"You are free to use any means necessary."

–Darth Vader

The seventh wave of X-Wing™ expansions is full of heavily armored ships that can wield devastating armaments, and the biggest of them is the YV-666 light freighter from the Hound's Tooth Expansion Pack.

Designed by the Corellian Engineering Corporation, the YV-666 light freighter was a long, narrow, and highly customizable starship that boasted three decks, with its command bridge situated at the fore of the top level. Its bottom levels were dedicated primarily to its engines, power core, and weapons systems. Side-mounted maneuvering fins provided the ship a surprising degree of maneuverability, despite its bulk and simple propulsion system.

While the YV-666 was originally designed for cargo transport, it is likely best known as the signature vessel of the relentless Trandoshan bounty hunter Bossk. Like many of the best bounty hunters, smugglers, and scoundrels, however, Bossk heavily modified his Hound's Tooth, outfitting it to better serve his needs with an enhanced armament, reinforced hull plating, and a prison. Additionally, the Hound's Tooth featured a small hangar that housed a scout ship, the Nashtah Pup, that Bossk could utilize in emergency situations.

Today, we begin our series of Wave VII previews with a look at how Bossk and his YV-666 fit into X-Wing and its high-speed dogfights.

The YV-666 Light Freighter

With its two Scum ships, Wave VII goes a long way toward getting the Scum and Villainy faction up to speed with the Rebel Alliance and Imperial Navy. For starters, it introduces the YV-666 light freighter as a third option for the faction's large-base ships to go along with the Firespray-31 from the Most Wanted Expansion Pack and the Aggressor from the IG-2000 Expansion Pack.

One of the reasons this addition is so important is that the YV-666 light freighter costs fewer squad points than either the Firespray-31 or Aggressor. You can recruit a Trandoshan Slaver to your fleet for just twenty-nine squad points. This is compared to the thirty-five points you'd need to spend on a Mandalorian Mercenary or the thirty-six you'd need to spend for any model of IG-88. You can't fit more than two of the Scum's other large ships into a fleet, but you can – if you wish – fly a squad of three YV-666 light freighters.

Given the limitations of the YV-666 light freighter's maneuver dial , that particular squad might not the best to bring to battle, but it does start to raise a number of interesting questions: What are the best ships to partner with a single YV-666? What options are available to a squad with two YV-666 light freighters? Would you fly your YV-666 light freighters in formation in the center of the battlefield, relying upon their six shields and six hull points to withstand enemy fire as you close in for the kill? Or would you start them along opposite sides of the battlefield – to close upon your foes in a pincer move?

Of course, the best part of such a line of questioning may be that all those options are viable. With all of its possible upgrades, the YV-666 is a highly versatile starship that can easily be adapted to a range of roles within your fleet. You can outfit it with a Heavy Laser Cannon to fire at range, supporting the rest of your ships as they race ahead into close range combat. You can load it with Assault Missiles to break up enemy formations. And you can keep your opponent guessing by taking advantage of the Scum faction's illicit tech and substances, like Glitterstim .

Additionally, your YV-666 pilot can recruit as many as three crew members, allowing you to experiment with a wide range of possible combinations. You can take advantage of such Scum only abilities as those provided by the K4 Security Droid and Outlaw Tech . One particularly interesting combination made possible by the Hound's Tooth Expansion Pack may be the addition of the Bossk crew upgrade to a YV-666 light freighter that's also carrying a Gunner . Here, if your attack fails to do damage, you not only get a second attack, but you get it fully boosted by both a focus token and target lock. It's a potent combination that might play well on Latts Razzi , especially if you pair both Bossk and your Gunner with a Weapons Engineer to set up one of your wingmates with an increased chance to hit another enemy ship.

Bossk and the Hound's Tooth

There is, however, one problem with using Bossk as a crew member aboard another one of your Scum ships; it means you can't have him piloting the Hound's Tooth.

As a pilot, Bossk is completely unrelenting in his pursuit of his foes. He wants to see them destroyed, and he won't be deterred for long by any ship's shielding. Most pilots can merely curse when they fire shots that would result in critical hits, only to see them absorbed by enemy shields, but Bossk can convert those early critical hit results into two standard hits before the damage is dealt.

Naturally, this ability pairs well with Marksmanship to generate critical hit results, but it also works surprisingly well with a number of other upgrades. While you're attacking at Range "3," it effectively transforms a Mercenary Copilot into an extra attack die for the cost of an elite pilot talent, a crew upgrade, and five squad points. Alternatively, you can forego Marksmanship and equip Calculation for two fewer squad points. Finally, Bossk can bet that his six shields are going to hold up longer than your opponent's, and he can recruit Greedo from the Most Wanted Expansion Pack for just one squad point. Together, Bossk and Greedo can convert critical hits to extra hits and then, effectively, convert those hits back to crits.

Still, when you play with Greedo, you're always assuming a measure of inherent risk, and that may be where the Hound's Tooth Title comes in handy. For six squad points, the Hound's Tooth provides your YV-666 pilot a means of escape in the heat of battle. When the Hound's Tooth is destroyed, your pilot can fly out of its wreckage in the Nashtah Pup , a unique Z-95 Headhunter that doesn't cost any squad points and can't deploy until the Hound's Tooth is destroyed. Moreover, your pilot retains his or her pilot skill and unique pilot ability while flying the Nashtah Pup, meaning there's always a chance for Bossk to rip through enemy shields with his Z-95 or for Latts Razzi to continue coordinating your assault.

Claim Your Bounty

As one of the game's biggest and most resilient starships, the YV-666 light freighter offers Scum and Villainy players a whole host of new squad building options, and no one less than the Dark Lord of the Sith himself has given you full permission to explore all the ways you can use it to claim your bounty.

How will you make use the Hound's Tooth Expansion Pack and its YV-666 light freighter? Its primary and auxiliary firing arcs span a full, forward-facing 180 degree arc. Its upgrade bar begs for exploration and experimentation. And Bossk and Latts Razzi arrive to the game as two relentless pilots. Either one can make an excellent squad leader as your Scum squadron heads to battle, or you can field them both in the same squadron and pincer your foes between them.

Share your thoughts on the Hound's Tooth Expansion Pack, its ship, its pilots, and its upgrades with other members of the X-Wing community on our community forums. Then, keep your eyes peeled for more Wave VII previews, including a look at the Kihraxz Figher Expansion Pack!