
A 4-die attack at Range 2-3, with a situational, pure-damage upside. Rather reminiscent of Proton Torpedoes, Concussion Missiles, and Assault Missiles, which function similarly.
This one is the cheapest of the lot, so its got that in its favor.
Firstly, a quick survey of the number of ships with shields in the game, along with their native agility:
0 Shields : TIE Fighters, Interceptors, and Bombers.
3/3/2 respectively.
1 Shield : SCYKs, HWKs, Starvipers and Kihraxzs.
3/2/2 respectively.
2 Shields : A-Wings, X-Wings, Z-95s, TIE Advanced, Phantoms.
3/2/2/3/2* respectively.
3 Shields : E-Wings, Y-Wings, TIE Defenders.
3/1/3, respectively.
4 Shields : K-Wings, ORSs, TIE Punishers, Decimators, Firesprays, Aggressors.
1/1/1/0/2/3, respectively
5+ Shields : B-Wings, Named Falcons, YT-2400s, Shuttles, YV-666.
1/1/2/1/1, respectively.
I bring this chart up, as for the torpedo to deal extra damage, it needs there to be a surviving shield.
As the article states, this means that ships with high HP and low agility will suffer particularly from this missile.
However, it is not necessarily good at alpha-striking; once you're down to the enemy's Hull, your bonus damage is lost.
Still, for 3 points, it's probably worth running in that format.
Once upon a time, I did an analysis on the different Missiles and Torpedoes, for the Alpha-Strike format.
This is a new contender, not for its own damage, but because it can fit in a 5x Bomber fleet, and you can sacrifice one of them to promote its pilot to Captain Jonus.
The expected damage, in that scenario, is thus:
Jonus attacks first, dealing an expectation of 1.5 damage, unless the 2 remaining points were for a Squad Leader, leaving him at 1.
The Jonus Bonus is less than a full Target Lock, and is proving vexing to script at the moment.
First Scimitar attacks, 4 dice with 2 re-rolls, and possibly a Focus Token from SL, and possibly removing a spare shield, should the defender have any remaining. Full TL is expected to be 3 each, and TL + Focus would be 3.75.
2nd-4th Scimitars attack, 4 dice with 2 re-rolls. Full TL is expected to be 3 each.
However, the end result? Slightly less than 13 damage from the ordnance.
Highest possible single-target option for a Range 3 Alpha, at the moment.
Doesn't hold a candle to the Cluster Missiles paired with Jonus or Accuracy Correctors, or for a Prototype Procket x5 fleet, but also doesn't need to wait that long to go off.
Also, it's unique, in that if you split your fire, rather than concentrate it, you actually get more damage. That's worth investigating.