7 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

Perhaps    something like 3x Precise Hunter (Struts) [24], 3x Separatist Drone (ESC, Struts) [27], Wat Tambor (TA-175  ).  

Is this relevant now that Hyenas exist?

I confess to a perpetually low level of faith in Grappling Struts but you can fit Sear w/ 175, a Techno Bomber with ESC and DRK-1, and 5 ESC Trade Feds. Why have conditional rerolls on three Vultures when you can have rerolls on everything? And you get the crack shot benefit at range one, to fill the same objective.

Actually, gona give triple 'yena maul another go.

Now that I know what he actually does, it could be a neat pair with Borons

Will need smaller obstacles to accommodate Maul, however

1) Maul, smauler rocks

(67) Darth Maul [Sith Infiltrator]
(8) Perceptive Copilot
(3) General Grievous
(9) Hate
(4) Scimitar
Points: 91

(30) DBS-404 [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 35

(26) Techno Union Bomber [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(1) Landing Struts
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
(5) DRK-1 Probe Droids
Points: 37

(28) Baktoid Prototype [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(1) Landing Struts
(6) Diamond-Boron Missiles
(2) Fire-Control System
Points: 37

Total points: 200

10 hours ago, Danomight said:

Techno Union Bomber (26)
Energy-Shell Charges (5)
DRK-1 Probe Droids (5)

Ship total: 36 Half Points: 18 Threshold: 3

Captain Sear (39)
TA-175 (5)

Ship total: 44 Half Points: 22 Threshold: 3

5 x Trade Federation Drone (19)
Energy-Shell Charges (5)

Ship total: 24 Half Points: 12 Threshold: 2

Total: 200

Sure, it fits, but Init 1 of those guys is so bad. I have found the Separatist guys to be worth the extra points. In fact, I don't like picking anyone else it's such an important part. I see a lot of enemy generics.

If you drop Sear, you can bump them all up and even get another one! Sear pulls away too many points.

8 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

I have a theory that Precise Hunters without missiles might be better than other Vultures with ESC. Higher Init, and decent in close-quarters knife fighting, and a cheaper total package.

Well, let me know how that goes! I haven't thought too much about them even after the point drop. I just find bulls eye too hard to get.

1 hour ago, svelok said:

Is this relevant now that Hyenas exist?

I confess to a perpetually low level of faith in Grappling Struts but you can fit Sear w/ 175, a Techno Bomber with ESC and DRK-1, and 5 ESC Trade Feds. Why have conditional rerolls on three Vultures when you can have rerolls on everything? And you get the crack shot benefit at range one, to fill the same objective.

Have you used them? I don't think you really need to give it to more than 2 ships. Maybe 3 if you have a spare point. You need to plan for it. I am thinking a Hyena with ordnance and Butterbot. Put a large asteroid on my side of the middle right in the middle. Make sure I can get both ships to land on it and go straight for the rock. The rest of the ships fly in formation and distract the enemy. Those guys sit on the rocks and work support. Butterbot dishes out Calc tokens while the Hyena lobs ordnance. I really want to try it with a Proton Torp if I have the points.

EDIT: I at least recommend Butterbot going out to sit on a rock. He is away from danger and can dish out his token. It helps.

1 hour ago, svelok said:

Is this relevant now that Hyenas exist?

I confess to a perpetually low level of faith in Grappling Struts but you can fit Sear w/ 175, a Techno Bomber with ESC and DRK-1, and 5 ESC Trade Feds. Why have conditional rerolls on three Vultures when you can have rerolls on everything? And you get the crack shot benefit at range one, to fill the same objective.

Maybe it isn't.

As to the struts, that might actually be a red flag. There's 6 points spent on them, mostly as a "there's nothing else that'd fit," which might mean that the overall direction is kind of a mistake, like I'm just trying to fill up the list. However, it isn't just rerolls, it's the Initiative. I know it's popular to say "only Init 1 and 6 matter" but jumping up to 3 seems valuable in not-dying before you can shoot, a common problem with easy-to-kill Vultures. Meanwhile, a lot of the goal of Precise Hunter isn't so much precise hunting, but brawling in the parking lot. Decent chance for bullseyes once the scrum starts going, and that's also where DRK-1 might start to fail, due to lack of action economy.

