(Optional Context)

Greetings fellow Imperial Assault players. My friends and I have played through most of one campaign and went 1-4 as the Rebels.

For this campaign we ran: Gaarkhan, Fenn Signis, Jyn Odan and Mak Eshka'rey.

Given this was our first time playing the game, we were still learning a lot and now have a better idea of how to fair better our next time around. With what I know now, I think I would pick Gaarkhan, Gideon Argus, Jyn Odan and ?????? for our next party makeup. I think as long as you score the first 3 heroes mentioned you've got a solid core and the final slot can be filled to the group's liking.

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TL:DR - Keeping in mind we only have the Core Set:

• What do you think is the best 4 person, Rebel Hero composition?
• What are must have talents with said composition?

I feel like it's really tough to say. I think if you have players who would maximize his use, Gideon is a no-brainer with all of the tactical options he has. Of the ones I've seen in use, Mak seems like the easiest to drop, but Jyn, Diala, and Fenn have all been MVP in at least one mission. Fenn is the one I have the hardest time accounting for, between the Tactical Movement skill and his upgraded Havoc Shot.

I haven't seen Gaarkhan in play yet, but he looks to be really good at dishing out damage and with a really straightforward play style.

I will submit Jyn Odan as one of the best heroes. The Tier 2 DeathHammer pistol turns her into a trooper annihilating machine with the Quickdraw and Dirty Trick abilities.

Yeah, the Deathhammer is really strong in Jyn's hands. Average of 4.3 damage per attack even before considering surges or other bonuses. It gets even better with the modification that exhausts to add a surge, especially if she has Gunslinger and a pistol with good surge abilities.

I hate to say it as I love sniper roles, but mak is the weak link. throw gideon in instead and you have a killer team

As an imp player I can say In the right hands Mak is a nightmare. Have to be close to hit, gets free movement points when you get close, starts with a weak but accurate rifle, add in a good mid range gun for versatility and he can kill people very well, gets to interact for free, great endurance, overall a very good figure. He can really limit some of your options as the imp and always must be considered when moving.

My opinion:

Mak Eshka'Rey - innate pierce 2 and multiple abilities to dodge/ignore attacks.

Gaarkhan - So strong and can get stronger when wounded. Very Efficient.

Fenn Signis - Trench fighter is so silly strong...Great at stress management and gives free moves for only 1 point.

Gideon Argus - You get more of the stuff you already have and he is not a item hog. All he really needs is some decent defensive bonuses and he is a beast. Again, action economy to the max.

There just aren't enough open spaces to make Mak as useful as he should be. Diala is great once she gets a decent weapon, but she's a liability in the early missions. Those are the two I would drop.

Fenn is a monster. I don't think I'd try to run the campaign without him.

Diala's weapon doesn't deal much damage on its own, but it is still a very good weapon. Reach and an ability to stun? And her precise strike can help make up for the reduced damage. It helped her stun Vader once or twice during "Dark Obsession."

The group I am in has Gideon, Garrjhan, Fenn and Daila. I play the imperial. Gideon with Master Command is OP! and the damm jedi keeps giving people re-rolls. If these were the main characters in the movies, there would have been one movie as they would have slaughtered the imperials in short order....So I vote for these 4.

1. Gaarkhan - Move and two attacks every round. He's the 'gotta have' until Biv comes out and when Biv comes, it'll be Biv and Gaarkhan.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I do recall Mak Eshka'Rey having poor overall damage, but he seemed to have consistent damage with his innate +2 pierce. There were also a few occasions where he, with the help of disengage, got into prime positions to achieve objectives much faster than the rest of the group. Definitely a strong contender for our 4th spot.

I think the majority of us agree on Gaarkahn, Jyn and Gideon as a strong core, but I'm interested to hear other players experience with cohesive talent builds for a party and how that might nail down the best 4th pick for us. What say you?

