I know, I know - before the complaints start, I realize that there have been many, many threads recently discussing what we might see in the upcoming wave, what ships FFG can still choose from, or, mainly, what we'd like to see.

That's not what this thread is about. What I want to do is see what the community's predictions are. Given everything we know, every little hint and piece of information FFG employees have let slip, their commercial imperatives, as well as what we know about the way the game plays at the moment, and what niches remain unfilled, what will FFG release next? No maybes, no fence sitting or caveats - make a firm prediction and, if you feel like it, explain why you think those particular ships are most likely. Then, when S+V releases in a few weeks and the expected Wave 7 announcement gets made, we can look back at this thread and see who amongst us can really see the future.

So, I'll start us off - my Wave 7 predictions.

First off, a few things I don't think we'll see (yet):

Prequel ships - I do think they're coming, but FFG haven't hit the bottom of the OT and EU barrel quite yet, so I think they're probably still a wave or two out.

The Snowspeeder/atmospheric rules - Again, I think this will come, but after an unusual Wave 6 (all one faction) I think they'll want to steady things off with a fairly typical Wave 7.

SW:Rebels Ships: As much as I like the designs in the show, I don't think it's been on air long enough for FFG (who have said that they have an 18 month (or longer) lag time between finalizing what they're doing and actually releasing it) to have gotten around to it yet. Again, I'd say expect these in later waves.

So, negatives out of the way, here's what I do think will happen:

I think that we're likely to enter an era of three ship waves. Two ships per faction was fine when they were starting out, because they needed to diversify the game quickly, and there were no other "competing" products, as it were - just regular ships. Now though, there are epic ships, Aces packs, playmats and, of course, Armada to consider - they aren't going to want to force players to choose which of their products to buy - they're going to dripfeed them out slowly so that everyone can afford to buy all of them. It's possiblethat they might choose to try and increase Scum's diversity quicker by having a 4 ship wave with Rebel, Imp and 2x Scum, but given that Scum players will have just forked out a bunch of cash to get themselves set up, they probably wont want the extra expense of two new ships, and Scum are, at this point, only 2 ships short of the other two factions.

Also. for Wave 7 specifically, I think it's likely to be 3 small base ships, just because with Wave 5 being all large, we haven't seen new small ships (outside of scum) for awhile. It's conceivable that we might get a large based Scum ship to give them a second unique large based ship, but I doubt it.

So my prediction is 3 small based ships, one Imp, one Rebel and one Scum.

So, specific ships.

Imps - the Assault Gunboat.

This is a popular ship amongst Star Wars fans (and on this board), plus it has its origins (I think) in the 90s video games that FFG have called on before. More than that, though, I think that the Gunboat represents a golden opportunity to fix ordnance, which has been a problem for long enough that a solution could have worked its way through the pipeline by now - an ordnance fix would also go some way towards explaining the cryptic comment made by one of the FFG guys (I'm sure someone can point to the exact YouTube video) about plans for the TIE Bomber

Why it might not happen: There are plemty of other ships that could fill the gunboat's role, including TIE class ships that would fit much closer thematically with the rest of the Imperial small ship fleet. If FFG want to keep the TIE theme going, the AG could be a long way off.

Rebels - K Wing

This was the trickiest, since there're few rebel well known ships left, and is pretty much expected as a rebel equivalent to the AG - big, bulky with lots of missiles and well able to take advantage of any ordnance fix mechanic that I expect might be coming.

Why it might not happen: It's really not very well known, it's quite large for a small base (as long as a Y Wing and quite a bit wider) and pretty pointless if the ordnance fix/AG don't come out as well. Plus, FFG haven't really felt the need to balance ships in previous waves, they may not do so here. Finally, it'd be competing with the B Wing and Y Wing in the rebel fleet as a heavy missile platform, which may not be the most efficient set up.

Scum - CloakShape Fighter

While there have been a lot of ships that might be appropriate for scum throughout the Star Wars EU, not many of them have shown up very frequently - often they'll be in one book, or in a few comics, and then occasionally show up here or there later (the StarVip[er is a classic example of this). The CloakShape, however, has shown up in a lot of places (including the X-Wing books, which are among the most read of the EU along with Timothy Zahn's stuff), and has a pretty well defined identity. Plus it looks totally different to the rest of the Scum ships.

