Class and Level Geekery XVII - When you Wish upon a Stat...

[Peelee]

Sure. V could have an invisible metamagic rod, or an obscure feat, of the same varieties mentioned in the FAQ about Xykon. I chose this hypothetical because it's an apples to apples comparison, unlike other analogous situations (eg Roy/Miko attacks per round, etc). If V would be considered level 17 based on this, shouldn't Xykon be considered 27+?

It's not apples to apples, though; there is a viable ACF (Metamagic Specialist) which can explain a both good deal of Xykon's metamagic abilities as well as his noted lack of familiar. You're choosing to ignore that and focus only on the invisible metamagic rod, which I will completely agree is unlikely.

My view would be 27+ is the most straightforward level for Xykon. The most straightforward, balance of probabilities assumption under Occam's razor being that they used higher slots to cast higher spells.

Nobody, to the best of my knowledge, has been assessed in this thread based on probabilities and assumptions. Kurald Galain may correct me on that, but assuming it is true, then you seem to be advocating for Xykon to get treatment that others don't, if you want probability to be a deciding factor.

Since I answered your question, can you please do the same for mine? If V did this next panel, would you personally advocate him being level 17?

Probably, since there is no ACF which would explain both that and another notable feature involving V.