I have a Hyperspace Tournament in a little over a month and amazingly enough I mostly know what I'm flying.

I am firm on my pilots: Boba Fett, a generic Skull Fang Fighter, and Genesis Red. I have three variations from which I'm trying to choose. Now, all three fall point-side at a good spot for a bid in my local meta, so that is not a concern. At the heart of it all is trying to figure out what to put on GR.

A:

This is the one I'm leaning towards the most. It is balanced and give a little extra oomph of offense at the start of the game that I think can help me win.

Boba Fett (85)
Fearless (3)
Maul (12)
Seismic Charges (3)
Contraband Cybernetics (2)
Slave I (1)

Ship total: 106 Half Points: 53 Threshold: 5

Genesis Red (31)
Plasma Torpedoes (9)

Ship total: 40 Half Points: 20 Threshold: 2

Skull Squadron Pilot (47)
Fearless (3)

Ship total: 50 Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2

Total: 196

B:

I'm considering this one because what if I run into a lot of ship with no shields? But it means giving up bombs on Boba.

Boba Fett (85)
Fearless (3)
Maul (12)
Contraband Cybernetics (2)
Slave I (1)

Ship total: 103 Half Points: 52 Threshold: 5

Genesis Red (31)
Proton Torpedoes (13)

Ship total: 44 Half Points: 22 Threshold: 2

Skull Squadron Pilot (47)
Fearless (3)

Ship total: 50 Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2


Total: 197

C -

This one puts the bombs back on Boba, and gives GR an Ion Cannon and Fearless which would help his accuracy... at the loss of damage over the course of the game. This one is last on the list for a reason.

Boba Fett (85)
Fearless (3)
Maul (12)
Seismic Charges (3)
Contraband Cybernetics (2)
Slave I (1)

Ship total: 106 Half Points: 53 Threshold: 5

Genesis Red (31)
Fearless (3)
Ion Cannon (6)

Ship total: 40 Half Points: 20 Threshold: 2

Skull Squadron Pilot (47)
Fearless (3)

Ship total: 50 Half Points: 25 Threshold: 2


Total: 196

Thanks everyone.

Not sure you're aware, but Fearless only works with primary weapons so for C the Ion Cannon on GR would not be getting any benefit from it. That said I'm more partial to C due to not needing locks to push damage with GR (despite the desire to go for locks to trigger their ability) and the added bonus of the occasional Ionization to help keep the target in a "kill box".

I've run these guys a good couple of games now and I would recommend list C every time. Drop Fearless on GR and drop some of your bid to give Boba a hull upgrade and you are golden. GR is certainly useful in match-ups with lower I ships and can do some damage to aces if you're lucky, but in this list Boba is the star and the others are there to distract, block and occasionally do some actual damage. An ion cannon is a constant threat that the opponent really can't ignore (and remember against droids-of which there seems to be a lot around-GRs ability does nothing, but his Ion can do wonders). Giving Boba the hull upgrade raises his half threshold and keeps him in the game longer letting him close the deal. In HS I do not believe there is a better ship. My point is- keep him fat and the others light.

Is this really better than Boba Fenn, especially vs enough of the rest of the field?

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Not that boba Fenn is super super great, you'll still get Fenn caught sometimes and lose.

The best variant of Boba/Fenn I've encountered was actually Boba/Fenn/Sunny . I know OP is set on their pilots, but I'd strongly recommend taking a look at this:

Boba Fett: 000, Proton Bombs, Slave 1, Fearless
Fenn Rau: Fearless
Sunny Bounder: Autoblasters

It trades in the huge bid for a durable blocker (a good trade, in my opinion). I still think autoblasters aren't amazing, but between the +1 red in bullseys and sunny's ability, the scyk can push out a bit of extra damage and isn't worth shooting down. If Boba is in r1 where he should be, then 000 does plenty of work in place of Maul.

Out of your 3 lists, I like the third one the most (although I'd upgrade Boba's bombs to protons and drop fearless off genred to put hull on Boba). Genred with torpedoes will be nice against low-init swarms, but he will be very mediocre against aces and droids. I wouldn't bother with plasmas either, they are too matchup dependent (and most low-init ships that genred likes to shoot won't have many shields anyway).

3 hours ago, Blail Blerg said:

Is this really better than Boba Fenn, especially vs enough of the rest of the field?

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Not that boba Fenn is super super great, you'll still get Fenn caught sometimes and lose.

