Marksmanship is expensive at 3 points, and I often see it misused. I've seen many an odd build with Marksmanship and only two have actually worked. The first was with Darth Vader (as he can take two actions) and the other (the one I use) is Ten Numb to go along with his unique skill.
Any other Marksmanship builds out there that fully take advantage of this upgrade?
Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
Use it for kindling?
Recently started flying Green + Marksmanship + Cluster M
A friend of mine likes it on Luke, as he already gets a partial focus for defence as his special ability.
Mareek is an obvious choice as well. Kath Scarlet and her ability combo well with it. And it isn't bad on Luke since he doesn't really need the defensive option of a normal focus token.
I could potentially see it on a Ibistsam paired with advanced sensors though I personally prefer elusiveness on her.
Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
I've run Han with Marksmanship and Luke. Great combo made better with Jan!
ten nunb...
Kath, anyone w/ EPT+Gunner, anyone w/ EPT+clusters, Maarek, Ten, Luke
Those are all that pseudo benefit from Marksmanship. Whether it's worth it on some of them, I don't really think so. I really only think the 3 points are worth it on EPT+Gunner, Kath, and Ten.
Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
Not without Push the Limit. Han Solo's action should be evade every turn. Frankly Han Solo + Gunner doesn't need more help hitting things.
Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
I've run Han with Marksmanship and Luke. Great combo made better with Jan!
At issue there is that Jan only helps with ONE attack unless you can dump her stress somehow. If you're boosting Han with Jan then Luke/Gunner becomes questionable as 4 dice (with possible Han reroll) are pretty likely to hit; may help against 6 agility dice backed by Focus/Evade tokens but against many other things....
Part of the reason Marksmanship is useful with Han and the Gunner is that it can apply to both attacks AND because it makes crits easier,
I think Khyros's list pretty much covers where the three points could be considered well spent. Just because it works with Cluster Missiles doesn't mean it is good on those ships as it would usually be a one shot thing.
The previewed Etahn Abat looks like he'd reliably double crit with marksmanship.
Marksmanship works well in two situations:
1) If the pilot can make multiple attacks in a round (i.e. with Gunner or Cluster Missiles), Marksmanship works for both attacks
2) If the pilot's ability requires Critical Hits (e.g. Maarek Steele), Marksmanship is the most efficient way to force these across the board.
However, as far as 1) is concerned, Recon Specialist does the same thing now, so HSF builds can now afford to pick up PTL as well.
Mauler Mithel, seeing as at range 1 he gets 4 attack dice. You just have to bide your time with it. Also anyone capable of carrying missiles, as Concussion Missiles + Marksmanship is immensely devastating. Also works with Advanced Proton Torpedoes, and even moreso carried by Major Rhymer (who can fire them at range 2). I can also see Cluster Missiles working well with them too, since you could potentially turn a focus into a critical hit twice.
Luke can take it plus use his pilot ability for defense.
Mareek is an obvious choice as well. Kath Scarlet and her ability combo well with it. And it isn't bad on Luke since he doesn't really need the defensive option of a normal focus token.
Agreed. To my mind Marksmanship is there to increase the number of criticals you do; hence Maarek Stele or Kath Scarlet spring to mind. Kath with Marksmanship and Gunner could be a particularly stressful experience for someone.
I like to take it with Ten Numb, I've found it very nice at taking down TIEs with the following
Ten Numb + Autoblaster + Marksmanship
I like it against Tie swarrms.
Often there will only be one hit after their 3 (or 4 ) Def-dice so any damage improvement is wellcome.
Not without Push the Limit. Han Solo's action should be evade every turn. Frankly Han Solo + Gunner doesn't need more help hitting things.Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
I disagree. The Falcons ability to stay out of firing arcs and still shoot is what keeps it alive. I've seen many good players have to make a green maneuver because they used ptl and are stressed. They get blown to bits because their opponent knew exactly where they were going. The biggest down fall of stress on a ship is it limits the effectiveness of that piece.
As for the argument that Han's ability is good enough on his own, I think this is some what accurate. First in this game dice always favor the attacker. With that said a focus is a half hit. It is also an extra picture on the dice. Now when I'm looking at a 5/8 chance of rolling a picture on a dice and that's all I have to do, great! The problem when you rely on Han with a focus is that your average attack is two hits and this is easy enough for a Fel or any other tie to evade out of. Yes gunner will kick in and you will shoot again but did you spend a token? Did your opponent? Marksmanship changes ALL attacks made by a single ship. So both your gunner attack and your first attack are modified. Combine that with the reroll from Han and you should always be doing damage. This should also get you around the lucky roll of a tie fighter. This also burns your opponents tokens for your other fighters to attack.
Also marksmanship is changing a single focus roll to a crit. At range one this gives Han the ability to not only one shoot a tie fighter but an x-wing by landing a crit. (I've done this more then once.)
Let's also look at how an opponent gets around marksmanship, specifically a tie fighter, on a hit hit hit roll I'll take one damage by using tokens. Now if it is a hit hit crit roll and my opponent has a gunner to think about with a modified roll and he chooses to eat a crit well, Blinded pilot, direct hit, counsel fire, and injured pilot, are a few reasons why Han is better with a gunner and Marksmanship.
If we look at up coming meta we are looking at ships that deny a reroll and deny token use. In the next few weeks you will see a shift in meta to Marksmanship just to deal with Acion denying ties.
Not without Push the Limit. Han Solo's action should be evade every turn. Frankly Han Solo + Gunner doesn't need more help hitting things.Han Solo + Marksmanship + gunner.
