The greatest part about the vehicles in Star Wars is how diverse they are. An X-Wing is a completely different design philosophy to a tie fighter, both in form and function. A B-Wing is even more different, with the rotating cockpit and unique appearance. Which I think slightly resembles a killer bee about to sting, with the main cannon on the bottom wing as the stinger, the other wings as the wings etc. Hence, Bee-Wing.

that or, apparently, Lucas wanted more ship designs to diversify the battle above endor and distinguish it from the battle above Yavin. The concept art was turned in, titled "design A" and "design B' and apparently stuck which fit the A-wing nicely but left viewers scratching their heads at the T-looking B-wing

I still like my crazy theory, even though we don't know how bees look or behave, or are named, in the Star Wars universe.

The greatest part about the vehicles in Star Wars is how diverse they are. An X-Wing is a completely different design philosophy to a tie fighter, both in form and function. A B-Wing is even more different, with the rotating cockpit and unique appearance. Which I think slightly resembles a killer bee about to sting, with the main cannon on the bottom wing as the stinger, the other wings as the wings etc. Hence, Bee-Wing.

that or, apparently, Lucas wanted more ship designs to diversify the battle above endor and distinguish it from the battle above Yavin. The concept art was turned in, titled "design A" and "design B' and apparently stuck which fit the A-wing nicely but left viewers scratching their heads at the T-looking B-wing

I still like my crazy theory, even though we don't know how bees look or behave, or are named, in the Star Wars universe.

Now we have to get Cage in a Storm Trooper helmet yelling NOOOOOOO! NOT THE (SPACE) BEES

I disagree with a lot of these responses in that any time you're considering taking a naked Scyk, you're probably better off with a Headhunter. What makes them interesting is the cannon option.

And that, in combination with their moderately weak statistical effectiveness, points to their role for me: they're not swarmers, really. The Scyk is a splash of relatively cheap control, or a nasty little crit-fisher, or a glass cannon daring you to turn to engage the flank. It's worth the investment in all of those roles.

I will respectfully disagree. I know that on paper the Z-95 is better, but I have had great success with Tie Fighters (past and present). I would rather have a 3 green die barrel roller than the Z-95....at times. There are times when I'd rather do the Z-95 (like with Xizor), but there are also other times when the Scyk is good. I also believe that the TL will be used more often than people think. Oh, not all the time, but there will be more opportunities than people think. It's really more a matter of preference in my mind.

Thinking about Heaver's metagame article and trying to figure out how the SYCK fit in. It must be the Jousting archetype since it isn't quite boosty enough to be an arc-dodger. From that thinking, 5xCartel-Manglers is an interesting choice. But would it work facing down 4 B-Wings? Let alone be able to take down Fat Han + whatever?

It used to be that Tie Fighters were considered arc dodgers...until the Tie Interceptors with PTL came around. Then, if you don't have boost AND barrel roll, you aren't an arc dodger. I still say that you can be an arc dodger with just barrel roll. Sure, not the best, but you shouldn't be discounted. I think the Scyk can be a mix between jouster and arc dodger.

Space slugs are a thing, why can't Starvipers be?

because nobody ever suspects the Butterfly!

Obscure Simpsons reference!

The Scyk seems to be a hard one to figure out. They seem a tiny bit too expensive to spam, too fragile to make it seem wise to load them up for quality, and their named pilots are good but hard to work into a squad in a way that makes sense. Serissu will get blasted early a la Howlrunner, since most ships would be nuts to fire at a 3+ green dice Spacers/Veterans with re-rolls and presumably a focus most of the time. You need to draw agro away from Serissu to make any use of her ability, and you don't quite have the luxury of taking a cheap DTF wingmate like a Black Squad Pilot (Tansarii Veteran with DTF is possible, but I don't think you can afford to take another Scyk that isn't just a cannon platform).

I'm not confident that the Spacers will live long enough to get value from their HLCs, unless you have a Swarm Tactics setup somewhere (Serissu seems logical). Manglers are a lot easier to slot in there, and Manglers firing at PS2 actually might help them land more crits if faster pilots knock the shields down first. 20 pt Spacers with Mangler cannons (which I have taken to calling Spanglers) seem like a solid enough choice, while I'd like to see PTL (for focus/evade stack) or a Hull/Shield upgrade protecting a HLC where possible. I just hate looking at the cost, as you're almost into naked Firespray/Aggressor territory.

This list seems like a fairly fundamentally sound Serissu mini-swarm, with some Spanglers and a couple Z-95s with Hot Shot Blasters:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/201470/serissus-mob

This list has Serissu with a couple crit spewing HLC Veterans, and N'dru running around as a distraction (and to strip shields for the Veterans).

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/201460/ndru-and-the-scykos

A couple other Scyk lists that I like so far are:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/190837/guri-and-spanglers

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/185976/scyk-miniswarm-warthog

Overall I am a fan of all the Scum ships, I just don't quite have my head wrapped around the faction yet. They don't seem as straight-forward as the others, and I'm sure that's quite deliberately part of their design. If they ever get a 2-crew turret ship (I'm praying for Hound's Tooth, even though it would be massive) things would suddenly be very easy to figure out.

