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So I picked up the Scum and Villainy set with the 2 z-95s and y-wing and a HWK-290 to start playing, as a friend is teaching me with his group. I have both starter sets coming in the mail to give me my own set of measuring sticks and dice, plus the ships there give me rebel and imperial options too. My first two games I won so I'm in love with Scum. (y-wing ionized Luke Skywalker and he died drifting into an asteroid. Made me so happy) Though the wins are probably beginner's luck mixed with the group not going all out on me. (First game was my 95s, Hwk and Y-wing against Luke, 2 T-70s, and a 95. 2nd game was 2 on 2, my scum partner had Punishing One and Fett, while the other team was the same player's set up and the other guy had a K-wing, Hwk, and an A-wing.)

So...other then that I'm still new. I know I want another y-wing, but after that scum has a lot of cool ships, but I'm torn because they all look so cool. I love the aesthetics of the Star Viper and Mist Hunter (Looks so much like a Vindicator from WC4.) And I like the Kihraxz's design too. And I grew up getting good with the z-95 in X-wing vs. Tie fighter so I have a huge soft spot for it.

If you're keen on winning as opposed to just having fun, steer clear of the Scyk and the Starviper, probably two of the weakest ships in the game right now (possibly THE two weakest.) Is almost certain they'll get a boost in a future expansion though, so that's probably not the case forever.

Otherwise, just buy the ships you like, sanctioned events require physical copies of all cards, but there are several online squadron builders with all the rules, so in a friendly group you can just get the ships and proxy the upgrades.

Scum Ships can currently be divided into three catagories:

1) Rebel Ships
2) Large ships
3) Bad ships

Scum ships tend to be inferior to Rebel ships, but Scum-specific upgrades (Illicit, Salvaged Mechs, Faction restricted stuff) tend to be very powerful. Problem is that a lot of the small ships lack access to these upgrades, or at least do not have enough to make them better than a Rebel equivalent. Prices on individual ships tend to skyrocket as well, and this kills small ships efficiency.

Khiraxz: Dial is better than an X-wing, but not great. Worse Shield:Hull ratio, but a point cheaper. Balanced against the already under powered T-65... until the Integrated Astromech card came out. Best of a bad lot as far as small ships go, as it fits into a gap in cost between a Z-95 and a Y-wing with a turret.

Scyck: 1 Hull less than a TIE/fo, 1 shield less than an A-wing, and a dial that is massively inferior to both. For this, you save 1 point, which is lost if you want any sort of upgrade, since the title costs 2 points. Worst ship in the game.

Starviper: Like the Kirhaxkx, is balanced against a rebel ship which is already below the power curve, in this case the E-wing. It has a worse Shield:Hull ratio, and no upgrade optionss other than torpedoes. That's right, the super fighter for the faction that relies on crazy upgrades has no upgrades. Unless you spend a point on the Virago title, increasing the cost of your already expensive character pilots. Also, neither of those pilots is Corran Horn.

G-1A: The other scum fighter that can be made to work, the G-1A actually has quite a good upgrade bar, with access to both Illicits and Scum Crew members. Problem is, it actually costs more than its rebel counterpart, while keeping the Scum traits of worse Shield:Hull ratios and Worse dials.

All that said, if you are willing to build around the fact that you are almost required to run at least one large ship, supported by Rebels ships, scum can be a blast. The firespray aces have awesome abilities, the Aggressor is just a blast, the Jumpmaster is one of the best ships in the game, and the YV-666 has a great upgrade bar. Also, the upcoming Mandalorian figher is going to be a good small based ship, so not all hope is lost.

The G1A named pilots are much better than their B-wings counterparts. The G1A dial is also better, plus they also nave a native evade action which is very useful combined with fire control systems.

For a new player I think the G1A is a decent purchase and comfortably the best of the unique scum small ships. If it wasn't for jumpmasters they'd be seeing a decent amount of play.

Vargas79 wrote:
The G1A named pilots are much better than their B-wings counterparts. The G1A dial is also better, plus they also nave a native evade action which is very useful combined with fire control systems.

For a new player I think the G1A is a decent purchase and comfortably the best of the unique scum small ships. If it wasn't for jumpmasters they'd be seeing a decent amount of play.

Dial's worse. You gain a green straight, and have a Red straight become white, but you lose the very desirable 2k turn. You also lose barrel roll, unless you pay another point for the Tractor beam Tax. As for pilots, Keyan Farlander is on par with the G-1A pilots. You can make do with it, but it's still not good.

So the to get for scum list is: Mist Hunter, Kihraxz, Firespray, and another Z-95, and Y-wing with the Punishing One later down the line?

And avoid the Viper and Scyck?

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

Vargas79 wrote:
The G1A named pilots are much better than their B-wings counterparts. The G1A dial is also better, plus they also nave a native evade action which is very useful combined with fire control systems.

For a new player I think the G1A is a decent purchase and comfortably the best of the unique scum small ships. If it wasn't for jumpmasters they'd be seeing a decent amount of play.

Dial's worse. You gain a green straight, and have a Red straight become white, but you lose the very desirable 2k turn. You also lose barrel roll, unless you pay another point for the Tractor beam Tax. As for pilots, Keyan Farlander is on par with the G-1A pilots. You can make do with it, but it's still not good.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the dial. The straights are clearly better, whilst I prefer the choice of two k-turns over the 2k. The 2k is easily blocked by a savvy opponent.

The mist hunter title is too good, particularly on Zuckuss, to call it a tax!

