So I spent some time at work thinking about the Palpshuttle in an ordnance-heavy meta. Even if the triple Jumpmaster list fails to make a splash, there's no denying that Guidance Chips can really turn things around for missiles and torps - the Vassal results of the last few months show THAT.

So, where does it leave the poor Palpshuttle, which can dissolve in a single round of fire?

Grinning evilly and using the Dark Side against his enemies, of course - this time psychologically.

At first I went off on a false tangent - Engine Upgrades for arc-dodging, Sensor Jammer for good defense, better Pilots like Kagi. It was pondering Kagi, "This is counterproductive, I don't WANT them targeting him!" that I had the moment of brilliance:

The Palpshuttle is expendable. It's 29 points of your list, less than a third, and while it has huge utility it's not the biggest damage dealer - Soontir and Vader do most of the work, and the main problem with flying Palpaces is that anyone clever knows that.

One of the things I've loved so much about flying Palpshuttle + Wampa is the control it gives you over your opponent's targeting priorities: They HAVE to target Wampa first before he gets out of hand, and while he's a soft target he can usually survive at least one round of fire, sometimes two or three flown well. Meantime, the other 57 points of your list are pounding away, and if you have Lieutenant Colzet, that has to be their NEXT target before HE gets out of hand...

The basic idea is to actually joust with the Palpshuttle - no foolin'! You WANT them to shoot at it while your other ships peck at their flanks, you NEED it to attract as much attention as possible while churning out 3-dice hits. Don't try to joust all three at once, but do try to attract their attention. It's a psychological element that should keep their attention on him: "Oh, should I mod THIS die with Palpatine?" "Oh look, the Emperor's coming..."

So in looking at the Palpshuttle as expendable (Maybe it's just one of Palpatine's clones run amok?) what is costed well enough to keep it on the field more than one turn? The math on Reinforced Deflectors is promising; while the odds of getting 4/4 hits with a JM's shots is about 75% after modification, that means mathematically one shot isn't likely to do so (25% of all three shots hitting 4), and you're going to generate 1 evade at some point. Basically, you'll survive a full-on barrage with 2 HP left, requiring a fourth missile and the undivided attention of one more ship.

That's two turns your other ships have been firing on the JMs while your Palpshuttle took the brunt. One should be dead or near dead by the time the second round of combat rolls around to their turn, and in flying Palpshuttle do try to make sure that if that one's alive it's NOT shooting missiles at you? You want 'em to spend them on the Lambda after all.

The math is even better against ships that generate an average 3 hits, like Focused Concussions from massed Tala Z's. Statistically you should survive the ENTIRE BARRAGE, making those massed Z's look a little foolish...

The core of the list therefore is Lambda Shuttle (OGP): Palpatine, Reinforced Deflectors at 32 points, leaving 68 more points. That's a lot of points to play with!

What I'm thinking about running:

32 Lambda Shuttle (OGP): Palpatine, Reinforced Deflectors

14 TIE Fighter (Wampa)

23 TIE/AD (Colzet): Title, Accuracy Corrector

31 TIE/AD P (Inquisitor): Title, PTL, Autothrusters

Those Inquisitor points could also get a non-EU Vader or Omega Leader for anti-ace tech with 5 points left over for... Shield Upgrade on OGP? Hull Upgrade on Wampa? Going up to Colonel Jendon to help Colzet even more (and letting the Lambda fire twice)?

Or dropping Colzet and trying to go high PS has options too. Me, I'm hooked on him, so I can't really look past.

Your thoughts? Am I the only one putting consideration into Palpshuttle in an ordnance meta?

An interesting list but you get diminishing returns against more conventional opponents where a Sensor Jammer might serve you better. Improved ordnance will certainly shake up the meta though and new uses for toys (both old and new) is a positive development.

Varied lists are far better than "" flavour of the month" meta-lists or rock-paper-scissors.

I like your thoughts, but I think you need Kagi if you want them shooting you. As soon as "Wampa" and Colzet show up, they become the obvious targets. How about this?

Captain Kagi (27)

Sensor Jammer (4)

Reinforced Deflectors (3)

· Emperor Palpatine (8)

TIE Interceptor: · Carnor Jax (26)

Push The Limit (3)

Autothrusters (2)

TIE Advanced: · Commander Alozen (25)

Rage (1)

TIE/x1 (0)

Advanced Targeting Computer (1)

100 points

Not so sure about Alozen's Elite Talent, but this helps him nail a finishing shot at range 1. But the overall ideas of the squad is to prevent their launch of ordnance with Jax, but they can't shoot him with TL, so they'd have to shoot the shuttle (or Alozen). I chose Alozen because with three large enemies flying around, he has a good chance of getting his free target lock. Kagi is a LOT of points, but he's hard to take down. The only problem I see is that with three Scouts (this is my main hypothetical opponent) Jax won't be at range 1 of all of them on the first pass, and that means he's almost certainly taking a crit from a Proton Torpedoes shot.

It's starting to look like 3 agility aces aren't going to cut it, maybe. I'll have to think more about it.

Take Sensor Jammer, park it / slow roll behind rocks.

Make them spend munitions on your aces and try to range-rush with said aces.

Profit?

Captain Kagi (27)

Sensor Jammer (4)

Reinforced Deflectors (3)

· Emperor Palpatine (8)

Good point. On my squad builder there's no deflectors, so I put in Countermeasures as a proxy. Hey, that's not a bad idea for Kagi...

Sensor Jammer. Don't just joust, BOWL with the shuttle.

If they bump you, they're sitting ducks for your aces.

If they have to reposition instead of using Focus, Sensor Jammer ruins their day.

If they DO ignore the shuttle, you've got 3-4 dice biting their flanks (seriously, most of my kills over the life of my Palp + Aces run have come from the shuttle, no lie. It shoots last, after Aces have weakened/stripped shields, and I may still have a Palpy use, if he wasn't needed).

I'm not super worried about ordinance, as long as you don't play the first engagement wrong. Figure out the range they're going to want to encounter you at and blow past it -- the shuttle can be faster than many realize.