The Imperials have some quality of their own. When it comes to maneuvers the imperials are undefeated.
The rebels have to use sturdier ships for 2 reasons. One they are cheaper economically to the sleek tie fighters at the cost of aerial acrobatic abilities which any veteran pilot will tell you it is not your fighter but how you fly it. Two is that they do not have the same number of pilots as the imperium so not only do they need more sturdy fighters that are cheaper to afford but also suffer wear and tear better.
Imperials have nothing to complain about
ignored reading your list...
I think you can make a case for either faction being way better than the other when you only look at half the facts and don't consider that balance can be achieved multiple ways. Its like saying that its not fair that saying unique interceptors don't even have the same amount of shields as the generic x-wings so imperials just got the shaft for the points AGAIN...
I think the main complaint I've heard from Imperial players is how hard it is to win with a small build. I think Wave 4 will help with this. Turrets are a challenge as well, but every ship with a turret (except the HWK) only has 1 agility die. Turrets eat up valuable points and are limited to range 1-2 (except for the Falcon). Ion turrets are particularly nasty, but concentrated fire and good maneuvering will help guard against them.
The best news, for tournament players, is you only need 12 points to win. This allows for a more strategic approach. Dance and get those ion turrets out of position before striking! It's all about calculated risks now instead of jousting forced by time constants.
ignored reading your list...
I think you can make a case for either faction being way better than the other when you only look at half the facts and don't consider that balance can be achieved multiple ways. Its like saying that its not fair that saying unique interceptors don't even have the same amount of shields as the generic x-wings so imperials just got the shaft for the points AGAIN...
9 Points? Really. I get that Fel is good, but Squints paid way too much for their Pilot Skill n relation to their fragility...
...the only ship in the game with a "0" maneuver.
...the only ship in the game with 4 attack dice.
...the only ship in the game that can cloak.
...the only ship in the game with a white k-turn.
...the only ship in the game with 16 hp (also the only with zero agility).
...the only ships in the game with the bomb upgrade slot.
There may be others, but as you can see when it is written out as a list, it seems quite impressive.
Pretty biased, since the empire doesn't have more than half of those things available yet.
Maybe all those INCOMING things you mention come precisely to adress the "perceived imbalance" in imperial options and upgrades... Couldn't be?
Anyways, why not also remember things rebels CURRENTLY have?
- The only ships in game with access to turret upgrade slots
- The only ships in game with access to astromech slots
- The only ships in game with turret primary weapons ATM
- The only huge ships in the game
- The only ships in the game with access to crew upgrade slots
- The only ships in the game with access to hardpoint upgrade slots
- The only ships in the game with access to cargo upgrade slots
- The only ships in the game that can fire at range 5
- The only ships in the game with reinforce action
- The only ships in the game with jam action
- The only ships in the game with coordinate action
- The most upgrade cards restricted to 'rebel only' faction
- The only pilots in the game that are able to get rid of stress without taking green maneuvers
I'm sure I can go on... and I'm not even mentioning 'incoming' things for rebels, as you did.
So what exactly was your point again?
In all honesty I find the Points range from the Alpha Squadron to Soontir Fel a little rediculous.ignored reading your list...
I think you can make a case for either faction being way better than the other when you only look at half the facts and don't consider that balance can be achieved multiple ways. Its like saying that its not fair that saying unique interceptors don't even have the same amount of shields as the generic x-wings so imperials just got the shaft for the points AGAIN...
9 Points? Really. I get that Fel is good, but Squints paid way too much for their Pilot Skill n relation to their fragility...
I don't think Fel is overpriced compared to a Alpha Squadron Pilot. The EPT slot has a lot of value on a Interceptor thanks to Push the Limit, even more so with a pilot like Fel that feed on stress. Fel can easily take out 2 Alpha pilot on its own. No wonders that he's one of the most played pilot.
I think the main complaint I've heard from Imperial players is how hard it is to win with a small build. I think Wave 4 will help with this. Turrets are a challenge as well, but every ship with a turret (except the HWK) only has 1 agility die. Turrets eat up valuable points and are limited to range 1-2 (except for the Falcon). Ion turrets are particularly nasty, but concentrated fire and good maneuvering will help guard against them.
The best news, for tournament players, is you only need 12 points to win. This allows for a more strategic approach. Dance and get those ion turrets out of position before striking! It's all about calculated risks now instead of jousting forced by time constants.
The danger of turrets for TIE's is not to be underestimated though. Their main danger is that most TIE's gain their points by being able to dance out of firing arcs, but turrets completely negate that defense.
When faced with a turret, an Interceptor goes from "Predict your opponent and outfly him" to "pray to the dice gods and hope you roll lots of evades." Which is why you don't see a lot of Interceptor-heavy lists in places with a turret-heavy meta.