I guess it's a different list philosophy. It isn't really built around an overwhelming Alpha Strike, but more of the janitor, ideally doing a lot of clean-up in the second and third rounds of combat. Maybe it doesn't really work.

Personally, I love struts. Even if you don't plan on perching, you bring the big asteroids knowing that you can freely fly over them and most opponents can't. It's something you can take advantage of to get a better first engagement and in my experience getting a good first engagement sets you up for the rest of the game.

9 minutes ago, Burius1981 said:

Personally, I love struts. Even if you don't plan on perching, you bring the big asteroids knowing that you can freely fly over them and most opponents can't. It's something you can take advantage of to get a better first engagement and in my experience getting a good first engagement sets you up for the rest of the game.

struts are the best CiS card by far

ito of sheer hilarity, they cannot be beat

I only use them on Hyenas, though. **** if I'm spending more points on Vultures

One very important thing to realize about Struts is that you ignore obstacles at range 0. That means obstacles can basically just be cover for you, as you ignore being obstructed by your obstacle. Now that trickshot is four ****** points, it's a great trick to exploit

of course I still managed to roll 1 out of 12 evades...

Also! Because you ignore obstacles at range 0, you can just land and roll off of the rock. This is also a nifty way to grab a linked lock since you have a blue 2-turn!

2 hours ago, Burius1981 said:

bring the big asteroids knowing that you can freely fly over them

So, I've yet to use struts mainly because I'm unclear on how they work.

Does the card allow you to fly through them without penalty ala the Mining Guild TIEs?

To stop on a rock do you have to complete the maneuver on it, or can you choose to stop half-way through? Please see the following crude visual where
"=" is a straight template:
========[rock] or ====[rock]====

I've been told both.

No you CANT fly through obstacles

If I remember the rules ref right*

If you overlap an obstacle with a template, the ship is "moving through" that obstacle

If you (specifically the active ship) overlap an obstacle, it's because the model is physically on top of the obstacle

why does this matter? Struts trigger while you overlap an asteroid or debris cloud

The "move through" bit on the flip side is what lets you 2-foward, roll, or afterburn off the obstacle

2 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:

So, I've yet to use struts mainly because I'm unclear on how they work.

Does the card allow you to fly through them without penalty ala the Mining Guild TIEs?

To stop on a rock do you have to complete the maneuver on it, or can you choose to stop half-way through? Please see the following crude visual where
"=" is a straight template:
========[rock] or ====[rock]====

I've been told both.

To Open them you have to land (the keyword is Overlap which is determined by the maneuver's final position, flying through is called Move Through) on an Asteroid or Debris. While they are Open your ignore all obstacles at Range 0 and that you Move Through, but after you execute a maneuver with them Open you flip it to Closed.

4 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

No you CANT fly through obstacles

If I remember the rules ref right*

If you overlap an obstacle with a template, the ship is "moving through" that obstacle

If you (specifically the active ship) overlap an obstacle, it's because the model is physically on top of the obstacle

why does this matter? Struts trigger while you overlap an asteroid or debris cloud

The "move through" bit on the flip side is what lets you 2-foward, roll, or afterburn off the obstacle

You can land on one, flip the struts to open and then roll off the Asteroid or Debris permitting the full dial to ignore any obstacles while moving till the end of that ship's next activation (so zip through a debris cloud or asteroid laughing at it). Though you risk having to close them while on an Asteroid after that maneuver is fully executed (no attack).

17 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

You can land on one, flip the struts to open and then roll off the Asteroid or Debris permitting the full dial to ignore any obstacles while moving till the end of that ship's next activation (so zip through a debris cloud or asteroid laughing at it). Though you risk having to close them while on an Asteroid after that maneuver is fully executed (no attack).

Yeah, that's the idea

As I said, you can reposition off an obstacle you've strut yourself to

And yeah, as you said, if you're off the obstacle then struts can't prevent you from moving and will then (since you've moved) flip itself back off.

