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Alright team, I've got my first tournament that I'm going to be able to attend here in about a month. I'm going to be bringing Scum And Villainy. I need to build a list, learn to fly it and get pumped. I've got one of every scum ship (except the Aggressor) and 3 Zs, so that means I've got

Firespray
HWK
Y-Wing
StarViper
Scyk
And the three Zs

I could probably pick up two Aggressors for a double A list or another pack for upgrade cards (I've got the core and some other expansions for some upgrades) if there's something vital, but I'd like to know what you'd build with the options given right now to win a tournament. No holds barred.

Maybe pick up a 2nd HWK and run them with a friend or 3? Most of the necessary upgrades are self contained and you won't need the 2nd dial with the recent ruling on being able to use your Rebel ones. They also conveniently printed the two you want on different base token

I would start with:

Palob w/Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret, Opportunist, Moldy Crow

Torkhil w/Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret

That's 60 points, which leaves you with a large number of options. You may want to defend up the HWKs a bit (we've been running them with Stealth Devices locally), or just leave them like that. The other 40 points is where I've been playing around. I think my next test may be a Mando Merc w/Recon Specialist, and Wingman for pulling stress from Palob in the event he needs to do 3 Banks, or a 4 Forward. 3Zs is probably good too though (I would do Kaato w/Calculation, and 2 Binayre).

Which other expansions do you have? You can probably manage to do something with those ships (thought right now scum seem to be the weakest of the three factions), but upgrade cards are a much bigger issue. For example, you can't take dual aggressors without PTL/predator and advanced sensors, and those cards don't come in any of the scum boxes.


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 derek wrote:
Maybe pick up a 2nd HWK and run them with a friend or 3? Most of the necessary upgrades are self contained and you won't need the 2nd dial with the recent ruling on being able to use your Rebel ones. They also conveniently printed the two you want on different base token

I would strongly suggest not taking multiple HWKs. They're a support ship at best, and they have a really bad combination of poor durability and a terrible dial. One as a buff ship is usually ok because your other ships can keep your opponent busy and let the HWK hang around the outside of the fight, and if you lose it at least it's not a crippling loss. But two of them is just leaving too much of a weakness for your opponent to exploit.

I think my next test may be a Mando Merc w/Recon Specialist, and Wingman for pulling stress from Palob in the event he needs to do 3 Banks, or a 4 Forward.

I think you're kind of backwards with this. The firespray is a much better ship than the HWK and much more important to your chances of winning. Your HWK should be supporting the firespray, not the other way around. Put predator on the firespray for extra offense, and let the HWK strip tokens to make the firespray's shots count.

I don't really like Torkhil. His ability being cancelled by Roark, who is popular due to the abundance of Whisper. I do like Palob though.

What about

Palob, Blaster Turret, Opportunist

Serissu, VI, title, Heavy Laser Cannon

Mandelorian Mercenary, PTL, Recon, Inertial Dampeners (or leave the dampeners off for an initiative bid)

I wouldn't fly in formation, they would all be kind of out for themselves but if my allies come in range of Serissu while she's dodging arcs, all the better.


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The other expansions I have are the Millenium Falcon, TIE defender, Imerial Aces and the Z95. I've been planning on playing Scum so I didn't bother buying a lot of the other stuff

 Peregrine wrote:

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 derek wrote:
Maybe pick up a 2nd HWK and run them with a friend or 3? Most of the necessary upgrades are self contained and you won't need the 2nd dial with the recent ruling on being able to use your Rebel ones. They also conveniently printed the two you want on different base token

I would strongly suggest not taking multiple HWKs. They're a support ship at best, and they have a really bad combination of poor durability and a terrible dial. One as a buff ship is usually ok because your other ships can keep your opponent busy and let the HWK hang around the outside of the fight, and if you lose it at least it's not a crippling loss. But two of them is just leaving too much of a weakness for your opponent to exploit.

I used to have this same opinion, and still do when it comes to the Rebel HWKs, but the Scum HWKs can actually get things done. The durability, while a problem, is one that isn't unique to them, and at least they have 2 defense dice, and can potentially have two focus to use a turn. I can get his not wanting Torkhil because of Roark in his meta though. It's never been a concern here because pretty much everyone just writes off the Rebel HWKs outside a few instances (Jan w/Fat Han or 58Dash). The last person to use Roark here was me, and that was during early wave 4. Palob really is the more disruptive of them imo, and I'd still gear him with more than just the opportunist and Blaster Turret. At least give him the Rec Spec too. Serissu is where I'd pull the points from, if she's not going to be formation flying, I think you'd be better served with the 18 point one. And that's only if you're dead set on a Scyk, ship just isn't one I'd want in a three ship build.

 derek wrote:
Serissu is where I'd pull the points from, if she's not going to be formation flying, I think you'd be better served with the 18 point one. And that's only if you're dead set on a Scyk, ship just isn't one I'd want in a three ship build.

