Star Nebula Corsairs Relic Knight Calico Kate & Skully Spotlight

Calico Kate has become a legend among both admirers and enemies across the galaxy, and she has done so in only five cycles. Perhaps her most cunning move was to unite the corsair captains under a single banner. Before her arrival the various captains were given to endless confrontation. The Nebula was nearly as dangerous to the corsairs as it was to outsiders. Kate knew that the only way to take the biggest prizes was with a pack. She started by taking a few captains who had hit upon hard times under her wing. Their success soon brought other captains into the fold. Once Captain Harker signed on, the rest of the Nebula fell into the pot. Some admire her achievement. Others have sworn to take her head. None can dispute her success. For all her love of explosions and fast action, Kate has a surprisingly small body count to her name. There are racers on Cerci who have killed more opponents than she. Kate does not advertise this fact. She does not hesitate in combat either, but she prefers that her crews plunder rather than murder, as it’s more profitable. This is the source of most of the internal conflicts with her crew and captains. Some just like killing, or they fear that others will think them soft if they shy away from it. Still, few will challenge her on it—no one wants to walk away from the lucrative stream of profit Kate represents

Calico Kate makes her presence known on the battlefield!

As we’ve seen with other Relic Knights previewed, Calico Kate’s cost and health are both high, at 19 and 20, respectively. An aggressive move of 7-5, 2 armor, and 2 draw round out her stats. Her cadre ability, Joyful Anarchy, allows any unit in her cadre to use Kate’s Timed Detonation action after completing their own action.

Timed Detonation is Calico Kate’s area of effect and is basically a remote-detonated mine. After an enemy unit finishes an activation, Kate’s controller can pick one Timed Detonation AoE and 3 Damage and Push 2 to all units within 3 inches of the token, and then remove that token. When placing the token, it can be pressed to push the acting unit 3 inches away from the token. This little push can be great to make sure you’re safely out of range, or to get some extra distance on a follow up move. As a ranged action, it cannot be used to disengage. What’s really fun with Timed Detonation is Calico Kate’s cadre ability; while normally a unit can only have one copy of a given AoE in play at any time, Joyful Anarchy specifies that the active unit is the one taking the action. They use their own ranged stat when flipping, but the AoE also counts as originating from them. How big of a minefield can you create?

Furious Stab is Calico Kate’s strongest attack, dealing 9+ damage in melee with the option to Overcharge it to bypass active defenses. Bombs Away is a ranged option, able to punish multiple enemies for grouping up. With a press for Blast, Bombs Away also brings some utility. Finally, Kate’s defensive action, Explosive Retreat halves incoming damage thanks to Guard and offers up multiple presses to add Feint 3, Negate, and/or deal 3 damage to anything too close to her.

Calico Kate’s Cypher, Skully, enjoys explosions just as much as his Knight. Kaboom is expensive, requiring 3 total esper across two colors to initiate. It doesn't do a lot of damage, but the Blast 3 effect is great for disrupting enemy plans. Detonation is always a welcome option, as it reliably clears enemy AoEs without putting any friendly units in danger. When pressed it can even do a bit of damage. And if there isn't an enemy AoE on the field, Skully has no qualms setting off a Timed Detonation early (or any other friendly AoE). All of the Star Nebula Corsairs models that have been prievewed are launching at Reapercon 2026 in just a few days. Even better, they're available on the webstore to pre-order now, and will start shipping as soon as stock is available at our warehouse. Subscribe to make sure you don't miss an update!