I was reading up on the Wookieepedia and found this little bit of information on Keyan Farlander's page:

"Following simulator training on the B-wing, Farlander got to use the new bomber in combat for the first time in an attack on a TIE fighter staging area near Yunkor IX. He was later one of four handpicked pilots for a mission to destroy an Imperial weapons research facility that was attempting to recreate the Ram's Head's shield technology. Since the base was lightly defended, the Rebels decided to test the tactical effectiveness of their four main starfighters. Farlander flew a B-wing in the mission, pairing with an A-wing, while a second pair consisted of an X-wing and a Y-wing.[14]"

More specifically the last sentence. The above quote is referencing a mission from the 1994 X-Wing game B-Wing expansion pack.

I understand that coincidences are found everywhere when it comes to speculating future X-Wing product, but I think this could be a good coincidence. Rebel Aces is probably paying homage to this game expansion by including the A and B-Wing and Keyan Farlander, so it could be possible that they're saving a "part II" of that homage for the X and Y-Wing for a later release.

And just to put more coincidences together, didn't Imperial Aces take characters and paint schemes from the comics Crimson Empire and X-Wing: Rogue Squadron? Could we also look into more comics with more emphasized unique Imperial ships and characters for hints at an Imperial Aces II, too?

Sorry if this information has been posted before. I'm just excited to share it.

I seriously doubt the content of rebel aces has anything to do with an obscure bit of mission fluff in one game. Rebel aces is a-wing/b-wing because the a-wing is the textbook "OMG what did that ship just do?!?!" ship and in dire need of some balance fixes, while the b-wing is fluff-wise the ultimate "brawler" ship and could use some options besides generics with advanced sensors. The x-wing would have been an obvious choice to pair with the a-wing but the transport already did the "more x-wing stuff" expansion, while the y-wing just isn't a very exciting ship and fluff-wise is borderline obsolete.

As for the comics, I doubt that's anything but a coincidence. There just aren't that many named imperial characters, so that was probably just what FFG had to use to find some more interceptor pilots. It doesn't suggest anything about future releases.

And the thread becomes a "fix the TIE Advanced!" thread in 3.... 2... 1...

OMG YOU GUIES HAVE JUST GOT TO FIX DA TIE ADVANCED 4 US PLOX. WE'S A COUNTIN' ON YOU.

There, quota acquired.

Neat find but I'm not holding my breath too much.

I think its a reasonable assumption that they will do re-paints for any future 'aces' style packs. What other paint schemes are there out there for ships that have not been 'aced'?

I know there's some alternate Y-wing paint schemes. Any other Rebel Scum ships?

What about for Imperials?

I want a generic rogue or wraith squadron ps 5 or 6 x wing with an EPT! I know X wings don't need any more love but I love going back to them. They are a solid ship pure and simple. I think a Y-wing pack will be the next rebel ace pack. The good thing about a Y-wing pack is anything that helps the Y-wing helps most the other ships. New astros? Good my x and e's could use more of them. New turrets? Just what the hwk has always wanted! New torpedoes? Gee golly I cant wait to put those on my bombers! A Y-wing pafk could definitely shake the meta up!

...the y-wing just isn't a very exciting ship and fluff-wise is borderline obsolete.

Didn't you already get beaten about the head adn shoulders over this point? There's no question in my mind that Y-wings do need their own Aces treatment.

Didn't you already get beaten about the head adn shoulders over this point? There's no question in my mind that Y-wings do need their own Aces treatment.

A certain obnoxious narcissist spamming about how awesome he is does not qualify as "beating". And I never said that the y-wing doesn't need balance help, I said it wasn't an appropriate choice for this expansion. I will be happy when FFG publishes a "boring obsolete ships that can still contribute something" expansion that gives the y-wing an EPT and a blaster turret equivalent that doesn't suck.

Odd that you'd have a ship you seem to loathe so much as your avatar.

I'm sticking to my guns in that Y-wing A-wing would have made a better Rebel Aces than B-wing A-wing. More stuff is good for any ship but the A-wing and Y-wing are the two in most dire need of more stuff.

Does it need to be restated that Rebel Aces or Imperial Aces is just a name for the expansion? They can just call it whatever they want. There is zero logic behind the idea that what they call the packaging has anything to do with what they have to put into it. You name the product after you've designed it. It's just a name to go with a SKI.

Expansion with a bunch of test pilots in it with new model ships, boom Rebel Aces. You want a Y-wing and X-wing box? Boom, Heroes of the Rebellion. I give FFG full permission to use that awesome product name.

I maintain a Y-wing Ace is a thing. Two things so far, actually. A certain D. Vander and H. Salm.

