They’re heeeeeere!

Unfortunately due to having to buy a new car, I didn’t get the chance to go after all the packs I wanted to – Money got too tight. BUT – I did get my hands on the Most Wanted pack, and on a StarViper (love that ship so much more than I thought I would!), and I’ve managed to see some neat tactics with the IG-88’s. The only ship I have yet to really see in action is the one I wanted the most – the M3-A, but it’s coming soon! After a handful of games with this new faction, I’ve found some fun ideas that work wonders, and here’s a few of my favorites:

Emon the Mad Bomber

Good god this guy. I mean, I already though he was nasty just looking at him, but YEESH. Proton bombs seemed somewhat overpriced before, but on Emon they’re horrifying works of destruction and every bit worth the 5 points. Literally the only thing I hate about this guy is his lack of EPT (a skill 8 bomb-dropping extraordinaire? this is probably why he doesn’t have one), and even then he’s an incredibly powerful unit.



Remember, Proton Bombs deal one FACEUP DAMAGE CARD. This ignores shields – Meaning a well-placed proton bomb (quite easy with Emon) can be instant death to Z-95’s, A-Wings, E-Wings, and M3-A’s. Emon loves facing swarms – Imagine the destruction on either a TIE swarm or a Z-95 swarm – and he also enjoys facing down large ships. The free faceup damage he gets can severely debilitate large ships, anywhere from Han to Chiraneau, and the larger base makes them easy targets. Facing off against IG-88s? Give your opponent the initiative so his ships HAVE to move before Emon, giving the mad bomber his enemies’ exact positions before he drops his payload. Throwing a Tactician or Gunner on this guy just completes his powerhouse offensive abilities. If you see this madman across the table, run. Run very fast.

Basic StarVipers

Despite their high cost and seemingly low durability, the StarViper platform is so incredibly strong that I’ve started trying to work on into every list I build, and I’ve found that even the standard PS1 pilot is an incredibly strong piece worthy of attention. First off, an S-Looping blocker is one of the most frustrating and unpredictable things in the game right now – S-Loops are new enough that no one is ready for them, and this thing loves to get in people’s faces and muck up swarms in the best of ways.

Another thing to consider is that this ship’s durability is only slightly below a TIE Defender, and it’s maneuverability trumps it’s Imperial counterpart in several areas. Add to that it’s ability to take Autothrusters and it’s two separate maneuvering actions and the base-level StarViper is a survivable, arc-dodging, blocking king. I have yet to seriously look through Guri or Xizor as options yet, but rest assured they’re incoming….

Return of the Y-Wing

Holy damn I forgot how good these ships already were. Despite the B-Wing’s succession over the good ol bomber, the Y-Wing still holds an excellent place as a cheap, durable powerhouse, left hurting only by it’s lack of base attack dice. All that changes with the advent of the BTL-A4. This title made the Y-Wing into a powerful gunship and a respectable filler ship, armed with either Blaster Turrets for sheer firepower, Autoblasters for cheap cost/hunting high evaders, or Ion Turrets for jamming up enemy tactics and formations. Unhinged Astromech is almost a must-take with this bad boy, getting rid of 2 reds off the dial and adding 5 greens, keeping these incredibly strong gunships consistently in the fight. The biggest downside to these guys on the Scum side is that Scum lack offensive buffing units the way Rebels have, with the singular exception of Dace Bonearm.

Oh and let’s not forget this bad boy. To be fair: No one will ever be as good at bombs as good ol’ Emon “The Mad Bomber” Azzameen, but the ability to throw on even a couple cheap seismic charges turns the Y-Wing into in intimidation piece. No one wants to get too close to them. Throw Proximity mines on them, and Y-Wings shine in ruining the days of swarms and large ships. In Epic games, Y-Wings now have the opportunity to absolutely ruin Huge Ships in many ways – Think, if you will, of two Y-Wings swinging hard 3 in front of a CR90 and dropping Prox mines! Though the BTL-A4 is by for the stronger piece, I forsee Bomb Upgrade being used fairly often in any list running Y-Wings from now on.

Single IG-88’s Work???

They do? Yes they do. My first game of Scum and Villainy was played against a new player who had bought in with a StarViper, a Most Wanted, and a single IG-2000. And boy did I underestimate this guy. The sheer powerhouse that is the Aggressor is also incredibly maneuverable, and possibly more difficult to pin down than even Dash Rendar. Almost every iteration of this ship is strong on it’s own (I would say the only exception being 88A), and can be an excellent centerpiece alongside some filler ships, and/or accompanied by some base-level StarVipers. Don’t just assume that because he gets stronger with a second iteration that that’s the only way to run him – 88’s just as strong alone as he is with a buddy.

So what’s next? I’ll be doing some discussions on some of the Scum ships in particular and how they fit into your list (N’dru Suhlak’s a nasty little bugger I really want to speak on), and also I’ll be sharing my experiences from PAX EAST! If anyone else is going, I’ll be Enforcing this year, but I’ll gladly meet up with any readers while I’m there!

Until next time, Play More Games!