I don't own one yet and I am thinking of getting one but I am just not sure it will be of much use at this point, am I wrong?

Your opinion will help a lot

I am not a collector.

My friends allow the use of proxy cards, and I don't play tournys.

My list of ships is in my signature for reference

If you play Imperial you need a shuttle.

Myself I'm not a fan of the shuttle. But a lot of people have made the thing really work for them. The Buzzsaw or Doom Shuttle both can be powerful builds if you get the hang of them.

So if you like flying Imperial, and based on your avatar I'm guessing you do. I'd recommend it.

I got my first shuttle a few weeks ago, it was the last ship I was missing from the entire run.

Advanced sensors- always good to have a few.

Heavy laser cannon - considering firesprays are tied with the falcon for holy grail status, so the shuttle is the only way to snag one.

Sensor jammer- fun, albeit expensive sensor card. Forces focus use.

Flight instructor- combo with sensor jammer for extra shenanigans

The omicron group pilot is about the best 21 point ship in the game, especially for the imps. It's also (currently) the cheapest cannon carrier in the game.

There are plenty of reasons to get the expansion, but actually flying the ship requires a lot of nuance and finesse.

If you plan to go into scum, pass on the shuttle for now. Scum ships are a lot more exciting. Otherwise one shuttle would be nice in rounding out your force.

The shuttle can work really well, just not for me

Most games where i've tried to use it have resulted in a loss but i know it works for others.

You should grab one and try it.

I like the Lamda. The cheapest is pretty darn cheap for what you get. If you use a Defender, then he's great with Col. Vessery and Weapons Eng. It's a lot of hull and shield for 2 TL for him.

I find the Lamda is a great ship to throw out there to fill out your list with something tough to kill. It takes a couple of turns to kill one if the enemy concentrates fire on it. I like to use it with a mini swarm. Have a bunch of ties or something else flying around it and covering it's rear. Or...a couple of elites are good. You need something to anchor their attention and the shuttle does a great job of it.

Lamda w/ Gunner is also really good. Not many ships get more than 2 attack dice and I'm happy to have a cheap one. Used Fire Control Systems and you have a Buzzsaw Shuttle.

EDIT: Oh, and for scenarios it's really useful.

In my league, they know when I pull out the shuttle that it's time for serious business.

It's so points-efficient and has such great upgrade slots. Once you learn how it flies, it becomes a monster.

You're asking if you need a Rebel Captive or Darth Vader in the Phantom meta?

I used to be like you. I bought one for the cards, but thought, "Oh, I'll never use more than one." Then I started flying it.

Now I own three.

Also, if you can track down any replays of Dom's matches on Vassal, give those a watch. He is the Soontir Fel of Space Cows.

You're asking if you need a Rebel Captive or Darth Vader in the Phantom meta?

I used to be like you. I bought one for the cards, but thought, "Oh, I'll never use more than one." Then I started flying it.

Now I own three.

Also, if you can track down any replays of Dom's matches on Vassal, give those a watch. He is the Soontir Fel of Space Cows.

Funny thing, in my group there is no Phantom meta, no one flies that tricky SOB and we don't play same faction battles

You don't need *a* shuttle. You need at least three.

You don't need *a* shuttle. You need at least three.

Would 2 be an acceptable amount?

Someone in another list pointed out:

Omnicron w/ Fleet Officer and Adv. Sensors

This lets you take a stress to give 2 other ships Focus and then clear it in a move. I was thinking about that and immediately came up with:

Omnicron w/ Fleet Officer and Adv. Sensors

6 x Academy Pilots

Two ships will get a Free Focus and can either Barrel Roll or Evade. Not a bad option, in my humble opinion. Maybe not the best for formation flying, but good for a furball.

You don't need *a* shuttle. You need at least three.

Would 2 be an acceptable amount?

Negative. I only have two and cry myself to sleep every night as a result.

Mandatory reading for Lambda pilots:

one two

You don't need *a* shuttle. You need at least three.

Would 2 be an acceptable amount?

Negative. I only have two and cry myself to sleep every night as a result.

Uuuuuughhhhhhh

So much moneys.

I hate to recommend a ship purely based on upgrades, but the Shuttle has a tone of great upgrades that don't come very many other places.

You're asking if you need a Rebel Captive or Darth Vader in the Phantom meta?

I used to be like you. I bought one for the cards, but thought, "Oh, I'll never use more than one." Then I started flying it.

Now I own three.

Also, if you can track down any replays of Dom's matches on Vassal, give those a watch. He is the Soontir Fel of Space Cows.

Funny thing, in my group there is no Phantom meta, no one flies that tricky SOB and we don't play same faction battles

Even without the Phantom, those two cards are very strong.

