With Wave VII, the likes of Lt. Lorrir, Arvel Crynyd, Kir Kanos, "Dutch" Vander, and so many others were joined in the ranks of "Club Why Don't These Guys Have a Native EPT Slot?!". I speak, of course, of that "other" Khiraxz fighter pilot, Graz The Hunter.

You know, this guy:

... who I'm confident most of you have probably never seen on your table.

And it makes me sad, because Graz The Hunter sounds like a character from Crusader Kings II. How does someone actually make any use of this guy? What purpose could he possible serve.

His ability is a sorta crappy one: one more green dice. On a two agility ship. You know what people always recommend against? Putting a Stealth Device on a two agility ship, because it's just not worthwhile 95% of the time. Green dice are, as a regular poster here will remind you, infinitely fickle. Still, what's the point of X-Wing if we aren't endlessly searching for uses for forgotten pilots and upgrades? So let's take a look at Graz, yeah?

Pros:

• Khiraxz is a solid all-around fighter
• PS6 means, with an initiative bid, he can possibly move after IGs which could be critical to keep them in arc.
• I vote his ability is still better than "Fel's Wrath" and basically makes him a harder to kill generic TIE Interceptor
• His nickname is "The Hunter"

Cons:

• PS6 is still **** middling, and keeping aces in arc to trigger his ability will be difficult.
• No EPT slot
• Honestly, "Fel's Wrath" is the only pilot off the top of my head I'd vote as having a definitively "worse" pilot ability. Lorrir, Crynyd, Kanos, Vander? All of those guys at least have solid abilities in my book, even if they may need the right squad for it to shine.
• For literally a point less, you could take a Black Sun Ace with Crackshot.

To me, that's not an amazing pilot, especially with the whole "the Black Sun Ace is cheaper and gets an EPT" bit. But hey, let's say you're just bound and determined to use Graz. What could help him out? What purpose could he serve in a squad without feeling like a complete waste?

1. I think Graz could have a tiny niche as a "turret hunter". With the Khiraxz's dial, Graz should have little trouble keeping most turret carriers in his arc (though will need some careful flying to keep high PS fat PWTs lined up). If he can consistently keep his face pointed at the turret carrier, he becomes a straight (soft, cause green dice) counter to the biggest strength of a turret carrier. By living up to his name, he could really be obnoxious to a lone TLT Y or Fat Chewie as they'll consistently have a slightly larger amount of greens to hope to dig through.
2. The "Dark Curse" effect, perhaps? With some abilities in the game, like Dark Curse, Prince Xizor, and (from what I've heard) "Fel's Wrath", a lot of players will just simply elect to not shoot at them, avoiding actually triggering their ability. Okay, so I've yet to take a deep breath and use Graz, but I'd wager he'd be seen in a similar regard: if he's got you lined up, a lot of players may simply choose to shoot at someone else. This could make him someone you can count on to more likely be around at mid to late game, or could encourage your opponent to maybe shoot at another target (either someone else already annoying to hit, or maybe something easier to damage but less critical to long term success).
3. Straight jousting. If the "Dark Curse" effect does come into play, Graz is free to use his actions offensively and, hopefully, make those three dice count. At the very least, he's marginally more likely to survive a joust than similar ships. You could have him charge in like a mad dog while he's less agile wingmates try to flank.
4. Could make for a really annoying wing-mate for Prince Xizor.

Okay, okay... still not super-crazy about him, but starting to see where in some very niche situations (with green dice not wanting to be complete dicks) he could be a serviceable squad-mate. Now let's say you want to throw on an upgrade or two to really try and get some more mileage out of him. Unfortunately, he only has three slots: Missiles, Modification, and Illicit (because "lol, no EPT for you, Graz! Even though our very first preview we posted for the Khiraxz featured taking advantage of Graz's EPT slot!".

Illicit:

• Glitterstim: Honestly, almost not even a choice here as Glitterstim will give him at least one jousting turn to make as much use out of that extra green as possible. Mad dog in, TL, get high, and hope Graz can use that turn to deal out damage while taking as little as possible. I think it's, by far, the best choice for him of any upgrade.
• Inertial Dampener: Because for some reason you're flying a "Graz The Hunter on a budget"? Gives him a one shot to freeze and keep his arc lined-up on someone that he'd lose it on if he moves. But for only one more point, Glitterstim.
• Feedback Array: I guess to deal damage from someone looking to rob Graz of that one green die. Okay, actually... maybe not terrible? You're giving Soontir Fel maybe the choice between taking a shot that'll whiff on Graz and then having a bunch of red coming back his way or boosting past and taking a Feedback shot? Yeah, seems damned niche.
• "Hot Shot" Blaster: Similar to Feedback Array, only more expensive. Seems to pricey for a pilot of Graz's "caliber".

