Firespray vs. YV-666

By StarWarsDad1138, in X-Wing

12 HP behind 1 green die vs. 10 HP behind 2

Both have 180° of arc, and a few tricks

Firespray (IMO) has a much better dial and only about a four-point price bump.

I will say I haven't flown the YV-666 much yet, but it just doesn't seem worth the points when I put it side-by-side with the Firespray, and most would agree that the Firespray is over-costed, even if only a little.

Thoughts? Opinions?

EDIT: another question: what YV builds have you found most points-effective?

Edited by StarWarsDad1138

they don't both just have 180 degree of arc

one has a 180 degree "arc" (can't hit **** from behind) and the other has two 90 degree arcs (can't hit **** from the sides)

completely different ships for completely different purposes

the spray is a jack-of-all trades with a butt arc that lets it fight while fleeing

the YV-666 is a super shuttle that can carry even bigger guns

Edited by ficklegreendice

*4k behind the 666*

You just wanna call this one now?

The YV has a lot more options to make it viable. There are several ways to build it and all of them are good.

The Mando simply isn't as good. There are ways to build it sort-of effectively, and the cards that come with it are useful, but that's about it.

@ficklegreendice: Won't argue against you. They are clearly intended for different roles. That being said, I have a hard time building a list around a YV, when a FS seems more worth my points.

Edited by StarWarsDad1138

*4k behind the 666*

You just wanna call this one now?

Yeah it is a tough ship to have late game. Good excuse to take Expert Handling on something though.

EDIT: Now that I think about it I guess that is only on Bossk. Hmm... bummer

Edited by EbongHawk

Looking solely at the ships, Firespray wins.

But, with various upgrade options, the Tooth looks a bit more like competition. It'll just depend on what I feel like playing with that day. I'm quite fond of my Pup repaint

The Hounds is the first Scum ship with the ability to combo crew and it comes with Bossk, who combos amazingly well with a Gunner and Tactician. That alone makes it worth something. The Firespray is in a weird spot. It has strong options, but operates at point levels were more often than not the Agressor would be more opportune. The one advantage it has there is pilot skill.

@ficklegreendice: Won't argue against you. They are clearly intended for different roles. That being said, I have a hard time building a list around a YV, when a FS seems more worth my points.

For example,

Kath (ptl + k4 + EU) is maneuverable, punch, and flexible (can tank with evade)

Bossk with the same build is just as prone to getting focused down and harder time keeping things in arc.

The yv is a super shuttle, invest light for big returns (gunner + bosdk generic, latz for support, moralo with just hlc _+ k4 or else you hit aggressor prices etc.)

Edited by ficklegreendice

In my experience (Played 150 point game vs both at once. Ouch. Still won though. ^_^ ) the Firespray is more maneuverable, that is to say can be used effectively at the end of more maneuvers due to the back arc and it's pilots. (Kath hurts man.)

The YV-666 can pack more guns, and with it's slow moves can out-joust almost anything initial tilt. (I had him dropping 5 dice on me at one point. My TIEs were sad.)

Dropping the Nashta Pup however, is huge. You get another ship for 6 points. No matter how you slice it, you are dropping a fresh headhunter of high pilot skill right in the mid-game for 6 points. That ups the YV-666 value by quite a bit.

Edited by OneKelvin

I generally stay away from the fat ship mindset. I play FAR more casual games than tournament, and even in tournamebts, don't go to time often enough for this to be a huge issue.

The more likely issue is low number of games with the YV.

@ficklegreendice: Won't argue against you. They are clearly intended for different roles. That being said, I have a hard time building a list around a YV, when a FS seems more worth my points.

By locking in on the comparison of total hit points, number of agility dice, and the cumulative arc sizes I think you are overlooking some important elements.

I'm not here to tell you that the YV-666 is a better ship than the Firespray overall but it certainly has some major advantages to it in some regards. Scum Boba is still one of my absolute favorite ships to fly adding in VI and EU but after that I generally prefer the Hounds Tooth.

The 180° arc for one when coupled with its dial (e.g. red stop, green 1 straight and banks) gives it an incredible ability to keep the desired target under duress.

Another major consideration is action economy. The YV-666 has 3 crew slots which give you a really wide array of options in which to build things out. Consider Bossk with Marksmanship and the K4 Security Droid together. Move late, pick up a free target lock, declare Marksmanship for your action and start dishing out a ton of pain.

The dial gets plenty of flack but it's good enough to serve it's purposes and the red, green, red (rinse repeat) maneuvers work well together. The 3 turns with that wide arc also really make it challenging for an opponent to get out of its arc when they need to.

There is really a ton of room to build and explore with YV-666 setups. Don't get trapped in a comparison between a very different ship because you are going to miss out on the great things it can offer.

Also, try Bossk and Boba together for extra fun.

As someone who flies Firesprays a lot, I can tell you that those 180 and 90+90 arcs play very differently.

