New player starting with the Shuttle( i know i'm nuts)

By Darth evil, in X-Wing

anyway i realy like the shuttle, always have and even though i only played 3 games with the starter before i knew i needed one and having my *** handed to me by a Y-wing Torpedo list i thought a support gunboat might actually work so here is my list.

Colonel Jendon+FCS+HLC+WE+ST-321 =41

Captain Jonus+AM+CM =31

Backstabber=16

Academy pilot =12

My tactics will revolve around the shuttle TL 2 ships 1st turn and then giving one to the Bomber while the Tie's hide behind the shuttle. Once i can get an enemy ship at rng 3 i unload the Bombers Assault missle(hoping foe other ships at range 1) Then i shoot the Heavy laser cannon with 2 rerolls because of Jonus and then give the Target locks back.

After that in the next round hopefully i unload the clsuter missles and give a Target lock to Backstabber and by then have knocked out at least 2 ships.

anyway i realy like the shuttle, always have and even though i only played 3 games with the starter before i knew i needed one and having my *** handed to me by a Y-wing Torpedo list i thought a support gunboat might actually work so here is my list.

Colonel Jendon+FCS+HLC+WE+ST-321 =41

Captain Jonus+AM+CM =31

Backstabber=16

Academy pilot =12

My tactics will revolve around the shuttle TL 2 ships 1st turn and then giving one to the Bomber while the Tie's hide behind the shuttle. Once i can get an enemy ship at rng 3 i unload the Bombers Assault missle(hoping foe other ships at range 1) Then i shoot the Heavy laser cannon with 2 rerolls because of Jonus and then give the Target locks back.

After that in the next round hopefully i unload the clsuter missles and give a Target lock to Backstabber and by then have knocked out at least 2 ships.

I'm afraid your shuttle is a very fragile basket for all those eggs you're putting in it.

One of the best things I've seen about Jendon is his ability to pass target locks to ships that can't ordinarily use it. That being said, flying the king of target locks alongside a ship that gives him a target-lock-ish ability seems a bit of a waste. How many turns is he going to be ignoring his own ability in favor of the Jonus Bonus?

However, there is potential here!

Jendon Variation 1

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Colonel Jendon

+ Fire Control System

+ Weapons Engineer

+ ST-321 Title

[34]

Soontir Fel

+ Push the Limit

[30]

3x Academy Tie

[12 Each]

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Jendon Variation 2

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Colonel Jendon

+ Fire Control System

+ Weapons Engineer

+ ST-321 Title

[34]

Howlrunner

[18]

4x Academy Tie

[12 Each]

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Jendon Variation 3

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Colonel Jendon

+ Fire Control System

+ Weapons Engineer

+ ST-321 Title

+ Rebel Captive

[37]

3x Alpha Squadron Pilot

+ Stealth Device

[21 Each]

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In these Jendon Variations, you should start with Colonel Jendon flying horizontally along your back line, keeping him out of direct combat for as long as possible while your Ties (and/or Interceptors) do most of the combat for you, treating Jendon like a pseudo-Mothership. Every Tie Interceptor you use will be trading the longevity of your fleet for increased damage from your target locks, but all three lists are viable, to me. Remember that FCS on Jendon means you can keep farming the target-locks even if you've used a full-stop or other red maneuvers, but beware of ships getting through your screening lines to blow up the relatively fragile Shuttle!

There are a few other good shuttle builds, in my experience.

Omicron Group Pilot

+ Engine Upgrade

+ Advanced Sensors

[28]

This one concentrates on ignoring the general immobility of the Shuttle, but it's not that exciting. It does give you the ability to turn around fairly quickly, which is generally lacking on the shuttle.

Notably, you can add a Heavy Laser Cannon to that, fly it alongside a Bounty Hunter with Recon Specialist and a Heavy Laser Cannon, and fit in a Captain Jonus with no upgrades for a 2x HLC + Jonus fleet, which is pretty terrifying to face.

This last one is SableGryphon's Chainsaw Shuttle (a.k.a. the Magical Alabaster Space-Cow).

Omicron Group Pilot

+ Engine Upgrade

+ Fire-Control Systems

+ Gunner

[32]

The internal interaction is a bit complex there, so lemme spell it out for you.

  1. Attack.
  2. Gain a Target Lock on the Defender. If Step 1 resulted in no damage, continue to Step 3.
  3. Attack with Gunner. You may (and should) use the Target Lock acquired in Step 2 for this attack.
  4. Gain a Target Lock on the Defender, replacing the one you just got in Step 2.

With the Engine Upgrade allowing you extra turning every turn, this 32 point albino mystical interstellar bison is practically the original Han Shoots First! At 32 points, SableGryphon runs 3 (adding 3x Intelligence Agents for easier movement prediction).