Farlander is on a par I agree, but ten numb is overpriced whilst Nera doesn't do enough (although I notice she's having a welcome resurgence with guidance chips).

Anyhow, I think my point is that the G1A is underrated, 4LOM in particular. The pilot abilities are great fun, and the model itself is superb. The pack also provides access to excellent crew upgrades.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
So the to get for scum list is: Mist Hunter, Kihraxz, Firespray, and another Z-95, and Y-wing with the Punishing One later down the line?

And avoid the Viper and Scyck?

Another Most Wanted is never a bad idea. The Y-wings work well in pairs and the z95s work well in a four.

All the scum large ships are varying degrees of good to excellent. you can't really go wrong so go with what tempts you the most. The jumpmaster is arguably the best large ship in the game right now (most would argue too good, myself included). The aggressor is the most awkward to use and typically works best in a pair.

I personally never bother with the starviper, Khiraxz or Scyk. That said the scyk and starviper have had a slight resurgence lately due to the attanni mindlink upgrade. My recommendation is to avoid them initially and consider them at a later stage once you've got a decent understanding of the game.

Handy In Game tips

1) The dice are in favour of the attacker, as the Red dice have more positive results than the Green

2) Focus and Target Lock are nearly identical in adjusting damage output, although Target Lock fractionally increases Crit chance

3) Always Stand Up when eyeballing the table and setting dials, sitting can mess with the perspective

4) Ships cannot move outside of their own fire arc with just dial moves

5) The Marksmanship EPT is a trap, avoid it at all costs, its never good and is essential a Focus action that costs points and the EPT slot

Hope that helps

Rule of 11. When you are right in front of an opponent at the start of the game it will take a total of 11 one-ship lengths to reach range 3

Best tip I learned for x-wing is that there is more to the game than 100pt death match. Whilst that is what most tournaments run one should never discount the other game formats.
Missions can be fun! There is never much chatter about them but they can be really good.
Escalation games require a lot of forethought and planning are great fun (start off with 60pts, next round have 80pts, then 100pts etc.)
Epic games are ... well epic. With squadron sizes increased to 300pts the whole flavour of the game changes, aces become less ace and cheap generics get better. Whilst the scyk is really bad in a death match game, three of them with Heavy Laser Cannons in epic can be game winning. 12 shots against an agility 0 target really hurt and your opponent will likely ignore them completely (because every one knows they suck).
Finally if you haven't heard of it or seen it, check out the fan made Heroes of the Aturi Cluster (HotAC) cooperative campaign. It uses a primitive AI for enemy ships whilst all the players play together. It is probably the most enjoyable way to play the game for my group. (All though it is currently rebels only, with Imperials upcoming).

A lot of what one reads on the internet about such and such is OP/Crap/needs nerfing etc. comes from the tourney death match players and they are right, for that game type. If you are willing to play different game types then some 'bad' ships can be great/fun/fluffy.

As for scum purchase advice, I would definitely go for another most wanted (especially if planning on getting another Y-Wing anyway),
Punishing One,
YV-666 and mist hunter (if not proxying cards, as the party bus build is always fun),
IGs are good in a pair, the mission is good and the new shadow caster lets you share abilities with IG crew,
Then add extra ships for flavour that suit your play style, personally I love the new protectorate fighter as well as Khirax.

Other advice, its always worth protecting cards with sleeves and binders.
Acrylic movement templates are worth the cost.

HotAC is a lot of fun, it was my first introduction to the game.

And avoid the Viper and Scyck?

The Starviper is useable. Ish. But so much of its capability is tied up in the named pilots and the unique title that you'll never really want more than one. There are other ships which are generally a better use of your points, but once you get your head around manouvrable ships with boost and barrel roll, you can find that Guri or Xizor can be rather dangerous.

To be honest, at the moment, Scum & Villainy work best with combinations of dirty tricks (appropriately enough) - pairings of illicit upgrades, salvaged astromechs and their (very powerful) unique crew cards - which is why Scum & Villainy lists tend to feature at least one large ship; bolting together many upgrades gives you much more than the sum of your parts, and large ships have proportionally more upgrade slots to play with.

Generally, almost all 'good' squads at the moment, regardless of faction, feature at least one large ship (the Imperial one being a Lambda-class shuttle with Emperor Palpatine and the rebel one generally being Dash Rendar, the Ghost, or both)

That's not to say small ships are useless - far from it! - but that a mix usually does better. Taking the Starviper, for example, Xizor's ability is brilliant if he has a cheap, tanky, expendable ship nearby to palm hits off onto. Once a Contracted Scout has fired off it's torpedoes, it's just such a ship - and with a turret, it can concentrate on moving where Xizor needs it to be, rather than to line up its own shots.

Just updating, broke down and bought a Mist Hunter it's just too pretty to pass up. So Scum is at 2 Z-95s, y-wing, Mist Hunter, and Hwk-290.

ingtaer wrote:
Whilst the scyk is really bad in a death match game, three of them with Heavy Laser Cannons in epic can be game winning. 12 shots against an agility 0 target really hurt and your opponent will likely ignore them completely (because every one knows they suck).

I think your opponents are failing to understand why they suck. Scyks are bad because they are expensive, fragile, and have a giant "Shoot me First" sign hanging on them (Because they are often the most fragile and hard hitting ship a player has). Smart opponents will still target Scyks first in epic games, because they are still expensive, fragile and dangerous. Where Scyks benefit in epic games is that their being overcosted by a couple points desn't matter as much if you keep them cheap (Cartel Spacers, Tansarri Point Vets with Vet instincts and Tractor beams, etc.).