Personally I think that Diala is amazing. Force throw really puts a wrench in your plans as an imperial, and free focus and reroll to anyone doesn't hurt either. Also, she has one of the rare abilities that guarantee damage when she removes a defense die.

I haven't seen Gideon in action, but he seems amazing as well. Going with gaming logic I think that it would be a bad Idea to include two support characters, si I'd advice against using both, but Diala can also be skilled to be a true killing machine.

So I'd go with:

1. Fenn : Havoc Shot, Tactical movement, the boosted havoc shot (additional damage or stun? never a good choice). and hes even a little tanky.
2. Gaarkhan : His base abilities are amazing. Charge + Focus means he one shots several units, and the impact damage from the Charge is guaranteed damage, which in a tactical game is always amazing. And Endurance 5. Best Tank.
3. Gideon : The best at making others better.
4. Diala : So versatile. She can be a support utility character as well as a major damage dealer. Force throw alone is insanely good and there are several ways to build her, imo all viable.

As an Imperial player, Fenn intimidates me the most. I've got Fenn and Gideon in one campaign and Jynn and Mak in the other, and Fenn has a very strong ability and lots of good upgrades. Gideon is also very useful. Mak is pretty solid thanks to his ability to basically vanish, forces me to use different strategies than my usual ones (drop an E-Web right in the way and laugh).

Give mak a good gun and in our campaign with the pierce he was a very very effective figure. His starting gun isn't great but he gets strong after a few upgrades. And on timed missions that free interact can be huge.

I have only played the Imperial side through two campaigns, and I can tell you that Diala gives me fits in both, and in one she has her lightsaber with Reach and she's a monster.

Gideon and Fenn are actually the easiest to contend with, but Gideon allowing Diala and Fenn to attack a third time around can get brutal.

I haven't played against Mak that much, he seems deadly, but single target at a time.

Gaar has actually been the easiest to contend with. I've withdrawn him more often than not.

All heroes in the right hands are good, there is no best hero comp. The most common group i've seen it Gaarkhan, Fenn, Diala and either Gideon/Mak/Jyn. Currently I am using Fenn, Diala, Gideon and Mak and am 3-0.

Gaarkhan is a beast, he starts with "Pure Win": High Health, Inbuilt action economy (Charge) and an Attack deterrent (Rage) along with the highest damage output weapon of the starter weapons.

Fenn so very self sufficient throughout the whole game. All his upgrades are viable, synergistic and can take down crowds like no other can (Except Diala with Way of the Saarlac).

Diala can be the ultimate damage dealer at melee or a decent ranged attacker and can hand out attack/attribute rerolls and Focus tokens like crazy. She definitely can challenge Gideon for best support character.

Jyn can always be on the move and can get a crazy amount of attacks per round. Zipping around the battle field and stopping Imp attacks before they occur. Movement is one of the most underrated aspects of the game and Jyn has it in spades.

Mak has surprising utility for a Sniper. He can get a free action after interacting an extra attack if the figure doesn't die, Remove white die (the most annoying) from the defence pool and has useful movement options.

Gideon is flexibility personified. Need to move another hero in response to a surprising Imp maneuver? No problem, remove stress from allies, give out extra commands for free or even go for the big one-two attack with another hero.

The best advice I can give is plan how you want to spend your XP. During a campaign you can get a minimum of 10xp and a max of 14xp. Plan around what abilities you MUST have and what you would like if you get extra XP.

I'm about to start a campaign as Rebels after having done two campaigns as Imperials.

I was thinking about going for high damage. Gaarkhan, Diala, Mak, and Jyn. Fenn can be made into a damage dealer, but I want to see what Mak can do.

I wrote this in another post but then realized it should probably go here instead.

I'm the Imperial player in our group through two campaigns. I'll be the first to admit, I think this game heavily favors the Imperials, I went something like 20/22. My friends and I are old school gamers, so nobody is a slouch, I just don't see how the Rebels are supposed to win any of these missions.