I dont think you take an die rolls (both occur after executing a manuever, but no longer ignoring that range 0 asteriod...

4 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

I dont think you take an die rolls (both occur after executing a manuever, but no longer ignoring that range 0 asteriod...

You don't roll the dice effects since game effects (which the ones triggered by overlapping/moving through obstacles are) are put at the front of the ability que so the struts are still open when they do their check there. The struts then close. With the struts closed though the engagement phase check from asteroids for if you can attack or not does take effect blocking the attack.

7 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

You don't roll the dice effects since game effects (which the ones triggered by overlapping/moving through obstacles are) are put at the front of the ability que so the struts are still open when they do their check there. The struts then close. With the struts closed though the engagement phase check from asteroids for if you can attack or not does take effect blocking the attack.

So make sure you land on debris!

Also, it's kinda fun to imagine a landed Hyena still flying through space. Gotta imagine they're doing the Yoshi run or something

yeah, that's it

Take big rocks and it isn't that hard to aim to hit them on purpose, then stay or roll off as you please. Not Dash/MGT levels of ignoring obstacles, but still really good and versatile.

While on the obstacle, your shots are not blocked. The defender does not get a green die bonus.

If someone shoots you, you DO get the bonus green die....if their shot goes through the obstacle.

When it is time to do dials, you pick a move. If it is a 2 straight, you move off the obstacle with no penalty. 8f it is not, you stay there. You have the option to rotate 90 degrees one way or theother. You also lose a Stress.

Great for Butterbot or someone with Ordnance to perch and lob shots at someone.

14 hours ago, heychadwick said:

Well, let me know how that goes! I haven't thought too much about them even after the point drop. I just find bulls eye too hard to get.

Went against double Decimator, and against 4x T-70. Init 3 was useful to at least tie Initiative, but it illustrated a potential weakness: TA-175 doesn't really work great if you attack first. Sure, someone dies and you'll get defensive Calculate tokens on everyone, which isn't terrible, but it's not amazing. Still, it's only 5 points.

Anyhow, in general, I think the Precise Hunters weren't too bad. Not sure if I got bullseye against the T-70s often, but they mattered as much as the ESC did against the Decimators (and I think I only managed one ESC shot against the X-Wings... odd angles for the engagement). Thinking of it this way: reroll one blank once, and you'll have generated about as much value as ESC generates, but on a cheaper ship. That cheapness matters. I think PH are a good way to get more Init 3 into a group of Rogers.

14 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

As to the struts, that might actually be a red flag. There's 6 points spent on them, mostly as a "there's nothing else that'd fit," which might mean that the overall direction is kind of a mistake, like I'm just trying to fill up the list.

Yeah, so I was totally wrong about this. Struts worked great. No one parked on a Rock to remain there, but being able to plot a maneuver to land on a Rock, maybe also Barrel Roll off and Calculate was immensely useful.

Strut!

Just picked up three Hyena Bombers today and I'm excited to try them out this weekend. Can't wait to see how these things play on the table.

Gotta admit, I am a little disappointed in the paint quality though. The stripes and colors look nice, but it feels like FFG production skipped out on a final wash on the body to bring out the many grooves and lines some more. Sitting them side by side with the Vulture droids makes them look like the Attack Wing miniatures. Ah well. It won't stop me from playing them.

I thought the paint quality was really good. I admit I didn't look THAT closely, though. I'll have to take another look.

3 hours ago, heychadwick said:

I didn't look THAT closely, though. I'll have to take another look.

It's a minor complaint, admittedly. It was just one of the first things I noticed when I picked them up as they sat next to the Naboo starfighter and Resistance transport. I've felt that a lot of the 2.0 re-released Imperial TIE's have a similar paint " issue " but it's pretty easy to look past and just play the game. Guess I just care more about my droids looking their best.

I'm just happy to have them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll be as fun to play as people here have made them sound. I have great plans for these Hyena bombers...

