Scum are the weakest faction discuss...

By Cazar, in X-Wing

8 minutes ago, Hiemfire said:

Give it a test:

Jakku Gunrunner (32)
Pattern Analyzer (5)
Total: 37

The tractor nerf has reduced the strength of its support ability, but against small bases it still has some capability.

I tried 2 with Boba and Palob, I think post nerf. It wasn't really that capable anymore. Boba got nerfed also. So its harder to get a heavy hitter for value.

Is pat an really worth it?

Edited by Blail Blerg
2 hours ago, Wazat said:

Agreed. Jedi or Empire Aces are amazing and I don't expect them to be nerfed away (they might get slight adjustments but not made meta-nonviable). Scum is like the step child that gets slapped for seemingly doing the same thing as its half-siblings.

Though other stuff has been nerfed to death, e.g. Rebel Beef, Handbrake Han, and Triple Upsilon Rush. So maybe it's just that the quirks of scum place it onto the naughty list any time it's getting good, by virtue of being strange enough to freak players & FFG out. Scum has a lot of control effects, and Boba's whole deal is passive mods. You can have passive mods if you're a force user, otherwise it's naughty. ;)

All of this, But I would argue that Imps have better control pieces than Scum. Sloan? Check. Vader? Yup. Seventh Sister. Yeah. Death Troopers. ISB Slicers. And that's just crew. Color this Scum-boi jealous. I've pretty much shelved my Scum fleet.

14 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

I tried 2 with Boba and Palob, I think post nerf. It wasn't really that capable anymore. Boba got nerfed also. So its harder to get a heavy hitter for value.

So you haven't since Feb or March I take it. Not surprising.

15 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Is pat an really worth it?

Being able to Tractor or Focus off of a SLoop or Reverse is very useful. Not as powerful as it was pre-Wave 5 tractor nerf (defense die reduction only applies to Tractored ships, not just any ship with a tractor token on it), but still good against small bases.

1 hour ago, Hiemfire said:

Being able to Tractor or Focus off of a SLoop or Reverse is very useful. Not as powerful as it was pre-Wave 5 tractor nerf (defense die reduction only applies to Tractored ships, not just any ship with a tractor token on it), but still good against small bases.

Aces are my favorite thing to harassment-tractor, and they are typically small-based. IMO having PA really opens up the quad's options for lining up that range 1 action.

29 minutes ago, Wazat said:

Aces are my favorite thing to harassment-tractor, and they are typically small-based. IMO having PA really opens up the quad's options for lining up that range 1 action.

Ran 4x Quads with pattern and contra with a fat Xizor a few weeks back against a Dengar Seevor & 2x K-fighters list ( I forget their exact loadout). A couple of kerfluffles on my part with activation order (had a chance to tractor Dengar through a debris field and ended up not being able to because one of my yet to be activated Jakkus was in the way, I'd had plenty of space to activate it first and missed it) screwed the match for me. Xizor was meh but enough of a threat for my opponent to think about, and the 10-20 hp that I kept with him in the opponents arc was enough to keep fire off of him. Seevor, as is usually the case for me, died quickly after giving my opponent minimal benefit from his ability.

Edited by Hiemfire

@Hiemfire @Blail Blerg contraband cybernetics is a cheaper alternative to pattern analyser

15 hours ago, It’s One Of Ours said:

So... Laetin with an Autoblaster and Juke is 42pts (49 if I Dunelizard him).

31pts buys me a Mining Guild Surveyor with Squad Leader. And I have 127 (or 120) points left to do whatever I fee like

I'm not convinced. You're spending 73pts on a scyk. That's more than fenn rau with fearless, and around the same cost as nym with bombs and trajectory simulator.

Autoblaster/juke is also a bit of a nonbo since you are likely to be juking crits through that autoblaster would get for you anyway.

31 minutes ago, gadwag said:

@Hiemfire @Blail Blerg contraband cybernetics is a cheaper alternative to pattern analyser

You say now, when combined it allows a barrel roll into a tractor off of a SLoop or Reverse. :D I just wish Contra had more charges...

50 minutes ago, gadwag said:

I'm not convinced. You're spending 73pts on a scyk. That's more than fenn rau with fearless, and around the same cost as nym with bombs and trajectory simulator.