Missiles:

• Ion Pulse Missiles: Could see some value here. An ioned enemy is a predictable enemy that you can keep in arc much easier for another turn. Would be very handy thanks to the dual tokens it doles out to keep a PWT lined up and having to deal with your extra die.
• XX-23 S-Thread Tracers: Not out yet, but could see Graz as a viable candidate to carry them. High enough PS to shoot before your ordnance carriers (probably), and unlikely to get obliterated before he can get his payload off. Also? Only a point!
• Everything other than Proton Rockets (which he should never use): As an ordnance carrier, Graz doesn't strike me as awful, for no other reason than his extra die might discourage opponents from targeting him long enough to line up a solid shot. Still, one should be mindful of putting too many points into Graz for all the obvious reasons.

Modifications:

• Stealth Device: Probably the first thing to come to mind with Graz. He can be, in essence, a three agility ship so why not make it four green dice? It's not a terrible plan, but I'm not sold on it (especially since Graz can only Focus to avoid damage). Without that A-Wing or TIE Interceptor PTL Focus/Evade combo, it seems likely a Stealth Device will result in bupkis for Graz often enough to not be worth the points.
• Hull Upgrade: Now we're talking! Same price as the Stealth Device, and guarantees it'll take at least one more hit to put Graz down for good. I think this will be the better option, turning Graz effectively into a six-health, three-agility ship, which should make him someone difficult to get off the field of play.
• Shield Upgrade: See Hull Upgrade, add a point and slightly less time to worry about getting crits.
• Engine Upgrade: Could, in theory, help Graz keep his all-so-mediocre in value arc on enemies... but for a lot of points. On a ship with middling PS. Honestly, I'm not very impressed with that thought.

So what does all of this mean? Honestly, that Graz really and truly isn't all that amazing and is probably overlooked with good reason. However, I could see the situations where maybe he's not so horrible.

Very quickly thrown together list without much thought:

Prince Xizor

Virago

Fire-Control System

Veteran Instincts

Autothrusters

Graz The Hunter

Glitterstim

Binyare Pirate

Binyare Pirate

Binyare Pirate

And then wonder why you just didn't take a bunch of Feedback Pirates instead.

I ran this list:

Graz the Hunter (25)

-Stealth Device (3)

-Glitterstim (2)

Laetin A'shera (18)

-"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (2)

-"Mangler" Cannon (4)

-Stealth Device (3)

Serissu (20)

-"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (2)

-"Mangler" Cannon (4)

-Stealth Device (3)

Trend goes as follows: there are lots of "jewel in the mud" characters that have little to none but their innate abilities.

no education or discipline for an EPT

but some SKILL

like Asherra or Graz.

He still has some use in non-arcdodge meta. because if you can predict enemy movement, his ability lets you "outjoust" most foes because you suddely have E-wing dice count

Graz is essentially worse star viper.

My last game using Talonbane and Guri, my green dice were so bad that even though I had 4 and 5 trough rocks I rolled blanks for 4 turns in a row on both. One extra green die, in a situation a 2def ship should not be in if possible, no thanks, I will find the points for Talonbane any day over that.

My last game using Talonbane and Guri, my green dice were so bad that even though I had 4 and 5 trough rocks I rolled blanks for 4 turns in a row on both. One extra green die, in a situation a 2def ship should not be in if possible, no thanks, I will find the points for Talonbane any day over that.

As will I (even though it also meant dropping the depressingly sacrificial The Hound's Tooth title also from my list). This thread was never meant to argue "Graz is actually awesome!". I'm just looking for how one might go about using him and not feeling like an idiot for doing so/how to get the most mileage out of one of X-Wings most undeniably worthless pilots.

Talonbane is amazing... and only three more points than Graz.

I do wish he had an EPT for Outmaneuver. Then he'd excel as a turret hunter.

I ran this list:

Graz the Hunter (25)

-Stealth Device (3)

-Glitterstim (2)

Laetin A'shera (18)

-"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (2)

-"Mangler" Cannon (4)

-Stealth Device (3)

Serissu (20)

-"Heavy Scyk" Interceptor (2)

-"Mangler" Cannon (4)

-Stealth Device (3)

Black Sun Soldier (13)

I just jousted with it and destroyed Vader + 3 AC Tempests without losing a single ship!

... Then played a rematch and got murdered without destroying a single opposing sihp ...

Funny, I've been toying with a similar build in my head all day:

PILOTS (99 points)

Laetin A’shera (30)

M3-A “Scyk” Interceptor (18), “Heavy Scyk” Interceptor (2), Stealth Device (3), Heavy Laser Cannon (7)

Graz the Hunter (35)

Kihraxz Fighter (25), Homing Missiles (5), Glitterstim (2), Stealth Device (3)

Palob Godalhi (34)

HWK-290 (20), Predator (3), Ion Cannon Turret (5), Greedo (1), Glitterstim (2), Moldy Crow (3)

The idea is to make it really tough to decide who to shoot at. Laetin has the HLC... but if you miss you just dig yourself into a hole. Graz has the Homing Missile... but he's pointed right at you. Palob is rocking an ICT and Greedo... but Laetin and Graz hurt more than an ion does.