Why it might not happen: My previous two assume an ordnance fix, and while the Cloakshape can carry missiles, it's hardly a heavy missile boat like the others. There may be a better heavy ordnance carrier in the EU that I'm simply unfamiliar with.

So, that's my prediction. Except for the CloakShape, it's not really what I'd most like to see next (that would be a weird wave with the TIE Scout, Recon-X and a DX-9 Stormtrooper transport), but it's what I think is most likely to come next. Of course, I could be wildly off base. After all, always in motion, is the future.

So, anyone else want to stick their neck out and try to impress us all with their precognitive abilities?

T wing, to fill the scum's need for an A wing / tie interceptor.

I like your prediction of 3 ship waves.

At this point my only guess would be for the scum. To me it seems obvious that FFG will go all in for the bounty hunters. That said, I believe we'll see the Punishing One and/or Mist Hunter right away. Hounds Tooth maybe a little down the road.

I like your ideas, and even moreso, I like your reasoning. Too often posts like these go from "what do you think WILL happen" into "What do you really wanna see happen"

I agree with the AG, for sure. That seems to be a very, very much weanted ship for imps. CloakSHape, while semi-obscure to EU-unfamiliar folks, would be a god addition to scum, but I feel like it'd be just another swarmy ship like Z's and Scyks.

The Rebel ship, however, I disagree with. THe K-wing is pretty far out there into the EU. I think the YT-2000 would be a nice touch, possibly for both Rebels and Scum (one pack, with the stuff for both factions). Rebels and Scum both have 2 large ships compared to the Imperial's 3. The big problem here is the lack of pilots. Now, the Azxzameens have already begun to show up, which could be 2-3 three of our named pilots (3 if we include Emon...but perhaps their dad instead?)

I know it'd be weird to have a Reb/Scum large and Imp small, but look at wave 3.

Darn. My predictions are pretty much in line with yours: Assault Gunboat, K-wing, Cloakshape Fighter (especially the Cloakshape Fighter, in part because they already have lots of art for it).

I disagree on the three-ship wave, though. I do think they will add a 4th ship in the next wave which will be Scum & Villainy. I think likely candidates are the Jumpmaster (Punishing One) or YV-666 (Hound's Tooth). I really think they'll push the bounty hunters through.

Imps - the Assault Gunboat.

Rebels - K Wing

Scum - CloakShape Fighter

Honestly, this is probably the closest we'll get to an accurate prediction until the wave's announced.

There's a very small number of usable TIE variants left (most of them are awful, hello there TIE Crawler!), and there's no way they'd do the Missile Boat before the Xg-1.

Rebels really don't have any other fighters left in the timeframe that are well-known (prequel imports don't count and there's minimal/no evidence that they're going that way), and the K-wing lets them double up on ordnance fixes (it's also fairly interesting as a really sluggish ship that should have boost, potentially a wierd 180 or aux firing arc).

Scum's probably the most variable choice here, we're practically guaranteed to see the Cloakshape at some point but Scum /just/ got the Y-wing, which fills a vaguely similar role, so I could see something else here. MAYBE one of the Black Sun fighters, but we already have 2 of them. Didn't one of the heavier Hutt fighters show up on card art?

Also if I see another flying saucer I'm going to puke, especially if it's the retardedly phallic Otana.

Not sure about what they will be but I'm expecting 1 Imp, 1 Reb, 2 S&V.

I'm in agreeance with everyone here, I think k-wing, assault gunboat, but scum I'm not sold on. Maybe a chiss clawcraft.

Also if I see another flying saucer I'm going to puke, especially if it's the retardedly phallic Otana.

You do know what a wang looks like, right? Because it's not saucer-shaped

Mercenary Filth - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes Zuckuss/4-LOM and Dengar. Scum.

Bomber Aces - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes a Rebel Y-wing and an Imperial TIE Bomber.