A PS 10, maneuverable, Heavy Laser Cannon with 3 agility and the evade, barrel roll and target lock actions for 30 points is just so damned tempting.

 derek wrote:
I used to have this same opinion, and still do when it comes to the Rebel HWKs, but the Scum HWKs can actually get things done.

I don't think this is really true. Compare them to an x-wing, a ship that isn't exactly known for its durability: the HWK has the same green dice, but a worse shield/hull ratio, a terrible maneuver dial that really limits its ability to avoid getting shot at, and a range 1-2 gun that forces it to get up close where it's vulnerable to return fire. Or compare it to a y-wing, which gets better durability, a better dial, and a better primary weapon for only two points more. Taking HWKs for their combat ability is a big mistake, it's only worth it as a support ship for the rest of your list. Any damage or ion tokens they happen to give you in addition to their buffs is just a nice bonus.

And it also doesn't help that two of the three scum HWKs are just not very good. In order:

Spice Runner: generic with no ability. See above for why this is bad.

Torkhil Mux: a weaker version of Roark. Making one ship PS 0 vs. one ship PS 12 has its advantages and drawbacks, but the real issue is the range. Roark can hide in the back and buff any of your other ships, his scum equivalent only works if you put your vulnerable HWK out in front where it can be destroyed. This is purely a phantom counter.

Palob Godalhi: the one good HWK option. Getting a free "action" and simultaneously weakening an enemy ship is a really powerful ability. Too bad it's on a HWK, which means this is really a "Biggs" equivalent that soaks up some early shooting and lets your other ships get into position safely. Also, don't get fooled by the idealistic best-case scenarios. It doesn't take much experience to figure out that you should use target locks instead of focus until he dies, so you probably aren't going to steal very many tokens. But there is value in limiting your opponent's actions like that.

Dace Bonearm: mediocre at best. Adding an extra point of damage looks good on paper, but then you remember that the 28+ points you're spending to get that extra damage could buy you an extra conventional ship (or a pair of z-95s!) that would probably add more than a single point of damage. Or you could get the focus/evade thief and add more damage the indirect but more effective way.

I could see including one HWK in a list, but 2+ is just not viable.

Palob really is the more disruptive of them imo, and I'd still gear him with more than just the opportunist and Blaster Turret.

I'm not really convinced about this. Now you're spending 30+ points on a ship with pretty limited defense and taking stress on a ship with a terrible dial and a gun that only works if you can take a focus action (your opponent will pretty quickly figure out that they should use target locks to kill your HWK, since focus tokens are worse than useless).


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 bocatt wrote:
The other expansions I have are the Millenium Falcon, TIE defender, Imerial Aces and the Z95. I've been planning on playing Scum so I didn't bother buying a lot of the other stuff

Ok, so that's going to be a problem. You have PTL and predator, which is good, but you don't have the advanced sensors or fire control system that you need to even consider running a dual-aggressor list. Same thing with the starviper, which requires advanced sensors to have any hope of being a viable option (and it's still probably not very good). Scyks don't seem to be viable in a competitive environment, and honestly the HWKs are pretty underwhelming (see above) except as a phantom counter. And you don't have enough y-wings or z-95s to take a horde of generics. So that gives you pretty limited options:

1) Firespray, with either z-95 support (you'll need to buy a fourth z-95) or a pair of y-wings with ion turrets and the title card (and probably bombs as well). Take your pick, all of three of the unique scum firesprays are great.

2) Dual firespray. Again, pick any two of the uniques, they're all pretty good.

And that's about it. So far scum are not impressing me.

A PS 10, maneuverable, Heavy Laser Cannon with 3 agility and the evade, barrel roll and target lock actions for 30 points is just so damned tempting.

The problem is it's just so fragile. Unlike other glass cannon ships (Tycho, Fel, etc) you can't stack defensive actions, you can't boost and barrel roll to dodge arcs, you can't boost at all, you can't take autothrusters to have a chance against turret ships, and you have a range-1 blind spot where pretty much any ship has a big advantage over your scyk. One bad defense roll and you've lost a third of your list, and you don't have the maneuverability to avoid having to roll green dice.

what about a list like this:

Palob Godalhi, Recon Specialist

Kaa'tos Leeachos, Bodyguard

x2 Tansarii point veteran with Opportunist, Title and HLC.