...the y-wing just isn't a very exciting ship and fluff-wise is borderline obsolete.

Didn't you already get beaten about the head adn shoulders over this point? There's no question in my mind that Y-wings do need their own Aces treatment.

Yes, and quite severely I might add - on both accounts.

Didn't you already get beaten about the head adn shoulders over this point? There's no question in my mind that Y-wings do need their own Aces treatment.

A certain obnoxious narcissist spamming about how awesome he is does not qualify as "beating". And I never said that the y-wing doesn't need balance help, I said it wasn't an appropriate choice for this expansion. I will be happy when FFG publishes a "boring obsolete ships that can still contribute something" expansion that gives the y-wing an EPT and a blaster turret equivalent that doesn't suck.

I'm the most liked poster on this board, surely it's not narcissism if it's true. Besides, you're the one who keeps declaring me the winner of the internet. Shouldn't I have a trophy by now?

You can't be, because i don't like you, and i am always right.

Does it need to be restated that Rebel Aces or Imperial Aces is just a name for the expansion? They can just call it whatever they want. There is zero logic behind the idea that what they call the packaging has anything to do with what they have to put into it. You name the product after you've designed it. It's just a name to go with a SKI.

Yeah, what kind of idiot designs a product that matches the theme of the name for that product? Screw the fluff, let's just put a HWK in the box with the new imperial huge ship because it needs some balance work.

Expansion with a bunch of test pilots in it with new model ships, boom Rebel Aces. You want a Y-wing and X-wing box? Boom, Heroes of the Rebellion. I give FFG full permission to use that awesome product name.

Heroes of the rebellion is not rebel aces.

FFS, why is this so complicated? FFG was inevitably going to make a rebel aces expansion to mirror the imperial aces expansion, and that means keeping the same theme. I have nothing against the y-wing getting some balance help in a future expansion, but it wasn't appropriate for this one.

OH GOD YES I'M SO AWESOME *sprays all over his keyboard*

Yep, just keep doing what you do best, eventually you'll get that signal to noise ratio down to a perfect zero.

You can't be, because i don't like you, and i am always right.

You must not be married.

Yeah, what kind of idiot designs a product that matches the theme of the name for that product? Screw the fluff, let's just put a HWK in the box with the new imperial huge ship because it needs some balance work.

Pilots are aces, not ships. There, now you don't have to bother wasting your energy and our time fighting over semantics again.

Hand bags at dawn by the sound of it!

Does it need to be restated that Rebel Aces or Imperial Aces is just a name for the expansion? They can just call it whatever they want. There is zero logic behind the idea that what they call the packaging has anything to do with what they have to put into it. You name the product after you've designed it. It's just a name to go with a SKI.

Yeah, what kind of idiot designs a product that matches the theme of the name for that product? Screw the fluff, let's just put a HWK in the box with the new imperial huge ship because it needs some balance work.

Expansion with a bunch of test pilots in it with new model ships, boom Rebel Aces. You want a Y-wing and X-wing box? Boom, Heroes of the Rebellion. I give FFG full permission to use that awesome product name.

Heroes of the rebellion is not rebel aces.

FFS, why is this so complicated? FFG was inevitably going to make a rebel aces expansion to mirror the imperial aces expansion, and that means keeping the same theme. I have nothing against the y-wing getting some balance help in a future expansion, but it wasn't appropriate for this one.

They didn't have to call the second expansion Rebel Aces just because the first was Imperial Aces. Absolutely no one, excepting you, perhaps, would have even batted an eyelash if the announcement after Imperial Aces was "Rebel Heroes".

And that's assuming that Y-Wings can't be considered "aces". Again, something that apparently only you believe. There were many WW2 "bomber aces", as an example that being a nimble craft is not a prerequisite for the Hall of Aces. One of them was even in a B-17!

Yeah, what kind of idiot designs a product that matches the theme of the name for that product? Screw the fluff, let's just put a HWK in the box with the new imperial huge ship because it needs some balance work.

They match the name to the product, not the product to the name. The only idiot is the person who makes a bad design decision to fit a title that they can easily change. If FFG wanted to do an A-wing Y-wing box and they hypothetically thought Y-wings wouldn't fit Rebel Aces, they'd simply not call it Rebel Aces. They do the branding after the design. FFG made a B-wing Y-wing box and they no doubt had their reasons, but it sure as hell wasn't to fit the Rebel Ace title.

Plus, your whole argument's based on a flawed premise: that there's no such thing as a Y-wing Ace.

There's one.

There's another. That's a miniature from the old WotC Starship Battles game. The name embossed on the underside of the base? "Y-wing Ace."

