*Incoming shameless self promotion*.....

If you want to see a partial Thach Weave in action with 2 buzzsaw Lamda's, I have a battle report below:

It actually worked pretty well. I probably could have started the shuttles a little further toward the board edges, but the starting points I chose worked ok.

nice. i think both squads are quite strong. imo the rebel player showed his 'rookieness' in setup and should have kept his b-wings tighter but he adapted fast and did very well. this game showed me how shuttles can and should be blocked to keep them from boosting - those large bases on a 2 PS ship CAN be vulnerable to 1PS ships - but not too many people are playing them (I can only think of Prototype Pilots and Alpha Academies off my head). thanx for posting.

*Incoming shameless self promotion*.....

If you want to see a partial Thach Weave in action with 2 buzzsaw Lamda's, I have a battle report below:

It actually worked pretty well. I probably could have started the shuttles a little further toward the board edges, but the starting points I chose worked ok.

nice. i think both squads are quite strong. imo the rebel player showed his 'rookieness' in setup and should have kept his b-wings tighter but he adapted fast and did very well. this game showed me how shuttles can and should be blocked to keep them from boosting - those large bases on a 2 PS ship CAN be vulnerable to 1PS ships - but not too many people are playing them (I can only think of Prototype Pilots and Alpha Academies off my head) . thanx for posting.

Outer Rim Smuggler, lol

Thanks for the report, Texx. I really should document my battles better. I'm happy to see you succeed against 3 B-Wings. My 2 and 3 shuttle lists always struggled against them. It's the one reason I developed the Firespray/Lambda/2 TIE list

Sable, how do you feel about the various cannon types and about Sensor Jammer on the shuttle? I feel Sensor Jammer is good for deterring a lot of damage it might otherwise face, so I was hoping for your opinion on it. Additionally, how do you feel about Autoblaster and Ion Cannon? Heavy Laser Cannon is of course quite popular, but I'm curious about your take on the other two.

None of the cannons appeal to me on the Lambda. The Ion Cannon keeps the same damage. Sure, the Ion Token can be sweet, but it's of less use at the beginning of combat than at the end. But Gunner uses Primary weapon, so you lose that buzzsaw. Probably good against B-Wings, but that's why I have support ships.

The Autoblaster I think is a mistake on a shuttle. You lose an attack die and you're only going to get a few range 1 shots with this beast.

The HLC adds a damage, but for the same price I can have FCS AND Gunner, which I think increases overall damage more.

I'm definitely eager to see new cannon types in the future and the HLC does feature in one of my builds (OGP + HLC + Merc Co-pilot x2 + Engine Upgrade) where it can be brutal against unshielded targets, but right now I tend to avoid them.

I tend to agree about the cannons. HLC and Ion I think show only some use with the shuttle.. I've had good use with the HLC on firesprays, and some good use on shuttles, but their man gun is where they shine. While I see why autoblaster has its place, I think that's on a B wing at the current time if anywhere, where it can benefit from the tight K turns.

HLC while decent is awfully pricey, potent but I think fits better with the firespray if any where. It's cheaper on the shuttle because of the shuttles base cost however the firespray can keep it faced at the enemy much easier. Every round the HLC isn't being shot, is a round those points spent on it are a poor investment.

Ion works well as it is longer range over say the turret version, so one slowing the enemy down while others keep more guns on target can be pretty nice, so you ion on the way in, then have them open up at range one with their main guns and finish off the target.

The issue comes down to point cost is it worth it ? Most times no, as its main gun is so strong, it feels like your wasting that when you go to add on the cannon upgrades. Now what new cannons may come out, that is exciting to think of and may at that time change this, especially if they add a good side bonus that lends itself to a shuttles support role.

I could see something like a dual cannon or something that would work like the cluster missiles.

Spend your TL to do 2 3 dice attacks. You cannot modify the dice.

