"Meet New People & Make New Enemies" - Skipray Blastboat Design Part 6

Intro

We are finally here, pilots! Today's post is the last design article covering the homebrew Skipray Blastboat expansion for X-wing 1st Edition. We'll cover which pilots come with the Skipray and look at some builds. Let's get to it!

Luke Skywalker

Forced to work with Mara Jade and Talon Karrde, Luke Skywalker makes his debut as a Scum pilot in X-wing Miniatures. While Luke has his same pilot skill of 8, his pilot ability changes. Rebel Luke has a defensive ability, but Scum Luke sports the offensive Deadeye EPT ability. Since the Skipray Blastboat doesn't have talent slots, this mean that Luke is the only pilot that can shoot Deadeye torpedoes. Not having to worry about target locks also means that he can take Guidance Chips over Long-Range Scanners for a solid boost to attack.

We can't just limit Luke to torpedoes, though. His pilot ability also synergizes well with the Synced Turret. This combo gives him the freedom to select whichever target he wants during the Combat phase, rather than forcing him to choose an enemy ship to lock in the Activation phase.

Full Guns Luke - 37 points 

• Assault Loadout - 0
• Proton Torpedoes - 4
• Extra Munitions - 2
• High-Mass Compensator - 1
• Guidance Chips - 0

Broadside Luke - 37 points

• Patrol Loadout - 0
• Synced Turret - 4
• Reinforced Deflectors - 3

Picture Credit: The first Luke card uses a picture from Imgur. The alt art card uses an alternative cover art for Dark Forces Rising.

Mara Jade

During her days with the Empire, Mara was a skilled and deadly assassin. In the Thrawn trilogy, an estranged Mara threw her lot in with smugglers to survive. With no more missions from the Emperor, Mara's last goal is to doggedly pursue and kill the man that killed her master: Luke Skywalker.

As a Scum Skipray pilot, her ability to lock onto a single target is very power, especially one-vs-one. Additionally, she doesn't have to spend her lock when using her ability. This means that when she is fighting her locked opponent, she gets the partial effects of a Fire-Control System, as well as the defensive reroll of Lone Wolf.

Of course Long-Range Scanners is a great upgrade for her, but any upgrade that interacts with target locks is also powerful. Consider taking cards like Weapons Engineer, K-4 Security Droid, or Fire Control System.

Two-for-One Special Mara - 35 points

• Assault Loadout - 0
• Seismic Torpedoes - 2
• Emergency Safety Measures - 1
• Weapons Engineer - 3
• Long-range Scanners - 0

Hot Pursuit Mara - 35 points

• Patrol Loadout - 0
• Synced Turret - 4
• Smuggling Crew - 2
• Obstacle Detector - 0

Picture credit: For the first Mara ship card, I used artwork posted by "gadwag" on the FFG forums. The alt art card uses the cover for one of the Heir to the Empire comic books. (Yes, that is a crashed Skipray in the background!)

Kenix Kil

While this next pilot is not a Car'Das smuggler, he was just too good not to include in this expansion pack. Kenix Kil joined the bounty hunters of the galaxy as undercover work, but it turned out he was really good at the job. Kenix brings his personal, and heavily disguised, Skipray Blastboat to X-wing Miniatures. Perhaps his pilot skill, pilot ability, and not-terribly-clever pseudonym are enough hints to reveal to you his true identity.

Unlike other Skipray pilots, Kenix focuses on primary weapons over secondary ones. Since his Scum pilot ability gives a focus result instead of a hit, careful consideration is needed when building his loadout. Cards like Fire-Control System, Dengar, and Recon Specialist can give you the dice modification needed to give you more hit results. As he is only pilot skill 6, it can be a good idea to take an Intelligence Agent with your squad to deal with enemy aces.

No Range Is Safe Kenix - 37 points

• Assault Loadout - 0
• Advanced Proton Torpedoes - 6
• Recon Specialist - 3
• Long-Range Scanners - 0

Knife-Fight Kenix - 34 points

• Patrol Loadout - 0
• Autoblaster Turret - 2
• Fire Control System - 2
• Mara Jade - 2

Picture credit: The first Kenix ship card uses art by Odanan on DeviantArt. The alt art card uses a scene from the Star Wars Bounty Hunters Kenix Kill comics.

Booster Terrik

Our final named pilot for this expansion cannot believe that his old friend Talon Karrde roped him into another risky operation. Booster Terrik does not want to be on a mission for the Car'Das smugglers, let alone a dogfight, and his pilot ability reflects this. In true Scum fashion, Booster is fine leaving behind another pirate to make sure that he can make it out. 

While Booster giving out stress tokens to allies is not ideal, it can be turned good with the right squad builds. Just like how Booster subtly steered a young Wedge Antilles towards vengeance in the comics, Booster can help give stress-ability allies a nudge in X-wing Miniatures. Cards like Wired, Inspiring Recruit, and 4-LOM (pilot) can pair well with Booster's stress, providing a give-and-take synergy between them.

Thorn Booster - 33 points

• Assault Loadout - 0
• Scrambler Missiles - 2
• Extra Munitions - 2
• Emergency Safety Measures - 1
• Boba Fett - 1
• Long Range Scanners - 0

Friendly Booster - 33 points

• Gonk Droid - 2
• Operations Specialist - 3
• Inspiring Recruit - 1

Picture credit: The first ship picture is from Jetfreak-7 on DeviantArt. The alt art is from the Booster Terrik Wookieepedia page.

Tarsarri Patrolman

The mid-range generic of the pack, the Tarsarri Patrolman fought and gained good experience in the battle of Tarsarri Point. She is only one point higher than the other generic, since she does not have an EPT, making her PS 4 a decent investment. Just be careful not to overload this ship with too many upgrades.

Support Patrolman - 30 points

• Assault Loadout
• Ion Pulse Missile - 3
• Intelligence Agent - 1
• Inspiring Recruit - 1

All-Around Patrolman - 33 points

• Patrol Loadout - 0
• Flechette Torpedoes - 2
• Dorsal Turret - 3
• Luke Skywalker (Scum) - 3

Picture credit: Heir to the Empire comic book.

Car'Das Smuggler

This basic member of the Car'Das smuggler group is the low-end generic. He sports a low pilot skill, but has the cheapest Skipray Blastboat squad point cost. 

Pepper Smuggler - 30 points

• Assault Loadout - 0
• Miniaturized Proton Torpedoes - 4
• Fire Control System - 2
• Guidance Chips - 0

Steady Smuggler - 31 points

• Patrol Loadout - 0
• Synched Turret - 4
• Talon Karrde - 3

Picture credit: Heir to the Empire comic book.

Conclusion

We now have all parts of this expansion complete! With all mechanics, upgrades, and pilots finished, I can package the entire expansion together. My next post will have an easy-to-print PDF file so you can quickly implement this expansion. So hang tight, and remember to fly casual!

-PGP out.