are they still useless or are they back? me and my buddy have been fielding them again as of late. they haven't made it into any super serious lists yet, but it feels like they are beginning to fit in a bit better all of the sudden.

They never have been useless

I won a tournament 4 months ago using torkix mul and 6 zs, and this was against pre-nerf defenders

48 minutes ago, Scoundrel said:

it feels like they are beginning to fit in a bit better all of the sudden.

THAT , sir or madam, is a sign of maturity. You have turned a corner.

Not trying to be facetious. You'll notice that the longer you play (over a span of months or years) ships, pilots & upgrades that you once dismissed as a rookie pilot have more merit or use than you could get out of them in your early games.

I also agree, z95s have never been out of place. As missile carriers they attract a lot of attention, especially for a 16ish point ship.

Kaa'to Leachos is the cheapest focus engine for Mindlink.

Blount does wonders for Stealth device.

43 minutes ago, IG88E said:

They never have been useless

Lol, Paul Heaver won 2 world championships with Zs.

8 minutes ago, balindamood said:

Kaa'to Leachos is the cheapest focus engine for Mindlink.

Blount does wonders for Stealth device.

He's also great as a cheap deadeye missile platform. I've done over 20 games with him and have only had one where I didn't get his missile off.

The final table at Endor features a pair of Tracer Zs backing two FCS B-Wings and a Stresshog. It didn't lose until the final match, despite being in the heart of the Paratanni/Commonwealth Defenders meta.

34 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:

... you'll notice that the longer you play ships, pilots & upgrades that you once dismissed as a rookie pilot have more merit...

Well, except for the rookie pilot. Or any T-65 other than Biggs. Obviously.

In the Scum faction with Scavenger Crane, the low PS Z-95's are great missile carriers.

Replace z with x and you will have a better question.

Headhunters are the Rebels only filler, sure Rebs now have a TIE Fighter but it isn't exactly a 12 point filler/blocker the same way that Headhunters are. You will see more duo of Bandit squadron pilots than you would see a pair of Rebel TIE FIghters. Also dual bandits can get more done than a single Rookie pilot.

I too have been looking at Z-95's again now that Defenders are not an auto-lose matchup.

Tala Squadron, Concussion Missile, Guidance Chips (17 points)

Be sure to have blocker as you don't want this ship on the front line. With decent range management, getting the target lock is doable. I'm 9-1 with a 4-ship Rebel list that includes one of these.

9 hours ago, Force Majeure said:

THAT , sir or madam, is a sign of maturity. You have turned a corner.

Not trying to be facetious. You'll notice that the longer you play (over a span of months or years) ships, pilots & upgrades that you once dismissed as a rookie pilot have more merit or use than you could get out of them in your early games.

guys, chill. Ive been playing since the first ship came out. z's where my favorite ship for ever. falcon 4z, tel 5z, xizor swarm, boba 4z any 40 point ship with 5z etc. i've done it all. lately, though, ive felt they've been less attractive. right now I feel they're back. thats all.