Hello all. I have been theory crafting as of late. I am aware of the meta, and have recently been in Tournaments. My most recent build did great against the meta but, not so well against "cheese" builds. I want to try and find a build that can adapt to situations like that, and certain aspects of the meta. I decided to look towards Scum for this. I recognize that Manaroo, Fen, and Old Teroch are at the top for average wins (based on data). The builds always involve Mindlink though. That is easy to shut down if a "cheese" build gets a hold of it.

I know people tell me it's tactics and all of this other crap but, lets be realistic.. That person is just being a ****. Just because the rules are saying you can't do it, doesn't mean you should. There are players who will not have fun fighting your lists. I am one of those people. I have no problem fighting a list and losing because of mistakes I made, or because of bad dice. When I lose because you decided to come up with a list that causes double stress, and ion, or stacks tokens all day.. Then that is not fun. I spend turn after turn not being able to do anything because the build literally makes it so I can't do anything.

Builds I am talking about are Paolob with Ion, Asaj with Tactician, or double defender and Omega. I already know from previous tournaments that even with the Defender nerf, they get too much agility, and too many tokens for a single ship. Even my older Triple X build can't put a dent in that (even if I roll perfectly). By the time I manage to get damage through I am basically dead.

Anyways moving on.. So this is what I came up with.

Manaroo: Wingman, K4 Security Droid, Unhinged Astromech

Fenn Rau: Fearlessness, Concord Dawn Protector, Auto Thrusters

Old Teroch: Veteran Instincts, Concord Dawn Protector, Auto Thrusters

My logic for switching out Mindlink was to prepare for the "cheese" lists and the rare times you run in to a Stress Bot with the meta. Manaroo is still able to give Fenn a Focus, and a Target Lock (if Green Move). If Manaroo does not get a Green Move off, she can still pass on either a Focus or Target Lock. Fenn can use his action to get what is missing. Manaroo can still help by clearing a stress, and readying the squad for next turn.

With Fearlessness instead of Mind Link, Fenn is putting out more dice.

As for Teroch.. I put VI in there because enemy Fenn's, or Imperial Aces will try to get out of your Arc. By increasing the Pilot Skill to 9, it reduces the chances of that happening.

This leaves me with 5 points. I am not sure what to do. I was thinking I could put Counter Measures on Manaroo, or Torpedoes on Fenn and Teroch. I could squeeze Flechettes in there, or a single Ion Torpedo. Anyone with ideas, or comments regarding the build? Thank you for any replies that help me figure out the build

With that posted, I wanted to post the build that came before this. And no it's not "cheese". It is quite easy to shut down if you focus fire, or stress it.

Rey: Expertise, Finn, Kanan Jarrus, Millenium Falcon (TFA)

Poe (PS9): Predator, R2-D2, Auto Thrusters

I did get to test this build on one of the World's players and it won. The goal with the build is to let Rey take the hits. If she happens to bump it's fine. Her re-roll applies as long as something is in the arc. Expertise furthers the bump potential by giving her a free Focus everytime basically (assuming no stress). If you need to get turned around Kanan Jarrus will allow you to use the special move thanks to the title (if you aren't stressed). If stress builds become more common Predator can work.

As for Poe.. His main job is to help Rey. He should never be the one taking all of the hits (unless Rey has taken too much). The meta right now in Tournaments is lists with at least 1-2 TLT's. This includes Rebels and Scum lists. Rebel builds with TLT will be the most common (Miranda). That is why Auto Thrusters are there. If the meta does change, then swapping out Auto's for Integrated Astromech, and putting a Pattern Analyzer in the Tech Slot is the way to go.

That is the TLDR. I hope it helps someone else

When you say cheese, you seem to be reffering to anything that stacks tokens. Just wondering why you don't think mind link is a cheese list?

I am unsure about it right now. It is a token stacker but, all it takes is Nien Nunb (T-70) with R3-A2 to make everyone suffer. At least more than 1 ship pays the price for being "cheesy".

With the Defender list there isn't punishment for it (really). Each Defender manages to get their tokens, with minimal counter. The only way to stop it is by blocking them, stressing them, or taking their tokens away. In that scenario.. Odds are you are only punishing 1 of the 2 Defenders. Even if you get to that point, you have to worry about Omega at some point (if you live).

It's not like the Mind Link list where I don't have to put much effort in to punish all 3 ships. Does that make sense? I am hoping I explained it well. If I did can I please get help with the Scum list?

Don't build for a "cheese" list. The odds of running into one in a big tourney is rare. What you do is take a couple points 2-5pts and use those to help against various weaknesses in your list.

Need control? Fletchette Torp on Manaroo maybe?

Need a Blocker? Feedback and APL.

Regen giving you a hard time? Maybe EMP device on manaroo.

Stress problems? unhinged on Manaroo for more greens to supply focus tokens. Etc. Etc.

Changing your list to counter some crazy build will lose you more games.

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 7:52 PM, RPLev said:

My most recent build did great against the meta but, not so well against "cheese" builds.

When I lose because you decided to come up with a list that causes double stress, and ion, or stacks tokens all day.. Then that is not fun. I spend turn after turn not being able to do anything because the build literally makes it so I can't do anything.

If Manaroo does not get a Green Move off, she can still pass on either a Focus or Target Lock. Fenn can use his action to get what is missing. Manaroo can still help by clearing a stress, and readying the squad for next turn.

You seem to be saying you do well against the meta, and the describe "cheese" as including double stressers and token stakers. Many people would say that both those things are very much in the meta right now so there appears to be a contradiction there.

Also don't forget that post FAQ manaroo can only pass tokens at range 1. That's not to say its impossible if you fly well but its not as easy as just saying manaro does a green and passes focus or tl.

That Rey build is pretty well known at this stage. Most people I've seen flying it tend to take PTL Norra rather than Poe.