So I was building a fun, maybe somewhat competitive list today that is focused on the Grand Inquisitor with temporary alliance grabbing two hunters from the mercenary set.
Vinto is in, but for my other choice I was between Bossk and Shyla. I thought I'd share some of my findings.
It is an interesting comparison because both of these characters want to be within three spaces of an enemy. Bossk has the built in +2 accuracy, and at 3 range he is an automatic hit on accuracy (1 green and 1 red die gives him at least 1 range to add to his +2 built in). Shyla is able to pull anyone within three spaces to her and attack that figure.
So, the most basic attack for the two is the above situation. Target within three spaces.
The result against a black die? Bossk does a bit more damage. Bossk does 5+ damage 62% of the time, Shyla does 5+ damage 54% of the time. So in their main attack, Bossk is better. Advantage Bossk.
Then there is the "other" attacks that need to be considered. Shyla has Cleave 2 on a surge, Bossk has indiscriminate fire. So Bossk can normally do 2 damage on multiple characters, while Shyla can only do 2 damage on one other character. Bossk does have to use an activation for his, Shyla does not, but she's sacrificing other surges for the cleave.
Shyla has a black defense die plus an automatic evade, Bossk has a white defense die plus an automatic block. Bossk recovers 2 health at the end of the round, Shyla can gain one movement point or one health at the end of a round. Shyla has 12 health and Bossk has 10 health. It seems that Shyla has a bit more in terms of health/defense so she gets a slight advantage here.
Both are Brawler/Hunters.
Finally additional considerations... at 4 range Bossk has a 50% chance of hitting an opponent with a ranged attack. It gives some additional options for doing some pretty decent damage if you can get lucky or boost your accuracy. Shyla's other benefit is that she can push/pull other characters. This has some benefit, but its hard to really gauge how much of a benefit it is.
So in short, I think Bossk is better. He deals damage more consistently and doesn't HAVE to be within 3 spaces like Shyla does. Same cost characters, same traits, but I think I'd prefer Bossk in a vacuum.
I'm curious to see what others think.