Anyone excited about the E-Wing? I'm a bit curious as to why they took away one hull point and added shield point - I know it's more surviveable, but since the TIE Defender is all 3s, I would have hoped that the E-Wing could counter that.

It had a reputation for maintenance troubles with such sensitive equipment. Lower hull and higher shields are a good way to represent delicate systems, given the threat of proton bombs.

Very excited and hope they arnt too expensive.

Very excited and hope they arnt too expensive.

It looks like they will be around a B-wing cost wise.

27 points for 3 attack, 3 evade, 2 hull, 3 shields and 1 pilot skill. It has the barrel roll, target lock, focus and evade actions. It has an astromech, systems and torpedo upgrade slot.

So basically it could be the most well rounded piece in the game, but very expensive to deploy even naked.

27 points for 3 attack, 3 evade, 2 hull, 3 shields and 1 pilot skill. It has the barrel roll, target lock, focus and evade actions. It has an astromech, systems and torpedo upgrade slot.

So basically it could be the most well rounded piece in the game, but very expensive to deploy even naked.

Isn't it 3pts for a hull upgrade and it matches a TIE Defender of the same level?...?

Not having that hull isn't so bad... it allows the option to select any Astromech or System upgrade instead of hull.

that trade seems reasonable whereas the Defender is Locked into is "3pts Hull Upgrade" when compared to the E-Wing

Yeah, you're right about the extra hull for the Defender, who also have the benefit of cannons and missiles over torpedoes and "a move we've never seen before". And yet people are calling the Defender overpriced... the nerve of people on these boards.

Ah, good point about the laser cannon issues and astromech qualifications!

I'm a casual player who hasn't played in tournaments, so the fact that the Defender costs so much more doesn't impress itself so much onto my calculations. But that is a good point.

With just the information we have available now, the E-wing does seem to have more interesting potential than the TIE defender. With astromech AND system upgrade slots, as well as a the promise of a (presumably) rather good maneuver dial, it has a variety of ways it can be tweaked, plus the evade action which we all know by now is great for increasing the life expectancy of a 3-agility ship. At 27 points you can even field 3 of them and still have a decent amount of points to play with upgrades.

Considering all that it definitely strikes me (initially) as a better option than the TIE defender, but there are still many details we do not know about both of these ships, including dials (especially the defender), unique pilot abilities, and some of the new upgrades like the generic R7 astromech

Yeah, you're right about the extra hull for the Defender, who also have the benefit of cannons and missiles over torpedoes and "a move we've never seen before". And yet people are calling the Defender overpriced... the nerve of people on these boards.

To be fair, there is a pretty significant data point here: the royal guard interceptor pilot with push the limit, royal guard title, hull upgrade and shield upgrade comes in at 32 points. Looking at everything this offers compared to the PS1 defender really can make you wonder what exactly you are paying for.

That said, it is still definitely true that we don't have enough information to make any accurate statements at this time. Either way I will be buying 3 defenders and doing my best to make them work

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a PS 3 E-Wing with EPS for 29 points. PLEASE.

Yeah, you're right about the extra hull for the Defender, who also have the benefit of cannons and missiles over torpedoes and "a move we've never seen before". And yet people are calling the Defender overpriced... the nerve of people on these boards.

The E-wing isn't exactly cheap either. And paying for upgrades outright (i.e. Hull upgrade) is almost never an efficient use of points.

E-Wing = AWESOME

I love the choice of General A'baht for the second tier elite pilot - makes me very curious who the top elite for the E-Wing will be.

The E-wing is really good for its price, not to mention the text says that it brings "the X-wing's firepower and resilience with the A-wing's speed and agility". So it is at least a Tie fighter dial at worst and an A-wing dial at best, only without the boost. What's not to like? It's something which every Tie interceptor pilot wishes it can be.

Not to mention the upgrade potentials, despite some of people's misgivings, systems upgrade, droid and torpedo; those can be very good upgrades.

I'm thinking of getting one myself and beef it up to 5-7defense die (Droid Rf-F2 + stealth + EPT's PTL + FCS), that'll be interesting to play (even though more expensive, you get what you pay for)

Edit: Gah, it is Fire Control System, not Targeting computer, always get them confused. I just like to have extra attack options, that's all. There's also the possibility of adding sensor jammer to increase defense, but I prefer the FCS.

The E-Wing might be the ship with the best defense if you stick a sensor jammer on it. 3 agility and cancelling one hit. Yikes!

That is, unless the cloaking device can do something like becoming immune to fire or rolling an Attack Wing amount of dice on the defense. Ugfhf.

I would put in R2-F2 to increase 1 more agility and PTL to be able to do another. I'm also thinking of putting Kyle Katarn in the list so that the E-wing would always have an evade and focus token on him.

Or... putting R2-D2 and Shield upgrade on a generic E-wing, if it has enough greens on its dial, it'll probably last a little longer, rechargeable 4 shields, hm... so good.

The E-Wing and the Defender are both pricey for sure, but you guys make good points that an E-wing+Hull Upgrade is the same price as the cheapest Defender, for the same stats. The differences are in the actions, upgrades and dials. The Defender doesn't have an evade action. The E-wing allows an astromech, so it could have more evade dice, repair shields, or have a LOT of green maneuvers, as well as others available thru astromechs. System upgrades are also powerful. An E-wing with FCS could keep a target lock thru subsequent rounds while using its own action to evade, making it formidable offensively and defensively. The defender can equip cannons and missiles. HLC on a Defender will be expensive but quite dangerous due to its high maneuverability. And there is potentially the biggest difference: Maneuvers. The E-wing is a more agile X-wing, but I fully expect the Defender Dial to beat it. High hit points behind high agility behind high maneuverability. Each of these ships will be powerful, and I the Defender will be the more powerful. However, I will likely not use it as often, particularly competitively, because of its high price. I will likely use a maximum of one of either ship, but foresee using the E-wing much more often than the Defender.

