BroBots – assemble!

I’ve been waiting to use that title for ages… It’s not even that witty; I just like it

So, BroBots in themselves aren’t anything particularly new or novel. They’ve been reasonably omnipresent since their inception, and have always been one of those lists that people claim are “for beginners” or “easy mode”. How this can even be perceptibly so, is beyond me.

In numbers, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. But relying so heavily on their symbiotic relationship and, therefore, necessitating being flown far more carefully and far more in tandem than any other list you take, it can be a very punishing experience if not played correctly. Add into this the fact that you’re flying too large ships, and your opponent will factor this into his debris/asteroid placement, and it’s not simply a case of flying the “filth” that is BroBots.

All of this said, though, they can be a truly fantastic list to fly; both fun and competitive, and have become something to rightly fear in the hands of a well versed opponent. I had seen many a net list for these sentient droid bounty hunters, but had never got around to playing them, due to not yet being in the S&V fold. That was until the “gateway drug” to all things Scum – the Jumpmaster – got it’s filthy claws into me, and now I own a little of everything from the faction (4 JM5k, 4 IG2k, 3 Y Wing, 2 StarViper, 2 Headhunters, 1 Hounds Tooth, 2 Firesprays, a Kihraxz, a Misthunter and others).

After having played my patented A Wing spam list – and a variation on Vader/Fel/Inquisitor – to death, I decided a change was needed, and knew it was finally time to break out the Brothers Bot (that sounded so much swisher in my head!). Thing is, I like net lists. I do. But I am also a natural born tinkerer, and can’t resist the urge to make a list my own. At least I can only blame myself when I inevitably crash out in a plume of smoke and disappointment…

The list:

The theory:

Whilst all 4 IG variants’ unique pilot ability has circumstantial value, let’s be honest; you will only ever take/see B and C. Not only are they individually the best abilities of the four, but they are the ones who work most symbiotically. By boosting as one of your two actions, you can pick up a much needed Evade token thanks to IG-88C. Nice. Butttt, IG-88B grants you essentially a free Gunner crew upgrade, meaning you can pummel a ship twice in one turn, assuming the first attempt is unsuccessful. Nice…r.

The IG-2000 title is mandatory for any BroBot build, as it is the very essence of their playability, allowing them to use each other’s pilot abilities with impunity. Amazing, and possibly the best title upgrade in the game. Arguably, in fact, the best points-for-points upgrade in the game.

Inertial Dampeners are there as a bit of a gamble, really. Whilst they will often be a points sink, how many times do you have a shot lined up, only for you to go zooming past due to a poorly judged manoeuvre (Hello, less than optimal Pilot Skill!)? Not anymore! Use this baby, and you’re having a turn of sitting on the spot, gunning down any fool mad enough to cross your firing arc.

Autoblaster and Accuracy Corrector are pretty much mutually exclusive. There’s little point of one without the other, and is a combination I tested exhaustively on my B Wing Treble Threat. It’s not the greatest output of damage you can get, but it sure is dependable. And it’s the underestimation of its ability to pile on the hurt, that often leads to people losing ships. Fast. 2 guaranteed hits might not sound like a lot, but when you consider the opponent can’t cancel out these hits via any method (thanks Sebastian Rohrich!) and then you combine this with the shared ability from IG-88B, this can be seriously good. Some good flying, trapping one enemy ship in the arc of both of these guys, can be disastrous for your opponent. Mwahahahahaa! In all seriousness, though, the only real drawback of this combo is the effect range of 1, meaning you have to rely on your primary weapon value of 3 for anything beyond that. What a crying shame…

Ordinarily, I’d look at something like Veteran Instincts on pilots with PS6, as that would take them up to the fairly healthy 8 needed to outrun most of the meta threats outside of Aces. Unfortunately, to make the absolute most of the ability sharing going on, you want to be Boosting every turn (to pick up that free Evade!) and, then, either Focus or Target Locking depending on your preference. Therefore, Push the Limit is the more necessary choice. Admittedly, the Stress can become something of an issue, but in my last two games, I haven’t been hampered too badly by it. Soak up a hit or two each time you need to shed the Stress, and you’re golden.

Lastly, I originally had Ion Projector in the mod slot. They are a great addition to any large ship build, and a lot of my local group have a tendency to kamakazi my larger ships, in absence of any ability to handle them any other way. This led to me countering with Ion tokens aplenty. And it was fun. Really fun.

But, after a while, I began to realise that Autothrusters made more sense, from a meta perspective. Admittedly, when wanting to make the most of the AB/Accuracy Corrector combo, you are essentially going to forgo the added survivability afforded by Autothrusters. But, there will be other ships wanting to shoot you, and hopefully they’ll be far enough away to make the most of AT. Also, for those times that you elect to stay out of range 1 and use your primary, again, you’ll have that extra padding too. I think both are viable options, but one keeps you alive longer, whilst the other helps to pin your opponent in place for more damage next turn.

I have played quite a number of games with this list now, the most recent of which was against a mixed Scum list and a Vader/Fel/Inquisitor list, in a 2-vs-1 game. I wiped the floor with them, and lost two shields (not each, cumulatively) for my troubles. Yep.

As always, I would love your feedback on this article, the list, and even BroBots in general. Hit me up on here, Twitter (@bellefarniente) or Facebook (Josh Antony Harris) for chats on X Wing, other tabletop craziness, or even just life.