Then we've got Keyan Farlander, who's actually in the Rebel Aces pack flying a B-wing. The ship he's most famed for flying and flew in the Battle of Yavin? A Y-wing.

EDIT: Seeing as a certain orc has resurrected the old thread I'll grab my older, more coherent post on this.

A Y-wing ace is a pilot that excels at flying a Y-wing. If you're talking maneuverability, that's A: irrelevant and B: the non-advsensor B-wing's slower and even less maneuverable, constantly stressing itself. If you are talking advsensor B-wing then we get to talk R2 Astro Y-wing.

And even if Y-wings didn't fit this "ace archetype"...

The ace packs are FFG's equivalent of the big boxes in Netrunner where they add a whole load of new options and stuff to one corp and one runner. We've had the TIE Interceptor Acepack, the X-wing Acepack was in the transport, and Rebel Aces is ace treatment for the A-wing and B-wing. I've little doubt they'll continue to make these. We call these packs "aces" not because they're aces necessarily but because the first pack to do it was called Imperial Aces and Rebel Aces follows suit.

You're correct in that thematically Rebel Aces is about the elite pilots flying the rebel prototypes, and the Y-wing isn't a rebel prototype, but you're fixating on it to the point where you're disregarding other information. Let's say the Y-wing isn't a good fit for a pack about rebel ace prototype pilots, and that if they swapped the Y-wing for the B-wing now the pack's theme may be somewhat damaged. But that's assuming they'd design the pack with the B-wing and then swap in the Y-wing. They do thematic design and branding after game design. If they made an A-wing and Y-wing pack and decided the Rebel Aces name didn't fit (I personally think it would fit fine) they wouldn't think "We can't use the Y-wing, it doesn't fit", they'd think "We can't use the name Rebel Aces, it doesn't fit." They name the pack after designing it.

This means the whole ace thing is wholly immaterial. What we're saying is that we wish they'd have designed it as an A-wing and Y-wing pack from the start, that the Y-wing is in more need of some fresh life than the B-wing. Why did they go with the B-wing? Any number of reasons: they had good ideas for B-wings then and not as many for Y-wings, they wanted to introduce their B-wing mods to the current meta and are holding back the Y-wing mods for the Wave 5 or 6 meta or the Imperial Huges, the Y-wing mods use new mechanics they intend to bring in in later waves, they considered the astromechs and torps from Rebel Transport to be a sort of "mini-Y aces" and thus decided to handle the Y-wing later, they planned Rebel Aces before XXBB became dominant and didn't know the B-wing was going to be so good, they figured the Y-wing would go better with a TIE advanced in a Yavin themed pack, any number of perfectly good reasons for it. But I don't think for a second if they wanted to do the Y-wing that the Rebel Ace title would have held them back.

Pilots are aces, not ships. There, now you don't have to bother wasting your energy and our time fighting over semantics again.

Semantics arguments are NEVER a waste of time!

I'm the most liked poster on this board, surely it's not narcissism if it's true. Besides, you're the one who keeps declaring me the winner of the internet. Shouldn't I have a trophy by now?

Ooh, what's this about? Is there a metric somewhere that tells us the number of likes we've received divided by the number of posts we've made? Who are the top five?

He has a Likes Per Post greater than 1.

I'm sorry, OP, for having initiated this particular derailment.

He has a Likes Per Post greater than 1.

That doesn't mean you are making quality posts, but that you say stuff that people agree with often enough (or find funny).

Major Juggler has a lower Like per post ratio (way lower) and in the short time i had been here i had seen him giving more helpful contribution and quality posting. In my experience, "likes" system just promote circle jerks and fine use of rethoric instead of constructive discussion to ***** like points.

Edit - Btw, i don't consider myself a quality poster, but a goofy one, and i don't dislike Wonderwaaagh, but i really find the like discussion quite unproductive for the reasons i stated. Cheers.

That doesn't mean you are making quality posts

Didn't say he was. Was replying to the post immediately before mine. The previous poster asked where Waaagh's statement came from and I pointed out the insanely high number. The probability of someone else exceeding that is low.

I think its a reasonable assumption that they will do re-paints for any future 'aces' style packs. What other paint schemes are there out there for ships that have not been 'aced'?

I know there's some alternate Y-wing paint schemes. Any other Rebel Scum ships?

What about for Imperials?

ESB/Jedi Blue TIE Fighters and TIE Advanced, come to mind. Simple, elegant.

I'm assuming the (blue?) Advanced will be part of a proper "Aces" (or whatever) treatment, but I expect a blue TIE Fighter as escort to a transport-equivalent Imperial huge. (Two would be awesome, to fit thematically with the Core Sets, but that opens an economic worm can that I don't actually expect to see the insides of.)