Autoblaster/juke is also a bit of a nonbo since you are likely to be juking crits through that autoblaster would get for you anyway.

On the first part, it’s because it’s not just a Scyk. 31pts are going to a TIE with Squad Leader, whose primary purppose is to let -any- of your ships pull a Focus, Roll, or Evade prior to their activation. Or afterwards, if they’re lower Initiative. So throwing a Focus towards Laetin is just one of his jobs. As for a Skurrg with tragedy simulator, that’s a hard No from me. If I’m going with a list built for bombing, then I might think about that. But not if I’m running Hawt Garbage:

https://raithos.github.io/?f=Scum and Villainy&d=v8ZsZ200Z248X131WY247X119WY135X125W105W102Y134X123WW232Y132X119WW232&sn=Hawt Garbage&obs=

Edited by It’s One Of Ours
Link was messed up
13 hours ago, Kleeg005 said:

All of this, But I would argue that Imps have better control pieces than Scum. Sloan? Check. Vader? Yup. Seventh Sister. Yeah. Death Troopers. ISB Slicers. And that's just crew. Color this Scum-boi jealous. I've pretty much shelved my Scum fleet.

feel the same way... tinkering with star vipers and ketsu but Scum really needs some help... I'm probably going to hang up my boots for a while and come back in a points rotation or two when iv got more diverse options... card packs are a long way off... I think im banking on the next points rotation but if scum isn't getting much love again there im taking a time out from the game.

Edited by Da_Brown_Bomber
6 hours ago, Hiemfire said:

You say now, when combined it allows a barrel roll into a tractor off of a SLoop or Reverse. :D I just wish Contra had more charges...

Same. I also wish Quinn Jast could have it. For obvious reasons.

1 hour ago, Da_Brown_Bomber said:

feel the same way... tinkering with star vipers and jets but Scum really needs some help... I'm probably going to hang up my boots for a while and come back in a points rotation or two when iv got more diverse options... card packs are a long way off... I think im banking on the next points rotation but if scum isn't getting much love again there im taking a time out from the game.

I took about two-three months off, just came back, and have found that my Scum are still fairly lackluster. While my favorite ship, the Kirhaxz, is actually getting some play as a decent blocker/filler ship, pretty much everything else has stayed static. I don't think we'll see much for Scum until we get another set of card packs, as the preview for the first one has not filled me with confidence that there will be much helping out the Scum.

2 hours ago, Ikka said:

I took about two-three months off, just came back, and have found that my Scum are still fairly lackluster. While my favorite ship, the Kirhaxz, is actually getting some play as a decent blocker/filler ship, pretty much everything else has stayed static. I don't think we'll see much for Scum until we get another set of card packs, as the preview for the first one has not filled me with confidence that there will be much helping out the Scum.

yep, I feel ur pain.... a long draught ahead for scum/nothing new anytime soon who have plenty of ships but quite narrow options when you put a squad together... until scum gets a much needed boost all I really want to fly some combination star vipers, ketsu, old teroch, captain seevor, and occasionally pilots like 4-LOM, Torkil Mux, Unkar Putt, Guri or Fenn... there is quality there its just a game of mixing and matching the same pool of pilots... good pilots but just lack lustre in terms of squad building direction... Points increases to escape craft and the nerfing of tactical officer was quite a blow for a faction like scum that places a premium on that 4th ship being relevant and where rounding out a squad with mid-range 45-55pts costing ships.

You think ffg have a plan for scum in hyperspace? seems like they could really shake up the meta there by giving scum something decent.

Edited by Da_Brown_Bomber
17 minutes ago, Da_Brown_Bomber said:

You think ffg have a plan for scum in hyperspace? seems like they could really shake up the meta there by giving scum something decent.

I don't know, honestly. The Hotshots and Aces card pack gives Scum three pilots for three very mediocre ships- Jumpmaster, Z95, and Syck, and we can already get Bossk in a Z if we take the Natasha Pup title (which gives you a hint that he won't be used that much because no one takes him for 7 points, much less the 27+ he'll be). So that isn't really a huge boost to Scum.

