In the latest news update from FFG ( https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/3/16/ready-for-battle/ ), there are four example lists given. Since there hasn't been much discussion of these lists yet, I thought I would weigh in on a few things.

• They have tweaked the point values again. Tarkin is now a whopping 38 points (it must have been a pretty overpowering ability in playtests), and Dodonna is now a mere 20 points (which opens up some more possibilities for swarm-y lists).
• These lists are much lighter on fighters than I was anticipating. I guessed that a minimum fighter complement would probably be about 39-48 points. However, the 300-point example Imperial fleet weighs in at a mere 27 points! Now, FFG example lists have not always been super powerful. Nonetheless, FFG does seem confident that 3 squadrons of superiority fighters can do enough work to be competitive. Interesting.
• I've been working on a similar Vic-Glad-Glad list with Screed. My version has fewer upgrades and more fighters, but the concept is the same. I think that this will be a solid archetype.
• I will be very interested to see the Adar Tallon + Yavaris + Dutch + Wedge combo in action. It may actually be overkill.

I agree wholeheartedly about being surprised about the fighters on the Imperial side. The fighter compliment in their "tournament ready" Rebel is a much heavier investment made up of 5 squadrons and 83 points. My Rebel lists so far usually end up with 5 or 6 squadrons, but I tend to go heavier with non-elites than they did for a smaller point investment. Perhaps the thinking in only having 3 squadrons in that list is that all you need to do is keep a heavier fighter list engaged for as long as you can. Will those squadrons last more than a turn of fighting against a greater number of fighters? Is the time they take away from the enemy fighters enough for the Star Destroyers to go to work? Are the opponent's fighters a large enough part of their strategy that they would use anti-squadron armamant to pick off the flies rather than direct that fire on the Star Destroyers?

I would be interested to see their two sample lists go against each other.

It was always my initial reaction to go with a heavy fighter list but the truth is I won't know what works best until I've played at least a dozen games or more with several different lists.

Well, based on these lists, I think a triple Vic 1 with Tarkin an. Limited fighter support is better than the Vic and two glads.

Well, based on these lists, I think a triple Vic 1 with Tarkin an. Limited fighter support is better than the Vic and two glads.

The imperial list with only 3 fighter squadrons looks like it would get absolutely devastated by a rebel list with a decent investment in bombers.

I agree, 3 Fighters seems a bit too light, I think 6 TIE squadrons (48 points) as a screen would be ideal, just too tarpit the opponent his squadrons.
Keep in mind though that you are restricted by how much fighter squadrons you can take, at max 1/3 of your fleet points, so that Rebel example is almost maxed out.

The imperial list with only 3 fighter squadrons looks like it would get absolutely devastated by a rebel list with a decent investment in bombers.

But how long are those rebel ships going to last?

I mean the damage output is insane!

So I did some quick math and frankly it’s nearly impossible for the imperial ties to last longer than 1 round of being engaged with the Rebels.

A Basic X-wing has a 31.25% chance of doing 3-4 damage

A Basic X-wing has a 37.5% chance for doing 2 damage

A Basic X-wing has a 25% chance of doing 1 damage.

B-wings have a 50% chance of doing 2-3 damage.

Replacing Dutch with an X-wing for simplicity, ignoring Wedge’s skill and Yavaris+Tallon

3 X-wings have a 68%+ chance of 1 shotting at least 1 tie.

In fact they would have nearly 1/4 chance for 1 shotting 2 ties or more ties.

Add in the B-wings, Wedge and Yavaris+Tallon and 3 ties may not be worth spending points on.

In fact Dutch may be logical to swap Dutch with an X-wing and replace a B-wing with Farlander in this case.

Then 3 X-wings +2 B-wings + Yavaris+Tallon would be able to throw a maximum of 13 dice against each capital ship(Yavaris+talon+B-wing=3 attacks of 2 dice each or 6, B-wing doesn’t move as in the example so Yavaris procs on it too and thus 4 dice)

Don’t forget Luke bypasses shields and Farlander would reroll against hull.

The question is then how long can you keep Yavaris alive.

Not long, vs the imp list those assault concussion missiles will pretty much have all of the neb-b shields down in 1 volley then the next shots will do a minimum of 3 damage (Screed modify to a critical and then 1 on target zone +2 on adjacent zones)

And if you say "but that's only at short range" remember that the demolisher can fire AFTER it moves so at least that one will gets shots on it

Now the rebel fighters will obviously be able to kill the imp very quickly but I'm not so sure they will be fast enough...

