http://stayontheleader.blogspot.com/2018/08/a-wretched-hive-reviewing-scum-villainy.html
Phil GC has smashed it out of the park when he agreed to step up to the plate and share his thoughts on the Scum ships for Second Edition.
If I can't win the Best Blog award I'll just have to resort to stealing its writer as a guest star instead!
I love reading you guys: both such coherent, cogent gentlemen. And now together in one setting/sitting? Excellent!
No matter how I look at it, no matter how many good and reasonable arguments are made, my competitive-sided mind can only see some combination of the holy trinity - Guri/Fenn/Fett. Anything else looks like a **** of a lot of fun, but ultimately a losing proposition in the face of TIE swarms (of whatever variety - and what a variety they have!) and those savage X-Wing pilot abilities. Time will tell. Obviously. And I will definitely be tricking out Moralo and Han for double escape craft hijinx, but come tournament time....
Holy **** do you need an editor.
really? Guri and Fenn for me seem decidedly overrated. They're incredible expensive (Fenn rightfully so) and because the era of bull defenses is over, they're very easy to take out
I've been less than impressed with all the high I pilots, as 2nd edition has made them FAR more tolerable, so I've been considering only the affordable ones.
The swarm is a problem (X-wings not so much, they blow up real easy), but one I've found more easily countered with persistent defensive modifiers such as
Serissu
Moldy Crow (focus stack, especially with perceptive co-pilot giving you up to four)
Boba Fett (yeah, dude's legit)
Those are the guys I find difficult to justify making a list without (especially Moldy Crow, Mux & Palob are MONSTERS because of their abilities)
Thanks for a good read!
This is a great analysis, thanks a lot.
5 hours ago, ficklegreendice said:really? Guri and Fenn for me seem decidedly overrated. They're incredible expensive (Fenn rightfully so) and because the era of bull defenses is over, they're very easy to take out
Something to note about Guri... Her point cost, when converted from v1 to v2, only went up 1 point. Now granted there is an argument for Starviper Mk2 from v1 lowering her cost by 3 points, which in turn would mean she’s 4 points more expensive than v1 converted over. BUT.... I’ve been running Guri since for ******* ever, and now she has a system slot baked in. So when you get down to it, she’s as expensive now as she was with the Virago title in v1, prior to Starviper mk2. Which is fine IMO, because she stays at PS 5.
Also worth noting is she didn’t really drop in survivability. Autothrusters were an auto-include. But turrets had an omni-present 360-degree arc, and she wasn’t really a token-stacker unless within range 1. So from my attempts at fumbling with builds, she comes out roughly even in cost prior to mk2 unless you give Guri the Virago title.
FIVE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS.
They're back, BAYBEE.
With one extra hull and native barrel roll they've received a significant buff, and pretty much everything else in the game has been toned down.
Say it with me, boyos: FIVE! FIVE! FIVE! FIVE! FIVE!
34 minutes ago, It’s One Of Ours said:Something to note about Guri... Her point cost, when converted from v1 to v2, only went up 1 point. Now granted there is an argument for Starviper Mk2 from v1 lowering her cost by 3 points, which in turn would mean she’s 4 points more expensive than v1 converted over. BUT.... I’ve been running Guri since for ******* ever, and now she has a system slot baked in. So when you get down to it, she’s as expensive now as she was with the Virago title in v1, prior to Starviper mk2. Which is fine IMO, because she stays at PS 5.
Also worth noting is she didn’t really drop in survivability. Autothrusters were an auto-include. But turrets had an omni-present 360-degree arc, and she wasn’t really a token-stacker unless within range 1. So from my attempts at fumbling with builds, she comes out roughly even in cost prior to mk2 unless you give Guri the Virago title.
