So I have a couple of solid performers:

Inquisitor, Title, PTL, AT

Rexler Brath, X7 title, Juke, Twin Ion Mk2

This leaves 31 points. I have tried Vader with Adaptability, Title, ATC and Twin Ion Mk2 and while this offers some benefits (can equal PS8 with other aces or go up to PS10, double actions), I think that Vader's effectiveness drops a fair bit without EU.

I am contemplating swapping Vader for a Sigma squadron Phantom with Lightweight frame, Recon specialist and Enhanced scopes. The theory being I will be throwing into the fray to bump and hopefully get 5 attack dice with focus, cloaking be damned!

Another option is Palp with Anti pursuit lasers or FCS.

What would you round out the list with?

Backdraft (31)

VI(2)
Primed Thrusters(1)
Title(0)
Lightweight Frame(2)

why not try some jank?

"Deathfire" (17)
Extra Munitions (2)
Homing Missiles (5)
Ion Pulse Missiles (3)
Conner Net (4)
Guidance Chips (0)

Total: 31

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Palp shuttle is the obvious choice.

backdraft is a good attack ship.

i enjoy quick draw as well.

one of the strikers would be affordable too.

Good suggestions! I was also considering a Crack shot Tomax Bren but I think he might go down pretty fast...

I still like Vader without EU, and personally I'd go for VI instead of adaptability just because PS11 Vader is a lot of fun and canonically accurate (flying things since he was 5, he would understandably be an extremely effective pilot, but then you add in his mastery of the force as well, and yeah, PS11 makes sense).

But if you were going with Sigma, I'd go with Stygium, Intel Agent, FCS. Cloak first turn, and you can decloak and all of those shenanigans and get a free evade out of it. To give some perspective on why SPA is better than LWF, you would have to be shot at with three 3 or more dice attacks for LWF on average to give you the same benefit as a free evade. And LWF likely isn't going to trigger when you cloak, while SPA will, allowing your focus and evade to be used on defense and you soak a lot of shots coming your way. FCS helps your offense, because you honestly need some help with those attacks, and free help is the best kind. the difference between 0 and 3 isn't all that much anyway, and you decloak at the beginning of the round, so that can be your lower PS blocking possibility (which IA helps you tailor to make sure you do it well). If you are looking for blockers, 2 Epsilon Squadron Pilots might be a better option.

Palp is almost always a good option, and you are winning most palp defender matchups as far as PS goes. But, I fear with Inquisitor as your other ace, you may need to get the shuttle into the mix most fights just to give yourself a good fighting chance.

28 minutes ago, Raven19528 said:

Palp is almost always a good option, and you are winning most palp defender matchups as far as PS goes. But, I fear with Inquisitor as your other ace, you may need to get the shuttle into the mix most fights just to give yourself a good fighting chance.

PalpShuttles need to be mixing it up no matter what their escorts are. Fighting 79-100 is not a winning strategy, so getting value out of the 21 points spent on the shuttle is crucial.

@DaveRob Palpatine is probably the "correct" way to go, if for no other reason than providing a safety net in case Inquisitor gets tagged by a control element, but another alternative is a Delta w/ TIE/x7, then give Inquisitor a Proton Rocket. Provides a durable blocker and the ability to apply some burst damage once Inquisitor starts knife fighting.

there's also the Stealth x7 delta

Have you consider Rexler with Expertise?

Is your heart set on using Rexler in this list? Even with Expertise, he doesn't seem that economical as you can only flip facedown cards you dealt yourself, and without push, you have to set up TL/focus over consecutive turns or find someone to feed that focus to him. You might be better off going with Vessery or some other non-defender ace as has been suggested above.

The conservative choice would be an OGP Palpmobile with your choice of FCS, APL, Ion Projector or no upgrades at all. I also like the Delta + x7 + Stealth for 31 pts, or Onyx + x7 + Twin Ion Mk II if you expect to face Predators or swarms. Picking one of these would be the most competitive for sure.

Personally, I like having an initiative bid when my list is mainly PS8. For that reason, I'd go with Palp and no upgrades, unless you want to lighten Rexler.

Stealth X7 delta looks pretty good actually - serves the same purpose as the phantom but would survive longer.