"Quickdraw"(37) ["Quickdraw"(29), Fire Control System(2), Special Ops Training(0), Lightweight Frame(2), Expertise(4)]

Rear Admiral Chiraneau(61) [Rear Admiral Chiraneau(46), Engine Upgrade(4), Gunner(5), Darth Vader(3), Rebel Captive(3), Adaptability(0)]

I have ran the above list to decent success 3 and 1 for a 4th place showing at a local game store. Hitting a tournament tonight and second guessing Vaders role on the Decimator. Could Ysanne Isard increase RACs life expectancy enough to make him menacing without Vader? I feel this would give him a huge advantage if the fight devolves to a 1v1 fight with TAX. Any thoughts out there? Making the swap would bring from a 98 or bid to a 99 point bid.

How about sensor cluster on quickdraw? You can then be a little more tank and decide when you want her ability to happen

That is another problem entirely I do like sensor cluster on QD in that build. I'm not willing to give up an initiative bid with this list though. That problem aside I am looking for any thoughts specific to Ysanne Isard on RAC.

I've never been a fan of Vader on a Decimator basically because you want to reserve as many HP as possible with it. That being said, Ysanne is good for that purpose as it's one damage a turn that you get to evade on an evade less ship. On the flip side though, I find my Decimator gets focus fired more often than not so I gravitate toward Kylo to hand out blinded pilot fairly regularly reducing the amount of focus fire I will be taking.

There was a lot of Kenkirk- Ysanne flying around awhile ago but it lacks a punch.

Both require a lot of finesse in getting more than a hull upgrades worth out of A 4pt upgrade.

Yea deci gets focus fired most of the time. But having vader to finish sabacc or fenn rau is worth more than 3 pts 2hp. If/when that occurs. I typically use 1 maybe 2 vaders a match at most. Went 2-1 last night, added the sensor cluster to my qd and dropped the bid. To try out @spamdex idea. I used sensor cluster once that night and needed the bid once. I like sensor cluster on qd but maybe not when paired with such an obvious first target as RAC. Or maybe I flew QD too safely like I normally would... anyways only match I lost was against tel trevura and dengar. Same list that won worlds. I killed tel and half points on dengar. All in all not bad

2 hours ago, Kckid said:

I typically use 1 maybe 2 vaders a match at most.

That's actually the flip side reason I don't like Vader on my Deci builds. Basically taking him as a finisher using him once or twice a game so I don't destroy myself seems like an underuse for his point cost in my opinion. Granted though, when dealing with a regen list, getting that finishing hit in before regens can happen is worth the points; I guess it's all in what you face more often. I run Deci/Defender as my go to Decimator list and fair pretty well with it. Most 2 ship lists I face struggle since Kylo has a knack for being Kylo and using the /D with Tractor beam can give some valuable results as well.

I love Vader on my deci, esp on RAC. Having Vader there can often guarantee a kill, most often a PS kill too, protecting you from a return shot and another round of having to fire at a nearly dead ship. With zero green it will often be the same or better result from that return shot.

Not only that it also plays into the mind of your opposition. "should I spend that focus to get one more evade result or should I save it for my return shot?" Vader being a persistent threat every round can often change how an opponent plays.

9 hours ago, Deffly said:

I love Vader on my deci, esp on RAC. Having Vader there can often guarantee a kill, most often a PS kill too, protecting you from a return shot and another round of having to fire at a nearly dead ship. With zero green it will often be the same or better result from that return shot.

Not only that it also plays into the mind of your opposition. "should I spend that focus to get one more evade result or should I save it for my return shot?" Vader being a persistent threat every round can often change how an opponent plays.

Fair points though Kylo has the same mind effect on your opponent that Vader has when playing into their mind. Secondly, the post originally was asking about increasing the Decimators survivability which I think Vader is directly in opposition (admittedly, I have gotten off track). More specific to the OP's question, if we are choosing strictly Ysanne or Vader in regards to straight up survivability, Ysanne wins though there are many other factors to consider. Vader has the ability to deal out a free crit, even at the cost of whacking yourself, that crit can destroy an opposing ship or deal a good "shut-down" style crit both of which in turn increases your survivability. Kylo allows you to give out the Crit you want, most commonly blinded pilot, which increases your survivability. If it were me, I would load up more on attack since there is a good probability of defensive results with Vader and Kylo.

Personally, I like running Isard on the Decimator, but not in a two ship build. A single Evade token per turn only helps you significantly to my mind when there is enough firepower per turn available to still reliably diminish the enemies damage output. You will still get focus fired upon a lot- but a three/ four ship build can usually retaliate a lot better when everyone is firing on a single target.

I would keep running Vader in that list- the possibility of actually having to confirm a kill seems quite high to me, so I'd rather risk not using him much than having to fire a second round and immediately eating return fire. After all, most almost-dead things will put more than that one damage on a zero Agi ship- instead of nothing when it is dead.

I think it depends on your style of play. If you dodge a lot of arcs with RAC, then Isard is the way to go. If your strategy is to punch something really hard before the deci dies, keep Vader.

HotShot Copilot will probably do more for RAC's survivability than Ysanne.