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Playing in a "Just for fun" X Wing league at our local club, so thought I'd give Scum and Villainy a shot.

This is the list I tried last week. I think it was working ok, but I just flew it really badly. Lost a Z-95 by flying it into an asteroid, I used the wrong dial for the Talonbane so my opponent got to choose a maneuver from which I didn't really recover. After that, Guri wasn't able to shake the surviving B-Wings and got blasted off the board.

Starviper - Guri
Title - Virago
Elite Talent - Outmaneuver (Think this is worth it, but need to remember to outflank rather than just flying straight towards the opposing ships)
Torpedo - None
Modification - Autothrusters (didn't use this once, as soon as the game descended into dog fighting, I never got beyond Range 2)
Systems - Accuracy Corrector (I was rolling really really well, so this never got used)
Illicit - None

Khiraxz Fighter - Talonbane Cobra
Elite Talent - Predator (Again, lots of lucky dice rolls assisted by his pilot ability, so didn't use this either)
Missile - None
Modification - Hull Upgrade (kept him in the game for another round of shooting, so would use again)
Illicit - None

2 x Z-95s - Blacksun Soldiers (These guys were used for blocking, but they got a few finishing shots in against some low pilot skill B-Wings)
Missile - None
Illicit - None
Modification - None

Autothrusters is great on arc dodgers, or against turrets.
Not so great if your ps5, your ability is close range, and you aren't pushing the limit.

I'd use that Illicit slot if I were you. Inertial Dampeners or Glitterstim can help in a pinch.

I agree... the Illicit slot is incredibly powerful even though they are generally one-use items.

Hmm... I've not come across an illicit that appeals yet, but maybe I should just try them out

Inertial Dampeners is probably the best, especially with high PS pilots. In a game of maneuvering, never underestimate the power of being able to not move.

All for a measly point, too.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
Inertial Dampeners is probably the best, especially with high PS pilots. In a game of maneuvering, never underestimate the power of being able to not move.

I tend to see it like this:

Dirt Cheap Ship, Low PS (Binayre Pirate)- Feedback array. Picking off an over-aggressive Soontir can pay for this upgrade, and its ship, with ease.

Medium-weight ship with decent evade/Attack dice (Kirhaxz/N'dru)- Gitterstim

High PS- Inertial Dampeners

My all time favorite star viper ship,good at dogfighting, just enough defense and the offense takes care of itself

Starviper - Guri
Title - Virago
Elite Talent - Predator or Lone Wolf ( outmaneuver sounds fun, but I like a guaranteed red die modifier bc you use the boost and barrel roll so often to get into range one)
Modification - Autothrusters (you'll always have a range 3 encounter setting up or zipping out of the way, works great against turrets and alternative firing arcs as well)
Systems - Sensor Jammer ( I thought this was so overpriced, but the more I use it, the more I enjoy it and it really shines against non-aces)
Don't forget your focus within range 1

Even with talonbane with predator and ID, you can fit 2 z-95 and a feedback or 2Zs and the hull upgrade

buckero0 wrote:
My all time favorite star viper ship,good at dogfighting, just enough defense and the offense takes care of itself

Starviper - Guri
Title - Virago
Elite Talent - Predator or Lone Wolf ( outmaneuver sounds fun, but I like a guaranteed red die modifier bc you use the boost and barrel roll so often to get into range one)
Modification - Autothrusters (you'll always have a range 3 encounter setting up or zipping out of the way, works great against turrets and alternative firing arcs as well)
Systems - Sensor Jammer ( I thought this was so overpriced, but the more I use it, the more I enjoy it and it really shines against non-aces)
Don't forget your focus within range 1

Even with talonbane with predator and ID, you can fit 2 z-95 and a feedback or 2Zs and the hull upgrade

Liking that one - will give it a go tomorrow

Just as a point, from the way you write about Autothrusters you seem to think they work for auxiliary Fire arcs.

I'm pretty sure (but happy to be contradicted) that being in someone's auxiliary fire arc is not the same as being outside of a turret's primary fire arc, and doesn't count for AT.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
Inertial Dampeners is probably the best, especially with high PS pilots. In a game of maneuvering, never underestimate the power of being able to not move.

I tend to see it like this:

Dirt Cheap Ship, Low PS (Binayre Pirate)- Feedback array. Picking off an over-aggressive Soontir can pay for this upgrade, and its ship, with ease.

Medium-weight ship with decent evade/Attack dice (Kirhaxz/N'dru)- Gitterstim

High PS- Inertial Dampeners

Pretty good rundown, imo. I do like ID on even a Trandoshan Slaver YV, because being able to double stop usually catches an opponent up. "He's stressed, he'll have to move!"

I really want to like the Hot-Shot, and 3 points for a 1 shot turret isn't completely terrible, but it's just up against MUCH better options.

 Azreal13 wrote:
Just as a point, from the way you write about Autothrusters you seem to think they work for auxiliary Fire arcs.

I'm pretty sure (but happy to be contradicted) that being in someone's auxiliary fire arc is not the same as being outside of a turret's primary fire arc, and doesn't count for AT.

