I think I like [Predator] on Royal Guard Pilots in the new stress meta.

I like it on just about everyone. Why would you not want to reroll attack dice?

Because you have something in particular you want to be able to do with your second action other than pseudo-TL, or because you can't afford +3 points.

I just think it's nice to see some serious competition for PTL, as I think both of these talents will be!

No kidding, I want at least three of each. And I'm already torn between which to slap on my Phantoms. On one hand, rerolls are always good and will guarantee even more of my four to five dice hit. On the other, reducing my opponents agility means I can finally counter some of their outrageous good luck.

It occurs to me that Outmaneuver on a ship with a white Koiogran is going to be really powerful. If I threaten to K-turn behind you, you have two unpalatable options: get your action but lose a defense die, or K-turn to face me and keep the defense die but lose your action.

Yup. Seems like they found a number of clever ways to emphasize the Defender's zoom and boom style of play.

How are people feeling about the point costs?

These guys are going to cost SOOOO much with Heavy Laser Cannons plus other upgrades.... whew. I doubt they'll see much play at all being that they'll likely end up costing 50 points each after upgrades

At least Outmaneuver will be in the E-Wing, too.

That's good to hear, then I'll have 6 of them, which is plenty. Was planing on getting 3 Defenders and 3 E-Wings anyway.

So to use the car analogy....

The TIE Defender is like a 4000 lb American muscle car with 600 HP: it can go really fast in straight lines but it doesn't handle turns well. However, unlike the muscle car, the Defender is quite costly for what you get.

Who else wants to put outmaneuver on Wedge?

It doesn't combo with Turrets. Only the Firesprays rear arc.

The more I think about it the more I figure Outmanuever is best on A-wings with PTL. Predator is better statistically unless you have other ways to mod dice.

It doesn't combo with Turrets. Only the Firesprays rear arc.

Outmaneuver doesn't?

Because turrets don't change the arc of a ship, only allows them to fire outside that arc.

Outmanuver loves ion cannon. If you ion them with Rexler you white k turn on them and have an easy - agility shot point blank that you can flip all the hits by spending focus. Not to mention Rexler can flip the ion damage to a crit.

What is the Evade token for? There is no mention of it anywhere?

Also, you guys are saying that outmaneuver will hurt turrets. No sure I see why. Turrets have a 360 degree firing arc, so a Ywing with ION has a 360 degree firing arc, correct? If the card said, "Primary Firing Arc I could see it, but it doesn state that.

I think Outmaneuver makes TIE Interceptors better than anything in Imperial Aces.

I think I just found my EPT for Whisper. Outmaneuver. being out of firing arcs is going to be that pilots specialty and with 5 dice at R1 with a -1 agility to the opponents ship, that is going to hurt.

I can also see running Black Squadron with Predator for some Howlrunner like ability per ship.

There are some hard decisions coming on squad make up though as the Defenders are expensive points wise......

Outmanuver loves ion cannon. If you ion them with Rexler you white k turn on them and have an easy - agility shot point blank that you can flip all the hits by spending focus. Not to mention Rexler can flip the ion damage to a crit.

Ooh I hadn't thought about that Ion trick! I'm real excited to try Outmaneuver on Wedge with an engine upgrade.

It occurs to me that Outmaneuver on a ship with a white Koiogran is going to be really powerful. If I threaten to K-turn behind you, you have two unpalatable options: get your action but lose a defense die, or K-turn to face me and keep the defense die but lose your action.

Yup. Seems like they found a number of clever ways to emphasize the Defender's zoom and boom style of play.

How are people feeling about the point costs?

Its jousting efficiency, as calculated in my Lanchester's thread, is essentially the same as the TIE Advanced. Before considering the dial and upgrades, it is about 5-6 points overcosted relative to the TIE Fighter.

The white K-turn makes it hard to compare it mathematically with other ships using a formula, since it is the only ship that has a white K-turn. But, the rest of the dial is absolute garbage. It has zero green on any turns or even BANKS. The tightest non-red turn it can manage is a 3 turn. Even the lowly TIE Bomber can clear stress on a bank. So, I am extremely unimpressed with the dial in a conventional sense. If you're going to use the Defender you will be forced into lots of straight lines the entire game, with minor course adjustments. Obviously this requires a completly new tactical approach, but overall I find the dial limiting.

Anyone else think these EPTs are begging to be used on an A-wing?

That dial though... red 2-turns At least these new EPTs don't involve stress tokens

Overall, i like what i see in terms of pilot abilities and upgrade cards. The point costs on the ships is higher than i would have liked.

Going to be tough fitting them ships into 100pt games without gimping yourself.

Has anyone figured out why there is an evade token in the pack? Did I miss something?

Anyone else think these EPTs are begging to be used on an A-wing?

That dial though... red 2-turns At least these new EPTs don't involve stress tokens

A-wing Test Pilot + Outmaneuver + Predator = Nearly the equivalent of a 3 attack A-wing it seems.

The upcoming page has been updated! ...to show that the Dice Pack will be reprinted for quarter three.

I think Outmaneuver makes TIE Interceptors better than anything in Imperial Aces.

Unfortunately it costs the same as PtL and uses the EPT slot, so your Interceptor will revert back to glass cannon status. I don't know that's a tradeoff that most people would be willing to make. But it is very interesting.

It doesn't combo with Turrets. Only the Firesprays rear arc.

Outmaneuver doesn't?Because turrets don't change the arc of a ship, only allows them to fire outside that arc.

Quick thoughts on a squad would be

Brath, Outmaneuver (40)

Whisper, Outmaneuver, Advanced Cloak (40ish) maybe a crew

Tie pilot of choice...

3 ships, lots of fun

For the record, I know I have been bashing the TIE Defender a while now from the perspective of competitive MathWing analysis, but the ship looks fantastic. I'm still getting 4!

Unfortunately it costs the same as PtL and uses the EPT slot, so your Interceptor will revert back to glass cannon status.

Two things...

1) It will revert back to the glass cannon, but the cannon will be a lot more effective, which makes the glass part easier to deal with.

2) With all the anti-stress stuff coming with the transport, CR-90 and wave 4, PTL is a lot less useful then it was, because you'll want to avoid stress more often. Which limits how often you can use PTL. That makes anything that improves the Interceptor without giving it stress a fairly good option IMO.

What is the Evade token for? There is no mention of it anywhere?

Also, you guys are saying that outmaneuver will hurt turrets. No sure I see why. Turrets have a 360 degree firing arc, so a Ywing with ION has a 360 degree firing arc, correct? If the card said, "Primary Firing Arc I could see it, but it doesn state that.

The Y-Wing, along with the YT-1300, still only has a front facing firing arc. A turret is a secondary weapon that allows it to be used in a 360-degree arc. OM will work as normal on both of them.