But that is a discussion for another board. Having wrapped up a second campaign, I've been invited to let someone else take the chair, and now I'm looking at building a squad that has a chance.

As the Imperial player, I can tell you that number of actions is paramount. Withdraw a hero and they are screwed, and pass out Stuns as Much as possible, but you can only do that with Imperial actions yourself.

My squad make up, therefore, is based around the idea of getting as many actions as possible that are actually attack actions that I can use to wipe up Imperial figures. You players let me know what you think.

Gaarkhan, w/ Brutal Cleave first.

Diala w/ Way of the Sarlac.

Gideon w/ Masterstroke.

Mak w/ Whatever talent that lets him shoot again.

Yes, many of those are high XP talents, I'll probably lose the first 3-4. I'm concerned about losing Havoc Shot without Fenn, but I think I can go without Jyn and her Quick Draw.

But... i only have to really upgrade the melee guys for weapons. I wonder about Mak's ability for upgrades, I don't see an outstanding rifle until Pulse Cannon. .... but you guys know Rebels better than I.

Comments?

I wonder if having Gaarkhan and Diala in the same group is too limiting? Both want the melee upgrades, both have to close limiting Heroes native advantages in attack volumes.

Being mostly an Imperial player (2 campaigns as Imperial, 1 as rebels). My least favorite Rebels are: Jyn, Gideon, and Diala. However, I think the "ideal" group really depends on what deck you play against (unfortunately Imperial picks this after the Heroes are chosen). With that being said, I think you can break hero groups down like this:

Gaarkhan, Diala, or Biv: All essentially melee characters, and high health and defensive abilities. I personally just can't quite figure out Gaarkhan, not sure how to build him, or how useful he really is (even though he is in every campaign). Diala I would argue is the best rebel b/c of how you can build her completely different as the campaign progresses. And I don't like having Gaarkhan and Diala, melee weapons are mehhh and two characters competing over them doesn't help. I really like Biv for his over the top defensive nature. Anyway, I would select one of these three.

Mak or Jyn: Both glass cannonish characters in their own styles. They both go down very easily, thats why I think its one or the other, otherwise you are just making it too simple on the imperial getting the group wounded. I think I like Jyn slightly better because she is a strong early campaign starter and her interrupt is the most annoying of ANY ability in the game to an Imperial player. But I will admit, Mak's damage potential is through the roof. Edited: Over time I've realized Jyn does not hold her own. Mak is a much better choice here as he beats Jyn in survivability, ability to get focuses, concentrated damage, and action economy.

Gideon or Saska: Both offer support roles, I have grown to really really love Saska on my team as the Rebels. The ability to impact defense, attack, attribute tests is always helpful and game changing in certain missions. Also, her starting weapon rocks, and she is a great hybrid who can kill stuff and still offer support. I also like that her skill doesn't cost an action. Gideon is just gideon, we all know the potential of him with masterstroke. Master of tactics and action economy. Comes down to playstyle I think here, Gideon tends to be more boring in my opinion.

Fenn: Essential in any build. He is the most well rounded character out there. Good in early, mid, and late campaign. Can take many different paths, always helps the team out, has good life potential and survivability. He is my classic, trick of all trades and master of none character. I never feel like his abilities are over the top powerful, and as an imperial player I am never like "ahhhh that stupid Fenn ability (P.S ive gotten pretty good at avoiding Havoc shot)." But he is just solid, all around, and thats why I think he is a foundation to a good team.

I think the "ideal" group really depends on what deck you play against (unfortunately Imperial picks this after the Heroes are chosen).

Absolutely, though I think it's marginally more accurate to say that some class decks do better against specific heroes (Subversive Tactics grins at Diala). However, I think it's actually difficult to build a "bad" group unless you're specifically trying to do that. I don't even know what that would be, I'm trying to think of a bad group and nothing comes to mind. Jyn, Saska, Gideon, and Mak? Dunno. Anyway, I think a lot of what Jomayo112 says makes sense, but I have a difference of opinion based on many playthroughs myself. While I offer counterpoints to most, it is only coming from my perspective. I'm not saying he is wrong.

