First rule of Hot Rod: Never touch the Bombs. They are an autoinclude.

Just joking. Ok - not. Its realy importend.

The VTG ist the only upgrade that can removed. Because of predicted less Rebelbeef - its also a double OK to remove him.

I played the List von now on in 2 different ways:

“Whisper” (57)
Juke (7)
Passive Sensors (3)
Fifth Brother (9)
Stealth Device (6)

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (76)
Lone Wolf (5)
Darth Vader (14)
Moff Jerjerrod (8)
Novice Technician (4)
Proton Bombs (5)
Hull Upgrade (2)
Dauntless (4)
Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

or

“Whisper” (57)
Juke (7)
Passive Sensors (3)
Fifth Brother (9)
Stealth Device (6)

Rear Admiral Chiraneau (76)
Lone Wolf (5)
Darth Vader (14)
Moff Jerjerrod (8)
0-0-0 (5)
Proton Bombs (5)
Dauntless (4)
Total: 199

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

First one are my favorit - because of the tech. I played him long before and the only problem was that the 2 crew slots were already occupied and i couldn't do without either of them. Now the tech keeps the decimator functional. And it works my friends - its works good.

The second is very obvious. The Deci wants to be in range 1 - 0-0-0 wants it too.

The new sensors are great. Whisper gets what she wants. Rerolls.

By the way: I'm not a big friend of Hot Shot gunner in this setup - along with Vader ist seems to be redundant.

What about using Prox mines with that extra point??

How does Nov Tech work?

You turn an exposed card down and, when hit is rolled, randomly draw and expose a card from the whole deck?

7 minutes ago, Slade said:

How does Nov Tech work?

You turn an exposed card down and, when hit is rolled, randomly draw and expose a card from the whole deck?

You expose a random card from the cards already on the ship

1 hour ago, JBFancourt said:

What about using Prox mines with that extra point??

IMHO:

Use prox mines to deal damages.

Use proton bombs for control, ideally when facing aces. your opponent will burn their actions to avoid the bomb.

2 hours ago, Cartchan said:

IMHO:

Use prox mines to deal damages.

Use proton bombs for control, ideally when facing aces. your opponent will burn their actions to avoid the bomb.

So which would ya prefer? They still have to burn actions to avoid the area becuz if they stay behind you you can swat them with it before they can move.

still 2 ship? Ive played this against some swarms now, and the swarm just has to box in the ace and then the deci goes down easy.

On 5/10/2019 at 5:42 AM, Dalli said:

I dont like this upgrade. It is this kind of 1.0 stuff that destroys one of the biggest gameplay parts. Obstacles. On top on this it is way too cheap.

...You object to Collision Detector because it takes obstacles out of the game, but are fine running Whisper even though she makes dials basically irrelevant?

lol

9 hours ago, Blail Blerg said:

still 2 ship? Ive played this against some swarms now, and the swarm just has to box in the ace and then the deci goes down easy.

I know no one who list against swarm. In Germany the Decimator wins 2 tournamants in 1 week an I know there was some swarm lists. So I dont belive that a swarm can best Hot Rod. The swarm player will have a bad time to play against.

19 minutes ago, Dalli said:

I know no one who list against swarm. In Germany the Decimator wins 2 tournamants in 1 week an I know there was some swarm lists. So I dont belive that a swarm can best Hot Rod. The swarm player will have a bad time to play against.

Well, with the point changes, whats the recommended list?

2 hours ago, Blail Blerg said:

Well, with the point changes, whats the recommended list?

He just posted it above ☝️

The top list is exactly what I came up with when modifying for the points change. Flew it once so far, a very narrow win against 4x T-70 X-Wings. Did not miss VTG, my opponent mostly flew in formation due to having Pava in the list and it wouldn't have triggered a single time if I had it.

novice technician

At the end of the round, you may roll 1 attack die to repair 1 faceup damage card. Then on a hit result, expose 1 damage card.

With "repair" does ffg means to flip facedown or remove the faceup choosen card from the ship's damage cards?

Thanks

1 hour ago, Manolox said:

novice technician

At the end of the round, you may roll 1 attack die to repair 1 faceup damage card. Then on a hit result, expose 1 damage card.

With "repair" does ffg means to flip facedown or remove the faceup choosen card from the ship's damage cards?