That would be interesting, I'm not sure at what point value it would be worth it, maybe 2 points? You'd know that your chances of rolling hits was 1.5, but you'd get to do it twice, so your total hits rolled would be 1.5 x 2. Obviously this isn't that good against a TIE, but it could be a good anti-B wing cannon. A regular attack would do .91 damage against a focused B wing at R3. This cannon would do .95 damage on the first attack, stripping the token, and then 1.17 damage on the second, totaling 2.58, a whopping 183% increase in damage, but that's the best case scenario. If there was no focus token, and we were attacking a B wing at R2, the regular attack would do 1.88 damage, only a 37% increase.

Against a non-focused TIE, a normal attack would do 1.22 damage. This attack would do .67 + .67 = 1.34, a 9.8% damage increase. So, maybe two points is too low, but I would think somewhere in the 2-4 range, it would be very specific use. And there are already counter measures to it, mainly the sensor jammer, which would make it pathetic against a B wing. I haven't worked the math for sensor jammer out, but if we just consider it a 2 die attack, it would mean the average damage against an unfocused B wing would be .72 + .72 = 1.44, vs. 1.88 if you did a regular focused attack. As such, it would be unwise to use this cannon against a sensor jammer unit. Which really means that the only thing that couldn't easily defend against it would be Y wings. But if you're taking your buzzsaw or your dagger w/ AdvS + Dual Cannon against my 23 point Y wing, I'll happily accept that trade off, as my Y wing ionizes you and then flies right by. Herm... I like this cannon idea. Now, does this cannon fit into the canon at all?

I don't see the use of an HLC on a ship that already throws 3 dice and usually only gets off 5 or so shots a game. In fact, all the cannons fee inferior on the hipposhuttlebus I like he buzz saw and have purposely shot at a bwing at range 3 or through an asteroid so that the gunner action is more likely to happen.

And sensor jammer has never felt right on it either. Same points as sheild upgrade and takes up your sensors/fcs slot for not a lot of bonus.

(raises hand) professor! professor! i have a question!

So i ran my first attempt at the galactic bovine lastnight in a scarlet cowgirl build. my opponent had has his main ship Ibby with PTL EU HCL AS, Wedge ST, gold with IT R5 . i was able to easily swoop in and out using my boosters and doing substantial hit and run tactics. Alpha strike: wedge nailed Kath with four hits stripping her of her shields. Kath hit wedge twice and an AP hit him once. After a few rounds it was down to the Pearlescent bohemouth, 2 APs with 2 hull each VS Wedge with 1 hull and Ibby with no shields. Ultimately my APS couldnt hit Ibby nor block her due to her hyper mobility. after they perished (doing only one hull damage to Ibby) I realized a problem: Eventhough I was able to out distance Ibby, she was always able to out manuver me and it was increasingly difficult to gain a firing position on her. I tried running the table and coming around. I tried zipping through asteroids, but Ibby the knife fighter was always there on my flank with a shot. How should i best remedy a situation like that?

(raises hand) professor! professor! i have a question!

So i ran my first attempt at the galactic bovine lastnight in a scarlet cowgirl build. my opponent had has his main ship Ibby with PTL EU HCL AS, Wedge ST, gold with IT R5 . i was able to easily swoop in and out using my boosters and doing substantial hit and run tactics. Alpha strike: wedge nailed Kath with four hits stripping her of her shields. Kath hit wedge twice and an AP hit him once. After a few rounds it was down to the Pearlescent bohemouth, 2 APs with 2 hull each VS Wedge with 1 hull and Ibby with no shields. Ultimately my APS couldnt hit Ibby nor block her due to her hyper mobility. after they perished (doing only one hull damage to Ibby) I realized a problem: Eventhough I was able to out distance Ibby, she was always able to out manuver me and it was increasingly difficult to gain a firing position on her. I tried running the table and coming around. I tried zipping through asteroids, but Ibby the knife fighter was always there on my flank with a shot. How should i best remedy a situation like that?

