Vancouver regionals is tomorrow, and my list is pretty much set. I've had a decent amount of practice, and I'm happy with how everything works. However, I'm still agonizing over one upgrade; Countess Ryad's 1 point EPT. Any thoughts?

Here's the list, sitting at 99 points:

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

+ Fleet Officer (3)

+ Advanced Sensors (3)

Countess Ryad (34)

+ x7 Title (-2)

+ mystery EPT (1)

Whisper (32)

+ Veteran Instincts (1)

+ Fire Control System (2)

+ Advanced Cloaking Device (4)

The EPTs at the top of my list are Crack Shot and Lightning Reflexes. Crack Shot would help Ryad punch through damage on dodgy targets (especially anything that Whisper can't handle). Lightning Reflexes helps give the Countess an oddball maneuver option to help her avoid the 'stay in your lane' trap.

The other option is to go for Adaptability and go with a 98 point list, giving Whisper a better chance to shoot first. I also expect to see a lot of other people running the good Countess, so it might help to out-PS her, and to tie Bro-bots and Glaives on PS.

Thoughts?

With Lightning Reflexes, you're going to REALLY want Twin Ion Engine Mk. II on Ryad. You will be very easy to block with only straights as green with a stress.

That being said, it only leaves 1pt for initiative. That puts Whisper in an odd place against Aces lists. You'll really want to win that bid.

The best thing that I can think of is to change the shuttle since it is unlikely that you'll be within range 1-2 of the shuttle with either Whisper or Ryad very often. Besides that, Whisper has FCS. So you're really only going to be helping Ryad if she's in range 1-2.

I do like your list, I'm just trying to think through a 6-8 turn game and how it would play out. I think I'd go something like this if you want to keep Advanced Sensors:

I'm a little attached to the fleet officer. It's the gimmick for the list. In my experience, it's also been pretty effective.

The fleet officer shuttle effectively gives both aces a stress-free PTL. It also gives them focus when they bump, and frees up both ships to barrel roll without sacrificing focus. In my time flying it, it's been very rare that I haven't had the chance to pass out two focus tokens, since Ryad tends to stay close to the shuttle, and zips back and forth along the line it's travelling. And if Whisper isn't in range, the shuttle itself can receive a focus.

Depending how I deploy Whisper, she can benefit from it or she can do her own thing, depending on the role she needs to fill. Against turrets, she can stick close and have a free focus, take evade for her action, and potentially get a focus after firing as well. Against non-turrets, she can avoid arcs.

I see you're suggesting the 98 point bid on both lists, however. I think you might be right there, since most Palpy Ace builds have at least a 1 point bid...