The Firespray's arcs make it more of a lumbering dogfighter. And like most dogfighters, it benefits greatly from high Pilot Skill and Engine Upgrade. Without either, it can be arc-dodged pretty easily.

The YV is vulnerable from behind, but its arc is simply unavoidable if played correctly with bumps and stalls,

I do agree that stats-wise the YV-666 isn't all that attractive, but if FFG gave it anymore hull/shields it would have the same stats as Chewbacca for 13 points less!

Keep the YV-666 cheap.

Let it explode but take something down with it.

Profit.

Try a Slaver + Greedo crew for 30 points. You'll get your money's worth, I promise. It's like a Doom Shuttle with less reliable damage but with twice the arc coverage.

Edited by zerotc

@OneKelvin: I see your point, but with the YV maneuver dial, I would focus down your other ships first and leave the Hound's Tooth for last, cutting down the effectiveness of the title.

Anyone wanting to make the just kturn behind the YV argument does not realize that if they did a hard 3 and then boost they have you in arc again.

3 hard and boost on that fat ass...so many obstacles and ships to clear :(

It's far better off than the shuttle (hence, "super shuttle") getting behind it poses problems

Went 5-1 and second place with Triple Slavers. They all had K4 and Damps.

Anyone wanting to make the just kturn behind the YV argument does not realize that if they did a hard 3 and then boost they have you in arc again.

I was at a tournament where someone was flying a YV with Lightning Reflexes. No one had pointed out that was illegal until part way through the tourney.

12 HP behind 1 green die vs. 10 HP behind 2

There's no question the Firespray's a little more durable.

Firespray (IMO) has a much better dial...

Yep.

...and only about a four-point price bump.

(record scratch)

35-29 = 6, so the cheapest Scum Firespray is 6 points (about 20%) more expensive than the YV. That doesn't take into account pilot skill, but if what you're looking for is an inexpensive, heavy-hitting brawler there's not even a competition between the two ships.

I will say I haven't flown the YV-666 much yet, but it just doesn't seem worth the points when I put it side-by-side with the Firespray, and most would agree that the Firespray is over-costed, even if only a little.

I love Firesprays, but they are a little bit overpriced. YVs are pretty much right on the money. There are a lot of builds I've tried and liked, but three good ones are Trandoshan Slaver with K4 Security Droid, Moralo Eval with Heavy Laser Cannon and Greedo, Bossk with Marksmanship and Gunner, and Bossk with Mangler Cannon, K4 Security Droid, and Engine Upgrade.

@OneKelvin: I see your point, but with the YV maneuver dial, I would focus down your other ships first and leave the Hound's Tooth for last, cutting down the effectiveness of the title.

That would depend entirely on how you build out your Hounds Tooth (what pilot, what crew, etc). Certain build outs can be brutal. If you leave one of those alone it could rip you to shreds and leave you without the ability to have enough ships alive in the endgame to get through its shields and hull before it kills you.

Slaver with Bossk, Gunner, and Tactician is a great little brick that puts out considerable damage and control for 38 points.

I can't get behind the argument of Firesprays being overpriced. That rear arch, awesome dial, evade, and 2 greens has to cost something. Base YV is 29 and the base Firespray is 33. Four points is buying a lot!

I can't get behind the argument of Firesprays being overpriced. That rear arch, awesome dial, evade, and 2 greens has to cost something. Base YV is 29 and the base Firespray is 33. Four points is buying a lot!

Except the base Scum Firespray is 35.

With an EPT

Porque no los dos?

I've been running the following build since the wave 7 release, and have had success with it:

YV-666: · Bossk (35)

Veteran Instincts (1)

"Mangler" Cannon (4)

Engine Upgrade (4)

K4 Security Droid (3)

Tactician (2)

Outlaw Tech (2)

Firespray-31: · Boba Fett (39)

Veteran Instincts (1)

Engine Upgrade (4)

Tactician (2)

Glitterstim (2)

Both ships hit very hard, and can counter many lists.

4+ ships? Throw Boba in early and get tons of rerolls, and bring in Bossk to clean up at a distance.

TLT spam? Big base ships with Boost close in to R1 quickly enough to reduce the damage output

High agility arc dodgers? Most become crippled/predictable once you tack on stress, and both ships have wonderful arcs to dish out plenty of it with Tactician.

I think both ships have their flaws, but the key is maximizing their efficiency with what is given. The extended arcs make them excellent candidates for Tactician as it opens up a huge "no fly zone" for most ace pilots.

I also feel K4, Outlaw tech and Engine Upgrade are almost must includes on the YV666 as it maximizes your mobility and action economy. Red turns become much more favorable, and the stop maneuver becomes your best friend. Also don't forget the 3 turn + boost!

To answer your question though: I'm going with the Firespray.

My reasoning: the YV-666 dial limits the effectiveness of the lower PS pilots as you need to be reacting to where ships go to ensure you can keep constant fire. The Firespray pilot abilities (specially scum) are great and the dial gives you more flexibility with the rear arc and ability to K-turn.