So I have had the Imperial Aces forever now but I just really looked at/used some of the cards this past week in a game. The card that I am intrigued by the most, is Opportunist.

Opportunist

When Attacking, if the defender does not have any focus or evade tokens, you may recieve 1 stress token to roll 1 additional attack die.

You cannot use this ability if you have any stress tokens.

I really like the idea of getting an extra attack obviously, but I am a little dubious about its usage. First, it seems pretty hard/unlikely to actually get off. Most pilots that have EPT are fairly high PS so you will be shooting high(ish) in the shooting order. Therefore most defenders are more likely to still have focus/evade. So it might not even be an option. Second, you get an extra attack die that may or may not hit, so there is a bit of a risk there. Third, you get a stress token for your troubles. I get that on some pilots(Fel and Ibby) stress is a good thing, but still. Fourth, it cost your your EPT slot and 4 of your sqaud points. I feel that there are better usages for your EPT that are cheaper too. Predator and PtL cone to mind. Yet I consistantly see people on this forum putting it into lists. So what am I missing that makes this card worth it?

you can pair it with heavy laser cannons, B-wings come to mind. Probably not worth it on interceptors.

If I were a traitorous rebel scum, I'd use it on Keyan Farlander

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/Keyan_Farlander

Might see it on A-Wing pilots once Rebel Aces comes out because of the double EPT.

Hmm i was going to use it on black squadron pilots.. run a black squadron with opportunist flanked by another with predator and one with vi. Have the other two blacks shoot first to strip tokens.

2X black squadron w opportunist 36pts

2x black squadron w predator 34pts

2x black squadron w vi 30pts

Run them in two different flight groups. Long story short i went with a different list on thurs so who know. I did run a very close list.. predator is definitely worth it.

Try this squadron

Wes Janson — X-Wing 29 Veteran Instincts 1 R7-T1 3

Wedge Antilles — X-Wing 29 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Luke Skywalker — X-Wing 28 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Wes shoots 1st and strips tokens from the target then Wedge and Luke pile on with Opportunist throwing down extra dice to give out the hurt and have R2s to make getting rid of the stress easy.

I flew close to this squad back on the Imdaar weekend and they performed great unless they got out numbered, they were terrible against swarms but chewed up small elite squads with no problem, they even ate through a 3 Bounty Hunter squadron with no problems.

It definitely has some obvious synergies with cards that are already released and still to come. Give Wes Janson Veteran Instincts, and then give your preferred heavy hitter Opportunist. Wedge is particularly lethal. Keyan Farlander from Rebel Aces will make great use of it, especially if you can afford a Heavy Laser Cannon. Recommend giving Wingman to one of his wingmen (pun intended) so that, if he has to perform a red maneuver (quite common on a B-wing), he can still activate Opportunist in the Combat Phase and still fly away unstressed. I like it on Hobbie with R2-D6, as he can similarly fly away unstressed. A-wings with the new title will make good use of it as they can take a second EPT.

The best use of it, that I've found, is on a pilot flying tandem with Wes Janson on the Rebel side, since he can strip the defensive token from an opponent's ship to allow an ally with Opportunist to hit it. Wedge with Opportunist and Wes with VI are a potent duo, since Wes shooting on 10 can clear tokens for Wedge to get 4-5 dice against 3 at most. You've already mentioned Ibby who gets a free re-roll from it. The biggest advantage it gives is over the total number of dice rolled.The rebels also benefit well from it since they have easier access to stress relief in the form of R2 Astromechs that can open up your maneuvers for the turn after an Opportunist shot.

On the Imperial side, I could see an Opportunist+HLC Rexlar being quite the beast, though I've yet to run that (and it's quite an expensive ship that has a hard time clearing stress), so it may be sub-optimal. Canor Jax is another good Imperial candidate provided you can arc dance him within range one of his targets, though I think it may be better on pilots flying with him, rather than on him himself. An HLC wielding Kath Scarlet could also use it paired with some higher PS ships, like PTL+Fel, for escorts.

