to force the Focus use on someone. You can probably give her TLT's to be effective some of the time and then she can pick whether she wants to use TLT's or her main guns and remove the Focus. The idea can be totally based on who you are flying against. If you are against Palp Aces or some such, you use the main weapons as you really need to get damage from another shot through. Against anyone else and you just use TLT's. Or...she is not terribly expensive to begin with. You can load her with a different Turret and use her main gun to just strip the Focus token from defenders while the rest of the list can take advantage of it. I know many consider it sacrilege to not take TLT's on her, though.

If you built your list to really mess with people who don't have Focus tokens, you could do it. I keep thinking about Palob with Hotshot Copilot and a bunch of TPV Scyks w/ Manglers and Juke. Or maybe a mix of Tractor Beam, Ion Cannon, and Juke. Palob can steal a token. If he gets the chance to fire at someone with main weapons, great, but anyone who fires at him will spend their Focus. The Scyks will have an Evade in case anyone attacks them. They fire their cannons at whomever doesn't have a Focus, then uses Juke to mess with their defense.

On epic ships it's really great! First, you can load up with a number of weapons that can fire in one turn, so all those shots will force targets to use their Focus tokens. Next, anyone who shoots at it will be forced to, as well. They might not want to or need it, but would lose it.

HSCP, Gunner, and the Opportunist EPT is the obvious combo, but that is expensive.

Honestly, running a dirt cheap Miranda sounds like a great piece to me.

Miranda Doni (29)
Autoblaster Turret (2)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)

35 points of utility, with the AB turret there in case someone gets in close. Ideally I'd run her with Biggs to give her 5 extra health. Not to mention that Biggs will have extra protection because of someone guaranteed not having a focus while shooting at him. Maybe even toss in Norra to get another high PS pilot to strip tokens.

So i ran a Vader/Gunner RAC with Copilot on there last night.

RAC had VI, Seismics, EU, Vader, Gunner, Copilot and his partner Backdraft had Outmaneuver, FCS, PA, Mk2, and title.

Played 2 games, ironically both extremes with that list lol.

First was against a manafenn build. Manaroo with Recon Spec would just feed Fenn all the focuses with an autoblaster Ywing floating around (the guy that adds a die out of arc). This was easily a hard counter lol...i took out Fenn in a single **** round thanks to Copilot, and im not joking.

Swung wide, ended up in range2. Perfect for me because no free evade for him (against BD anyway). RAC at PS10 fires first, hitcrit, opt out of pilot ability and hope he dodges it - he did naturally, burns a focus because copilot anyway. Gunner shot, hitcrit blank, TL reroll didnt help. He rolled 2 blanks and an evade...burned 2nd and last focus. Vadered him, he lost his shot YAY lol. Backdraft finishes with a range2 aux arc shot, and he rolled 3 focuses but had no focus tokens left because RAC completely wasted them. The game just spiraled downhill from there since the intense mobility backdraft had far exceeded the ywing or manaroo.

Second was easy the worst list i could have faced: double ghost + Roark. Roark was an odd pick as he literally got him to make a ghost ps12, he didnt have ANY upgrades not even a dorsal turret lol. Copilot literally did nothing as he just took evades on the ship that wasnt going to fire at PS12, and if he didnt need the focus on attack it didnt hurt him to waste it because it did nothing on defense anyway. Spent probably an hour just outflying the hell out of him, took out Roark, one ghost, and the other was at 4hp before he finished me. He almost never had any shots, but that was just too much beef to eat through.

Given that the bulky lists are quite rare, i think copilot is just flatout mean. Especially on RAC with vader/gunner lol.

I'd've said a Defender, Soontir, Inq or other high PS high defence ace would be a better second hitter to a Vader/Gunner/HotCoP Decimator. The /sf compounds the Deci's weaknesses (basically, being squishy, having a relatively fixed lifespan) whereas an ace contrasts it (lots of dodge, tough to hit).

PS9 no-shield aces are precisely what he's for though.

I usually run Engine Upgrade on RAC, too. PS10 large ship boost just feels mean.

On the contrary, backdraft is more elusive than any ace - you just have to fly him completely different.

PA opens up his dial so much its hilarious - if properly flown, hes unpredictable as hell. Aside from a couple games i had before PAs, ive never lost him quickly. Usually if ANYBODY has a shot on him its range3 and/or through a rock, meanwhile im scooting off on the side going nenernenernener and reducing your agility for my auto-crit farts.

I originally had a defender in there, but honestly i think Backdraft hits way harder. Im not worried about bulk, the Decimator is going to draw all the heat anyway, and unless i get another Oicunn incident (first two crits: bump = damage, all damage faceup) the Decimator will be around 3-4 rounds minimum. Backdraft has never failed to kill someone for me in those few rounds.

Any love for a Scum VI Boba with it? I was thinking of running him alongside a Serrasu with Juke and HLC.

Seems like being able to force a focus as PS 10 would be pretty handy.

Any love for a Scum VI Boba with it? I was thinking of running him alongside a Serrasu with Juke and HLC.

Seems like being able to force a focus as PS 10 would be pretty handy.

I think it could be decent, although I think it will be seen more or 2+ crew ships so that you can squeeze gunner in, the advatage being that take your first shot and hope to not hit while stipping a defensive token so that you can push through more damage on the second shot.

Without gunner, you are only really benefitting either when your opponent rolls no natural focuses or when he decides not to spend the focus on defence so he can use it on offence. In both cases it doesn't help you push through any damage directly with the shooting ship but may benefit your other ships offence or make his shots coming back less effective. That may be value enough for the 4 points in some cases but the synergy with gunner is pretty plain as it has both of the above effects plus increasing the offensive output of the ship which takes it.

Yeah its best on 2crew ships. Most crew ships kinda hinge on that crew slot to be viable, and HSCP may be nasty hes not going to make the ship amazing. Remember it does nothing for the ship that us using him, it does wonders for the ship after him.

Forcing your opponent to spend a focus doesnt help that specific ship in any way. But like in my example, i forced out 2 focus when he normally would not have focused, which meant he had no focus when he DID want to focus lol

Resistance Sympathizer (38)
Gunner (5)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)
Black Market Slicer Tools (1)
Smuggling Compartment (0)
Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Resistance Sympathizer (38)
Gunner (5)
Hotshot Co-pilot (4)
Black Market Slicer Tools (1)
Smuggling Compartment (0)
Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Ran this against a TBC/FR/OT Scum Aces list, won with 5 HP left.

Resistance Sympathizer (38)

Gunner (5)

Hotshot Co-pilot (4)

Black Market Slicer Tools (1)

Smuggling Compartment (0)

Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Resistance Sympathizer (38)

Gunner (5)

Hotshot Co-pilot (4)

Black Market Slicer Tools (1)

Smuggling Compartment (0)

Anti-Pursuit Lasers (2)

Total: 100

View in Yet Another Squad Builder

Ran this against a TBC/FR/OT Scum Aces list, won with 5 HP left.

I wonder...

What if you were to change Gunner to Tactician to add stress and have more targets for the Slicer Tools.

And to further modify the list, spinning off the BMST, drop one RS to ORS so you have room for Snap Shot Cracken.

Tactician forces him to fly more predictably because now he has a reason to get you in arc.

Remember, Tactician only works in printed arcs. Thats why personaly i think the new falcon title is pointless if you arent flying Rey/Finn