The Intelligence agent crew card is one of the most puzzling dud upgrades in X-Wing. It's easy to see why people don't use expose - usually a focus is just better, and it doesn't stress you. Ditto for Proton and advanced torpedoes; they just cost too much for what they deliver.
But Intel Agent is cheap, at 1 point, and has an awesome ability; to look at the enemy's dial before you move.
So why the heck does no one take it!? I think it's because the ships that could take crew up to this point had little interest in seeing the enemy dial, for one or both of two reasons: they have a turret weapon, or they couldn't react to the enemy's move anyway, since their dial is already set, too - you need a repositioning ability to really make use of looking at someone else's dial. It still does you some good to know if you're going to have a shot at them and vice versa, but there are other really good crew upgrades that are often a better idea.
In comes the E-2 upgrade for the B-Wing, with Rebel Aces. When this card was first spoiled, the forums were simmering with discontent. The B-Wing was and is widely regarded as a powerful ship as-is, and here it was getting one of the best upgrade slots. But things subsided quickly, because there don't seem to be a lot of crew that go well with the B-Wing, at least not with the 1-point tax. Systems are typically the better investment, anyway.
But I don't think anyone took more than a cursory look at Intelligence Agent, the ugly duckling of crew upgrades. It had already been thrown in the trash ages ago; why would it be any better in a B-Wing, with a 1-point tax?
And now is the point in pitching this idea where I say: "that's where the Internet got it wrong"
The B-Wing is at heart a brawling ship. The 2-k turn, the hard-1 maneuver, the barrel roll and the systems slot - those things excel at knife-fighting range. And the B-Wing has a strong attack, but like most ships (but not most ships that can take crew) it just has the front firing arc. It can make a big difference if you know where the enemy is going to be at these close ranges. With the Intel agent peeking at the enemy's playbook, and the repositioning power of the B-Wing's barrel roll, I think the B-Wing becomes a much nastier brawler.
I think there's two ways to put the Intel agents to work in a squad build. Here's an example of the first way:
4x Blue Squadron Pilots w/ E2, Intel Agent, Enhanced sensors (25 pts Each)
A mono-build squad, with 4 Intel agents, translating to 4 peeks at enemy dials. Then, you can move and barrel roll to set up shots, or block enemy movement, or arc dodge, or all three at once. This could be a fantastic blocking squad build - very annoying. But it might be more Intel Agents than you need in a squad.
2x Blue Squadron Pilots w/ E2, Intel Agent, Enhanced sensors (25 pts Each)
2x Blue Squadron Pilots w/ Adv Sensors (25 pts Each)
This leverages the well-known effectiveness of the Advanced Sensors upgrade with the peeking power of Intel agents. I figure that you only need to do so much peeking to really tell what the other guy is up to. The AdvS B-wings give you a little more flexibility in responding to what those maneuvers are, since they can BR and take other actions before maneuvers.
What do you guys think? Are Intel Agents poised for a comeback?