I am considering getting a second HWK 290. Other than upgrade or support cards, should I purchase another. Is it viable to run 2 of them in a game or is it a waste of a good pipe dream?

It's viable, and fun. Just not seriously competitive in all likelihood. I just ran a 2 HWK + Falcon build yesterday and squeeked out a win.

I have 3. Used them all at one time with various upgrades to create

A wonderful synergy. It took out half of a seven ship tie swarm on turn 3.

So I say yes, well worth it......

It's fun to crunch numbers and min-max yours ship lists, but there's something to be said for flying a squadron that is assembled purely on your whimsy.

If you have fun flying it, whether you win or lose, the game has done it's job.

It's fun to crunch numbers and min-max yours ship lists, but there's something to be said for flying a squadron that is assembled purely on your whimsy.

If you have fun flying it, whether you win or lose, the game has done it's job.

But is it worth it to pay $$$$ for the ability to field a list based on whimsy. I actually say, probably, but I can see how others would not.

I have 1 and have no plans to get another at this time. With a poor primary attack, avg defense plus only 1 shield and 4 hull its a weak ship (with a bad dial) imo. By the time you get done with a secondary upgrade to ion or turret (plus anything else you need on it) you have a decent amount of points stuck into it. Whichever pilot you are using had better be able to provide a good enough boost for the rest of your list to make it worthwhile.

Adding a second weaker ship seems risky. Granted I haven't thought through the interactions you could get by fielding 2 of them but I just don't see them being all that powerful.

Now if you really enjoy the ship and would have fun with 2 then by all means go for it. I just wouldn't expect a 2 HWK list to be terribly strong against a lot of stuff that's out there.

why you should buy a 2nd HWK:

> fly 2 Bounty Hunters with recon spec

> 21 points for an ion platform, as opposed to 23 points using a gold Ywing

> 23 points for the cheapest offensive turret platform (rebel op HWK + recon spec + blaster turret)

> more support options for games larger than 100 points

I've been tempted to put a rebel operative into the game with just a saboteur. Sure it's attack is terrible, but it's super cheap. It'll probably be ignored until it starts causing new crits to pop up on enemy craft. Either it still gets ignored as it causes chaos on your enemy or it gets targeted and you have a cheap bit of bait for your enemy.

The Friday of worlds I flew a HSF list that swapped out the X-wings for HWKs with ion cannons. This was a lot of fun to fly. I enjoyed putting fighters on rocks.

I guy at MLGS flys two rebel operatives with Lando. It's nasty.

I'd say get the second one only if you are going to fly it.

If I was to fly 3 of them, this would be my choice.

Every ship will fire at PS12

All ships have a 360 arc

No range modifiers for range 3 defense

One ship will shoot 4 dice at any range.

The dial limitation is all but negated with turrets.

The synergies are still good if one ship goes down.

It is not a "power" list, but it is a viable list.

FYI, blaster turret is only a R1-2 weapon. So you basically don't have a R3 attack.

Er, pretty sure the Blaster Turret is R1-3

Nope blaster turret is only range 1-2.

Er, pretty sure the Blaster Turret is R1-3

Nope, it's range 1-2. I was thinking that as well.

I'm going to get a second, they are great in larger games. With Epic and Cinematic coming out I think you will get use out of it.

If you play >100 point games, absolutely.

But is it worth it to pay $$$$ for the ability to field a list based on whimsy. I actually say, probably, but I can see how others would not.

I think so, at 15$ a ship, they aren't terribly expensive, and once you have your initial investment (which for me was definitely a binge spending spree ) you don't have to buy any more unless a new wave comes out.

2x Rebel Operative + Ion Turret + Saboteur, alongside folks who run slightly heavier damage, can be stupidly fun.

Wow. This thread is starting to change my mind. I have other ships I will be purchasing first but eventually I might have to pick up 1 more HWK after all. Its statting to sound more fun.

Well shiver me timbers, I hardly ever use the Blaster, and now it really does look like a poor weapon :-(

Well shiver me timbers, I hardly ever use the Blaster, and now it really does look like a poor weapon :-(

The blaster turret really isn't a bad weapon, especially on the Y-Wing where you have a good chance of outflying opponents and keeping out of their arc without worrying about getting them into arc.. The problem is, for one more point, you can get the ion cannon which is awesome.

totally agree with you SableGryphon

Yeah I'm not big on the blaster turret. I've had it work with recon specialist, but I have so much fun with the ion cannon turret that I'd rather just use that.

Both weapons have different uses, comparing them .. to me.. isn't a valid reason to choose one over the other. The tactics for them are completely differwnt, say I want to slow someone down.. obvious Ion cannon.. but if I want a 360 degree firing area, regardless of range.. take that blaster turret..

Tactics, it's what you make your decisions on.

To me it's comparing apples to oranges...

Both weapons have different uses, comparing them .. to me.. isn't a valid reason to choose one over the other. The tactics for them are completely differwnt, say I want to slow someone down.. obvious Ion cannon.. but if I want a 360 degree firing area, regardless of range.. take that blaster turret..

Tactics, it's what you make your decisions on.

To me it's comparing apples to oranges...

I'm not sure I agree with you here. Currently, this is a rebel only weapon. That means, unless your opponent is crazy enough to bring in a shuttle, everything you face with a turret is going to have 2-3 evade dice. Both of these turrets have 3 dice for attack. Now, on average, the attacker is going to get around one damage through on a hit. So, that blaster turret isn't going to often do much more damage than the ion turret. The question then, is the tradeoff worth it?

What is the trade off? Is it worth upgrading to an ion cannon from a blaster turret given that it's one point more, has a damage cap, but gives an ion token? Most of the time I say yes. But these turrets aren't that different. There are more differences between the two proton torpedo variants.