Newer player here -- So I threw this list together tonight just before a tourney, and I ended up going 1-2 for a 9th place finish out of 12. Not a great finish, but I do like the list. I feel like there really is something to it, but it's got so much happening and I felt I just didn't fly it correctly.

My thought process was to get in close, and try to stay out of arc while trying to keep everyone within range 1 of eachother to trigger abilities and wingman. It really didn't work out as well as I hoped -- I found myself stressed quite a bit by mismanaging PTL, as well as straying away from the team to not be able to utilize abilities.

I guess I'm just wondering -- what do you think of the list, and what am I doing wrong when it comes to flying it?

Serissu, Xizor, Guri

99 points

PILOTS

Serissu (25)
M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (20), Wingman (2), Stealth Device (3)

Prince Xizor (39)
StarViper (31), Push the Limit (3), Virago (1), Autothrusters (2), Fire-Control System (2)

Guri (35)
StarViper (30), Push the Limit (3), Autothrusters (2)

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it's PTL and seri in general

PTL on vipers is incredibly and unnecessary limiting. They don't have interceptor dials, not much of a good selection of green maneuvers at all in fact. Predator is basically universally superior on them, and it opens them up for some lovely segnor's and white-1-turns

Xizor can also do some incredible work with V.I and fire control system for action efficiency at an impressive PS 9

then there's Seri. Seri just anchors the poor vipers in place while being a big, fragile target. Combining her with wingman and then that with PTL and Xizor's ability makes the need to keep the vipers in range 1, which leads to a big unruly clump of ships that can't maneuver terribly well without sacrificing a lot of benefits

not so much player error, in so far as we can tell on the forums (i.e not very), and more of a list mismatch. Vipers are weird ass ships to get used to, so it may not be super obvious but the inefficiencies present in the squad start stacking up something fierce.

the points gained from knocking Xizor's PTL down to the more useful (with that build) V.I and dropping Seri will afford you two blacksun soldiers and an initiative bid; almost undoubtedly a more solid foundation to play your two vipers around

the more independently they can act (even counting having more bodies for Xizor to be around), the more you'll get out of the vipers

The first major issue that throws up alot of red flags for me is Xizor. He is 31 points base and his ability is only good for killing off your own guys. If you were running a Deadman Switch list I could see you running him. For that many points you can put in a better ship that can take more hits like a IG-88 or a named Kihraxz Fighter like Talonbane.

For Guri I would take PTL off and give her the Virago Title and Advanced Sensors. Lately I have been running her with those two upgrades, autothrusters and Advanced Proton Torpedoes.

Serissu is nice but again I would switch her out for another pilot. I could see this list working but it does have some major issues.

Xizor is the most potent small base ship in scum by far and easily the least appreciated pilot in the game

I have no idea how his ability is so wildly misinterpreted

First, any damage done to your ships through Xizor is less damage than they would have taken normally

Xizor is 3 agility and thrusters, which means he is the most defensive thing in scum outside other Vipers (and aggressors)

Xizor only ever passes off a maximum of one uncanceled result. If an enemy pushes through two damage, rather than have a viper at death's door with 3 hull (tie fighter stats) you can have him at 4 and spread damage out.

The damage Xizor passes is not extra damage. You're still taking the same amount, you're just doing the objectively better play of spreading it around your squad instead of letting your big name die.

Second, Xizor's ability essentially functions as an action-independent; round independent evade that dodges gunner (even if you don't take any damage, you're still hit before Xizor pawns the damage off). The one damage you pass off onto a Z-95 is essentially irrelevant, but it's one damage that's not going onto your ace.

Third, Xizor's ability makes him nigh immortal, which means no one in their right mind will try to shoot him first. Some have bafflingly claimed that this means Xizor has no ability, which is bull because not shooting Xizor because of his ability only makes his ability that much better. Instead of pawning off damage, he becomes literally immortal while it's active (because no one is shooting him!)

Xizor's ability is one of the most strangely misinterpreted assets in the game. On the table, however, it is very simple. Use your nigh-invincibility to play like a reckless bastard and demolish the opponent while the escort is still up. When the escort dies, transition into PS 9 arc-dodging

also, deadman's is horrible with Xizor. You're just killing your expensive ship if his goons all turn suicidal

I feel some of the advice given here is of mixed value, so I'd just like to chime in on a few things:

Push the Limit on a star viper----as mentioned, the viper is poor in the number of greens on the dial. Also, it has a powerful 3 bank s-loop (red) which you lose access to whenever you end the turn stressed (its powerful because it adds a layer of unpredictibility to your movements). So saying predator is inherently superior to push the limit is not exactly true. Predator is definitely easier to use and because it adds significant reliability to red die(ce) without hampering mobility or action economy, its a solid choice. Push the limit on the other hand is tricky. You can't over use it, you must think carefully at least two moves in advance so you don't stress yourself when next turn you'd really like to pull a white or even a segnor's loop. So judicious use it required to get the most out of it. What it allows though that predator does not is two things: the ability to boost+ barrel roll in a single turn which can be clutch for a key turn of arc-dodging. It also allows for that super potent TL + focus at range 1 when you can set it up---the chance of doing 4 damage against any target (regardless of PS) is much better than predator.

To get the most out of this carrd though, you should really try to fit in advanced sensors (through virago title). That way, on turns when you know you are going to use a green move anyway, you can take advantage of 2 actions before revealing your dial and then clear the stress with the green move (a great way to grab an early target lock).

However, VI + FCS is quite strong on Xizor and is 3 pts less than PTL + adv sensors. As mentioned, throw in a pair of z-95s to take hits for Xizor and he becomes a potent death machine, not afraid of enemy shots until his escorts are dead.

Guri on the other hand is a bit trickier. Too often I see people flying her like a jouster, trying to get into range 1 to get use out of her ability (but getting her killed anyway). Her best loadout (especially in the twin laser turret meta) is lone wolf, sensor jammer (virago title) and autothrusters. She becomes an incredible flanker and really hard to stick damage on her---she can tank through most large and small based turrets quite effectively.

Running Xizor + Guri together becomes tricky though, since there can be only one virago. You basically have to decide which is going to be the ace and who will run support. Personally, I would prefer to run a generic viper +1 ace and maybe some generic z-95's (with Xizor) or generic TLT thugs or Khiraxz (beside Guri).

I feel your pain. I've had a hard time working Starvipers/Scyk's into my lists. The Scyk's are such glass cannons. I've still not found a great use for Serissu. Her squad boost is great, but she dies too quickly.

Starviper with Virago can suck up points so fast, too. Agree that Xizor is best with either a small swarm or tanks around him.

Maybe something like this - Xizor with 4 Z's guarding, blocking, and just generally taking hits?