When Crime Pays

"I'll take on any job… for the right price."
     –Cad Bane

Pirates, bounty hunters, crime lords, junk dealers, Black Sun assassins, con artists, and mercenaries of all varieties—these are the galaxy's Scum and Villainy.

While the Galactic Civil War rages, they take no part. They serve neither the Empire nor the Rebellion. They serve only themselves, flying to battle only when it suits their interests. Only when the credits are sufficient.

But if you're willing to pay, these Scum will take on any job. They'll be ruthless. They won't ask questions. And they're ready whenever you need them.

The Guns for Hire Expansion Pack for X-Wing™ is now available!

Ace Pilots for the Galaxy's Scum

An aces pack for the galaxy's Scum and Villainy, Guns for Hire revisits two of the faction's most venerable starfighters—the Kihraxz fighter and the StarViper—and grants them new color, strength, and versatility. It also makes a fantastic entry point for players looking to construct a new Scum fleet.

The expansion features two miniature starfighters, one Kihraxz fighter and one StarViper, both of which come with alternate paint schemes. These are accompanied by a wealth of new ship cards and upgrades, including a new Title upgrade for each ship that dramatically increases its potential within your squadrons:

• The StarViper Mk. II Title reduces the StarViper's squad point cost, but forces you to adapt to barrel rolls made along a speed "1" bank template instead of the speed "1" straight template. The change leads to some tricky repositioning, making it more difficult to pilot the StarViper, but also making it a much more unpredictable ship. You can read our "StarViper Mk. II" preview for more about the Title and what it means for the starfighter.

• The Vaksai Title transforms the Kihraxz fighter from one of the Scum faction's most straight-forward starships into one of its most flexible roleplayers. By allowing the fighter to equip as many as three different modification upgrades—and discounting every upgrade by one squad point—the Vaksai Title both encourages and rewards the heavy customization of your Kihraxz fighters, so that the Kihraxz fighter is no longer so much a single starship as it is a foundation upon which you can construct an astonishing array of starfighters, each tailored specifically to their roles within your squadron. You can learn more about the Vaksai's impact from our "Vaksai" preview.

Of course, Guns for Hire also introduces several new ace pilots to fly these modified starfighters, and their unique talents push the fighters even further toward new roles within your fleet:

• Dalan Oberos can surprise your opponents by executing impromptu Tallon Rolls that don't just get him out of their ships' firing arcs but can help him line up shots of his own.
• With his ability to assign stress tokens to those pilots foolish enough to attack him, Viktor Hel almost begs for you to experiment with Bodyguard , Stealth Device , Expose , and other cards that modify his agility value.
• Similarly, Captain Jostero is likely to inspire a great deal of experimentation with squadrons built around his ability to attack enemy ships that take damage from sources other than attacks.
• And Thweek may very well be the strangest of the bunch, entering the game with the ability to copy either an enemy pilot's unique pilot ability or pilot skill value. This makes him the wildest of wild cards, and while in some games he may be able to steal abilities from Poe Dameron , Dengar , or The Inquisitor , there are bound to be times Thweek's ability grants you nothing other than the pilot skill value of "4" already on his ship card.

Seek Your Fortune

As the first aces expansion for the galaxy's Scum and Villainy, Guns for Hire offers newer players an excellent entry to the faction. After all, X-Wing owes its success in part to its detailed, pre-painted starship miniatures, as well as the ease with which you can customize your squadron, and Guns for Hire delivers both of these.

In fact, after turning to our X-Wing 101 series of articles for inspiration, we've decided to present just a few of the many ways you could use Guns for Hire to jump into the Scum faction for less than 101 USD.

With just The Force Awakens™ Core Set, Guns for Hire Expansion Pack, and Punishing One Expansion Pack, you could build a variety of squadrons, including this sample squadron that draws inspiration from the X-Wing 101 article Kris Sherriff recently posted and that takes advantage of Captain Jostero's synergy with the new Harpoon Missiles .

• Captain Jostero with Vaksai, Attanni Mindlink , Harpoon Missiles, Ion Dischargers , Pulsed Ray Shield , Vectored Thrusters , and Guidance Chips
• Manaroo with Attanni Mindlink, Dengar , and Punishing One
• Thweek with StarViper Mk. II and Pulsed Ray Shield

               Total Squad Points: 100

Swap out the Punishing One Expansion Pack for the Kihraxz Fighter Expansion Pack and M3-A Interceptor Expansion Pack, and you can build a four-ship squadron designed to enforce the Black Sun's interests throughout the galaxy.

• Talonbane Cobra with Vaksai, Predator , Ion Dischargers, Pulsed Ray Shield, and Stealth Device
• Thweek with StarViper Mk. II
• Cartel Marauder with Vaksai, Ion Dischargers, and Pulsed Ray Shield
• Cartel Spacer with "Heavy Scyk" Interceptor and Flechette Cannon

               Total Squad Points: 100

Or if you find yourself drawn to ships that excel as arc dodgers, tempting you with the prospect of firing all your shots without suffering any fire in return, you can partner Guns for Hire with The Force Awakens Core Set and the StarViper Expansion Pack to build a squad that makes great use of the Autothrusters upgrade and Viktor Hel's ability to influence your opponent's target prioritization.

• Guri with StarViper Mk II., Virago , Bodyguard, Accuracy Corrector , Inertial Dampeners , and Autothrusters
• Thweek with StarViper Mk. II, Proton Torpedoes , and Autothrusters
• Viktor Hel with Vaksai, Wired , Ion Dischargers, Pulsed Ray Shield, Stealth Device, and Vectored Thrusters

               Total Squad Points: 97

These are just a few of the many squads you can build with the Guns for Hire Expansion Pack at the core. There are plenty of other directions in which you could take your Scum.

Collect a Bigger Bounty

If you want to make a name for yourself, you need to collect the bigger bounties. If you want to collect the bigger bounties, you're going to want a better ship. And when you get the better ship, you're going to want a better pilot…

Get your ships and pilots now. The best that credits can buy. The Guns for Hire Expansion Pack (SWX73) is now available!