Class Groupings In BB; Fighters

While the head to heads are interesting, another pattern emerged when I looked at the classes of ships and how their factions defined them.

Fighters (front line and interceptors).

This is where you find the bulk of the Boost, Barrel Roll and Evade actions (45 actions in total including Focus, averaging over three a ship). All but two ships have Target Locks (both Imperial), but very few have any non-Ordnance upgrades (5).

The Rebels ( Z95, A, X & E wings);

Although the Rebels tend lean towards Torpedoes over Missiles, in the fighters, they are split 2 and 2. They also hog the lions share of the sparse utility upgrades with 2 Droid and one Systems slot (2 on the E Wing alone).

A mixed bag in manoeuvres, the Rebels have the fastest ship (AW), but are pretty pedestrian otherwise.

The Empire (Tie, Defender, Interceptor, Prototype, Advanced);

Lots of speed (all 5’s) and plenty of manoeuvres, both in actions or on dial, but not a lot of health and generally low attack values, which fits with the Imperial tactical doctrine of light weight and fast swarms.

Only three upgrades (all Missiles) and the only two ships without Target Locks, makes them less offensive overall, further defining their dodge-strike-dodge feel. They also have the only non Torp or Missile Ordnance option* with Cannons for the Defender.

Scum (Scyk, Viper, Kihraxz, Fang, Headhunter);

Variety is the hallmark of Scum and their Fighters offer plenty.

The solid Kihraxz, slippery Viper, swarmy Scyk, lethal Fang and plentiful Z95 are all very different beasts.

Like the Rebels, they can lack some speed, with a single 5 option, but really shine in manoeuvre options (S-Loop, Talon Roll and plenty of K-Turns).

Illicit, found on two ships, are the Scum Droid equivalent for their fighters often offering a tactical edge, but as often a one hit or sacrificial option. The Z95 is basically better than the Rebel one, because it has Illicit.

They are, like the Rebels, split between Torpedo and Missile Ordnance* and all have Locks. The Scum also have exclusive access to Harpoon Missiles.

*In BB we let the Binayre Pirates mount Cannons instead of Misslies on their Z95, sticking to canon,

Head to Head: E Wing vs Tie Defender

This time we will look at what is considered the future direction for front line fighters in the BB (extended universe) world, the Tie Defender and the E Wing

Points;

EW 27 to 35 (49 max) vs 30 to 37 (49 max) Def

First up, theses ships were both thought to be too expensive in the 1e meta. In BB they can hope to prove themselves by offering several unique (i.e. advanced) features, but in the unrestricted game, they need help to be points effective. A squad of only two fully loaded ships is probably a bit thin, but three stripped down ones can be effective.

Base Stats;

EW 3 3 2 3 vs 3 3 3 3 Def

Well rounded, although the 2 hull EW does tend to make the player lean towards defensive benefits, often telegraphing their build.

Actions;

EW Focus, Lock, Roll, Evade vs Focus, Lock, Roll Def

The E Wing is the only Rebel fighter in BB with Evade, which makes up some for the weak hull (I like this dynamic in BB. It shows the designers intent). The Rebs do have a couple of other Evade options, but they are unique and/or large ships that need the help. Otherwise, the two are even.

Upgrades (BB style);

EW Torpedo, System, Droid vs Missiles, Cannon Def

Again, the Rebel Torpedo vs Imperial Missile dynamic. This really became evident to me when in BB Ordnance became a major upgrade option. The E Wing has a varied suite of combinations with the unique Droid + System slots and actually has the best upgrade choice of any fighter, while the Defender only has some extra muscle in Ordnance upgrades. Clear divergence here.

Moves;

EW 10 White, 5 Green vs 8 White, 4 Green 4 Red Def

EW Speed 5, 4 & 3/K-Turn vs Speed Green 5, White 4 K-Turn Def

Quite different personalities show through here, as befits exaggerated, envelope pushing super fighters. The white K turn, the only one in 1e, gives the Defender a weapon more potent than a Talon roll or S-Loop, but otherwise the ship is punished by tight turns. The E Wing’s more conservative dial is quite well rounded.

Pilots;

EW 4 (2 Elite) vs 7 (5 Elite) Def

Hampered by smaller choice the E Wing can offer two very strong, attack minded pilots, while the Defender is relatively spoilt by offensive, defensive or manoeuvring choices. The EW Pilot short-fall is helped to an extend by upgrade slots, allowing for some interesting combinations.

Summary;

They look similar in points and core spec totals, but not actual performance and they are very different in build choices.

The Defender can be tactically predictable, relying on Pilot’s alone (and only one with manoeuvre options, but 5 with talents). It is fast and offers a white K-Turn for “fly through and turn” attacks, but struggles to turn otherwise and the weapon options, powerful as they are, tend to make the ship a points sink.

The E Wing is much more like a faster X Wing to build. The Droid and Systems slots are pretty much mandatory fills, giving the ship many options, but again can to make the ship expensive.

Compared to regular interceptor types, they can seem like expensive and needy, but in BB that is a role to be filled, without fear of a lesser ship being “pimped” out to match them. BB tends to hero special ship and pilot abilities, giving them their rightful place as bespoke advantages.

Sick of worrying about your fragile, plain label Interceptors, upgrade to a Defender. Feel the need for speed, with a Droid and Systems slot for that winning edge*? The E Wing is your option.

*In BB, the Droid and Systems slots in particular stand out as game changers, because their equivalent abilities found in EPT, Tech, Title or Mod upgrades are just not available.

What would I pick?

The Defender has always had a place in my gaming heart. Three of these with well thought out upgrades is potentially brutal in BB.

Head too Head: Tie Prototype vs A Wing

This is an odd one. The A Wing did not seem to have an equal-opposite until I placed it next to the Prototype (a ship I only recently purchased). Up until now I saw the AW as either an interceptor with quirks or a light front line fighter.

Points;

AW 17 to 26 (31 max) vs 16 to 25 (30 max) Pro

Similarly cheap at the bottom end, these can swarm or be used as elite interceptors (I do both with the A Wing, but only have one Prototype).

Base Stats;

AW 2 3 2 2 vs 2 3 2 2 Pro

Same, same. Nothing to see here.

Actions;

AW Focus, Lock, Boost vs Focus, Lock, Boost, Evade and Roll Pro

The A Wing is the fastest ship in the Rebel fleet and technically the game (Green 5 + Boost). The Prototype is very close with a white 5 and boost. It also has the almost mandatory Imperial Barrel Roll and unlike the standard Interceptor, a Lock option. Again, too close to split.

Upgrades (BB style);

AW Missiles vs Missiles Pro

Both have the useful Missile upgrade. The reason Missiles are so good on both these ships, is because of the two powerful (and cheap) agility/speed based options, Proton Rockets and Cruise Missiles. These two ships are good at maximising that payload.

Moves;

AW 6 White, 8 Green vs 9 White, 7 Green Pro

AW Speed Green 5, 5 & 3/K-Turn vs Speed 5, 4/K-Turn Pro

A bit of real difference finally. The A Wing has an open invitation to manoeuvre at speed like their is no tomorrow, while the Prototype is better than most at very close quarters.

Pilots;

AW 6 (2 Elite) vs 4 (2 Elite) Pro

Both ships show their penchant for avoiding the enemy, and/or making the most of getting close. The A Wing has a couple of manoeuvring dynamos, the only two with EPT’s (no Test Pilot fleeces them of that double EPT, but that is BB), the Prototype only has two pilots with talents, one defensive, one offensive, but both with EPT’s. I only have one ship with 2 pilots, bought second hand to fly a 2e ship.

Summary;

In my fleet, direct comparison is a little pointless. The single Prototype I have has 5 A Wing’s to deal with, but the similarities are clear. FFG has provided the true “crazy-Rebel” A Wing experience and a sinister close quarters killer in the Prototype. The A Wing stands out in Rebel circles as the fastest they can field by far and technically the fastest in the game (except the K Wing with SLAM). The Prototype, is more like a Tie Advanced with a twist.

Which appeals to me?

The A Wing has always been a sentimental favourite and my only option for a full squad. The single Prototype I have though does have an “X” factor that cannot be ignored, making an Interceptor or Tie Fighter squad stronger, like an Advanced but subtly different.

Still the A Wing I think (sooo much speed).

Head to Head: Fang Fighter vs Tie Interceptor

This has been fun and enlightening (for me) so far. The next two ships are personal favourites, but can suffer from short table life in full X Wing. Both can have very strong, tactically biased builds (the ultimate arc dodger and the in-your-face alpha striker), which tends to make them quite different in that form of the game.

In BB, things calm down a little. Ironically, the simpler format tends to make both craft more generic, so less possibly less predictable.

Points;

FF 20 to 28 (34 max) vs 18 to 27 (27 max) Int

Immediately a point of divergence. The Interceptor is cheap enough to field 5, still with an ace pilot or a strong 4 ace build. The Fang is either a 3 ship squad with torps or no ordnance and a support ship (three Concord Dawn pilots and a Firespray-31 Mandalorian Merc are a strong squad).

Base Stats;

FF 3 3 4 0 vs 3 3 3 0 Int

Very similar. The extra hull of the Fang, considering the Interceptor has no Ordnance option, nor many offensive biased pilots, almost guarantees them single shot survival.

Actions;

FF Focus, Lock, Boost, Roll vs Focus, Boost, Roll, Evade Int

Again a divergence. The Fang can lock, prioritising their Torpedo attack, the Interceptor has the best action arc dodging bar in BB, being the only ship with all three manoeuvre actions.

Upgrades (BB style);

FF Torpedoes vs nada Int

The Fang is an intercepting alpha striker, the Interceptor is an arc dodger. The Fang is the best ship in BB for Advanced Proton Torps, due to Pilot options and dial, in BB (even more exaggerated in full 1e).

Moves;

FF 8 White, 6 Green vs 7 White, 7 Green Int

FF Speed 5, 4/K-Turn vs Speed 5, 5 & 3/K-Turn Int

The Fang is a more conventional ship, with more white than green moves and a single K-Turn. The Interceptor is making up some for it’s lack of upgrades, with 2 K-Turns and 2 more green moves. The Interceptor is meant to arc dodge and the extra greens help with that.

Pilots;

FF 6 (5 Elite) vs 11 (6 Elite) Int

The secret of the Interceptor lies in it’s pilot options. Various abilities from extra manoeuvres to stripping enemy ships of tokens etc make it a fun squad to build, even without upgrades in BB. The Fang has some good pilots (3 without talents), but tends to fall into the same tactical paradigm of range one attacks. When kitted out with title and EPT’s this tends to go berserk, emphasising head on range 1 clashes, but in BB it is more of a strong lean towards close fighting.

The Fang pilots, all but one sporting an EPT slot are all spoiling for “Fearless”, which further emphasises their up close and personal feel. Mix it up a bit though.

Summary;

Very similar on paper, but quite different in application. The swarm of 4-5 Interceptors, buzzing around like angry Hornets is a very different dynamic to the close in, knife fighting alpha striker. The Fang is crucial to the Scum faction offering the only true interceptor option. The Interceptor is more of an elite Tie Fighter.

A favourite?

I cannot split these two. Fenn vs Soontir? Too hard. The Interceptor makes the most sense (1 or 2 more ships), but the lure of the perfect Advanced Proton strike is also strong.

Head to Head: Kihraxz vs X Wing

Comparing the Advanced and X Wing showed us two ships with fairly balanced but quite different personalities. Now we can look at the Scum Khiraxz against it’s Rebel peer the X Wing.

Points;

XW 21 to 29 (39 max) vs 20 to 28 (36 max) Kxz

The Kihraxz is sightly cheaper. Both factions can field a solid 3-4 ship squad, or the Scum a 5 ship “expendables” squad.

Base Stats;

XW 3 2 3 2 vs 3 2 4 1 Kxz

Same total, but again the factional differences can again be summed up in this one line. They both hit equally hard, but the Scum trade off shields for hull (a common thread). Shields are slightly better than hull, so the Rebels have a very slight edge here.

Actions;

XW Focus, Lock vs Focus, Lock Kxz

The Kihraxz is again living up to it’s reputation as the Scum X Wing.

Upgrades (BB style);

XW Torpedoes, Droid vs Missiles, Illicit Kxz

Same but very different. The Droid vs Illicit slots really highlight the difference in the factions. The Scum go for dirty tricks over team work. Illicit does not directly benefit the Missile upgrade, but does add some re-positioning benefits. In BB only Scum can have the nasty Harpoon Missile, so they tend to gravitate towards Kihraxz fit-outs.

Moves;

XW 8 White, 6 Green vs 8 White, 5 Green Kxz

XW Speed 4, 4/K-Turn vs Speed 4, 5 & 4/K-Turn Kxz

Fitting with the slippery feel of Scum, two K-Turns, in exchange for one less green move is a good trade off, especially with some Illicit tricks like Inertial Dampeners or Contraband Cybernetics. Both ships can be a bit boring to fly, but the Kihraxz less so and it can be quite unpredictable. This fits in well with some of it’s better pilot’s also.