Of course, all this relies on green dice... so probably not competitive.

I've had success with Graz has a jouster by putting inertial dampeners on him.

there was legit no reason why Graz should have been more expensive than the black sun ace

the PS bump is far too situational to matter and the lose of EPT slot for that ability would make it a lateral trade for the same cost

being more expensive and unable to take the awesome crackshot makes him basically useless

luckily the cracksun ace is quite good

I hate that there are named pilots that don't get EPTs. It has spelled the doom of many pilots before they even get a chance to be played, Graz being one of them. Unless the EPT is withheld for balance reasons (see Doni, Miranda), it's just dumb to not give them EPTs. I'm surprised they didn't learn with Arvel, Dutch and Horton from early expansions that named pilots with mediocre pilot abilities and no EPT were bad ideas. But then we get a slew of them released for Scum. Really sad.

Graz easily has the best K fighter art though. Stunning.

for having no EPT. they should have discounted him by 1 point. He pays the full +5 points to go up +5 PS.

Hullo playtestsers. =P (jk)

for having no EPT. they should have discounted him by 1 point. He pays the full +5 points to go up +5 PS.

Hullo playtestsers. =P (jk)

Yeah... for some reason they keep making the same blunders on named middle of the road PS pilots. Not having an EPT makes a bunch of pilots in this game pretty much worthless.

With an EPT, he'd have had plenty of fun:

Outmanoeuvre to be the ultimate turret-worrier

Predator to straight up I-joust-more-than-you

Lone Wolf for the nightmare jouster; while you normally put it on your flankers, here he'd be the jousting rock for the rest of your flanking list (A couple scyks, perhaps?).

Crackshot for the hurt, Lightning Reflexes for the arc-hunt...

... without it, he's a Blacksun Ace with a pre-bought, middling-value EPT.

At a 2pt surcharge over the Ace, I'm absolutely baffled why he doesn't get an EPT for his troubles. These guys are meant to be elite of the elite, right?

for having no EPT. they should have discounted him by 1 point. He pays the full +5 points to go up +5 PS.

Hullo playtestsers. =P (jk)

Yeah... for some reason they keep making the same blunders on named middle of the road PS pilots. Not having an EPT makes a bunch of pilots in this game pretty much worthless.

Be fair. Legend has it that the playtesters are often quite aware of these issues - but it's FFG that makes the final call. Sometimes those final calls are... surprising. And almost invariably biased towards excessive caution.

Remember that the playtesting is often far more focused on hashing out what a ships stats/dial/abilities should entail; we're quibbling over the final product polish, while the playtesting is trying to work out whether this thing is a chair or a table to begin with.

Yeah... for some reason they keep making the same blunders on named middle of the road PS pilots. Not having an EPT makes a bunch of pilots in this game pretty much worthless.

So, sub optimal, yes. However, p.s. 5-7 have a skill role and three attack has worth. Out shooting low p.s. While acting as blockers against high p.s. The high p.s. Repositioning ships don't like being blocked. Fel's wrath's above described dark curse effect is real, and affects targeting priority, which can be leveraged. Additionally, lack of ept makes ept more special where we see it.

I'd prefer those mid p.s. Ships had a strong ability (wedge or guri) or a cheaper discount cost. Fel's wrath would see more play at 19-20 points I think.

Graz is essentially worse star viper.

Pretty much this. The only reason to take Graz is if are positive you'll be able to keep things in arc, and maybe if you want the Illicit slot. Otherwise, the PS1 Black Sun Enforcer has the exact same statline as Graz against things within their firing arc, and a +1 agility advantage against things that can dodge your firing arc. They also get boost and S-Loops instead of K-Turns.

If they made an EPT hat said you get to roll an extra evade dice against an opponents ships in your your firing arc? How much would you expect to pay and would you play it?

I think the answer is probably 2 points and yes (on the right ship, the defender and Starviper certainly come to mind). Funnily enough Graz only pays 1 points for it.

Think of his ability as a unique EPT only he can take and it is much better than you realise. The counter argument, of course, is what EPT's would make him broken? The answer is none, but it also pushes his cost up significantly which also means he has to do more "work" on the table to justify his cost. You can make the same argument about Laetin, and many of the others, Horton being the exception who really should have had one.

Not sure it does. Fel's wrath is only worthless if A: you think interceptors require PTL to be competitive...

Ya he's worthless.

Played him right away with cobra and serrisu with glitterstim. Makes him a **** good jouster. Cobra takes care of whoever he can't joust with.