The comparison to attack wing is unwarranted

But the Hyenas are definitely missing definition compared to the SoS vultures

Speaking of, gonna need a swarm list after another go of Maul

2) Searious Firepower

(39) Captain Sear [Belbullab-22 Starfighter]
(5) TA-175
Points: 44

(19) Trade Federation Drone [Vulture-class Droid Fighter]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 24

(19) Trade Federation Drone [Vulture-class Droid Fighter]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 24

(26) Techno Union Bomber [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
(5) DRK-1 Probe Droids
Points: 36

(30) DBS-404 [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 35

(28) Baktoid Prototype [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(1) Landing Struts
(6) Diamond-Boron Missiles
(2) Fire-Control System
Points: 37

Total points: 200

28 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

The comparison to attack wing is unwarranted

But the Hyenas are definitely missing definition compared to the SoS vultures

Speaking of, gonna need a swarm list after another go of Maul

2) Searious Firepower

(39) Captain Sear [Belbullab-22 Starfighter]
(5) TA-175
Points: 44

(19) Trade Federation Drone [Vulture-class Droid Fighter]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 24

(19) Trade Federation Drone [Vulture-class Droid Fighter]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 24

(26) Techno Union Bomber [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
(5) DRK-1 Probe Droids
Points: 36

(30) DBS-404 [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(5) Energy-Shell Charges
Points: 35

(28) Baktoid Prototype [Hyena-class Droid Bomber]
(1) Landing Struts
(6) Diamond-Boron Missiles
(2) Fire-Control System
Points: 37

Total points: 200

If you can find a point to give 404 an Advanced Proton Torpedo over ESC it's pretty fun. I tried the ESC on it a few times and it was nice, Adv Proton though... makes Fenn Rau green with envy when you toss 6 red dice and have a reroll. You'd think people would just kill it, but turns out that it's not a great idea to point the front of your ship towards a YOLO droid that wants nothing more than to die rolling 6 dice and take your more expensive ship with him.

I'm not a fan of "all-in" strats like putting adv. torps on 404 and hoping for the range 1 or bust

I prefer using 404's ability as a deterrent when necessary

Ugh, I really like that list @ficklegreendice but this wave is just SO expensive. I like buying two of each ship (small/medium bases) at minimum and each of the new ships (not the reprints/resculpts) have a lot going for them. Unfortunately it is not going to happen right away for me this time even with all the deals out there at the moment. Seven factions is hard to keep up with!

I'm going to have to hold back a little and see which ships prove themselves.

I just tried a Bombardment Drone with Simulator/Protons/Proxs/Fuses/Struts. Parked it on a rock and covered two directions with ProxMines, a third with another rock, and just sat there flinging Proton Bombs and reloading them. It was great fun, complimenting three Precise Hunters with just Struts, Sear with TA-175 (who only activated once for zero effect), and Butterbot, who sat on the rock nearest to the Bombard and passed tokens. So much fun, in fact, that I think I may have to drop Sear pick up a second Hyena to run two of the Bombards.

3 hours ago, Force Majeure said:

Ugh, I really like that list @ficklegreendice but this wave is just SO expensive. I like buying two of each ship (small/medium bases) at minimum and each of the new ships (not the reprints/resculpts) have a lot going for them. Unfortunately it is not going to happen right away for me this time even with all the deals out there at the moment. Seven factions is hard to keep up with!

I'm going to have to hold back a little and see which ships prove themselves.

Gotta go with your heart (ie favorite faction)

It is my firm belief that all the new ships are "good"

*People are enjoying Cova Leia; I've played against Nodin' with the "can coordinate while stressed" + "lul blue manuever" + autoblasters + r4" and ****'s legit

*The n1 has the very obviously good Ole! But Anakin may be the actual breakout pilot there. His ability is incredible and it's still a free force when not in use, making fcs extra good on him for super cheap. As a one-of, don't think it's possible to go wrong with the n1

*And then the weirdo 'yena. This is a difficult ship to gauge, but as a one-of it introduces an affordable probe carrier to a vulture swarm. 404 is really (ironically) reliable as a cheap i4 with a suicidal ability that only triggers on hit. Finally, the boron baktoid is a needy bugger (at least probes or kraken) but it packs a punch!