I built and flew this last night.

After regionals I want a fun squad to play around with. This sufficed for the fun element, but I wonder if anyone has suggestions to make it more competitive, or simply to point out the fatal flaw that highlights why it will never work.

I'm not looking to sweep a regional with this, but I want a squad that can at least give the meta-builds a good run, has a theme and is fun to play.

PRINCE AMONG THIEVES

100 points

PILOTS

Prince Xizor (39)
StarViper (31), Veteran Instincts (1), Virago (1), Autothrusters (2), Advanced Sensors (3), Inertial Dampeners (1)

Palob Godalhi (32)
HWK-290 (20), Veteran Instincts (1), Blaster Turret (4), Recon Specialist (3), Inertial Dampeners (1), Moldy Crow (3)

Kaa’to Leeachos (17)
Z-95 Headhunter (15), Bodyguard (2)

Binayre Pirate (12)

The idea is simple get: Xizor to the endgame, but do it with flavor.

As for the build in it's current state:

Kaa'to is essentially a very cheap Biggs with some potential for survivability through focus rolls. He is a softer target that a guarded Hawk, and will often be prioritized in order to soften up the Hawk. Best case scenario, he takes two or three shots to kill, which all increase the Crow's lifespan, and discourages early shots at Xizor.

Neither his ability or Body Guard need actions, so he can be stressed and still make Palob roll more green. He needs Palob to function, or at least another Moldy Crow pilot. A cheaper EPT alternative here could be calculation which still takes advantage of his ability.

Palob is a jerk. He fuels Kaa'to to keep himself in green, strips targets of tokens, has a decent attack, and sometimes forces an opponent to take less than optimal actions to avoid having the tokens stolen. He won't be very survivable under concentrated fire though, he is extremely vulnerable to crits, and will go down quickly if Kaa'to cannot support him.

The title, ability, and Recon specialist all mean the Crow should be well fueled with focus by the time combat happens.

It would be nice to get opportunist on him, or at least in the squad. The problem is he needs Veteran Instincts to receive the Body Guard bonus.

Inertial Damps is a point dump, but might be useful. It also could be sacrificed for a PS bid or to upgrade another ship.

Xizor is an endgame beast. He causes nearly as many planning phase headaches as a tooled up Whisper. Lack of action economy and reliance on Advance Sensors for movement shenanigans means that he can come up short in the damage department. In most cases he is going to reliably make it to the endgame in this list, but can he actually finish off the opponents?

Autothrusters seems an auto include because of the turret meta, but other durable modifications may have merit as well. Stealth device could be nice here as it's likely that Xizor won't be shot at until late in the game and could synergize with Kaa'to's ability.

Some options for his EPT that are attractive are PTL, Predator, or maybe opportunist. Veteran Instincts seems needed, but is it really? I don't know yet as I have only flown it once so far. It was key in the game I played so far since I was moving after Fel and Whisper.

Binayre Pirate is an efficient use of 12 points, a decent blocker, another soft target to go for, and a damage dump for Xizor. This guys could be upgrade for the other ships instead though; and that could be a better choice overall. The BP is also just an easy 12 for an opponent.

Since I like the theme and functionality of the list I think that I'd like to keep Palob, Kaa'to, and Xizor. Plus I like the name of the squad. I could see this evolving into a different Crow pilot though and that would alter the support options.

This is the first time I've thrown up an early build or my thought process for building it on the FFG forums and I appreciate any criticism, observations, or input. I intend to update this thread as I test it out and tweak it.

The first outing was versus Soontir Fel+PTL+AT, Whisper with FCS, intel, ACD, VI, and a Sigma with intel and SPA. There may have been more upgrades. My opponent is an excellent player and it was a good test of Xizor in the endgame where I had to dog Whisper and the Sigma with Xizor alone. I managed some R1 shots and minimized incoming fire, but the shots didn't connect and I eventually lost Xizor after stressing him the turn after a Sloop.

