So i took second at a local tournament (again but that is another show)

my prize was a Lambda shuttle.

heres my problem. im reading a lot of threads praising it but i have yet to try it out. what is a good 100 point build including the Lambda for:

1. someone experienced with it

2. a Lambda noob

also what are some good manuvers/placements/tactics using the Lambda so i can move from #2 to #1

what ships/upgrades do u have available?

Well I'm sure you've read some of the Shuttle set ups, generally speaking good system upgrades are Advanced Sensors and Fire control system, Gunner works well with it, and improved engines is a must if your using it for actual fighting. If your going doom shuttle, just vader is the way to go.

What builds to place it in ? The doom shuttle is pretty cheap and can be fit near anywhere, lots of good builds if your trying to fight just one. Good tip play the list so your not leaving the shuttle as the last ship alive and if your setting it up for good fire support be sure you get shots in each time you can, you can't afford to waste rounds being out of position or sitting on an asteroid.

It's got a nice 3 attack dice. Its only 1 defense dice is countered by its only one agility.

But I think the first problem you will have with it is its bad dial.

Luckily there are two easy fixes for this.

1st - engine upgrade sure it takes your action but it really improves your ability to turn around.

2nd - Darth Vader, This may seem an odd answer, but if Darth Vader kill his own shuttle before you get into the really messy dog fighting then the bad dial doesn't come into play.

Now that we have covered its weaknesses I will go over a few ways that it is commonly flown.

Advanced Sensors+Engine Upgrade. This is as manuverable as the shuttle can get. Advanced sensors lets you do your boost before your move, then you can perform a red (hard) turn and turn a total of 135 degrees. Not bad for a ship that doesn't have a k-turn on the dial.

Vader+Gunner. This is the ultimate suicide shuttle. Hopefully you miss your first shot each round and so you can activate Vader. this way you can activate Vader twice per round. It is important to remember that vader trade 2 damage to you for 1 crit to your opponent, so don't be using him against B-wings, YT-1300s or anyship that is good at soaking up the damage.

Fire Control System+Gunner. You take your action to focus, then you fire, then you miss with your first shot (don't spend your focus to make you hit) That shot gives you a target lock that you can spend with your gunner, now you have a target lock, and a focus with three attack dice. Now you are pumping out a lot of damage.

Engine Upgrade only. Not as effective, but it can still dogfight okay, and is pretty cheap.

what ships/upgrades do u have available?

i own at least one of every ship(see signature) so i have plenty of upgrades to pick from

Hrathen is right on the money about the shuttle.

Omicron + FCS + Gunner + Engine Upgrade is the best value imo for what it does. 32pts for a ship with the firepower of Han Solo. The tradeoff? the shuttle has a terrible movement dial and is hard to move effectively (with practice u will find its not as bad as most ppl claim it it), thats where engine upgrade helps but even this turns ur shuttle into more of a forward shooting death machine best used as a hit-and-run ship. This is commonly known as the Buzzsaw Shuttle. On its own its still vulnerable to more agile fighters.

ur now gonna have to make some decisions about what ships to add to support the shuttle (kinda ironic as its a support ship itself). This is where players will differ in opinion quite a bit. Those 68pts u have left after running Mr Buzzsaw could be fighters, a firespray or another shuttle (or even a 3rd shuttle!). You see why its hard to get ppl to agree whats best?

i personally like a mix of ships. ive run Bounty Hunter + HLC + Recon Specialist with 2 Academy Pilots before and it works pretty well, although the low PS can be an issue depending on what u r fighting.

ive also seen Backstabber + Sabre Squadron Pilot + PLT paired with a tricked-out Kath Scarlet which was interesting although i think it was paired with the DoomShuttle with vader crew not the Buzzsaw SHuttle.

Kath Scarlet + Rebel Captive + Expert Handling is one loadout i quite like, although thats a lot of points in one ship and leaves u only enough for a single tie-fighter.

It really depends what ships u wanna play. Im an advocate for pairing the shuttle with a firespray and two Tie-Fighters as this gives u a nice mix of options. Probably Buzzsaw Shuttle with BH+Recon Specialist is my preference - think that leaves u 32pts left over for Dark Curse+Backstabber or Academy Pilot + Alpha Squadron Pilot or something like that... if u went with just 2 Academy Pilots u still have 8pts to play around with for upgrades allowing u to beef up the BH to a name pilot (Kath or Bobba Fett) or perhaps go with gunner over recon specialist.

Was making build before i read your post Brown Bomber...i will definitely play around with the BH build

will you please critique this one:

2X academy pilot=24

Obsidion pilot=13

vader+ squad leader=31

Omicron+EU+FCS+gunner=32

100

Was thinking that Vader could give the shuttle an action each round (focus after the shuttle boosts into position). then after missing on first attack, gains a TL and now focuses. Using vader also helps with PS.

