EDITED:
This article has been corrected. 'Suffering a damage or critical damage' and "dealing a damage card' card are two different things. Abilities/Upgrades like BMST and Proton Bombs that "deal a damage card" as opposed to having the enemy/ship "suffer damage" do not trigger Jostero's ability.
We can all agree, double attacks are very strong in this game. Corran, Dengar, Quickdraw are all powerhouses for their factions. TLT, Gunner, Brobot B, are all strong abilities and upgrades for their double attacks. Now we have Captain Jostero, who like Quickdraw, may appear "meh" at first, but knowing when and how to use his double tap is the key. A cheap ship with an ability to attack in activation with 4 or even 5 red dice (opportunist?) before most ships even move is nothing to scoff at. Jostero will die a quick death because high PS ships that cost 35+pts are not gonna allow to be shot in activation for too long. A quick death? Okay, but its our job to make it a good death.
Jostero comes at time when the meta is full of damage without being the defender of an attack. The number one way is through bombs. If you have a bomber in your squad, he will trigger Jostero's ability. Other ways include
obstacle damage
, like
tractor beaming
an enemy ship on a rock;
seismic torpedos
causing splash damage;
feedback array
;
anti-pursuit lasers
;
R5-P9
(aka painbot);
Draw Their Fire
;
Selflessness
; soon to be
Harpoon Missiles
; dont forget
Assault Missiles; electronic baffle;
Black Market SLicer Tools
;
and some abilities like
Inaldra
, Chopper crew,
or
Unkar Plutt crew card
that self inflict damage
.
Point being, there are a plethora of ways to trigger Jostero. If only Oicunn and Jostero where on the same side
Jostero is pilot skill 4, and worse, he flies a Khiraxz Fighter, not exactly a stellar introduction. But his ability makes all of that irrelevant. In fact, his low Pilot Skill benefits him more than it hurts, because if he can move in the activation phase and turn his arc towards an enemy ship, and that ship he is pointing at takes damage, he gets to shoot that ship. So essentially, Jostero can get a full modded range 1 shot on a PS11 ship if you set it up right, and it isnt really that difficult.
And being built for under 30pts, if you can get a couple good shots with him on tokenless high priority targets, he can very well be MVP of the match in his very limited life.
Now, obviously this is NOT a very good Manaroo build . I built her this way to show the many ways a Jumpmaster can fit damage infliction onto an enemy ship to trigger Jostero's ability without much effort. I did play a game with a similar build to test Jostero out.
Jostero is 28pts with only Engines and Autothrusters costing a total of 4pts with the Vaksai title. This helps him turn his arc with boosting and survive with autothrusters. But lets check out BMST:
Black Market Slicer Tools
-
(EDIT: BMST does not trigger Jostero ability. Dealing a damage card and suffering damage are two different things.)
This is an upgrade I absolutely love on Jostero. Manaroo moves first and focuses for the mindlink. Then Jostero can move and use his action for BMST on a stressed opponent.
I know, I know "A 50/50 for a single damage AND an action?"
BUT, that 50/50 is an automatic damage PLUS you get an attack on a token-less defender. That is a 50/50 worth taking!
And it's a free upgrade, so why not punish stressed enemies!
I do like Manaroo as a wingmate for Jostero. She is the same PS, can move before him to either bomb, block, or focus since they are mindlinked. As long as Jostero is range 1 of manaroo, he can use that focus in the activation phase for his attack, and manaroo will give it right back in combat phase.
Lets start with Manaroo's first upgrade, Proximity Mines. She equips this thanks to Cad Bane crew, and gets two proximities with Extra Munitions upgrade. Jostero can then move first, and take an action like a focus, while Manaroo moves and drops those proximities on the enemy. And with Cad Bane forcing a reroll of all eyeball and blank results, the percentage of doing a single damage is sky high (approx 98%). I pulled this off in my practice match, the proximity did 3 dmg, and Jostero did 4 dmg. That was 7 total damage in the activation phase against a PS9 kavil who had yet to move.
Feedback Array - I will predict this will be a popular choice for Jostero wingmates. A bumpmaster scout for instance, can easily get a block, and Jestero can be right there to attack "for him" so to speak once he feedbacks the enemy. This too I was able to pull off in my practice match with Manaroo, giving Jostero 2 attacks, back-to-back (since Manaroo and Jostero are same PS).
Anti Pursuit Lasers - Its big time RNG, and cant count on it, but on a bumpmaster, if you know you are getting a block, APL combined with Feedback can be quite powerful. If APL doesnt go off, you have feedback as a backup for Jostero.
Painbot - When Jostero is the bigger threat, painbot is almost not worth the points because they will inevitably go after him first. Manaroo did not get attacked while Jostero was alive. I think a wingmate like Dengar + painbot would be a nice pair to go along with Jostero. Most players dont want Dengar left 1v1 in the endgame, but attacking him means his revenge shot, plus Jostero's double tap. Four attacks from two ships.
Seismic Torpedo - Another two point upgrade that relies on RNG. I would never count on it doing damage, however if you have multiple ships near a rock (for instance Fair Ship Rebels), that is multiple ships rolling for damage, and it only takes one hit to trigger Jostero.
Lets look at some lists:
Captain Jostero (24) w/ Attanni Mindlink (1) , XX-23 S-Thread Tracers (1) , Black Market Slicer Tools (1) , Engine Upgrade (4) , Autothrusters (2) , Guidance Chips (0) , Vaksai (0)
Manaroo (27) , Attanni Mindlink (1) , Extra Munitions (2) , Cad Bane (2) , Feedback Array (2) , Proximity Mines (3)
Fenn Rau (28) , Push the Limit (3) , Autothrusters (2) , Concord Dawn Protector (1)
Total: 99
Im making this squad on the assumption of the rumored nerf. Attanni will be limited to two ships, and Jumpmasters will lose a torp slot and agromech slot without the title. Manaroo can bomb and feedback, while still supplying Fenn (only at range 1 since they arent mindlinked) and Jostero with tokens. Both small ships have autothrusters for the TLT and turret meta. Thread Tracers on Jostero because they are free, and Jostero can use his attack in activation to give all three ships a target lock for combat round if the opportunity arises, but most of all, its free! Fenn is the end game ship and is free from having attanni be his EPT in 1v1. True arc dodging aces like their PTL.
-------------
Captain Jostero (24) w/ Predator (3) , Black Market Slicer Tools (1) , Vectored Thrusters (2) , Vaksai (0)
Captain Nym (Scum) (30) w/ Veteran Instincts (1) , Autoblaster Turret (2) , Bomblet Generator (3) , Accuracy Corrector (3) , "Genius" (0) , Havoc (0)
Trandoshan Slaver (29) w/ Dengar (3) , Cikatro Vizago (0) , Feedback Array (2)
Total: 100
This list has the meta king right now, Nym, built with ABT and accuracy corrector. Every time one of his infinite bombs hit an enemy, Jostero gets to attack that ship. The Slaver is here to take aggression off of Nym and Jestero. His feedback proc's Jostero and protects his blindsides. It's 12 hull will keep it around a few rounds. Jostero has Predator, so he is always modded and waiting for those bombs to go off, feedback array, or for an enemy to take damage from an asteroid, etc. If Jostero gets taken out early, The bus can use Cikatro to swap feedback for some Glitterstim, Rigged Cargo, EMP, whatever you need for the fight onwards.
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What are your Jostero builds? How have you been using him? I have so many ideas and so little time!
Edited by wurms