I think that Scyks are ships that are good to use as filler in a list. You don't have to do a swarm of them or load up with cannons to be effective. Just treat it as a Tie Fighter. Yes, it's 2 pts more, but you get a little bit more than an Academy Pilot. These ships don't have to be centerpieces, but they can fill out a list.

Laetin w/ Hvy Scyk, Mangler, and Stealth Device

Kavil w/ Blaster Turret and R4 Agromech

Binayre w/ Ion Pulse Missile

2 x Cartel Spacers

Laetin hovers around the flanks and shoots. Kavil and the rest move into the fight. Cartel Spacers are there as Tie Fighters. They try to arc dodge and get in at Range 1 or bump. They distract your opponent or block your opponent while Kavil or Laetin do the damage.

If you're gonna spam Scyks, why not try this: Serrisu with Swarm Tactics, Tansarii Point Veteran with Bodyguard, and a Cartel Spacer with a Heavy Laser Cannon. That leaves you with 36 points (3 Z-95's or otherwise) to flavor with and keeps targeting priority a question.

You could opt to use DTF on Leeachos to help Serissu out. He's much cheaper than a Veteran and has one more hit point.

I think that Scyks are ships that are good to use as filler in a list. You don't have to do a swarm of them or load up with cannons to be effective. Just treat it as a Tie Fighter. Yes, it's 2 pts more, but you get a little bit more than an Academy Pilot. These ships don't have to be centerpieces, but they can fill out a list.

The biggest difference IMO is that Imperials have some great aces in the 30-40 point range (Fel, Phantoms, etc.) that perform well in a list with 4-5 TIEs bolted on. Oh, and Howlrunner. Such an awesome buff for cheapie TIEs, giving them some teeth. Without a cheap way to get some damage buffs on your swarmy Scum ships, you can't quite rely on Serissu to the same extent. Keeping ships that don't do any damage alive doesn't seem as useful as making all your ships significantly more dangerous for a couple turns. Especially if the opponent can just swat Serissu first.

Building Scum lists I usually buy a lot of weapon upgrades and have a very squishy looking list without enough hull/shields on the board, or I end up with a defensive list that doesn't seem all that threatening. I also seem to get stuck on 98 points a lot, in a list where the initiative bid is irrelevant Then there's the always fun "good list that has no answer to the Phantom". I'm enjoying the mental exercise of wrapping my head around a whole new faction, but I really need to throw some more dice and get some experience to go with my theories.

Maybe Guri with Bodyguard would be worth it for Serissu and some friends. Agility 4 might finally push people to shoot at something else, so you get some mileage out of her ability. Serissu, loaded Bodyguard Guri and two Spanglers is 99 pts. And I would get to sing out of tune Whitney Houston a lot while playing this list, which is a plus.

Maybe I should just learn to love the Feedback Array Z-95 swarm

I think that Scyks are ships that are good to use as filler in a list. You don't have to do a swarm of them or load up with cannons to be effective. Just treat it as a Tie Fighter. Yes, it's 2 pts more, but you get a little bit more than an Academy Pilot. These ships don't have to be centerpieces, but they can fill out a list.

The biggest difference IMO is that Imperials have some great aces in the 30-40 point range (Fel, Phantoms, etc.) that perform well in a list with 4-5 TIEs bolted on. Oh, and Howlrunner. Such an awesome buff for cheapie TIEs, giving them some teeth. Without a cheap way to get some damage buffs on your swarmy Scum ships, you can't quite rely on Serissu to the same extent. Keeping ships that don't do any damage alive doesn't seem as useful as making all your ships significantly more dangerous for a couple turns. Especially if the opponent can just swat Serissu first.

I've seen a lot of effective lists with just a couple of Tie Fighters stuck on. It's not always 4-5. I've seen 1 or 2. Also, I don't believe that Howlrunner is required to make Tie Fighters effective. Which then translates to the fact that you don't need something for Scyks to be effective.

I think the question comes down to do you prefer Z-95's or do you prefer Tie Fighters (aka Scyks) in your list?

I'm finding that its a fun ship to throw in sometimes!

also int pilots:

Tansarii Pt Vet

PTL (or Pred)

HLC

title

Stealth:

32 pts. 4 dice RG pilot.

Speaking of aces if FFG makes a Scyk Ace I will definitly be one happy mofo

Here's one that I'll be interested to try once I acquire the ships:

Sirissu with Swarm Tactics, Heavy Scyk Title & HLC (31)

Tansarii Veteran with Push the Limit, Heavy Scyk title and HLC (29)

Cartel Spacer with Title and HLC (23)

Kaa'To Leeachos with Bodyguard (17)

Total: 100 points

Veteran uses PTL to take a focus and evade. Kaa'To Focuses, steals the evade from the Veteran, and uses Bodyguard to bump Sirissu to 4 agility. Sirissu swarms the Spacer to PS8. You now have two HLCs shooting at PS8, followed by a 2-dice attack and an extra HLC attack at PS5, and the defender only gets an extra range 3 die against Leeachos.

