A Return from the Dead

Over half a year has passed and I've decided to resurrect my blog and bring it new life and direction. I am slightly better at the game now and feel like I have a better idea of why something works and why it doesn't. Rather then content that isn't very useful like before the blog will now focus on three things;

1) My thoughts and learning on the Scum faction of the X-Wing miniatures game by Fantasy Flight Games. I feel like the Rebel and Imperial factions get plenty of discussion but the same is not true about the Scum faction and as they are my main force I wish to rectify that a bit.

2) My progress in the game of upgrading from complete scrub to scruffy nerf herder.

3) My repaints of the models.

I think with that focus in mind I can add some value to the community. This will not update on a regular basis as the releases and meta shifts are slower that week to week but I will certainly not let it lapse the way I did again. I feel like I have learned a lot and I really want to bring that knowledge to the forefront.

Currently the Scum faction's top table meta sits somewhere like:

Bro-Bots.
x2 IG-88 w/ Heavy Laser Cannon, Autothrusters, Title Card, and other stuff
(3rd place finish at Worlds 2015)

Twin Laser Thugs (if that's not an original name, let me know)
x4 Syndicate Thugs w/ Twin Laser Turret and Unhinged Astromech
(7th place finish at Worlds 2015)

You don't see a different Scum list until 21'st place and it's a variant of Twin Laser Thugs replacing the Unhinged with R4 Agromechs (for a more defensive build) and dropping a Thug for a Cartel Marauder with Feedback Array. Which is an interesting choice and probably says more about the person's local meta than anything else. It would be a place my brain would go if I were dealing with a lot of high pilot skill arc-dodgers like Whisper.

I bring this up because I want to show the stagnation in list design for Scum. Which as near as I can tell has a couple causes; firstly we are the newest faction with the least number of pilots of and ships to choose from. FFG is doing the best they can at catch up by dropping two Scum releases at a time instead of just one which is really appreciated. The second reason is because Scum isn't Rebel or Imperials and thusly is less popular and harder to pin down quickly. Allow me to explain that last part.

What I mean by hard to pin down is that is Rebels have a theme which currently is regeneration. They have many options and builds which allow them to return back to fighting condition (or never leave it) and that gives them a theme to build off of. Imperial's have ace pilots. They have more aces than anyone else to pick from and with those come some AoE buff abilities like Howlrunner and Jonus. Scum isn't either of those things and trying to play them or build them like that isn't going to be fruitful.

So what is Scum then? They are a toolbox of stuff to pick from. They require that you pick and pull each piece as needed with the understanding that it must stand alone and succeed in its individual role. A list, in my opinion, should try to have ways to deal with all of the following:

1) Arc dodgers like Soontir Fel and Whisper
2) Poe Dameron/Stressbot
3) Swarms
4) Fat Han/Fat Dash/Chiraneau and friend

In Rebel and Imperial lists you have some clear options. Like playing a counter list (swarm counters stressbot, etc) or playing one of the main archetypes well. Obviously Scum doesn't have this option, but it isn't without tools to work with.

Arc dodgers - In a real sense we only have three tools which are reliable against these threats which are defined by their high agility, high pilot skill, and ability to stay out of arc. The tools available to us are:

A high PS pilot in a decent ship (honestly only Talonbane or Xizor)
Mux
Autoblaster
Feedback Array

Arc Dodgers: The goal is shoot first before they can. Talonbane can with VI. Xizor can with VI and a point bid. You need to build your entire list around them but both can seal the deal. Mux is much harder to use but is multi-purpose and a distinct threat. The ability to turn someone you don't like into Pilot Skill 0 is very powerful. Unfortunately he is in a HWK-290. Autoblaster is okay, if you can make a Y-Wing or a HWK-290 chassis work for you. I've had only mixed success in my own games. Feedback Array is another weird one. If you can get any part of your ship in range 1 and don't mind the downside, a guaranteed point of damage might be just what you need.

Stressbot: Swarms are the direct counter to this. But if you can't or won't run a swarm than I would strongly recommend you build lists of 4 or more ships and don't put all your eggs in one basket (like a Bossk) so that you are easily shut down. The nice thing about Talonbane is that his ability is still relevant even if he is stressed. Though his maneuvering goes right out the window.  Xizor's ability works too but he needs his action(s) in order to get the most out of the Starviper, arguably Scum's only arc dodger, and losing it makes him pretty tough to use. Guri could overcome it a bit better but as she is only Pilot Skill 5, she should not be having lists build around her.

Swarms: Consistent damage. Things like Twin Laser Turret come in handy here. Also having a blocker can help break up formations. These are tough matchups for any build and is still the efficiency standard in which many lists are judged and tested against. A swarm list placed 13th at Worlds 2015 so it's still a thing.

Fat-Whoever: A control element is often the easiest way to bring down a big ship. Stress or ions. We don't have much in the way of either but we are not devoid of options. Usually a tough match up for me as we don't have explicit shutdown tech.

So an example variant of a list I've been playing a lot of:

Talonbane Cobra w/ Veteran Instincts, Glitterstim and Engine Upgrade (35)
Torkhil Mux w/ Ion Cannon Turret, Intelligence Agent and Moldy Crow (28)
Syndicate Thug w/ Twin Laser Turret and Unhinged Astromech (25)
Binayre Pirate (12)

100 pts

My reasoning behind the list is as follows:

Talonbane plays an important role in both being an efficient jouster as well as being able to shut down threats like Fel, Whisper, Vader, or Poe. He shoots before all of them and can have an explosive Range 1 burst turn with Glitterstim backing him up. But he is still a jouster and so its important to remember that his movement is predictable and he is not as robust as even a T-65 X-wing in either dial or stat line though his pilot ability does go a long way in making him worth taking.

Mux is a threat to whatever single threat you want to manage. This is a very control oriented build that wants to stay in range 2 as much as possible. It can drop an change an enemy pilot of Pilot Skill 0, look at a dial, and potentially drop an ion token down on something every turn it can stay at range. The downside is that Mux has a giant taget painted on his ship which is a HWK-290 with all the downsides associated with that chassis. He needs protection and other threats to draw attention away from him.

The Syndicate Thug with Twin Laser Turret and Unhinged Astromech is a staple in Scum lists. 25 pts gets you a reliable 2 damage per turn output on a tough to kill chassis as long as you stay out on the fringes of the battle. A Y-Wing might be tough but it can be burned down by anyone dedicated enough to put a decent ship on that duty for a turn or two.

Binayre Pirate is a blocker pure and simple and is another ship at 12 points. I feel a list should try to have at least four ships and while it is not a superstar it is an average star which is often ignored by my opponent allowing it to do its job of being a pest.

As I said before it is a mixed bag of different ships all of which require practice and expertise. But it also demands the same from people you play. I feel it is crucial to practice as much as possible just to make sure you have a complete understanding of all the moving pieces.

I will close by saying it feels good to be back and I hope I can provide some insight into Scum and help in some way to make them both more competitive as choice and more popular as well. Have fun and fly casual.