The Hypermobile B-Wing is the Bill Cody of buffalo hunters. If you make it seem that you're going to charge away, and instead do a Stop, you might be able to get behind every now and then, but it's hard to go up against the most maneuverable ship in the game.

In the future, concentrate on taking that B-Wing out first, and you'll do better in the end-game.

I've tried a pair of Cluster Missile armed TIE Advanced (I know!!!!) accompanying my Buzz-saw Albino Cosmic Yak.

Mainly because of the perceived weakness of both ships!

It actually worked quite well!

(raises hand) professor! professor! i have a question!

So i ran my first attempt at the galactic bovine lastnight in a scarlet cowgirl build. my opponent had has his main ship Ibby with PTL EU HCL AS, Wedge ST, gold with IT R5 . i was able to easily swoop in and out using my boosters and doing substantial hit and run tactics. Alpha strike: wedge nailed Kath with four hits stripping her of her shields. Kath hit wedge twice and an AP hit him once. After a few rounds it was down to the Pearlescent bohemouth, 2 APs with 2 hull each VS Wedge with 1 hull and Ibby with no shields. Ultimately my APS couldnt hit Ibby nor block her due to her hyper mobility. after they perished (doing only one hull damage to Ibby) I realized a problem: Eventhough I was able to out distance Ibby, she was always able to out manuver me and it was increasingly difficult to gain a firing position on her. I tried running the table and coming around. I tried zipping through asteroids, but Ibby the knife fighter was always there on my flank with a shot. How should i best remedy a situation like that?

The Hypermobile B-Wing is the Bill Cody of buffalo hunters. If you make it seem that you're going to charge away, and instead do a Stop, you might be able to get behind every now and then, but it's hard to go up against the most maneuverable ship in the game.

In the future, concentrate on taking that B-Wing out first, and you'll do better in the end-game.

I agree, I would have concentrated all fire on Ibti, simply because she is able to entirely outfly everyone but Kath. As such, she needs to go down first. Wedge is annoying, but he's a secondary target. If you can predict him, try to just constantly block him with an AP. Also, overlapping fields of fire work once you lose Kath, but once you the TIEs it's over. The Y-Wing should have been the lowest priority target, since ion is annoying, but the shuttle can still boost while ioned, Kath can still Barrel Roll and so can the TIEs.

(raises hand) professor! professor! i have a question!

So i ran my first attempt at the galactic bovine lastnight in a scarlet cowgirl build. my opponent had has his main ship Ibby with PTL EU HCL AS, Wedge ST, gold with IT R5 . i was able to easily swoop in and out using my boosters and doing substantial hit and run tactics. Alpha strike: wedge nailed Kath with four hits stripping her of her shields. Kath hit wedge twice and an AP hit him once. After a few rounds it was down to the Pearlescent bohemouth, 2 APs with 2 hull each VS Wedge with 1 hull and Ibby with no shields. Ultimately my APS couldnt hit Ibby nor block her due to her hyper mobility. after they perished (doing only one hull damage to Ibby) I realized a problem: Eventhough I was able to out distance Ibby, she was always able to out manuver me and it was increasingly difficult to gain a firing position on her. I tried running the table and coming around. I tried zipping through asteroids, but Ibby the knife fighter was always there on my flank with a shot. How should i best remedy a situation like that?

The Hypermobile B-Wing is the Bill Cody of buffalo hunters. If you make it seem that you're going to charge away, and instead do a Stop, you might be able to get behind every now and then, but it's hard to go up against the most maneuverable ship in the game.

In the future, concentrate on taking that B-Wing out first, and you'll do better in the end-game.

I agree, I would have concentrated all fire on Ibti, simply because she is able to entirely outfly everyone but Kath. As such, she needs to go down first. Wedge is annoying, but he's a secondary target. If you can predict him, try to just constantly block him with an AP. Also, overlapping fields of fire work once you lose Kath, but once you the TIEs it's over. The Y-Wing should have been the lowest priority target, since ion is annoying, but the shuttle can still boost while ioned, Kath can still Barrel Roll and so can the TIEs.