Gaarkhan, Diala, or Biv: All essentially melee characters, and high health and defensive abilities. I personally just can't quite figure out Gaarkhan, not sure how to build him, or how useful he really is (even though he is in every campaign). Diala I would argue is the best rebel b/c of how you can build her completely different as the campaign progresses. And I don't like having Gaarkhan and Diala, melee weapons are mehhh and two characters competing over them doesn't help. I really like Biv for his over the top defensive nature. Anyway, I would select one of these three.

Agreed that Diala is the most versatile Rebel, and can adapt both towards the Imperial class deck AND the Imperial's style of play. I have changed my mind from Way of the Sarlacc over to Dancing Weapon though. Holy Brutal. Focused Force Pike is a 5 Die attack, using Cleave on a guy down the hall. However, I usually like to run both Diala and Gaarkhan together. Yes, the BD-1 and the Force Pike seem to be the melee weapons of choice, but when you pick up the Pike you simply give the BD-1 to the other. And woe is the Imperial player who allows Diala to have her lightsaber (choose Temptation as soon as you can), because that thing hurts.

Gaarkhan is good. Against Subversive Tactics I take Loyalty, then Ferocity, then Unstoppable. Against anything else it's Fortitude, Brutal Cleave, Unstoppable. That's just my take on it, your opinion may vary.

I'm still not sold on Biv. He's a bit too specialized, almost everything he gets is made to supplement C&P it seems. He hits a ton, yes, and he's not Bad, but since I also lump him into the melee characters, I would just rather take the other two.

Mak or Jyn: Both glass cannonish characters in their own styles. They both go down very easily, thats why I think its one or the other, otherwise you are just making it too simple on the imperial getting the group wounded. I think I like Jyn slightly better because she is a strong early campaign starter and her interrupt is the most annoying of ANY ability in the game to an Imperial player. But I will admit, Mak's damage potential is through the roof.

Mak every single day and twice on Sundays, mostly due to that through the roof damage. Jyn's ability to interrupt is annoying... when it goes off. Unfortunately, per the minds at FFG, it is ridiculously easy to deny her that interrupt in the early missions. Activate a figure out of her line of sight, run it in front of her to block line of sight, dance around with the rest of your figures. Will that happen every time? No, but enough to really piss off Jyn's player. As a side note, Jyn's player usually asks to go first, precisely because of this ability. "I have to rest to gain back the strain to use my Quick Draw!" Yes, when Jyn gets Trick Shot, it gets difficult to block like this, but not impossible. Couple that with her white die and her penchant for running ahead of her teammates and getting decimated. Not saying everyone plays her poorly, but I am saying that she's easier to make mistakes with.

Mak, on the other hand, becomes a beast. Jeswandi Training, No Escape, and Execute... usually in that order. No Imperial player doesn't take that 3 space Jeswandi Training into account, firing from a bit further away or moving slightly out of position, and if you don't Mak will make you pay. Eventually, give him the Pulse Cannon (Tac Display and Extra Ammunition) and watch him take down Weiss in a single activation. Elite Royal Guards for breakfast.

Gideon or Saska: Both offer support roles, I have grown to really really love Saska on my team as the Rebels. The ability to impact defense, attack, attribute tests is always helpful and game changing in certain missions. Also, her starting weapon rocks, and she is a great hybrid who can kill stuff and still offer support. I also like that her skill doesn't cost an action. Gideon is just gideon, we all know the potential of him with masterstroke. Master of tactics and action economy. Comes down to playstyle I think here, Gideon tends to be more boring in my opinion.

Saska has also grown on me, but when I feel like winning I still take Gideon. Until he gets Masterstroke, he's actually worse action economy wise. For two strain the team gets a move action or attack action, but of note, it's not an Additional action. Gideon is using his action to give to someone else. For two strain. Then, a 4xp ability allows an additional attack, Masterstroke. Even at that, most Rebels get some kind of spent two strain for an extra attack.

