Hey Guys,

I'm trying to put together an aces list of 4 belbullabs. They aren't as maneuverable as other ace ships but i think they can still work. I have 2 lists which i am toying with. The idea is for the list to try and pincer the opponent with grievous going off by himself while the 3 Skakoan Aces charge straight up the board or try pull ships towards them. Ive taken the shield upgrades over the hull (and a 3 point bid) for the crit protection of the shields (meaning they will be 3 hull and 3 shield). List 2 plays with the same strategy but with some synergy between Sear and the Auto pilots but the list loses the three crack shots and int 3. I think list one may look better on paper with the I3 and 3 guaranteed crack shots but while list 2 will require more skill to get into bullseye arc it also provides more blocking chances with the two I1 auto pilots and may have more opportunities through out the game to proc the sudo crack shot that sear provides. Thoughts appreciated.

List one:

General Grievous (44)

- Outmaneuver (6)

- Soulless One (6)

3x Skakoan Ace (41)

- Crack shot (1)

- Shield upgrade (6)

No bid

List two:

General Grievous (44)

- Impervium Plating (4)

- Outmaneuver (6)

- Soulless One (6)

Captain Sear (39)

- Kraken (10)

- Shield upgrade (6)

2x Feethan Ottraw Autopilot (36)

- Shield upgrade (6)

1 pt bid

An interesting idea. A few thoughts.

From a purely semantic perspective, these guys aren't Aces. Even Grievous isn't really an Ace, however much he (and we) wishes he was. This has implications about play style, which is the only real reason I bring it up. You aren't going to be able to play this in they style that is generally expected when we hear "Aces." Not a big deal, but it will avoid confusion. (What you've got is a bunch of reasonably maneuverable jousters.)

I've flown a good deal of Grievous, and man, I tell you. He will be your opponent's primary target. Every time. He is your list's Ace. He is your endgame piece. He's the most expensive thing in your list. That paints an massive target on him. And that means you probably won't see him getting much opportunity to flank or use Outmaneuver. What he does do, though, is make excellent bait. You can absolutely expect your opponent to turn every ship he has right at Grievous - opening his list to the big hammer that is the rest of your list. Not a bad idea at all, but perhaps more difficult to achieve given that the Belbullab has a less than perfect dial.

Looking at your lists, I would like to counter with this: Wat Tambor instead of Sear. You get those Feethans up there, and he gets much more accurate, right? No requirement to line up bullseyes with an i1 ship is so much easier to fly. And since the Feethans are already going to be up in someone's face, make Wat Treacherous - make him a bit tankier. This could be especially useful as he becomes the most expensive ship in your list, once you swap Marksmanship onto Grievous. Grievous is still more dangerous, but now he's fewer points. You've given your opponent a more difficult choice.

My final thought is the utility of a Shield Upgrade versus Impervium Plating on all of your ships.... The Shield is guaranteed protection. But Impervium can be worth twice the protection at two thirds the cost - or it can be worthless. Do you feel lucky?

I **REALLY** wish the Belbullab was available as its own expansion, as I'd LOVE to try something like this. I just can't justify all those extra Vultures, you know? If you do try it, let us know how it works out.

Belbullabs? Love me some Bubbles.

