I’ve always been impressed with FFGs ability to keep inventing new pilot abilities and upgrade cards that create fresh synergies and new interesting gameplay. There are few areas of the gameplay that hasn’t been touched upon with updates; movement, actions, combat, damage, you name it, etc. Just think of all the things recent waves have done for certain ordnance (Lt. Blount, Deadeye, Failsafe, and so on).

But I’ve also noticed that there are no update cards or pilot abilities that affect bombs and mines (unless I blatantly missed one) and I love mines/bombs and they are almost always to be found on my lists. However, they don’t seem to get much attention in general and I’ve never seen anyone else bring them to local tournaments. No doubt it’s a dirty little hope of mine that Imperial Aces II – if there will be a such - will update the TIE Advanced and the TIE Bomber.

With that in mind I thought it interesting to play around with the inventive process and to brainstorm on potential pilot abilities or upgrade cards that would improve the use of bombs/mines. Being a brainstorm I’ve included any and all ideas regardless of their degree of silliness and I’ve not suggested point costs, or whether some of these abilities should cost stress, nor defined whether the individual abilities should be on a pilot card or a specific upgrade type (nor have I given them names though I have ideas for some of them); I wanted to focus on the raw ideas themselves.

The division below is purely descriptive.

Deployment, method:

• When dropping bombs or mines you may use the 2 maneuver template instead of the movement 1 template.
• When dropping bombs or mines use the bank 1 maneuver template instead of the movement 1 template.

Deployment, timing:

• You may deploy Proximity Mines as a free action before revealing your dial.
• You may deploy Bombs as an acion (rather than doing it before moving).

Deployment, restrictions:

• You may perform a deploy Proximity Mine action even if you are stressed, on an obstacle or if you overlapped another ship this round.
• You may deploy a bomb even if ionized.

Detonation, effects:

• Anyone hit the explosion from a bomb you deployed is stressed.
• Anyone hit the explosion from a bomb you deployed is ionized.
• Anyone detonating a mine you deployed is stressed.
• Anyone detonating a mine you deployed is ionized.
• When a proximity mine you deployed is detonated, you may change [X] number of Eyes to Hits.
• When a proximity mine you deployed is detonated, you may change [X] number of Eyes to Criticals.
• When a proximity mine you deployed is detonated, roll 4 attack dice instead 3.
• You may use Focus to adjust the result of a proximity mine you deployed.
• If a bomb you dropped is within range one of an asteroid/obstacle, that asteroid is removed from the game and every ship within range 1 of the asteroid [takes 1 damage, must roll one attack die as if having landed on an asteroid, or takes 1 stress].

Frequency:

• A proximity mine you deployed stays on the board and is only removed after detonating a second time.
• Discard this card to acquire a Seismic Charge.
• Discard this card to acquire a Proton Bomb.
• Discard this card to acquire a Proximity Charge.
• Retrieve your bomb token and the associated upgrade card if no target was within range when it would have detonated.

Bonus buffs:

• You may perform a free [barrel roll][boost][evade] or [focus] action after deploying a proximity mine.
• You may perform a free [barrel roll][boost][evade] or [focus] action after dropping a bomb.
• You gain a Focus token when you drop a bomb or deploy a mine.
• You gain a Evade token when you drop a bomb or deploy a mine.
• You may discard a stress token immediately after you drop a bomb or deploy a mine.

New ordnance:

• Ion bombs
• Flechette bombs

Counter-measures:

• You may roll defense dice against proximity mines.
• You may ignore the damage from bombs.

Let me know what you think and ideas of your own below.

Seriously any of these would be nice. Bombs are bad. Really bad. Bad bad bad bad be do ba be bad.

Meta is high ps. Bombers are really low ps. Most ships worth bombing have movement options that allow them to get away from the tiny bomb radius.

They cost a lot and are hard to make hit. They basically were better wave 3 meta with medium and low ps ships and much less movement options.

Prox mines simply don't deal enough damage. They are generally decent to place. They probably should be a free action and have a change of eye to hit.

Being able to drop bombs off the 1 slight is my favorite choice of buff.

And something really new for bombers that helps them connect all of their ordnance.

Bombs are not bad - I enjoy them and have good use of them - they just lack the upgradeability that all other aspects of the game has. Too much they've been delegated to a fire and forget role.

The mines are my clear favorite, though, and I'm happy to see that it seems that the Scum & Villany will bring more of them to the table without having to buy a host of Firesprays.

I like them. Very useful descriptions. I especially like the ability to move 2 and drop a bomb.

I always thought that with any bomb, a focus result should be turned into a hit. It just makes sense. It's a bomb it should hit more often and that a critical hit should could as two damage. I do agree that if your caught in the explosion you should always be stressed, whether you take damage or not. Also that asteroids within range one would be destroyed on a critical hit.

One of the things I would like to see is

Modification

Remote Detonation Device

3 pts

^{Works with Bombs (Not Mines). While the ship that dropped the bomb is not destroyed. It may choose to detonate 1 bomb it dropped at the end of any end phase in the future turns.}

^{This would be a major help to bombs.}

As said before, bombs don't make sense in the current meta, at least for 100pt (150-200 is a whole different question). The problems I'm seeing with most ordnance can be traced back to the single use. Why would a bomber carry a single bomb? Limited use would have been fine, but single use with that many dice is just not stable enough for normal play, and with bombs it's a case of not being able to hit high-PS arc-dodgers. This was a design decision from the get-go, and I don't consider it was the best path. Double use (tap card for one then flip for the second) or infinite use (with appropriate balancing) might have been more interesting.