I probably fly the shuttle the least, and mainly use it in home-made scenarios. It just doesn't feel right taking into battle.

Or with the same basic theory in mind:

Buzzsaw=32

Vader+squad+stealth=34

howlrunner+stealth=21

academy pilot=12

Was making build before i read your post Brown Bomber...i will definitely play around with the BH build

will you please critique this one:

2X academy pilot=24

Obsidion pilot=13

vader+ squad leader=31

Omicron+EU+FCS+gunner=32

100

Was thinking that Vader could give the shuttle an action each round (focus after the shuttle boosts into position). then after missing on first attack, gains a TL and now focuses. Using vader also helps with PS.

not bad. vader in the mix eh? if i was playing him id go all out and put engine upgrade on him, that would mean dropping a ship, the obsidian? and upgrading ur other academy pilots as well. just working with those ships id go something like...

99pts

Backstabber (16)

Dark Curse (16)

vader+ squad leader+ engine upgrade (35)

Omicron+EU+FCS+gunner (32)

• I'd actually play this squad myself. Vader doesnt get used much anymore which is a shame as he is really good - just a lot of points and he only has 2 attack dice which hurts his popularity a bit.
• Everything in this squad can operate on its own and has a good range of PS: 9,6,6,2. Squad Leader is an interesting choice - what were u thinking i wonder?
• imo you could drop squad leader altogether and go with Stealth Device on one of the tie-fighters (its good on both - Dark Curse is already hard to hit so putting it on Backstabber would be a little unexpected and quite a good idea as it makes them both annoying to hit now).
• If u wanted to go for the 'Fun-factor try Daredevil on vader instead of the adding Stealth Device - see how u like it, Vader imo is really the only ship that its good on. just giving u options u might not have considered

Was thinking that with squad leader vader gives a focus to the shuttle so that when he uses his action to boost he will have a focus to still use with the TL acquired from FCS. I like youre thinking with the funfactor of daredevil and agree its only good on vader.

Was thinking that with squad leader vader gives a focus to the shuttle so that when he uses his action to boost he will have a focus to still use with the TL acquired from FCS. I like youre thinking with the funfactor of daredevil and agree its only good on vader.

sure, that would work. it would just mean vader would have to stay as wingman for the shuttle instead of go all 'hunter killer' on his own flanking less agile ships.

wrote it out and i like it:

vader +EU

Backstab+Stealth

Darkcurse

Buzzsaw

100 pts

Thinking id run vader,DC,Buzz up one way and swing backstab on the opposite flank?

Wow, 13 posts into a thread on making a shuttle work and SableGryphon hasn't posted yet? Hell must be freezing over.

wrote it out and i like it:

vader +EU

Backstab+Stealth

Darkcurse

Buzzsaw

100 pts

Thinking id run vader,DC,Buzz up one way and swing backstab on the opposite flank?

yeah thats a sound plan.

Sneaky Tip#1 use vader as a handbrake to bump the shuttle into early on to mess with their timing as well - its like a free stall, no action but in the 1st one-two rnds u usually wont be needing any actions. Setting up with ur shuttle facing left/right with a ship of yours immediately in its path lets u auto-bump on its first move effectively stalling and buying ur tie-tighters time to get into flanking positions (backstabbers specialty - it will take him probably 2-3 turns to get set this up... u dont want the shuttle to arrive at the party without any date do u?). That shuttle stall move is awesome but its red so u wont b able to do it then use any speedy moves the next turn, just 1 straight then 1 boost which is pretty meh compared to what the shuttle can do at full speed with a boost.

Sneaky Tip#2 practice flying ur shuttle through asteroid fields a bit, using the boost action to run out of an asteroid field takes a bit of practice - line up a channel and use ur straights to move and ur 1 bank start to whirl around.

Sneaky Tip#3 watch ur asteroid placement at the start of the game - try and create channels for your shuttle to use - look at possible flight paths before u even place ur ships and aim to angle into the asteroid field with ur shuttle as this will discourage them flanking it early game - watch ur blind spot which is right in behind ur shuttle, if u suspect they r going to K-Turn and line up ur shuttle for a rear shot - get outta there and boost.

Sneaky Tip#4 Keeping ur shuttle hard up or close to one edge of the board will protect that flank until u r ready to angle back into those channels in the asteroid field.

im taking a different direction with my support ships.