Pilots (including Huge ship expansion options);

XW 10 (4 Elite) vs 6 (5 Elite) Kxz

Fewer pilots for the Scum, with a strong emphasis on offence and more EPT’s. Talonbane is very strong, Hel and Graz tricky and Jostero good in a pack. The X Wing on the other hand has as many as any other ship, but not many EPT’s in the mix. Without EPT’s the Rebels are strong, without the Scum have unpredictable options opened up to them. Again, factional differences are emphasised.

Summary;

The Kihraxz and X Wing have much in common, but their differences are where the gaming magic lies.

Facing off against each other, they would be well matched, but as a player, you would have to switch hats (a worn dirty white to a slimy green), which makes these two ships just as different as the Advanced is to either of them.

Three factions, three takes on the same thing, three very different experiences.

Which one for me?

Sentimental favourite and the new lease of life it has in BB makes the X Wing the one. It also has more variety, so from a gaming perspective, it is the head choice. Flying Khiraxz for a change has it’s appeal though, especially with Talonbane.

A Final (?) Word On The Bare Bones Concept

Lots has been written about the how and what of Bare Bones, but let’s revisit, as a point of finality, the reasoning behind Bare Bones option for X Wing 1st Edition.

This is very much based on my personal take and the results of sharing that perspective with others, The other stakeholders in BB share my philosophy, but to a certain extent, are following my lead due to a much weaker understanding of the game, it’s history and it’s problems.

After throwing myself into X Wing at the beginning of the year, reading all the blogs, reviews and playing enough to confirm what I read, a few things floated to the top as the primary strengths and weaknesses of first edition X Wing;

Balance

The game tended to swing with each new wave of releases. “Prime” squad builds ruled for a wave or two, but were often nerfed (weakened) later, just to restore some balance, but this was rarely enough to make some older ships even slightly appealing on the tournament circuit. Worse, often the nerfs applied were at odds with the purity of the game, sometimes, even to Star Wars as a whole. Upgrades that allowed things with no precedent, models (titles) of ship that may have been canon (at a stretch), but felt wedged in simply to make the game more coherent and even removal of printed on-card features (JM 5000), seemed all about the players comfort in the game space, not Star Wars relevance.

By the end of 1e, the name-sake X Wing had several “optional” upgrades to make it enticing. Looking like a Christmas tree with too many decorations, it went from a pretty simple (in the core set), Pilot-Ship-Droid-Ordnance dynamic to a far more powerful, but effectively mandatory set of title and droid cards. Where was Luke, with R2 and some Photon torps? Lost under Integrated S-Foil, Renegade Refit and Flight Assist Astro-mech upgrades. 2e has smoothed this out, integrating these into the core ship as needed.

This also led to some suspension of belief;

I like my story telling aspect intact. The line between the inspiration (Movie, book, TV) and the game, is for me, pretty straight and short. If the game makes it less pleasurable or even unhealthy to try to play to the story, then I loose interest pretty quickly. Not only is the lack of connection to story disappointing, but the inability to accurately replay scenes from it is doubly frustrating.

Accuracy

Making a game must be pretty tough. I have tried it a few times and the rewards are seldom enough to balance the hard graft and time involved. FFG has made a great game, based on a famous franchise. They have been true to the (extended) universe and accurate in their portrayal, to a point. Obviously the game comes first, so sometimes accuracy must take a back seat. When people start talking about the game in purely min/max terms, with little regard to it’s simulation-ist opportunity, I lose interest.

So what did we identify as the main game killing culprits and what could be achieved by changing or removing them.

Squad Logic

Making a squad, if taking the above into account, should make some sense. Few tournament successful squads do. Usually made up of too many of the same unlikely ships, weird combos or ships that simply do not share the same time line, winning 1e X Wing squads rarely make much sense. I want to field a squad that can tell a story, the story. One that feels and looks right, then plays on a level playing field. 2x X Wings guarding a pair of Y or B wings on a mission? 4x Tie Fighters escorting a Lambda? Why not? In the current meta, only scenario obsessed players would go there (and likely lose).

We wanted a game where any squad could be viable, as long as the player played to the strengths of their ships.

What is Dropped and Why?

What is dropped are the upgrades that affect all of the above. All of the things that have been identified as real or potential game killers.

Elite Pilot Talents. Each elite pilot comes with their “one unique thing”. These are thematic and fit well with their pilot (well done FFG). Most of these however are duplicated in the EPT meta, meaning that the pilot you pick for their special talent, can often be exaggerated, nullified or duplicated by your or your opponent’s choice of EPT. It just feels wrong to me that the pure and logical feel of each pilot is made redundant by EPT choice. To make things worse, some EPT’s are used almost universally, while others are seen as effectively useless.

The power and the pain of the EPT is a known thing. EPT’s layer levels of synergy into builds that seasoned players salivate over, but to me, they are the most common game breaking culprit. Also, the effect doubles down on pilots with no built in talent, who cannot buy one either.

I would have preferred a “tactics” upgrade, with a squad alignment rather than pilot one. I would have also liked it if pilots were separate from ships (but still limited), like Captains in Attack wing.

Modifications. Mods are like EPT’s in that they can change the very nature of a ship. Why is this bad? It is not really except on the scale and with the logic they are applied. When the Imperial Interceptor stands out as the best arc dodger, I feel a sense of rightness. When another ship can add a mod (or sometimes up to three), making the Interceptor a less special little snow flake, the game’s purity of purpose is (I feel) weakened. There is little mention in Star Wars of mods used with many, especially base ships. From a game perspective it adds another layer of synergy (complication) and again like EPT’s there are just some that always need to go on certain ships, while others are rarely played.

Titles. This one is a little problematic. We play BB two slightly different ways. The first is as indicated with no Title upgrades. The second allows specific, named ship Titles, but not generic ones. The Punishing One, Hound’s Tooth, Falcon, Mist Hunter, Havoc etc. sometimes need their title to fit their story. This can add an artificial benefit (+1 Evade), other times it is baked in (Tractor Beam), but either way, the exclusion of generic class titles feels right.

Most, if not all are game balancing nerfs. Mark 2’s, Refits, Special editions, “Brands” are all used to fix past mistakes or bring ships that have been forgotten in the mists of time up to date. Annoyingly, some of these were seeded into Huge ship upgrades, making these expensive packs almost mandatory for serious players ($100 upgrade card anyone?).

The Tie Advanced for example is a balanced ship compared to its equivalent X Wing and Khiraxz fighters. It almost immediately became a no-go option in the game due to a weak 2 attack and some mediocre pilots when most of it’s benefits became muted. This is fixed to some extent by the Title upgrade available in the Raider set (2 only), but that was a long time coming and only a balancer.

Most of these have been built into 2e ships, in a logical and balanced way and in that edition they make sense. In 1e it all feels a little desperate. Removing them simplifies all of the ships equally, making the game just as balanced as 2e, with less bells on.

Out of Timeline ships. The TFA period is separate. To confirm this 2e has split it cleanly. 1e had to include a part of it, but pickings were slim until the last trilogy played out, so a handful of ships were added into existing factions and regularly played with unlikely allies (Darth Vader with Kylo Ren or Young Luke and Poe in the same squad, not on my watch?). This also removes Tech slots.

Removing them does two things. The first is obvious, story consistency. The second, dropping Tech upgrades, further reduces the layering of certain ships and rids us of a faux-Systems upgrade. My large Resistance and First Order fleets are now the core of 2e, where they fit thematically and make sense systemically.

Limiting Bare Bones to the early movies and extended universe ships only, fits into the feel of the older game.

*

Is there enough to explore?

Looking at it from our perspective (casual players new to both editions), it is plenty. The fleets are almost comprehensive, so there are hundreds of pilots in dozens of ships with thousands of upgrade combinations to try. By reducing the clutter, the game feels more approachable for a group who play a lot of different things and do not have infinite time.

Without the format, the better practiced players gain too much advantage over less familiar players, reducing the fun for all. 2e has taken the role of “advanced” X Wing, with deeper play, more comprehensive ships and better integration of Huge ships and Epic games, but for us, 1e Bare Bones fits the role as the original perfectly.

Head To Head: Tie Advanced vs X Wing

Just for fun, I re-arranged a table I use for Bare Bones ship selection, placing the ships not in factions, but by type and in rough order of power. I was stuck (again) by the inherent balance of the basic ships.

This is the first of a series of quick Head to Head comparisons of these ships, highlighting some things that are obvious and some things that, in this form of the game, and accounting for my relative inexperience, have since come to light. I think this helps to understand the solid building blocks that X Wing 1e was created with.

The X Wing (T 65) vs the Tie Advanced.

The original X Wing is the name-sake ship of the game and often one of the first two or three (> Falcon and Tie) thought of when you say Star Wars to anyone. The crying shame of it was the ships relevance led to it’s early demise as a competitive ship in X Wing 1e. About wave 4 or 14 the basic chassis was showing signs of over simplicity, when compared to newly introduced faster and stronger ships.

The Advanced suffered a worse fate. On top of being “that other ship, you know the one at the end of the movie that spun out of control”, it has only one really great pilot (Vader), lots of filler pilots (the rest) and an odd role in the faction. It was not the little dime a dozen Tie, but more like something the Rebels would fly (which is of course why it exists, to give Vader a decent ride, just not a better than one than the heroes of the story).

In Bare Bones format, lets see how both ships hold up.

Points;

XW 21 to 29 (39 max) vs 21 to 29 (34 max) Adv

All even here, so a level field of comparison. Both factions can field a strong 3 or 4 ship squad.

Base Stats;

XW 3 2 3 2 vs 2 3 3 2 Adv

Same total, but the factional differences can be summed up in this one line. The Rebels hit harder, the Empire are harder to hit.

Actions;

XW Focus, Lock vs Focus, Lock, Barrel Roll and Evade Adv

The Advanced has a clear advantage here with a repositioning and defensive boost. With Vader at the helm, any two can be applied (simulating his Force power). The Rebels tend to be a bit predictable with only two to pick from, but it fits with the “keep your eyes open” or “stay focussed on the attack” feel. Many Pilots and Droids do supplement this.

Upgrades (BB style);

XW Torpedoes, Droid vs Missiles Adv

The Droid upgrade effectively adds a pilot talent and this synergy defines the X Wing, making it versatile and helps apply the main Rebel edge, team work. The Rebel Torpedo vs Imperial Missile dynamic is a common thread. Missiles give the Imperials more variety, while Torps are just good honest damage dealers. Do Droids make up for extra actions? I feel the balance is still intact.

Moves;

XW 8 White, 6 Green vs 10 White, 4 Green Adv

XW Speed 4, 4/K-Turn vs Speed 5, 4/K-Turn Adv

A speed advantage for the Advanced, but a slight edge in stress recovery for the X Wing. This again suits the factions. The Rebels are more daring jousters, the Empire fasts strikers, using actions to manoeuvre.

Pilots (including Huge ship expansion options);

XW 10 vs 8 Adv

This one is interesting. The Rebels have several pilots with offensive bonuses, relying on Droids or talents for a defensive or re-positioning benefit or even more offence, while The Empire ship has more manoeuvre or action talents. This makes the stronger X Wing an even more lethal one-punch fighter and the weaker Tie, harder to kill again or an make up for the offensive short fall. In effect, the ships strengths and weaknesses are played to.

Overall;

The two ships look pretty even on paper. This of course has little to do with on table performance or player love, but I am happy that in the Bare Bones environment, they both have their role to play. The Rebels have several fighters to pick from, but are a little weak in lighter, faster ships (A Wing). The X Wing adds depth there as needed. The strength of the X Wing, both in story and game terms, is it’s versatility. With Luke and R2, you are tough to kill, or with Wedge and R7-T1 you have a repositioning killer.

The Empire are generally fragile, so the Advanced allows a player to switch out their usual low health for something more resilient, giving them a 1:1 jouster, an arc-dodger with grit.

Most importantly, both ships play as they did in the films. The Rebels can “load for bear”, trying to maximise their one shot chance, the Empire flit around, getting more shots off, but with less chance of a one-hit kill.

A beginner can feel safer in the slightly harder hitting X Wing, while a veteran player would likely enjoy the challenge of flying the Advanced well.

Which would I choose?

Surprisingly the Advanced. The option of Vader, with a few rarely seen wingmen (Juno, Tetran, Stromm), make a nice change from the usual X Wing builds and I like the challenge of arc dodging over hitting harder. There is also the lure of the unknown with these.

Bare Bones Sample Squads (Empire)

Finally, lets loot at some Empire lists. Again, not the true definition of competition lists, but true to the story and balanced with each other.

