The Other Interceptor, the M3-A "Scyk"

So FFG has spoiled more Scum, and I happen to be very excited about this ship. I love my agile ships such as the A-wing and TIE Interceptor. The other Interceptor, the M3-A "Scyk" Interceptor or just "Scyk", is the Scum answer to these two ships. With two attack, three defense, two hull, and 1 shield, it's similar enough to other ships in other factions but has enough potential to play very differently!  The "Scyk" itself was used heavily by the Hutt Cartels as it was a cheap ship with decent firepower. Perfect for the greedy Hutts! In X-wing you get a cheaper ship with a huge potential for different roles in a Scum squad.

Are we already on GG target locks! lol

Their is not a ton of stuff for this expansion pack but what we do get is awesome! By awesome I mean new cannons. Two to be exact and another Ion Cannon if you didn't have enough before. We will also be getting another Stealth Device modification card which is always good for the A-wings and TIEs we already have. Finally we get a new title for the "Scyk", the "Heavy Scyk". You may have been wondering why this little fighter was getting so many cannon upgrade cards and here is why!

Cannons, torpedoes, and rockets, oh my!

The "Heavy Scyk" Interceptor title is obviously exclusive to the "Scyk" and for just two points let you add a Rockets, Torpedo, or Cannon. This opens the door for all kinds of unique builds and truly allows the "Scyk" to be a heavy weapons platform for a small price. With a ase price of 14 points for the PS 2 ship, added title, and a Heavy Laser Cannon, you can now field an agile gunship, the ultimate glass cannon for a mere 23 points! Yes that means that you can now, for the first time field four HLCs and have eight points to spare for other upgrades. The thing to keep in mind here is that yo will only have a total of 12 hit points (eight hull and 4 shield) before additional upgrades. That's a very offensive minded build, could be fun though!

I like this, a lot.

The first of the new Cannons is my personal favorite. The "Mangler" Cannon, aptly named allows you to change a Hit result to a Crit result, it also uses three attack dice at all ranges. Being a secondary weapon the enemy gets no range three bonus for range either, making this normally two red dice ship into a three red dice ship, you will have to decide if six points total is worth the upgrade. Also Ten Numb anybody?

Eh, not my favorite...

 Lastly is the Flechette Cannon. I know the current trends tend to favor giving stress as many ways as possible and this can surely do this but it has similar wording to the Ion Cannon, with canceling all dice results. Giving out stress is great but killing an enemy outright is a whole lot better to me and dealing one damage a turn is not my cup of tea. Also considering that the ship only gets stress if it already doesn't have it, so no stress stacking, is not great either. Maybe it's just me though!

Now to the pilots! First as previously mentioned we get a PS 2 generic for 14 points, decent, a little more expensive than the cheapest Rebel and Empire options but I don't field the Z-95 or the TIE fighter much anyway, though I know some will be disappointed with the higher price. The next generic is PS 5 but we don't know points cost yet, most likely 16 or 17. On to the named pilots!

Slippery when wet...er when dodging?

First, at PS 6 and 18 squad points we have Laetin A'shera, a very slippery pilot, assuming it can dodge those initial strikes. This is a cool ability that has potential to make this one of the hardest ships to hit in the game. Gaining an evade token every time he completely dodges an attack will be great against TIE swarms, especially with the addition on Stealth Device!

Helping her fellow pilot, how nice of this Scum.

The last pilot is Serissu, at PS 8 and 20 squad points, apparently she is one Scum pilot who actually helps her fellow fighters, by allowing them to reroll a defense dice if they are in range one. This is sort of a mirror to Howlrunner, and encourages flying in formation...will be interesting to see how this works out with so many "lone wolf" type pilots in Scum. I'd play here with a small swarm of other "Scyks" if it were me. Also worth noting is the fact she does have an Elite Pilot slot, I'm thinking Predator or maybe even PTL with an Engine upgrade? Really wish they had boost too, although I do like Target lock, even though it's kind of a given...

Well I personally can't for this ship to hit with the rest of Wave 6 in Q1 2015, hopefully! I feel like the "Scyk" will be a great wingmen (women) for one of the new Firespray pilots. This ship will be great for Scum fillers as well even if you do miss out on some of the coolest upgrades. Anyway, stay tuned to my blog to hear, well more of my opinions and if you in Southwest Va. or the surrounding area, check out my X-wing group on FB at Docking Bay 94. Fly Casual!