100pts

Captain Yorr + FCS + Gunner + Rebel Captive + Engine Upgrade (38)

Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Stealth Device (33)

Turr Phennir + Veteran Instincts + Stealth Device (29)

3 ships. each with 3 attack dice. PS 9,9,4. Two hard to hit ninjas with a gunship shuttle that takes stress from them when they K-Turn, letting them use their extra actions from Fel's PTL or Turr's free barrel/boost ability even after they make a red arrow move.

rebel captive makes it annoying to go at the shuttle = easiest target.

Shuttle Swarm

Backstabber
Omicron Shuttle + Darth Vader crew
Academy TIE x5

im taking a different direction with my support ships.

100pts

Captain Yorr + FCS + Gunner + Rebel Captive + Engine Upgrade (38)

Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Stealth Device (33)

Turr Phennir + Veteran Instincts + Stealth Device (29)

3 ships. each with 3 attack dice. PS 9,9,4. Two hard to hit ninjas with a gunship shuttle that takes stress from them when they K-Turn, letting them use their extra actions from Fel's PTL or Turr's free barrel/boost ability even after they make a red arrow move.

rebel captive makes it annoying to go at the shuttle = easiest target.

If Yorr takes Fel's stress token, then Fel doesn't get a focus token from it, unfortunately.

im taking a different direction with my support ships.

100pts

Captain Yorr + FCS + Gunner + Rebel Captive + Engine Upgrade (38)

Soontir Fel + Push the Limit + Stealth Device (33)

Turr Phennir + Veteran Instincts + Stealth Device (29)

3 ships. each with 3 attack dice. PS 9,9,4. Two hard to hit ninjas with a gunship shuttle that takes stress from them when they K-Turn, letting them use their extra actions from Fel's PTL or Turr's free barrel/boost ability even after they make a red arrow move.

rebel captive makes it annoying to go at the shuttle = easiest target.

If Yorr takes Fel's stress token, then Fel doesn't get a focus token from it, unfortunately.

I think he plans on using it only when he performs K-turns, which allows Fel to then take an action+PTL+stress=free focus

Long post incoming.

I'm looking forward to my first game where i really try out the shuttle this weekend. I've tried it before but had horrible setups or didn't know how to fly. These are the 4 builds I'm trying to choose between:

#1 Dark Whale Bounty Hunter

OGP+FCS+Gunner+EU(32)

BH+HLC (40)

Dark Curse(16)

Academy Pilot(12)

#2 Overkill?

Krassis Trelix+HLC+Seismic Charges+Recon Spec (48)

OGP+AS+EU(28)

2X Academy Pilot (24)

#3 Knifing the Dark Whale

OGP+FCS+Gunner+EU (32)

BH+RS (36)

Dark Curse(16)

Backstabber(16)

#4 Classic Doom Shuttle

OGP+DV (24)

Backstabber (16)

Howl+ST(20)

Dark Curse (16)

2X Academy Pilot (24)

All builds come in at 100 points. The first 3 are the most interesting and fun to play I think but #4 is probably the easiest to use, and since I'm still learning how to fly the shuttle effectively I thought it would be the most forgiving. But I tried to make all the builds somewhat useable if i accidently park that whale on an asteroid and it gets hammered, which is kind of what happened last time. Though since then I've practiced flying it and gotten significantly better. Any thoughts?

Where's Sable when you need him?

Ia, Ia, Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh SableGryphon R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

Where's Sable when you need him?

The problem is the title of the thread is a little misleading. If it had been called "help with shuttle", "White Whale Chronicles", "Lambda Stinks", "Lambda is the best" or some similar title he would have seen it and been all over it by now as the unoficial resident Lambda expert. But "it's a good problem to have" could be about anything so he may have seen it and kept on walking.

I think the best 2 newbie lists I can think of for shuttle flying are:

1- For someone new to the game:

Capt Kagi + Gunner + FCS + Vader

alpha + Stealth x3

2- For someone who has been playing the game, especially someone good with swarms

"Vader's Escort"

Vader Shuttle

howlrunner

Swarm

or

"Vader's Bounties"

BH +recon+ seismic x2

Vader Shuttle

1st lets you get a feel for flying a big ship and lots of little ships. Should feel like you're rolling lots of dice! 2nd is solid and can be very very effective if flown well. 3rd is a pet list of mine that is great unless you come up against a 2-3 bwing squad.

I think the best 2 newbie lists I can think of for shuttle flying are:

1- For someone new to the game:

Capt Kagi + Gunner + FCS + Vader

alpha + Stealth x3

I'd consider instead:

Capt Yorr

+ Fire-Control Systems

+ Gunner

+ Mercenary Co-Pilot

+ Engine Upgrade

[37]

3x Alpha Squadron Pilot

+ Stealth Device

[21 Each]

for a total of 100 points.