Ok, so the discussion in the Assault Gunboat thread made me realise i want a place to hammer out and record test results of homebrew ships and fighters. Which is what this is for, until my website is complete (news on this to come....lots of goodies there hopefully!).

My goal here is to make designs that fit with how I interpret the fluff/EU stats. As we've already seen, there is going to be a huge range of how people see stuff....thats fine, and all part of the wonders of imagination. But odds are i may well not agree with some of your ideas, so don't take it personally

By all means feedback is entirely welcome. I may not agree with it, but i'll certainly consider it and potentially test it out if i think it may work

I'll do each ship in it's own post, and put a link to it here once ready. I'll then expand that post with test results and changes based on tests/discussions. I'm going to start with some fighters because they are frankly easier, then move on to a few capitals that i strongly suspect FFG wont be doing any time soon.

So, enjoy. or not, but hopefully should be something of interest here eventually!

Assault Gunboat

Speed: 3

Hull: 6

Anti-Fighter: 2 Red

Anti Ship: 1 Black

Escort

12 pts

Ok, my current view on the Gunboat. As i posted elsewhere, I am opposed to fighters that use missiles in their standard load (all ships can swap around) getting bomber. So far, only torpedo fighters get that, so i'm not putting it on here.

- I have given it an unusual anti-fighter of 2 Red. This can be quite inaccurate, but has potential to wreck enemy fighters.....just like missiles themselves.

- Anti-Ship it gets 1 black, same as the A-Wing and TIE Advanced. it has the same lasers and missile launcher numbers as these ships.

- Damage points i keep bouncing between 5 and 6. it IS tougher than an X-Wing, and this gives it a nice unique spot in the Imperial line up. It's effectively a more fluff-friendly version of the Advanced (which just...shouldnt be flying as whole squadrons. it just shouldn't). Slightly slower, slightly tougher, and with similar but unpredictable damage output.

- At present, no Heavy. I dont feel it should be as sluggish as a Y-Wing or TIE Bomber. However, game balance may demand that this changes. We'll see.

Testing to come

TIE Avenger

Speed: 5

Hull: 5

Anti Fighter: 4 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black

Counter (2)

14pts

Ok, basically a super X-Wing fused with an Interceptor, which is exactly what it was designed to be. Faster, equally powerful, and equally tough (it actually had much stronger shields but a weaker hull).

- No bomber, as per my usual reasoning. Normally carried missiles for superiority purposes.

- Went for no escort. I feel that the Avenger was more of a superiority fighter than anything, in the same vein as the Interceptor or A-Wing. It can defend Bombers by killing everything.

- I feel this might need an extra point. it's currently 2 more than an Interceptor....no Swarm, but 2 more health and a slightly better anti-ship attack. I'm going to try at 14, then 15 if it seems silly.

Z-95 Headhunter

Speed: 3

Hull: 4

Anti Fighter: 3 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black

Escort

8pts

The opposite of the Avenger....a baby X-Wing, instead of an Uber one. Shares the same role, but is just worse. Sounds right all in all.... a cheap and cheerful alternative to the rather pricy and powerful X-Wing, meant to be fielded in numbers.

Lacking swarm it is less effective than the TIE Fighter, but it keeps the X-Wings Escort ability to keep it's buddies safe.

TIE Defender:

Speed: 5

Hull: 6

Anti Fighter: 4 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black + 1 Blue

Bomber

20pts

Ok. Deep breath....this ship is ludicrous. I have deliberately gone with the old canon stats on Wookieepedia, based on the video games, and NOT the neutered version we see in X-Wing.

I'll go through my reasoning:

- Speed 5. it's faster than an A-Wing or Interceptor. Enough said.

- Hull 6. it has more shields than a Y-Wing or B-Wing. By a lot. It has twice the shields of an X-Wing.

- Anti Fighter. 4 laser cannons....4 blue seems standard there, based on the X-Wing and Interceptor.

- Bomber. I wanted to demonstrate it's true multi-role ability. This makes it a credible threat to capitals as well as utterly lethal to fighters.

I was also considering giving it Counter to make it even more of a fighter mincing machine, but I do have some sanity. I think 20pts is pretty reasonable here.....it's extremely nasty, but nearly double the cost of an Interceptor squadron. 2 Interceptors would make mincemeat out of this, so that seems ok to me.

This will require more testing than probably all the others put together. Have adjusted the anti-ship based on Dusksongs input.....it is very similar to B-Wing firepower.

I have a slightly different stat block for the defender. Hmm

Post it dude, i expect there will be a lot of variation. I'm more than happy to discuss and readdress....i'm not going to think of everything, and am quite happy to steal....er, i mean borrow good ideas!

PMed you, hush hush and all that

I actually really enjoy your view on the TIE defender. I, too, remember playing the PC game and also remember how my initial ZOMG WHITE K-TURN faded into a scrunch face with the tabletop interpretation.