I don't know. If the Imperial fighters can hold off the rebels for even a single turn, the Imp forces can fire one attack at each of the rebel fighters from each of the Cap ships on that turn and put quite a hurt on them. That would be 3 to 5 blue dice against each Rebel squadron from the cap ships alone, which could quite possibly bring them down. Two turns of that would be devastating. Add some counter attack dice from the Interceptors and it is hardly a given that the Rebel fighters will be the last ones standing.

I don't think the rebel fighters would survive but they would certainly damage the Imp capital ships enough so that the rebel ships would have a chance to take them out. I plan to experiment with some pretty radical lists with my wife to see what works best. you never know... maybe that imp list isn't bad.

I doudt that ffg would have realeased that as an e ample list if it was bad (they have been play testing this for monthes you know )

I doudt that ffg would have realeased that as an e ample list if it was bad (they have been play testing this for monthes you know )

They've released decklists for ANR that are really, really bad. They've even suggested combos that don't actually work within the rules of the game (confusion about card effects.) I think this list works at least in theory (the TIEs only need to tie up the rebel fighters for a turn or two) but I don't think the fact that they're using it as an example means it will work.

If your TIEs are near your cap ships, the Rebel fighters will be engaged and won't be able to attack them is the point I was making. If that holds long enough for all 3 cap ships to fire, there might not be enough left of the Rebel fighters to be dangerous.

It is clear that while lists are free to emphasize one or the other (squadrons or capital ships), careful coordination between the two is critical. If the Rebels were to attempt to "hang back" with their Cap ships, the Imperial forces should find little difficulty swatting the fighters out of the way before moving on to attack the Rebel Caps in detail. At the same time, ignoring the Rebel squadrons will get the Imperials mauled by them.

Great stuff, i am really looking forward to playing.

Each Imperial ship in that list can only roll 1 dice against fighters. In which case Gallant Haven completely negates their anti-fighter ability.

It reads: “Before a friendly squadron at distance 1 suffers damage from an attack, reduce the total damage by 1”

This will also hinder Imperial Squadrons as well.

I’m not saying that the Rebels will surely win, in fact I would run a different list. What I am saying is that that it would be extremely dangerous to underestimate rebel fighters, especially B-wings.

Both sides will need to keep their fleets and squads together.

What might be more fun would be a Major Rhymer list. If you could engage the rebel fighters in a spot, rebel ships are largely helpless against bombers. The Frigate cannot redirect, crits count as 2 damage+the crit effect+Rhymer’s effect(use all dice in friendly squad batteries against ships) could be very devastating.

If I understand this correctly, Rhymer can throw 3 dice against a capital ship, and a secondary Tie Bomber can throw an additional 2. So 5 dice a turn against a Frigate's 1 side shield and 5 hull. Ouch

The "Dominator" can roll up to 3 dice against each. Also, if the Gallant Haven is at Distance 1 it is also in range 1 of the Dominator (assuming the Imperials are using the TIEs as a CAP rather than moving them forward). At that point it would be extremely unlikely to survive a direct attack.

The "Dominator" can roll up to 3 dice against each. Also, if the Gallant Haven is at Distance 1 it is also in range 1 of the Dominator (assuming the Imperials are using the TIEs as a CAP rather than moving them forward). At that point it would be extremely unlikely to survive a direct attack.

I think using Dominator to roll 3 dice against fighters, especially with Gallant Haven at Distance 1 of the fighters would be an enormous waste.

The maximum damage the Dominator could do is only 2 damage to the squads at the loss of 2 shields… However, there’s only a 12.5% chance you’ll get those 2 damage. Oh and if you do, the elite pilots can mitigate it to 1(which could be a waste depending on if there are ties left).

Note that using Dominator gives a 37.5% chance of doing 1 damage(2 hits 1 gets ignored) and a 50% chance of 0 damage to a squad.

Now considering how long it would take for the rebs to bring down 3 non-elite ties, it would be foolish to allow any rebel ships to walk right into the front of an imperial fleet at close range. Especially if we are allowed to measure. Any reasonable reb fleet would likely flank the imperials. If the imperials split off the gladiators to intercept, that would make the Rebel’s day.

In any case, without playing, it’s hard to tell but that imp list seems a bit under powered.