Black Squadron (100 points)

• Darth Vader (Advanced) Plasma Missiles Squad leader

• Mauler Mithiel (Tie) Calculation or Crack Shot

• Back Stabber, Dark Curse, Black Sqdrn Pilot (Tie Fighters).

The classic enemy from the first movie trench run scene. Vader is tough and with his PTL like skill gets two actons, his backups are also good with flanking, closing or evading benefits. Backstabber was his actual wingman in the movie.

Obsidian Squadron (100)

• Howlrunner (Tie) Swarm Tactics

• Night Beast, Winged Gundark (Tie Fighters).

• 2x Obsidian Squadron Pilots (Tie Fighters).

• 2x Academy Pilot

A true swarm, with the best Tie leader (Howl) and some other good pilots, it can be varied by adding another Obsidian Pilot and Scourge (Wingman) instead of Beast and Gundark or keeping one and downgrading two pilots to Academy. Any way you play it, this is the classic swarm, that went out of fashion in later X Wing, but is hopefully more competitive again now in BB (and 2e). Fly this if you want to brush up on your flight skills, intimidate an unsuspecting opponent with a wall of ships or just want the “stuff-up protection” it offers.

181st Fighter Wing Sabre Squadron (100)

• Soontir Fel (Interceptors) Push the Limit

• Turr Phennir (Interceptor) Crack Shot

• 2x Sabre Sqdrn Pilots (Interceptors) Lightning Reflexes

The infamous Soontir with classic PTL and three Ace wingmen. A lethal force if flown well and fun to fly, but tend to wither under intense Turret fire.

181st Fighter Wing Alpha Squadron (100)

• Fels Wrath, Lt Lorrir (Tie Interceptors)

• 3x Alpha Sq Pilots (Tie Interceptors)

The super swarm, 5 Interceptors has plenty of fire power, but lacks depth in elite pilots. Flown as the “revenge for Soontir’s fall” squad, it is more about numbers and determination than the previous squad’s quality.

Delta Squadron (100)

• Maarek Stele, Colonel Vassery, Delta Sq Pilot (Tie Defender)

The bare bones 3 Defender squad. The raw power of the ships is plenty vs other three ship fleets, but needs to be flown well/aggressively as it has limited health.

Onyx Squadron (97)

• Rexler Brath (Defender) Heavy Laser Cannon Assault Missile Expertise

• Onyx Sq Pilot (Defender) Heavy Laser Cannon Assault Missile

A different slant to Delta Sq, Onyx squadron is loaded to the hilt, but wafer thin (it has the same health as 4 Interceptors, but only offers two targets). It gets a massive initiative bid, as it cannot (in BB) be loaded up any more with points. The white K turn allows this squad to “fly through”, turn, and shoot in one move, so going second is huge. If canon is thrown out the window, Colonel Vassery replacing the Onyx Sq Pilot is stronger, still with a 5 point bid.

Royal Envoy (100)

• The Inquisitor (Tie Prototype)

• Princess Ryad (Defender) Cruise Missiles Tractor Beam

• Glaive Sq Pilot (Defender) Cruise Missiles

All about manoeuvre and speed, this list is like Onyx squadron, but with a twist. The main advantage of the Prototype, is it’s rarity in our circles.

Imperial Guard Escort (100)

• Princess Ryad (Defender) Heavy Laser Cannon Assault Missiles Outmanoeuvre

• Royal Guard Pilot (Interceptor) Wingman

• Carnor Jax (Interceptor) Swarm Tactics

The love child of the Interceptor and Defender list, this one offers jab-jab-hook. Too good to be ignored, the Interceptors can act as flankers, while the Defender stands off and lines up the killer blow.

Cluster Pluckers (100)

• Maarek Stele (Advanced) Cluster Missiles Determination

• Juno Eclipse (Advanced) Cluster Missiles Adrenaline Rush

• Deathrain (Punisher) Cluster Mines Seismic Charges Trajectory Simulator Unguided Rockets

All about area damage, this squad is heavy on Ordnance with collateral damage, but is also reasonably strong in it’s own right. Tie Advanced have not had much of a go in 1e X Wing, with Vader being the only popular pilot and then only after the Raider expansion bought upgrades. The Punisher is also unloved, so lets see if these guys can get it together in the less stressful environment of BB.

Whispers in the Dark (100)

• Cmdr Chiraneau (Decimator) Ysanne Visard Agent Kallus Cluster Missiles Cluster Mines Ruthlessness

• Whisper (Phantom) Collision Detector Mara Jade

Always strong if used well, the Brute+Ambusher combo is a crew heavy Imperial list. Unlike the Rebels, who gain support rom crew, the Imperials dole out stress. This is especially powerful against squads that need to avoid stress to be effective.

Scimitar Squadron (100)

• Major Rhymer (Tie Bomber) Unguided Rockets 2x Plasma Torpedoes Marksmanship

• Captain Jonus (Bomber) Unguided Rockets Plasma Torpedoes

• 2x Scimitar Sq Pilots (Bomber) Unguided Rockets

Fun to try for a change, this Ordnance heavy wall of rockets and missiles can be a surprise to an opponent expecting the usual arc dodging Imperial squad. With 24 toughness, the ability to fire Rockets and Torpedoes at R4 (or Plasma Torps at Range 1), there is a lot to be afraid of, if you are in front of it. Spread your ships wide though, because they are near useless from the rear, but don’t lose Jonus’s ability. The Bomblet Gen can be used to screen the flanks and rear, if you live long enough for it to matter.

The Elastic Band (100)

• Major Rhymer (Bomber) 2x Homing Missiles Plasma Torpedoes Expertise

• Juno Eclipse (Advanced) Cruise Missiles Daredevil

• Tetran Cowell (Interceptor) Adrenaline Rush

All three of these Pilots have abilities that change the core concepts of the game, making them tricky to get a handle on. Cowell can K turn at three different speeds, Juno can increase or decrease speed allowing him to use his Missiles or not with more freedom and Rhymer can change the range of Ordnance. Fun. Optionally swap out Tetran for Lt Lorrir (Barrel roll options) and gain a point or Tur Phennir for a 100 pt list.

Sacrificial Lambda (100)

Captain Kagi (Lambda) Systems Officer Reinforced Deflectors Intelligence Agent Ion Cannon

Lt Kestal (Aggressor) Twin Laser Turret Unguided Rockets Opportunist

Double Edge (Aggressor) Twin Laser Turret Unguided Rockets Saturation Salvo

Giving a little love to the Aggressor in the form of it’s two packaged upgrades, this list is annoying to it’s enemies. The Lambda draws target locks, takes heavy damage blows well, causes stress, shares TL’s has some up front punch, while the Aggressors wear your opponent down with TLT’s and loads of rockets. The slightly comical sight of the Lambda pursuing your enemies around the table like a mad space cow, while the Aggressors act like mosquitoes is highly appealing.

Bare Bones Sample Squads (Rebel)

Now some Rebel lists. Remember, these lists are no necessarily competitive, but are designed to promote story friendly, casual play. Most important, they are roughly balanced to each other, devoid of clever meta-game tricks.

Gold Squadron Scouts (100 points)

• Dutch Vander (Y Wing) R2 Droid

• 4x Gold Squadron Pilots (Y Wing) R2 Droid

A very simple but effective list, 5 Y wings offers a massive 40 Health, but still allows room for an R2 on each ship, addressing to some extent the Y Wings greatest weakness, manoeuvring. Not hugely fun to fly, the Y Wing usually relies on Ordnance, especially a Turret to be viable, but this 5 ship unit instead allows the squad to “layer” their attacks, with each wave supporting the previous. Dutch brings the ability to share target locks, making close formation flying more appealing and is well deployed in the second row, making them more efficient.

Grey Squadron Snipers (100 points)

Horton Salm (Y Wing) R5 Droid Twin Laser Turret

Grey Sqdrn Pilot (Y Wing) R5 Droid Twin Laser Turret

2x Grey Sqdrn Pilots (Y Wing) R5 Droid Auto-blaster Turret

If your ship is a dog to fly, then ignore manoeuvring and go with the 1e specialty, 360 degree turrets! The Twin Laser Turrets gives this squad a ranged option that will wear down any target. The two ships with Auto-blaster Turrets can either use their primary weapon up close or if out manoeuvred, switch to the Turret. The R5 droid makes the ships tougher as manoeuvre is less important, replaced the usual R2.

A Wing and a Prayer (99 Points)

• Jake Farrell (A Wing) Proton Rockets Daredevil

• Tycho Chelchu (A Wing) Proton Rockets Push the Limit

• Prototype Pilot (A Wing) Cluster Misslie

• Prototype Pilot (A Wing)

Not for the feint of heart, especially if facing a similar Imperial list, the 5 A Wing list is fun to fly, but crumples easily. Tycho loves stress, and Farrell can be a manoeuvre monster, but neither offers much in the way of support for their comrades. Fly this as a practice run for fast ship lists. If you are lucky and face off against some slow, arc limited opposition, you will enjoy the flip side of this brittle list.

Legends of the Rebellion (96 points)

• Han Solo (YT 1300) Chewbacca, C-3PO, Concussion Missiles Expose

• Luke Skywalker (X Wing) R2-D2, Advanced Proton Torpedoes Deadeye

Really only flown because everyone wants to at least once, the list is basically Fat Han on a diet (no Title), with Luke as a , but is still fun to fly. The Falcon is a tough bird to bring down, allowing Luke to wait for an opening to strike. Deadeye allows Luke to pick his target as he goes and Expose works well on a big tough turreted ship with C-3PO.

Blue Squadron at Endor (100)

• Ibitsam (B Wing) Autoblaster Cannon Fire Control System

• Ten Numb (B Wing) Autoblaster Cannon Fire Control System

• Blue Sqdrn Pilot (B Wing) Autoblaster Cannon Fire Control System

Tougher than a Y Wing (Shields are better than Hull), and slightly more enjoyable to fly, especially in close, the B wing offers Systems linked to Ordnance. FCS is the popular choice. Ibitsam is ok with stress and Numb can be hard hitting upgrading one of the un-cancellable hits from the close quarters Auto-blaster. Get in tight and keep firing!

Death Star Destroyers Endor (100 Points)

• Lando Calrissian (YT 1300) Nein Numb Gunner Assault Missiles

• Keyan Farlander (B Wing) Heavy Laser Cannon Fire Control System Proton Torpedoes Plasma Torpedoes

Probably a more resilient and balanced list than the “Rebel Legends”, this has a similar dynamic, except the B Wing is more important to the list. The ability to retain target locks with 2 Torpedoes and a brutal Cannon attack is great, but Lando has to play blocker and supporter. Adding an action with a green move and Numb adding more of those, makes the B Wing stronger.

The Rebels (100 points)

• Hyra Syndulla (VCX-100) Reinforced Deflectors, Chopper, Zeb Orrelios Plasma Torpedoes Dorsal Turret

• Ezra Bridger (Attack Shuttle) Maul Autoblaster Turret

• Fenn Rau (Sheathipede) Sabine Wren Cluster Mines

Taking a few timeline liberties, but sticking to squadron ethos, the Rebels list is a bit of a mix-n-match really. The synergies between the characters are so flexible, there are few bad options. The Ghost, the toughest ship in BB, is also one of the hardest hitting, making it the intimidating primary target for most enemy squads (Fancy taking this monster list on with three Star Vipers?). This leaves the two smaller ships to wreak destruction around it. Rau in the shuttle is both a premium taxi for Wren’s massive bomb attack and a useful support act with coordinate. Ezra, with Maul is also very toothy, loving stress and giving out punishment. The Ghost is simply a tough nut to crack with a variety of powerful offensive options. If this is too strong or you are simply up for a change, AP-5 and other options abound.

Ace Killers (100 Points)

• Roark Garnet (HWK 290) Twin Laser Turret Intelligence Agent

• 3x Red Squadron Pilots (X Wing) with R4-D6, R5-X3 and R2-F2 or any other 4 point combo.

An odd looking list at first, this list is a revolving door of PS 12 X wings, thanks to Roark’s ability. Keep him close and protected and there will be a multitude of choices for him to boost. The TLT armed HWK can also be a pain.

Green Squadron Endor (100 points)

• Arvel Crynyd (A Wing) Cluster Missiles

• 2x Green Sqdrn Pilots (A Wing) Cluster Missiles Wingman

• Green Sqdrn Pilot (A Wing) Cluster Missiles Expert Handling

A wings with Missiles are dangerous. Hit first and…well that’s it, hit first. The Cluster Missiles are range 1-2 , not the usual R1 Prockets, which allows the A’s a little wiggle room.

Training Day (100 points)

Garvin Dreiss (X Wing) R3 Droid

Red Sqdrn Pilot (X Wing) R5-P9 Droid

2x Red Sqdrn Rookies (X Wing) R3 Droid

Garvin in his natural role as Squadron leader and protector. The emphasis is on using the rookies without loosing the rookies. 4 X Wings is quite strong, but the Rookies burn easily. R3 allows Garvin to bolster other Pilots by activating his evade and sharing a focus, that they can use to evade, while the Red pilot can force enemy re-rolls as able.

