The Heavy Scyk title is baked into the ship. I'm a little sad as I liked them without, but overall am fine. I'm used to taking Cannons for Scyks......but the cannons are not that interesting at the moment.

Yes, everyone recognizes Quinn Jast should use ordnance. Besides that, though....

Jamming Beam is only good for high Init ships as the Jam tokens go away at the end of the round. I can see it on Serrisu as she is there as support already, but not that useful besides. No damage at all.

Tractor Beam mostly useful early in the round. Not so useful otherwise. No damage.

HLC is really hard to use, especially at only R 2-3. Can't be used reliably.

Ion Cannon is the best bet. Does one damage. Can be used by generics. Control is good, but this pretty much limits the ship to a control craft.

Torpedoes hit powerful, but then you just have a Tie Fighter. Useful for an early punch, but that's it. Two shots and that's it. Might be good as a choice. Shoot at the glass cannon early before it does its damage, or let it hit you hard and go after more important targets. Still a lot to invest in for 2 shots that could be shot down early.

Missiles have more shots and might be what I use most of the time. Decent enough damage and more shots with most options. Cheaper points, too. Cluster and Concussion are what I'm looking at.

Any thoughts on this? What are people thinking? I always enjoyed a Scyk with Mangler on the flanks to shoot away all game. Can't really fo that anymore.

Laetin gets a Talent, though, and I can see him with Elusive and Ion Cannon as a good control ship.

Five Cartel Spacers with HLC plus Sunny Bounder with an HLC is 200 points exactly. That's got my interest, as it's going to be hard to get out of that many Bullseye arcs... ?

As far as I've ssen people commenting on it, HLC is the way to go

Cartel Spacer (29)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Cartel Spacer (29)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Cartel Spacer (29)
Munitions Failsafe (2)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Cartel Spacer (29)
Munitions Failsafe (2)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Cartel Spacer (29)
Munitions Failsafe (2)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Cartel Spacer (29)
Hardpoint: Missile (0)
Homing Missiles (3)

Total: 198

All Homing Missiles is interesting to me. Of course int 1 is going to make getting TL's a chore. Might need to run and block with a couple so the back ones get missile shots off. If you can range control well, they can just hand targets damage.

I recall Blair Bunke mentioning this one in the latest Scum and Villainy podcast episode.

4 Tansarii Point Veterans w/ Predator and HLC + Laetin A'shera w/ Predator and HLC. Similar as you've all mentioned, they can't dodge all the bullseye arcs and doubling down on it with Predator seems like a solid way to allow offensive mods to use focus for defense or just take the evade action when necessary. You could also change Laetin's talent slot to Juke too.

Quin Jast, afterburners, Ion cannon or HLC. Jast can recharge the afterburners....

2 minutes ago, RStan said:

I recall Blair Bunke mentioning this one in the latest Scum and Villainy podcast episode.

4 Tansarii Point Veterans w/ Predator and HLC + Laetin A'shera w/ Predator and HLC. Similar as you've all mentioned, they can't dodge all the bullseye arcs and doubling down on it with Predator seems like a solid way to allow offensive mods to use focus for defense or just take the evade action when necessary. You could also change Laetin's talent slot to Juke too.

Sadly, none of the bullseye-arc talents can be used with HLC. Predator and Crack Shot are primary only, and the Marksmanship crit gets turned back into a hit. (Marksmanship can still be used with prockets, though)

4 minutes ago, nexttwelveexits said:

Sadly, none of the bullseye-arc talents can be used with HLC. Predator and Crack Shot are primary only, and the Marksmanship crit gets turned back into a hit. (Marksmanship can still be used with prockets, though)

Yeah... Not a lot of synergy with HLC's, which is actually a good thing. In 1.0 the HLC became the defacto cannon and you really didn't run anything else if you were bringing one to the fight. In 2.0 you have to work for those HLC shots and there isn't really a card that help it that much.

Ion Cannon all the way, unless you're Johnny ReloadsFoFree

Been running Ion Seri, because her ****** ability works on her ****** self and so I need some ****** focus ****** it

Also, Seri is REALLY good. Recommended ?

1 hour ago, Hiemfire said:

Quin Jast, afterburners, Ion cannon or HLC. Jast can recharge the afterburners....

Sweet! But forget afterburners, Starlord Quinn can use his ability to recharge Crack shot...

