So Wave 8 has finally hit in X-Wing and there is a hot new ship for scum that seems to be sweeping across the meta. That ship is the Jumpmaster 5000 and there is a very successful list that recently won the Hoth Series Open that runs 3 Contracted Scouts with ordinance. We are not going to be looking at that configuration today. Instead I want to take a look at Scum’s second Pilot Skill (PS) 9 pilot, Dengar.

Being PS 9 is important currently, since moving last allows for much greater positioning and arc dodging. You also need this to make sure that you can shoot first and have whoever might be shooting at you lined up in arc for Dengar’s ability to kick in since the attacker must be in his arc for the return shot.

This then leads us to what type of list you want to build with Dengar. I like him right around 50 points, running with a separate large base ship or a mini Z-95 swarm and actually did run him with Bossk in a YV-666 on Saturday at a local tournament for a local charity (that’s for another post). I had just bought the Jumpmaster that morning and threw a quick list together. My matches were competitive, but I know I can build a more efficient list.

Dengar has a good mix of different upgrades that you can throw on him:

Elite Pilot Talent: This one has a few different options, with the two predominant ones being Veteran Instincts for an increase of 2 PS, or Predator which allows dice manipulation without requiring an action and works for every roll.This past weekend I chose Veteran Instincts thinking that there would be an Aces heavy meta, but unfortunately never had a match where it mattered. In my one head to head against another Dengar, his choice of Predator was clearly a winner allowing him multiple re-rolls that more often than not added damage that I could not replicate. Deadeye might be used by some, but I do not think the ordnance build is super strong on Dengar when you can get a better fit on the Contracted Scout generic pilot. Rage is the new EPT that comes in the Punishing One expansion and I do like how it combines traces of Predator in it for a cheaper squad cost and I do think some will use it. However, I doubt I will run it just since it limits you so much in terms of movement and is next to useless if you run into a squad that pumps out stress.

Torpedo Slot x2: Dengar has the 2 torpedo slots that all Jumpmasters come with. It is tempting to throw one either Plasma Torpedoes or Proton Torpedoes on him along with an Extra Munitions to give him a little bit more teeth from range. I can see the merits, but if I wanted a missile boat on the Jumpmaster, I would be using a cheaper generic pilot.

x2: Dengar has the 2 torpedo slots that all Jumpmasters come with. It is tempting to throw one either Plasma Torpedoes or Proton Torpedoes on him along with an Extra Munitions to give him a little bit more teeth from range. I can see the merits, but if I wanted a missile boat on the Jumpmaster, I would be using a cheaper generic pilot. Crew Slot : The Jumpmaster is a large ship and hence needs some crew. This slot I see several good candidates. The one I used Saturday is the K4 Security Droid. It allows Dengar to get a free Target Lock whenever a green dial is presented. This served me pretty well, but is a little expensive on points, and there are definitely some other options. One I have seen mentioned on Reddit to good success being Gonk where you slow-roll Dengar in the first few turns building up shield tokens, and then use them when disengaging later on in the round. I feel this paired with Predator as an EPT might work well. Recon Specialist, while costly at 3 squad points, does give you multiple Focus tokens to use during your multiple shots or on defense. There are a lot of great crew available for scum and you can even fit in the new Boba Fett on him. However, I think these are the best for his role.

: The Jumpmaster is a large ship and hence needs some crew. This slot I see several good candidates. The one I used Saturday is the K4 Security Droid. It allows Dengar to get a free Target Lock whenever a green dial is presented. This served me pretty well, but is a little expensive on points, and there are definitely some other options. One I have seen mentioned on Reddit to good success being Gonk where you slow-roll Dengar in the first few turns building up shield tokens, and then use them when disengaging later on in the round. I feel this paired with Predator as an EPT might work well. Recon Specialist, while costly at 3 squad points, does give you multiple Focus tokens to use during your multiple shots or on defense. There are a lot of great crew available for scum and you can even fit in the new Boba Fett on him. However, I think these are the best for his role. Salvaged Astromech : This brings us to the Salvaged Astromech slot. This is the first ship that has both a crew and astromech slot and makes some interesting combinations possible. I chose Unhinged Astromech which turns all of your 3 speed movements green. This allows some more maneuvers to get a free target lock from the K4 Security Droid and to clear stress if you choose the Rage EPT. Unhinged is what I ran this past Saturday, and while it was good occasionally and the cost of 1 point was great, I found myself usually using just the 1 and 2 speed maneuvers or the 4 Straight. Very rarely did I do the 3 because I was always moving last and my opponents were quite aggressive. All of the Salvaged Astromechs can make a good investments minus maybe “Genius” or R4-B11. Overclocked R4 can make sure that you always have a Focus token during a given round. Allowing you to use it on offense and then still have one on defense or for the second shot. R4 Agromech allows you to use the your Focus on first shot and still have a target lock to modify your return shot. This is also the default one for the Contracted Scout along with Deadeye so that you can spend a focus to fire your torpedoes and then modify with the target lock. It can work in the same capacity here, but I think you are selling Dengar short if you go that way. Lastly, there is R5-P8, the new astromech that comes with the Jumpmaster. This one I have not had a lot of testing with but it appears that it can be a used in a “revenge” build with Dengar. Possibly taking 5 damage back at range 1 if you shoot at Dengar in his arc as well as allowing him to shoot at you with a 4-Dice attack at range 1 can give anyone pause. The R5-P8 is expensive though at 3 points and I think some of the cheaper 1 and 2 point cost droids are better value.