Both great craft, both a little pricey. My pick would be the more versatile but less maneuverable E-wing. This is coming from a player that plays Empire the majority of the time.

Yes, I agree, the E-wing is significantly more versatile than the Tie Defender due to the sheer amount of upgrade options alone, compared to the Tie Defender. I believe it is not because of the base stats that made it seem the Tie-Defender is expensive but because of the upgrade potential that the E-wing have tipped the scale. For example, if the Tie-Defender have a Systems Upgrade icon, then that 30 points is cheap.

However, the dials are still a mystery, who knows.

I feel that without looking at the dials or unique pilot skills that the ewing is definitely the better ship. It may have 1 less hull but it is slightly cheaper, has an astromech and system upgrade slot. Both of which are more powerful then a cannon especially considering the new astromech. I prefer to play imperials and if the phantom's cloak doesn't turn out all that good I will probably switch over to playing republic alot more(not just for the Ewing mind you)

I feel that without looking at the dials or unique pilot skills that the ewing is definitely the better ship. It may have 1 less hull but it is slightly cheaper, has an astromech and system upgrade slot. Both of which are more powerful then a cannon especially considering the new astromech. I prefer to play imperials and if the phantom's cloak doesn't turn out all that good I will probably switch over to playing republic alot more(not just for the Ewing mind you)

Without half the things that make the ship a ship, this one is better. Do you see how that doesn't make any sense? Same can be said for the Z, we can't get a firm grasp on points when we are missing half the data. They most likely will be identical, but with some variances. There is a reason a defender is more cost and less customizable then the E for a reason. We just have to wait and see.

Without half the things that make the ship a ship, this one is better. Do you see how that doesn't make any sense? Same can be said for the Z, we can't get a firm grasp on points when we are missing half the data. They most likely will be identical, but with some variances. There is a reason a defender is more cost and less customizable then the E for a reason. We just have to wait and see.

While I agree the movement dial is huge part of what a ship can do, and unique pilot abilities add to that. However I don't see the movement dials to be that different. In theory based off of EU fluff and FFGs description should be at least as good as an A wing and maybe a little better then the interceptor which really isn't that big of a difference. I do realize that part of the cost of the defender is whatever the manuever that no one has ever seen is. I just don't see it being as good as having astromech and system upgrade. (I do realize that the empire will never see an astromech upgrade, and the new astromech is part my issue with why this wave is definitely better for rebels then imperials.) I am also in the camp that unless the dial sucks on the Z that its going to be a great ship. I am not saying that the defender will suck, just that unless the stuff we haven't seen is just better then what we have that the E wing is going to be a better ship then the defender. I am still going to buy atleast 2 defenders and phantoms.

Without half the things that make the ship a ship, this one is better. Do you see how that doesn't make any sense? Same can be said for the Z, we can't get a firm grasp on points when we are missing half the data. They most likely will be identical, but with some variances. There is a reason a defender is more cost and less customizable then the E for a reason. We just have to wait and see.

While I agree the movement dial is huge part of what a ship can do, and unique pilot abilities add to that. However I don't see the movement dials to be that different. In theory based off of EU fluff and FFGs description should be at least as good as an A wing and maybe a little better then the interceptor which really isn't that big of a difference. I do realize that part of the cost of the defender is whatever the manuever that no one has ever seen is. I just don't see it being as good as having astromech and system upgrade. (I do realize that the empire will never see an astromech upgrade, and the new astromech is part my issue with why this wave is definitely better for rebels then imperials.) I am also in the camp that unless the dial sucks on the Z that its going to be a great ship. I am not saying that the defender will suck, just that unless the stuff we haven't seen is just better then what we have that the E wing is going to be a better ship then the defender. I am still going to buy atleast 2 defenders and phantoms.

By the same token that means its going to take substantial upgrades for people to use the E-Wing. What I mean by this is that I believe the lowest "ticket price" for people to feel comfortable playing a Defender will probably be 30 because I don't think it needs too much (people in my area rarely take missiles and cannons but that may not be the case everywhere). I think most people will splurge on the E-Wing because you feel as if you are paying for that upgrade bar for a reason so that "ticket price" will include a nice service charge for systems upgrades and astromechs.

I think the E-Wing will probably bring a renaissance for 3 ship Rebel builds for better or worse.

I don't know about you guys but i'm hoping the PS8 pilot will have a defensive ability! I see some really awesome e-wing tanks! Also i felt that there was no good chance to use PTL with advanced sensors on th B-wing, with the pilot skill abilities and poor dial. But with the E-Wing it could all change! But on another note is anyone else sad to see no new system upgrades? Even though FFG is doubling the ships who can take them?

I have a feeling they will shy away from defensive abilities. The E-wing can already use combos like push the limit + advanced sensors + r2 astromech, which gives you a ship that can focus+evade every turn AND use advanced sensors to negate the stress token AND potentially have stuff like a green 1-turn maneuver (assuming its dial has a 1-turn). Not to mention the potential for a 3-agility ship with 3 shields to take R2-D2 (and possibly push the limit) which could be extremely hard to kill depending on how many green maneuvers it has.

It does seem that way, E'tain's ability is an offensive one, we'll going to have to wait and see if the PS3 Tie Defender and PS3 E-Wing will have EPT... to see how much utilization these ships will be used.