I'm trying not to get ahead of myself because we don't know everything about Scum yet, but I'll admit that the StarViper is one of my favorite ships. I love everything about the expansion, and I'm really rather excited to run the ship itself.

The only downside so far has been Xizor. I think he and Guri are great characters, and I especially like Guri's ability, but I've been thinking and thinking of what to do with Xizor. He's got some great maneuverability, and can slot in at PS7 or 9, but without someone nearby to take advantage of his ability you're just paying a premium for a high-PS ship.

The argument so far has been to make Xizor worth shooting at by loading him up, but what if you just give him a wingman that's even harder to hit?

Cue Laetin A'Shera

This guy is the anti-swarm. If he's the only target, there is a real possibility that an entire 6-8 ship swarm can fire and miss, and every single miss makes that more likely. Slap a Stealth Device on him and laugh all the way back to port.

So, I'm proposing to run him opposite Xizor, and make them both as evasive as possible. Yes, this will only really prove feasible when we know the Scyk dial, but if it's close to the popular predictions, I think there's a solid chance for these two to dance.

Prince Xizor (30)

-Virago title +1

-Advanced Sensors +3

-Autothrusters +2

-> 36

Laetin A'Shera (18)

-Stealth Device +3

-> 21

That's already 57 points, and there's room for another upgrade or two (such as Inertial Dampeners or Vet Instincts on Xizor, or any kind of Heavy Scyk upgrade for Laetin), but I think it's a solid start. As-is, there's room for three Headhunters or Scyks, or even a decently-equipped Firespray. I think I would like to try this, though:

Binyare Pirate (12)

-Deadman Switch +2

-> 14

X 3

-> 42 Points

Brings the point total to 99, which can be an initiative bid to move last at PS7. Xizor and Laetin are good at clearing fodder, while the Zs can swarm over any VIP ship. I don't know how well they'd all work together, but I think it's something I'd like to try. Something tells me that I'll be slapping Predator on the prince and some kind of cannon on Laetin, but I figure a small swarm escort can punish turrets or VIPs better than making the two named pilots hit harder.

Has anyone else been tinkering to make Xizor work? Any other wingmate or squad suggestions?

The argument so far has been to make Xizor worth shooting at by loading him up, but what if you just give him a wingman that's even harder to hit?

That does not stop the enemy from shooting at Xizor.

Flying Laetin A'Shera at range 1 of Xizor to take the damage is not a good idea.

I think it would be much simpler if you fielded a 5-6 Z95 swarm, and in the subsequent furball bring Xizor within range 1 of whichever expendable Z95 happens to be nearby, rather than trying to create a dedicated wingman to shadow him everywhere he goes.

The argument so far has been to make Xizor worth shooting at by loading him up, but what if you just give him a wingman that's even harder to hit?

That does not stop the enemy from shooting at Xizor.

Flying Laetin A'Shera at range 1 of Xizor to take the damage is not a good idea.

The idea isn't to have Laetin take the damage, so much as to push someone back to trying to shoot a ship with 3 Agility and Autothrusters, and either a Focus or Evade token. Xizor can even let one hit slip through fine, and have it bounce off the shield first. But especially with turrets as widespread as they are, Xizor isn't really a tempting target, and I'm hoping to play off of that more than anything.

Edit: StarViper cannot Evade. Derp.

I think it would be much simpler if you fielded a 5-6 Z95 swarm, and in the subsequent furball bring Xizor within range 1 of whichever expendable Z95 happens to be nearby, rather than trying to create a dedicated wingman to shadow him everywhere he goes.

That's entirely fair, and I think you can roll over most anything with just the Headhunters, but then it feels more like Xizor is getting in the way, or you've got to hamstring his maneuverability. I think Serissu with a full Headhunter or Scyk swarm offers more than Xizor does, and for cheaper.

General consensus seems to be taking a y-wing is the better choice with eight hit points it can keep xizor going a while.

Scyk May have three dice to defend with but ask any imp they'll fail you more often than they'll save you.

