My playgroup has been playing 120pt 2v2 matches. 60pts per player. No points sharing. If u dont spend ur 60pts u cant give them to ur teammate

• It is a really fun format and i would highly recommend it.
• What is really awesome is the player interactions you get with 4 players in a single game but also the strategy and in-game discussion. Coordinating movement is more challenging as you are not controlling all ships of your faction.

Today I flew 2 shuttles!! My teammate played 4 Tie-fighters (see below). My two shuttles got some really surprised looks - i knew it would be unexpected as my playgroup are of the opinion one shuttle is bad, so two shuttles? I am pleased to say i was glad i had them in the end. Here is what was played.

Imperial forces (119pts)

• Omicron Pilot + Darth Vader (crew)
• Omicron Pilot + FCS + Gunner + Recon Specialist + Engine Upgrade
• Howrunner + Swarm Tactics
• Backstabber
• Academy Pilot
• Academy Pilot

Rebel Forces (120pts)

• Green Squadron Pilot + Swarm Tactics
• Green Squadron Pilot
• Grey Squadron Pilot
• Dagger Squadron Pilot + Advanced Sensors + HLC
• Roark Garnet + Blaster Turret + Moldy Crow Title

EARLY ROUNDS.

Imperials (we) setup with our ties in left corner and both shuttles together in the right corner. Rebels set up far left with A-Wings at the front and Y, HWK and B coming up the rear.

2v2 games are a little weird for coordinating ship movements and the ties got a little clumped early on by cutting back to the centre of the board. Both shuttles move straight up the right edge (my plan is to hug the edge and sweep around the back keeping ships from getting in behind me too quickly. Rebel ships race forward down our left flank. When they see our tie-fighters angling away the change plans and swing to the centre of the board.

FIRST ENGAGEMENT.

Boost on the shuttle is very good. It was my first time playing a shuttle and here i was controlling two! Shuttle with Vader (Vaders Shuttle=VS) angles thru the asteroids at 45 degrees aiming for the centre of their formation (im still a turn or two away from getting a shot). My shuttle with boost (Speedy Shuttle) takes a wider arc but stayed level with VS. Rebel ships start to angle back to the centre of the board and i meet his front ranks at long range.I get shots off on the B-Wing which has cut back into the asteroid field - my plan is to take him out first. Howlrunner tucks in between the shuttles giving them both rerolls. Both shuttles get in early hits on the B-Wing stripping it entirely of shields (vader takes the last shield). Next round i also get good damage on his HWK, weakening it for the tie-fighters.

MIDDLE ROUNDS.

My faster shuttle boosts clear and turns for another pass. It outruns both A-Wings (almost!) who K-Turned as I zoomed past - one A-Wing gets a long range shot at me but misses. Meanwhile the rebels are kept busy with the tie-fighters who make fast work of the damaged B-Wing and also take out an A-Wing. 2 ships down the rebels need some luck. They get it by taking out howlrunner. Backstabber and an academy pilot soon follow but not before the HWK dies. By round 5 its rebels: A-Wing and Y-Wing versus 2 shuttles (one with a single shield) and a wounded Tie-fighter. The faster shuttle turns and fires on the last remaining A-Wing - it defends the first attack but gunner with free target lock finish him. With the result clear the rebels conceded.

WINNER = Imperials

WHAT I LEARNED.

1. Omicron Pilot + FCS + Gunner + Engine Upgrade is very strong. It reminds me a lot of Han Solo with gunner - its hard to miss!
2. Engine Upgrade is rather essential on the shuttle. Flying two side by side, one with boost showed what a huge difference it makes.
3. I found an effective tactic was to approach slowly, get in two attacks and then boost across the table and out of trouble and spend two turns to circle back for another shot.
4. Vader crew was brutal - stripping shields and softening up the tougher ships to be finished off by the tie-fighters.
5. The low PS2 of the Omicrons lets it move before most ships and pick its way through asteroids more easily than i thought it could. It acts as a 'on-the-spot' blocker because of its large base and early movement in the round - i caught out an A-Wing and Y-Wing this way.
6. Recon Specialist was a win-more upgrade on the already loaded out Omicron and I switched it to Vaders Shuttle for the 2nd match.

