I love the eJets and I want to build a list around them. Decided to pull in some Merc flavor and the Rancor seemed to fit pretty nicely. The problem obviously is that the Rancor without Beast Tamer is slow..... but with Zillow it is so much tankier. In fact I think a Rancor paired with Zillow will be more usable than a Merc Rancor with Beast tamer. To make up for the speed I'm pulling Shyla for the whip and I have two Imperial officers. Here's the list:

• 2x eJet Troopers with Targetting computer (16 points)
• Rancor (10 points)
• Shyla (8 points)
• 2x rOfficer
• Temporary alliance
• Zillow Technique

Command Cards:

• Crush (3)
• Grenadier (3)
• Overrun (2)
• Fuel Upgrade (1)
• Ferocity (1)
• Negation (1)
• Heavy Armor (1)
• Survival Instincts (1)
• Tough Luck (1)
• Bladestorm (1)
• Element of Surprise (0)
• Fleet Footed (0)
• Planning (0)
• Take Initiative (0)
• Urgency (0)

http://ia-armies.com/army/O1XHzrtg

The rancor has gotten a lot of flack, some of which is deserved. Compare to Jedi Luke for 2 more points who has built in evade always, surge for pierce 3, can attack the same figure twice and has more mobility and versatility. On the plus side for the Rancor, his attacks hit harder than Luke's (bgy, +1, surge for +1 vs rgg surge for +2). I find that I often roll 3 surges for luke and can't spend them all and my attack ends up being 4 or 5 dmg and pierce 3, compared to the rancor who consistently puts out 7 or 8 damage (no pierce). The rancor can get 2 black dice but loses brutality, which is great vs some lists, but also is terrible vs a lot of meta lists right now.

Basically I love the eJets and want to build a list around them. I think the Rancor is cool and would love for it to work , but I'm not sold on it. I also left off "feeding frenzy" which makes the Rancor a lot better, but I didn't have room for it. What do you guys think?

-Brett

I haven't tried the imperial option for the Rancor yet - I just can't get past not having Beast tamer with him - but it might work well with enough officers.

As for the efficacy of the Rancor, when I've done the math I have found that a unit of elite Gamorreans is a better option in almost all cases.

Pros - 3 points cheaper (factoring in BT), 1 more net health, split into 2 figures (more chance for spill over damage that has no effect), 2 attacks all the time, small figures are more versatile and hide a lot easier than a massive figure, double the actions, and can interact without having to be trained to do so.

Cons - only gets the defense bonus against ranged, doesn't block enemy massive figures, 1B+1 while is close to 2B its not quite as good, lose effectiveness when you lose 1 figure (Rancor fully effective until dead), RR w/ reroll is slightly less than RGG.

With the Rancor I've found it dies to focused fire quickly. Some good rolling can save it a bit, but you cannot hide it. You can't really position it in safety from any of your opponents figures for the most part - except some exceptions around melee figures. Combine that with the cards that came in the last wave (hunter cards, extra dmg and extra surge cards) they tend melt before doing enough damage. The smaller figure Gamorreans can run around corners and block LOS or get LOS to them blocked a lot easier. This reduces the amount of figures that can focus fire on them - and ultimately increases their survivability.

That all said - I'd like to try your list, seems pretty interesting. Also that zillo I would think works very well with the Rancor, hopefully shoring up his weak point.

Temp Alliance, Double Rancor, 2x eJets with Vader's Finest, Zillo.

Ooo that's a nice idea. I think officers are better than BT actually because outside of the opening round, you usually don't need to double move to be in range to hit something

Officers allow you to "push" your own figures to create some interesting openings. I wouldn't take shyla tho and instead use Caption Terro for more creature cards. Also allows you to use Rule by Fear/Feeding Frenzy

1 hour ago, frotes said:

Ooo that's a nice idea. I think officers are better than BT actually because outside of the opening round, you usually don't need to double move to be in range to hit something

Officers allow you to "push" your own figures to create some interesting openings. I wouldn't take shyla tho and instead use Caption Terro for more creature cards. Also allows you to use Rule by Fear/Feeding Frenzy

I actually like how that list sounds a lot. I'm gonna have to try it out.