IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

I enjoyed this preview greatly.

Question: did they replace the "Rebel" & "Imperial" Only text on faction specific cards with just the faction symbols? I hope that is the case as it would declutter the text on the cards that we've seen in X-Wing. That's another line that can be used for game mechanics!

That definitely looks to be the case.

We don't know for sure. It might be small. While the VSD is medium and the eventual ISD is large.

If its about base sizes, this might be true.

According to the pictures, there are 2 base sizes yet.

... and large will be ... ISD and Mon Calamari?

We don't know for sure. It might be small. While the VSD is medium and the eventual ISD is large.

If its about base sizes, this might be true.

According to the pictures, there are 2 base sizes yet.

I think you're right about that.

This really was a great preview. There's so much information there, but still a lot of mysteries.

It seems that many Wave 1 Imperial lists will have three ships: Triple Victory, 2VSD-1GSD, 1VSD-2GSD, Triple Gladiator. This seems to best balance quantity and quality. Three ships is less brittle than two, plus you will get better use out of your commander's ability. On the other hand, there is more room for upgrades and fighters than there would be in a four ship list.

Two ship lists may be viable, too. I imagine that two archetypes might work out: double Victory with really decked out ships; or a Victory and a Gladiator with an elite fighter complement. Four ship lists are not impossible, though the Empire is a little light on cheap ships at the moment. Here is an attempt at a four ship list:

Imperial Swarm

GSD-II @ 62 + Motti @ 24 (or Screed @ 26)

GSD-II @ 62

GSD-II @ 62

GSD-I @ 56

4 TIE Fighter Squads @ 32

Total: 298 points (or 300 with Screed)

This list would probably play much more like a Wave 1 Rebel list--with speed and attacks from multiple directions. This list can run lighter on TIEs because the three GSD-IIs supply a decent amount of anti-fighter flak. I'm not sure which commander would be more useful--Motti for a total of 4 extra hull, or Screed for more crits (even though it lacks cards to take full advantage of them).

I think a 2 ship list or even a 4 ship list for the Imperials is do able but you'll have to have the right mix of upgrades so you can take the extra punishment or have so much firepower at one of the range brackets that when ever anything comes into range you simple destroy it. otherwise a smart enemy can play on your lack of ships or you having a lot of fragile ones.

I my self wouldnt take a full Gladiator fleet because I know my tatics are a bit rough on the ships so I need somthing that can take a bit of the punch and dish it out as well.

IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

You might be right about us needing more TIE's but I think we will only truly know the answer on how the fighter thing is gonna shake out once we get playing. How do you already know the B-Wing stats?

IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

You might be right about us needing more TIE's but I think we will only truly know the answer on how the fighter thing is gonna shake out once we get playing. How do you already know the B-Wing stats?

The Expand your Fleet article. It shows Keyan Farlander's stats, also Major Rhymer's.

IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

I may be underestimating the amount of fighters needed, but I think that you are overestimating. 6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings, and 4 B-Wings will add up to a lot of points. For arguments sake, let's assume that the average point cost of each squad is 13 points (I think that this is too low; after all Farlander is 29 (!) points, implying that B-Wings are pricey). I would expect that this quantity of fighters would add up to at least 182 points (13 * 14). When you include a commander, you are left with less than 100 points for your capital ships. That seems way out-of-whack. You would only be able to field a pair of Corvettes, which are only able to command 2 to 4 of those 14 fighters per turn.

I've been basing my estimates on the demo at GenCon. For a fleet consisting of two Victories, the GenCon demo included 6 TIE Fighter squads. For a fleet of two Nebulon Bs and two Corvettes, they provided 4 X-Wings. So, I've been working from the rule-of-thumb that 6 TIES or 4 X-Wings is the minimum recommended level of fighters. Maybe I'm wrong, but it is at least a starting point.

IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

I may be underestimating the amount of fighters needed, but I think that you are overestimating. 6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings, and 4 B-Wings will add up to a lot of points. For arguments sake, let's assume that the average point cost of each squad is 13 points (I think that this is too low; after all Farlander is 29 (!) points, implying that B-Wings are pricey). I would expect that this quantity of fighters would add up to at least 182 points (13 * 14). When you include a commander, you are left with less than 100 points for your capital ships. That seems way out-of-whack. You would only be able to field a pair of Corvettes, which are only able to command 2 to 4 of those 14 fighters per turn.

I've been basing my estimates on the demo at GenCon. For a fleet consisting of two Victories, the GenCon demo included 6 TIE Fighter squads. For a fleet of two Nebulon Bs and two Corvettes, they provided 4 X-Wings. So, I've been working from the rule-of-thumb that 6 TIES or 4 X-Wings is the minimum recommended level of fighters. Maybe I'm wrong, but it is at least a starting point.

I'll admit that my rebel fighters counts was is a bit high thinking about it now. But, I think my Imperial count is pretty good.