That's 100 points. Leeachos swipes a focus and guards palob. Focuses for his own defense or target locks for a range 1 attack. Palob tries to swipe an evade, but can settle for a focus. Takes his own focus action every turn.

The scyks fly independent and hit the target with 10 dice a turn. With focus or target lock. Or they can barrel roll/evade if the need arises.


it's a glass hammer.

 bocatt wrote:
what about a list like this:

This is bad. You've got a HWK with no turret (and therefore no reason to exist), Leech (one of the worst ships in the game), and a pair of low-PS glass cannons. Your opponent can rush at the scyks and get into their range-1 blind spot, where they will die very quickly. Then you're left with a single z-95 as your only threat. The HWK will be annoying, but since it can't ever kill anything your opponent can just save it for last and negate all of your attempts to defend it. Honestly, if you win any games with this list, it's going to be by pure luck.

Black Sun Vigo, Autothrusters

Dace Bonearm, Ion Cannon Turret

Syndicate Thug, Blaster Turret, Unhinged Astromech

Cartel Spacer, Heavy Scyk, Mangler Cannon

Alright cutting the synergy crap.

Unhinged astromech makes sure the Y-wing can have a target in range and clear stress for focus so the blaster turret can fire every turn. Tried out the title but with that dial I just couldn't keep anyone in arc.

Ion is kinda meh, it's situationally useful, but being able to tag someone with one damage and then tack on another is cool especially since the Ion Cannon has a 1-2 range and can fire every turn stress or no and is much more accurate than the one dice primary of the HWK.

Vigo is a nuisance to big turret ships and can't be ignored with 3-4 attack dice. If there's no turrets, try to stay at range 3 for 4 defense dice with the reroll and trade with other ships that have less agility.

Scyk shoots last to try and tack on crits on ships that have already spent all their tokens and lost all their shields.

I'm not a big fan of Large Base ships/the Firespray. Just can never maneuver the gosh darned thing. I'll keep learning but it's just an expensive liability under my command.

This is better, but still pretty bad.

 bocatt wrote:
Black Sun Vigo, Autothrusters

Too many points for a ship with such poor durability. Yeah, you can dodge turrets, but most of the time you've got a TIE fighter with an extra HP or two. I'm not sure the starviper is salvageable at all, but to have any chance you at least need advanced sensors to exploit all of the maneuvering options it opens up.

Dace Bonearm, Ion Cannon Turret

Not bad, not great. I guess if you want an ion platform you could do worse. But you should find a way to get an EPT on him. Predator is a big improvement in your chances of hitting, and you really don't want to miss and waste your pilot ability.

Syndicate Thug, Blaster Turret, Unhinged Astromech

Blaster turrets aren't worth it without the R4. Either upgrade to an ion turret (preferably with the title card) or take the R4. And I'm not sure it's a good idea even with the R4. In theory you get more damage, but you can't shoot at all if you lose your action.

Also, scum have the best y-wing pilot in the game: the one that gives you extra dice for out of arc shots. If you're taking a blaster y-wing without him then you're probably doing it wrong. Find a way to get the extra points, it's a huge upgrade.

Cartel Spacer, Heavy Scyk, Mangler Cannon

Drop this. Mangler scyks suck and aren't even close to viable in a competitive environment. They're just too expensive for a glass cannon that doesn't even have all that much of a cannon.

Trying to find a list that isn't bad but isn't boring as gak to fly. I'd like to use the Scyk and the Starviper due to having interesting maneuvers and having 3 agility so they don't get hit so much (I basically won my last game by having more hull than my opponent and chunking more dice at him which... wasn't fun.) The problem is they're overcosted. And none of the Star viper pilots have high enough PS to arc dodge correctly with Advanced Sensors and PTL. So no matter how I take them my list won't be as rounded out as I like but damnit I like the ships. I suppose, giving up on synergy and enjoying myself while playing this game, I could bring:

Boba Fett, Push the Limit, Recon Specialist

Kavil, Blaster Turret, R4

Binyare

Binyare

It's efficient, it's punchy, you move forward, you shoot people and they die and thats the end of that.


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On the flip side I could just say feth it to Scum and bring

Soontir Fel, PTL, autothrusters

Turr Phennir, VI, autothrusters

Bounty Hunter, Heavy Laser Cannon (or Gunner and a 2 pt initiative bid)