what im thinking...

rebel captive vs recon specialist on Scarlet Cowgirl.

- rebel captive more than likely makes them not attack kath until later in the game so is it passively doing the job we want it to? if kath is the last ship we have later game we should be winning.

- recon specialist gives Kath better defense but if they are not attacking u u wont need the extra defense right? so in this squad recon specialist isnt doing what it does in other squads where the firespray is the early target.

This is my thought too. Rebel captive makes Kath more likely to be the last ship on your side compared to Recon. You can still focus, you just don't get two of them. Rebel Captive doesn't matter if you get an action or not, because it doesn't take one. And Kath is the best ship to have at the end. I think Rebel Captive is the better call here.

yeah agreed. the key is rebel captive does not require an action, i mean there will b times when u will want to take evade or even target lock or as u say take a focus, so if they r not going to attack u, taking a focus as ur action really means that u get to use that focus on attack (as u would with recon specialist) AND you are not taking any damage at all

We, gentlemen, are in agreement!

I was sold on Scarlet cowgirl until I realized "Red Bull" and Rebel [captive] sound so similar. What a captivating scarlet starlet we have here.

Just took the Scarlet Cowgirl squad for a spin against a double falcon squad (a fully loaded Chewie + Han). Possibly one of its worst matchups. admittedly the rebel ships were played by my 6yr old and 10yr old daughters. i gave them some extra upgrades on chewie and let them change manouvres whenever they wanted

EDIT: [rules were also slightly simplified with no ships getting actions... this took away my barrel rolling options, which is a big disadvantage as well as Rebel Captive to be honest, the rebels still benefited from gunner and luke crewmen]

they setup centrally and my hipposhuttlemus was far left corner with ties close on its inside slight further away from that corner - my shuttlebus got in 2 free bumps b4 heading into the asteroid field. Kath arrived on the front line sooner than i wanted (those falcons are sneaky fast) and took shots from both ships on rnd two.

we only played out the first 4-5 turns. this was enough to show me this squad dont like 360 firing arcs - my tie-fighters were reduced to sitting ducks as soon as they got in range. this game was more for me to practice my setup and movement early game so was still fun - didnt finish the game but chewie and kath were both losing hull points and both were 3 hull from destruction, one of my ties had taken 2 dmg and shuttle was untouched.

this did get me thinking tho - what r the worst matchups for Scarlet Cowgirl?

I'll take her for a ride tomorrow vs. Bwings. My other big 2 list got torn up pretty bad by mutlibwings but I think expert handling and captive are improvements vs this list. Named tie swarm could also pose a problem with higher PS and enough bodies to avoid stress but I think that list is just solid against most things.

Dual falcon huh? That's a toughy but not often seen. I think the plan would have to be to hold the ties back and use them to block and gum up the works while the shuttle re-engages.

I gotta tell you, i've been thinking about a bounty hunter and shuttle combo...

How would this sucker work?

The firespray has a few strengths... 1. 2 fire arcs. 2. 3 attack dice 3. ten hit points. 4. 2 agility. 5. evade.

The shuttle 1. Cheap as balls 2. infinitely upgradeable 3. zero maneuver

I'm thinking the idea is to make the firespray a tank... you get it shot and run away.... that's the goal... shoot the spray and run.

you load the shuttle as a trail and add extra ships to taste...

Current thought....

Also had this thought as a Firespray that manages hitpoints by arc dodging...

Also had this thought as a Firespray that manages hitpoints by arc dodging...

==========

Kath

==========

100 points

Pilots

------

Academy Pilot (12)

Academy Pilot (12)

Omicron Group Pilot (24)

Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Darth Vader (3)

Kath Scarlet (40)

Firespray-31 (38), Expert Handling (2)

Academy Pilot (12)

not bad. another ship is always good. imo ur success will depend on how they tackle ur doom shuttle/how much damage it does/whether you can keep it as an attacking option without boost to get u back into the battle after the first pass. its def worth testing but im leaning towards the buzzsaw shuttle loadout.