We played a second match (the first took 45mins) and although closer the imperials still won with both shuttles on the table (one with 1 shields, one with 2 shields).

I'm glad you had fun with the shuttle. It's a really fun list. Another crew you might want to consider is Rebel Captive. If your enemy starts targeting the wintery stellar moose, it really punishes them. Further, because they are stressed, it makes your life a lot easier as you try to out fly them.

Engine Upgrade is amazing with the magic space bus. As for asteroids, it really helps, since for your action you can attempt to boost. If you hit an asteroid, you can't do that action, so you may choose to do something else for your action. Further, you know that maneuver won't work the next round, so you can adjust your path accordingly. Makes like in the asteroid field much easier.

My general tactic is to let the enemy pound on one of my bovines until the shields are gone, then zoom it out of there while the rest of my team mauls them.

Good tips SableG. playing the shuttle has really rejuvinated my interest in playing imperials (i play both factions but usually rebels). Its interesting how 2+ shuttles actually work well together.

Im currently tweeking a few 100pts squads that use 1-2 shuttles.

Squad #1(99pts)

Captain Yorr + Fire Control System/ Gunner/Engine Upgrade (35)

Howlrunner + Stealth Device/Push the Limit (24)

Backstabber (16)

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Squad #2 (99pts)

Captain Yorr + Fire Control System/ Gunner/Engine Upgrade (35)

Omicron Group Pilot + Darth Vader (Crew) (24)

Howlrunner + Stealth Device/Push the Limit (24)

Backstabber (16)

cant wait to test them

I'm really glad you've found the joy that is the shuttle. It's the ship that converted me to Imperials and it's the ship that made me particularly love this game. My war to get the craft recognized as a viable and potent vessel helped cement my interest in the game.

I really want to know how those lists go. I've got the pure assault bovine list that I love, but I'm working on hybrid lists where a single magic space bus is assisted by lesser ships.

I'm tempted by this list when Imperial Aces comes out:

Omicron Group Pilot (21)
Fire-Control System (2)
Gunner (5)
Rebel Captive (3)
Engine Upgrade (4)

Carnor Jax (26)
Push the Limit (3)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)
Seismic Charges (2)

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)
Seismic Charges (2)

Total: 100

SableG - im pretty sure iv converted my playgroup to the power of the shuttle. After two consecutive wins, the first win was the crushing one-sided variety they will be wary of any shuttle squads i fly in the future. I too have had my interest in playing imperials renewed after being primarily a rebel player. im not saying i wont ever play rebels (i will) but i am loving the shuttle so much i dont want to play a rebel squad for a long while and i dont want to play an imperial squad that DOESNT have at least one shuttle in it for a long while

It was your crazy and 'irrational' passion for the shuttle that opened my eyes to how good it is - thank you for that.

It will be interesting to see how many more people come to their senses and give the shuttle its deserved respect. "Go ahead furball, laugh it up!" imho they will get egg on their face if they dismiss the shuttle as a bad ship that is unplayable in a competitive environment.

"I really want to know how those lists go. I've got the pure assault bovine list that I love, but I'm working on hybrid lists where a single magic space bus is assisted by lesser ships".

I will be sure to post up any battle reports here.

As shuttle squads get more recognition it will need to morph and adapt to the meta just like any strong squad archetype and opponents will be more ready and better prepared to face shuttle squads and exploit its weaknesses.

I honestly think a HYBRID shuttle squad (100pts) will develop which uses a single shuttle and support fighters. My rationale here is that even with boost the shuttle is still vulnerable to more agile ships. An interesting consideration for competitive play is the Omicron is very cheap at 21pts and even with a few upgrades losing it early in a tournament game is not going to really hurt you provided it has done its job. I am starting to look at squads that use Yorr as i think his ability as a stress sink has huge untapped potential.

No doubt new crew cards will be printed in future sets and with two crew slots the shuttle is poised to exploit these new upgrades.

As a member of the opposition I have to say I was impressed with the shuttles. I've been wandering how to work them into squads as I really love the model. This build was superb, I'm a long time imperial player so it's got ideas going although I'd like to give rebels a go as they're very neglected ships in my collection...

Tempting to stay with imperials after these battles.