Warlord Zsinj: Military, Political, and Technical Genius?

The title speaks for itself.

We all know who he is, the fat, sweaty, mustachioed warlord. But it seems to me he really goes underappreciated for his works, and was probably the best commander the Empire had up until Thrawn.

So just what are all his accomplishments? What strategies and weapons and technologies did he develop? Did he really have a shot and beating the Republic? If Wraith Squadron hadn't conveniently been around to foil everything, how would he have done?

 

Unlike the strikingly attractive Daalas and Isards, this villian was human for readers. Had a lot of projects going concurrantly too: Minefield, Chubar, the Empion mines of Moort, Hardcovers, decoy 181st, the TIE Raptor experimentals. Good on him.

 

According to the Star Wars Threat Dossier, Warlord Zsinj's greatest skill was the ability to make people misjudge his capacities.

Warlord Zsinn was far above the average Imperial officer but he was nothing compared to Thrawn or even Pellaeon in terms of ability, ditto Isard or even Hissa.

Zsinj, however, was astoundingly good at making people think he was an idiot when he felt like it or a person who was equal to the Grand Admirals.

His "empire" is somewhat overstated though as Zsinj actually had few formal worlds claiming to be his domiciles. He instead worked like a member of the Golden Horde.

You obeyed him or you died. Basically, looking from a mobile armada that had regular stop off points while he waged his war against the Empire and the Rebellion.

As a note, he also had his personal stormtrooper replacements in the Raptors. Not as good as the real thing but they were intimidating and effective.

 

What makes you think Pellaeon is any better than Zsinj?

 

Pellaeon has higher stats

;-)

WEG!

In any case, Warlord Zsinj relies primarily on force tactics while Pellaeon seems to be more old-school tactical. He does make a brilliant use of technology and manipulation though. He seems far more desiring to "hit and fade" than the other Imperials and thus is more effective.

 

Isn't Pellaeon getting a little heavy in his later years, too?

 

Not necessarily

If they stick with the fact he was 16 when the Clone Wars started (as he was originally) then he'd be 19-20 when the Clone Wars ended.

Then he'd be only 43 or so when he's at Endor (maybe he's platnium blonde)

Then he's nearing 50 when its the Thrawn Trilogy.

And only about 70 or so in the NJO

 

'Heavy' as in fat.

 

Oh.

Yeah, he is getting tubby isn't he?

 

Zsinj wasn't a genius. He just had a Super Star Destroyer. Not to say that he wasn't a competent admiral, or that he sucked...but he was no Thrawn. He was no Pelleon

Pelleon was Thrawn's de facto heir. He's more human than any other character in Star Wars. He worked his way up, unlike Daala, who slept her way to the top

 

To me, it seems like the only reason Zsinj didn't win was because of the Wraiths, which, since they're the good guys, means they always win.

The assassination attempts on both Mon Mothma and Han Solo should should have succeeded, and I can't quite figure out how Han was able to survive explosive decompression, and the capture of the Razor's Kiss should have worked too.

In fact, Zsinj's empire would never have been uncovered if it weren't for that rather ridiculous event in which the Wraiths capture a Zsinj corvette.

He, like Pellaeon, rose through the ranks of the Empire. He didn't get his rank and title handed to him on a silver platter. He had to work for it, and his skill got him where he was. But unlike Pellaeon, he had the ambition to try and gain something. Pellaeon only got his position when it was forcibly dropped onto his lap by Daala. Unlike Pellaeon, he was an inovator. He nearly wiped out Mon Remonda's entire fighter compliment by firing on the asteroids they were hiding in. He nearly destroyed the unity of the Republic, without sacrificing the Imperial capital like Isard. He even managed to fake his own death for over a year. Curiously, he, like Pellaeon, isn't one of those over-the-top villians. When he gets contacted by the Razor's Kiss's auxilary bridge, he thinks of himself as a good guy.

Certainly he's no strategic mastermind like Thrawn, but he was definately better than Pellaeon in terms of skill and talent.

 

Naw, I think Pelleon was better.
One thing about being a good strategist is keeping your men alive. Zsinj didn't, Pelleon did. I respect Pelleon a lot more for the simple fact that he stood up and accepted that he was defeated (as Thrawn would have.)