General consensus seems to be taking a y-wing is the better choice with eight hit points it can keep xizor going a while.

Scyk May have three dice to defend with but ask any imp they'll fail you more often than they'll save you.

The Y-Wing is definitely the other thing I've been thinking about, simply because with an Ion Turret and an Unhinged Astro the wishbone has a decent time staying near a StarViper. Definitely more health, and you're more likely to create a situation where someone can shoot at Xizor but not his escort (instead of just shooting the escort).

Laetin doesn't necessarily rely on dice though. He can take a Focus and only ever spend it defensively, and while the dice always betray you at some point, if you get lucky and dodge the first attack, then Laetin becomes a less-ideal target on each subsequent attack. So, if someone tries to shoot Laetin and misses, now they might consider shooting at Xizor instead, who certainly isn't an easy target either. I mean, ideally Xizor is able to AS/SLoop behind someone anyway, but you can't do that to a turret. Which one does Han try to shoot first? That's the question I'm trying to put in front of an opponent.

I don't really see the synergy here. Why would I bother targeting Laetin at all?

I don't really see the synergy here. Why would I bother targeting Laetin at all?

That's the idea! You wouldn't want to. But Xizor is difficult to hit, and in a pinch you can shift damage from Xizor to Laetin, but the idea is to make both very difficult to hit. Almost any other comrade for Xizor would be easier to hit than Xizor himself; that's the idea I was trying to subvert.

At more than 1/3 your points, you don't want people shooting at him at all, imo. So, making him the better choice for your opponent doesn't seem all that useful, and it's a win-win for him or her if you pass off a free hit to a ship of your own that is actually harder to hit.

Laetin, if he's harder to hit, can safely be ignored since he's a two dice attack ship.

At more than 1/3 your points, you don't want people shooting at him at all, imo. So, making him the better choice for your opponent doesn't seem all that useful, and it's a win-win for him or her if you pass off a free hit to a ship of your own that is actually harder to hit.

Well right, I'm not suggesting taking 57+ points and placing them firmly in front of a Swarm, but Xizor is essentially in an Interceptor, and he can't arc-dodge Turrets. Anyone of lower PS is at a huge disadvantage when Xizor can Focus, Boost, or Barrel Roll before a 3-SLoop, and then take his shot. But, since he can't avoid a Falcon forever, or move after a VI Phantom without VI himself, his maneuverability has a limit. So, in those cases, keeping Laetin as a wingman seems like the best way to present the opponent with a difficult choice.

At more than 1/3 your points, you don't want people shooting at him at all, imo. So, making him the better choice for your opponent doesn't seem all that useful, and it's a win-win for him or her if you pass off a free hit to a ship of your own that is actually harder to hit.

Well right, I'm not suggesting taking 57+ points and placing them firmly in front of a Swarm, but Xizor is essentially in an Interceptor, and he can't arc-dodge Turrets. Anyone of lower PS is at a huge disadvantage when Xizor can Focus, Boost, or Barrel Roll before a 3-SLoop, and then take his shot. But, since he can't avoid a Falcon forever, or move after a VI Phantom without VI himself, his maneuverability has a limit. So, in those cases, keeping Laetin as a wingman seems like the best way to present the opponent with a difficult choice.

Yeah, I understand your point and what you are trying to do, but imo, giving them two equally difficult ships to hit, where one is worth 15 points more than the other (and that's actually the slightly easier one to score a hit) doesn't present a difficult choice. If you were to upgrade Laetin with Mangler or HLC, I think you do present a more difficult choice since Laetin becomes the more dangerous ship, but there are other problems with that, like the fact that you don't want a 27-30 point ship as a damage soak for Xizor.

I think it's actually better to pair him with a cheaper, easier target to hit. That's a more difficult choice for your opponent. Does he shoot at the more dangerous, difficult target (especially since he can pass at least one damage off) or the one that is easier to hit but is far less important in the hopes of taking a gun off the table?