I disagree. The Falcons ability to stay out of firing arcs and still shoot is what keeps it alive. I've seen many good players have to make a green maneuver because they used ptl and are stressed. They get blown to bits because their opponent knew exactly where they were going. The biggest down fall of stress on a ship is it limits the effectiveness of that piece.
As for the argument that Han's ability is good enough on his own, I think this is some what accurate. First in this game dice always favor the attacker. With that said a focus is a half hit. It is also an extra picture on the dice. Now when I'm looking at a 5/8 chance of rolling a picture on a dice and that's all I have to do, great! The problem when you rely on Han with a focus is that your average attack is two hits and this is easy enough for a Fel or any other tie to evade out of. Yes gunner will kick in and you will shoot again but did you spend a token? Did your opponent? Marksmanship changes ALL attacks made by a single ship. So both your gunner attack and your first attack are modified. Combine that with the reroll from Han and you should always be doing damage. This should also get you around the lucky roll of a tie fighter. This also burns your opponents tokens for your other fighters to attack.
Also marksmanship is changing a single focus roll to a crit. At range one this gives Han the ability to not only one shoot a tie fighter but an x-wing by landing a crit. (I've done this more then once.)
Let's also look at how an opponent gets around marksmanship, specifically a tie fighter, on a hit hit hit roll I'll take one damage by using tokens. Now if it is a hit hit crit roll and my opponent has a gunner to think about with a modified roll and he chooses to eat a crit well, Blinded pilot, direct hit, counsel fire, and injured pilot, are a few reasons why Han is better with a gunner and Marksmanship.
If we look at up coming meta we are looking at ships that deny a reroll and deny token use. In the next few weeks you will see a shift in meta to Marksmanship just to deal with Acion denying ties.
To add to this discussion, another reason why the double attack w/ Marksmanship is nice for Han is because of his PS. He attacks first and that means whatever he's shooting at has evade and focus tokens. First attack removes these, then the second attack kicks in because he did not land a hit. Jan is added in (usually on the second roll) for good measure. I want Han KILLING something every round. I get this result thanks to Marksmanship and Jan.
Also, evade is a waste of an action for the Falcon. It is a tank. It can take the hits, plus with the build I suggested one less ship should be hitting it almost every round. Worried about a swarm? Give Han Biggs as a buddy.
Marksmanship works well in two situations:
1) If the pilot can make multiple attacks in a round (i.e. with Gunner or Cluster Missiles), Marksmanship works for both attacks
2) If the pilot's ability requires Critical Hits (e.g. Maarek Steele), Marksmanship is the most efficient way to force these across the board.
However, as far as 1) is concerned, Recon Specialist does the same thing now, so HSF builds can now afford to pick up PTL as well.
I disagree with #1 at least as it relates to gunner. Yes, you can technically make two attacks with a gunner, and this can be useful in some circumstances that are triggered by attacks. (Darth Vader and advanced targeting come to mind) But Gunner and Marksmanship don't really provide each other with sinergy, mostly because gunner only lets you hit once. Every turn that marksmanship helps you hit on the first shot is a turn that gunner does nothing. I do think that Gunner+Marksmanship will hit more and better than ether of them by themselves, but I think you get a reduced rate of return with staking these two upgrades. Remember both are pretty expensive.
Having a gunner means that I don't need to spend my action to hit consistently, so I prefer to spend my actions on other things.
One other time where marksmanship is useful is where you have extra actions, but since Marksmanship is a elite pilot upgrade you can't stack it with Push the Limit.
Marksmaship is also a pretty effective If you know you are going up against lots of TIEs, TIE Interceptors, and/or TIE bombers.
Although the Recon Specialist is taking steam out of Marksmanship using a Gunner is still one of the few ways to really try and get use out of it beyond spending a lot of points for the chance at a critical.
With a single attack available Marksmanship isn't much better than just taking Focus. You're spending 3 points for the chance to turn an [eye] onto a [crit] instead of just letting it be a [hit] while also eating up the upgrade slot. Without needing to worry about a possible follow up shot it is much easier to spend resource to avoid this single attack without fear of "screwing up". As previously explained having Gunner combined with Marksmanship makes it more likely damage will get through as people will play against one of the other.
Without Gunner backing it up people will do what it takes to negate Marksmanship whenever possible. Now a Gunner without Marksmanship may still "hit" with some regularity although that first attack may not have crits incoming thus letting a normal hit land to avoid the Gunner effect. If Focus is uses to try getting the first attack to hit and it still misses then Gunner is firing a much weaker follow up shot.
Although the Recon Specialist is taking steam out of Marksmanship using a Gunner is still one of the few ways to really try and get use out of it beyond spending a lot of points for the chance at a critical.
With a single attack available Marksmanship isn't much better than just taking Focus. You're spending 3 points for the chance to turn an [eye] onto a [crit] instead of just letting it be a [hit] while also eating up the upgrade slot. Without needing to worry about a possible follow up shot it is much easier to spend resource to avoid this single attack without fear of "screwing up". As previously explained having Gunner combined with Marksmanship makes it more likely damage will get through as people will play against one of the other.
Without Gunner backing it up people will do what it takes to negate Marksmanship whenever possible. Now a Gunner without Marksmanship may still "hit" with some regularity although that first attack may not have crits incoming thus letting a normal hit land to avoid the Gunner effect. If Focus is uses to try getting the first attack to hit and it still misses then Gunner is firing a much weaker follow up shot.
Yeah, I have to say that as an Imperial player I can see the use in this. Otherwise I tend to just let a single hit through instead of chancing a whole new salvo that could be much more devastating. If one of those was a critical hit, I wouldn't really have that luxury.