I assume G4H and the Kimogila (assuming it's as good as it appears), so what else? Another Kihraxz and Starviper, maybe. Shadow Caster, maybe. Protectorate, probably.

I want to try the Scum faction as they have so many different tricks and I'll never touch those Rebel scums, so what are the best first purchases for Scum?

Most Wanted & HWK-290

The kim actually doesn't appear that good

It's just a DEADEYE SCURRG at a higher pilot skill (5) with less health for the occasional bullseye benefit, or it's a (hopefully cheaper) Bwing

Now g4h at least has some interesting stuff do I'd say it's a good start, but I don't know what you mean by "tricks"

Most scum devolves into the same dice mod stacking as every other faction, apart from the trolls that are Palob and Mux, so it's really a question of what ships look cool

I would of originally said Most wanted and a Jumpmaster, but now I'm not so sure. A starviper and G4H are both good investments, as the starviper still has guri, virago, and autothrusters that are needed to make the full starviper toolkit. Besides that, players choice of singular large ships, or 2 IG-2000s. If you want to run M3-As, though, you kind of need the C-ROC now, mostly for the other pilots, pulsed ray shield, and new titles, though not having that doesn't hurt too much. The only ship I think I would really avoid right now is the Mist hunter, as it doesn't really have a spot in the scum lineup currently.

I would start off with the most wanted pack, gives you some additional pilots for other ships (Like the HWK and Firespray, so if you already own those for Rebels/imps then you can used them for scum as well). Personally I would go for the starviper (It's my favourite ship in the game so I'm a bit bias) and G4H. Possibly 2 aggressors as well as they are great together.

Shadowcaster.

Shadow Caster is really good, most wanted opens up options, chief among them being the HWK.

Depending on the price, grabbing the C-ROC for the Scyk isn't a bad idea.

Assuming you have no scum....

Most Wanted, Jumpmaster (only 1, post FAQ it's all you need), Shadowcaster.

G4H, starviper, Kirhaxz, and Protectorate are all solid for more small base options.

I'd vote for the YV-666. It has some fun pilot abilities, and has the crew and upgrade slots to really play around with builds. Of course, you also get the classic party bus. Or, it's is the only large ship capable of holding Jabba.

I have also loved the Scyk since it's inception, and it has only gotten better with the title options. The Mindlink nerf does hit one of my favorite options, OTOH.

I've wanted to try a triple Protectorate list with a filler M-3. Is it possibly good?

Wow! There are so many right answers to this question...

(yet they're not all the same)

I just don't like where Rebels are right now.
I'll always play Imps, I just want to try something new.

Most wanted and a HWK for sure.

The most powerful large ship they have is now the shadow-caster, with the protectorate the most powerful small ship.

Go for G4H ahead of the standard khiraxz and starviper expansions.

The only sub par ships in the faction are the misthunter and Firespray.

I am not very interested in kimogila.

1. Most Wanted

2. Guns For Hire.

3. Depend what flying style you want, my recommendations are:

-Big ship which stack a lot of different effects: Shadow Caster. (for casual and competitive gaming). /Hound's tooth.

-Arc-Dodger mid/low HP: Protectorate Starfighter. (for casual and competitive gaming). and/or Star Viper.

-Control/Hate generator ship: HWK

4. Scurrg and/or Jumpmaster

Depends on what you like to fly, in what environment.

Small ships (most are hurting in the current tournament meta)

• Protectorate is intersting
• Scyk's are fun.
• Star Viper is fun... though I don't really have a read how well the G4H fixes will help it
• Ksahfjkhszzz look like they're going to be strong with Deadeye with G4H... just faced them. Not top tier strong, but still good
• Scurrg - the secret is Nimh (er Nym)

Large ships

• Shadowcaster - fun to fly and pretty potent
• Jumpmaster, yes really, it's still good

5 minutes ago, Vargas79 said:

T he most powerful large ship they have is now the shadow-caster, with the protectorate the most powerful small ship.

Eh...dengar is still exceptional

He's just not exceptionally ******

1 hour ago, Celestial Lizards said:

...so what are the best first purchases for Scum?

Two IG-2000 packs.

Nothing else.

3 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

Eh...dengar is still exceptional

He's just not exceptionally ******

Not sure. I think situationally Asajj or Ketsu deliver just as well or better. Depends on the list and play style I suppose. Dengar is pretty decent still just not the best.

It reaaaaally depends on whether you are

- playing casual/ playing tournament

- are a new player / are experienced and swapping factions

In any case, I'd highly recommend Guns for hire.

Another Khiraxz wouldn't hurt either.

Shadowcaster is great.

Scurrg is very strong, both generic and Nym.

Most wanted opens up the Firespray and the HWK, both are very fun, strong in the right hands and open up a lot of listbuilding options.

1 Protectorate is reaaally strong and worth considering.

Jumpmaster should be considered (Dengar is still a beast, so is the Bumpmaster).

If I'd have to choose, I'd get Guns for Hire, Most wanted and a Firespray.

Srsly tho, at this exact moment, I'd start with Most Wanted, Guns fo Hire, a Shadowcaster, and a Protectorate Starfighter. More or less at the same time, but if you must in that order. After the foundation is set, the world is your oyster.

