"We Can Still Outmaneuver Them" - Skipray Blastboat Design Part 4

Intro

Welcome back, pilots! We are talking about upgrades for the homebrew Skipray Blastboat expansion. After all of my brainstorming and playtesting, I created a total of nine upgrades cards. However, I couldn't fit them all onto one post. So today, we will look at the first five: two titles, two systems, and a torpedo. I will cover how each upgrades works, how they benefit the Skipray and other ships, and which pictures I picked for card artwork.

Assault and Patrol Loadouts

I talked about the design behind the Skipray titles in a previous design post. The final designs are pretty much the same as their beta designs, so I won't go into those details here.

The only change I made was to add an extra limitation to the Patrol Loadout. I didn't want the ship to have access to Twin Laser Turret spam, which I know could be unbalanced. I also thought that the Ion Cannon Turret would make the ship overcosted and take away from its role as a heavy hitter. Therefore, I worded the title so that you can only take turret upgrades that cost 4 or less points, which still offers a good selection. 

This expansion does not include a new turret. I tried making a Tru-Lok turret upgrade but nothing really worked out. I might try again in the future.

Picture credit: For the Assault Loadout, I used the artwork for Assault Proton Torpedoes from the Armada 2017 tournament kit. While this artwork does not directly show the Skipray, it shows how the Skipray can take the role of a capital ship hunter. I imagine a whole wing of pirate Skiprays strafing this Imperial Star Destroyer.

Picture credit: For the Patrol Loadout, I used a piece by Jake Lunt Davies. The picture is clearly a sequel-era resistance fighter using the turret on the Millennium Falcon, but I didn't care. I just love how happy this alien is to be blasting away at the First Order from his gunner seat. It is a perfect fit for a turret title upgrade.

Emergency Safety Measures

As promised, I created an upgrade for the Skipray's emergency acceleration compensator. However, since this upgrade can be taken by many other ships, I made the title more generic: Emergency Safety Measures. While the safety measures could be an emergency compensator, they could also be other things like smart breach foam dispensers or quick-activate cockpit shock frames.

This card provides good insurance that a pilot-based critical will not cripple an important pilot in your list. Some ship builds (or even squad builds) center around a certain pilot skill or pilot ability, so this upgrade can give you a safety net against being undermined. Additionally, ESM is a good alternative to Determination, if you want to keep the Elite Pilot Talent free for something else (or if the ship does not have an EPT at all).

While the card is inexpensive, this does not mean it is an auto-pick. I priced ESM after the Determination talent, which is such a cheap upgrade because there is a good chance that it will not activate. Additionally, since systems are such powerful upgrade slots, the opportunity cost is quite high, and a different system upgrade may work better for your specific build.

Try pairing the card with a hull upgrade. This gives you an extra hit point and increases the chances of ESM activating. For the same price as a shield upgrade (which offers more protection from critical hits), the combo of HU and ESM is a gamble that a critical hit will actually net you two extra hit points.

The card is limited to medium and large bases, since it made more sense that larger ships would have the space and the need for extra precautions. Sorry tiny snub-fighters, you miss out on this upgrade. Here is the list of ships that can take Emergency Safety Measures:

• Skipray Blastboat
• Aggressor
• U-wing
• Ghost
• Resistance Bomber
• Lambda Shuttle
• Upsilon Shuttle

If you use the medium base rules, the list expands with these extra ships:

• Scurrg (with title)
• TIE Punisher
• TIE Silencer
• Mist Hunter

Picture credit: I used the Baron Fel alternate art from the X-wing Miniatures 2017 Store Championship prizes. While the artwork shows Soontir Fel in a TIE Interceptor, I thought it could also work as the cockpit of a TIE Punisher. The damage sparks and red warning lights worked just too well as emergency safety measures activating.

High-Mass Compensator

While working on a separate project to give a boost to support ships, I created the High-Mass Compensator. It turns out that this upgrade also benefits the Skipray, so I am going to include it in this expansion. (Hopefully I'll make a separate post about support ships in the future).

As the name suggests, this system slot compensates for a ship's heavy weight, allowing the engines to be more efficient while turning. While having a red turn move is better than no turn, it still really hurts to use it. The High-Mass Compensator allows you to get the most out of your dial without resorting to self-stressing.

I priced the card after the R2 Astromech and the Unhinged Astromech, which both affect maneuver dials. However, the HMC also comes with another cost: giving up crew slots. This part of the card is absolutely necessary for balance, as builds like the Emperor's shuttle would be too powerful with better turn maneuvers. I also imagine that this compensator system would take up a ton of room, meaning that crew stations would need to be ripped out. If a ship doesn't have crew slots, then other parts of the ship need to go to make space.

While the Skipray Blastboat offers a lot of options with two crew slots, there might be times when it is better to just skip the crew. With the HMC, the Skipray can freely use its 3 turns, making it bit more efficient when jousting and dodging enemy ships.

For a ship to take this upgrade, it must meet three requirements:

1. Have red 2- or 3- speed turns.
2. Have a System upgrade slot.
3. Have unused upgrade slots that can be disabled.

Based on these requirements, here's the list of all ship that can take the HMC:

• Lambda Shuttle
• TIE Punisher
• Skipray Blastboat
• Scurrg
• Ghost
• TIE Special Forces
• Upsilon Shuttle

Picture credit: I used the cover art for the Revell model of Shuttle Tydirium. I love the motion blur on the picture, implying that the shuttle is absolutely hauling hull in space. It works so well to depict a compensator in action.

Miniaturized Proton Torpedoes

Inspired by the Heavy Space Troopers that Thrawn used in Heir to the Empire, the Skipray Blastboat comes with the Miniaturized Proton Torpedoes upgrade.

Like Unguided Rockets, MPT offers a permanent secondary weapon in exchange for dual upgrade slots. While this mini ordnance does not hit as hard as a full proton torpedo, it still can change one focus result into a critical hit.

This upgrade benefits torpedo ships with a 2-dice primary weapon, allowing them to upgrade to 3 dice, as long as they have a lock on the target. Having to spend the target lock to attack can be offset with upgrades like Guidance Chips and Fire Control System. Ships in this category are:

• K-wing
• Y-wing
• Alpha Starwing (with ordnance title)
• TIE Bomber
• TIE Punisher
• Jumpmaster 5000 (pre-nerf)

The Skipray already as a 3-dice primary weapon, so it doesn't need MPT to increase its firepower. However, taking the upgrade denies the Range 3 defense dice and increases the chance of a critical hit crippling an enemy, just like with the Mangler Cannon. Ships with three attack dice and two torpedo slots are:

• B-wing
• Jumpmaster 5000 (with title, pre-nerf)
• Skipray Blastboat (with ordnance title)

Picture Credit: I took the Zero-G Assault Stormtrooper picture from Wookieepedia. The chest hatch on the trooper's armor shows the miniaturized warheads loaded and ready to fire!

Conclusion

There we go! I hope you had fun exploring some new upgrades. Next post will cover the rest of the Skipray upgrades, specifically the crew members. See you then!

PGP out.