So she's relatively more expensive than the other Vipers who have largely retained their post title pricing, starting with the enforcer at 46 (23 in 1st Ed, +1 from where it was post title), Assassin at 48 (24, a point cheaper), and Xizor at 54 (27, point cheaper than post-title). Guri at 62 (31) is stuck at pretitle pricing
They've all gotten buffed with linked actions and a slightly better dial, but Guri got hit with calculate tokens which are INTENSELY frustrating when you're rolling multiple focus on multiple dice (range 3 and/or obstruction) at any range outside 1
So Guri's gone down in potential durability at every range except 1 on a chassis that was already quite squishy given lack of guaranteed defenses (apart from the anti-biggs himself), all for an (admittedly nice) Initiative boost
Having a high I bendy-roll is the bee's ******* knees, but I'm pretty skippy we're paying too much for it in both price + inferior calculate
Unless you run iggyA? Maybe?
38 minutes ago, FTS Gecko said:FIVE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS.
They're back, BAYBEE.
But how many conversion kits is that?
17 minutes ago, Kdubb said:But how many conversion kits is that?
One Scum conversion kit, and a couple of dial/pilot trades I imagine.
If the trades are too expensive for you, you could also do 2 Ion Cannon Scyks and 3 Kihraxz, and make use of those juicy multiple Mod slots with the 12 points left over.
Edited by FTS Gecko28 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:
So she's relatively more expensive than the other Vipers who have largely retained their post title pricing, starting with the enforcer at 46 (23 in 1st Ed, +1 from where it was post title), Assassin at 48 (24, a point cheaper), and Xizor at 54 (27, point cheaper than post-title). Guri at 62 (31) is stuck at pretitle pricing
They've all gotten buffed with linked actions and a slightly better dial, but Guri got hit with calculate tokens which are INTENSELY frustrating when you're rolling multiple focus on multiple dice (range 3 and/or obstruction) at any range outside 1
So Guri's gone down in potential durability at every range except 1 on a chassis that was already quite squishy given lack of guaranteed defenses (apart from the anti-biggs himself), all for an (admittedly nice) Initiative boost
Having a high I bendy-roll is the bee's ******* knees, but I'm pretty skippy we're paying too much for it in both price + inferior calculate
Unless you run iggyA? Maybe?
I respectfully disagree. When flown well, Guri never needed to take a Focus action. At PS5 in v2, it will be even easier to keep her within R1. She’s basically been bumped up to true Arc-Dodger status, as opposed to the expensivr hybrid mid-range PS she was prior. PS 5 in v2 is worth keeping her at pre-mk2 pricing, in my mind. Especially since her ability still gives her Focus and not a Calculate. If it gave her Calculate, then I’d agree that her survivable would be down. But as is, she’s in a good spot.
Edited by It’s One Of OursEh, I guess itd fall to someone more interested in strict arcdodging to bring out Guri's full potential
That ain't me, sadly. Can't stand losing my big bad to a worse bout of dice
I have, however, flown against a lot of higher Initiative pilots such as plenty of Vaders/ a few grand Inqs/HEAPS of soontirs and whispers and only one Guri
I'm very happy to report that these guys are FAR less of a giant pain (re: FAR more balanced than 1st editition), as it seems just proper range and arc coverage will hammer them into the dirt. Conversly, I'm not keen on putting all my eggs into the high initiative basket because I know how quickly they die
Ive also found that the coverage of primary arc + turret is exceptionally difficult for them to avoid, and even two die Moldys pose a legitimate threat (esp Palob, he's just mean to aces)
Current gut feeling is squishy, high I dude* + solid backup is great, but multiple squishy high I duders are ducks in a row
*Not counting guys like juke Whisper because she's dirt cheap for what she does
Edited by ficklegreendice26 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:...
Ive also found that the coverage of primary arc + turret is exceptionally difficult for them to avoid, and even two die Moldys pose a legitimate threat (esp Palob, he's just mean to aces)
I’m willing to take difficult to avoid over 360- arcless any day.
37 minutes ago, It’s One Of Ours said:I’m willing to take difficult to avoid over 360- arcless any day.
Amen to that
1 hour ago, FTS Gecko said:One Scum conversion kit, and a couple of dial/pilot trades I imagine.