4 minutes ago, Herowannabe said:

Sweet! But forget afterburners, Starlord Quinn can use his ability to recharge Crack shot...

Crackshot only works with primarys though, in addition to being bullseye arc only.

I'm thinking either ion cannons (you're likely only landing 1 damage at range anyway) or homing missiles... but if you're going Scyk spam... find room for Drea...

HLC, naturally, came to mind first. But I really, really like Ion, and look forward to trying out the second edition version (on Scyks or otherwise).

1 hour ago, Hiemfire said:

Crackshot only works with primarys though, in addition to being bullseye arc only.

Yeah, so?

22 minutes ago, Herowannabe said:

Yeah, so?

Just making sure you realized.

I just don't think one would get enough HLC shots to make it worth it. It's way too hard to get a shot lined up. I think I'd rather go with Missiles. Maybe Concussion or Cluster with Munitions Failsafe?

The more I think of MF, the more I like it! Maybe even Cluster Missiles?

I've never built a squad around scyks from the outset - the only time they've made it into my squads is when I ended up with a scyk-sized hole at the end of list-building. I want to like them, but they don't really excel in any area. If you're planning on bringing a scyk (or indeed, any ship), it should be because that ship fills a role needed in your squad. So, let's look at the roles scyks can fill. First, some general points:

• Munitions (except prockets) need a TL for fire, making them difficult to use when you're lower init than the enemy. Think carefully when loading munitions (particularly expensive, dangerous ones) onto a low-init ship that is likely to (a) struggle to get a lock and (b) could be initiative killed before it fires. Some notable exceptions to this are homing missiles (very cheap) and cluster missiles (r1-2 means you don't have to worry about your munitions range band being leap-frogged).
• Bullseye weapons are very hard to aim, and higher-ps ships with repositioning can dodge them easily (in some situations you may be able to force them to take an unfavourable reposition to dodge a bullseye). Bullseye weapons are more effective against medium and large bases.
• When flying a scyk, always consider whether you can do a better job with another ship. In particular, a missile-equipped scyk is almost always better off as a Z-95, which is 5pts cheaper and doesn't care as much about saving tokens for defense.

Below I've listed all the roles I can think of for the Scyk, along with the best weapon and pilot(s) for each role. I haven't listed any modifications because they are all too expensive for the scyk (if you're blowing away points on upgrades, consider upgrading the whole ship).

1. Ace Hunter (Homing Missiles) [Cartel spacer]. Once you get a target lock, your arc is an instant threat to aces. This only costs 3pts, so it's a nice cheap tool to add if you have a spare missile slot in your squad. But wait, why were you bringing a scyk in the first place? Just bring a Z to do this job instead, or put the homing missile in another missile slot. If you do just feel like flying a naked scyk, though, homing missiles are a decent add-on.
2. Large Ship Hunter ( HLC ) [Sunny, cartel spacer, tansarii point veteran]. Is your squad lacking punch against large ships? Toss in a HLC for a cheap way to put in heavy damage on those fat bases. Sunny and the generics are particularly good here because they are cheap. Other options for taking on large ships are Ion Torpedoes, Proton Torpedoes, proton rockets, but I'll expand on these in the Control and Heavy Hitters roles. If you're looking at taking munitions you might also want to consider using a Y-Wing.
3. Swarm Hunter (Concussion missiles, cluster missiles) [Tansarii Point Vet, Quinn]. Splash damage missiles for fighting swarms. If you're looking at these options, you're definitely better off taking a Z-95 instead. Consider bombs, trajedy simulator, and veteran gunner ships as well for this role.
4. Heavy Hitter (Proton Torpedoes, proton rockets) [Quinn, Genesis Red]. Want a cheap-ish ship that hits hard? Quinn obviously loves munitions, but so does Genesis (as he's taking a TL anyway for his ability). If you're feeling janky, also consider Inaldra and Sunny - Inaldra gets free rerolls for extra damage or durability (handy if you're using a focus-fire weapon like proton rockets; she used to be great with deadeye) and sunny's ability can also help push damage or survive. Really, though, I'd probably be going genesis or bust with protorps - his extra tokens allow him to double-mod his attack and/or survive long enough to use both charges. Quinn is best off with prockets, since it gets more use out of his ability. Also consider Y-Wings or fang fighters for this role.
5. Control ( Ion Cannon , Ion Missiles, Ion Torpedoes, Tractor Beam) [Cartel Spacer, Inaldra, Genesis Red, Sunny]. This is one of the few areas where scyks bring something not available elsewhere - cheap cannon control. Ion cannon is almost certainly the best option here, but tractor beam might be worth it if you're going high-init. If you're bringing ion missiles just use a Z, and likewise ion torps are better on a Y or Joy Rekkoff. Jamming beam is garbo. Also consider ion turret Ys and quadjumpers for this role.
6. Support (Tractor Beam, Ion Cannon, nothing) [Serissu]. Serissu is very expensive, but she's got a neato ability for defense. I'm not convinced that she's the best option for scum swarms, but she works against every enemy attack and thus fits well even in small squads. If you are bringing her, you want to save her tokens for defense. That means a cannon weapon (or no weapon). Tractor beam is particularly nice here and the rest of her squad can benefit from it. Think carefully about how your swarm will work before bringing serissu though.
7. Pocket Ace (thanks @heychadwick ) () [Sunny, Inaldra, Genesis, Quinn, Serissu, Laetin]. If you want an ace but don't have many points to spend, scyks are a decent budget option with some interesting pilot abilities. Which one, and what weapon, depends very much on what role you want the ace to play (in fact the aces in this category could fit into almost any of the first 6 categories in this list). Serissu is very much a support ace - while her ability works best on herself, she's best used when flying close to your other ships. Sunny and Inaldra are budget options with clutch gimmicks that might come in handy once per game - you don't want to rely on them, but they provide decent bang for buck. Genesis is a real star (he certainly looks a lot better than the other 35pt aces, Laetin and Quinn), with excellent action economy, and works well with almost any loadout. Quinn really wants munitions, and he's probably best off with prockets (since I doubt he'll live long enough to empty the charges on other weapons). Laetin is a defensive ace, and probably wants juke stapled to her for her ability. If she takes a weapon, it has to be a cannon.