That's why I prefer stress ion builds. Put R3-A2 in a Y-wing and watch it walk ships off the table.

(raises hand) professor! professor! i have a question!

So i ran my first attempt at the galactic bovine lastnight in a scarlet cowgirl build. my opponent had has his main ship Ibby with PTL EU HCL AS, Wedge ST, gold with IT R5 . i was able to easily swoop in and out using my boosters and doing substantial hit and run tactics. Alpha strike: wedge nailed Kath with four hits stripping her of her shields. Kath hit wedge twice and an AP hit him once. After a few rounds it was down to the Pearlescent bohemouth, 2 APs with 2 hull each VS Wedge with 1 hull and Ibby with no shields. Ultimately my APS couldnt hit Ibby nor block her due to her hyper mobility. after they perished (doing only one hull damage to Ibby) I realized a problem: Eventhough I was able to out distance Ibby, she was always able to out manuver me and it was increasingly difficult to gain a firing position on her. I tried running the table and coming around. I tried zipping through asteroids, but Ibby the knife fighter was always there on my flank with a shot. How should i best remedy a situation like that?

The Hypermobile B-Wing is the Bill Cody of buffalo hunters. If you make it seem that you're going to charge away, and instead do a Stop, you might be able to get behind every now and then, but it's hard to go up against the most maneuverable ship in the game.

In the future, concentrate on taking that B-Wing out first, and you'll do better in the end-game.

I agree, I would have concentrated all fire on Ibti, simply because she is able to entirely outfly everyone but Kath. As such, she needs to go down first. Wedge is annoying, but he's a secondary target. If you can predict him, try to just constantly block him with an AP. Also, overlapping fields of fire work once you lose Kath, but once you the TIEs it's over. The Y-Wing should have been the lowest priority target, since ion is annoying, but the shuttle can still boost while ioned, Kath can still Barrel Roll and so can the TIEs.

That's why I prefer stress ion builds. Put R3-A2 in a Y-wing and watch it walk ships off the table.

Agreed. Though I should point out that R3-A2 wasn't out in February.

Is there any chance on some follow up lessons SableGryphon

*sneaks into the room wearing a shoddily put on Shuttle Pilot uniform*
Captain, I request knowledge on something. Just how much of a target would such a shuttle be for Rebel fighters, and which fighters are best sui-, er, more likely to attack it, and which ones are a higher threat? I would think a B-Wing, but the X-Wing also seems like a threat. Should the Y-Wing and A-Wing be underestimated, sir?

*sneaks into the room wearing a shoddily put on Shuttle Pilot uniform*

Captain, I request knowledge on something. Just how much of a target would such a shuttle be for Rebel fighters, and which fighters are best sui-, er, more likely to attack it, and which ones are a higher threat? I would think a B-Wing, but the X-Wing also seems like a threat. Should the Y-Wing and A-Wing be underestimated, sir?

Most rebels and scum think of this craft as a target, not as an active participant in the engagement. The average insurgent will be told to avoid the front of the vessel, but the focus is generally to strip the fighter escort and then destroy the Alabaster Space Camel. As such, it is often ignored. With these modifications, not only is this craft a direct, existential threat to their craft, but it is cloaked in the garb of a helpless cargo craft. A favorite tactic of theirs, taking a long range cargo vessel and modifying it to be a battlefield threat, now used by us.

Canny foes, and make no mistake there are some among their number, may decide to concentrate fire on it to remove it as a threat. However, this leaves them vulnerable to the escort. As the cockpit is designed to act as an escape pod and shuttles in this configuration rarely carry important cargo, often carrying troops or prisoners which can be lost without difficulty, even the loss of such a craft rarely has dire consequences. In short, this craft is expendable as the crew and critical passengers are protected.