What Is Wrong With Attack Wing

I am a Trekkie.

My first exposure to serious Sci Fi came in the form of the first Star Wars movie at the theatre on release. I was aware of Sci Fi before that, but Star Wars made it an obsession for my 10 year old mind. For years I worshipped the movie (mostly the first, the others slightly less), appreciating the “reality grunge”, accessible characters and overall “fun” factor. This led to a love of several book series, both Sci Fi and Fantasy (The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison, The Mote in Gods Eye by Jerry Pournelle, The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe, John Carter of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, and of course Tolkien etc), then comics and TV shows which were as different to each other as they were from mainstream entertainment.

The Prequels did nothing at all for me. I remember not even being interested in them at the time or really up until recently for completeness sake, so I must have been distracted by other things that better fit my idea of Sci Fi/Fantasy.

Star Trek just happened at some point. Between endless TV series and movie re-runs and a strong presence in the gaming world, it took the mantle as number one in the race of the two big guns. Federation Commander and Star Fleet Battles (coming from the alternate Star Trek universe path of The Amarillo Design Bureau), offered the best, and for a while only decent space ship combat games for either franchise, but even before it FASA and others, had been strong. The only area Star Wars seemed to have a gaming presence was in the computer game arena with their excellent fighter simulator, X Wing or in non game specific toys.

The new Trek movies then fully cemented me in as a Trekkie, so what happened? Why am I now a dedicated X Wing tragic? I have little background with much of the expanded universe, no interest in the three prequels (own them, watched them several times, appreciate their story relevance, but still nothing, possibly due to a wooden Obi wan, whiney Anakin and so-so effects).

I even own an exhaustive Attack Wing fleet, equally huge Federation Commander/ACTA Starfleet/Starmada collection, that are all now playing second fiddle to X Wing.

So what has Attack Wing in particular done to allow the usurper to elbow it’s way into my life?

Game Play

AW is arguably a better or equal game to X Wing. The core mechanics are nearly identical, with even more build variety possible, due to Captains being separate upgrades rather than the pilots baked in to the ship. The X wing move system and sequence of play are similar, but AW has managed to update with a mild 1.1 upgrade, where X Wing needed a full 2.0.

AW is a “softer”, more forging game. A beginner may be out classed, but still feel part of the game, especially if a scenario is being played. I have often given new players a slightly stronger fleet, which seem to balance things out nicely. An unbalanced squad dynamic in X Wing effectively hands a game to the stronger team. In a lot of ways AW is a better casual game. Arguably, AW is the more stable game compared to 1e especially.

You can also do more with less in AW. A couple of ships each from 2-3 factions, gives a huge amount of re-playability and depth. The base set alone offers three factions with lots of upgrades (and you could swap them inter-factionally if you must). The X Wing core has a single X Wing vs 2 Tie Fighters with a handful of upgrades. I remember an epic struggle between the Scimitar, Enterprise E and a Romulan War Bird, that really felt like the movie battle, with the Enterprise winning in a nail biter after a good 40 mins of play.

Problem;

X Wing is just more compelling. Nicer ships, the tighter story telling envelope and limited squad building or the lack of factional variety that just make me (and others) want to play it? Possibly the scale helps. Our desire to pilot an X Wing fighter may just be more exciting than captaining a larger ship? The characters are also more familiar and more overtly martial and lets face it, most Trek stories are about brain power over muscle, where Star Wars is an action adventure story, built for combat situations. A possible final consideration is a lack of a defined Star Trek story line covering several periods, series and crew dynamics that make it harder to define your period. Star Wars has this to, but in a seamless and connected way.

Squad Building

The upgrade dynamic is different between the two games.

Crew, ordnance and special features in AW seem less severe than X Wing. The naked ships are fine, crew added give you options during a fight, but do not feel as formulaic as X Wing, allowing you to field canon ships and crew with the correct ordnance without feeling like you turned up to a gunfight toting a bread knife.

You have more chances to turn the tide in the more attritional AW. It has an ebb and flow rather than the sudden death feel of X Wing. This does not mean there is any mercy from some players, especially those who will mix their upgrades into any combinations, but AW seems to fit scenario play and squad building better and if you enforce some house rules regarding faction and timeline limits, the strengths and weaknesses of each factional and period seem to balance out well enough.

The weapons available in AW are fewer and more predictable and the ships generally more robust*, allowing you to settle in to a game without it ending abruptly. The almost mandatory Photon torps will rarely take out a capitol ship, but may cripple it, forcing the owning player to rely on their crew to repair stuff, just like in the shows. Sometimes that game seems to be played on two levels; ship vs ship and upgrade vs upgrade. In X Wing, there are several alpha attack options, making 3-8 ship swarms common, which fits the small ship feel better, but changes game play.

Playing X Wing in a “Bare Bones” format (upgrade reduced), is quite different to playing it “full noise” with all upgrades included. X Wing punishes weak squads, celebrates game maximisers, all while staying within defined factional limits. I wish Star Wars separated their pilots from their craft. This would have made squad building more interesting (Luke in an E Wing, Y Wing or at the controls of the Falcon or maybe even a Tie?). Attack Wing allows any Captain and ship combination.

The ships move the same way, but feel different. X Wing huge ships are clumsy, their small ships zippy but can feel cramped for room to manoeuvre, where AW tends to cover more table and look less crowded by perceived scale, which to me seems to fit a space combat game better. Ships in AW can also move at speed 6, which is faster than most X Wing ships and there are very few large base ships crowding the table.

The Problem;

Attack wing, in it’s most open form (competition), usually allows ridiculous combinations that span all factions and time lines. Kirk in a Borg Cube with later Romulan crew vs Kirk (again!?) on a Xindi Orassin, with Deep Space 9 and Hirogen crew? Total suspension of belief in the name of gamesmanship for maxing out squads. It is just a game, but what is the point in having any form of franchise represented if it means nothing to the players? X Wing stays within faction, with the exception of the late 1e Force Awakens timeline cross over, which is now corrected in 2e. This one factor often gives X Wing players a feeling of superiority over AW players, citing their “out of control” squad building and inherently unbalanced game.

Look and Feel

AW has an issue with presentation. The counters and rules etc are fine, but the cards are dull and the ships are lacking (sorry, no point in pretending otherwise).

The Enterprise for example has major scaling issues.

The NX (Enterprise) is fine in it’s own time line, with a few exceptions (the Xindi are all over the place).

The Original one (TOS) can look fine against the bigger Romulan’s and Klingon’s from the same series and is actually perfectly scaled against the TNG ships, but don’t go comparing this Constitution class cruiser to a relatively small Klingon War Bird, which dwarfs it. I

The re-fit A is well sized, but have a warped warp engine moulding issue and is at least twice the size of the TOS one (hell of a refit).

The Enterprise B (Excelsior) is a nice ship, both bigger than the A and smaller than the D, which is good and one of my favourite ships.

The D, which I consider to be the base line of their ships, coming in the original base set, is a good size. It’s opposition however are all over the place, The Romulan in the same set is a lot too small, the Klingon also to lesser extent. This is a common problem with the whole TNG series timeline. The Voyager is the same size, when it should be half or less, the Scimitar should be double it’s size, but is only a little bigger, the Dauntless is too big, the Robinson/Patrol ship, is way too big, the Dominion generally too small, etc. Relative size is sometimes ok, so if you take the ships as purely representative tokens of a ships location (like a screen graphic), then fine, but if not, be prepared to suspend your belief a little, or a lot. We stick to faction and timeline “groupings” like X Wing, which helps a bit (The Enterprise, Original and Voyager series are quite do-able, as are the TOS movies). For the TNG era, I have split the ships into smaller “skirmish” (DS9 and Voyager, for small Dominion, Fed, Marquis, Bajoran etc) and larger Fleet action scale.

Paint jobs.

This one really pisses me off. You pay the same (roughly) per expansion as X Wing, for decent enough sculpts, but the paint jobs are often poor and more often inconsistent.

• Enterprise A (TOS) silver or off white

• Enterprise A (Movies) silver, off white, unpainted (deep cut) to replace broken ones.

• Enterprise A (new movies) look great, but like they come from a different game.

• Enterprise B (Movies) silver or blue-white

• Enterprise D (TNG) silver-2 finishes, off-white, blue-white (F%*K me)

• Enterprise E silver and later re-paint.

Hard to get excited

Ooooh Yeahhh….

Added to this, re-releases are often touted as “repaints”, which just make the older ones look like they need a re-paint and most of the newer boxed sets break with previous schemes. This has been enough to put me off getting some of these as the ships will either need a re-paint or just end up being unused, reducing the expensive sets to a hefty outlay for few cards. It is like there is no one in their QC with any interest. It does not bother some, but as a gamer of many years, they fall well below my own basic standards, which are about where X Wing happily sits.

Problem; Just not as nice a game to own. The ships can be very good (Voyager and Enterprise series) or just plain poor (TNG). There are fixes, like proxy ships from other manufacturers, but it all adds up to overpriced and wasteful, especially compared to the X Wing offering. The cards are also bland, lacking the original and consistent art of X Wing. As the franchise less likely to get many excited, it is on a hiding to nothing. If I show a potential newcomer, my X Wing ships, they engage immediately. AW not so much, even though the actual gaming experience may be better!

Support

Take it from me, the support for X Wing, through it’s community and Fandom etc is way better, but can be a bit obsessive and “rail-roady”. I learned all I needed from the many blogs, the Wiki and FFG site which did lead to some pre-conceptions. The information is there for AW, just not as well presented, nor is it as comprehensive. The community is generally less active. Wizkids are also a little patchy with their support of the game in both releases and projections for the health of the game. It is testament to the resilient nature of the Trekkie nerd as an individual, and the soundness of the system that there is any support for the game at all.

*

So again, what is wrong with Attack Wing?

Nothing in isolation. If it was the first and only, it would have a solid place in the gaming world. It’s problems stem from comparisons to it’s elder sibling. The X Wing experience is as cynical in it’s collect or die dynamic, even more so in 1e with whole ships being bought en-masse for a single upgrade card, but this forced collecting is a more pleasant experience, even a desirable one and in all fairness, they have changed this a lot in 2e.

XW will survive a full edition re-boot, AW seems to be withering on the vine. Even a half hearted foray into the new movies will not save them. Wizkids seem to straddle the fence between apathy and stubborn adherence to the path, leaving us with a very personal choice whether to support them or save our money.

I have spent mine and am happy enough with that choice, but as a new comer to X Wing, I feel if I had gone their way first, even the Trekkie in me would likely not be enough to get me interested.

Now….Armada?

*The Tie Fighter and NX Enterprise have the same base stats, but the Tie has no upgrade depth, where the Title Enterprise has several crew and combat upgrades available to it.

Bare Bones Sample Squads (Scum)

OK.

We have looked at the why, the how and the what of BB, now lets have a look at the end product, the squad build. Now with added Talents!

The builds below are the simplest of simple. They are faction and squadron consistent, adding to the players engagement with the Star Wars story, have limited upgrades, so are simple and fun to fly, but are still strong. They are only suggestions and some have only been used on paper, not the table, so please us them only as guides for BB squad ideas.

First a few Scum Lists.

Easy pickings or a wolf in wait?

Skull Squadron (100 points)

• Fenn Rau (Fang Fighter) Advanced Proton Torps, Fearlessness

• Old Teroch (Fang Fighter) Advanced Proton Torps. Fearlessness

• Kad Solus (Fang Fighter) Advanced Proton Torps. Wired

This list has a strong tactical theme; get close. The advanced Proton torpedo is a range 1 5d devastating secondary attack, that tends to be hard to deliver. The Fang fighters are a good platform, offering Boost and Barrel Roll, a Talon Roll and speed 5 with some strong pilots, but the real strength of the squad is the pilot theme. All three have something to offer at close range. Rau gets bonus attack and defence dice, Teroch strips a target of tokens and Solus likes Talon Rolls and K Turns to trigger free Focus. If the squad has a weakness, it’s a reliance on predictable tactics, but even without the range 1 gambit, they are agile and slippery 3 attack ships. With possible points maxed out, you end up with a 3 point initiative bid.

Concord Dawn Protectorate (100 points)

• Mandalorian Merc (Firespray-31)

• Protectorate Ace (Fang Fighter)

• Protectorate Veteran (Fang Fighter)

• Zealous Recruit (Fang Fighter)

Much simpler even than the Skull Squadron build, this one is devoid of any upgrades, relying fully on inherent ship strength. The lower pilot skills of the Fang pilots force them to think ahead and use their actions wisely, The Firespray as rear support or as a vanguard, splitting/blocking enemy squads and providing rear arc support adds 10 health and 3 fire power with dual arcs. Optionally, one or two of the Fang pilots could be down graded, freeing up some points for upgrades.