As for the next ship that will be given the 2.0 treatment, I'd expect it to be either the quadjumper or possibly the HWK- a small based ship that won't shake up the Hyperspace meta too much and which may have a cameo in the Mandalorian series (either would be a good choice to have floating around various ports). Maybe when they start making faction-only card packs we'll start to see something interesting shake out. I could see a 10-15 buck card pack with faction-specific cards working really well; four or five pilots, a couple of generic upgrades that haven't had a release for the faction (a la Autoblasters or Targeting Computer), and some unique upgrades that are specific to the faction like ship configurations and crew.

29 minutes ago, Da_Brown_Bomber said:

You think ffg have a plan for scum in hyperspace? seems like they could really shake up the meta there by giving scum something decent.

We are getting the Dumpmaster, sure it's gonna take the meta by force

🤣

12 minutes ago, Ikka said:

I don't know, honestly. The Hotshots and Aces card pack gives Scum three pilots for three very mediocre ships- Jumpmaster, Z95, and Syck, and we can already get Bossk in a Z if we take the Natasha Pup title (which gives you a hint that he won't be used that much because no one takes him for 7 points, much less the 27+ he'll be). So that isn't really a huge boost to Scum.

As for the next ship that will be given the 2.0 treatment, I'd expect it to be either the quadjumper or possibly the HWK- a small based ship that won't shake up the Hyperspace meta too much and which may have a cameo in the Mandalorian series (either would be a good choice to have floating around various ports). Maybe when they start making faction-only card packs we'll start to see something interesting shake out. I could see a 10-15 buck card pack with faction-specific cards working really well; four or five pilots, a couple of generic upgrades that haven't had a release for the faction (a la Autoblasters or Targeting Computer), and some unique upgrades that are specific to the faction like ship configurations and crew.

I agree the card packs are the best way to breath life back into the factions, esp scum right now. tbh it feels a bit late for me. I was dissapointed in the lack of buffs scum got last points adjustment and when you are relying on them to add a spark to ur fav faction and they fizzle ur left feeling left out in the cold. if u have other factions ur happy to play in the meantime its less impactful on ur experience so im likely in the minority here as I only play scum.

1 hour ago, Da_Brown_Bomber said:

if u have other factions ur happy to play in the meantime its less impactful on ur experience so im likely in the minority here as I only play scum.

True, I have both the Empire and Separatists, but Scum are much more fun for me to both play and paint. I do think Scum will get a substantial buff with the next points adjustment, but I don't know if that will be enough to help them out. Right now it feels like unless you are a very good player or have a unique list that no one has really seen (Ketsu Fangs and Torkil Ks before they were known) playing Scum is pretty much playing the game in Hard mode.

Won't stop me from trying though...

Anything in the game that has force mods especially with the ability to get multiple force mods needs a decent points increase imo. Force has skewed the game imo and increased the level of challege to make a strong list not reliant on force mods. High initiative pilot with force mods equals game on easy mode versus antything without force.

Edited by Da_Brown_Bomber

I feel some force pilots are costed just fine

The fact that the generic spray costs about as much as an actual Sith, however,...

49 minutes ago, ficklegreendice said:

I feel some force pilots are costed just fine

The fact that the generic spray costs about as much as an actual Sith, however,...

All Jedi with three Force are undercosted. Maaaaaybe all Force users not named Asajj (see TIE Advanced Prototype). See, I think the problem with the costing model is that FFG continues to charge a chassis tax for slots, whether you use them or not. Scum are seemingly meant to be a toolbox faction, frequently gaining ALL the options. But when those options are expensive on their own, or ineffective and therefore expensive no matter what they cost? Case in point: the theoretically faction-defining Illicit slot. My big beef with Scum, apart from being stoopid expensive, is that there is NOTHING that the faction can do that some other faction can't do better, cheaper. And the very few things that Scum can do well get nerfed into the ground as soon as someone discovers a way to exploit them (Palob/Boba/Drea/Han gunner...Mux next?).

33 minutes ago, Kleeg005 said:

And the very few things that Scum can do well get nerfed into the ground as soon as someone discovers a way to exploit them (Palob/Boba/Drea/Han gunner...Mux next?).

