I have been thinking about Sith a lot lately. (Yes, Tim Ballard
)
They are the only faction never to win a regional.
They have some great tools, but I think Bill put it very well that they are expensive tools.
I really think that Revan is a must. He adds too much to leave out. The one phase move 20 squares swap + move 6 squares and attack is too strong to ignore. Obviously master tactician is immense as well, and he ain't so bad on his own either.
Beyond that, I do NOT think Zannah is the way to go. She is a giant nuisance, and will certainly be a pain to deal with - but I don't think she'll help you consistently win games. She's too easy to ignore and kill everyone else. Her defense is insane, but her damage output is too low to be a real threat. I honestly think she is not going to be in a true tier 1 Sith squad (If that even exists).
Atton Jaq Rand is the next "must include" for me. Giving override to a killer shooter is pretty sick. Giving avoid defeat to someone who has force points and has easy cheap access to multiple ways of getting
more force points (Sid hologram and Exar DFS) is nuts. That avoid defeat roll changes games. Graham won Owensboro regionals due to a well timed avoid defeat in the finals. In MO, I had someone make 6 (yes, six) avoid defeat saves in a row in one game, and I barely won due to it. Literally, he can live forever. He can throw out 80 damage vs living with Exar DFS that can't be shut off by Bastilla OR disruptive, and throw in a CE to make it a cool 100, or 2 CEs to make it 120! I don't see how you can't consider him for every Sith squad.
After that - you have a lot of choices. There are the other 36 point sluggers (kinda like 27 points in the rebels - SO many great options).
Kaan - So great. Backlash + bravado is so fun, and then you blowup to cripple a squad. I've run him and killed him before doing anything else, and it was worth it. How often can you say that about a 36+ pt piece? And throw in Sid holo or Exar DFS and he can Illusion to survive to gets some attacks in, and still thought bomb. OK - so you'll never use his CE in a competitive squad - who cares?
Traya - Frickin' sweet. Triple with telekinetic is bonkers for 36 points. She has ranged and melee defense, and a way to boost her own attack and defense. Oh, then toss in a way to do 20 auto damage and heal back up 20 (+ steal a FP to boot). Yeah. You can juice her up to 120 damage with Exar DFS and Bandon.
Maladi - overlooked but not too bad. She can do 70 damage by herself on the move, and can be juiced up quite quickly. The extra 10 from burst lightening is awesome (so glad the name was changed). And torture is quite handy. Send her in first, and soften up those toughies for good.
Then cheaper still but very nice for his cost is good old Bandon. Obviously his CE is the reason to take him, but Grip 2 and double with rage can't be overlooked. And of course riposte is always nice to have.
The other one I have been thinking about a lot is Maul. 160 damage ON THE MOVE, WITHOUT CEs, cannot be denied. Oh - and you can cloak him, so he won't get shot to crap before you can do your nastiness. Leap, riposte, Teras Kasi, Loner - he really is nuts. ESPECIALLY in Sith with an awesome movement breaker and easy ways to get more FP. His FPs are so good, 4 pts must be carefully spent. But now with Exar DFS and/or Sid holo - voila - he's insane. Especially in this lower activation Meta.
Above this point level I am not convinced on any of the big Sith beats (Other than Revan SL). I just don't know if they pull their weight in cost. I am personally NOT a fan of sith sorcery - it's too many 50/50 rolls (in other words - luck). Yes, you can get in Exar DFS to increase those odds, but that's not easy to do with a speed 4 character outside of TILE WARS.
Huntress is interesting but more of a nuisance than a threat
There might be something there with Dessel, he has potential. He's like a more stout Arica, so that can't be overlooked.
But when all is said and done, the Sith don't have the SUPER crazy movement breakers like Republic, Separatist and Imperial. They don't have activation control, or even a great way to get a ton of activations. At least not activations that serve any other real purpose on the squad. They don't have great ways to shut don't other squads CEs like OR or NR, so Rebels and Mandos can be quite troublesome. Vong are their Achilles heel. But if the meta keeps going in the direction of brute squads, then Sith may actually fare well.