You are correct. Authothrusters do not work against auxiliary firing arcs like those on the Firespray-31 and YV-666, unless you are in range 3 (the same way they work with normal firing arcs).

The thing with scum is they really don't have strong arc dodgers (mainly PS), so sadly I don't find myself every playing the star viper. I personally like the more support ships of the scum and usually play around a list like that.

Internal dampeners would be great on an arc dodger but unfortunately all you really have is the star viper or IG88 combo for arc dodging.

I enjoy running scum as synergized lists or an "all or nothing" list with tactics to match, its what I enjoy the most making Scum probably my favorite faction.

Personally I would likely see me running Prince Xizor with some shamble of a swarm (Binayre Pirates, M3-A or Syndicate Thugs) but that's about it for the star viper. But I think something like that would be more fun at 150 points .

 Flashman wrote:

buckero0 wrote:
My all time favorite star viper ship,good at dogfighting, just enough defense and the offense takes care of itself

Starviper - Guri
Title - Virago
Elite Talent - Predator or Lone Wolf ( outmaneuver sounds fun, but I like a guaranteed red die modifier bc you use the boost and barrel roll so often to get into range one)
Modification - Autothrusters (you'll always have a range 3 encounter setting up or zipping out of the way, works great against turrets and alternative firing arcs as well)
Systems - Sensor Jammer ( I thought this was so overpriced, but the more I use it, the more I enjoy it and it really shines against non-aces)
Don't forget your focus within range 1

Even with talonbane with predator and ID, you can fit 2 z-95 and a feedback or 2Zs and the hull upgrade

Liking that one - will give it a go tomorrow

Well if nothing else, this Guri build momentarily annoyed my opponent for a turn or two as the attack rolls got adjusted all over the place

...and then she died (Guri, not my opponent)

As I read above, the Illicit slot is great. Inertial Dampener is most likely the best I think. Just remember, you can use ID when you are stressed. It is a white maneuver, that causes stress.

Feedback Array is looking more and more interesting. Automatic damage against something even when it's outside your firing arc is very appealing, particularly as one of my opponents is a bit of a Soontir obsessive.

 Flashman wrote:
Feedback Array is looking more and more interesting. Automatic damage against something even when it's outside your firing arc is very appealing, particularly as one of my opponents is a bit of a Soontir obsessive.

Feedback Array is definitely something of a hidden gem. Looks bad (you take the same amount of damage, and get ionized), but turns out to be extremely useful. Key is to put it on something (Like a Pirate) that you don't mind self-destructing to kill an ace.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:
Feedback Array is definitely something of a hidden gem. Looks bad (you take the same amount of damage, and get ionized), but turns out to be extremely useful. Key is to put it on something (Like a Pirate) that you don't mind self-destructing to kill an ace.

Agreed, except for it being a hidden gem. It's a popular upgrade that, in my experience, most people understand. It counters the biggest weakness of the z-95 (complete inability to hurt high-defense targets) and makes it a viable threat against pretty much anything in the game. Your opponent is likely to know that the feedback array is a powerful threat and fly to avoid it, but even so it's still area denial and you can often force hits through anyway if you have multiple z-95s.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:
Feedback Array is definitely something of a hidden gem. Looks bad (you take the same amount of damage, and get ionized), but turns out to be extremely useful. Key is to put it on something (Like a Pirate) that you don't mind self-destructing to kill an ace.

I usually look at the cards largely in relation to what they came with thinking there should be some sort of link. In the case of Feedback Array and the IG-2000, it looks pretty lacklustre. Pairing it with a 12 point Z-95 like you suggested makes it a lot more palatable. I'm realizing I'll need to think more outside of the individual expansions like that as I get more into this game.

 Lord Corellia wrote:
I usually look at the cards largely in relation to what they came with thinking there should be some sort of link. In the case of Feedback Array and the IG-2000, it looks pretty lacklustre. Pairing it with a 12 point Z-95 like you suggested makes it a lot more palatable. I'm realizing I'll need to think more outside of the individual expansions like that as I get more into this game.

Yeah, X-Wing is definitely a game where cards have different values depending on what other cards you use them with. Feedback array is ridiculously powerful on a z-95, but much weaker than glitterstim or inertial damps on a high-end ship. On the other hand, glitterstim and damps aren't giving you very much on a z-95. Why? Just look at what kind of ship each upgrade wants. Feedback array wants something cheap and expendable, and as long as it's on a cheap ship it can often trade profitably with whatever it kills. Inertial damps want a single powerful ship where changing one ship's maneuver unexpectedly can swing a game. Glitterstim wants a single powerful ship that is likely to be rolling a lot of red and green dice on a key turn. None of the three are better than the others, they just have different roles.

As for looking at what box a card comes in, definitely stop paying attention to that. Upgrade cards are usually at least semi-relevant on the ships they come with, but FFG's main priority seems to be making sure that you want to buy at least one copy of every expansion no matter what list you want to use. You will very often find that the most powerful upgrade for a given ship comes in a different expansion, just to make you buy a copy of each.