I played in the week with the following list against some seriously beweaponed B-Wings and pretty much devastated them.

========================
Suicide Vader/Fettigator
========================

100 points

Pilots
------

Omicron Group Pilot (31)
Lambda-Class Shuttle (21), Fire-Control System (2), Darth Vader (3), Gunner (5)

Boba Fett (50)
Firespray-31 (39), Seismic Charges (2), Expert Handling (2), Navigator (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Howlrunner (19)
TIE Fighter (18), Determination (1)

The idea was that Boba would try to strip the shields from ships and then Suicide Vader would hit them with crits even if his guns missed. The gunner was there to let me use Vader twice in a turn occasionally. The gunner worked very well with the Fire Control system. I'd focus as an action, roll the first attack unaided, usually miss, and then could use Vader, and follow up with another 3-dice shot with TL and Focus, for 3 reliable hits, and another swipe from Vader. That pretty much annihilated one B-Wing in one turn (Vader drew an all important "Direct Hit" crit).

Expert Handling on Fettigator meant he was almost impossible to hit/predict and he punished anything that tried to engage him, while also cancelling Target Lock a few times that prevented the B-Wings using advanced torps.

Howlrunner didn't help much with her ability (I think 2 re-rerolls all match) but she was great for drawing attention. She zoomed around the edge of the battle, dodging range 3 shots and firing the odd pot-shot into the battle. My opponent's instincts were to engage the shuttle first (seriously, having Vader on it made it draw fire like a fat slow Biggs!) and then once the shuttle was gone he went all out for Howrunner. This was a mistake because Fett was the threat.

Can't really tell by your posting if this is what you did but here it is anyway: Vader crits don't bypass shields. I ran Vader shuttle + 2x BH a ton a few weeks ago. I found Bwings were the worst because if you couldn't get all 3 ships shooting at a single bwing you might not even kill it in a round with only 9 dice and 1 auto. And if you didn't finish one off by the time they are firing you're facing down 12 dice or more as rebels are running 4-5 ships a lot now. If 2-3 of those are Bwings it's a long day with all those HP and their ability to stay at close range.

I knew that - Boba, Howlie and the shuttle had all had a pop at that particular B-Wing before Vader dealt a Direct Hit crit to finish it off. That meant 5 damage from the shuttle in that one round though. Pretty good stuff.

id like to find room for ion cannon on kath - i think it could be a good counter for B-Wings, u get 3 attack dice at long range, still trigger kaths stress giving abilities if they cancel a crit and u ionize the rebels most elusive ship.

thoughts?

trying this setup...

Scarlet Cowgirl with a Gun

• Kath Scarlet + Expert Handling + Ion Cannon + Rebel Captive (46)
• Omicron Group Pilot + Gunner + Engine Upgrade (30)
• Academy Pilot (12)
• Academy Pilot (12)

To make room for ion cannon ive dropped Fire Control System from the shuttebus. This will mean i have to target lock the enemy ship and wait to use the target lock if the 1st attack misses.

The low PS of 2 will mean that high PS pilots will be much harder to get a lock on but this MAY be a trade-off worth doing if Ion Cannon is as good as i think it is.

Ships ionized will not be able to out manouvre even the hipposhuttlemus and be vulnerable to close range shots from my academy pilot who will b waiting to pounce on any ionized targets like B-Wings

Another option would be to drop Expert Handling to make room for Ion Cannon but ill see how the above setup plays out first.

thoughts?

trying this setup...

Scarlet Cowgirl with a Gun

• Kath Scarlet + Expert Handling + Ion Cannon + Rebel Captive (46)
• Omicron Group Pilot + Gunner + Engine Upgrade (30)
• Academy Pilot (12)
• Academy Pilot (12)

To make room for ion cannon ive dropped Fire Control System from the shuttebus. This will mean i have to target lock the enemy ship and wait to use the target lock if the 1st attack misses.

The low PS of 2 will mean that high PS pilots will be much harder to get a lock on but this MAY be a trade-off worth doing if Ion Cannon is as good as i think it is.

