Well this is going to be a long one!
This custom pack adds two new ships and a squadron to the game in a new faction: Scum and Villainy.
This faction bring the less reputable gangs, syndicates and cartels together under one banner with their common interest in all things illegal and shiny!
So lets get stuck in!
The Overall Design:
Firstly my design for the Scum faction is one that is contentious and filled with infighting and desires for profit. This is because it’ll be made up of lots of different groups with similar, but still different, plans and interests in their pursuit of treasure. I’ve built their abilities around this, with more concentration on stealing, raiding and boarding!
This pack adds in the infamous Ohnaka Gang, a deadly group of Weequay pirates who where lead by notorious Hondo Ohnaka. The Ohnaka Gang had one of the most notable and organised navies in the criminal underworld, which is impressive as their operations never came close to competing with the likes of the Hutt’s, Black Sun and Pykes.
The two ships in this pack are commonly used by the Gang: the Corona-class Armed Frigate and Weequay Pirate Ship, which I’ve dubbed The Marauder-class Assault Corvette.
Corona-class:
The Corona-class is one of Star Wars sillier designs, especially as its just a flying saucer, however there is something about it I actually quite like!
The Corona is a rather small medium ship, but as it is larger than the Quasar it does fill the medium ship slot. This ship’s shape means its well rounded in all directions for both shields and armaments, making it impossible to out-manoeuvre in any meaningful way.
Corona-class Raiding Frigate:
This deadly variant is built to get up close and personal and board your opponent's ships with the two possible boarding teams they can equip, then blow them away with your deadly missile armament.
The Raiding Verint is also the better variant for squadron commands, partly because the Corona could hold squadrons of Flarestar-class Attack Shuttles, but also because its a better boarding ship.
Corona-class Armed Frigate:
The full on warship variant of the Corona, this ship losses some short range bonuses to its attacks in return for three red dice in all its arcs. It also has more options for its upgrades with a turbolaser and defensive retrofit making it both more deadly and tougher, while the fleet command makes it maybe the only Scum ship I plan to make with a fleet command slot.
The slot with a credit symbol is a new slot for the Scum ships. These illicit slots are an X-Wing idea where the less reputable pilots and ships can take on illegal cargo that helps them in ways other more reputable factions can’t access. I will have some upgrades later in the pack for them!
Acushnet:
Hondo’s flagship, the Acushnet was used in his illegal activities and especially in his boarding of the Jedi corvette, Crucible, where he planned to steal the kyber crystals of the Jedi Padawan's on board. This upgrade allows you to raid enemy ships, however those ships need to be close by and moving slowly to allow your pirates to board the ship.
Pungent Profit:
A name of my own design, the Pungent Profit is another of the ships Hondo uses to sniff out treasures on other ships. This upgrades allows you to pluck a non-crew or title upgrade from the wreckage of a ship that is destroyed near you. This can be used to save important upgrades from a friendly ship that is destroyed too soon, or it can be used to pull enemy ship's upgrades from the wreckage and use them for yourself.
Marauder-class:
An obscure ship, this Weequay pirate ship is seen throughout the Clone Wars as a background ship and once as a droid gladiator pit ship. Although we know little about it, we can determine from its aesthetics that its a ship of a similar size and design to the CR90. It also seems to have a front only armament, however I’ve given other armaments as well.
It’s most interesting feature is wings that open up like the X-Wing and B-Wing’s s-foils. I’ve incorporated this into the ship with an offensive retrofit upgrade specifically for the Marauder-class.
Marauder-class Gladiator Transport:
With a heavy front armament for a ship of its size, the Gladiator variant has a lack of side armaments making it much easier to sneak up on and catch off guard, even if it can then retaliate with a salvo attack. It upgrade slots show its role as a transport for stolen droids and other cargo captured by the Ohnaka pirates with a fleet support and illicit upgrade slots.
Marauder-class Assault Corvette:
More well rounded than the Gladiator variant, the Assault variant has weak side armaments to make it more well rounded, however it is at the cost of all the red dice being changed out for blue dice. This is helped with an ion cannon slot, making the ship overall more combat heavy.
Capital S-foils:
This offensive retrofit is used to show off the s-foils on the Marauder-class, with it either boosting your armament's precision or your manoeuvrability. Unlike smaller starfighters s-foils, the Marauders s-foils need time and more effort to open and close so you do need an engineering command token to exhaust or ready the card.