Best of the Best - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes a Rebel X-wing and an Imperial TIE Defender.

Scum gets a single pack with 2 new ships, Rebels and Imperials each get one ship per pack. They're consolidated by type to allow for more thematic pack contents, rather than by faction, as doing it by faction would force you to buy both a Rebel and Imperial pack to get all the bomber upgrades, or to get all the elite fighter upgrades.

Alternatively, 2 Scum, and 1 each Rebel and Imperial, to get Scum a little closer to parity in available ship variety. Zuckuss/4-LOM and Dengar split into two ship packs, maybe. Rebels get an ARC-170 (2-attack, auxiliary arc, combines System, Droid, and Crew slots for some fun new combos), and Imps get a TIE Scout (new Sensor Ping action).

Scum is likely to be one of the other Bounty Hunter ships.

Also if I see another flying saucer I'm going to puke, especially if it's the retardedly phallic Otana.

You do know what a wang looks like, right? Because it's not saucer-shaped

YT-2000 does have phallic elements, though. The cockpit placement is just ugly anyways.

Also if I see another flying saucer I'm going to puke, especially if it's the retardedly phallic Otana.

You do know what a wang looks like, right? Because it's not saucer-shaped

YT-2000 does have phallic elements, though. The cockpit placement is just ugly anyways.

I suppose, if you squint really, really hard at it. Part of my want for this ship comes from childhood memories of XWA, the other part from the completionist in me not wanting to skip this iteration of the YT. WIth an Azzameen on the table already, I do believe Otana's coming too. Can't please everyone all the time, though.

To give an idea of what TIE variants are left for Imps that are actually viable, since most of the variants are purely absurd:

(and even then the Avenger is kind of iffy)

I could see three-ship releases eventually, but probably not right away.

I wouldn't count on seeing prequel ships a couple waves out. I half expect (and hope) it to be a standalone companion game, though.

You're probably right about ground attack, but I'm still hoping for that, too.

To give an idea of what TIE variants are left for Imps that are actually viable, since most of the variants are purely absurd:

[image snipped]

(and even then the Avenger is kind of iffy)

Each X represents a ship you don't think could be introduced? Because the Scimitar Assault Bomber is a favorite of mine, and I hate to see it lumped in with stuff like the TIE Star Cruiser.

Seeing a lot of prevarication on this thread. I was hoping people would be definitive - "These three (or four, or six, or whatever) ships, Ship A, Ship B and Ship C, will be wave 7". It's less impressive to predict if you give yourself the wiggle room of multiple ships.

Still, some interesting comments.

Mercenary Filth - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes Zuckuss/4-LOM and Dengar. Scum.

Bomber Aces - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes a Rebel Y-wing and an Imperial TIE Bomber.

Best of the Best - A 2-ship aces-style pack that includes a Rebel X-wing and an Imperial TIE Defender.

I honestly really don't think that FFG would put Aces style packs in as part of a numbered Wave release. In the past, they've been between waves, and that seems likely to continue, if only because it gives them more new stuff to sell on a nice, regular basis.

To give an idea of what TIE variants are left for Imps that are actually viable, since most of the variants are purely absurd:

[image snipped]

(and even then the Avenger is kind of iffy)

Each X represents a ship you don't think could be introduced? Because the Scimitar Assault Bomber is a favorite of mine, and I hate to see it lumped in with stuff like the TIE Star Cruiser.

I'm basically looking at visuals and role overlap (personally I'm partial to the TIE Interdictor but only because I thought it was a starship-scale gravity-well ship as a kid). The Scimitar is visually pretty silly, not to mention overly phallic.

I'm basically looking at visuals and role overlap (personally I'm partial to the TIE Interdictor but only because I thought it was a starship-scale gravity-well ship as a kid).

Fair enough.

The Scimitar is visually pretty silly, not to mention overly phallic.

Freud could have filled volumes' worth of notes if he'd met you. I'm with UnfairBanana at this point: you might want to look into an Introduction to Anatomy course.

I'm basically looking at visuals and role overlap (personally I'm partial to the TIE Interdictor but only because I thought it was a starship-scale gravity-well ship as a kid).