I'm thinking that initially, a popular 3 ship setup for Imperials will be 2xVSD + 1xGSD + Fighters. My reasoning for this is that it's what you get when you buy a core set plus one of each Imperial expansion. Whilst I've not been paying as much attention to the Rebel scum as of yet, I suspect a similar reasoning would also work for a 300pt list for them

IMO, I think people are vastly underestimating the amount of fighters that are going to be needed to protect their capital ships. Imperials will probably have to allocate about 100pts for fighters, a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers will be needed. Look at B-Wings, you will be taking 6 black dice if three of them get past your screen. Rebels will probably have to do the same, their fighters have the punch to really hurt Imperial ships

My ideal fighter screen will be about 8 Tie fighters, 2 - 4 Interceptors and 4 Tie bombers on the Imperial side (not including Characters).

6 X-Wings, 4 A-Wings and 4 B-Wings for the Rebels.

You might be right about us needing more TIE's but I think we will only truly know the answer on how the fighter thing is gonna shake out once we get playing. How do you already know the B-Wing stats?

The Expand your Fleet article. It shows Keyan Farlander's stats, also Major Rhymer's.

Thats a good catch I didn't see that.

Interestingly, whilst I don't think the game will restrict you to this in any way, it will probably balance out to have the number of squadrons equal to what your fleet could cannonicly carry. The demo games were 2 Neb-Bs (2 sqn each) + 2 cr90s (0) vs 2 vics (2-3sqn each, depending on variant). They fielded 4 x-wings vs 6 TIEs.

I don't think this is a complete coincidence. Capital ships would be designed to carry an appropriate amount of fighter support to provide adequate cover from enemy fighters, to make up for the ships shortcomings.

So when fielding an ISD 4-6 squadrons would probably be required to adequately defend it

Interestingly, whilst I don't think the game will restrict you to this in any way, it will probably balance out to have the number of squadrons equal to what your fleet could cannonicly carry. The demo games were 2 Neb-Bs (2 sqn each) + 2 cr90s (0) vs 2 vics (2-3sqn each, depending on variant). They fielded 4 x-wings vs 6 TIEs.

I don't think this is a complete coincidence. Capital ships would be designed to carry an appropriate amount of fighter support to provide adequate cover from enemy fighters, to make up for the ships shortcomings.

So when fielding an ISD 4-6 squadrons would probably be required to adequately defend it

...and the additional fighters in the core box would seem to be enough to cover buying a second VSD, CR-90, & Neb-B... Interesting

The GSD looks to be an agile missile boat. So many choices on how I want ro build my fleet

On the subject of fighters:

I forsee the rebels having a very competitive list with 3x Nebulon Frigates plus hordes of squadrons. That's just over half the points spent on Cap's leaving over a hundred points for fluffing out the fighter/bombers.

On the subject of GSD:

I can see a list with 4 of them being awesome, they have amazing side facing armaments when in close range. A super aggressive strategy could work well with them, and their speed is pretty decent.

I'm not particularly in love with the Gladiator. It just doesn't look right to me. I'll still end up getting one (and probably only one), but I doubt that I'll make it a prominent feature of the squads that I build. I don't dislike it as much as I dislike the Assault Frigate, but I won't be getting into Rebels much anyway.

I'm still dissapointed that they went with the Mk II Assault Frigate instead of the Mk I.

Oh well, maybe a future wave will include a Mk. I vs. an Imperial Dreadnaught class cruiser.

I'm still dissapointed that they went with the Mk II Assault Frigate instead of the Mk I.

Oh well, maybe a future wave will include a Mk. I vs. an Imperial Dreadnaught class cruiser.

Likewise. I really hope to see the Mk1 and Dreadnought later. They would be a fairly obvious Imperial vs Rebel matchup to release together in an expnasion wave, so fingers crossed.

Think we will see a Interdictor class cruiser for the Empire? I would be interested in knowing how they would get that to work out for game mechanics

I'd like to see one. They are extremely iconic and important in the background, so if they could think of a way to work them it'd be awesome.

Agreed on the interdictor, but I fear that the mechanic will be a little contrived.

Yep, thats my main worry. I'd rather they didnt do it at all than just tack on some contrived, inappropriate mechanic that doesnt capture the actual idea behind the ship.

Though i guess thats what houserules are for.....

I think it would be cool to see a interdictor hit the table but I hope they leave out the gravity well generators or creat a special objective card for their use. I realy hope FFG has learned a little from X-Wing and won't muddle the basics of the game by throwing in a new mechanic everytime a diffrent kinda ship is fielded.

I'm still dissapointed that they went with the Mk II Assault Frigate instead of the Mk I.

Oh well, maybe a future wave will include a Mk. I vs. an Imperial Dreadnaught class cruiser.

Likewise. I really hope to see the Mk1 and Dreadnought later. They would be a fairly obvious Imperial vs Rebel matchup to release together in an expnasion wave, so fingers crossed.

If they released the MK1 I would probly start fielding my rebel fleet. One of the first ships I ever saw after the movies was a picture of a MK I

I honestly never understood why the Mark II was created. Based on the Saga stats the only differences are the mark II having slightly more firepower and faster shield recharging.