I would also say that being a student of Thrawn, Pelleon was more Strategically adept than Zsinj.

 

Charlemagne19

Not necessarily

If they stick with the fact he was 16 when the Clone Wars started (as he was originally) then he'd be 19-20 when the Clone Wars ended.

Except that's never been his age frame. He'd been in the service for *fifty* years as of the coming of Thrawn. Even lying about his age to join the Academy, that still makes him old even by the start of the Clone Wars.

Leland "Tasty Taste" Chee confirmed that that basic age range was what they were working with internally on the Message Boards at the Official Site.

 

Zsinj was terribly sophisticated in proper military tactics, but he sure new his black ops and mind games very well. If you ask me, he should have been Intelligence Director, not Isard.

 

Well, militarily, Zsinj was not that powerful.

Zsinj's Fleet:
Group One:
Iron Fist: Super Star Destroyer
Red Gauntlet: Imperial Star Destroyer (Captured at Vahaba)
Serpent's Smile: Victory Star Destroyer (Destroyed at Vahaba)
Reprisal: Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser (Destroyed)
Blood Gutter: Carrack Cruiser
Unnamed Carrack Cruiser (Destroyed at Levian)
Group Two:
Disruptor: Imperial Star Destroyer
Nashtah Bite: Victory Star Destroyer
Unnamed Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser
Unnamed Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser
Unnamed Carrack Cruiser
Group Three:
Chains of Justice: Imperial Star Destroyer
Venom: Victory Star Destroyer
Flash Fire: Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser
Desolation: Dreadnaught Heavy Cruiser
Counterpunch: Carrack Cruiser (Destroyed at Vispil)
Stinger: Quasar Fire Bulk Cruiser (TIE transport)
Backbreaker: Lancer Frigate
Special:
Second Death

A full NR fleet would of savaged those ships. The main hting Zsinj had going for him was that the NR was too busy fighting the mainline Empire and defending newly liberated Core Worlds to really go after him.

--Adm. Nick

 

He was a tactical genius, as well as an innovator. Very good of Aaron Allston to bring him into his stories, he made a pretty good villan.

 

Nick: You forgot Trigit's Implacable.

But surely Zsinj had more than that under his control.

 

EH_Pilot:

Well, according to Aarron Allston, those ships were the total strength of Zsinj's fleet. Essentially, those ships are not enough to defeat a fleet the size of the Rebel fleet at Endor. And we know that by this point the New Republic fleet is far larger than the old Rebel fleet.

What made Zsinj such a threat was that he possessed a Super Star Destroyer and that he employed hit and run tactic. Hell, a single SSD jumping around the New Republic is able to do alot of damage.

 

Considering he could maintain not one, but two Super Star Destroyers says a lot about ths size and strength of his own empire, too.

 

Zsinj alone controlled a third of the former empire according to CTD and in "Courtship of Princess Leia" we see a lot of Star Destroyers under his command.

So what we see in the Wraith-Squadron-novels is only, what Zsinj used to deal with Solo.

 

Not necessarily

If they stick with the fact he was 16 when the Clone Wars started (as he was originally) then he'd be 19-20 when the Clone Wars ended.

Then he'd be only 43 or so when he's at Endor (maybe he's platnium blonde)

Then he's nearing 50 when its the Thrawn Trilogy.

And only about 70 or so in the NJO

Too bad they didn't stick to that fact in Star Wars: Republic #64. TAKE THAT ZAHN!!!!!

 

Of course, that was back when there was no real information on the Clone Wars, and Zahn had to wing it and take a guess.

That brings up another point. He's been in the military for all those years, and all he is is a captain by Endor? The only way Pellaeon's actually risen through the ranks is by his superiors dying.

 

If he's a captain, then there is a Commander in charge of the Chimaera. He only takes command of the vessel after his superior is killed. I think it's hilarious. Shows how overrated Pellaeon is, if he's stuck down in the lower ranks.

And for the record, I only want to stick it to Zahn since he loves to elevate his own characters while dragging the movie characters through the mud, ie Mara Jade calling Vader a fool.