The A-Wing is little threat as long as the fighter escort remains. It cannot withstand the firepower of this Albino Void Manatee. The Y-Wing tends to be sturdier and can carry heavy ordnance, but is rarely fast enough to escape heavy damage and cannot keep up, meaning that you can quickly disengage and pull around to make another pass. The X-Wing is the primary prey of this configuration. They are considered a low direct threat. The B-Wing is custom built to attack larger vessels and is considered the highest threat. It is slow, but maneuverable, hardy with heavy firepower.

Any other questions? Also, would you mind not transmitting everything I'm saying through that comically large radio?

Is there any chance on some follow up lessons SableGryphon

Have you also read his flight school 102?

http://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=viewNewContent&search_app=forums

*sneaks into the room wearing a shoddily put on Shuttle Pilot uniform*

Captain, I request knowledge on something. Just how much of a target would such a shuttle be for Rebel fighters, and which fighters are best sui-, er, more likely to attack it, and which ones are a higher threat? I would think a B-Wing, but the X-Wing also seems like a threat. Should the Y-Wing and A-Wing be underestimated, sir?

Most rebels and scum think of this craft as a target, not as an active participant in the engagement. The average insurgent will be told to avoid the front of the vessel, but the focus is generally to strip the fighter escort and then destroy the Alabaster Space Camel. As such, it is often ignored. With these modifications, not only is this craft a direct, existential threat to their craft, but it is cloaked in the garb of a helpless cargo craft. A favorite tactic of theirs, taking a long range cargo vessel and modifying it to be a battlefield threat, now used by us.

Canny foes, and make no mistake there are some among their number, may decide to concentrate fire on it to remove it as a threat. However, this leaves them vulnerable to the escort. As the cockpit is designed to act as an escape pod and shuttles in this configuration rarely carry important cargo, often carrying troops or prisoners which can be lost without difficulty, even the loss of such a craft rarely has dire consequences. In short, this craft is expendable as the crew and critical passengers are protected.

The A-Wing is little threat as long as the fighter escort remains. It cannot withstand the firepower of this Albino Void Manatee. The Y-Wing tends to be sturdier and can carry heavy ordnance, but is rarely fast enough to escape heavy damage and cannot keep up, meaning that you can quickly disengage and pull around to make another pass. The X-Wing is the primary prey of this configuration. They are considered a low direct threat. The B-Wing is custom built to attack larger vessels and is considered the highest threat. It is slow, but maneuverable, hardy with heavy firepower.

Any other questions? Also, would you mind not transmitting everything I'm saying through that comically large radio?

I assure you it's merely my Datapad. The antennae is because the connection here is absolutely dreadful. Absolutely telling the truth.

So my thoughts are confirmed, the B-Wing is indeed the highest threat this thing can take. For fun, what about more famous vessels, such as The Milennium Falcon, or any YT-1300 series transport? Most of them just have one blaster turret and aren't as hardy as the scum driven Falcon, but are still fairly large vessels. There is also the concern of YT-2400s, which have all been noted to be fairly deadly and frankly, are extremely mobile for their size.

There is also the Freitek E-Wing. And sometimes, pirates or other dissidents may attack with craft like Z-95s and HWK-290s. The latter of which I know is hardly any type of threat to the Lambda Shuttle, I assume.

I'm going to guess that engagements with E-Wings have been particularly nasty? What of Imperial traitors? I heard whispers of a certain TIE Defender project leader defecting.

Great tutorial. I regret not having Lambda in my collection. Perhaps after the next tourney if it goes well.

Looking forward to new incarnations. Firespray?

Sable, forgive me if I haven't seen it. Have you covered tactical stalls without stress?

Purposefully stopping to get an idea of the enemy's line is key to flying the Lambda, especially an engine-less one.

Also if you're going to Worlds I think you, Dom, and myself need to take a picture with about 30 Shuttles around us.