This is pretty much the history. I firmly believe that Scum needed nerfs in the January adjustment. Scum had too much power too cheaply. I'm also completely certain that they got over-nerfed, and have never really recovered. Han Gunner nerf was +8. The also needed Leia-nerf was +4. If the Han nerf had only been +4 to 8 points, that'd have been a lot better.

Drea is also a great example. Drea/Scurrgs did need a nerf. But Drea, Lok Revenant, Dorsal Turret, and Veteran Turret Gunner *all* got nerfs. That was perhaps... overdoing it.

4 hours ago, Ikka said:

I don't know, honestly. The Hotshots and Aces card pack gives Scum three pilots for three very mediocre ships- Jumpmaster, Z95, and Syck (1), and we can already get Bossk in a Z if we take the Natasha Pup title (2) (which gives you a hint that he won't be used that much because no one takes him for 7 points, much less the 27+ he'll be). So that isn't really a huge boost to Scum.

As for the next ship that will be given the 2.0 treatment, I'd expect it to be either the quadjumper or possibly the HWK (3) - a small based ship that won't shake up the Hyperspace meta too much and which may have a cameo in the Mandalorian series (either would be a good choice to have floating around various ports). Maybe when they start making faction-only card packs we'll start to see something interesting shake out. I could see a 10-15 buck card pack with faction-specific cards working really well; four or five pilots, a couple of generic upgrades that haven't had a release for the faction (a la Autoblasters or Targeting Computer), and some unique upgrades that are specific to the faction like ship configurations and crew.

1) They are three Hyperspace-legal ships, though, which might shake up that format a bit.

2) Bossk as a stand-alone pilot in a Z-95 is not the same as Bossk in the Nashtah Pup - chiefly because it means that a non-Bossk YV-666 list when that drops next wave is much more viable.

3) Any particular reasons other than being able to access Moldy Crow in a Scum buy?

1 hour ago, Kleeg005 said:

My big beef with Scum, apart from being stoopid expensive, is that there is NOTHING that the faction can do that some other faction can't do better, cheaper. And the very few things that Scum can do well get nerfed into the ground as soon as someone discovers a way to exploit them (Palob/Boba/Drea/Han gunner...Mux next?).

There are plenty of things scum can do better than other factions, thanks chiefly to their unique pilots

But you hit the nail on the head, way too expensive

Otherwise we'd be having a blast with the SCURRG (nym/sol + genius, easily the most flexible bombers in the game) or Emon.

Or 4lom and asajj stress shenanigans, +/- rigged cargo in a game with VERY FEW stress options

(Yes spare parts exist; no you don't see it a whole lot

And yes, rebel yts got em but they're generally even worse than scum ships!)

Currently, it's basically just Seevor (easiest jam in the outer rim) and Mux that don't pay ridiculous overhead, especially compared to force users.

Plus some tractor & obstacle shenanigans via quads/caster +/- MGT ability or qi'ra--distinguished from struts by the fact that they move.

Edited by ficklegreendice

Nashtah Pup: "You can deploy only via emergency deployment..."

Bossk in a Z-95 is notable because the Pup can't be deployed without first flying a pricey YV-666 that then dies and deploys the pup. That's a long process. The pup is an emergency backup for the YV, not its own ship.

So the new Bossk Zed should be neat unless he's too expensive... which is always a concern for scum.

Hopefully Bossk has a talent slot for Marksmanship.

2 hours ago, Wazat said:

Nashtah Pup: "You can deploy only via emergency deployment..."

Bossk in a Z-95 is notable because the Pup can't be deployed without first flying a pricey YV-666 that then dies and deploys the pup. That's a long process. The pup is an emergency backup for the YV, not its own ship.

So the new Bossk Zed should be neat unless he's too expensive... which is always a concern for scum.

Hopefully Bossk has a talent slot for Marksmanship.

I expect Bossk to be a massive dissapointment.

Its only an I4 Z95, with Marksmanship I bet he'll be 31 (30 naked)

Does anyone expect Bossk to be exciting or game changing?

I'm far more excited for the new Scyck and JM5K pilots 🤗

Edited by Scum4Life
Spelling + Extra info