Black Sun Enforcers (100)

• Talonbane Cobra (Khiraxz) Harpoon Missiles Inertial Dampeners Predator

• Black Sun Ace (Khiraxz) EMP Device Veteran Instincts

• Black Sun Soldier (Z 95) Cruise Missiles Deadman’s Switch

• Black Sun Soldier (Z 95) Cruise Missiles Deadman’s Switch

This list is a platform for Talonbane to operate. His ability (doubling range effects) makes him lethal close, but more defensive at range. The Harpoon missile is a nasty Ordnance, limited to Scum in BB, making the augmented Ace hard to ignore, allowing the squad to attack on multiple flanks. With Dampeners and EMP device the squad can be hard to pin down, so go for confusion, possibly taking a few hits, until the time is right for Talonbane to strike.

Black Sun Blockers (100 points)

• 7x Black Sun Soldiers (Z 95) with 9 points of Illicit or Missiles spread amongst them.

Could not be simpler, a Scum swarm. The Z 95 is slower than a Tie swarmer, but tougher and can pack some options. The strength of this squad is opponent confusion. Which one has the missiles, the Illicit upgrade or nothing at all? We keep upgrades a secret in our games, revealed as played, making the guessing game all the more fun.

Black Sun Royalty (100 points)

• Xisor (Star Viper) Plasma Torpedo Veteran Instincts

• Guri (Star Viper) Plasma Torpedo Bodyguard

• Black Sun Vigo (Star Viper) Plasma Torpedo

A 3 Star Viper list is fragile and heavily reliant on close manoeuvres. Without the Virago title, Guri takes the knife fighter role, with the Vigo acting as blocker/wingman absorbing Xisor’s hits. Like a lot of 3 ship fighter lists, this one will have great success against some lists, but will fold quickly against others, but it will be fun to fly and gorgeous to look at.

Lok Revenants (100)

• Captan Nym (Scurrg) Bomblet Generator Bombardier Autoblaster Turret

• Sol Sixxa (Scurrg) Bomblet Generator Bombardier Autoblaster Turret

• Lok Revenant (Scurrg) Bomblet Generator Autoblaster Turret Wingman

The Scurrg os a great ship. One of only a few with a Talon roll and packing plenty of upgrade options, there a many ways to fly it. Without Title, the Nym ship is not canon (pre Genius), but still tough. Unlimited bombs, a Turret if the enemy gets too close, Nyms immunity to friendly bomb effects and Sols extra move options after dropping bombs makes the squad close quarters “scrappy”, so fly boldly.

Binayre Pirates (100 Points)

• Kath Scarlett (Firespray-31) Mangler Cannon Tail Gunner

• 4x Z 95 with 8 points of Cannon (not missile-look it up) or illicit upgrades.

A simple list with tricks, based in the actual Binayre fleet, the swapping out of Missiles for Cannons (easier to supply for a poor pirate faction), means more and unexpected options. Tractor Beams, or a single Heavy Cannon and the usual Illicit options make for plenty of tactical ploys, with Scarletts Firespray adding a spine (with a tail) for them to fly around.

Collateral Damage (100 points)

• Captain Jospero (Khiraxz) Harpoon Missiles Calculation

• Hired Gun (Y Wing) Unhinged Droid Flechette Torpedo Autoblaster Turret

• (ex-Binayre) Pirate (Z 95) Deadman’s Switch

• (ex-Karthakk) Pirate (Scurrg) Seismic Charge Assault Missile

Jospero likes to let the others to the heavy lifting and prey on the scraps, so this list is all about area effects and collateral damage. Hit hard and fast, but make sure each attack has Jospero lurking, to make the most of it.

Cartel Smugglers (100)

Moral Eval (YV-666) Tractor Beam Ketsu Onyo Intelligence Agent Maul

Cartel Executioner (Kimogila) 2xFlechette Torpedoes Unhinged Mech Inertial Dampeners Deadeye

Cartel Brute (Kimogila) Unhinged Mech Flechette Torpedoes Ion Pulse Missiles

The big YV tends to be a table hog and easy target. The extra wide frontal arc is great, except most ships can get behind it, so Moral’s rear arc Cannon option is golden. The choice of Tractor Beam with Onyo, makes the YV a fly-trap, the Kimogila’s the jaws.

These two have not been tried, but look like fun;

Kraits Claw #1 (100)

• IG-88B (IG-2000) Heavy Laser Cannon Auto Blaster Advanced Sensors Ion Bombs Inertial Dampeners

• Bossk (YT-666) IG-88D Heavy Laser Cannon Jaba The Hutt Hotshot Blaster Predator

Using it’s Crew edge the YV-666 has, IG-88D (allows shared Pilot ability with IG-88B), means either ship can use a Cannon attack if they miss with their first, or either can cancel rolled hits for 2 guaranteed. The IG has a close and ranged Cannon option, the YV a front and rear choice.

Kraits Claw #2 (100)

• Dengar (Jump master) 2x Adv Photon Torps Burnout SLAM R4 Agro Mech Intelligence Agent.

• Boba Fett (Firespray) Gunner Harpoon Missiles Mangler Cannon Ion Bombs

Boba and Dengar shared a mutual respect and membership in Krayts Claw. They compliment each other here with two strong ships, lacking any obvious synergies other than neither can be ignored for the sake of the other. Another awesome combo is Dengar and IG-88B.

Bare Bones a Tactical Overview.

So, what effect does the Bare Bones format have on tactics and squad building in 1e X Wing?

Squads tend to be bigger and simpler.

Many people play high quantity, low complication lists competitively in X Wing, but in BB, that is the norm. Overall, attacks are less lethal, defences are equally less multi dimensional and manoeuvres are less tweak-able. The player has less fear of the brutal, lopsided match up, which is balanced by the limits/frustration of only one or two layer modifier options. The removal of Titles has also made some ships naturally less expensive and reduced the number of super ships. The house rule of sticking to squadrons also tends to employ more low level pilots.

Squads tend to be tactically more defined and inter-dependant.

Ships with limited upgrades are, by definition less inclined to be dependent on 4-5 layers of synergy deep. Their tactics will rely more on player skill and ship to ship rather than internal synergies. Isn’t this more like Star Wars?

Fleets and squads can be larger.

Simpler squads, made up of an Ace or two, then filled up with basic pilots can be bigger or more numerous as the complicating factors of EPT(s)+Mod(s)+Title+Pilot+Crew etc is avoided. Using the core mechanics of the 2e Epic rules works well for BB. The squad of 5-6 ships will often have 1 or 2 Ace Pilots than need to be watched, the rest are straight forward BB ships.

Pilots are much more important, as their innate abilities are the EPT slot (we read the medal icon as meaning they have a built-in ability). This means that action economy, attack and defence mods and special manoeuvres, more often than not, come down to the pilot. Ships in BB are equalised through simplification, their pilots ability, the ship and player skill are the key (much like the 2e philosophy). Without EPT’s Pilot abilities literally become twice as powerful.

Crew are equally, much more important in BB. Crew open up layers of synergy for the BB player especially in the support role or as attack enhancers. Crewed ships tend to be bigger, slower and more expensive, but Crew (in BB) have much higher stock, often making their inclusion super-additive to their squad.

Systems, often seen as one of the weaker upgrades, they are are now the only “High Tech” edge that a few ships can access (8 in total), replacing both Tech and Mods. The advantage of a System slot cannot be overestimated. With a couple of layers of synergy gone, the System mod can often make a ship’s combat mods 30-50% more powerful. Systems are often aligned with ships that can have their special effect boosted (Advanced Cloaking, Gyro Stabilisers), but this can be a trap, blinding the squad builder to other options.

Ships with Systems + Ordnance are particularly strong as there are several upgrades that make them (Bombs especially), more viable. A stand out upgrade, Advanced Sensors sort of becomes the “Push the Limit” of BB, imparting a rare and powerful action economy.

Droids/Salvaged Droids. Action economy, which is one of the key things to master in the game, combat mods, recoveries and manoeuvres are the realm of the Iconic Droid. Having a Droid is a little like having a double Pilot ability. Some ships (Y Wing) are set up to need a Droid to avoid their obvious short comings, but the ships with more freedom can use Droids to create attack, defence or manoeuvre strong squads.

Illicit upgrades are the Scum edge, like a black market Systems slot. Some Scum ships have both, making them doubly powerful. Upgrades like Cloaking Device, EMP emitter, Deadman’s Switch are iconic and powerful, making the Scum squad a prickly nest of surprises.

Ordnance. Missiles, Torpedoes, Turrets, Bombs, are all part of Star Wars legend. In BB they are a strength or a liability in equal measure, but feel ever so slightly better than in regular X Wing, where the ships that carry them are often a liability. Spend the points and obsess over that miss that could have turned the game, or save the points, possibly to buy another whole ship, but forego have that brutal, ship killing attack?

Without EPT’s especially, Ordnance is the best way to hammer an opponent who, again without access to EPT’s, Titles and Mods, has fewer ways of dodging the attack. Losing Extra Ammunition and Failsafe, makes Ordnance a more hit-or-lose proposition, but again, bigger squads equal more chances to land that killer blow. Turrets are probably the most over powered upgrade in BB, making the ships that can mount them disproportionately powerful, but they are few and often have problems of their own.

Huge Ship Only

Team. Teams are a Crew-like upgrade that in BB only the C-Roc cruiser can take (but there are two of them).

Cargo. Another Huge ship only option, the Cargo slot is the most utilitarian and generic upgrade for a Huge ship, adding power, resilience, defensive, occasionally offensive and general enhancements. The GR-75 in particular can reduce it’s passiveness with cargo load-outs or become even harder to kill.

Hard Point. The Hard Point is the primary weapon option for the C-Roc. Each is oly allowed one, but again there are two. The energy mechanic makes the Hard Point even more dangerous, allowing the cruiser to fire more than once with powerful weapons that even sport a Range 5 option (House rule that the Gozanti weapon can be fitted to the Gozanti C-Roc).

Again, without Titles or Mods, the builds are simpler and more generic, but there are plenty of ways to customise the two classes of ship included.

For the beginner or the jaded long term player, the limit on upgrades is a take it or leave it proposition. The tactical clarity of the game is intact, if a little less nuanced, which does not make it less of a game. 2e provides a much smoother “advanced” version of the game, integrating most of the omitted elements seamlessly into the game or dropping them all together.

Bare Bones Tactics (Scum)

First up, a house rule adhered to fairly strictly is the keep ships in squadrons and sub-factions. This means for Imperial and Rebel squads, either no squadron mixing, especially for the same ship type, or balanced mixing as relevant, but for Scum it includes added sub-factional limits.

The rules are;

• Empire and Rebel squads may have a single Scum faction as an ally or mercenary, at up to half their squad points. This must be declared before squad building or random selection takes place.

• Scum may mix any number of mercenaries in with a single faction, but may not mix factions together as they are natural enemies. This must be declared before squad building or random selection takes place.

Variety is the spice (runner) of life.

The Factions;

Cartel (Hutt, Broken Horn or similar): C-Roc, M12’s, M3’s, HWK 290 (Spice Runner), Y Wing (Thug).

Black Sun: Khiraxz, Z95, Star Viper.

Binayre Pirates: Firespray (Scarlett), Z95, C-Roc.

Lok Revenant: Scurrg Bombers.

Concord Dawn: Fang Fighters.

Tansarii: M3’s.

Mercs, Villains, Hired Guns: All the rest including the C-Roc.

*

The Cartels are known for using Mercs regularly, but also have some in-house muscle. With ships ranging from the C-Roc down to little M3’s they can field anything from a swarm to a 2 ship power team.

Black Sun are represented by an even mix of swarm and Ace fighters. The slippery Star Viper or solid Khiraxz squad is a possible core, but a few Z95’s with dirty tricks loaded (EMP, Deadman’s Switch etc) always offer cheap fire power and control. Their best squad is likely a little of everything supporting a strong ace.

Binayre Pirates are almost a set list. 4 cheap Z95’s (all they actually had) and Kath Scarlett’s Firespray, The Marauder are a solid if predictable squad, with the C-Roc and hired mercs/thugs as their options.

The Lok Revenants (Karthakk Pirates) are as much freedom fighters as villains. Their monopoly on Scurrg Bombers makes them a strong faction to ally with or they can be viable on their own. Strong on a ship by ship basis, they can definitely benefit from a little variety.

Concord Dawn are similar to Lok in both squad dynamic and philosophy, they are a brutal single faction option, but leave room for a merc or two (especially a Mandalorian) to add variety to an already lethal team. As one-off or paired hit men, they also strengthen slow or predictable squads.

Tansarii. The M3 became famous at the hands of the defenders of Tansarii Station and most of the available pilots trace their roots back there. They have a Rebel/Tie swarm team-work vibe. This does not mean they cannot have options though. Backed up by a strong merc or a team of Khiraxz only makes their swarm more viable.

