So I was trying to put together a list to make the most of Vessery and still get the bonus of having Palp. Here is what I came up with:

(100)

Colonel Vessery (37) - TIE Defender

Veteran Instincts (1), Tractor Beam (1), TIE/D (0)

Colonel Jendon (37) - Lambda-Class Shuttle

Emperor Palpatine (8), Emperor Palpatine (8), ST-321 (3)

"Omega Leader" (26) - TIE/FO Fighter

Juke (2), Comm Relay (3)

I know most people say "Go with x7" but I love the double tap ability of the TB mahouts set up well with the PS6 shuttle. Also Jendon and title helps with early round action economy on OL. Thoughts?

P.S. I thought this felt familiar so I looked back at my first ever tournament list in Jan '16 and it was:

(100)

Soontir Fel (35) - TIE Interceptor

Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)

Royal Guard Pilot (30) - TIE Interceptor

Push The Limit (3), Royal Guard TIE (0), Autothrusters (2), Stealth Device (3)

Colonel Jendon (35) - Lambda-Class Shuttle

Weapons Engineer (3), Darth Vader (3), ST-321 (3)

Fairly close. Either I have come full circle, or I have not improved at all.

You're very close to describing the list I just took second with at a local week-night tournament. I went with x7, Juke, and Twin Ion Engines on Vessery, though, and I absolutely wouldn't look back.

I built the list as a soft counter to Dengaroo -- if the opponent has initiative, Jendon makes sure that OL will have a TL for Dengar (passes one to OL in first round, takes again in second round, sticks around OL to make sure he can trade with OL if Counter Measures removes his TL). This also means Vessery always has someone feeding him a lock, despite Counter Measures being spent.

... I played against all Imperial lists. Jendon was decent for the ability to take initiative, yet still have OL enter combat with an evade AND an appropriate target lock on higher/tied PS targets, AND a focus. Jendon's ability doesn't see much use otherwise in those matches, though, because the shuttle, and that title, want to avoid most lists and feed TLs to Vessery.

I really enjoyed the list. It had some trouble bearing down on a swarm, but I had 100 to nothing victories against Double Defenders w/ Palp and a Double Defender w/ Jonus lists.

In my opinion, x7 is more important in this list, as losing Vessery is a huge hit to your damage output. And being able to bump and still get an evade is the only thing that saved me in the swarm match-up.

You're very close to describing the list I just took second with at a local week-night tournament. I went with x7, Juke, and Twin Ion Engines on Vessery, though, and I absolutely wouldn't look back

Does the x/7-Juke make him that much more defense to negate the TB double tap? Do you find he simply stays alive so much longer and does more damage in the end?

You're very close to describing the list I just took second with at a local week-night tournament. I went with x7, Juke, and Twin Ion Engines on Vessery, though, and I absolutely wouldn't look back

Does the x/7-Juke make him that much more defense to negate the TB double tap? Do you find he simply stays alive so much longer and does more damage in the end?

100% yes. One of my matches was against a /D title Brath... I was able to destroy him in two rounds of shooting, and he never got any damage through, DESPITE the double tap.

The /D Ryad that was paired with him lasted a bit longer, and tagged one of my ships with the TB once... to almost zero effect -- I wasn't near asteroids, and even the follow up range one shot only took a shield off of OL. The evade on Vessery acted as a deterrent for my opponent to even bother shooting at him, I assume, though that would have been my target priority.

/D can be competitive, but I honestly think it needs to take the Ion Cannon, NOT the TB. TB is mostly useless against large base ships (and 100% useless against Decimators, which have come back to counter Dengaroo, and Ghosts, which we are seeing doubled up in tournament-winning lists).

x7 is always functional, no matter your match up (caveat, Palob is a gorram nightmare).

I didn't lose Vessery in any of my three matches, including the match against the TIE swarm. Vessery, out of any of the Defenders, is generally Enemy Number One, so you want to acknowledge that he's going to get shot at. Juke & x7 meant I could play him defensively and STILL punch through damage.

Putting it another way -- x7 is an extra "temporary/regenerating" shield every single time you take a speed 3 maneuver... Which is going to be 95% of the time or more.

The only time I would personally take the /D title is if I had Palp for backup and was running two Defenders using Ion cannons. You've increased damage output, you can control almost any ship on the board if you focus fire, and you've got two forms of damage mitigation, kind of - Palp and the fact that two Defenders pumping out that many ions/damage should neutralize threats quickly.

... Even then, I'm not sure I wouldn't take two x7s, just for the lasting effect they have.

Vessery is hands down the best candidate for the /D title. In your list above, maybe the change to Ion Cannon would be enough... But I think x7 is easily the most competitive option.

The list I played in a store tournament and nationals was:

Omicron Shuttle

Palp

Col Vessery

Ion Cannon

TIE/D

Veteran Instincts

Countess Ryad

Adaptability

TIE X7

Went 3-1 in the store tournament (3rd place) and 3-3 at nationals (top 30%), but could have been 4-2 or even 5-1 had I flown smarter. Take that for what it's worth.

I'm going to second what ArbitraryNerd said about Vessery/x7 over /D. His ability automatically makes him public enemy number one so you should make an extra effort to make him durable. Add to that the -2 cost on /x7 (-3 if you count the removed TB) which can give you some flexibility in the list. I think the two titles would be fairly costed if they were the same points, but as is the /x7 comes out more competitive most of the time.

@ArbitraryNerd you win points simply for the gorram quip. I'll try it your way and see how it fares. Thanks!