Masterstroke Gideon represents less action economy, and more ... uhhh... economic economy. Financial economy in that he doesn't have to take any weapons, nor any offensive gear. Even if he did get a gun, it still represents a better crazy Credit to Action ratio (something I just made up just now) in that he can Command whoever's got the hardest hitting stick. Twice.

I don't know anyone who's actually gone for both Masterstroke AND Hammer and Anvil. That would be a crazy combo requiring a decent gun (by the time you get there) and a rest both before and after. "Okay, Mak will activate and fire the Pulse Cannon, use No Escape and fire the Pulse Cannon again, now he'll use his second action to fire the Pulse Cannon. The Imperial player stunned Diala? Okay now Gideon activates and uses Command, Mak will fire the Pulse Cannon and then he'll fire the Pulse Cannon again. Now we'll Hammer and Anvil and choose Mak..." Somewhere in that series, Vader pretended to clip his wingman and get thrown off course so he wouldn't have to suffer that.

Fenn: Essential in any build. He is the most well rounded character out there. Good in early, mid, and late campaign. Can take many different paths, always helps the team out, has good life potential and survivability. He is my classic, trick of all trades and master of none character. I never feel like his abilities are over the top powerful, and as an imperial player I am never like "ahhhh that stupid Fenn ability (P.S ive gotten pretty good at avoiding Havoc shot)." But he is just solid, all around, and thats why I think he is a foundation to a good team.

I agree with most of this. Unfortunately. He is very well rounded and his abilities aren't really over the top powerful, and Havoc Shot is easy to avoid, except for first turn starting positions, which can be awful. He can get quite tanky, but even with Trench Fighter I don't really fear him as an Imperial Player, which is all I need to know about deciding on whether to take him as a Rebel.

Now that I have offered counterpoint to ...uhh... practically every single point, I just wanted to again emphasize that Biv can be good, that Saska can be good, that Jyn and Fenn can be very good. Win their side missions, give them good equipment, get those high XP class cards, every Rebel has the potential to be an unstoppable force of pain for the Imperial player. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find an Imperial player so I can run Jyn, Fenn, Saska, and Biv. "Use Adrenaline Injector to move into range for C&P with Crushing Blow, the Vibrobayonette, and with Focus? Don't mind if I do."

Mak or Jyn: Both glass cannonish characters in their own styles. They both go down very easily, thats why I think its one or the other, otherwise you are just making it too simple on the imperial getting the group wounded. I think I like Jyn slightly better because she is a strong early campaign starter and her interrupt is the most annoying of ANY ability in the game to an Imperial player. But I will admit, Mak's damage potential is through the roof.

Mak every single day and twice on Sundays, mostly due to that through the roof damage. Jyn's ability to interrupt is annoying... when it goes off. Unfortunately, per the minds at FFG, it is ridiculously easy to deny her that interrupt in the early missions. Activate a figure out of her line of sight, run it in front of her to block line of sight, dance around with the rest of your figures. Will that happen every time? No, but enough to really piss off Jyn's player. As a side note, Jyn's player usually asks to go first, precisely because of this ability. "I have to rest to gain back the strain to use my Quick Draw!" Yes, when Jyn gets Trick Shot, it gets difficult to block like this, but not impossible. Couple that with her white die and her penchant for running ahead of her teammates and getting decimated. Not saying everyone plays her poorly, but I am saying that she's easier to make mistakes with.

Mak, on the other hand, becomes a beast. Jeswandi Training, No Escape, and Execute... usually in that order. No Imperial player doesn't take that 3 space Jeswandi Training into account, firing from a bit further away or moving slightly out of position, and if you don't Mak will make you pay. Eventually, give him the Pulse Cannon (Tac Display and Extra Ammunition) and watch him take down Weiss in a single activation. Elite Royal Guards for breakfast.