Freelancers. The sheer variety of mercs and villains is what makes the Scum so unpredictable. The Mercs can add muscle, unique tricks and traps, and the dynamic a faction is lacking, so become aware of what each ship and Pilot offers.

*

The Scum faction has variety and faction exclusive upgrades as their edge in BB (and X Wing). Salvaged Mechs, Illicit and more Crew than any other faction, added to the many-faced dynamic of their ships, gives the Scum player more options (headaches) than either of the other factions. The trick is to create strong squads that keep that unpredictable edge, but avoid the cluster of ineffectiveness than can result.

Half a dozen one-off effects or too much complication will force you to rely too much on luck or superior flying. Trying to build conservatively will hand the stronger core synergies of the Empire and Rebel factions a free game.

Build to a theme (trap). Strong main line fighters, huge swarms, or muscle ships to start with, then add in some of what makes them renown in dirty tricks.

Bare Bones Tactics (Rebel)

Lets look at the basic tactical structure for a Rebel squad in BB.

The Rebels are the Hero faction of Star Wars and the game dynamic supports that. Crew, Pilot abilities and Droids, all support the idea of team work, mutual support and resilience. The Rebels arguably suffer least in BB. Many shunned ships regain their place and most of the better combinations are more or less intact.

The core of most squads is the fighter in all it’s forms and the option of a support element.

Fighters.

The loose grouping of fighters come in any form you could want allowing you to almost build from upgrades up.

• X Wing (Medium,Ordnance + Droid, lots of Pilots), 5 Max.

• Y Wing (Heavy, Ordnance + Turret + Droid), 5 Max.

• B Wing (Heavy, Ordnance + Systems), 5 Max

• A Wing (Light, Ordnance, Pilots), 5 Max.

• ARC 170 (Heavy Ordnance + Crew + Droid), 3 Max.

• E Wing (Medium, Droid + Systems + Ordnance, Pilots), 3 Max.

• Z95 (Medium, Ordnance + cheap, Pilots), 8 Max.

• Attack Shuttle (Medium, Turret + Crew, Pilots), unique.

Which ever combination you choose, the Rebels have almost infinite choice at hand, or they can make solid one type squads.

Support.

Support in the true sense of the term comes from several Legendary ships, which define the Rebels as much as their iconic fighters.

The HWK 290 is like a light Lambda, but also packs a Turret. Most Pilots synergise well with their counterpart crew in a cheap if relatively weak ship Build a squad, then work out how the HWK can strengthen it. You might be surprised.

The YT 1300. A legend and deservedly so, the YT/Falcon is a nimble Large ship (less so without Mods, Titles and EPT’s), with a Turret built in, and 2 crew slots, which are now key to it. Do you make the Turret stronger with Luke of Gunner, the ship tougher with R2-D2 or C-3P0, a better support platform or any combination of these? It makes a great sniper, tough blocker, or a focus ship, distracting the enemy while your fighters do the damage.

The YT2400 is a smaller, trickier version of the YT1300. It adds a Cannon at the expense of a Crew slot, but is more agile and many crew options love asteroids, making it a good ambusher. Without title, it lacks the super Turret as Primary option, but is still difficult to handle with a 2d Turret and Cannon combination. This ship is much like a mini Falcon or nimble HWK with more bite.

The VCX-100. The Ghost is the toughest ship in the Rebel fleet. Slightly tougher than the Decimator or C-Roc cruiser, the VCX has one of only two 4d primary attacks, Turret and Ordnance options and a Systems slot. Systems in BB are far stronger than in regular X Wing. Without EPT’s Mods and Titles, most ships only have their basic Pilot, Ship and Action Bar for combat mods, some have Crew or Droids, but most not, so Systems add that real edge to the ships lucky enough to have it. The VCX tend to define a squad, but it is hard to argue with it’s power.

Auzituck Gunship. A strong, but simple ship, the Auzituck only offers crew slots as upgrades making it an ideal blocker with support capabilities, which it has proven to be effective at in recent years.

The GR-75 Transport is one of only two types of Huge ship used in BB (the other is the C-Roc). The reasons for this are the single ship card, relative weakness and smaller size (not much bigger than the Ghost). The Transport has no offensive weapons other than a couple of Cargo options, but has plenty of support to add to a squad (Jam, Coordinate, Crew). It is also the only Rebel ship that can regenerate shields. If blocking and support are your main tactic, the Transport cannot be beaten.

Sheathipede Shuttle. This little ship was one of the first of a new breed. The Coordinate action and Crew slot with some extra-ordinary Pilots, make it a true support ship rather than front line fighter, but if cornered it can still scrap. It could be added to fighters above, but the lack of Ordnance and it’s mediocre dial relegate it more to a supporting role.

*

In Crew, Droid and Pilot synergies, the Rebel player is spoiled for choice, making their HR department the hero of the faction. They also have the only two ships with Coordinate or Reinforce actions, and lots of Pilot, Droid support synergies improving their resilience.

In overall combat performance, they tend to like Ordnance with only three ships lacking options, are generally strong in primary weapon attacks and have plenty of ships that can mount Turrets.

In Manoeuvres they are weakest, rarely offering 5 speed, few Evade, Boost or Roll options, lacking the tricks of the Scum faction or the general arc dodging capabilities of the Empire, so strong squad support tactics are required. They can take a beating and hand one out, so try to balance their lack of flight options with their personnel/support strengths.

With the Rebels you are always assured of a tough squad, usually with plenty of offensive options, it just may be a little dry to fly.

Bare Bones Tactics (Empire)

After stripping away some levels of choice/variety/density/synergy, Bare Bones tends to determine the tactics for each faction.

First up, the Empire.

The basic squad will usually be a Swarm or Ordnance platform with or without support, or occasionally a Brute with escorts.

Swarms (large and small)

Tie Fighter (8 Max) and Interceptor (5 Max) swarms are usually either Howlrunner, Soontir or Vader led, using massed, flanking or waves attacks with a variety of attack and defensive benefits that can be useful for one, but often better for all. Synergies are important here, so squad building will be variations on similar combinations. Without EPT’s or Mods, these can only offer their straight pilot and ship, simple but effective.

Defender and Advanced squads rely on individual Pilot and Ship abilities over group synergy, but if mixed with others can give a little of both.

The Prototype and Phantom can be used as “wild cards” in the above squads.

Ordnance Platforms

These come in three forms, Punisher (heavy), Bomber (medium) or Aggressor (light) that form the base or entirety of a squad, with either fighters or heavy ships for support. Basically, if you more resilience and fire power, these can some or lots at the expense of manoeuvre, which gives the Empire a “plan B” or alternative style.

Punishers have excellent ace Pilots and Systems and a huge payload (no Mods limits ships to one-off loaded ordnance, no failsafes or extra munitions). Punishers can be a tactical edge or points sink and tend to be best used as finishers or support.

The Bomber looks to be better value on the surface, but lacking Systems, Shields and an Ordnance slot, makes then more fragile than they seem. Bombers work better in teams, backing up fighters.

The Aggressor is unique in BB as the only Imperial ship that can add a Turret (the Decimator has one built in). This gives the Empire a play style that the other two factions use regularly, the Turret-sniper or stand-off arc ignorer.

Support and Brutes

The Lambda Shuttle (usually with Palpatine -not included in BB for a variety of reasons unless the Raider is present), adds a support element to a squad. The Empire has the fewest crew options (but still some good ones), fewer large ships and a fairly two dimensional fleet, so the option of a Crew heavy, Cannon mounted space cow is complicated, but often rewarding.

The Decimator is often thought of as the Imperial Millenium Falcon, but I prefer to think of it as the smallest Huge ship in the game. Able to cripple a C-Roc cruiser, offer three crew and some Ordnance (twice the Falcon’s), but lacking any inherent agility, it even acts more like a huge ship than a large one.

It can be surprising. The Decimator has three weapon and plenty of stress inducing crew options, which gives it a totally different feel to the Falcon, more like a YV-666 “Party Bus” with sharper teeth. The only real issue with it is the cost, at half a squad, but if the Decimator takes the lead, the Empire can do a lot with 50 odd points of support ships (4 academy pilots).

The Raider. Late inclusion for scenario driven or bigger games, the Raider adds a vast amount of variation (more Hard point and Team options than all of the other BB Huge ships combined), deeper mechanical depth (complication*) and an intimidating presence on the table, as befits the Empire.

*

Seemingly the most predictable faction, the Empire has a couple of strong core squad ideas with a few surprises. Blind squad building against them can be difficult. Build for a swarm and run into a couple of Punishers and Interceptors in support or a Decimator patrol, build for variety and get swarmed.

The Empire has lots of arc dodgers (agile ships able to out manoeuvre or react with an action, to an enemy arc). They can also supply these in great numbers, varying power and variety. Their main short coming is in Turreted ships (2), Ordnance platforms (3 with a few Missile sporting fighters) and Crew support options (3). In fully X Wing, Mods equalised the effect of turrets to some extent, so without these BB balances the ledger to some degree with weakened Turret ships. Never the less, the Turret squad is often the undoing of an agile, but fragile Imperial squad.

*The idea of BB is not to over simplify play, but to reduce upgrade drag, improving balance and game speed.

An optional house rule that lets the Imperial player build up to half a squad out of one (only) Mercenary or faction (Scum) element, that can add plenty of variety and plot support also.

The Rationale Behind Upgrade Restrictions in Bare Bones X Wing

Why a Bare Bones style X Wing game? There are a few reasons, many of which have been covered by others, but maybe some more case specific clarity is needed.

The goal is to calm down the game, defuse the meta and make early game entry easier, then continued growth and enjoyment through a better supported structure in both semi competitive casual and scenario based or themed play.

I am on record as saying I like (prefer) non game mechanic dominated play. The feel of the game is all. FFG felt strongly enough about this they were compelled to re-invent the game. Editions after the first are not uncommon. Many of the most famous games in history have editions syndrome (DnD, Warhammer etc). Even Chess has evolved over the centuries. After coming to X Wing late, I was impressed by the support it had, but quickly tired of the “best build” forum bashing and min/maxing. So quickly the game could have soured for me. I found myself scouring the web for the rare “fly for fun”, “fly what you like”, or even rarer “stick to canon” posts. This fix has headed off the time and money wasting bogeyman of game fatigue.

The reality though is, sometimes, something that needs fixing sometimes needs fully breaking down and re-building, rather than just applying more and more bandaid measures.

Removing these “Bandaid” fixes are the point of Bare Bones with the hope of making or returning to a simpler, more naturally balanced game, much like the 2e re-build.

Why? Because I like 1e, have had little chance to get to know it. 2e has supplied a better path for the later ideas to be fully realised. Almost all of the things I dislike about 1e are seamlessly absorbed or cleanly cut out of 2e, but the classic simplicity of 1e is still relevant in it’s own right.

The core game was brilliant. The gradual growth of the game took on a predictable pattern. A new wave comes out, new builds dominate, nerf’s are released to re-balance, (ironically often taking the fun out of the new ship or upgrade), a new wave comes out…. . Second edition even has a built-in nerfer, with it’s floating, adjustable points system, so they can fix what is likely to happen again.

No Starviper II, leaves Thweek or Dalan with S-Loop and their own unique skills. The Vaksai title could turn a Kihraxz into almost any ship, But Viktor Hel and friends still add tricks that fit. The Headhunter has a great cost to punch ratio, quantity and dirty trick on it’s side.

The base issue is upgrade synergy. Nearly limitless, it is the core of the game and potentially it’s nemesis. On one hand you have a mini game in it’s own right with squad building, but on the other hand this often leads to casual players being unable to mix with serious or tournament players as a little knowledge goes a long way. This is not like Chess, where tactical knowledge is based on the same pieces with set moves, where being used better by one player leads to victory. It is more like a game of Chess where you can constantly swap out pieces, or change their very role (a Rook moving diagonally is a Bishop by another name), making them act, well, not like they should.

Bare Bones removes the upgrades that are most responsible for either under or over balancing the game. It also removes the upgrades that (I feel) are more game play based, not theme supported.

What is Removed

Elite Pilot Talents.

Almost always filling the bulk of top ten upgrade lists, EPT’s allow pilots already with their own unique and themed ability, to have another, sometimes even two. You could argue that this is reflective of a tactic, a frame of mind or a pre-meditated adaption, but in play it tends to strip away the Pilots uniqueness, often giving several pilots in a squad the same ability. It is also not very logical sometimes, with contradictory or nullifying talents bought for style defined pilots.

This layer of the “synergy onion” is often the one that makes those impossible to beat combinations. The one layer too many, that makes some builds famous/infamous. I think FFG made good use of the inherent pilot abilities, giving each pilot a role to play that suits their back story, so why strip it away with a contradictory or exaggerating second or third talent. Lets face it, there are plenty of pilots out there to pick from if the massive fleets available can be better balanced.