Unfortunately, Bodyguard only works on ally ships with HIGHER pilot skill. So Kaa'to can't protect Palob

Its a real bummer, because it would make a lot of sense, but FFG must have done it on purpose, because there are no Scum pilots with EPT's and pilot skill less than 5, so its almost like they don't want Palob protected

I'd personally like to see Xizor with a system. Taking Virago title just for inertial dampeners seems a bit of a waste. FCS or advanced sensors are probably best with veteran instincts...

I don't know if Inertial Dampeners are worth 2 points on Xizor. Really that's all you are doing with the Virago title. I'd actually drop ID on both him and Palob so you can give Xizor FCS. Or you can just run Xizor with Predator and drop the title. Kind of depends on what you think you'll face.

Leachos is the only scum pilot where Bodyguard makes any bit of sense, but I still don't think the card might be worth it. I wonder if Leachos with Draw their Fire might be a better ship to run along Palob. Every time I've run Palob, he gets crited a ton. Then you can give Palob Determination for even more defense against crits.

I've never had great success with the BT + Rec Spec + Crow combo. Every time I just think why didn't I take a **** ICT. Likely bad luck, but I just never roll enough focuses to spend all of them. Then the ship dies after round 2-3 of combat. A nifty crew on the HWK is Outlaw Tech. It really opens up the red maneuvers on the dial, as you'll get focus anyway.

Unfortunately, Bodyguard only works on ally ships with HIGHER pilot skill. So Kaa'to can't protect Palob

Its a real bummer, because it would make a lot of sense, but FFG must have done it on purpose, because there are no Scum pilots with EPT's and pilot skill less than 5, so its almost like they don't want Palob protected

That's why he has VI on Palob.

Crap, I will edit when I get back to a pc. Xizor has advanced sensors in this build. I obviously messed up something.

if you cut two dampeners and V.I, you can trade in your crummy Leechos for a brand new Seriussu

Prince Xizor (39)

StarViper (31), Veteran Instincts (1), Virago (1), Autothrusters (2), Inertial Dampeners (1)

The points don't add up. You seem to be missing something on Xizor. Advanced Sensors?

EDIT: Ninjaed

I don't know if Inertial Dampeners are worth 2 points on Xizor. Really that's all you are doing with the Virago title. I'd actually drop ID on both him and Palob so you can give Xizor FCS. Or you can just run Xizor with Predator and drop the title. Kind of depends on what you think you'll face.

Leachos is the only scum pilot where Bodyguard makes any bit of sense, but I still don't think the card might be worth it. I wonder if Leachos with Draw their Fire might be a better ship to run along Palob. Every time I've run Palob, he gets crited a ton. Then you can give Palob Determination for even more defense against crits.

I've never had great success with the BT + Rec Spec + Crow combo. Every time I just think why didn't I take a **** ICT. Likely bad luck, but I just never roll enough focuses to spend all of them. Then the ship dies after round 2-3 of combat. A nifty crew on the HWK is Outlaw Tech. It really opens up the red maneuvers on the dial, as you'll get focus anyway.

Unfortunately, Bodyguard only works on ally ships with HIGHER pilot skill. So Kaa'to can't protect Palob

Its a real bummer, because it would make a lot of sense, but FFG must have done it on purpose, because there are no Scum pilots with EPT's and pilot skill less than 5, so its almost like they don't want Palob protected

That's why he has VI on Palob.

Oh, so he does!

Original post is edited to show the advanced sensors on Xizor.

if you cut two dampeners and V.I, you can trade in your crummy Leechos for a brand new Seriussu

Seriussu is an option, but not being a Thief; i would have to change the squad name!

Serriussoly though, she is an excellent defensive option but would accomplish nearly the same role as Kaa'to for more points.

if you cut two dampeners and V.I, you can trade in your crummy Leechos for a brand new Seriussu

Seriussu is an option, but not being a Thief; i would have to change the squad name!