tl;dr Scyks are best for cheap ion cannons, cheap HLC vs large ships.

2 hours ago, gadwag said:

• When flying a scyk, always consider whether you can do a better job with another ship. In particular, a missile-equipped scyk is almost always better off as a Z-95, which is 5pts cheaper and doesn't care as much about saving tokens for defense.

1. Swarm Support (Tractor Beam, Ion Cannon, nothing) [Serissu]. Serissu is very expensive, but she's got a neato ability for swarms. I'm not convinced that she's the best option for scum swarms, but if you are bringing her you want to save her tokens for defense. That means a cannon weapon (or no weapon). Tractor beam is particularly nice here ad the rest of the swarm can benefit from it. Think carefully about how your swarm will work before bringing serissu though.

tl;dr Scyks are best for cheap ion cannons, cheap HLC vs large ships.

Not arguing with the bulk of what you typed, but I have a couple of bones to pick....

Scyks are a lot more maneuverable than Z-95's. They get both the 1 hard turn and the 1 bank. That's not bad at all. They also have the same number of hits and 1 more Green Die. Scyks can Evade. The named Scyks are better than the named Z's. Lots of good pilots. Also.....Laetin got a Talent slot! That's for Elusive.

Just going to point out that Serissu isn't Howlrunner. Serissu isn't necessarily for Swarms. She works on everyone in range, no matter how many times they are attacked. So.....just Boba Fett against a Swarm....Serissu works great. She's kind of the anti-Howlrunner. Del Meeko is the same way. It's not that he works great in a swarm. He works great near ANYONE and shines against a swarm. It's not how many you buff in defense that turn, but how many times that turn you buff someone (even the same one).

I do think Ion Cannon is a good choice.

I do think that Munitions Failsafe is a good choice for a Missile option.

24 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

Scyks are a lot more maneuverable than Z-95's. They get both the 1 hard turn and the 1 bank.

I think the main differentiator in maneuverability is the barrel roll (and Zs have that too now, although it is red). Scyks are good in close with their hard 1 (and 5k, I love the 5k, sad to see it gone from so many ships) but Zs have the 1fwd and 3 hard which helps them at longer range. But yeah scyks are generally a bit more maneuverable.

24 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

They also have the same number of hits and 1 more Green Die. Scyks can Evade. 