Ships ionized will not be able to out manouvre even the hipposhuttlemus and be vulnerable to close range shots from my academy pilot who will b waiting to pounce on any ionized targets like B-Wings

Another option would be to drop Expert Handling to make room for Ion Cannon but ill see how the above setup plays out first.

thoughts?

I think losing the FCS is a mistake as it significantly reduces your firepower. Honestly, I think any compromise here to add the Ion Cannon is going to hurt this list. I think you'll be much happier if you drop the Academy Pilots and add something else to the list. I have a couple ideas that just... might... work...

So, you have your core of:

Kath Scarlet (38)

Expert Handling (2)

Ion Cannon (3)

Rebel Captive (3)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

Fire-Control System (2)

Gunner (5)

Engine Upgrade (4)

From here, you can add a number of different single craft. First, here's a hardy craft with teeth, able to both handle damage and draw early fire away from Kath and the shuttle. Also, consider the results of the payload plus Ion.

Scimitar Squadron Pilot (16)

Proton Bomb (5)

See also: Assault Missiles OR Cluster Missiles + Seismic

Next up, here's something a bit more fragile but extremely infuriating to fight. Expect this to shift their fire away from your escort and most likely onto your shuttle. Plus, it gives you 3 points to play with, allowing you to upgrade to Yorr or any number of other fun toys.

"Dark Curse" (16)

Stealth Device (3)

See also: Howlrunner. Her ability may not add much to this list, but the ingrained fear of her may draw heavy fire her way.

Finally, here's an escort with teeth and PS. Not quite enough points for the magical fun EPT, but still a mild threat and one that will likely be ignored because of it.

Saber Squadron Pilot (21)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Of course, there's one more option. It's one of the most survivable small craft in the game and one likely to be ignored because of low opinion of it. Still, it's a mean little fighter and can shrug off moderate firepower meaning it won't vanish in a cloud of wasted points after one bad roll.

Tempest Squadron Pilot (21)

Sable - good points, all worth considering. what r ur thoughts on using a doomshuttle in this list over buzzsaw?

also as a related discussion - what is ur plan vs B-Wing Heavy squads? many rebel lists appear to be running 2x Dagger Squadron or 3+ Blues Squadron Pilots.

doomshuttle frees a lot of points up. feel like you need to run 3 ties, a shuttle and a firespray.

I ran this twice yesterday.

OGP (31) Advanced Sensors (3), Ion Cannon (3), Engine Upgrade (4)
Academy Pilot (12) x3
Bounty Hunter (33)

I'll do a quick write up during lunch but it worked out pretty well.

I can respect that setup. You lose a lot of damage output from the snowy space sheep, but a 3rd TIE is great fun.

I wouldn't say you NEED a 3rd TIE. I've been ... successful in my League, going 11-3 with the 2 TIEs, Lambda, and Firespray lists.

Ion cannon can be a nice support option but I wouldn't trim too much to make it work. Kath is your big hitter here and decreasing her output, even if it makes it tougher for your opponent to trap her/shuttle, is likely just prolonging the game.

Kath shooting at Range 1 followed by a shuttle should injure or kill most things. Ties can do clean up. Reducing damage potential by 2-3 dice is going to mean a lot of things stay around another round or 2. In a timed match this is bad, in a death match it just feels inefficient.

If dropping to doom shuttle I would probably upgrade at least one tie and add a seismic to Kath. If you upgrade to backstabber you gain back lost damage potential and have another target for your opponent to worry about. A few more points to play with and BS or NightBeast both shoot before the shuttle for more crit fun.

Yorr A Stabby Cowgirl

Kath + expert+ captive+ seismic

Yorr + Vader

Backstabber

Academy

I would almost go NightBeast + stealth instead of stabber for PTL interceptor light fun with Yorr ensuring stress free living as needed.

The winner of a 24 player local tournament here in Phoenix flew:

Krassis + HLC

Omicron + HLC + Vader + APLs

Jonus + Swarm Tactics (generally flown in between or slightly lagging the two bigger ships)

You better not fly directly at this thing

Sable - good points, all worth considering. what r ur thoughts on using a doomshuttle in this list over buzzsaw?

also as a related discussion - what is ur plan vs B-Wing Heavy squads? many rebel lists appear to be running 2x Dagger Squadron or 3+ Blues Squadron Pilots.

