Whaddaya think?

It'll be playable but not really competitive; it just always has to deal with the fact that bombers can do everything it can, for cheaper.

That said, I could see it placing pretty will in the hands of some skilled players.

Try someday Punishers with Reinforce Action.

31 minutes ago, Ailowynn said:

It'll be playable but not really competitive; it just always has to deal with the fact that bombers can do everything it can, for cheaper.

That said, I could see it placing pretty will in the hands of some skilled players.

Not everything. The Punisher can carry Advanced Sensors, allowing it to fire rockets after a K-turn.

Not really: LWframe is a mod, and punishers except death rain need Guidance chips or LRS.

Unguided rockets are great for Deathrain though. and the generic.

This definitely helps, but the base ship is also 2-3points overcosted!

Short answer. No.

Long answer. Nooooooooooooope.

As if playable equals to got a niche and can execute thst niche well enogh to justify the pick.

I feel like this upgrade makes the Punishers feel like real assault ships. You can take a pair of Seismic Charges (or Ion Bombs) and the Unguided Rockets for 6 points, 8 with LWF. They're decently tough, can do area denial with bombs, and have a meaningful attack the whole time, all while not breaking the bank.

1 minute ago, Blail Blerg said:

Not really: LWframe is a mod, and punishers except death rain need Guidance chips or LRS.

Unguided rockets are great for Deathrain though. and the generic.

This definitely helps, but the base ship is also 2-3points overcosted!

So if Deathrain and the Generic can use Unguided Rockets, then only Redline needs LRS or Guidance Chips, leaving them open for LWF.

They are getting a lot of help, that's for sure.

Does Guidance Chips affect Unguided Rockets? I guess not for the UR rule

I fear not. Only Eyes to Hits via Focus

After looking at the Scurrg bomber pack, there's a system upgrade that looks like it has to do with dropping mines. If so, then that's also going to help give the Punisher some more options as the only System-equipped Imperial ship with bomb slots.

I was thinking of this build of Deathrain:

LWF (2), Unguided Missiles (2), EM (2), Cluster Mines (4), Adv. Scope (1): For 37 Points.

Now that sound expensive, but look at the statline you have now: 3* 2* 6 3

That's an amazing statline, even if the Att and AGI have an asterisks. The attack does need a focus, but Deathrain is a 6, and in this meta, will likely be able to fire before needing it for defense. Also, with LWF, you basically have a straight increase in AGI, except for Range 3 against a 2 Att ship, or if there's a rock or something, but 90% of the time, LWF is a straight increase in AGI. That statline, 3 2 6 3, is on par with big ships, but on a small base. And after the initial engagement, you run forward, drop bombs, and BR away, it may take the enemy sometime to get you in their sights again, then the rest of your team is doing damage. You could also raise the cost to 39 if you took Adv. Sensors, and then be able to fire your missiles even on a K turn, but I was trying to make her as cheap as possible yet still effective. Whether it is full on competitive or not, I am definitely going to try it out. Tell you one thing, if we get a fix for Punishers that gives you unlimited ordnance (essentially a 2 point cost reduction), then we are in business.

5 minutes ago, SirCormac said:

Whether it is full on competitive or not, I am definitely going to try it out. Tell you one thing, if we get a fix for Punishers that gives you unlimited ordnance (essentially a 2 point cost reduction), then we are in business.

8 minutes ago, PhantomFO said:

After looking at the Scurrg bomber pack, there's a system upgrade that looks like it has to do with dropping mines. If so, then that's also going to help give the Punisher some more options as the only System-equipped Imperial ship with bomb slots.

This is the unknown at the moment. That and the unique bomblet generator. If the bomblet upgrade is usable on Punishers, and if it functions similar to the unguided rockets allowing for an unlimited bomb type, we could be seeing unlimited missles and bombs on a Punisher.

Cutlass Squadron Pilot (21)
Collision Detector (0)
Unguided Rockets (2)
Lightweight Frame (2)

Total: 25
x 4?

That's a ton of beef to chew through. 12 shields and 24 hull all behind 2 agility. That's nearly twice the hitpoints of 4 X-wings. Of course, its a super expensive squad to run.

It's not great for the Punisher, but it's solid on the Bomber with Lightweight Frame.

The H6 has an as yet unrevealed missile too, so we might yet have a solid option for the Punisher coming.

Just now, NakedDex said:

It's not great for the Punisher, but it's solid on the Bomber with Lightweight Frame.

The H6 has an as yet unrevealed missile too, so we might yet have a solid option for the Punisher coming.

Think the punisher will see more love on the systems slot that effects bombs

1 hour ago, NakedDex said:

It's not great for the Punisher, but it's solid on the Bomber with Lightweight Frame.

The H6 has an as yet unrevealed missile too, so we might yet have a solid option for the Punisher coming.

If you zoom in, it looks like the Cruise Missile grants additional attack dice based on the speed of the maneuver you executed that round up to a maximum value.

2 hours ago, PhantomFO said:

After looking at the Scurrg bomber pack, there's a system upgrade that looks like it has to do with dropping mines. If so, then that's also going to help give the Punisher some more options as the only System-equipped Imperial ship with bomb slots.

It also looks like the other one might be a double bomb upgrade. I'm just guessing that double upgrades are a theme in this wave. If it is the Punisher is one of the few ships that could equip it.

Here's the list of all the ships that have 2 bomb slots. Interestingly enough both of the Scum ships that can do it are shared with another faction.

Imperial:
Punisher
Firespray w/Andrasta

Rebel:
K-Wing
Scurrg

Scum:
Scuurg
Firespray w/Andrastra

Not sure about Unguided Rockets being the thing that makes them good / competitive. I mean, Imperials have a bunch of 3 attack dice ships already.

What I do think though is the combination of Unguided Rockets and Mining Maps system upgrade which allows you to place bombs in the field prior to fleet deployment. Now it's not confirmed if this is within range of asteroids or not but it has potential. Punisher can bring a lot of bombs and it's some thing that neither the Y, K or TIE Bomber can achieve. Only the Punisher, Havok and B wing/Ghost with Sabine would be able to do it.

Step in the right direction but i doubt it makes them great. Theres no way the punisher will ever get a fix that isnt unique to the punisher to bring it to competitive levels without making something else infinitely better anyway.

The only thing that would buff it and not its better/cheaper cousin the Bomber is sensor stuff, and unless it was Punisher unique im pretty sure several ships would love whatever that would be and use it better.

8 minutes ago, WWHSD said:

Rebel:
K-Wing
Scurrg

The fact that it can be equipped on a K-Wing concerns me, as either the upgrade is going to be "meh", or it will simply unbalance the already superior K-Wing + Adv SLAM + Sabine crazyness of Rebel bombing.

Something tells me the Kwing wouldnt want it unless its purely a price-decision (3scurrg too pricy to do it).

Kwing praises on its ability to dump bombs reactively via Adv SLAM. If the mining net thingie is what we predict it is, Kwing wont have that bonus anymore.

Well, there is the system upgrade, then there is the double bomb slot "bomblet generator"

Tokens for all of the "on reveal bombs" are the same shape as the tokens shown in the Scuurg preview, right? None of the "action bombs" use that shape do they?