Probably not many people think of these two as equivalents. Possible, a lot of people in the 1e world don’t think of them much at all, especially the Aggressor. I will look at both the Rebel and Scum Y Wings, because they are very similar.
In BB the base ship’s are pretty ordinary, but as with most ships in the format, again become more relevant, maybe even competitive. The available options are fewer, both in ships and upgrades, allowing their native strengths (such as they are) to float back to the surface.
Full 1e offered some decent buffs late in the game for the YW, thanks to the Most Wanted Scum expansion, but even then, the golden era of choosing the ; AW > fast, XW > versatile and YW > tough were long gone. In BB however, they are essentially back!
Points;
YW 18 to 24 Sc/25 Re (47 max) vs 17 to 22 (38 max) TA
Capable of forming solid five ship squads, this pair can be loaded to the teeth, or flown pretty much standard to some effect. The Turret upgrade is usually mandator and other Ordnance can take many forms. The reality is though the YW would never be maxed out to 47 points, because Advanced Proton Torps are a bad fit for them (too slow, cant turn).
Base Stats;
YW 2 1 5 3 vs 2 2 4 1 TAG
The usual Rebel/Scum vs Empire dynamic. The YW is tougher than many, the Aggressor less so but more agile. 1 extra shield would even the Aggressor out a bit, but it is the weaker ship up to here.
Actions;
YW Focus, Lock vs Focus, Lock, Roll TAG
Being weaker (toughness 5 vs 8), the Aggressor needs the Roll option, although Turreted ships do not need or benefit from re-positioning much, Ordnance do.
Upgrades (BB style);
YW 2 Torpedo, Turret, Droid/S-Droid vs 2 Missiles, Turret TAG
The Aggressor was well served with upgrades when launched. Possibly too well as it’s cards usually found themselves in other squads. Twin Laser Turret in particular was so good it was dropped from 2e and Unguided Rockets, well liked in 1e, are actually the only way you can have multiple launch-able Ordnance in the game (no Munitions Fail Safe or Extra Ammo). The Empire only has one ship with a Turret upgrade, so the Aggressor has a solid role to play. The common Missiles for Empire, Torps for Rebel, dynamic is also present.
The Y Wing has plenty of competition in both factions, but having a Turret does allow them to chose a different Droid, other than the near mandatory manoeuvre options (R2/Unhinged).
Moves;
YW 9 White, 2 Green, 3 Red vs 9 White, 5 Green TAG
YW Speed Red 4, 4 K-Turn vs Speed 4, 4 K-Turn TAG
The Y Wing is plagued by a lack of green move options and poor speed (hence the common Droid/S-Droid upgrades). If used as a stand off Turret sniper, this is less of an issue, but if delivery of Ordnance is important, they are best used as finishers with other ships for support. The Aggressor on the other hand show it’s Tie roots with a solid dial. Flying YW’s well in a squad is often the main consideration. The TAG can be attached to most Imperial Squads without holding them back.
Pilots;
YW 4 Sc (1 Elite) /4 Re (no Elite) vs 4 (2 Elite) TAG
Rebel YW’s tend to come in two squad formats. The Ordnance platform or The Sniper with two good leaders for either option. Their Droid upgrade is also important allowing for some mitigation of any short-falls. The Scum are similar in dynamic, offering again two solid attacking aces and a few interesting re-takes on the Rebel Droids. A lack of EPT’s in Y Wings (Kavil only), makes the Aggressor feel like a real fighter.
The Aggressor boasts a pair of Pilots that serve their applications well, one offensive and one universal. Pretty even here.
Summary;
One of the things so attractive about BB is the re-emergence of some much maligned, or at least regularly ignored ships. Some of these ships are crucial to the Star Wars legend (YW), others come from the less known Extended universe (TAG), but either way, if you own them and don’t use them, well, they are wasted.
BB allows the YW to take on it’s dual roles with some old fashioned balance and relevance. A 5 ship YW “scout” squad with Auto-blaster Turrets is tough and annoying to fight, while a pair added to an X Wing squad can add variety, fire support or a cheap Ordnance platform.
The Aggressor can punch hard, over and over, like a light weight Punisher, adding cheap Ordnance fire power to a fast moving squad. It also allows the Imperial player to play “out of character”, which after dozens of games with the usual arc dodging swarm, can be refreshing (and confuse a regular opponent).
Artificially similar, these two ships are very different in application. The iImperials gain the most, having a Turret support ship option, the Rebels and Scum get an old friend back, warts and all.
Which would I like to fly in BB? The unlimited supply of Rockets the Aggressors can mount is tempting, but 4 Y Wings with R2/Unhinged Droids and TLT’s is easy to fly (boooring!) and deep (always causing damage, with 32 health).