Ship Modifications

This upgrade goes even further to “breaking” both the game and my personal belief in the story and simulation over the game. Want a ship to act like another (removing the unique nature of the other ship), then add a mod. These then became predictable, effectively nullifying the slot. They were often made to balance ships that underperformed either on table or were too dear points wise.

Aside from rare mods added in extended universe plot lines, most ships were as packaged through their careers. The reality is though, in the stories and movies, an X Wing was an X Wing more often than not. Mods were just not really a thing. The game did move on, leaving some ships looking a bit boring and limited, but take out the Mod upgrade option and things tend to settle back (regress?) well enough. An X Wing is a fairly boring brawler, a Y Wing the same but exaggerated, the Interceptor rules as the most nimble, the A wing the fastest and the Star Viper the quirkiest. Add in mods and each ship starts to look like the other. In reality the dynamic is the same just muted. The intent is to use the ships within a reality and story telling envelope, not a min/max dynamic.

Ship Titles.

Much like Mods, Titles, especially generic or class based ones, tended to either fix perceived issues* (Star Viper II, Vaksai, X Wing S-Foils), exaggerate already available abilities (Concord Dawn Protector, A Wing Test Pilot), or irrevocably change ships into totally different beasts (Heavy/Light Scyk, Tie/D or 7x) that then cause mass extinction of their original forms. Ships like the Defender or E Wing in BB are still expensive, but also very powerful in this form of the game.

Named titles are a slightly different matter, but after much thought were dropped, as again they tend to exaggerate what is already there. The un-nerfed JM500 is powerful enough without the Punishing One upgrade. The Falcon is a less “Fat Han”, the Starviper does not have a Virago identity, but Guri and Xisor still work as a team as intended. These can be re-added seamlessly into the game, making for an “advanced” option, but so far, no need.

Tech

BB does not have TFA era ships or ships from the later movies, sticking to the theme and feel of the early movies and expanded universe (and game on release), so Tech is not included.

This leaves us with;

• Core ship and pilot synergies, often leading naturally to faction preferred tactics and style.

• Ordnance in all it’s forms (where would we be without our Proton Torps)

• Crew, both generic and faction limited. The Rebels excel here.

Points of Difference;

• Systems as a rare upgrade shared by the more advanced (expensive) ships in each faction.

• Illicit and Salvaged Droids as Scum only advantages.

• Droids as a Rebel only advantage.

• Unique ship actions, such as Cloaking or re-load.

*Also removed are the Ordnance upgrades that act like Titles or Mods, such as Bomb Load-out, various refits etc. These are identified again as bandaid fixes or game re-freshers, not wanted in this purer game.

Upgrades that are clearly linked to the later movies are also removed for consistency, unless they do no harm (Unkar Plutt and Rey-out, Inspiring Recruit-in).

X Wing Now and in the Future

X Wing has been sidelined for me for the last few months as I find my feet in a new job.

The imminent release of some new packs, the late release of some much anticipated ones and the future direction of 2e have combined to re-invigorate my interest.

Seeing the Resistance getting more ships (The twin T70 and RZ-2 pack) and the availability of the First Order Xi shuttle pushed me to finally add a CR-90 Corvette to my fleet, thanks to that great scene in the last movie where they all take off for the last big battle (groan…, I just knew they would do that).

The CR-90 was the one that got away in 1e, but I know it is possible to retro-fit it with second hand 1e templates and cards if I want, or just use it in 2e, where the Huge ship and Epic game is better placed (I kind of like the idea of the Raider being the undisputed brute of 1e).

My plans to only do 2e with later movie factions (and selected Scum) and the early movies and extended universe with 1e are still solid, but a newly announced Imperial heavy Tie fighter may tempt as I (like many) split my fleet between full ship/fleet coverage in 1e and comprehensive ship type representation in 2e.

Out of the darkness, doom approaches.

First Order is nicely represented now. The fleet I have can produce any variation of light squadron, with or without Heavy support and the Raider adds the Menacing element the “Bad Guys” need and en-masse (Epic), it is a daunting 22 ships strong. The Xi shuttle will give me a scenario driver, support ship, some tricky upgrades and adds Illicit into the First order fleet, (as the Fireball did for the Resistance) closing that loop.

The options available in 2e for the later era fleets is comprehensive enough to go on with. The jamming-in of Tech into 1e did not sit that well with me, but in 2e it gives the later factions much needed variety and depth. The numbers I have also fit well with Epic and Huge game play.

The Resistance still has some options to come even after their new 3 pack is launched, as the later versions of the Y and B wings were both represented in their fleets. In Epic, the fleet clocks in at 25. I will wait patiently for future releases, but as it sits now, their fleet has all of the needed elements (versatile front line and light fighters, support, random and heavy options).

The Scum faction, limited a bit by the upgrade pack, can field solid and balanced factional squads. The lack of Star Vipers is still annoying, especially as most of them fly in the same faction, but I will wait until someone gets some second hand dials in. All else fit quite well with my collection.

Not possible in 2e yet, but soon maybe.

Man The Canon(s)

What is in a story?

When it comes to trivial pursuits of the mind like gaming, we all have an opinion point or two that draw us to or repel us from the hobby.

Some just like the game play and are willing to look past inconsistencies in story or relevance.

Others need to feel connected to the story lines that interested them in the first place.

One of my personal “pillars” of happy gaming is sharing the story of my favourite characters in the most realistic and genuine way.

I think Kirk should be on the Bridge of the Enterprise (Not B to E, but the original), Luke and R2-D2 should fly together and timeline, faction and story specific realities should not be tampered with too aggressively*.

If you do throw all conventions out the window and play the game system before the story, I strongly feel you are missing the point.

Unfortunately for game designers, trying to anticipate the needs of their players, often find that gamers are cut from several different cloth’s and they cannot hope to cover all of these bases.

Tournament style players will maximise their chances of winning, using what ever tools are at hand and within the rules as written. If this means Kirk on a Borg Cube with Malcolm Reid on weapons and a Klingon crew are game legal, then go for it.

I personally dislike this. It is only a game you say, but that cuts two ways.

If it is only a game, then surely the only thing that counts to an individual player are what drew them to the game in the first place. Were they drawn to the tournament play, the back story or the companionship. Would I like to be crowned world champion of X Wing with a totally unrealistic and cynical list, playing against the exact same ships in the enemy squad just because they are the top dogs at the moment?

No, I would not.

I would rather play using thematically correct (or at least acceptable) ships in an asymmetrical scenario, just like in the movies, books and TV shows they came from, win lose or draw. For me, the shared gaming experience and the simulation are important.

Nasty but nice, Royal Guard Interceptors.

Designers obviously do feel a certain amount of obligation to the story roots of their games.

FFG releases expansion packs with (generally) the right upgrades for the theme of the ship. It is not entirely their fault these upgrades are often used on any other ship but these**. They also limit pilots to ships that they were known to fly.

Wizkids certainly do, they even supply scenarios to help fit the ship into it’s place in it’s universe. Sometimes expansions are used to “tournament balance” elements of the game, but even then, there is an effort made to keep things on theme. Unfortunately, they are heavily abused at tournaments, as the designers allow almost any combinations to keep tourney players happy.

The other advantage of keeping to Canon, is generally the more even application of your available tools. While making X Wing lists recently, I deliberately limited my squads to the squadrons they were a part of. Black Squadron, Blue Squadron, Onyx Squadron, all got a look in. Some are stronger than others, but by applying the upgrades that FFG supplied with the packs (to all factions), applying modifications logically (and avoiding EPT’s), the balance was generally good, the flavour of each squad was varied enough and the “engagement” level much better.

I suppose the final word from my side of the fence is, I never want to leave a game resenting the game itself, because an opponent did not get that the play is the thing, not the victory at any cost.

But that is just me, your take may obviously differ.

*Hypotheticals are fine, Star Trek is full of “cross over” stories, but there is a limit.

**The Tie Aggressor is a good example. The Twin Laser Turret and Unguided Rockets are their take on the ship’s known capabilities and make those ships quite well rounded. TLT’s and Unguided Rockets find themselves on other ships regularly, but rarely the Aggressor and the Aggressor is then considered a mediocre ship in comparison.

Bare Bones X Wing. The Bones; Scum.

The third faction for Bare Bones* is Scum and Villainy.

On the whole, the Scum ships are slower than Imperials, lean more towards hull and manoeuvres over shields than the Rebels. Overall, the Scum faction has by far the most upgrades offering exclusive Illicit, Salvaged Droid and plenty of Crew upgrades, combined with a variety of ship give them an unpredictable feel.

Marauders prey on a hapless C-Roc Cruiser.

M3-Scyk

The Scyk interceptor is slow for an interceptor and is often considered to be the “poor mans” Tie fighter. Cheap and with plenty of Pilot options, it needed lots of help in full X Wing to be of any interest, including purchasing a C-Roc Cruiser for two titles and upgrade cards (unpopularity made picking up lots cheaply, easy to do). A hair too dear to do a full 8 ship swarm the ship still has something to offer in BB. Unlike the Tie, it has a Target Lock, can K5 turn and is a little tougher (1 shield/2hull vs 3 hull).

Strengths; A Scum Tie with benefits.

Weaknesses; A slow swarmer.

Z95 Headhunter

The Headhunter (sounds cooler than Z 95), is a better ship for the Scum than the Rebels. The addition of an Illicit slot opens up a heap of nasty tricks, so when faced with a big or small swarm of them, an opponent is unsure whether to stand of or get close. They can also be fielded as a slower, tougher 8 ship semi-X Wing swarm. A lack of manoeuvres (no mod or EPT upgrades hurts these guys), can be partially off-set by Inertial Dampeners, EMP, Cloaking and Deadman’s Switch to add to the fun. Beware the 7 ship swarm! Where did the points go?

Strengths; A cheap swarm or platform for all sorts of Ordnance + Illicit combos, plentiful.

Weaknesses; Not many top tier pilot options, slow and weak X Wing.

Kihraxz Fighter

The Kihraxz is very much like the X Wing, predictable but solid. Two K-turns with Illicit + Missile slots make a less predictable ship than the X Wing and it has some interesting Pilots. For flavour, Harpoon missiles are only available to Scum (nasty things), which boosts the Kihraxz a little against it’s natural enemies.

Strengths; A solid work horse, Illicit, Pilots.

Weaknesses; Predictable, bit boring to fly.

Fang Fighter

My favourite Scum ship, the Fang (or Protectorate) fighter is the Scum Interceptor with bells on. Not many ships are equipped to deliver the Advanced Proton Torpedo (potent 5 attack) as it requires the ability/desire to get in close. With most of it’s Pilot’s skills leaning towards head to head, range 1 confrontations, it can and actually wants to get close.

Strengths; Fast, Talon Roll, Boost+Barrel Roll, Range 1 Pilot skills + Torpedoes.

Weaknesses; Brittle, predictable tactics

Star Viper

The beautiful Star Viper, like the Fang Fighter, has a BB trick up it’s sleeve. It is one of the few ships in BB that can S-Loop and the only small ship that can. Like a slower, slippery version of the Fang, the Viper likes to get close and dart around it’s opponent. In BB it pretty much has this to itself. Suffering in full 1e from losing it’s uniqueness (the common problem with full 1e), the Viper got some added uniqueness, but in BB, it needs no such help.

Strengths; Boost + Barrel Roll + S-Loop, Pilots.

Weaknesses; Expensive.

Y Wing

The arrival of the Scum Y Wing breathed new life into the much ignored Rebel Y Wing, adding new options and coming at the perfect time to mount the Twin Laser Turret. Even without some of it’s specific new upgrades, it is still worth considering. Not only is it still a tough brawler, it also allows you to field large numbers of Salvaged Droids, that are similar, but different to the Rebel Droid options.

Strengths; Tough ordnance platform, cheap, Salvaged Droid.

Weaknesses; Slow and un-manoeuvrable, needs a Droid to fix that.

Scurrg Bomber

The Scurrg is an interesting ship. A bomber that acts like a fighter, it has a Talon Roll, Barrel Roll and lots of Ordnance choices. Flying a few of these can be fun, flying one as a finisher, even more fun.

Strengths; Moves like a Butterfly, Stings like a Scorpion.

Weaknesses; Not many.

HWK 290

See the Rebel entry, except the Pilots and Crew lean more towards dirty tricks than support.

Jump Master 5000

This ship reigned supreme for a time, as both multi ship “U-Boat” squads and in mixed teams. The nerf was massive and has carried through to 2e, but I like to play it as originally made (minus title). A ship similar to the YT 2400, the JM 5000 moves like a smaller ship, including a lop-sided S-Loop. It has the only Illicit + S/Droid + Crew combination in BB, making for some quirky combinations. Taking some of sting out of it’s power is the fact I only have one.

