Finally got around to picking up my two copies of Imperial Aces yesterday (last two in the store - had to do it!), as well as the X-Wing and upgrades from the Transport pack (split it with a friend who took all the Transport stuff). So I've been playing around with the new pilots, because there were some things I wanted to try out (who hasn't wanted to play RGP + PtL x4??) and also just because they were shiny and new.

Just finished this game:

Wes Janson (29)

+ R2-D2 (4)

Luke Skywalker (28)

+ R5-P9 (3)

+ Determination (1)

Jek Porkins (26)

+ Hull Upgrade (3)

+ Push the Limit (3)

+ R5-D8 (3)

vs

Soontir Fel (27)

+ Royal Guard TIE (0)

+ Stealth Device (3)

+ Targeting Computer (2)
+ Push the Limit (3)

Turr Phennir (25)

+ Royal Guard TIE (0)

+ Shield Upgrade (4)

+ Stealth Device (3)

+ Push the Limit (3)

Lieutenant Lorrir (23)

+ Royal Guard TIE (0)

+ Shield Upgrade (4)

+ Hull Upgrade (3)

Rolled for Initiative and Imperials gave it to Rebels so Turr could position after Porkins and avoid his guns. The X-Wings started in formation near one edge, facing off against Lorrir, who wisely did an immediate hard turn to avoid direct combat until the other two Interceptors, who were together toward the middle, could join the battle at the same time. Long story short, Imperials won without losing a ship. Both Stealth Devices were stripped, and Soontir was down to one Hull, but thanks to the other upgrades, both other Interceptors had 3 Hull left. They had some luck to pull it off, with Luke blanking defense against a natural four-hit roll, and Soontir landing Blinded Pilot twice on pilots who were not Luke. One crit prevented Porkins from hitting the ship Wes had just pulled a token off of, and the other at the end kept Wes from returning point-blank fire.

The most important take away for me, though, was just how much fun the new stuff was to fly. I love maneuverable ships with multiple actions, so Interceptors were already a favorite. I was pleasantly surprised with just how well a three-ship build ran with them. And while Lorrir can't get EPT/PtL, his pilot ability sort of acts like a Boost + Barrel Roll. If you haven't tried him yet, do it! I read a lot on these forums and have seen the graphics people have made, but man, you really don't understand how unique his movement is until you fly it. At one point, he wound up facing away from the action, but was subsequently able to use his strange move to fly a strafing circle around the firefight.

On the other side, Porkins was hands-down my favorite. I didn't even get to try Luke/R5-P9 because of the lucky shot on him, but Porkins was a lot of fun. K-Turning, discarding the stress, discarding the damage if any, and still ending up with a Focused/TL'd shot is awesome. Poor Wes, too, would've been great use in an X-Wing sandwich against a defenseless Interceptor if it wasn't for the (un)timely Blinded Pilot card.

Oh, and Soontir Boosting into Range 1, then using PtL for a 4-dice TL/Focus attack?! WOW!

All told, I was super excited while playing that game, despite the somewhat one-sidedness. The new stuff = fun stuff!

Yay! Another Lorrir fan! I am a huge proponent of Lorrir, even though I haven't had much success keeping him alive in recent games. But when he doesn't die he's amazing. He was the star against a triple Bounty Hunter list until we all finally died.

His best move of that game was being in a position where it looked like he had no choice but to swing wide around an asteroid, only to make a sharp 1 turn and Barrel Roll back to the inside of said asteroid, ending up exactly on the opposite side of it from where one might normally expect an Interceptor to be.

Part 2 - E-Wing and Phantom!

Picked up my first E-Wing and Phantom yesterday. Tried them both out this morning with the following lists.

Bounty Hunter (33)

"Echo" (30)

+ Advanced Cloaking Device (4)

+ Veteran Instincts (1)

Omicron Group Pilot (21)

+ Gunner (5)

+ Engine Upgrade (4)

+ Fire Control System (2)

vs

Etahn A'Baht (32)

Biggs Darklighter (25)

+ Determination (1)

2x Rookie Pilot (42)

Rebels naturally started in formation, while the Shuttle took up the nearest flank with a lane of asteroids positioned to it could move forward and use its Engine right away to turn in toward the Rebels. The Bounty Hunter was in the middle, with "Echo" on the far side so he could get ready for some Cloaking shenanigans.

In the first exchange of fire, Rebels did a number on the Bounty Hunter, stripping its shields and landing a Damaged Engine. In return the Imperials were able to do little but pick up a Target Lock on Biggs. Then the Shuttle got hammered hard next, quickly dropping to 1 Hull, but now the Rebels had lost some shields on a couple X-Wings and "Echo" was ready to start really getting into the fight. In the two following turns, "Echo" picked off the two Rookies, giving the Empire a sudden 3-2 advantage despite the early damage!

Things were quickly evened up again, as the Firespray had continued taking crits from Etahn's ability and could do nothing by try to run and avoid fire. Ultimately it was cornered and destroyed. The Shuttle came back around for its final pass, shooting at Biggs before clipping an asteroid and leaving "Echo" alone but at full strength. "Echo" came in shortly and took out his third X-Wing, leaving one full-strength ship on each side.

At first this looked very good for the Imperials, as the Phantom was able to take a couple un-returnable shots, but the dice were cold. Then a slight miscalculation left "Echo" without a Cloak, bringing him face-to-face with Etahn on the next move. With ACD, though, that meant "Echo" was able to take a 5-dice attack with Focus and get re-Cloaked before return fire. Etahn chose to take all 4 hits so he could return the shot with TL and Focus. He got the Phantom's shields down.

On the next engagement, the Phantom again turned a little too far, leaving him Cloaked but exposed. Etahn got a single crit through, and a Minor Explosion quickly turned into a Major Fireball as the Phantom disappeared for good.

Overall I was very happy with the E-Wing, as it's a bit sturdier than the X-Wing, and I underestimated Etahn's ability as well, since the crits basically neutered the Firespray and completely took it out of the fight. The Phantom is a lot of fun to fly, though maneuvering takes a lot of forethought. And if you read on the forums here that it's a glass cannon much like the Interceptor, that is completely right. It's quite destructive, but getting shot at at all is very, very bad.