I think in all honesty, the Rebels have the better Opportunist platforms, but I think that's more to do with their more synergistic nature.

EDIT: That all being said, you can still get an Opportunist shot off on a high PS pilot through the use of strategic blocking with lower PS escorts.

Also, given the dial, I love opportunist on Green Squad As. It's easy enough to build a potent squad far fires at or above ps 3, making a flanker A hit like an interceptor. This will be more true once Rebel Aces comes out.

If I were a traitorous rebel scum, I'd use it on Keyan Farlander

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/Keyan_Farlander

Might see it on A-Wing pilots once Rebel Aces comes out because of the double EPT.

That's a interesting thought. You would have to weigh Opportunist and it's 1 extra against PtL for a point less, 2 actions, and still using Keyan's ability. He would have to be flying with higher PS pilots as well (focus fire stripping (hopefully) focus or evade). Which isn't a big deal in my book.

He does seem built for Opportunist...

Try this squadron

Wes Janson — X-Wing 29 Veteran Instincts 1 R7-T1 3

Wedge Antilles — X-Wing 29 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Luke Skywalker — X-Wing 28 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Wes shoots 1st and strips tokens from the target then Wedge and Luke pile on with Opportunist throwing down extra dice to give out the hurt and have R2s to make getting rid of the stress easy.

I flew close to this squad back on the Imdaar weekend and they performed great unless they got out numbered, they were terrible against swarms but chewed up small elite squads with no problem, they even ate through a 3 Bounty Hunter squadron with no problems.

This right here, and other slight variations, is the opportunist list. That card was practically made to be used with Wes

Maarek Stele and opportunist pair very well together. At PS 7 there are quite a few pilots that will shoot before he does. Picking the crit to stick your opponent with can be very powerful and this makes it much more likely. The Tie Advanced is one of the most survivable ships so it's easy to get that ability off a number of times each match.

Put it on Mauler Mithel and have some fun. 5 dice at range 1. Super-fun.

It's 4 points, that's a lot. I might have been able to sell you on it before Preditor came out. Basically a re-roll is almost as good as a extra dice. The only time an extra dice is better than a re-roll is if all the original rolls are good enough that you don't want a re-roll.

Oportunits costs an additional point, a stress to use and has a situational requirement, to pull off.

The problem with Preditor is that it makes so many other offensive EPT upgrades not worth taking. Oh and it only comes on the Defender.

Etahn, Sensor Jammer, and Opportunist

He's PS5, so higher initiative attackers need to spend a focus or lose a hit. If paired with higher-PS attackers, he can force them to choose between saving that token to block opportunist or eating a crit.

Rebels have some tricks that make it tick but be imperials have superior options that aren't as fiddly: PTL, Predator, Outmanuver all cost less are are less situational.

That being said, eventually someone will run a green squad with proton rocket+ oppertunist + + outmanuever jan and murder things.

Try this squadron

Wes Janson — X-Wing 29 Veteran Instincts 1 R7-T1 3

Wedge Antilles — X-Wing 29 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Luke Skywalker — X-Wing 28 Opportunist 4 R2 Astromech 1

Wes shoots 1st and strips tokens from the target then Wedge and Luke pile on with Opportunist throwing down extra dice to give out the hurt and have R2s to make getting rid of the stress easy.

I flew close to this squad back on the Imdaar weekend and they performed great unless they got out numbered, they were terrible against swarms but chewed up small elite squads with no problem, they even ate through a 3 Bounty Hunter squadron with no problems.

This right here, and other slight variations, is the opportunist list. That card was practically made to be used with Wes

I've been running:

• Wes with VI
• Wedge with Opportunist, R2 astromech
• Etahn Abaht with Opportunist

Not as survivable as the three ship list with Luke, but harder hitting because of Etahn's special ability.