Serriussoly though, she is an excellent defensive option but would accomplish nearly the same role as Kaa'to for more points.

well she'd protect everyone at the same time without wasting someone else's focus. Even palob's stores start running dry if he's spending 3 on his own (blaster, modify attack, modify defense) without leechos being that guy at the office who steals your labeled lunches. I'd argue that's more than worth the 3 points.

well she'd protect everyone at the same time without wasting someone else's focus. Even palob's stores start running dry if he's spending 3 on his own (blaster, modify attack, modify defense) without leechos being that guy at the office who steals your labeled lunches. I'd argue that's more than worth the 3 points.

That and I'm guessing you don't value an additional green die very highly, eh ficklegreendice?

I'm with you though, they are cruel entirely too often.

I wouldn't consider Body Guard at all if it weren't for the focus stack that a Crow pilot will carry around when combat starts. In my opnion Body guard is a card of questionable value, using it to enhance a Crow with someone like Kaa'to may be the only reasonable combo to use it at all.

I am not saying it's great by any means, but it just might work here consistently enough to be viable.

That said, Palob will be spending focus at a rate of more than three a turn if he takes (and survives) concentrated fire. I honestly don't know yet if it's focus overkill or not enough focus. I suspect it will vary from game to game.

my general reaction after rolling green dice:

Ran this last night:

PRINCE AMONG THIEVES (PART DEUX)

100 points

PILOTS

Prince Xizor (38)
StarViper (31), Veteran Instincts (1), Virago (1), Autothrusters (2), Fire Control System (2), Inertial Dampeners (1)

Palob Godalhi (34)
HWK-290 (20), Opportunist (4), Blaster Turret (4), Recon Specialist (3), Moldy Crow (3)

Kaa’to Leeachos (16)
Z-95 Headhunter (15), Calculation (1)

Binayre Pirate (12)

I faced Emon and Boba, both had Proton Bombs and Emon had Prox Mines.

It was a tough fight and I lost both Z-95's before they did much other than block Boba once. They did manage to soak up a lot of fire though. Calculation on Kaa'to did nothing, partially because he was wearing a Weapon Malfunction from a Proton Bomb. I will probably try it again, but maybe DTF is a better choice.

Opportunist is an excellent skill on Palob, even though tactician shut i down at the end it. The turns it went off it did massive damage.

I missed Advanced Sensors on Xizor, but FCS was the solution to his damage issues. I wish I had it to avoid mines and still have shots that turn, but in the end it was FCS that carried the day and I was able to dodge the one prox mine that woudl have gotten Xizor by using damps and then 1 hard next turn.

In the endgame, it was Xizor chasing down Boba.

Fett was forced into Expert Handling every turn to shed the target locks (He was at four Hp when he started this rather than Recon Spec, and it was a balsy but understandable choice) and I was completely comfortable taking unmodified shots and using barrel roll/boost to stay out of arc where I could, knowing I would pick up another TL. It got close when I had to shoot long past a rock and Boba got R1 shots out of his rear arc, but Xizor hadn't taken any damage yet and was able to stay on Fett's tail and finish him off.

I still have some experimenting to do.

Cool.

I think engine on Palob is worth a try, if DtF doesn't do the trick (can turn kaato into a binayre)

Regardless, you should totally go with K4 droid over Rec Spec. 4 dice with focus + TL is even more devastating. You won't miss recon neither, because Palob can get enough focus as is (he's not going to live long).

Cool.

I think engine on Palob is worth a try, if DtF doesn't do the trick (can turn kaato into a binayre)

Regardless, you should totally go with K4 droid over Rec Spec. 4 dice with focus + TL is even more devastating. You won't miss recon neither, because Palob can get enough focus as is (he's not going to live long).

In the game I played last night I had a 13 stack of focus at one point, so in that game I would have benefited immensely from K4 over Recspec.

I think how much focus he has is largely determined by how quickly my opponent wants to press the engagement.

If i (reluctantly) drop Kaa'to to a pirate, Engine Upgrade is an attractive option on Palob. I may have to check it out.