Letting my mind wander, some other ideas are coming to the surface, with the intention of diluting the core ides of X Wing 1e down into more fun and balanced forms.
This one is called Triple Threat, referring to the limited number of ships available (1 per faction), each representing in the most basic form, the ethos and feel of each faction. Although the ships are limited, the upgrades are not. Every possible upgrade is available.
The three ships (Tie Advanced, X Wing and Kihraxz), all started as solid enough ships, but fell away quickly on the competitive circuit. FFG fixed them using the tricks available and by the end of wave 14, each was competitive again, just in time to be pushed aside by the announcement of second edition.
Lets look at the ships in more detail, assuming a 60 point squad as standard.
T65 X Wing
The namesake ship of the game and rightly so, being the ride of the stories hero and the ship that bought down the Death Star (pretty good cost to effect ratio). The X Wing fell away pretty quickly in competition, which then rolled into casual play. They were just not really much fun to fly. Good pilots, Astro mechs and EPT’s aside, the humble X Wing was the solid ox vs the nimble foxes (Tie Fighters) in the core set. Then it became the perfect opponent for the Tie Advanced (also soon to run out of legs), but fell away with each wave of releases.
What the X Wing pilots dreams of!
The fixes were many and varied, from Droids, to Refits, to the first “Configuration” style upgrade, by the end of first edition the X Wing had gained much, just a little too late to matter. Ironically with second edition, the reinvented X Wing sporting a more effective form, much of it modelled off these changes, is unsurprisingly more popular.
The biggest obstacle for the X Wing (and Kihraxz) pilots are run of the mill manoeuvre dials. S-Foils gives the X Wing a whole new look. Barrel Roll and Boost are effectively 6 points of free Mod upgrades with a Talon Roll thrown in for good measure. Sure there is the caveat that they cannot be used from the same condition and one reduces fire power, but this single upgrade adds sorely lacking manoeuvre options. This is not the only option, with Droids adding more. The Ox is now maybe a mountain goat.
There has never been anything wrong with the pilot choice for the X Wing, with relatively large stocks, but there are only four pilots with natural Elite Pilot Talents and Droids are not really as powerful or unpredictable on balance as cheap Illicit or System slots.
So, if we only look at Rebels, not Saw’s Renegade pilots we would have;
Pilots; 12, 4 with native EPT’s and a Droid option for a fifth.
Manoeuvre options; Outside of EPT’s they have S-Foils (house ruled as an automatic configuration upgrade in lieu of a Title) giving conditional Roll, Boost and Talon Roll, with several pilot and Astro-mech combos. Engine Upgrade and Vectored Thrusters are not available as S-Foils provide them in a natural form and Auto-thrusters are also off limits as Boost is conditional, not automatic.
Offence; A solid three primary is augmented by exclusive Torpedoes unless Renegade Refit is taken as a kind of “light brawler weight” option (2x Mods and discounted EPT’s). Refit can make them fly better, but lose that alpha strike ability. Refit also potentially allows the Rebel player three ships inside 60 points, previously only possible to the Kihraxz and these are not all Rookies.
Defence; The X Wing has probably the best damage absorbing defensive options with several repair capable or damage mitigating Droids and and a support your friend vibe running through the faction. Sacrifice is a common theme allowing you to build a damage magnet brick (Biggs, Selfless, Wingman, Decoy, R2-D2/F2 etc) to support a primary striker.
Now a solid re-positioner with a wealth of pilots and droids, but limited other upgrade options. It is either a dual Mod, stripped down jousting fighter or ordnance packing ship with a single mod. The X Wing lacks a surprise factor, but is strong on durability and plays well with others. Ordinance assistance (Chips, Droid or Failsafe), makes the Torpedo option powerful, and with the Talon Roll, Boost and Barrel Roll offered by it’s S-Foils, with the help of a suitable Droid/Pilot/EPT, they can be little unpredictable and fly well.
Tie Advanced (X1)
The Tie Advanced has had a similar run to the other ships in this trio. It came out with the much anticipated Vader, and he is still a force, but hit a points efficiency wall, so the other decent enough pilot’s were overlooked. With the Raider expansion came the upgrades needed to make the ship competitive again (and potentially the most expensive upgrade cards on the market).
Rather than a Title that reduces the ship’s cost, FFG went with an added System upgrade slot and a heavy discount to those upgrades, effectively giving the Advanced a free technology edge. Fits with the “Advanced” idea.
The usual wingman here, but multiple Tie Advanced squads should be elusive and brutal.
Each ship in this simplified environment needs to bring the strengths, weaknesses and most importantly the feel of it’s faction and the Advanced does this as a solid, but high speed arc dodger and missile/tech platform. The pilots are good, which in this format is important, crucial even, so it’s nice to see them getting a chance to shine.