Sorry, I missed this one.

Ok, so I'm not a fan of Vader crew at all. But destroying my own shuttles is anathema to me. I know it's a good choice to do reliable damage for super cheap but... well... You're only going to get it off 3 or so times. Yeah, it's 8 points cheaper, but... you're going to end up doing less damage in the long run. I can respect others running him, but for me, it's not an option I consider. Because I finally figured out how to keep the shuttles alive, why would I then want to kill them?

As for B-Wing lists, these were ships my 3 ghostly stellar elk list couldn't handle. However, I haven't had that problem with the lists I've been running because of the TIE fighters. The TIEs can reliably do damage to the B-Wing because of it's evade die and I can outfly one or two with Kath. I took out an Ibti, Ten Numb, Wedge list rather soundly because of this. A stressed B-Wing is a seriously in trouble B-Wing when I have barrel roll on Kath.

I was pretty sure more ships and then upgrading to Kath was a strong bwing counter.

Flew Scarlet Cowgirl vs. 2a2bx today. Ended with an academy and a prototype both at 1 hull left. Proto scored a hit first. Kath with expert handling requires a different fly style than I was used to with double focus and she only did 6 total damage for me the whole game so not a great showing and was still down to the last shot. Exper handling helps with the movement issues in fighting Bwings and an extra gun, even if it's a lowly academy pilot can still put 2-3 damage on a bwing. Good list and will have to fly it more against other popular bwing squads (bloody daggers, Blue Garnet, tripleB). Also needs a swarm test.

She's 1-1!

Beat up a named tie swarm but just barely. Backstabber lay'd down all kinds of hurt but I was able to peck them away one a turn. Shuttle went down like a ton of bricks after only getting 3 shots off so it was a uphill climb but Kath did her thing. Whilei like rebel captive + expert handling vs. Bwings I really miss double focus vs. swarms. Itgotkinda hairy at the end.

I've been meaning to post reports on what I've been calling my Lambdaspray squads. I've flown 2 varieties a total of 3 times so far. I've built 6 variations of the 3 tie, 1 lambda, 1 firespray list. All are strong in theory... but i've lost all three times I've flown it.

First two games I flew

BH

Dogfighter Shuttle w/ ion, sensors, engine

3x Academy

This list actually flew well and the games were close. I missed a round or two with the firespray in bad arcs. It's been a while since I flew the spray (since the second vassal tournament). I couldn't concentrate fire... this is a common theme so far in this build... I think i need to set my squad up closer.

Second list I flew

Backstabber

BH+ recon

Doomshuttle

2x Academy

I liked this squad but i faced a 4 ion squad and it did not go well with the rocks i ran into.

0-3 so far... I thought i was good at this game ;p

I've been meaning to post reports on what I've been calling my Lambdaspray squads. I've flown 2 varieties a total of 3 times so far. I've built 6 variations of the 3 tie, 1 lambda, 1 firespray list. All are strong in theory... but i've lost all three times I've flown it.

First two games I flew

BH

Dogfighter Shuttle w/ ion, sensors, engine

3x Academy

This list actually flew well and the games were close. I missed a round or two with the firespray in bad arcs. It's been a while since I flew the spray (since the second vassal tournament). I couldn't concentrate fire... this is a common theme so far in this build... I think i need to set my squad up closer.

Second list I flew

Backstabber

BH+ recon

Doomshuttle

2x Academy

I liked this squad but i faced a 4 ion squad and it did not go well with the rocks i ran into.

0-3 so far... I thought i was good at this game ;p

nice to hear some results with FireBus variants.

im still liking Kath Scarlet in the mix, 2 academy and Buzzsaw Shuttle... im testing it out today. i was thinking about rebel captive versus recon specialist - they both do very different things, im not sure which one i like on kath - think ill try both today and post feedback.