: This brings us to the Salvaged Astromech slot. This is the first ship that has both a crew and astromech slot and makes some interesting combinations possible. I chose Unhinged Astromech which turns all of your 3 speed movements green. This allows some more maneuvers to get a free target lock from the K4 Security Droid and to clear stress if you choose the Rage EPT. Unhinged is what I ran this past Saturday, and while it was good occasionally and the cost of 1 point was great, I found myself usually using just the 1 and 2 speed maneuvers or the 4 Straight. Very rarely did I do the 3 because I was always moving last and my opponents were quite aggressive. All of the Salvaged Astromechs can make a good investments minus maybe “Genius” or R4-B11. Overclocked R4 can make sure that you always have a Focus token during a given round. Allowing you to use it on offense and then still have one on defense or for the second shot. R4 Agromech allows you to use the your Focus on first shot and still have a target lock to modify your return shot. This is also the default one for the Contracted Scout along with Deadeye so that you can spend a focus to fire your torpedoes and then modify with the target lock. It can work in the same capacity here, but I think you are selling Dengar short if you go that way. Lastly, there is R5-P8, the new astromech that comes with the Jumpmaster. This one I have not had a lot of testing with but it appears that it can be a used in a “revenge” build with Dengar. Possibly taking 5 damage back at range 1 if you shoot at Dengar in his arc as well as allowing him to shoot at you with a 4-Dice attack at range 1 can give anyone pause. The R5-P8 is expensive though at 3 points and I think some of the cheaper 1 and 2 point cost droids are better value. Illicit Upgrade : I have got to tell you the only 2 illicit upgrades I like are Glitterstim and Inertial Dampeners. Glitterstim can often be the difference between living and dying in an opening joust and I feel can be very useful on Dengar. Unfortunately in my preferred build for him there are not points to keep it, but if I was doing a 60 point “Fat” build, I would definitely have it in there. Inertial Dampeners can be a nice surprise option to do a full stop against someone who had set up a kill box against you or in the circumstances that a ship is moving after you and you want to block them. I see inertial dampeners getting some play if you use the Contracted Scout as a “blockmaster” setup to cause bumps and deny actions.

: I have got to tell you the only 2 illicit upgrades I like are Glitterstim and Inertial Dampeners. Glitterstim can often be the difference between living and dying in an opening joust and I feel can be very useful on Dengar. Unfortunately in my preferred build for him there are not points to keep it, but if I was doing a 60 point “Fat” build, I would definitely have it in there. Inertial Dampeners can be a nice surprise option to do a full stop against someone who had set up a kill box against you or in the circumstances that a ship is moving after you and you want to block them. I see inertial dampeners getting some play if you use the Contracted Scout as a “blockmaster” setup to cause bumps and deny actions. Modification : This last slot every ship has. I fell the only two that will see any play at all will be Guidance Chips for an ordnance ship and Engine Upgrade for ships not using ordnance. I personally did not run a modification on Saturday because I did not have extra points. I do think Engine upgrade along with Push the Limit that large ships with Barrel Roll and Boost are super maneuverable but that’s 7 points tied up in just movement, not even counting dice manipulation.

: This last slot every ship has. I fell the only two that will see any play at all will be Guidance Chips for an ordnance ship and Engine Upgrade for ships not using ordnance. I personally did not run a modification on Saturday because I did not have extra points. I do think Engine upgrade along with Push the Limit that large ships with Barrel Roll and Boost are super maneuverable but that’s 7 points tied up in just movement, not even counting dice manipulation. Title:Punishing One might seem overcosted at 12 points. However, this card makes Dengar into a powerhouse. He will have 3 attack, 2 defense, 9 hull and one of the best dials in the game. I do think this title is only good on Dengar and does not make sense for the other pilots, but with Dengar’s ability it makes it that much more potent.

These are the different upgrades that are available to Dengar. My personal build I want to try out for him on my next chance is the following:

Dengar — JumpMaster 5000 33 Predator 3 “Gonk” 2 Unhinged Astromech 1 Punishing One 12 Ship Total: 51

This gives him dice manipulation on every attack and pays off really well in this generic filled meta. You can slow roll him to build up shields since he will probably need them in the end game, and the unhinged opens up his dial even more to help combat stressbots.

I want to pair him with my default Bossk build of:(for link here it is (Squad Link)

Bossk — YV-666 35 Calculation 1 Heavy Laser Cannon 7 Mercenary Copilot 2 Recon Specialist 3 Boba Fett

Slow roll both of these and Bossk can use Boba to take out a nasty Palpatine or pushing 5 hits through with his ability.

I really like this ship and think it was something that Scum really needed. Do you have a good build using Dengar? Let me know in comments. I am always open for learning.