Edited by DraconPyrothayan

I don't fly the shuttle without Engine Upgrade anymore. It turns the Lambda from a floating target into an incredibly quick, if not nimble, craft. Add the FCS + Gunner option, and you get a fierce 32 point craft. If you want to see how they fare, I have a writeup in the Battle Reports section about the 3 shuttle list. (This report is also the genesis of all the alternate names for the craft) I've been tinkering with the formula, but I haven't found anything that really enhances it. I'm hoping that the Rebel Transport or Tantive IV expansions introduce other 1 point crew cards. :)

One of the other lists that I don't really like is the Vader shuttle. Take the shuttle, slap Vader on there as crew, and just use him to cause crit after crit while the shuttle destroys itself.

It really is a fun little ship once you get used to flying it, but it takes a lot of practice flying. I can drop my mystical void manatees fairly reliably into small gaps, but it takes a lot of time to figure that out. It's certainly not a ship I recommend for beginners, but it's a great ship to hone your skills on.

Welcome to the dark side! Here's a cookie!

I can see you are drawn to us for our glorious, if hideous, pale orbital space bisons. They really are a hoot, especially in small herds. Now report to your shuttle cadet, Jendon is waiting. Take a few of your other academy graduates with you and inform Howlrunner that Jendon has personally requested her presence.

For the glory of the Empire. No go kill some rebel Scum!

Shuttles will come in handy the epic mode as gunships.

Omicron Group Pilot
+ Fire-Control System, Heavy Laser Cannon
... and you can't miss the rebel whales ;)

I haven't flown Shuttles much since it's first arrival. But do have to fly at least one of them more now — EBay patience finally paid off and I recently scored a Hallmark one cheap. It' a bit bigger than FFG's, but fits nicely on a flight stand, super factory paint job, and it is completely more awesome. Engine lights up and it plays the Imperial March =^,^=

Mine sings it every time I play itand it's just the FFG one... Oh wait, I'm the one who sings it

after many failed attempts(i've been busy during the holidays) and taking peoples advice i came up with a pretty good list, it has drawbacks but i think i like it.

Col. Jendon +Fire Control system+Heavy Laser Cannon+Weapons engineer+ST-321+Engine upgrade

Scimitar squadron +Concussion missile x2+Proximity mine

Backstabber or Dark curse

Academy pilot

i've come to realize that the shuttle gets stressed a lot so being able to reroll all the time and always at 4 attack dice( 4 in close with primary and 4 at 2-3 with HLC)really hurts and the missles with the free target locks from Jendon speed up the Bombers delivery and once his payload of missles is released he manuevers to drop a bomb in someones path since he usually moves 1st or 2nd.

I'm still debating if Concussion missles are the best choice, or would Cluster missles be better or even Proton Torpedoes?

Edited by Darth evil

That's a LOT of upgrades on the shuttle. That worries me a little.

That's a LOT of upgrades on the shuttle. That worries me a little.

It's a SableGryphon Doomshuttle (FCS + Gunner + Engine Upgrade) + the Col Jendon maximization (ST-321 + Weapon's Engineer). I'd focus-fire it down as quickly as possible!

I'm dying of laughter over all the nicknames for the white iron butterfly in this thread. I'm glad to see the shuttle getting some more love: it's a nice change of pace compared to lists littered with Howlrunner and Academy Pilots.

Just bought the shuttle today. Was actually not going to cuz a lot of people dont like it and then I thought it would be a nice challenge. Have to get the b-wing though to get FCS but that won't be a problem. I play imperial for the most part so not sure what I will do with the b-wing. But it will be fun flying the shuttle and expermenting with different variations and find what works best with my squad.

I'm dying of laughter over all the nicknames for the white iron butterfly in this thread. I'm glad to see the shuttle getting some more love: it's a nice change of pace compared to lists littered with Howlrunner and Academy Pilots.

That's my fault. During my write-up of my successful 3 shuttle list in the Battle Reports, I didn't want to say Shuttle 80 times, so I started finding new ways to say it. It's been spreading. Check out that thread for more such joy. :)

I flew the following last weekend in a local tournament:

Col. Jendon

Adv Sensors

ST-321

Scimitar Bomber #1

Assault Missiles

Seismic Charges

Scimitar Bomber #2

Assault Missiles

Seismic Charges

Scimitar Bomber #3

Assault Missiles

-99pts

Bomber 3 in front, with 1 and 2 on the side (wedge formation)

Col. Jendon in the back to use the sensors before bumping into the bombers.

Worked fairly well for me (3-1 and took 3rd place overall)

Things of note, even tough most of them are a given:

-The Bombers forward 1 maneuver is perfect for bumping the shuttle.

-Low PS can and does matter as a smart opponent can focus fire a single bomber, didn't happen though, due to decent maneuvering and a small dose of luck on my part.

-Opponents are absolutely scared of assault missiles, even though I only got to fire all 3 in one game.

-Never fly the shuttle in front, ever. It has to be kept back as that dial is pure junk

-Even with focus, assault missiles are too unreliable for my taste. I had two complete whiffs in 4 games.

-Dice in this game are super-swingy at times. I.e. I had one bomber with 1 Hull left survive 7 (4/ then 3) attack dice. Absolutely unreal. As above.