• Some general thoughts:
• If someone takes Soulless One, the best mod slot upgrade will be Impervium Plating in my experience. I'm not convinced on Impervium on 3-hull Belbullabs, but it's great on a 5-hull Souless One, and cheaper than other options. I'll usually get a trigger or two out of it.
• I probably only put Crack Shot on Grievous. Outmaneuver is sweet when it happens. It's wicked expensive. Crack Shot is solid, works even when not out-of-arc, and is cheap.
• I kinda want another ship. Doesn't have to be a Belbullab. Outmaneuver and Shield Upgrade (or Hull or Stealth Device) are just such expensive upgrades. They're not bad, but they are kind of "warning flag" upgrades, IMHO. If I see a lot of them in a list, I want to see if I can cut them, shake some stuff around, and find space for an additional ship, or better pilots, or other improvements like that. They don't have to be cut, but it's worth considering the options.
  • Looking at List #1, I'd cut those Shield Upgrades. With them, Belbullabs start to compare pretty unfavorably with X-Wings, particularly T-70. The advantage of Bubble Buddies is that they're cheap in the raw sticker price, allowing more parts to your lists.
    • If you have a 5th Belbullab , you could run Grievous (Crack Shot, Soulless One) with 2 Skakoan Aces (Crack Shot) and 2 Feethan Ottraw Autopilot. Without a 5th 'lab, swap a FOA out for a Hyena. Just a Trade Union Bomber with DRK-1 Probe Droids and struts for 31 would be wicked handy, potentially getting everyone Locks long before combat. This is a bit cheaper than a FOA, so you could bring Ion Missiles on the TUB, or bring Impervium on Grievous, or upgrade the stray FOA into a 3rd Skakoan Ace.
  • Looking at List #2, if you get rid of the Shield Upgrades and Outmaneuver, you could bring DFS-311 with Struts for 24 points. This handy little Calculate support ship can simply rush forward, perch on the first rock, and be a pest, handing out free tokens to ships which want tokens.
    • Also worth noting: Sear is 45 points, as of the last points update, not 39.
    • What does the list Look Like:
      • DFS-311 (Struts) 24
      • Feethan Ottraw Ottopilot, 35
      • Feethan Ottraw Ottopilot, 35
      • Choice of:
        • Wat Tambor (Kracken) 52
          • Wat Tambor is a bit more selfish than Sear, and winds up being a surprisingly pleasant little hitter. He loves holding onto a Calc token, since he can trigger his own ability.
        • Captain Sear (Kracken) 55
          • Isn't always easy to get bullseyes with the FOA, and they tend to be short on tokens, so wanting to spend them. I'm not sure Sear is the right pick.
      • General Grievous, 44
        • Either Grievous or the Kraken Carrier can bring Soulless one. I'm not sure who it'd be better on. More health for the Kraken holder is good. However, Grievous can easily be a bit exposed, deploying away from the rest of the fleet, to try to get a flank. Protecting him and helping him run away might be wise.
      • There's 1-4 points to spare, depending on choice of Wat or Sear. It could be Impervium to go with Soulless One, or it could be Crack Shots on anyone who can take them.
  • Split the Difference?
    • Grievous (Crack Shot, Soulless One, Impervium Plating) 55
    • DFS-311 (Struts) 24
    • Skakoan Ace (Crack Shot) 39
    • Skakoan Ace (Crack Shot) 39
    • Skakoan Ace (Crack Shot) 39
      • Spare points: 4. Nothing leaps out at me as a great fit for them. However, you now have an extra gun/support ship.

Thanks for the feed back guys.

I've had a think and gone with the below. I'm currently trying to pick up a 5th Belbullab so the " Grievous (Crack Shot, Soulless One) with 2 Skakoan Aces (Crack Shot) and 2 Feethan Ottraw Autopilot" list could be an option in the future. Just to confirm... i can transfer a calculate to Wat Tambor with DFS-311 and then use Kraken to keep it? He doesn't appear to have a way to spend it so it would remain with him for the rest of the match.

Belbullab-22 Starfighter - •General Grievous - 51
•General Grievous - Ambitious Cyborg (44)
Crack Shot (1)
• Soulless One (6)

Belbullab-22 Starfighter - Feethan Ottraw Autopilot - 35
Feethan Ottraw Autopilot - (35)

Belbullab-22 Starfighter - Feethan Ottraw Autopilot - 35
Feethan Ottraw Autopilot - (35)

Belbullab-22 Starfighter - •Wat Tambor - 54
•Wat Tambor - Techno Union Foreman (42)
Treacherous (2)
•Kraken (10)

Vulture -class Droid Fighter - •DFS-311 - 24
•DFS-311 - Scouting Drone (23)
Grappling Struts (Closed) (1)

Total: 199/200 - so 1 point bid

I understand the point of trying to use Treacherous. I've never seen it trigger.

Use it if you like--it's mathematically amazing, if you can get it to work. A rechargeable shield upgrade for 2 points? Fantastic. Geometrically, it's really hard.

11 minutes ago, Teratroopa said:

Just to confirm... i can transfer a calculate to Wat Tambor with DFS-311 and then use Kraken to keep it? He doesn't appear to have a way to spend it so it would remain with him for the rest of the match.

Wat can spend the calculate for the normal use: turn a single eye result into a hit or evade. Having one stashed is pretty decent, and can really bail you out when you really need one more token. Kraken also grants the Calculate action, so you don't *need* DFS-311 to transfer the token, although the little Vulture is quite good at it.

Ill try it with crack shot and treacherous and see how they perform over a couple of games.... once we're all allowed to leave our houses ofc.

So effectively Kraken changes Wat's focus icon to a calculate. Ill keep DFS-311 in the list for now, I'm sure it'll get some decent mileage with the FOA as well.

5 hours ago, Teratroopa said:

So effectively Kraken changes Wat's focus icon to a calculate. Ill keep DFS-311 in the list for now, I'm sure it'll get some decent mileage with the FOA as well.

No, it adds the calculate action to the carrying ship’s action bar. You can calculate on turn one with your Kraken carrier (in this case Wat) and just hold it every turn until the first engagement and have a calculate and focus token for that engagement and even have DFS-311 toss a calculate his way as well if you fancy that.

Isn't calculate and focus the same thing? They're both used to alter the eye icon on the attack and defense dice. I'm new to the game.

1 hour ago, Teratroopa said:

Isn't calculate and focus the same thing? They're both used to alter the eye icon on the attack and defense dice. I'm new to the game.

Not quite the same. Focus changes every eyeball result on all the rolled dice. Calculate only changes one eyeball result, regardless of how many you rolled. Kind of like Force charges that way.