This is actually a good point. Every HS list I consider, I think will this be able to beat Boba/Fenn? If not then I'd rather just go with them. I obviously disagree a little with Blail Blerg here- I do think B/F is super super great, especially in HS, but even in Ext. Granted Fenn can (and will often) die horribly, but a kitted Boba will still be able to carry the day.

I have tried and tried to make GenRed work, but man. My local meta LOVES Aces. And Aces make GenRed SAD. (On a side note comparing further anecdotal evidence of Scyk play, there are those who swear by Laetin Ashera as nigh-unkillable, but my attempts have proven fruitless due to dice being dice.) I know the OP has said that their pilots are pretty much set in stone, and with enough practice they may get results - I also don't know what their hangar bay looks like. But a slightly leaner Fett with three Ion Spacers works really well in the Epic games I've played, and might transfer? If the roster only includes a single copy of each ship, and that's why they've gone for this list, *and* they're dead set on using GenRed.... Maybe Outmaneuver and Autoblasters on GenRed. Makes him a very dangerous flanker, even if he can't get the locks he wants. And if he gets the lock, there will be pain. My limited experience is that you can kill Contrabands without losing too much, and thereby still preserve some bid. Also, as has been pointed out above, putting 0-0-0 in place of Maul is generally okay - and gives you the points to move from the Skull to Kad Solus. Which could be very good indeed.

4 hours ago, Samurai33 said:

This is actually a good point. Every HS list I consider, I think will this be able to beat Boba/Fenn? If not then I'd rather just go with them. I obviously disagree a little with Blail Blerg here- I do think B/F is super super great, especially in HS, but even in Ext. Granted Fenn can (and will often) die horribly, but a kitted Boba will still be able to carry the day.

Haha I do think boba Fenn is very good. I was just trying to be nice and look at it from another viewpoint.

Sunny is amazing.

This would likely not be as good as other suggestions, Maul and Fearless is amazing insurance for up front and personal Boba. There are known factors here.

I just like flying a bit cagey, which I admit is weird, with these ships. And I like being a bit cute with things.

So...

(85) Boba Fett [Firespray-class Patrol Craft]
(8) Perceptive Copilot
(5) Proton Bombs
(1) Slave I
Points: 99

(47) Skull Squadron Pilot [Fang Fighter]
(6) Outmaneuver
Points: 53

(31) Genesis Red [M3-A Interceptor]
(13) Proton Torpedoes
Points: 44

Total points: 196

You have to be very good with Boba to get away with this, he can't ride out errors like the others mentioned. I'd much prefer Proxies, they help with early area control in ways that Protons don't so much. The points saved are very nice with Slave 1, if you don't go Yolo.

I like Outmanouevre Fangs. Simple reason, some things will refuse to R1 front arc you. This combo presents a different kind of choice.

GR gets Pro Torps cause there's loads of spare points. It's good if they go for him or if they don't.

Edit. Honestly, the trio seem light to me. Fenn and Sunny is the min/max, and that's almost pushing it in a lot of match ups.

10 hours ago, Kleeg005 said:

I have tried and tried to make GenRed work, but man. My local meta LOVES Aces. And Aces make GenRed SAD. (On a side note comparing further anecdotal evidence of Scyk play, there are those who swear by Laetin Ashera as nigh-unkillable, but my attempts have proven fruitless due to dice being dice.) I know the OP has said that their pilots are pretty much set in stone, and with enough practice they may get results - I also don't know what their hangar bay looks like. But a slightly leaner Fett with three Ion Spacers works really well in the Epic games I've played, and might transfer? If the roster only includes a single copy of each ship, and that's why they've gone for this list, *and* they're dead set on using GenRed.... Maybe Outmaneuver and Autoblasters on GenRed. Makes him a very dangerous flanker, even if he can't get the locks he wants. And if he gets the lock, there will be pain. My limited experience is that you can kill Contrabands without losing too much, and thereby still preserve some bid. Also, as has been pointed out above, putting 0-0-0 in place of Maul is generally okay - and gives you the points to move from the Skull to Kad Solus. Which could be very good indeed.

Laetin is statistically very hard to kill (especially with 2-die attacks), but her ability is only relevant if she is shot at multiple times in one turn. If you're facing aces, that's unlikely to happen - they are more likely to hit her with one well modded shot than fire several weaker shots. Like genred, she is more effective against generics. However, the other problem with laetin is that even if you're facing generics, they can just choose to shoot another target (unless you're jousting a swarm with laetin alone, which is amusing but unlikely - the swarm should just ignore her and turn towards a bigger threat).

Ion spacers are really really good.

