Alright guys, after months and months of flying RAC/Soontir back in the day, I've decided to break out my beloved deci again. I've been flying 2 different RAC builds lately, since I'm just not comfortable with Soontir anymore with all the new hate he's gotten. The first build I tried was:

RAC- VI, Palp, Rebel Captive, engine (62)

Ryad- Lone Wolf, x7, Stealth Device (37)

Lessons learned: This Ryad is an absolute MONSTER and easily better than Soontir in this build IMO. I'm 2-0 with this squad, mostly thanks to Ryad's insane amount of damage mitigation, but I'm not confident against other palp defender builds with this RAC so I'm tempted to give it a rest for now. Hence my new build and the actual topic of this thread!

RAC- Predator, Extra Munitions, Palp, Gunner, Seismic Charges, Engine (70)

Omega Leader- Juke, Comm Relay, Shield Upgrade (30)

This RAC is much more competent against defenders with the gunner+predator in particular, and PS8 is still high enough to get me above Ryad and Vessery, so double checks in those 2 boxes. Seismic charges help us push that little bit of extra damage through, but are mostly there because I've got 4 points to play around with and only a bomb and torp slot left. Engine for obvious reasons, and Palp to be used almost exclusively for Omega Leader. In an ideal world where we use Palp for every Omega attack, her offense exceeds anything else near her point range, coupled with the fact that she is amazing vs the two best list out there currently (palp defenders and Dengaroo) and I think she'll do pretty well. Also, a 70 point RAC is a pretty juicy target, so she should be free to do her thing for most of the match. What do you guys think though? I've no doubt it's competitive, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think it would struggle against. Also, is it better than my RAC/Ryad?

Hmmm, with only 1 pocket Ace, I would be tempted to ditch Palps and get Vader and Hotshot Copilot instead. Vader/Gunner is nasty on Aces and HoCo Pilot is great for token stripping targets to ensure OL's Juke really gets some value.

With just two ships I'd expect it to be way too easy to lose OL to focus fire unless you throw RAC in first, at which point, you lose Palp support for OL.

I also really struggle with RAC without VI. He's not desperate for attack mods, and his only defensive action is arc dodging, so you want to be able to arc dodge as easily as possible.

Hmmm, with only 1 pocket Ace, I would be tempted to ditch Palps and get Vader and Hotshot Copilot instead. Vader/Gunner is nasty on Aces and HoCo Pilot is great for token stripping targets to ensure OL's Juke really gets some value.

With just two ships I'd expect it to be way too easy to lose OL to focus fire unless you throw RAC in first, at which point, you lose Palp support for OL.

I also really struggle with RAC without VI. He's not desperate for attack mods, and his only defensive action is arc dodging, so you want to be able to arc dodge as easily as possible.

Do you guys think it would be worth dropping the seismics and replacing them with a Conner Net or Ion bombs? I'm trying to decide which one my list needs more, damage or control.

OL & Palp are the combo here I'd stick with as well, though I'd still be assuming Palp is mostly on defense, it really depends on your approach vector.

I like the shield upgrade on OL, as it highlights my preference for saving her evade tokens until she's about to take a crit (or die).

For bombs, I'd recommend sticking with bombs that trigger on dial reveal -- this is now a major threat for Defenders trying to K-turn over you, and is something you can reliably trigger -- good opponents are going to block up RAC as much as possible, so he stops his arc dodging shenanigans.

I do think I'd go for VI on RAC even in this setup, though, as the ability to arc dodge higher PS enemies can't be understated. His pilot ability, Gunner, and, when desperate, Palp should be enough. Honestly, I'm not sure there's going to be as much a need for Gunner as you expect, other than the fact that there aren't that many other crew options that would be as appealing. And, when Gunner does trigger, you'll be happy it's there.

OL is a tricky partner for RAC in general, because you don't have anywhere else to stuff your extra points, so you get a bloated RAC. You might want to try thinning out RAC a bit and having an absurd point bid. This isn't really to win you initiative decisions, though that CAN help, but it can help you keep points buried behind Omega Leader's wall, once RAC is gone. This is more of a tournament scoring consideration, and I'd probably err on the side of bloated RAC myself, but it's a thought.