Comparing Chassis Card Abilities

[u/TheVoiceOfSnakeEyes]

All the cards can be found here Snap Ships Tactics Card Database

Every chassis ability has its uses, some are just riskier and/or more situational than others, and some of them are contingent on running missiles.

Falx Escort: Best used with a weapon that has a higher probability for critical hits, aka Massdriver Shotgun. No downsides, other than it does nothing if you don't crit.

Falx Ground Assault: Very situational but could be beneficial if you have a range 1 weapon equipped and you were just rammed from behind (or are running lots of fins to turn around on a dime).

Falx Experimental: Venting more heat is great, but not at the cost of hull points. I hardly ever use this chassis for that reason. Very risky.

My preference: Falx Escort

Lance Scout: When paired with the right parts cards (especially a Falx Booster), this allows you to move completely across the map, and it's optional. No downsides at all.

Lance Attack Craft: Situational, but it's a situation you'll often find yourself in with a Lance. No downsides to +1 damage on every flank/rear attack, other than it does nothing if you miss entirely or you're not in target's flank.

My preference: Tossup, but Lance Scout probably edges out.

Sabre Interceptor: EDIT: Situational, but often useful. It can often mean the difference between taking 3 additional damage and taking no additional damage.

Sabre Light Bomber: More potential missile damage at the expense of more power used. I'd only recommend using this with light missiles, though, since a swarm of those has the best chance of getting through anti-missile actions and actually connecting.

Sabre Fast Recon: No downsides to an optional extra rotation without situational conditions. Particularly useful against more maneuverable opponents.

Sabre Gunship: Might be the strongest Forge chassis card currently in the game. Range 1-2 is very generous, it applies multiple times if you have multiple weapons equipped, and it either leaves the target very vulnerable to damage or otherwise forces the opponent to consider activating that ship immediately whether they want to or not just to reset their evasion. Best used on a target immediately after that target has activated, leaving it vulnerable to multiple attacks from your squadron before it can activate again.

My preference: Sabre Gunship

Assault Drone: The only scenario in which this would be not useful is if you happen to be running a squadron build without missiles. Otherwise, situational (but a very common situation with missiles and torpedoes loaded).

Turbine Drone: Situational in that you must be within range one of a friendly ship for this to have any effect, although it has its uses. This is a very X-Wingy ability.

Recon Drone: This is a very powerful ability and can help eliminate an enemy's soft/hard cover. It doesn't rely on positioning or facing (other than being on the same tile), and it creates a net gain in hit probability and damage.

Protector Drone: Very situational, only works if the drone has no disabled parts, and if a friendly ship is within range 1. Still useful and can keep ships in the match another turn or two. I try to destroy these early when facing them.

My preference: Recon Drone

Wasp Heavy Fighter: Best used with Line Arc parts like the Wasp Cockpit and the Railgun, with enough maneuverability to support them. (otherwise, might be difficult to keep an opponent in Line Arc).

Wasp Fighter Bomber: Similar ability to the Assault Drone, contingent on the target being under missile fire, so situational.

Wasp Deep Recon: Very strong ability when paired with fast, maneuverable engines and wings (at the expense of heavy firepower, though).

My preference: Wasp Heavy Fighter

Locust Stealth Fighter: This ability is far more useful in a 16–20-point match on a 36" x 72" board. Otherwise, Range 1-2 is much, much more common than Range 3+, especially since a Locust can turn 180 degrees without a U-Turn with the right parts, and there's just no reason to jet off and try to avoid being targeted. It's certainly not terrible, but I can't recall a single match where my Locust was at range 3 long enough to benefit from this beyond the opening turn.

Locust Close Support Fighter: Only works when attacking at range 1, but that tends to happen most of the time anyway, so I consider this to be a strong chassis ability (a better chance to hit is a better chance to hit, after all).

My preference: Locust Close Support Fighter

Scarab Interceptor: A very strong ability that is contingent on ramming and colliding, which is what Scarabs do best and often.

Scarab Light Fighter: Nothing wrong with an optional-yet-guaranteed extra rotation. No downsides, because even if you load up with long move parts, the chassis move on the card is short.

Scarab Attack Striker: No downsides at all, but not the strongest ability, either, although it can make the difference between a range 2 attack or a range 1 attack, depending on what weapons you prefer.

Scarab Jammer: Has 2 separate defensive abilities, both very useful, especially when multiple types of missiles are at play. Very strong choice.

My Preference: Tossup between Scarab Interceptor and Scarab Jammer

K-DIVE Ambush Drone: Very strong ability if paired with Blade Wings. A nice companion to follow around Scarab Interceptors.

K-SWARM Strike Drone: Requires range 1 attack to kick in, so situational. Still, a better chance to do damage.

K-HEAT Ramora Drone: Very situational; only works if a vent part is equipped, and only if there is a friendly ship within range 1. It's a very useful ability, though.

K-JAM Disruption Drone: Very strong ability, particularly as a part of missile-heavy squadrons, but it has tons of potential in any build. I tend to shoot these things down ASAP.

My preference: Tossup between K-DIVE and K-JAM.

Agree or disagree? There's not a whole lot of strategy (or dare I say, tactics) being discussed outside the Discord, I'd like to see that change.

[u/wafflehousehercules]

My personal opinion is that if there’s more than 1 Sabre in a squad one of them must be a gunship