Kad Solus has a great ability, but I don't think it's worth 7pts. I'd spend those elsewhere.

On 2/17/2020 at 4:14 PM, Samurai33 said:

I've run these guys a good couple of games now and I would recommend list C every time. Drop Fearless on GR and drop some of your bid to give Boba a hull upgrade and you are golden. GR is certainly useful in match-ups with lower I ships and can do some damage to aces if you're lucky, but in this list Boba is the star and the others are there to distract, block and occasionally do some actual damage. An ion cannon is a constant threat that the opponent really can't ignore (and remember against droids-of which there seems to be a lot around-GRs ability does nothing, but his Ion can do wonders). Giving Boba the hull upgrade raises his half threshold and keeps him in the game longer letting him close the deal. In HS I do not believe there is a better ship. My point is- keep him fat and the others light.

Thanks!

I am definitely re-evaluating list C now.

In my area there is a lot of beef with shields, which is why I am leaning a lot towards plasmas. I can get ahead fast on the damage race with GR..... but after those first two shots my opponent would be smart in ignoring him.

An Ion Cannon is scary for opponents, you are right. It sucks for damage though, 2 plasma shots and then 2 dice attacks the rest of the game is does a lot more damage.

I can't go with 198 points though, that's too risky. I need to be at 197 or less for my area, so something else would have to go. Contraband?

Well, not going to comment on your list directly.

But what I will say is I get a lot of "Boba is HS king" vibe at the moment. (which I don't agree/disagree with necessarily)

My point is, you should definitely keep in mind how your list beats Boba going into a tournament, because chance seem to be fairly good that you will face him.

2 hours ago, BlastyMcBlasterFace said:

Thanks!

I am definitely re-evaluating list C now.

In my area there is a lot of beef with shields, which is why I am leaning a lot towards plasmas. I can get ahead fast on the damage race with GR..... but after those first two shots my opponent would be smart in ignoring him.

An Ion Cannon is scary for opponents, you are right. It sucks for damage though, 2 plasma shots and then 2 dice attacks the rest of the game is does a lot more damage.

I can't go with 198 points though, that's too risky. I need to be at 197 or less for my area, so something else would have to go. Contraband?

If your area has a lot of beef with shields, then those ships are probably low agility, and in that case ion cannon is going to do serious work. Killing those beefy ships can take a lot of effort even with hard-hitting weapons, but drop a single ion token on them and they will float out of the fight. If you can keep an expensive beefy ship out of the fight by ioning it (instead of investing effort shooting it normally while also getting shot back) then you're doing well. B-Wings are the perfect example - they have lots of health and they want you to shoot them so they can soak up fire. If you ion them, you take their guns out of the fight and buy yourself time to kill other things before they come back.

Regarding 197/198 points - contraband can definitely go. If you want more bid, dropping maul->000 is also valid, and that gets you enough points to upgrade your seismics to protons (which helps up your damage output, but perhaps less so vs swarms). If you want to keep maul then I'd just drop the cybernetics.

9 hours ago, gadwag said:

If your area has a lot of beef with shields, then those ships are probably low agility, and in that case ion cannon is going to do serious work. Killing those beefy ships can take a lot of effort even with hard-hitting weapons, but drop a single ion token on them and they will float out of the fight. If you can keep an expensive beefy ship out of the fight by ioning it (instead of investing effort shooting it normally while also getting shot back) then you're doing well. B-Wings are the perfect example - they have lots of health and they want you to shoot them so they can soak up fire. If you ion them, you take their guns out of the fight and buy yourself time to kill other things before they come back.

Regarding 197/198 points - contraband can definitely go. If you want more bid, dropping maul->000 is also valid, and that gets you enough points to upgrade your seismics to protons (which helps up your damage output, but perhaps less so vs swarms). If you want to keep maul then I'd just drop the cybernetics.

I think you've convinced me. I dropped CC in favor of a Hull Upgrade. Ion Cannon on GR for a super accurate annoying thing. 196 so that my Skull can boost-focus on other i4s. I feel good about this.

Boba RedFang II

(31) Genesis Red [M3-A Interceptor] (6) Ion Cannon *Points: 37

(47) Skull Squadron Pilot [Fang Fighter] (3) Fearless *Points: 50

(85) Boba Fett [Firespray-class Patrol Craft] (12) Maul (3) Seismic Charges (5) Hull Upgrade (3) Fearless (1) Slave I *Points: 109

Total points: 196

I may steal this list. I love GR with Proton Torps and Ion might be the next best (cheaper) thing.