Pilots; 8, half with EPT’s. Vader is arguably the strongest of any with 2 Actions, but there are other stars.
Manoeuvre options; Twin Ion Engines Mk2, giving the Advanced an almost all green dial, with the best action bar with the only inherent Barrel Roll. EPT’s (PTL), Pilots (Vader, Juno) and an effectively free Systems upgrade (Advanced Sensors) give them plenty of re-positioning options making them by far the most naturally agile, potentially out of the league of the others.
Offence; The lowest primary attack value is weighed against their defence advantage and repositioning (more shots, but weaker ones). They have all Missile options except (house ruled) Harpoons available, with System and Mod options to boost their effect. The Advanced is unfortunately the only one that cannot field 3 ships in any form, but that needs to be weighed up against the best natural defensive capability and the limited value a third ship would add to fire power without enough points for some Ordnance.
Defence; The Advanced is the only ship with an Evade action and three agility dice meaning they can effortlessly double the other ship’s base defensive capabilities. This is a huge advantage and the core difference between the Imperials and the other two factions. There are of course more factors to consider. EPT’s, combined with some Pilot abilities and Mods can boost this to near untouchable heights, but these should probably be kept for offensive buffs or you may find yourself flying around near untouchable, but punching like a butterfly.
The Advanced is a good example of the Imperial design ethos, agile and fast at the expense of punch, but unlike most Imperials, it does not lack durability. The cut price System slot gives the ship several good options, none allowed to it’s opponents making it the action economy king of the three, so if flown well, it is as slippery and fun. Unlike the multi faceted Kihraxz or solid X Wing, the Advanced is only ever going to be an agile Missile platform, but is strong in that role.
Kihraxz (Vaksai)
The Kihraxz is often thought of as the Scum X Wing, for good reason. The reality is, it is actually the “anti” X Wing. Where the Advanced is a different beast all together, the Kihraxz is very similar in role and even on paper, but the build-out’s are so very different. Instead of helpful Droids, we have unpredictable Illicit upgrades. Instead of Torpedoes, we have Missiles and the pilots are less about team synergy and more about predation, even suicidal aggression.
Travelling in hunting packs, not supportive teams, is the scum ethos.
The mundane looking Kihraxz, sporting its very powerful Vaksai Title, is a real bag of tricks, especially against the relatively predictable pair it is pitted against. It can be a manoeuvre king, nasty damage dealer or tanky hit soaker, or more likely, a little of each, but most importantly, never the same ship two games running.
Even the lowly and cheap PS 5 Black Sun Ace can sport an EPT, 3 Mods, Illicit and Missile all with a 1 point discount. It is possible to max out their slots for only a few points. Compared to the similarly priced Red Squadron PS 4 X Wing Pilot, with only Torps, a Mod and a Droid, all at full price, this is a massive advantage.
Pilots; only 6 total, but 4 with EPT’s including a generic Ace you can have multiple times.
Manoeuvre; The Kihraxz starts off as the weakest to fly, lacking S-Foils or a naturally good action bar or dial, but it does have potential. Three mods allows it to take Vectored Thrusters and Engine upgrade, giving it more actions than the other two with no strings attached. Illicit then offers Inertial Dampeners for that real surprise move. If all these are taken, there is still a Mod and often an EPT slot open for other priorities.
Offence; Three primary with most Missile options (Harpoons are especially nasty), several Illicit tricks, some semi or even fully suicidal, enough mods to make ordnance nearly fail proof and cheap EPT’s can make this ship either an offensive brute or less optimally, still no slouch while allowing for other builds.
The final, but by no means least option is to simply take 3 Cartel Marauders. This may seen boring and less effective, you get 9d attack, coming from three directions with no fuss.
Defence; The Kihraxz is the only ship capable of taking Auto-thrusters (with Engine Upgrade). Added to that, it can have shield recovery, can cloak, take Stealth Device still without sacrificing all other possibilities. Optionally you can tank it up with cheap shield and hull upgrades, making it the toughest ship with potential base stats of 3/3(5)/5/2 with cloaking, stealth and hull/shield upgrades.
Keeping in mind that any direction this fighter goes in, does not necessarily negate all the others, which makes it hard for an opponent to guess what’s coming. As above, not the worst option is three ships, with 15 combined health over three targets (can’t hit them all with Ordnance).
It is fairly safe to say, the Kihraxz rewards a healthy imagination and risk taking attitude. What can your opponent expect? Two or three ships, an infinite variety of EPT, Illicit, Mod and Missile combinations and the ability to max out any type of build or simply bringing to you what you have packed. In other words, they need to expect anything.