Strengths; Moves cleverly, lots of options.

Weaknesses; Expensive, unique.

Aggressor

One of two Scum ships in BB with the System upgrade, the Aggressor is an odd bird. It loves to get close as it can S-loop and Evade, has lots of green manoeuvres, but it only moves at speed 3 so getting close can be tricky. 2 Cannons, can offer lots of punch. The ability to synch with another ship’s pilot through IG-88D cannot be ignored.

Strengths; Lots of close manoeuvre options, 2 Cannons + Systems.

Weaknesses; Slow as a Lambda space cow, that likes to dance.

Fire Spray

The Iconic Scum Slave-1 (and many others), the Fire Spray is simplified in BB, lacking 2 titles, it still offers plenty of options. Sporting several interesting Pilot, Ordnance, Illicit and Crew combinations, a multi arc Primary and Evade, gives it the character it deserves.

Strengths; Versatile, Pilots.

Weaknesses; Not many.

GA-1

Considered by many to be the Scum B-Wing, the GA-1 is a a heavy fighter with a Crew + System+ Illicit slot combination, making it one of only two ships with Systems in the Scum fleet and the only Illicit + System ship in BB. It also has Evade.

Strengths; Versatile.

Weaknesses; Mixed Pilots.

Lancer

The Lancer pursuit ship is a contradiction, so probably typical of a Scum ship. Tough and fast, it has a rotating primary weapon (not a full turret), the highest hull of any Scum ship, Evade and 15 non-red manoeuvres, so it looks on paper like a small ship with too much hull.. 2 Illicit slots and a Crew slot make for some interesting options. Without it’s title, it is slightly less efficient, so the rotating weapon becomes more like a dual arc option. For added factional flavour, only Ketsu Onyo has access to Tractor Beam, making her crew card irrelevant.

Strengths; Tractor Beam, Rotating Primary, Dual Illicit, strong, fast.

Weaknesses; Expensive.

M12-L Kimogila

The Kimogila is a heavy fighter/ordnance platform. It’s “Ace in the hole” is the ability to reload it’s ordnance, effectively giving it an unlimited, if sometimes disabled supply. It flies like a cow, so good luck getting the Bulls Eye arc to work for you. It sort of acts like a Ninja. A big, fat, slow, brown Ninja. Have you picked up on it being my least likes Scum ship?

Strengths; Pilots, Reload.

Weaknesses; Boring to fly (but fun getting the Bullseye to take), ugly.

YV-666

The big lump of a tramp freighter which is the YV-666, made famous as the “Hound’s Tooth”, but also known as the “Party Bus” in X Wing circles, is the ultimate support ship. Horribly un-manoeuvrable, it does sport a 180 degree front arc (which it needs) and plenty of crew slots.

Strengths; 3 Crew, wide primary arc.

Weaknesses; Big, predictable and expensive.

C-Roc

The C-Roc is one of three single card Huge ships and only two that we have included in BB. This ship is not much more powerful than a VCX-100 or Decimator, nor a lot bigger**, but adds a lot of options, including Cargo, Team and Hard-point upgrades with Jam and Reinforce on their action bar. I have two, thanks to a luck buy (so cheap, the included M3-A alone was only slightly over priced), so it is a shame not to use them (and the characters they support). My second will eventually be re-painted. The Huge ships also add energy mechanics to the game, which is handled differently to 2e and in moderation, I quite like them.

Strengths; Lots of upgrades only available to Huge ships, Great scenario driver, re-usable shields.

Weaknesses; Ultimate space cow, adds Energy and Huge ship movement to the mechanics.

*

The Quad Jumper is outside the purview of this form of the game, introducing Tech, unless this is swapped out with a Systems or Illicit slot.

*Bare Bones uses original movie or early extended universe ships (what were available before the new movies), with inherent Pilot skills, basic Ordnance and Crew load-outs, with Illicit, Droid, Salvaged Droid and System upgrades as a point of difference. There are deliberately no title, Modification, Tech (TFA era) or Elite Pilot Talents.

The reasons for this are two fold. EPT’s especially “break” the game, add too many layers of synergy for casual players and too much advantage to more experienced ones, make some classic ships sub-par and rob the game (in my view) of it’s natural balance and feel. The excluded upgrades, I feel, are game based, not simulation based.

**Originally, I intended to only get the single card Huge ships, because both (GR-75 and C-Roc) added new small ship options and were “tame” enough to fit in a small ship dynamic. I eventually lusted after the Raider, so the good guys had something truly intimidating (mini Death Star scenario) to take on and it had some Tie Advanced options.

Originally, Bare Bones excluded all ships with actions that fell outside of the norm (Rotate, Reload, Cloak etc) and some weapons (Tractor Beam), but this excluded a lot of interesting options that did not break the Bare Bones idea.

Bare Bones X Wing. The Bones; Rebel

Lets look at the Rebels in Bare Bones* X Wing 1e.

The Rebel “vibe” is generally tough ships, plenty of Ordnance, good and numerous Crew, Pilots and Droids. Overall, they are slower and less manoeuvrable than Imperials** and lack the tricks of Scum, but are solid and team up well.

Note; the E and K wings have been excluded as they are post Vader/Palpatine (New Republic) ships.

A band of Brothers, still potent even without titles.

The X Wing

The best known and probably most loved fighter in the Star Wars universe, the X Wing got some love early, then fell out of favour as newer builds outperformed it, returning too late in 1e with some “tacked-on” options. If looked at in it’s purest form and against it’s true peers (Tie Advanced, Kihraxz), it holds up as a conservative but solid ship. What makes it special of course are the Pilot and Droid synergies available.

Strengths; Pilots, Droids, balanced.

Weaknesses: Predictable to fly (without Pilot/Droid abilities).

The Y Wing

The Y wing had a similar history to the X Wing, that managed to rise a little higher in later life with new upgrades, which more often than not were used with the Scum faction. Again with BB, it has a role to play as the tough ordnance/gunboat option as it was in the movies. Most useful builds tend to revolve around a semi swarm of tough ships or as turret platforms.

Strengths: Turret, cheap, Droid.

Weaknesses; Boring to fly, Droid upgrades tends to be predictable.

The A Wing

The little A Wing, much loved by many, but not as often flown could be quite a package after the Rebel Veterans pack was released. In BB it lacks many of the EPT/title options that made it strong (but so to do it’s opponents) and it holds the title as the fastest ship in BB with Boost and a green 5 move. Straddling a middle ground between interceptor, front line fighter and swarmer, it is a typically “heroic” Rebel ship. The Pilots have a dare devil feel, even without double EPT’s.

Strengths; Green 5 speed + Boost, Proton Rockets, Pilots, can be cheap.

Weaknesses; It’s all in how you fly them.

The B Wing

The odd B Wing is a hard to classify ship. Heavy fighter, light bomber or special function platform, it has the ability to be a surprise packet or just a slow blocker/damage absorber with it’s strong shields.

Strengths; Systems + ordnance, tough, quite manoeuvrable close, versatile, some interesting Pilots.

Weaknesses; Undefined, slow.

ARC-170

Possibly my favourite Rebel ship, even without it’s “Rebel Refit” option, the ARC 170 has a unique Crew + Droid combination, rear arc and can be interesting to fly (it also looks tough). To me it is like a B Wing/Y Wing/X Wing hybrid.

Strengths; Crew + Droid combo’s, Multi directional Primary, Pilots, Tough, well rounded.

Weaknesses; Weak primary attack (but multi directional).

Z95 Escort

The Z 95 (Headhunter) is a cheap, solid but boring ship. A marginally weaker X Wing, it does offer good value as a blocker/filler and even has a couple of good pilot options. As a rebel ship, I see it as an escort, slotted into a squad with a lazy 12-20 points to spend or a cheap support swarm.

Strengths; Cheap blocker/Missile platform/squad filler, The Rebels only swarm option.

Weaknesses; A slow swarm ship.

HWK-290

The Hawk is like a weak Lambda Shuttle. It can support well with it’s turret and crew, as well as the Rebel pilots are generally very supportive. Unexciting, but often underestimated, The HWK can be the hinge an interesting mixed squad can swing off and it has tons of history.

Strengths; Turret, Pilot + Crew synergies.

Weaknesses; Worst primary attack of 1 forces points being sunk into the turret, not fun to fly, butt ugly.

Attack Shuttle

A ship only available in 1e (the 2e Ghost only offers the later Sheathipede), the Attack Shuttle or Phantom (1) is attack heavy, making it the perfect sacrifice escort, annoying distraction or ambusher. It is also one of very few Rebel ships that offers Evade + Turret + Crew upgrade.

Strengths; Turret + Crew, Evade.

Weaknesses; Unique, Brittle.

YT1300

The famous Millenium Falcon is still a potent ship without it’s titles and is indeed one example of how BB makes the ship good because of it’s Pilot, Crew and player, not simply because it has a tile that adds Evade. Sporting one of only two turret primary weapons in BB, some iconic and strong Pilots (The TFA crew and pilot options are allowed giving you two Han and Chewbacca options), and plenty of hardiness, the Falcon is a pivotal ship for the Rebels and can still be fielded as a slightly less indestructible “Fat Han” on a diet. Like the Decimator, the turret primary weapon makes flying it a bit two dimensional, but as a unique, legendary (and expensive) ship, it is forgiven it’s excesses.

Strengths; Strength, Turret + Crew, Pilots, manoeuvres well (for a big ship).

Weaknesses; Half a squad of points, only two weapon options, tends to get picked on.

Auzituck Gunship

The Wookie Auzituck gunship is a strange one. It looks pretty tame on the surface. Not much of an action bar, run-of-the-mill looking dial, only crew upgrades, but it’s pilots and those crew options can make it a good squad player and it has the unique to BB, Reinforce action. It can play as a tougher, faster HWK or a small and light YT1300.

Strengths; Tough and fast.

Weaknesses; Not versatile.

YT2400

Like the Falcon (above), the non titled 2400 is an interesting option. The pilots still tend to give it the slippery, rugged character it was known for and with Crew and a Cannon, it can pack a punch, while pulling off some amazing manoeuvres for a big ship. It has 16 non-red manoeuvre options, which is tied with the best ships in the game, plenty of toughness and a Barrel Roll, so manoeuvring is key.

Strengths; Moves well, takes a beating, strong Pilots.

Weaknesses; Needs to be flown to it’s strengths (in asteroids).

VCX-100

The Ghost is the strongest ship in the Rebel fleet. The title would have only added the option of docking the Phantom, so as is, it is effectively at full strength in itself, with or without the Attack shuttle as back-up. Packing a massive 4 primary attack (the highest in BB without the Phantom), 16 total hits, equal to the Decimator, an Evade option, a System slot to go with 2 Crew and a Turret, the VCX is unique and dangerous, not to mention about twice the bulk of the Millenium Falcon.

Strengths; Overall a mauler, lots of synergies, very tough, intimidating on the table, Evade.

Weaknesses; A big ship that hogs points and becomes the primary target.

Sheathipede Shuttle

The Sheathipede, or Phantom 2, introduces Coordination into the BB game. This is again a team oriented ship, like many Rebel options, and can be both useful and surprising. It also sports some fine pilots.

Strengths; Coordination, Pilots.

Weaknesses; Brittle.

(Late Inclusion) GR-75 Transport

One of two single card Huge ships in the game**, the transport offers lots of support options, for the price of a n X Wing Ace. Cargo, Huge ship crew and it’s action bar with Jam, Reinforce, and Coordinate, make it the ultimate backup/blocker.

Strengths; Strong in defence and support.

Weaknesses; Basically no offence (some Cargo options), Huge ship movement and energy mechanics.

*

The U wing is from the new movies and the T-70 and Bomber COME FROM A DIFFERENT TIME IN THE STAR WARS UNIVERSE (and are separated in 2e for that reason) so they are not included.

*Bare Bones uses original movie or early extended universe ships (what were available before the new movies), with inherent Pilot skills, basic Ordnance and Crew load-outs, with Illicit, Droid, Salvaged Droid and System upgrades as a point of difference. There are deliberately no title, Modification, Tech (TFA era) or Elite Pilot Talents.

The reasons for this are two fold. EPT’s especially “break” the game, add too many layers of synergy for casual players and too much advantage to more experienced ones, make some classic ships sub-par and rob the game (in my view) of it’s natural balance and feel. The excluded upgrades, I feel, are game based, not simulation based.

**Originally, I intended to only get the single card Huge ships, because both (GR-75 and C-Roc) added new small ship options and were “tame” enough to fit in a small ship dynamic. I eventually lusted after the Raider, so the good guys had something truly intimidating (mini Death Star scenario) to take on and it had some Tie Advanced options.

An option is to expand the game to unique named Titles only, giving the Rebels and Scum an advantage.

**Most Imperial ships have Barrel Roll or Boost, only one Rebel has Boost and only four have Barrel Roll.