Thread here.

I see that most of the responces are geared toward Rebels. Since I play exclusively Empire, these do not work for me. I did like the Maarek and Mauler ideas and might use them, but I am still hung up on the 4pts/opportunity cost of losing your EPT. I am leaning toward Predator or Outmanuever.

I've used it a lot on Green Squad A-wings, and will probably use it even more once we get Refit from Aces. It could also be good on PS4 X or Y-wings with the EPT droid to buff X up to 5 dice R1 or 4 Dice 2-3. and Y-wing 4 at R1 and 3 at all ranges.

It also works with secondary weapons.

For Empire it could be good on Black Squads for Ties and possibly Royal Guard for Ceptor's? Empire has a lot of mid Pilot skill generics with EPT's to pick from, or feels like it compared to Rebels which are generally lower or named higher PS.

It's even better for rebels in combo with a squad with Wes in it due to his ability to strip tokens.

I see that most of the responces are geared toward Rebels. Since I play exclusively Empire, these do not work for me. I did like the Maarek and Mauler ideas and might use them, but I am still hung up on the 4pts/opportunity cost of losing your EPT. I am leaning toward Predator or Outmanuever.

The issue that I can see for you is the imps really don't go in for multiple upgrades, instead their strength lies in cheaper ships. If you're just running tie interceptors, there are better upgrades out there, and you miss out on oppurtunist's best synergies.

I just played this list last night; I did lose, but I had a ton of fun:

Hobbie takes Focus action, Dutch pulls up next to him and target locks, then gives Hobbie a target lock (not an action, yay!). Finally, Wes joins the party and does whatever action, probably Focus.

Ok so Combat is starting, give Hobbie PS:8 with Swarm Tactics, then attack with Wes, on Hobbie's intended target, to strip the tokens and enable Opportunist. Next up, Hobbie attacks, activates Opportunist, is now stressed, and spends his target lock, always and forever, no matter how many hits he gets, because afterall, he can just spend it and reroll zero dice. Cool, stress is gone, and he attacked with 4 (or 5 at range 1) dice, sweet. Last up, Dutch ions something and spends the target lock. His astromech attempts to re-apply the lock, thereby giving out yet another lock to whoever may want it. for next turn.

So, as I mentioned, I lost. I played against my friend flying Omicron shuttle with Darth Vader crew, and 2x Bounty Hunters, each with Gunner. I think the problem there was my flying, because all my attacks worked out just about as well as I could hope. I just sort of went head-on into them and there's no way I can joust those beef-cakes.

This thread makes me sad. I was so excited for Opportunist when it came out in Imperial Aces, and I immediately equipped it on my Saber Sq. Pilot, alongside Soontir Fel, Lt. Lorrir and "Backstabber" so there was a good chance that tokens would be stripped by the time my Saber fired. It was a fun squad. Several times my opponent would choose to take damage by holding onto a focus token specifically so my Saber wouldn't get to use Opportunist -- which meant I wasn't restricted to green turns on the next round. A win-win situation. Those mind games were the best.

Unfortunately, the squad got much better when I traded the Saber + Opportunist out for a Royal Guard Pilot + Push the Limit. The Royal Guard's PS 6 was worth more than the extra die from Opportunist. Plus, Royal Guard has better survivability with dodging arc or Focus + Evade. Too often my Saber would get shot down before it could fire, and it just didn't have the defenses it needed. Moreover, it fired without a Target Lock, so it was often doubtful that the extra die made much of a difference when blanks were rolled.

And now almost every list suggested is for Rebels. I guess it's no different from when TIE interceptor pilots used Push the Limit from the A-wing expansion pack.