Jumpmaster is especially good now!

I've played Scum the most ever since they were released but was mostly Rebel before that. I own multiples of everything for every faction, but always come back to Scum. I barely touched the JM5k, as it didn't suit the way I play (and I don't do tournaments so meta didn't mean anything to me). I get a lot of mileage out of the HWKs. Since the C-ROC update, I've been using the Scyk a lot too. With GfH, I'm quite liking the options for the Starviper and the Khiraxz, but my schedule hasn't really allowed me to get them on the table much yet.

Overall, I'd agree to getting Most Wanted first, as it sets up the HWK, Firespray, the Z95, and the Y-Wings immediately for you. Guns for Hire is a nice add-on now too. I love the Quadjumper for the tractor beam shenanigans that I get up to with it, to the point that I have two players in my local group who are actually happy when I bring a list that doesn't include it. I'm also very fond of the Lancer/Shadow Caster as it's a fun ship to fly (and also with tractor beams!). I'm not as much of a fan of large-based ships, but that's just my play style. There's some fun combos with the Illicit slot that present themselves for the casual matches I play.

I think it depends on whether you're going to play casually or competitively and if you're going to proxy upgrade cards or not. Looking at Meta-Wing, the Jumpmaster, the Scurrg, the Lancer/Shadow Caster, the YV-666/Hound's Tooth, the Protectorate Starfighter, and the Scyk Interceptor (C-ROC) are all in the top 20 lists (pre-nerf). So you wouldn't need Guns for Hire or Most Wanted (edit: for the ships, possibly for the upgrades).

My only Scum ships are two StarVipers and a Jumpmaster. I enjoy flying Dengar/Guri. The new StarViper title with its curved barrel rolls and cost reduction has me over the moon. The new Kihraxz is probably the most moddable small ship in the game. For casual play, then, Guns for Hire is promising -- but be aware that the best StarViper pilot, Guri, is found in the original StarViper expansion (and the Kihraxz ace is found in its original expansion). The StarViper, of course, also comes with the Autothrusters it so desperately craves, though they will soon be reprinted in the TIE Silencer.

If you already have the Imperial Firespray, Most Wanted would give you the Scum pilot cards, which are better. I'd really like to fly Kath Scarlet (Expertise, Heavy Laser Cannon, Dengar, Engine Upgrade).

Some people swear by FIVE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS. (Kihraxzes), some by Scyks with cannon. The Protectorates are sort of the Scum Interceptors if you're into that from Imperials.

If you're not going to fly in a tournament, I'd say just buy the coolest-looking ship(s), figure out a list, and buy the other ships from the list. (P.S. the coolest-looking ship is clearly the StarViper.)

I only recently bought the StarViper as it never really appealed to me, but after using it I really wish I had bought it ages ago. It is a lot of fun to fly.

7 minutes ago, TheHumanHydra said:

I think it depends on whether you're going to play casually or competitively and if you're going to proxy upgrade cards or not. Looking at Meta-Wing, the Jumpmaster, the Scurrg, the Lancer/Shadow Caster, the YV-666/Hound's Tooth, the Protectorate Starfighter, and the Scyk Interceptor (C-ROC) are all in the top 20 lists (pre-nerf). So you wouldn't need Guns for Hire or Most Wanted (barring upgrade cards).

My only Scum ships are two StarVipers and a Jumpmaster. I enjoy flying Dengar/Guri. The new StarViper title with its curved barrel rolls and cost reduction has me over the moon. The new Kihraxz is probably the most moddable small ship in the game. For casual play, then, Guns for Hire must be near the top of the list -- but be aware that the best StarViper pilot, Guri, is found in the original StarViper expansion (and the Kihraxz ace is found in its original expansion). The StarViper, of course, also comes with the Autothrusters it so desperately craves, though they will soon be reprinted in the TIE Silencer.

If you already have the Imperial Firespray, Most Wanted would give you the Scum pilot cards, which are better. I'd really like to fly Kath Scarlet (Expertise, Heavy Laser Cannon, Dengar, Engine Upgrade).

Some people swear by FIVE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS. (Kihraxzes), some by Scyks with cannon . The Protectorates are sort of the Scum Interceptors if you're into that from Imperials.

If you're not going to fly in a tournament, I'd say just buy the coolest-looking ship(s), figure out a list, and buy the other ships from the list. (P.S. the coolest-looking ship is clearly the StarViper.)

Some Scyks with cannons, some without. For casual play, this is stupidly funny. I've used this as a starting point for a few matches. GR locks them down (and especially TIE Defenders which my local community still loves) and then QJ hammers them for 5 guaranteed hits almost every shot with the APT (to not get 5 hits, you'd need to roll 5 natural blanks at which point you only end up with 4 hits...)

Genesis Red (19)
Veteran Instincts (1)
Tractor Beam (1)
"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (Cannon) (2)

Quinn Jast (18)
Expertise (4)
Advanced Proton Torpedoes (6)
Guidance Chips (0)
"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (Torpedo) (2)

Total: 53

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