From the one game I have had so far, the Mangler is an interesting cannon to have. Because range has no difference on your own shooting whatsoever (even at range 1 the cannon is better) it's a ship that can benefit from staying at range three behind 4 agility dice. The standard "try to get in range 1 and swarm the thing" is a tactic that can work if you can get a bump off but otherwise it might be better to try and snipe things.

I'll give PTL a few more tries before I use another option. When my other Scum stuff arrives I'll try Y-Wings and all that for sure, but will probably keep 1-2 Sycks in my list so I can master them.

In my first (and only) game with scum, I think this is something I screwed up. I moved my Scyks up with my Y-wing jousters, and the Scyks started taking hits. I ended up losing two out of three scyks in the game (took out the Falcon with Han and Chewbacca, Jan Ors, and a Z-95 though). If I'd stayed back farther, that might not have happened. So I think your advice is really good, Kilkakon.

I bought 3 M3-A's and now I'm thinking I need another.

I'm thinking three will work ok without Serrisu but will get chopped to pieces in close combat. Then once you take Serrisu there's the issue of of him getting focus fired on right from the start. Adding Laetin should offer another high value target to shoot at but only after Serrisu is dead. To counter this, why not put a big gun (HLC) on him and his mates?

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/201992/cartel-cannonade

But then I thought that Serrisu is will probably get totally mushed around turn 3 making him a total waste of 21 points. So:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/202009/cartel-cannonade-v2

Manglers will get the job done as good as HLC's and now PtL Serrisu can uber turtle and make Laetin look like the better target, right? If you want to go ahead and shoot at a focus/evade ship who's going to be hanging in the back of a diamond formation, be my guest!

Whatcha think, sirs?

I bought 3 M3-A's and now I'm thinking I need another.

I'm thinking three will work ok without Serrisu but will get chopped to pieces in close combat. Then once you take Serrisu there's the issue of of him getting focus fired on right from the start. Adding Laetin should offer another high value target to shoot at but only after Serrisu is dead. To counter this, why not put a big gun (HLC) on him and his mates?

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/201992/cartel-cannonade

But then I thought that Serrisu is will probably get totally mushed around turn 3 making him a total waste of 21 points. So:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/202009/cartel-cannonade-v2

Manglers will get the job done as good as HLC's and now PtL Serrisu can uber turtle and make Laetin look like the better target, right? If you want to go ahead and shoot at a focus/evade ship who's going to be hanging in the back of a diamond formation, be my guest!

Whatcha think, sirs?

Serissu is a girl, and so are some of the people on this site. As for the build, I like it, though I find it crazy that the link's language is as gender specific as yours, and is not the way the cards are actually written.

I thought Laetin was the girl and Serissu the boy--whoops! Ah well some Bing searching sorted that one out.

Got my three Scyks today. I really like them... but they're so darn tiny.

Got my three Scyks today. I really like them... but they're so darn tiny.

imo, that's a plus

it's extra embarrassing for your opponent when these little bug looking motherf*ckers start spitting out mangler/hlc shots and downing large ships

Yeah, I can live with that.

Maybe Guri with Bodyguard would be worth it for Serissu and some friends. Agility 4 might finally push people to shoot at something else, so you get some mileage out of her ability.

If your opponent burns down Serissu first, instead of shooting at anything else, you got mileage out of her ability. She's 5 points less than Biggs and kind of does the same thing.

I bought 3 M3-A's and now I'm thinking I need another.

I'm thinking three will work ok without Serrisu but will get chopped to pieces in close combat. Then once you take Serrisu there's the issue of of him getting focus fired on right from the start. Adding Laetin should offer another high value target to shoot at but only after Serrisu is dead. To counter this, why not put a big gun (HLC) on him and his mates?

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/201992/cartel-cannonade

But then I thought that Serrisu is will probably get totally mushed around turn 3 making him a total waste of 21 points. So:

http://xwing-builder.co.uk/view/202009/cartel-cannonade-v2

Manglers will get the job done as good as HLC's and now PtL Serrisu can uber turtle and make Laetin look like the better target, right? If you want to go ahead and shoot at a focus/evade ship who's going to be hanging in the back of a diamond formation, be my guest!

Whatcha think, sirs?

Serissu is a girl, and so are some of the people on this site. As for the build, I like it, though I find it crazy that the link's language is as gender specific as yours, and is not the way the cards are actually written.

That's great.

Now what do you think of the build?

That's great.

Now what do you think of the build?

I think HLC is too expensive for a ship that will be one shot. I think you can do better with Mangler Cannons. Drop Laetin in that list and go all generics.

Serissu

4 x Cartel Space w/ Mangler Cannon

That list will work better in my humble opinion. More ships to chew through and more shots coming at you. If you face a Phantom, you don't fly in formation and try to spread out. Someone will have a shot and that's easier to do when you have more ships.

As vanilla as that sounds, Chadwick, I suppose the cheaper the better.