Hello everyone!

I am wondering why we don't see Horton Salm on the tables. He is PS 8 and his ability seems to be "too strong", so he actually got nerfed in the 2.0 edition.

A PS8 TLT, which can reroll blanks so he'll get 2 out of 2 hits with a TLT almost every round seems to be pretty good actually.

So why is Horton not viable anymore? Which ship would you prefer for... say something like 31 to 33 points?

The advantage of TLT is that you don't need to buff the shots in the first place, and you pay a heavy premium to get the buff on a ship that can die really quickly.

He is useable. It's just that other stuff is better for only a few more points.

The main problem is that 8 damage isn't that hard to do in the world of multiple harpoon missiles.

You can make him really brutal for 38 points, by the way - R2-D6/Expertise combined with his ability means he near enough never misses.

The problem is his durability, more than anything, and his lack of an elite slot.

That said, he can probably do pretty well with Flight Assist Astromech, BTL-A4 Y-wing, and Twin Laser Turret. That's a lot of decently modified shots out of a pretty cheap ship.

Thanks for your answers so far.

So if I get you right, there is problem with his durability for the most part. The 8 HP protected by one green are gone pretty quickly.

I have had the most success with him by going with the BTL, Chopper astromech combo.
Throw in a few extra 0 point upgrades like Chips and Bomb loadout. Then you can use BTL on the engagement and just chuck the BTL for a shield when he gets hit. I have found that sometimes people don't shoot him just so he can't burn the BTL, but thats why y-wings have a k turn!

Plus it keeps him cheap!

Horton with TLT, Chopper, and some 0-point upgrades (and maybe an actual bomb + Extra Munitions? He is PS 8...) also seems neat to me. Because of his ability, he doesn't rely too heavily on actions in order to hit, and that would provide you with a few more hit points if he doesn't get 1-rounded.

FAA/title/TLT is a wicked cool design, and presents an interesting comparison to, say, Wedge. Both are bonus-offense ships which aren't that tough, but Horton does it through weak dakka, rather than a single heavier attack.

He's PS8, but had no EPT and you were paying 7 points for his ability and 6 points of pilot skill over the Gold Squadron Y-Wing. Those two things basically made him DOA. It's the same problem for the named B-Wings in 1.0.

The new Horton is PS4, which is roughly equivelent to PS6 or 7 in 1.0. So a there's a slight drop there, but it's made up for by a host of other upgrades. He's getting an EPT slot, bomb slots, a reload action, and presumably also gains a gunner slot.

So, he's basically too expensive in comparison to a Gold Squad?

21 minutes ago, Schu81 said:

So, he's basically too expensive in comparison to a Gold Squad?

Pretty much. If you give him mobility and more durability, you get into a low point miranda cost, and miranda is much, much better than horton for a variety of reasons.

Horton's not exactly nerfed, though

In 1.0, his condition was Range 2-3 and only re-rolled blanks.

In 2.0, you need another friendly in Range 0-1 of the opponent (not Horton) and can re-roll a die per ship (focus included).

You can argue that 1.0 Horton is easier to pull off, but the 2.0 at least offers re-rolls that 1.0 could not.

Also, and much more importantly, the Y-wing is probably getting cheaper (according to the team cov game) and we can only hope that includes the previously overpriced named pilots.

His biggest weakness is his price - for a 4 points more you get TLT Miranda - which is astoundingly good even at 35 points, and survives a great deal longer.

The 1.0 Y-wing dial is... very lacking. It just can't keep things in arc without expensive upgrades.

If torpedoes could hold a candle to missiles then you'd be in a good spot with the generics, but the aces don't contribute anything special.

If you run a TLT then you lose to harpoons, and if you run torps you lose to every other bomber. If you run bombs you're awesome, but just as bad off.

It's just... not good.

His problem is that there are better options. He can be devastating in an alpha strike list with Cracken and Wedge, but Nym is just better there.

Indeed. Nym and Miranda Doni are his two biggest problems - both the same PS, with tougher chassis and many more upgrade slots, for not enough more point to justify him as a 'budget' option.