This is the important, but often neglected support role that many good squads need. These are the ships that are not designed to work alone and often do not fit in any other category, but boost or protect others.

The Rebels in particular thrive in a support role with team work high in their tactical doctrine. The Empire and Scum on the other hand offer plenty of stress or offensive boosts to their fleets.

Some ships may seem a little odd at first, but the criteria is plenty of Crew and other support slots, a few Ordnance and some pretty different, even unique Actions.

Rebel (GR-75, Auzituck, HWK-290, Sheathipede & Attack Shuttles);

A very important category for the Rebels, many successful squads have been build around a seemingly weak support ship.

Unique or rare capabilities for the Rebels are; Coordinate (2), Reinforce (2), Jam (1), Recharge (1) Cargo (3) and a Huge ship. They ave lots of Crew (7), a Droid and 2 Turret slots, with a Bomb for good measure. The Turrets are especially useful, allowing a pedestrian ship to lend a hand in combat without having to keep a target in arc or nearby.

The GR adds Cargo and some good support options as well as a large table presence. It may seem odd to have a ship with no obvious offensive capability, but some Cargo and Crew upgrades can turn a game while it takes the brunt of the damage and regenerate it’s shields.

In base terms, the ships are a real mixed bag from small and agile to huge and cumbersome. The Primary attacks range from 0 to 3, agility 0 to 2, health 4 to 12 and they have a wide variety of Actions, manoeuvres and speeds.

The common thread is Crew synergies, where the Rebels are strong (the most Crew), mixed with some independently capable ships.

Empire (Phantom, Lambda);

With only two options, the Empire may look weak here, but lets look at the ships first.

The Phantom can cloak natively (there is a less efficient Illicit option), has a brutal 4 Primary, Crew + Systems, which is an upgrade efficiency rare for the Empire, can Barrel Roll and Evade and has some tricky Pilots. It’s support role comes in the from of being a dangerous, stealthy nuisance. It lacks some efficiency without Title or Mods, but is still a dangerous ship.

The Lambda has a long history of transporting Vader or the Emperor (not available in BB) as an attacking support ship. Ysanne and Mara, Tactical Officer and Rebel Captive also make good options and some of the Pilots are good at support.

Scum (C-Roc, G-A1, HWK-290, YV 666);

Similar in dynamic to the Rebel offerings, the Scum also have a Huge ship, which unlike the GR can mount a variety of weapons and a Team upgrade. They also have a variation on the HWK with a bonus Illicit slot.

Crew are generally meaner types, less about aiding, more about hindering others, but still have some strong synergies.

The G-A1, even without the Mist Hunter Title, has a unique Illicit + Crew + Systems combination, giving it many possible faces. Often called the Scum B Wing because it has a nearly identical dial and core stats, the G-A1 is quite different in reality, offering no Ordnance options, but several utilities.

The YV is a tough one. It could easily (and originally did) fit into the Heavy ship category, but the “Party Bus” is really more about support. In the Extended universe, it is the ship the mercenary Bossk uses, but in BB the role it serves is less front line and more rear support with it’s poor dial, 180 decree arc and 3 Crew slots.

Support ships have one thing in common, more passive than active options. Whether they are in the form of Crew, ranged weaponry, Cargo or simply blocking, the support ship is a squad build linch-pin, rarely a strong loner.