Marauder:
The only named ship and the reason I’ve given this ship the Marauder-class name, the Marauder was a gladiator transport, capturing droids and using them in a gladiator pit for entertainment and to make credits. The title adds an additional crew or weapons team to either allow you to equip a boarding team to go out and capture said droids, or give you more room for those captured droids.
Cutthroat:
Similar to the Pungent Profit, Cutthroat is a ship both of my design and using an ability that can take advantage of another ships downfall. Unlike the Profit, Cutthroat can only benefit from friendly ships being destroyed, however, being able to easily and consistently recover your defence tokens is worth it!
Hondo Ohnaka:
Of course he had to be the commander for these ships! Hondo's ability is very him, allowing his gang to follow in his steps, being selfish and self preserving, letting your ships cause harm to another of your ships to be better defended against incoming attacks.
Captain Skragg:
After Hondo disbanded the Ohnaka gang during the age of the Empire, the Ohnaka gang was reassembled by Skragg, a more brutal and ruthless pirate. Her ability shows this, forcing both her own forces and her opponent's forces to spend their defence tokens wisely, otherwise they are punished for either being inefficient in the case of her forces or resisting in the case of her opponents.
Turk Falso:
One of Hondo's right hand men during the early days of the Clone Wars, Turk was more ambitious and reckless than most, trying to steal a ransom payment of spice on route to Hondo for himself by sending Barb Mentir in a starfighter to shoot down the incoming shuttle. His rogue actions inspired this card with him being able to inspire friendly squadrons to turn rogue too.
Melch:
Hondo's loyal Ugnaught associate, Melch worked with Hondo during the age of the Empire, even joining him to help Ezra free Lothal from the Empire. Melch often needed Hondo's input to do his best, but as a team they where unstoppable. His ability shows this with you being able to spend squadron command tokens to reroll dice like a better Concentrate Fire token.
Ohnaka Gang Boarding Party:
The Ohnaka gang's pirates are deadly in both space and ground combat with their boarding parties being able to deal large amounts of damage to ships. However their leader isn't a brute! Hondo will happily let your ship be if you just hand over the goods. This card shows this with your opponent being able to choose to either give you one of their defence tokens or suffer the consequences.
Harpoon Missiles:
Used by the Corona-class Armed Frigate to board their chosen victim's ships, Harpoon Missiles could be used to tether enemy ships to your own ship to either speed them up or slow them down. This upgrade can be used to more easily trigger the Acushnet title ability or any boarding team.
False Transponder Codes:
The first of the new Illicit upgrades, False Transponder Codes is an upgrade that takes inspiration from X-Wings version of a card with the same name, letting you baffle your enemies sensors preventing them from making an accurate attack against you.
Spice:
One of the main illicit commodities traded in the criminal underworld, spice is a drug that was used recreationally to enhance a person's senses, however it was incredibly addictive. Because of this, the Scum ships can make use of their cargo of spice to boost their command tokens strength, however at the cost of being left addicted for the rest of the game.
Hostage:
Although most factions in the game could and would take hostages, few of them would then ransom them back to their original faction. However for the Scum of the galaxy, their main goal is to make a profit! Because of this every round your opponent can choose to take back their hostage to make it easier to attack the hostage takers, but they do pay a price of victory points at the end of the game if the hostage survives.
Flarestar-class Squadron:
The Ohnaka Gang's primary starfighter, the Flarestar-class Attack Shuttles are smaller saucer starfighters designed for light patrol duties and VIP transport. The repulsor ability is something I've been making for a custom squadron pack that allows you to boost your speed by using objects to push off of.
Barb Mentir:
Turk Falso's accomplice, Barb used a Flarestar to take down the Republic shuttle carrying the spice. Because of this, his ability gives him a bonus after he successfully takes down an enemy letting him be more risky in battle.
The Conclusion:
A Scum and Villainy faction is an interesting concept for Armada as most of the groups that fit into the faction have very few capital ships. Hondo's group is definitely one of the more space heavy criminal organisations so it makes sense for him to be the fleet starter for the faction.
I plan to keep expanding this faction in the future with both new ships and redo's of current ships in the game, but until then I hope you enjoyed this pack!
Thank you all for reading,
Watcher Leader out.