LAMBDA CITY!

Sable, forgive me if I haven't seen it. Have you covered tactical stalls without stress?

Purposefully stopping to get an idea of the enemy's line is key to flying the Lambda, especially an engine-less one.

Yes, I've considered them.

Stalling on the first turn is a great tactic when used sparingly. It changes the entire first engagement, as it occurs much further towards your side of the board. However, if you regularly do it, it allows your opponent to pick their approach and attack when it is most advantageous to them.

If you are talking fortress, where you continually bump and just stay were you are, it's boring. The fun of this game is largely about maneuvering. Removing that aspect of the game turns it into a dice rolling game, and eliminates most of the fun of the game. Plus, it's not very effective. Your enemy can slowly move, throwing dice at your weak link (all fortress setups have one) and once that goes down, you lose.

All in all, stalling a couple turns can be interesting and can lure your opponent but has its own weaknesses. Fortress is a terrible idea I never encourage.

Sable, forgive me if I haven't seen it. Have you covered tactical stalls without stress?

Purposefully stopping to get an idea of the enemy's line is key to flying the Lambda, especially an engine-less one.

Yes, I've considered them.

Stalling on the first turn is a great tactic when used sparingly. It changes the entire first engagement, as it occurs much further towards your side of the board. However, if you regularly do it, it allows your opponent to pick their approach and attack when it is most advantageous to them.

If you are talking fortress, where you continually bump and just stay were you are, it's boring. The fun of this game is largely about maneuvering. Removing that aspect of the game turns it into a dice rolling game, and eliminates most of the fun of the game. Plus, it's not very effective. Your enemy can slowly move, throwing dice at your weak link (all fortress setups have one) and once that goes down, you lose.

All in all, stalling a couple turns can be interesting and can lure your opponent but has its own weaknesses. Fortress is a terrible idea I never encourage.

I meant the first. I'll often stall round 1 depending on asteroid placement. I do my best to get as many on the enemie's side of the board so I can figure out their flight lines and not have to deal with asteroids on my side of the map.

fortresses are super boring.

First, though, I need to speak on firepower. The Lambda's main weapon is on par with the strongest primary weapons in the game. 3 dice attack is quite potent, the same as the much lauded X-Wing, Named Falcon, and the Firespray. It's a potent main weapon. The shuttle enhances this by being the only craft that can currently possess both a crew slot and a systems slot. My recommendation here is always Fire Control System and Gunner. But why?

Fire Control System gives a ship a wonderful ability. After any attack, you may gain a target lock on your target. Sadly, this is after an attack. Still, free target locks are great and makes the use of your action to boost less painful. Still, this upgrade doesn't help you unless you can target the same victim twice, right?

Gunner is another great upgrade. If you miss an attack (All rolled Hits and Crits are avoided by Evade dice or tokens), you may immediately make a PRIMARY weapon attack. It doesn't have to be on the same target.

Together, these two upgrades create an incredibly powerful combination. This is because, when you have multiple effects that activate following an attack, you get to choose which order they are resolved. This results in the following order of operations.

1) Declare Target

2) Initiate Attack 1

3) Resolve Attack 1

4) Gain Target Lock from FCS

5) If Attack 1 missed, Initiate Attack 2

6) Use Target Lock gained in Attack 1

7) Resolve Attack 2

8) Gain Target Lock again

Against high evade targets, you become far more likely to hit and it insulates you from a single bad roll or excellent defense roll. But the shuttle has a notoriously bad dial. Now we have to orient these heavy guns. Well first you need to understand your craft, it's propulsion capabilities, and most importantly you must stop trying to fly this like a fighter craft.

FCS + Gunner is a great Combo, but far more effective on the Tie Phantom:

Whisper + FCS + Gunner + ACD + VI (or possibly Decoy if you happen to have a PS11 Darth Vader) is absolutely devastating against anything with a lower PS and well worth spending nearly half your squad points.

great article