Fair enough.

The Scimitar is visually pretty silly, not to mention overly phallic.

Freud could have filled volumes' worth of notes if he'd met you. I'm with UnfairBanana at this point: you might want to look into an Introduction to Anatomy course.

Freud was a hack, though?

How do I put this? Being at the table is not being in my bunk. Certain aesthetics have their places, I just don't think that one belongs at the table.

My prediction is for the introduction of medium size bases (60mm x 60 mm).

I know it is a little small but I would like to see them upscale the Assault Gunboat to fit as a heavy fighter somewhere between the the size of the shuttle and the normal TIEs. I just think it has always been too small in comparison to the TIEs etc. It's shorter than an X-wing, how dumb is that? Make it closer to a mini shuttle with increased manoeuvrability (relative to the shuttle) and I think it would fill an interesting niche. Fills the mid range tank role for the Imperials.

Honorable mention goes to the TIE Hunter, a relatively cheap 2 attack dice ship with 4 agility and 2 Hull would be an interesting add to the Imperials.

For the Rebels, a 60mm base would make it easier to put the ARC-170 into the game (it's too wide for a small base, and too small for a large base, A double wide base unfortunately looks silly, and changes movement far too much). Given they went to the trouble to create enough fluff in Age of Rebellion to justify its existence during the Galactic Civl War, I think this is a no brainer. At least most people can identify with the ship, but keep it Rebel only. It has Rebel style and doesn't fit with the other faction well anymore. Astro plus crew makes this an interesting ship with a niche to fill.

For the Scum, I think it would be either the Mist Hunter or the Punishing One. The Mist Hunter is kinda small, but the Punishing One might fit the 60mm base pretty well. It's also an interesting ship because it would likely have a Salvaged Astro slot, to give Scum another one and some more droids to fill it.

I would say it would be a three ship wave particularly if the bases are larger and costs are higher (similar to what they did with Wave 5 where they keep the total cost of buying the wave pretty close to a 4 ship wave).

Freud was a hack, though?

Hack or not, I can look down right now and tell you mine doesn't look like a space ship. Well, not that space ship. It's certainly not the first thing that comes to mind when I play with my little plastic toys.

I think the Otana/YT-2000 is most likely for scum. They don't have a big turret ship, and with Emon in the game already, it seems pretty likely.

I agree that assault gunboat is most likely for imps, with missile boat a close second. If they want to fix ordinance, then missile boat seems more likely to come first, as it could the first ships that relies totally on ordinance as it would have to have an attack value of 1 like the hwk does as it only had 1 laser cannon in the games.

No clue what to do for rebels. They don't need any more freighter turrets that's for sure. K-wing seems too far ahead in EU to use, e-wing was already kinda pushing it. Using a old prequel ship would be the easiest solution, but I think they are too prideful to do that.

Potential pilot abilities:

Ships that take advantage of tokens opponents use.

Palob Godalhi and Tarn Mison exist, but so far Boost, Barrel-Roll, and Cloak are all perfectly safe. I can see that changing.

Personal example: Whenever an enemy ship at Range 1 performs an action, you perform that action as well, even if it is not in your action bar.

Ships that benefit enemy ships to balance a huge benefit for themselves.

Greedo, Leebo, and R2Dcrew exist, and all are examples of giving the Wielder a decided benefit more cheaply, in favor of giving the wielder a detriment as well. I can easily see this coming into play as a pilot ability, rather than just a crew.

Personal example: Whenever you are dealt a damage card, you may flip it face-up. If you do, you may perform a free 1 Turn, Bank, or Forward maneuver.

Upgrades I fully expect to see: Gravity Wells and/or Tractor Beams, partially to trim down hypermobile threats like Phantoms, a 4th Bomb type, Chaff or other defensive Ordnance, Missiles/Torpedoes that deal damage over multiple rounds from a single attack, and a 4th generic Astromech (R3 and R4 are still available, and have been hinted at elsewhere).

Awhile ago I was readin up on ships and I thought the tie aggressor was an interesting one, a small base ship with a butt cannon always sounded like fun