Random thoughts - probably awful, but just wondering about people's thoughts.

1. Cardinal's ability is nice supporting a swarm.
2. First Order swarmers just got cheaper
3. ????
4. I like Bacon (not strictly relevant, but hey, I get distracted)
5. ????
6. Profit

Idea #1

• Captain Cardinal (68)
  • Tractor Beam (2)
• Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26) x 5

This is the maximum number of warm bodies you can fit in with Cardinal. They don't really benefit from his ability per se unless they have no action - if they are forced to spend focus defensively, though, it's a nice touch, especially if shot at by multiple opponents, and it makes them a touch better if forced to segnor which in my experience TIE/fo do a lot .

Yes, all right, the tractor beam is probably a waste of the 4-dice, initiative 4 big guns. But unlike an ion cannon, I only need 1 hit to tractor you, and reducing agility and repositioning you is scary when I have a swarm at my back. 4 dice thanks to Linked Battery is enough to provide a threat even to high agility targets at long range, and I'd far rather boost a ship from range 3 into range 2, tractor it, and then hit it with 5 TIE fighters than cause 1 damage with primary weapons.

Idea #2

• Captain Cardinal (68)
  • Perceptive Copilot (8)
  • Advanced Optics (4)
• Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26) x 4
  • Advanced Optics (4)

One less warm body, but in theory much more utility out of CD-0922's ability - if you get blank/focus, spend focus on a blank with advance optics, reroll the focus result. That's about an 88% chance of 2 hits.

You also get the Copilot/Optics combination which makes the Upsilon's guns truly terrifying, with about a 75% chance of 4 straight hits on whatever target presents itself.

Idea #3

• Captain Cardinal (68)
  • Perceptive Copilot (8)
  • Advanced Optics (4)
  • Pattern Analyser (5)
  • General Hux (6)
• Zeta Squadron Survivor (32) x 3
  • Advanced Optics (4)

Only three minions but much more capable TIE/sf. Pattern Analyser lets you swing a hard turn and still fire at full effect, and in extreme cases you can use Hux instead to give the TIE/sf two actions each.

I'm more into 1 or 2. Probably 1, in the interest of more bodies, but 4xOptics does about the same damage as 5x without. I like SFs, but three non-gunner SFs probably aren't enough punch.

Number 1 looks like it could be interesting. If you were feeling nasty, you could upgrade one of the Cadets to TN-3465; while she may move at a different initiative to the others, the combination of Cardinal tractoring a target into range one of her could be quite frightening.

As for number three, if you are willing to downgrade from Cardinal and only carry Hux, it frees up enough points for missiles on the TIE/sf, which greatly increases their hitting power.

14 hours ago, AceDogbert said:

If you were feeling nasty, you could upgrade one of the Cadets to TN-3465; while she may move at a different initiative to the others, the combination of Cardinal tractoring a target into range one of her could be quite frightening.

Sadly, it's 200 on the dot. Adding a named TIE/fo means giving up a ship anyway. TN-3465 is an interesting point, though. Rivas might be cool, too, since tractoring a target qualifies as an 'orange token' and gives him his free target lock.

Taking two named pilots instead of cadets in list #2 might be interesting.

15 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

Probably 1, in the interest of more bodies, but 4xOptics does about the same damage as 5x without.

Agreed - plus cardinal's own guns are way, way scarier.

37 minutes ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Sadly, it's 200 on the dot. Adding a named TIE/fo means giving up a ship anyway. TN-3465 is an interesting point, though. Rivas might be cool, too, since tractoring a target qualifies as an 'orange token' and gives him his free target lock.

Are you certain about that? According to YASB (using the July points update), taking TN-3465 fits perfectly:

Captain Cardinal (65)
Tractor Beam (2)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26)

Epsilon Squadron Cadet (26)

TN-3465 (29)
Total: 200

View in Yet Another Squad Builder 2.0

I'd not considered Rivas, if you replaced TN with him you'd gain a mighty bid of a single point!

29 minutes ago, AceDogbert said:

According to YASB (using the July points update), taking TN-3465 fits perfectly:

Captain Cardinal (65)

That's interesting. He'd gone up to 68 in the first version.