This thread makes me sad. I was so excited for Opportunist when it came out in Imperial Aces, and I immediately equipped it on my Saber Sq. Pilot, alongside Soontir Fel, Lt. Lorrir and "Backstabber" so there was a good chance that tokens would be stripped by the time my Saber fired. It was a fun squad. Several times my opponent would choose to take damage by holding onto a focus token specifically so my Saber wouldn't get to use Opportunist -- which meant I wasn't restricted to green turns on the next round. A win-win situation. Those mind games were the best.

Unfortunately, the squad got much better when I traded the Saber + Opportunist out for a Royal Guard Pilot + Push the Limit. The Royal Guard's PS 6 was worth more than the extra die from Opportunist. Plus, Royal Guard has better survivability with dodging arc or Focus + Evade. Too often my Saber would get shot down before it could fire, and it just didn't have the defenses it needed. Moreover, it fired without a Target Lock, so it was often doubtful that the extra die made much of a difference when blanks were rolled.

And now almost every list suggested is for Rebels. I guess it's no different from when TIE interceptor pilots used Push the Limit from the A-wing expansion pack.

Yeah I agree. This thread makes me sad too. I am really trying to like the card but almost everyone suggests using it for Rebels. I think that the card might have been good for the couple of weeks between Imperial Aces and Wave 4, but now with all the new EPTs it is just not the most efficient use of points. Maybe if the Empire ever gets a "Wes" of their own it might be good, but I doubt that will happen as the Empire does not get to have the synergy that the Rebels get.

This thread makes me sad. I was so excited for Opportunist when it came out in Imperial Aces, and I immediately equipped it on my Saber Sq. Pilot, alongside Soontir Fel, Lt. Lorrir and "Backstabber" so there was a good chance that tokens would be stripped by the time my Saber fired. It was a fun squad. Several times my opponent would choose to take damage by holding onto a focus token specifically so my Saber wouldn't get to use Opportunist -- which meant I wasn't restricted to green turns on the next round. A win-win situation. Those mind games were the best.

Unfortunately, the squad got much better when I traded the Saber + Opportunist out for a Royal Guard Pilot + Push the Limit. The Royal Guard's PS 6 was worth more than the extra die from Opportunist. Plus, Royal Guard has better survivability with dodging arc or Focus + Evade. Too often my Saber would get shot down before it could fire, and it just didn't have the defenses it needed. Moreover, it fired without a Target Lock, so it was often doubtful that the extra die made much of a difference when blanks were rolled.

And now almost every list suggested is for Rebels. I guess it's no different from when TIE interceptor pilots used Push the Limit from the A-wing expansion pack.

I won one of the two Danish Regional Championships with:

WWI squad (99 points total):

Wes Janson w/VI (30 points)

Wedge Antilles w/Determination (30 points)

and the crown jewel and MVP:

Ibtisam w/HLC, Opportunist (39 points)

I had the chance to fly the squad several times and found that a couple of the things I really like about it is:

1) The synergy (from Wes's ability) isn't range dependent so one just has to be able to keep all 3 boats pointing towards the same target

2) VI on Wes makes it possible for Wedge to benefit from the ability too

3) Flying Ibtisam a bit unorthodox helped a couple if times; unorthodox meaning not keeping her wayyyyy in the back at all times. But by flying her a bit more aggressively forward made a couple of blocks of or fly by from opponents happen and the she can hit just as hard with her primary

4) The 99 points potentially keeps you in the initiative bid. This partly won me the final where I was facing a 100 points Wes, Wedge & Luke list

It's useful where you're almost garuanteed full normal hits.

Remember that even in normal games, people don't necessarily have a focus token every turn, and you can pull opportunist 'on spec' without having to commit an action to it, and that you can exceed the normal damage limit instead of just getting closer to it.

It pairs well if you're getting rerolls from another source.

Major Rhymer with Advanced Proton Torpedoes and Opportunist is a dangerous beastie in epic play; Huge Ships dont get focus tokens, and 6 attack dice with the focus-shift, especially if he's likely to be in a formation with Jonus, is sufficient to blow the shields off a corvette even despite a reinforce action...