Fenn: Essential in any build. He is the most well rounded character out there. Good in early, mid, and late campaign. Can take many different paths, always helps the team out, has good life potential and survivability. He is my classic, trick of all trades and master of none character. I never feel like his abilities are over the top powerful, and as an imperial player I am never like "ahhhh that stupid Fenn ability (P.S ive gotten pretty good at avoiding Havoc shot)." But he is just solid, all around, and thats why I think he is a foundation to a good team.

I agree with most of this. Unfortunately. He is very well rounded and his abilities aren't really over the top powerful, and Havoc Shot is easy to avoid, except for first turn starting positions, which can be awful. He can get quite tanky, but even with Trench Fighter I don't really fear him as an Imperial Player, which is all I need to know about deciding on whether to take him as a Rebel.

Now that I have offered counterpoint to ...uhh... practically every single point, I just wanted to again emphasize that Biv can be good, that Saska can be good, that Jyn and Fenn can be very good. Win their side missions, give them good equipment, get those high XP class cards, every Rebel has the potential to be an unstoppable force of pain for the Imperial player. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find an Imperial player so I can run Jyn, Fenn, Saska, and Biv. "Use Adrenaline Injector to move into range for C&P with Crushing Blow, the Vibrobayonette, and with Focus? Don't mind if I do."

Blocking quickdraw is all well and good (my Jyn player was so mad at me) but if Jyn gets her kit she still blows everyone else out of the water in terms of damage, Get Cocky means you don't need to rest, Sidewinder means you don't need to move, and sporting blaster + DL44 and gunslinger makes her the only character with two 2 damage surges and if you get the disruption cell she's rolling RYY with that.

Fenn is the strongest rebel character in the game. His single target damage is up to par, Havoc shot with rebel elite means blocking hallways is no longer a viable tactic because he blows through them so fast and tactical movement gives him an insane amount of utility. If you get enough xp he also becomes the tankiest character after Biv.

On the original question I would vote for Jyn, Fenn, Diala and Gideon.

Mak, Fenn, Gideon and Diala.

We are smashing IMP 6-0

We have so much dps, he can not do anything. He deploys units worth of 15 threat and they are all dead round later.
Fenn uses his free 2 movement points, attacks twice with two reds + 1 dmg from scatter barrel + 2 dmg from standing within 3 spaces. Almost guarnateed blast 2 to all adjacent. Then Gideon can order him attack twice again.


Also I was thinking about Gideon and Mak combo. In theory, Mak can do two attacks. After each he can perform no escape (if target is not dead, but lets asume target has 999hp), so those are 4 attacks. Then Gideon can perform Hammer and anvil to perform attack and Mak perform attack. If Mak recovered at least one stress due to surge he can do another no escape. Then Gideon can normaly attack for his remaining action. That makes up for an 8 attacks (3 of them focused) in just two activations. I belive there is no figure that can sustain so much dmg in this game. Even finale vader.

In theory, Mak can do two attacks. After each he can perform no escape

Careful, No escape requires you to exhaust it after use, so a “attack-No Escape-attack-No escape” combo doesn’t work.

Also important to note: "Hero Class cards and Item cards are readied at the start of that hero’s activation, not during the Status Phase" (RRG, page 23).

A legal Gideon and Mak combo would look something like this:

*situation requires that Gideon has masterstroke + Hammer and Anvil, No escape is untapped

* I'm not considering strain, but let's assume surges are spent to recover strain or supply cards are used

1) Gideon uses first action to command Mak to attack. Mak exhausts no escape (2 attacks)

2) Gideon uses Masterstroke to command Mak to attack again (1 attack)

3) Gideon uses his second action to use Hammer and Anvil. Gideon and Mak attack (2 attacks)

3) Mak activates. No escape is readied. Mak attacks. Mak attacks again. Mak triggers No escape (3 attacks)

8 total attacks!