So the Glaive Squadron came in at an unfortunate price of 34 points. I was really hoping for a 33 point Glaive, as that gives them a lot of room to work with in list building. At 34 points, I'm just not seeing any use for them though. For the same price you can get Ryad, or for one point more you can get Vessery or Stele. Points are never so tight that you couldn't fine the single point to upgrade to a named pilot (or just use Ryad if they are), it just adds so much extra value over the Glaive.

So, people of the internet, what am I missing? Is the Glaive really DOA, or am I overlooking their obvious greatness? What lists would you ever fly them in?

Triple Crack Glaives.

I mean, you can use the Countess, but I think you are better sinking more points into her than just running her with 1-2 points. Also, depends on how much Dengar crew will be seen.

Glaive with /D and Tractor, Ryad with PTL and /x7. They're buddies. Ryad get's easy shots for days.

Nope. Misspriced. Too bad. Run rayd instead. Or any of the other 35pt aces.

Glaive with /D and Tractor, Ryad with PTL and /x7. They're buddies. Ryad get's easy shots for days.

Sure, but for one more point you can have Vessery or Stele with /D and Tractor. What else are you running that demands that extra point?

Vess at 1 more point doesn't mean much unless you can enable him with the rest of your list

similarly, Marek at 1 more point doesn't mean much either due to how luck dependent his ability is given there's no real way to enable it with tie/x7 or tie/d. You're basically just paying 1 point for 1 ps and an incredibly situational ability

1 point is crackshot; it matters a lot

as for ryand, it really comes down to the fact that there's only one of her. the only other consideration is how often you run into brobots

Nope. Misspriced. Too bad. Run rayd instead. Or any of the other 35pt aces.

I'm guessing they tested 3 X Glaives with /x7 and Juke and found it to be a bit much.

The aforementioned combo however is still a solid ship, and compared to the Countess you get it for a few points cheaper for +1 PS.

Edit: Also Glaives are generic. This matters in a world where Dengar crew exists. They don't have to worry as much about him or Predator.

Points are never so tight that you couldn't fine the single point to upgrade to a named pilot (or just use Ryad if they are)...

Sometimes points really are that tight. And if they are, Ryad is unique and her PS is lower than the Glaives. Either could be relevant for a particular list.

As just one example of what you might do with Glaives, you can run Ryad with VI, TIE/D, and a Tractor Beam along with a pair of Glaives + Adaptability + TIE/x7. Alternately, give Ryad Adaptability and x7, and give the Glaives each a copy of Juke.

What FGD said. I'm paying a point more for the ship, plus further points again to trigger Stele's ability more reliably (Calculation...), or to start using other ships actions to trigger Vessery.

Vess is great alongside something with FCS, or a TAP with V1, but otherwise he's an arse to trigger reliably. The Glaive offers me some flexibility in my approach, at least.

The way I see it:

Triple Deltas/D w/Ion Cannons

Triple Onyxs/X7 w/Hull Upgrade

Triple Glaives/X7 w/Crackshot

The way I see it:

Triple Deltas/D w/Ion Cannons

Triple Onyxs/X7 w/Hull Upgrade

Triple Glaives/X7 w/Crackshot

Hull upgrade or stealth device? With x7 you can probably get some more mileage out of stealth device.

Hull. Don't trust the green dice.

I really think a pair of x7/Juke Glaives will be a powerful setup. You've got room enough for a lot of options in those last 32 points (although I'm currently most interested in an x7 Delta and three TIE Mk IIs). You're at that sweet spot of PS6 where you do not have to worry about other generic pilots and you can take reasonable measures against most things with higher PS. But you still have the slight advantage of two identical, interchangeable pilots that can choose their activation order.

Their real strength is going to be in numbers; I can't say I'm as excited for a single Glaive pilot unless I'm running several ships at PS6 and wanted that particular Defender instead of Ryad or Vessery. Plus Crackshot and Juke compliment their daring nature with the x7 title quite well, whereas Ryad and Vessery may very well want more expensive or more extensive upgrades (PtL is a strong choice for Ryad, Vessery probably leans towards VI or Ruthlessness since he's built for the TIE/D...).

Calling Glaive Squadron DOA is a little premature but there are fair concerns; they aren't the first Defender one should reach towards.

Triple Delta /D, two with Ion, one with TB, is something I've been looking forward to playing around with. It may not be competitive, but it sounds like good fun. PTL Ryad /D with Ion is probably going to be my go-to setup though.

I geniunely can't see a time where I'd use a single Glaive over Ryad. PS6 going down to 5 isn't a huge loss, and her ability is SO much better, even with just /x7 and a 1 point EPT. She's just better than a Glaive.

But I could see running Ryad/Glaive/Glaive.

Mostly though I suspect I'll be doing a lot more with Rexler and Vessery and new shinies that go with them than with Ryad or Maarek or Glaives.

I geniunely can't see a time where I'd use a single Glaive over Ryad. PS6 going down to 5 isn't a huge loss, and her ability is SO much better, even with just /x7 and a 1 point EPT. She's just better than a Glaive.

But I could see running Ryad/Glaive/Glaive.

Mostly though I suspect I'll be doing a lot more with Rexler and Vessery and new shinies that go with them than with Ryad or Maarek or Glaives.

Dropping from PS6 to PS5 is a genuine disadvantage in a lot of relevant matchups: IG-88, Biggs, Kanan, Chewie, and Vessery all come to mind. It won't affect every game, but it's the kind of thing that can make a difference in competitive play.

I suspect Ryad will be popular, for all the reasons already given in the thread, but I think the tradeoff between Ryad and Glaive Squadron is more even than it looks at first glance.

I'm not saying it's nothing, I'm saying the silly levels of unpredictability you can get out of her more than make up for it.

And equally, dropping below Brobots can be absolutely great if you can block them with Ryad and then shoot at them with Rexler...

They are for epic when you want to run six defenders and ruin the other guys day extra hard.

Glaive

tractor beam

Tie/D

Ruthlessness

2 off

leaves 24 points that's a lot of swarm killing there

There are a lot of lists that work with Triple Defenders. I think that's best done with a Glaive and the X/7. That's not bad at all.