Well the results of a Vassal Tournament using S&V and the new Advanced came in today. I don't want to overstate the results of a single tournament, after all future results could look very different, but it at least points exactly in the direction i was thinking it would. Look for yourself:
http://lists.starwarsclubhouse.com/tourney_results?tourney_id=93
Some Conclusions
- Rank 1-6 going to Empire
- Winning list is a Soontir plus Swarm
- Still a lot of Chiraneau but less Phantom
- 2nd place going to Chiraneau/Vader
- Not one Fat Han in the Break, so we can't say how he does.
- All Rebel and Scum lists not doing that well
- Scum still has a learning curve i guess
- Double IG probably not that OP after all XD
You failed to note that only two players even brought Rebel lists. And drawing any conclusion from a single small, one-off tournament is probably overstating the results.
Rebels have a lot going for them in Wave 6. Things I'm looking forward to include:
(*) A return to B-wings. They have access to barrel roll and 1-forward, they have good durability for their cost, and they have access to system, crew, and cannon slots. With the right upgrades and approach, B-wings are absolutely Phantom/Interceptor killers.
(*) X-wings as potential Phantom counters, particularly Wes+VI and Wedge+Predator. R3-A2 can go on any X-wing, which means Hobbie's ability to deal with stress is a nicer pickup than it might otherwise be, and the cheap Rookie Pilot + R3-A2 might make it out of the binder for once.
(*) YT-2400s without Outrider. It doesn't have the Aggressor's dial but it's cheaper than the Aggressor, has decent durability, and unlike most Rebel ships it can barrel roll. Autothrusters remove a lot of the motivation to take the Outrider title, but Fringer + HLC + EU might still be a ship to watch out for.
(*) Mini-swarms of Prototype Pilots. These guys are just 15 points each; they're zippier than Headhunters and tougher than TIE fighters, and a group of them can be a very nice complement to an expensive high-PS fighter or two.
(*) Don't count the Y-wing out just yet. Its dial no longer looks as bad as it did when all we had were the TIE fighter, TIE advanced, and X-wing for comparison; I also agree with KineticOperator that the "Warthog" build has a lot of applications.
I don't know which of these will catch on, if any, and I suspect some things will happen that I haven't guessed. But I really, really don't think Rebels are dead in Wave 6.