Flying the Openly Hostile Sky

By Mack Martin

Salutations Choombatas! We’ve had a few questions about the flight crew of the Herakles, how they play, and who they work with, so I thought I’d get into their details for you today!

Let’s start with what they don’t have and who they aren’t. They don’t have a Leader and aren’t designed to play as a standalone team. They’re also not designed with synergies, combos, or any other rules that make them play specifically together. They can work that way, but it’s certainly not required.

So what are they? What do they have? Well, they’re individual characters who fill a role on the Herakles. They are Mercs, and for good measure, they’re also Edgerunners. This allows individual models to drop into any team, filling the gaps.

A side note on Mercs. A two-Merc limit is imposed on teams in some environments (such as basic one-off games). However, this restriction does not exist in campaign play, and in tournament play, Mercs will not be limited so tightly in seasons to come. This affects the Herakles crew in particular, as they’re a lot more efficient when they aren’t also taking a limited Merc slot!

Ok, so let’s talk about the actual members themselves. First up in our stretch goal unlocks is the Door Gunner. Coming in at a low 10 EB cost, you get what you pay for, as he has 2 Yellow actions and a +1 Ranged skill. What sets him apart is his Pintle Harness. This allows him to take the Pintle weapon off the Herakles to use while dismounted. He’s a pretty effective heavy gunner for more melee-focused teams, like the Maelstrom, or anyone who lacks early campaign big guns (like Gen Red).

The second door gunner is called Support Gunner, and he’s also 10 EB. He swaps out the +1 Melee of the Door Gunner for a +1 Medical, but otherwise has the same +1 Ranged and Reflexes skills. He doesn’t have a harness (that’s a gear option, though) instead, he’s carrying an Assault Rifle. For his cost, he’s an effective way to take shots, making him a good addition to any team looking to add a little volume of fire both in and out of the Herakles.

The Crew Chief is a Netrunner. He’s a little more expensive than the Gunners at 12 EB, and he doesn’t have impressive skills (+1 Melee, +1 Reflexes, +2 Tech). What he does bring to the table is program effectiveness. If your team is looking to use a specific program and use it reliably, the Crew Chief’s Snap Decisions ability might fit the need. The first program he activates each activation gains Accurate. This makes buff and even attack programs a lot more reliable, but only one, realistically. Sure, you could re-activate the model several times without taking actions, but that’s going to give your rival a lot of action advantage (usually a bad idea). The chief ain’t unarmed either. He’s got a Takedown Rifle, which is an Accurate Ranged weapon with a Yellow-Green range.

We’re also really close to unlocking *Update they are now unlocked!* the Co-Pilot, so why don’t I go ahead and spill the beans on that model, too? Our Co-Pilot is there to run the guns of the Herakles if your team doesn’t have enough bullet jockeys. He’s a little more expensive than the others at 15 EB, even though he only has two Yellow actions. At least his skills are solid (+2 Ranged, +2 Reflexes, +1 Tech). He’s also got the Turret Execution ability, which doesn’t just sound cool; it grants Deadly Crits to the Turrets he fires. Teams without access to cheap models with Ranged skills may want to hire the Co-Pilot to help rain death. He’s also just a solid choice whenever you want to man a Turret that doesn’t already have Deadly Crits.

There’s another member of the crew as well on my table… but I guess we’ll have to keep our eyes on the Kickstarter to see if the Cap’n unlocks!

I’ve already said too much.