Rebel Captive's usefulness is mixed against Rebels. It severely restricts most Rebels, hindering their abilities to take K-Turns, use cards like Push the Limit, or take actions next turn unless they do a green move. However, Tycho doesn't think about the hostages, and Keyan Farlander is a known war criminal who will go out of his way to shoot them.

Darth Vader's just a bad, bad man. He's your finisher, equally at home on both Decimators and Shuttles. There's no better feeling in X-Wing then that moment where your opponent thinks he's survived the barrage of attacks against him with a mere two hull points remaining, only for Lord Vader to raise his clenched, armored fist, reach out with the Force, and tear the doomed starfighter apart with a Direct Hit.

As for the ship itself, it's fantastically versatile with one of the widest varieties of builds in the game. You have the DoomShuttle, with nothing on it but Vader. You have the Buzzsaw, pairing a Gunner with a Fire-Control System to deal a constant stream of damage against anyone in sight. You have the Dogfighter, pairing Advanced Sensors and an Engine Upgrade for a surprisingly fast, somewhat nimble ship that can actually use its full dial effectively. You have the Command Ship, pairing the Fleet Officer with Advanced Sensors to hand out Focus tokens like candy before instantly clearing the stress. Their large base and low pilot skill for the generic also makes them great control pieces capable of clogging up flight lanes and blocking more valuable pilots.

They're tough to fly, but they're also probably the most rewarding to fly once you learn how to use them well.

Imperial large ships take a lot of practice to fly well. They are a great intellectual challenge and are shown to be very very cost effective if flown right.

Not everyone does though, and then not everyone has the patience to learn to do it right.

The upgrades are totally worth it. RC is tip top powerful and Darth vader is next tier. HLC Adv Sen are also top tier. Sensor Jammer is so much fun with Ibtisam and other fun games. Also FCS comes with it. TOp tier.

Capt Yorr has won Nationals and is an incredibly good way to fly the shuttle. (Since it allows the shuttle to overshoot, negates Rebel Captives and other stress stuff, etc, has good low PS for blocking.)

Capt Kagi is REQUIRED for Epic games. One of the best huge area effects possible. Stops you from dying to most "broken" combos in epic. (Like my two B wings dealing 19 hits [and that was the predicted average too!!!] over only 2 turns).

Also, I have one and feel love it. But I don't feel like spending another $40 bucks for 2 more would make me happy. They... kind of a durdly ship and reliant on you planning your moves and for your luck to not fail. Get behind then, and unless its Capt Yorr, theyre kind of useless.

Yes you need one. Why? Cause deep down you really want one or you wouldn't have posted asking strangers to give you other reasons to get one.

When I look to use the Lambda, I look at a balance of two extremes

1.) Getting pilots to stack dice modifications as effective as focus + target-lock on the same shot every turn is very difficult. You often need potent pilot abilities and/or access to an EPT slot, both of which can run you pretty high on points.

And then there's the Lambda.

For the value of two academy pilots, you get a decent 3 dice offense supplemented by Darth "soon you'll have trouble breathing" Vader who will reach straight through green dice, defensive tokens, and outer space itself to ***** slap the enemy, guaranteed.

For the value of one Luke Skywalker, you can get the Buzzsaw (that's FCS + gunner) which provides some hilarious accuracy and makes for a very formidable presence.

2.) Oh god...that dial...

Yeah, it's no secret the shuttle pays for its exceptional stat:cost ratio and great upgrade bar for possibly the worst dial in the game.

It's not all bad, though, because the Doom and Buzzsaw varieties don't really care about a dial that sees more red than a bull staring down a matador (their obscene accuracy is completely action independent) giving you access to some clutch intentional self-blocks and the 0 stop maneuver.

And really, that's why you get the lambda. It's the X-wing equivalent of a thread-less tank packing a very nice gun and picked up from a shady car dealership for very cheap.

Omnicron w/ Fleet Officer, Adv Sensor, and Anti Pursuit Lasers

Night Beast

2 x Black Squadron w/ Calculation

Black Squadron

Academy Pilot

I might try this this week.

2.) Oh god...that dial...

Yeah, it's no secret the shuttle pays for its exceptional stat:cost ratio and great upgrade bar for possibly the worst dial in the game.

Considering the nature of the ships, it's really a battle between the Shuttle and the HWK for that title.

The Shuttle can park in space, use Advanced Sensors or FCS to mitigate the red turns, and can use creative blocking to keep things in arc, but if things get behind it then it's toast.

The HWK can hard turn every turn and isn't helpless if things get behind them like the shuttle, but its slower (red 4 straight is basically the same speed as the shuttle's white 3 straight), does not like being blocked or using red moves at all, and has no offense outside of range 2.

Man, y'all have me thinking about picking one up from my FLGS during Wing Wednesday, now.