Lorrir, Kir, Laetin, and Graz would pretty well all see instant play with an EPT (a few others). What can you do to break them with an EPT might be a better question.

Laetin + PTL+ stealth + Serrisu bonus would make a great sniper; broken though?

Lorrir + outmaneuver? Powerful but overpowered?

Kir + PTL? Useful but not even that powerful. He's an offensive Soontir at lower PS.

Graz+??? Can't think of any combo that breaks him.

Played him right away with cobra and serrisu with glitterstim. Makes him a **** good jouster. Cobra takes care of whoever he can't joust with.

Lorrir, Kir, Laetin, and Graz would pretty well all see instant play with an EPT (a few others). What can you do to break them with an EPT might be a better question.

Laetin + PTL+ stealth + Serrisu bonus would make a great sniper; broken though?

Lorrir + outmaneuver? Powerful but overpowered?

Kir + PTL? Useful but not even that powerful. He's an offensive Soontir at lower PS.

Graz+??? Can't think of any combo that breaks him.

i don't think Lorrir would be that good, it's still unmodified dice.

Played him right away with cobra and serrisu with glitterstim. Makes him a **** good jouster. Cobra takes care of whoever he can't joust with.

Lorrir, Kir, Laetin, and Graz would pretty well all see instant play with an EPT (a few others). What can you do to break them with an EPT might be a better question.

Laetin + PTL+ stealth + Serrisu bonus would make a great sniper; broken though?

Lorrir + outmaneuver? Powerful but overpowered?

Kir + PTL? Useful but not even that powerful. He's an offensive Soontir at lower PS.

Graz+??? Can't think of any combo that breaks him.

I posted a topic on this very subject a while ago.

So long as it's restricted to unique pilots in small ships (And possibly higher PS, so Torkil doesn't start running Predator or something), there's not a single combo that breaks with an upgrade card that hands out an EPT.

I guess the exception now would be Miranda and the Punishers, because they were never built with any of them flying an EPT in mind... but that's another matter again.

Played him right away with cobra and serrisu with glitterstim. Makes him a **** good jouster. Cobra takes care of whoever he can't joust with.

Lorrir, Kir, Laetin, and Graz would pretty well all see instant play with an EPT (a few others). What can you do to break them with an EPT might be a better question.

Laetin + PTL+ stealth + Serrisu bonus would make a great sniper; broken though?

Lorrir + outmaneuver? Powerful but overpowered?

Kir + PTL? Useful but not even that powerful. He's an offensive Soontir at lower PS.

Graz+??? Can't think of any combo that breaks him.

I just want to say that I've used Lt. Lorrir extensively (and have recently gone 5-0 with a Kir Kanos list!), and he's honestly OK where he is. Sure, I'd LOVE it if he had an EPT or didn't get stressed by his ability, but even as he is? He makes for a silly blockers against higher PS ships, and against lower PS ships he's flying murder. Sure, your dice are unmodified, but you can practically guarantee Lorrir won't be taking fire back from his target. Back when Warthog Ys were all the rage, I obliterated them with good ol' Lorrir.

Fly him with SL Vader or Colonel Jendon and he becomes a cheap and lethal wingmate (especially that SL Vader... nothing like waiting until PS9 for Lorrir to BR). Similar with Kir Kanos, except Kanos without Jendon/Vader/Fleet Officer is pretty much crap, while Lorrir on his own can be effective.

And this is kind of my mentality here with this post: I've used guys like Lorrir and Kanos effectively, I've built squads where both shine even in the face of the meta. I'd love to see if it's possible to do similar with Graz, but sadly... really think at the end of the day he's just outshined by Black Sun Aces, much in the same way Fel's Wrath is outshined by Lt. Lorrir. Why take Graz when for a point less you can have a Crack Shot BSA? Why take "Fel's Wrath" when for the exact same price you can have Lt. Lorrir?

Lorrir and Kir get fun with action sharing but it's not something that the imperials get a whole lot of (effectively). 3-4 dice vs. -1 agility and no shots back on you will whittle things quickly. if only EpiLeader could take Squad Leader! Grant that second action and free up stress!

I wouldn't suggest punisher, Kwing, or shuttles with EPTs. If a whole ahip was designed without one there is probably a reason.

I was thinking that Graz with Glitterstim and a Homing Missile/Cluster Missile/Concussion Missile would work great for a turn. Get him set up to joust and have a target, and then hit the Glitterstim. Pair him as the largest threat and people should shoot for him before he fires his missile. Let the missile go and you should see some damage.

I agree that too many people read on the internet that something is too terrible to use and just never try it. There are a lot of ships that really aren't bad. You can find good uses for them. I've used my Tie Bombers to excellent effect and done well at tournaments. Part of this is due to the fact that no one had flown against them before.