Help me decide on a N'dru load out, I’ve previously posted ( here ) a list looking for suggestion on what to use to fill the final 27 points. I have since tweaked the list to this;

71 points

Kavil (34) Y-Wing (24), Autoblaster Turret (2), Unhinged Astromech (1), Predator (3), Engine Upgrade (4)

Guri (37) StarViper (30), Veteran Instincts (1), Virago (1), Autothrusters (2), Advanced Sensors (3)

I settled on N’dru as my third ship. I like the idea of N’dru in the list as he creates a third key target causing a dilemma when it comes to target priority. Either my opponent hunts kavil or guri, giving N’dru the opportunity to flank for the alpha strike or they hunt down N’dru giving the 2 knife fighters the opportunity to get into range 1 and deal some damage.

I know it’s a big spend on a Z95 so I’ve opted for either a shield upgrade or hull upgrade based on the ept. This gives him similar survivability to an x-wing (2 green, 3 hull, and 2 shields). I also like to set up as a small squadron and then use bumps and actions to cause the range separation. Setting up N’dru separately makes him an easy target especially against higher PS ships.

My issue however is which EPT to take. I know that lonewolf is the go to when it comes to N’dru giving the att and def rerolls, but I also know keeping that r1-2 no fly zone around him can be difficult. The obvious alternative for offensive rerolls is to swap Lw for predator.

Equally getting range/arc to offload missiles against the higher PS ships is problematic VI pushes N’dru to 9 but without the repositioning unless I drop the health upgrade in favour of engine upgrade. So the tree options I’m considering are:

N’Dru Suhlak (29) Z-95 Headhunter (17), Cluster Missiles (4), Glitterstim (2), Lone Wolf (2), Shield Upgrade (4)

N’Dru Suhlak (29) Z-95 Headhunter (17), Cluster Missiles (4), Glitterstim (2), Predator (3), Hull Upgrade (3)

N’Dru Suhlak (28) Z-95 Headhunter (17), Cluster Missiles (4), Glitterstim (2), Veteran Instincts (1), Engine Upgrade (4).

I'd stick with Lone Wolf. yes, it can be awkward to get, but if you don't get it, you're not getting N'Dru's extra dice either, which makes him fairly so-so in the first place.

I wouldn't spend points on protecting him. Maybe an Engine upgrade might be nice for helping him stay clear of friends.

The two N'dru builds that I've seen/read about that are effective are:

N'dru w/ lone wolf, clusters, glitter = 25. Best against lower PS with the potential to destroy a ship before it can fire. Less effective against high PS, particularly arc-dodgers.

N'dru w/ veteran instincts, homing missle & glitter = 25. Better against high PS arc-dodgers because of PS9 and the fact that homing missile ignores evade tokens. While its the same cost as the previous build, it works best with an initiative bid so that you can better guarantee moving last against other PS9 opponents.

I would suggest using one of these two as your starting point, or try both and see what works better for you. I don't think there is any value in adding more points to N'dru, since he's going to die anyway, why give your opponents a better MOV for killing him?

As for Guri, I don't think Veteran Instincts is an effective choice. Lone wolf or predator are much better. Moving up to PS7 is really only helpful against IG88s, and frankly, having one ship with lower PS is actually helpful for blocking (and I find Guri pretty good at getting behind IG88s since they will want to kill your other ships first anyway, and between her ability and advanced sensors, she should be fine at PS5).

I've been happy with N'Dru with Crackshot, Homing Missiles, and Glitterstim. Once he drops that big shot he either gets ignored for larger threats which lets him get in some more damage or blown up fairly quickly which makes having nothing but one-shot upgrades on him a non-issue.

Thanks for all the feedback and advice, I've settled on lone wolf for N'Dru and dropping the hull/shield to put Predator on Guri, I'm still flipping a coin on whether to stick with Adv. sensors or sensor jammer both have good arguments for their inclusion.

I really like the idea of guidance chips on Ndru but with the winter tournament next week I doubt we will see wave 8 in time. If we do then I may switch out the cluster missiles for concussion missiles which with glitterstim and guidance chips guarantees at minimum 2 hits off four dice. In reality probably 3 or maybe even 4. It also extends the range to 2-3 so you can hopefully fire the missile early on and strip shields from a key target.