Scyks are certainly more evasive, and if you wind up with a spare 5pts at the end of your list then upgrading a Z to a scyk might be a good idea. However, being (slightly) more expensive and having more green dice means scyks will want to use their tokens for defense more than a Z, and the increase in cost means that when swarming you can't fit quite as much in a list. Personally, I'd prefer more bodies on the table rather than more green dice, because then I can rely on raw hp to keep me alive and use tokens for offense. This is particularly true of missile carriers which need to take TLs rather than a green token. In short, I think generic Zs are a bit more efficient.

24 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

The named Scyks are better than the named Z's. Lots of good pilots.

The named Scyks are way better than the named Zs, that's for sure. If there's a place for scyks I think it's either an ion cannon spacer or a pocket ace (again probably with ion cannon, or maybe munitions). My comparison of "Z vs scyk" was mainly considering the generics - if you're bringing a scyk just to bring a missile, you may as well use a Z for cheaper.

24 minutes ago, heychadwick said:

Just going to point out that Serissu isn't Howlrunner. Serissu isn't necessarily for Swarms. She works on everyone in range, no matter how many times they are attacked. So.....just Boba Fett against a Swarm....Serissu works great. She's kind of the anti-Howlrunner. Del Meeko is the same way. It's not that he works great in a swarm. He works great near ANYONE and shines against a swarm. It's not how many you buff in defense that turn, but how many times that turn you buff someone (even the same one). 

Fantastic point! I will add a "pocket ace" category to my post above.

Forgot to add: munitions failsafe is the only mod I'd consider, yeah. I'm not convinced it's worth 2pts though.

5 minutes ago, gadwag said:

Forgot to add: munitions failsafe is the only mod I'd consider, yeah. I'm not convinced it's worth 2pts though.

Think of it this way......

With a 9 pt Proton Torp that misses....you get that charge back! I just saw tonight when one missed and I was a sad panda (just a spectator). You only get 2 Charges and you should fire at every chance you get. With EM it works great against those pesky 3 Agility ships.

With 3 red die missiles.....it works good, too! Probably used a lot more. How many hits are you really going to get on a regular basis with your Missiles? The MF lets you have a Scyk with Missiles, but actually get to use them with abandon.

3 hours ago, gadwag said:

Genesis is a real star (he certainly looks a lot better than the other 35pt aces, Laetin and Quinn), with excellent action economy, and works well with almost any loadout.

I will say that an Ion Cannon Laetin with Evasion is a pretty good build.

Just now, heychadwick said:

Think of it this way......

With a 9 pt Proton Torp that misses....you get that charge back! I just saw tonight when one missed and I was a sad panda (just a spectator). You only get 2 Charges and you should fire at every chance you get. With EM it works great against those pesky 3 Agility ships.

With 3 red die missiles.....it works good, too! Probably used a lot more. How many hits are you really going to get on a regular basis with your Missiles? The MF lets you have a Scyk with Missiles, but actually get to use them with abandon.

Where possible, I'd rather spend the points on making sure it's less likely to miss in the first place (better initiative / better weapon / better pilot ability / talent / initiative bid). This being 2.0, there aren't as many ways to improve action economy (which is the best way to improve accuracy), so failsafe is a better option than in 1.0, which is why I didn't dismiss it outright. Getting the charge back on a miss is good, but missing in the first place might be something you can't recover from (especially if you die then and there, as a tokenless scyk is wont to do).

1 minute ago, heychadwick said:

I will say that an Ion Cannon Laetin with Evasion is a pretty good build.

Why wouldn't you take juke? She's crying out for juke!

Laetin A'shera seems like an annoyance for an opponent with Ion Cannon and Juke at just 44 pts. It could be a good filler that as long as you put Laetin in a spot that isn't likely to get shot by a lot of different ships at higher initiative value or something that can throw 4 dice.

One thing that I would like to point out is that in version 1.0, the bullseye firing arc is hard to use. In version 2.0, a lot of ships were upgraded to medium size (some like the IG got downgraded to it), so using that bullseye firing arc might not be as hard (depending on your meta, of course).

I tested out the ion cannon recently and while it is still a good cannon, it has been extremely well balanced. When fighting small, evasive ships (Tie Defender), I often ended up in situations where I only caused 1 damage (so the target was not ionized) or too much damage (where I would have prefered to use a primary weapon attack with those results). You practically need something like juke or outmanoeuver to make sure to land an ion.