Thanks

Repair means flip facedown (for faceup damage cards).

My thought with the new points was to add Passive Sensors on Whisper, then drop VTG and replace Dauntless with Tua on RAC. I've played a few games with the list (before points change) and definitely had times when I didn't crash into someone and could have used the extra reinforce from Tua when Dauntless wouldn't trigger. Or when I had to drive over a rock. I don't remember if there were times when I was able to use Dauntless before being damaged, though.

I also didn't have any crippling crits in my games, so maybe I'm undervaluing Novice Technician. I also worry about flipping up Direct Hits... but I can see it helping out a lot in some situations.

I got addicted to Proximity Mines and had to make use of them ... @Dalli what do you think?

Hot Rod by Dalli

(76) Rear Admiral Chiraneau [VT-49 Decimator]
(4) Dauntless
(14) Darth Vader
(8) Moff Jerjerrod
(5) Lone Wolf
(3) Shield Upgrade
(6) Proximity Mines
(2) Skilled Bombardier
Points: 118

(57) "Whisper" [TIE/ph Phantom]
(9) Fifth Brother
(6) Stealth Device
(7) Juke
(3) Passive Sensors
Points: 82

Total points: 200

I've been playing with Deciwhisper for quite a while now, and a certain combo does quite well. Hotshot and Juke is a good thing, but I pair it with Darth Vader and Grand Inquisitor. Although Vader and Inqy come up to steep 28 points, it enables me to not rely on initiative at all. Try it out, move first and then wait for opponent to reveail his dial, just to change firing arcs if needed. This combo effectively enables two actions on RAC per turn.

1 hour ago, Jagos said:

I've been playing with Deciwhisper for quite a while now, and a certain combo does quite well. Hotshot and Juke is a good thing, but I pair it with Darth Vader and Grand Inquisitor. Although Vader and Inqy come up to steep 28 points, it enables me to not rely on initiative at all. Try it out, move first and then wait for opponent to reveail his dial, just to change firing arcs if needed. This combo effectively enables two actions on RAC per turn.

Biggest problem I have with that, apart from the points cost, is that you only get one force token back per turn so you can't use both Vader and Inqy every turn.

An easier way to get two actions per turn for Chiraneau is to use Minister Tua. The downside of that is RAC is stressed during each turn, rather than stressing earlier vs lower Init enemies and then clearing on moving. Vs higher Init ships, there is no functional difference - after the first few turns where Chiraneau still has shields, that is. Neither of these crew work well with Jerjerrod, due to the stress, but neither does Dauntless.

Deci IMHO doesn’t really need double actions. With lone wolf, pilot ability, and Vader, all he needs to do is reinforce. I find I need to rotate my arc about 1 time a game, which doesn’t justify points for either Tua or GI.

I play against many Initiative 5 or 6 pilots, so turning arc tends to be crucial since they move after me. Grand Inquisitor helps a lot. Plus, force if I don't use him.

7 hours ago, JBFancourt said:

Deci IMHO doesn’t really need double actions. With lone wolf, pilot ability, and Vader, all he needs to do is reinforce. I find I need to rotate my arc about 1 time a game, which doesn’t justify points for either Tua or GI.

I played a few practice games with Tua and was noticing the same thing. That one rotate arc + reinforce per game is nice but it's probably just once. And a TL can be handy if you're not getting lone wolf. I'd say it's worth the 3-point upgrade from Dauntless to Tua, but it's not purely an upgrade. With Tua you lose the ability to crash into the enemy formation at the start (before RAC is damaged) and still get the reinforce. Again it's probably only once per battle, but I'm not sure whether I'd rather have that initial option to ram vs. a couple extra actions (rotate turret, TL) later in the battle.

First of all, thanks @Dalli for sharing this here. I really loved the ideas you shared here and adopted Hot Rod as my main list for this extended season (mayber further?)

Just played yesterday in a 34 person tournament and got second place, after being 5-0 in swiss (we had a cut to top8). I could have won but made a critical mistake with Whisper in the final game, which got her killed in one turn. Totally my fault and not the list (also merit of my opponent for capitalizing on my mistake).

