I had this vision of a white Lambda shuttle making its way through the dark space escorted by two bright red TIE Defenders, and I just knew I must fly these models together Here is the list:

Glaive Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot + TIE/x7 + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (34)

Glaive Squadron Pilot + Crack Shot + TIE/x7 + Twin Ion Engine Mk. II (34)

Captain Yorr + Emperor Palpatine (32)

Now, I still have a couple of questions about the specific upgrades:

1. Crack Shot and Engine vs. Juke on Defenders. I'm really torn between those two options. Crack Shot is one-use only whereas Juke can possibly kick in every turn. However, the latter basically forces my Defenders to move at 3+ speed and I lose some unpredictability granted by, say, 1-turning close to the Yorr and stuff. Also, aces will be shooting before me so that coveted evade token might not even be there at the time a Glaive attacks.

2. Captain Yorr vs. Omicron Group Pilot and Sensor Jammer. Haven't been using a shuttle all that much at all, so I basically have no experience with it. Seems like a Sensor Jammer works well with Juking Glaives, forcing an opponent to spend focus tokens when shooting at the shuttle, thus leaving him with nothing to counter Juke. On the other hand, Yorr's ability is very useful for enabling the Defenders to make hard turns without losing actions. Also, Yorr is PS4, so shoots first vs. Scouts and whatnot.

Your thoughts?

While the TIE mk 2 engine is good and makes the Defenders unpredictable in the movements, especially after taking a stress, Juke is a better option. Being able to move 3+ get a free evade, and still be able to focus or target lock (or barrel roll) is nice. The difference between Crack Shot and Juke is that for Juke to work you need to go speed 3+ and not spend the token before you shoot. Thats it. It keeps on working round after round. Crack Shot? It can be used once, but no special requirements to use it.

If you are going to be using the MK 2 engines, then Yorr is pretty much useless - they can handle their own stress easily.

Alternatively, you can stick with Yorr and drop the TIE mk 2 engines. One OR the other, but not both

Here's the options I see as being your best choices:

Option 1:

--Glaive w/ crack shot & X-7 title = 33

--Glaive w/ crack shot & X-7 title = 33

--Omicron Pilot w/ palpatine & sensor jammer = 33

99

Personally, I'd prefer engine over jammer on the shuttle, simple because it becomes a very effective blocker and can also run way out of shooting range when damaged. But most people go with jammer...

Option 2:

--Glaive w/ juke & X-7 = 34

--Glaive w/ juke & X-7 = 34

--Capt Yorr w/ palpatine = 32

100

Yorr's benefit is questionable: it really comes down to how often you need 1 hard turns. Frankly, you shouldn't need them since defenders don't fly like other ships and tend to prefer k-turns rather than hard turns to bring enemies back in front of them. You have no initiative bid and you have the downsides of Juke to contend with: (a) being unpredictable with short moves 'costs you double' in the sense that losing the evade hurts your offense as well and (b) higher PS ships will inevitably shoot off your evade token before you can fire (PS 7+ pretty common these days). But if you see a lot of stress builds and you really like the short hard turns, then Yorr is definitely a boon.

Option 3:

--Maarek w/ juke & X-7 = 35

--Vessery w/ juke & X-7 = 35

--Omicron pilot w/ palpatine & electronic baffle = 30

100

Same juke downsides, but Vessery cares less about it not activating as long as he has a target lock buddy. Either Maarek or the shuttle can do that job decently (although not always ideally). The shuttle does make a good target lock buddy once enemies have gotten in close, and with baffle, it can remain stationary multiple turns, possibly blocking multiple turns. Of course, that particular shuttle build is more likely to blow up quickly under concentrated fire...

Overall, I like the first one the most (with engine on shuttle). The shuttle's survival doesn't depend entirely on the defenders protecting it; the defenders hit hard enough and are tanky with or without palpatine; and you even get a small initiative bid.