So my LGS is having a tournament coming up soon and it'll be my first at attempt st competitive play. I want to fly something good but I'd prefer to eschew the more common builds seen nowadays. I really like the Upsilon so I've been running it since it came out, and the current iteration is:

Shredder MKII (99)

"Omega Leader" (26) - TIE/FO Fighter
Juke (2), Comm Relay (3)

Colonel Vessery (35) - TIE Defender
Juke (2), TIE/x7 (-2)

Starkiller Base Pilot (38) - Upsilon-class Shuttle
Collision Detector (0), Emperor Palpatine (8), Emperor Palpatine (8)

i like it well enough, but I'm frustrated by how hard it is to get the Upsilon to actually particpate. As it stands the thing has been watered down hard from my initia version and doesn't really make use of the options the ship has. I also suffer when going against lists with refer, as I don't usually have enough punch unless the Upsilon magically also has a shot.

The next thouht I had was nixing the shuttle in favor of a third ace. I'm a huge fan of flying Vader, so my first thought was naturally him.

Shredder MKIIIA (99)

Colonel Vessery (35) - TIE Defender
Juke (2), TIE/x7 (-2)

"Omega Leader" (29) - TIE/FO Fighter
Juke (2), Comm Relay (3), Stealth Device (3)

Darth Vader (35) - TIE Advanced
Veteran Instincts (1), TIE/x1 (0), Engine Upgrade (4), Advanced Targeting Computer (5)

I feel good about the damage potential and juking potential here, both of which are big for me, and it gives me a Stealth Defice on Omega Leader to make him even more obnoxious to kill, though it's propbably even with the loss of Palp.

That said, I know Vader is a little squishy sometimes, and his theoretical damage is consistent only if he has the target lock. Which he should usually have, but doesn't always, depending on my opponent's lost. So I shifted some points around and was actually surprised to find his option.

Shredder MKIIIB (99)

Colonel Vessery (34) - TIE Defender
Veteran Instincts (1), TIE/x7 (-2)

"Omega Leader" (26) - TIE/FO Fighter
Juke (2), Comm Relay (3)

"Whisper" (39) - TIE Phantom
Veteran Instincts (1), Fire Control System (2), Advanced Cloaking Device (4)

I lose the Stealth Device, but I add a ship that might actually dissuade people from focusing on Omega Leader above all else. The large volume of dice rolled feels like it'll easily punch through regen, the three different, yet equally effective, ships should offer resilience to stressing from my opponent. And the good pilot skills combined with a modest bid gives me options for initiative.

Now, all of this said, I've never flown the Vader or Whisper versions, so I have no idea how good they'd be. I do like the Palp version still, as when the Upsilon can participate it's pretty brutal. So I'm honestly just not sure what's a good bet, if any are a good bet at all, or if maybe a little tweak is needed.

In short, what do you guys think? And my apologies for he long winded post. I'll admit that really got away from me. Haha

Um, bump?

I prefer the whisper one because Whispers four dice can strip tokens for juke vessery to work and provides an instant TL for Vessery, but if you want to fly the bat, maybe give it options to support aces even more if it doesnt have a shot but is in the heat of the battle.

Starkiller Base Pilot (30)
Sensor Jammer (4)
Operations Specialist (3)
Kylo Ren's Shuttle (2)

Total: 39

Now it is stressing an enemy ship, wasting their focus if it gets attacked helping the offense of the juking aces, or the juking aces already made the enemy spend focus and the bat gets some defense. If any ace misses, a focus token gets tossed to whoever needs it for defense, or else the batmobile gets it for his 4 dice attack.

The main problem with OL and Vessery together, is that OL doesnt allow people to spend their tokens, so Vessery's shot is probably getting evaded even with juke, making OL your main source of damage, which is why I like Whisper squad. With commonwealth defenders, juking vessery fires first, forcing people to spend the focus, then PTL Ryad gets a full mod shot on a focus-less enemy.

I have had good success using Whisper + Vessery before. FCS @ PS 9 is a great way to feed Vessery his much desired TLs.

Having said that, if you have never flown Whisper (or any phantom before), there is a very significant learning curve. Expect to lose your first few games while you figure out the phantom's unique movement patterns (and how best to capitalize on them).

Another option would be to include Inquisitor. I mention it because I know both Vader and Whisper can struggle against Dengar (particularly dengaroo). Whereas Inquisitor is quite strong in that particular matchup, so it helps shore up a weakness (assuming you face dengar frequently, of course).

I think I'm leaning towards the Whisper build. The Veserry and Omega Keader combination has more benefits than downsides in my opinion. Veserry basically always having TL is really nice.

Why exactly do Vader and Whisper struggle against Dengar, and why does Inquisitor not?

autothrusters.

The new shuttle is amazing. Coordinate at PS2 is awesome too. I run my Palp Shuttle with the Electronic Baffle. Get it at the edge of range 3. Flank with aces. 0-stop and baffle, then do an action and revel at being there at the edge of the fight. Now, your opponent that was at range 3 is probably range 1. Do they go after the shuttle and get flanked hard? Either way its super destructive. 5 dice at range 1 with Palp blows stuff up.

I ran him with adaptability/atc/eu/vader and vi/aa/lf/duchess, putting the hyperwave comm on the palp shuttle with the last point. Place the shuttle down at ps12 after everyone else has gone for optimal engagement.

I tried Whisper/Wampa/44 point shuttle with EU tonight, didn't fare as well as I would have liked. And someone else flew 3 shuttles with Stridan as one for alpha striking awesomeness.

The new shuttle just fits right in, you just need to take a beefy ace and a pocket one.