If the trades are too expensive for you, you could also do 2 Ion Cannon Scyks and 3 Kihraxz, and make use of those juicy multiple Mod slots with the 12 points left over.
Can't do much mod wise for 12pts.
6 hours ago, FTS Gecko said:FIVE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS.
They're back, BAYBEE.
With one extra hull and native barrel roll they've received a significant buff, and pretty much everything else in the game has been toned down.
Say it with me, boyos: FIVE! FIVE! FIVE! FIVE! FIVE!
6 hours ago, FTS Gecko said:
If the trades are too expensive for you, you could also do 2 Ion Cannon Scyks and 3 Kihraxz, and make use of those juicy multiple Mod slots with the 12 points left over.
I have found that very few mods are worth their cost vs a bid. I think the 2 Scyks + 3 Kihraxz will be solid.
I am also excited to try 5 Z-95s and 1 space tug.
18 hours ago, Hiemfire said:Can't do much mod wise for 12pts.
Yeah, a couple of Hull Upgrades is about it.
Or you can toss some Dead Man's Switches on the Kihraxz for the halibut...
22 hours ago, theBitterFig said:
4 blue squadron escorts, 3 with proton torpedoes, 1 with an ion torpedo for 197 points. Could this deal with 5 marauders considering they move last and drop 4 dice with crits?
If you're only working with one kit, why not THREE. BLACK SUN. ACES with elusive and drea?
New Squadron
(40) Drea Renthal
(7) Hotshot Gunner
(6) Ion Cannon Turret
(5) Cloaking Device
Points 58
(42) Black Sun Ace
(3) Elusive
Points 45
(42) Black Sun Ace
(3) Elusive
Points 45
(42) Black Sun Ace
(3) Elusive
Points 45
Total points: 193
Ideally you'd bump one of the aces to a bigger generic (quite partial to the r5-p8 executioner), but we're doing an excercise here
Or THREE. CARTEL. MARAUDERS. and a crappy Z
Edited by ficklegreendice1 hour ago, TBot said:4 blue squadron escorts, 3 with proton torpedoes, 1 with an ion torpedo for 197 points. Could this deal with 5 marauders considering they move last and drop 4 dice with crits?
Dunno. I mostly just wanted an excuse to post one of my favorite GIFs of Coach Pop.
Edited by theBitterFig4 minutes ago, theBitterFig said:Dunno. I mostly just wanted an excuse to post one of my favorite GIFs of Coach Pop.
It was a spot on gif
7 minutes ago, TBot said:It was a spot on gif
That said, if I was running 4 X-Wings with 3x Torpedos, I'd just run 4 Red Vets, three with Proton Torpedoes, one without. Init 3 squad with 1 point bid. Getting that extra Init in there seems worth it. If I was dead-set on Ion Control, I'd probably go 2x Blue Escort with Proton Torpedoes (50 each), 2x Grey Squadron Bombers with Proton Torpedoes and Ion Cannon Turrets (47 each), and some wiggle room.
Actually... you could get 4x Gold Squadron Vets with ICT and Proton Torps, with a 4 point bid. That's not too bad for a Torpedo Swarm.
Edited by theBitterFig1 hour ago, theBitterFig said:That said, if I was running 4 X-Wings with 3x Torpedos, I'd just run 4 Red Vets, three with Proton Torpedoes, one without. Init 3 squad with 1 point bid. Getting that extra Init in there seems worth it. If I was dead-set on Ion Control, I'd probably go 2x Blue Escort with Proton Torpedoes (50 each), 2x Grey Squadron Bombers with Proton Torpedoes and Ion Cannon Turrets (47 each), and some wiggle room.
Actually... you could get 4x Gold Squadron Vets with ICT and Proton Torps, with a 4 point bid. That's not too bad for a Torpedo Swarm.
Black Sun Ace (42)
Elusive (3)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Black Sun Ace (42)
Elusive (3)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Black Sun Ace (42)
Elusive (3)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Black Sun Ace (42)
Elusive (3)
Cluster Missiles (5)
Total: 200