Having said that, I would like:

Extended bomber bay: You can use a torpedo, missile or bomb/mine once without discarding the card.

LE: it's worded as a modification, but it would be best if it were a title, to be further combined with munitions failsafe. Oh, and 0pts please.

Too bad nothing with bombs can use Advanced Sensors. You might be able to barrel roll and then drop your mines. That could really mess with people. It might be worth it to take the higher PS bomber pilots then.

Captain Jonus would be better if his ability worked just on him as opposed to others near him. He would be great to use proximity mines with the re-roll. Oh, they aren't secondary weapons. You know, if they just made them secondary weapons it would add more synergy with other stuff.

Wait... you have to roll dice with bombs? I thought the damage just happened. Where does the talk of turning a focus into a hit come from?

You have to roll 2 dice when you hit proximity mines.

I like them. Very useful descriptions. I especially like the ability to move 2 and drop a bomb.

I always thought that with any bomb, a focus result should be turned into a hit. It just makes sense. It's a bomb it should hit more often and that a critical hit should could as two damage. I do agree that if your caught in the explosion you should always be stressed, whether you take damage or not. Also that asteroids within range one would be destroyed on a critical hit.

One of the things I would like to see is

Modification

Remote Detonation Device

3 pts

^{Works with Bombs (Not Mines). While the ship that dropped the bomb is not destroyed. It may choose to detonate 1 bomb it dropped at the end of any end phase in the future turns.}

^{This would be a major help to bombs.}

I like this idea, but 3 points is crazy expensive. That would make Siesmics 5 points and proton bombs 8 points! They would never be worth it. 1 point modification at the most.

Here's an idea for an EPT:

Toss Bombing

Action: After performing a K-Turn, you may drop a bomb using the 2 Straight maneuver template. This action may be performed even if you have a stress token.

I figure this would allow a more aggressive use of bombs by flinging them towards the target. The change to using a 2 Straight template is so that the bomber is outside of the blast radius, and the clause allowing the use of the action with a stress token is to get around the fact that the bomber has just pulled off a red K-Turn.

I'm not sure how many points this should cost. On one hand, you are able to make a much more aggressive use of bombs, sending them out 9 ship lengths ahead of your starting position. On the other hand, you are intentionally K-Turning a ship so that you have enemy ships on your 6, which I can't see being the best of positions to be in.

Let me know what you think and ideas of your own below.

I've always thought that the bomb mechanic in this game was half@ssed. The timing of the attack is awkward, I've forgotten to use my bombs lots of times because of it. I'm also having a really hard time reconciling the fact that in the far future, starfighters would be using dumb bombs when even the most mediocre air force today can get precision guided gravity bombs.

That aside, I do like several of your ideas especially deploying it as an action. That way I wont forget to drop the dang thing. Someone else suggested that Advanced Sensors would be cool to have if it actually could synergize with bombs but that would still require a change in the timing mechanic. We can talk all day about what kind of effects we want on dropped ordinance, but I think it all amounts to squat until they change when you can drop it and possibly which end you can drop it out of so that bombs aren't so "dumb" anymore.

That and all dropped ordinance needs a 50% point reduction right off the top.

I do have to agree with Radzap it almost seems the bombers were an afterthought in the playability of the game and wish they would have put more thought into them.

Another idea for more traditional bombing runs:

Release Trajectory Computer

TIE Bomber only

Action: You may drop a bomb using any straight maneuver template up to the speed you moved this turn.

This would be meant to give the option to drop a bomb as you fly over the target, and the ability to choose the length of straight template is to allow you to drop the bomb at any point during your move. I really wanted to make this a modification or title rather than an EPT, as I feel all bombers should be able to do this, although I think it should be something special to dedicated bombers.

There is the side effect that if you perform this action after a turn, the bomb can end up in a location you haven't travelled over, but I think this will be a desirable effect anyway to represent the bomb being thrown out to the side if you drop one whilst you're turning. Additionally, this card could be used to perform toss bombing when used in combination with Adrenaline Rush and a K-Turn. This would limit the trick to only the more expensive pilots in the same was as my previous suggestion.

I think why we haven't seen too much with Bombs is that there's only the Firespray, Bomber and the Decimator right now that can use them. Firespray is one of the better users to me due to 270 main gun which can guide ships right into one. Decimator has the 360 turret so unless they like to chase you from behind I'm not too sure on that one.

I'm hoping we see some Ionized or Stress bombs and mines with the Scum faction. IG's ship has Bombs and another normal Proxy mine makes me happy and hopefully the rumor of the Mod that gets Y Wings Bombs becomes reality.

Firespray is one of the better users to me due to 270 main gun which can guide ships right into one.

Getting slightly off-topic, but my understanding is that the Firespray is forward and rear arcs, not a single 270 arc. This means if you're relying enemies trying to avoid your arcs, they'll be coming in from your flanks.

Let me restate above. Since when I copied and pasted it something got lost

When a bomb or mine detonates , anyone with-in range 1 is affected and suffers a stress token. Unless otherwise stated roll 1 attack die for each ship affected on a critical hit the ship suffers 2 damage, on any other result suffer 1. Asteroids with-in range of a bomb are affected also, and if a critical hit is rolled they are destroyed.

Mines Only: Turn all dice with a Focus result rolled in the attack to hits.