I’ve been looking at this game since it came out and just recently bought in, mostly because I love the concept of S&V. After playing a few games and learning the rules I’ve decided to focus on making double Star Vipers work. My first attempt was last night.

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

HWK (Palob) Blaster Turret, VI 25

Z-95 (N’Dru) Lone Wolf, Homing, Munitions Failsafe 25

Against (apologies don’t have complete info)

VT-49 (Kenrick) + many upgrades

Tie Phantom (Shadow?)

Tie Fighter (Academy)

My opponent was, well… not very good. However, I still got a lot from the game. Palob didn’t get any opportunities to steal focus, and it was much harder than I thought to keep N’Dru outside of range 2 for his passive. The Star Vipers were able to pound the VT-49 and held up very well.

Next iterations:

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

Z-95 (N’Dru) Lone Wolf, Cluster, Munitions Failsafe, Inertial Dampeners 25

HWK (Torkil) Ion Cannon Turret, Intelligence Agent 25

Same concept as the original list, figure I can get more out of Torkil though

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) 25

(Serissu) PtL, Mangler, Stealth, Heavy 32

Z-95 (Black Sun Soldier) Concussion, Munitions Failsafe 18

Thinking here is that Serissu will provide additional survivability

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) Autothrusters 27

Star Viper (Black Sun Enforcer) Autothrusters 27

Z-95 (Black Sun Soldier) Hot Shot 16

Z-95 (Black Sun Soldier) Hot Shot 16

Z-95 (Black Sun Soldier) 13

I’ve seen a few places on various forums that “arc dodger” centric lists start having problems with 5+ ships

Anyway, I am going to start working with this and post some battle reports when I get some quality games in. Please provide feedback on what may work better, keeping with the double Viper theme.

I would try to free up 4 points to put autothrusters on your Vipers

Have you tried the named pilots? That very last list, you might try dropping the 3rd z95 hat doesn't have a hotshot blaster and upgrade one of the SV to Guri with choice of EPT and Sensors. She can definitely be a beast end game

Autothrusters on star vipers are certainly nice to have, but they are not as essential as they are on interceptors (because they are a little more durable to begin with).

If you want to get the most out of the star viper, you need to think about what its doing for you. Its a good ship but its strengths lie in the fact that it has 3 attack, 3 defence, a really nice dial and some very useful actions. Its very good at repositioning and flying through dense asteroid fields. Its segnor's loop allows it to keep a bead on the enemy all game long if you need to. Its weakness is the fact it has 4 hull (so vulnerable to crits) and comes at a relatively steep cost.

So to get value out of it, you have to think about what you can fly alongside it that will compliment its strengths and mitigate its weaknesses. Right now that is kind of tough, unfortunately. The best use I can see for the generics is blocking. Yeah they are expensive for the job, but they also serve another role and that is closer. So in the early game you get them out in front of your fleet and muck up your opponent's moves/positions, distract them from your real power houses and what not. Then when the rest of your fleet is dead and gone, you've got a nimble little ship left to carry you through to victory (ideally). However, you don't really need more than 1 to fulfill this role, so going with 2 is not the best use of points.

Example (theorist's list):

Blacksun Enforcer w/ shield upgrade & flechette torpedo - 31 pts

3 cartel spacers w/ 'heavy scyk' & HLC - 23 pts x 3

If you really want to run two generic star vipers, then your choice of complimentary ships becomes extremely limited. I think an HWK doesn't work well because it either doesn't do enough damage (with ion cannon) or dies too quickly (opportunist Palob). A firespray would work well, but only if you are really comfortable flying it. The scyk's biggest problem is that its too squishy without a hull/shield upgrade (which gets expensive fast).

When wave 7 hits, I am hopeful that it will breathe some new life into the Star Viper. Both the Khiraxz and the YV-666 look like they have some complimentary options that would go really well with a Star Viper (or two even).

For example:

Blacksun Enforcer w/ autothrusters - 27

Blacksun Vigo w/ autothrusters - 29

2 cartel marauders w/ Glitterstim - 22 x 2

The reason I think this list could work is that you have a great blocker with the Enforcer out front. The marauders get some legs from glitterstim so hopefully won't die too quickly. The ships fly well together due to similar dials (but practice, because the Khiraxz doesn't have a 1 straight!) You are throwing 12 attack dice not counting range/actions which is pretty good and can put plenty of hurt on turrets (popular in the meta now). And even swarms will have to be careful (especially if you drag them into the asteroid field). And if you get both vipers into the endgame vs any single ship, you got plenty of options and firepower to seal the deal.

I tried triple vipers for a while:

Guri w/ Push the limit or Predator, Virago, advanced sensors, autothrusters and flechette torpedoes - 41 (sensor jammer is also good, particularly in the endgame)

2 Vigos w/ autothrusters - 27 x 2

99 (or 100 with jammer)

But ultimately, it is just not as strong as either of these (which I am currently using):

Guri w/ Push the Limit & autothrusters - 35

2 Tansarii Point vets w/ predator, 'heavy scyk' HLC & hull upgrade - 32 x 2

99

or

Guri w/ Predator, Virago, Sensor Jammer & autothrusters - 40

3 cartel marauders - 20 x 3

100

I've heard of someone having good success using Kath alongside a pair of vipers and I can see that working but I don't know the exact list. My only concern with that is you don't have a lot of room to pimp out Kath. My thinking would be:

2 Enforcers w/ autothrusters - 27 x 2

And either:

Kath w/ predator, inertial dampeners & engine = 46

Or:

Kath w/ Vet. Instincts, K4 droid or Recon spec & engine upgrade = 46

BTW, Vipers are cool. I hope you have some success/fun with them!

End Wall of Text!

I've had some success with the following list:

- Xizor: Predator, Autothrusters

- Guri: Virago Title, Predator, Sensor Jammer, Autothruster

- Binayre Z x2

Xizor flies in formation with the two Zs, and passes off damage so that he can survive to the end game, where he excels. Guri flanks, and is a brutal tank at range 1 once the pileup starts in the middle.

Thank you for the replies,

I think will drop the list with the HWK, and play with the Guri / Vigo / 2x Z-95 idea.

blade_mercurial , thanks for the wisdom. I am looking forward to pairing up with the YV-666, should be plenty of synergies.

Any thoughts on the Serissu defense list? Was thinking of dropping Z-95 upgrades for auto-thrusters and making it extra tanky.

The problem with your Serissu build is that with her ability, she wants your opponent to target other ships. I wouldn't put any upgrades on her, because the more she costs, the juicier she is of a target. Fly her alongside a high-threat target with high agility, or high damage mitigation. Moldy Crow Palob, Sensor Jammer IG88, Rec Spec Kath, Predator Guri, HLC Scyk/Laetin, that sort of thing. Think of her as a cheaper Biggs. She keeps the other ships in your squad alive by taking fire, or helping them evade. If she dies, no problem, she had no offensive output with your list. However, the longer she stays alive, the more valuable her ability becomes.

So yeah, your Serissu list would be easy to fly against, because anyone in their right mind would target her first, then take out the Z before it could fire with TL+F, and then just have 2 generic starvipers to deal with. Give her some wingmen with solid firepower, and you will be happy with the results I think.