So far the only weakness I see in this list are very well flown aces with double reposiiton that move after Chiraneau. If they manage to get behind you or on your side in the turn you didn't proton bomb them, you are screwed for some time because they can easily arc dodge you when they are in close quartes and still keep their offensive mod (Soontir has a focus, Kylo has force, etc).
Aside from that, I don't fear much in the meta. Unless some good lists with multiple proton torpedoes arise or maybe some very good refel beef interation with 4 good 3 attack dice ships get back to the meta, this list can answer anything. The new Luminara + Padme combo might prove to be troublesome aswell.

My current version is this one:

(76) Rear Admiral Chiraneau [VT-49 Decimator]
(4) Dauntless
(8) Moff Jerjerrod
(14) Darth Vader
(5) Proton Bombs
(5) Lone Wolf
(3) Shield Upgrade
Points: 115

(57) "Whisper" [TIE/ph Phantom]
(9) Fifth Brother
(6) Stealth Device
(7) Juke
(6) Collision Detector
Points: 85

Total points: 200

Main difference from the lists Dalli provided after points change is Collision Detector. CD on Whisper is BIG, believe me. I cannot recommend it enough.

I'm currently considering switching the Shield Up and Dauntless for Tua, but that will require some further testing. Other than that, I don't see anything that's worth adding or switching for now.

59 minutes ago, kerbarian said:

I played a few practice games with Tua and was noticing the same thing. That one rotate arc + reinforce per game is nice but it's probably just once. And a TL can be handy if you're not getting lone wolf. I'd say it's worth the 3-point upgrade from Dauntless to Tua, but it's not purely an upgrade. With Tua you lose the ability to crash into the enemy formation at the start (before RAC is damaged) and still get the reinforce. Again it's probably only once per battle, but I'm not sure whether I'd rather have that initial option to ram vs. a couple extra actions (rotate turret, TL) later in the battle.

My thoughts on this matter are EXACTLY the same. But having played the list a few times now, I can see situations where I would have flipped a crit and used Tua forthe free reinforce. Or picking up a TL for a R1 shot on someone and still getting reiforce for the passive Chiraneau mod.
More actions are always welcome and losing the bump + reinforce on the first or second engagement is probably the only downside when switching from Dauntless to Tua. Both are situational and have their merits.

I've been playing around with it. Here's the non-negotiable upgrades:

Whisper - Juke & Fifth Brother.

Chiraneau - Vader & Proton Bombs. Vader works so well with the double arcs.

Everything else seems to be an either/or choice:

Jerjerror OR Hotshot Gunner: I know HSG is a big debate on its own considering the presence of Vader, but I'm a fan. The ability to shoot off a second token is pretty great for damage mitigation purposes, and is very helpful against Vulture swarms.

Minister Tua OR Dauntless: the two upgrades really work against each other. Tua gives you more action efficiency when damaged, while Dauntless protects your action after a bump.

Lone Wolf OR Collision Detector: It's very hard to fit both upgrades onto the list. CD is probably the better pick, as Chiraneau can just downgrade to Trick Shot.

Shield Upgrade OR Stealth Device (Phantom): really a flavor issue here.

Shield Upgrade OR Hull Upgrade (Decimator): if you have an extra point free on your list, take the extra crit protection from the shield upgrade. Otherwise, hull upgrade. Definitely take at least one of them for the increase to your MOV thresholds.

3 hours ago, bpugliese said:

Main difference from the lists Dalli provided after points change is Collision Detector. CD on Whisper is BIG, believe me. I cannot recommend it enough.

1 hour ago, PhantomFO said:

Lone Wolf OR Collision Detector: It's very hard to fit both upgrades onto the list. CD is probably the better pick, as Chiraneau can just downgrade to Trick Shot.

I admit I haven't played this list with CD on Whisper, but having tried it with Passive Sensors I'd have a hard time giving it up. It's become my default action for Whisper and is a huge boost to her damage output.

This thread got me to buy a decimator, and man was it fun to play! I'm a complete casual but the comments here got me to try it , and it really plays different from all the small ships. My opponent got to use all his bulls eye abilities and had fun, and the victory came down to 1 damage last turn to get vader under half points.

Regretted taking inqui over seventh, since she would have moved a belbullab onto a stone or kept it from focusing, both would have been decisive. Once in a blue moon I guess

Thanks for sharing all these insights!