I'm totally with you on not including counter, because it should have a weakness and be vulnerable to being focused without escorts. You've already made it clear that you believe that your stat line is ludicrous... but if I could propose something MORE ludicrous that would feel appropriate to the Defender.

As it stands, isn't the B-wing the only generic that has a battery armament of 2 dice? Even if it means another slight cost increase, I think it would feel right have the Defender be the ship that the Empire get an equal benefit on 2 anti-ship dice from a squadron. High cost, high reward... It just seems like that was what the Defender existed for.

Hmmm...possible. It did have the 4 lasers, 2 Ions AND 2 launchers. That is basically B-Wing level firepower (the only other ship with 6 guns, and also 2 launchers). Maybe change it to 1 Black + 1 Blue then, same as the B-Wing?

I like the idea. Really drums home the "this ship is so elite you cant even afford friends for it" feel.

Hmmm...possible. It did have the 4 lasers, 2 Ions AND 2 launchers. That is basically B-Wing level firepower (the only other ship with 6 guns, and also 2 launchers). Maybe change it to 1 Black + 1 Blue then, same as the B-Wing?

I like the idea. Really drums home the "this ship is so elite you cant even afford friends for it" feel.

1 Black and 1 blue anti-ship dice seem just about perfect. Now if you squint very closely you can see the generic TY-1300 has a Counter 1 as an ability in the preview. Perhaps the Defender can just have a Counter 1, making it still a threat to attack. Or at the very least I think the Defender should have Escort.

For craziness:

Rexlar Brath

Speed: 5

Hull: 6

Anti Fighter: 4 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black + 1 Blue

Bomber - Counter 2

After you move at speed 5, you may perform an attack against an enemy ship in range.

25 points.

The ultimate hit and run fighter squadron, but also really expensive.

TIE Avenger

Speed: 5

Hull: 5

Anti Fighter: 4 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black

Counter (2)

14pts

Ok, basically a super X-Wing fused with an Interceptor, which is exactly what it was designed to be. Faster, equally powerful, and equally tough (it actually had much stronger shields but a weaker hull).

- No bomber, as per my usual reasoning. Normally carried missiles for superiority purposes.

- Went for no escort. I feel that the Avenger was more of a superiority fighter than anything, in the same vein as the Interceptor or A-Wing. It can defend Bombers by killing everything.

- I feel this might need an extra point. it's currently 2 more than an Interceptor....no Swarm, but 2 more health and a slightly better anti-ship attack. I'm going to try at 14, then 15 if it seems silly.

SQUEEEE!

TIE Defender:

Speed: 5

Hull: 6

Anti Fighter: 4 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black + 1 Blue

Bomber

20pts

Ok. Deep breath....this ship is ludicrous. I have deliberately gone with the old canon stats on Wookieepedia, based on the video games, and NOT the neutered version we see in X-Wing.

I'll go through my reasoning:

- Speed 5. it's faster than an A-Wing or Interceptor. Enough said.

- Hull 6. it has more shields than a Y-Wing or B-Wing. By a lot. It has twice the shields of an X-Wing.

- Anti Fighter. 4 laser cannons....4 blue seems standard there, based on the X-Wing and Interceptor.

- Bomber. I wanted to demonstrate it's true multi-role ability. This makes it a credible threat to capitals as well as utterly lethal to fighters.

I was also considering giving it Counter to make it even more of a fighter mincing machine, but I do have some sanity. I think 20pts is pretty reasonable here.....it's extremely nasty, but nearly double the cost of an Interceptor squadron. 2 Interceptors would make mincemeat out of this, so that seems ok to me.

This will require more testing than probably all the others put together. Have adjusted the anti-ship based on Dusksongs input.....it is very similar to B-Wing firepower.

Double SQUUEEEEE!

I'll test out the Defender a bit and see if Counter braks it or not.

In the meantime:

A VERY early attempt, mostly just to get used to editing cards. This is my general gist of the Dreadnaught however, with a few core concepts in mind;

- Medium based. 600m is the size of the AF MkII, so medium seems right.

- Low shields, high hull

- High command to simulate the massive crew, low automation and inefficient old systems

- No ions = no blue dice

- Normally i associate black dice with warheads, but the new ISD shows that they can just simulate heavy short ranged fire (since the ISD has no warheads, its the only thing that makes sense). The Dreadnaught has a large number of short ranged quad turbolasers, hence the black dice.

- Not exactly agile.

Thats the main thrust of the ship. Tons of tweaking needed for this one, but feels vaguely in the right ball park. And the card doesn't look 100 hideous, so thats a bonus....

How about a keyword: "Advanced" For fancy ships like E Wings, Defenders, Avengers, Missile Boats, ECT.

Basically it's uniqueness for squadrons that simply don't exist in large numbers and don't translate well to point costs.

Interesting. Self limiting basically....i'll give that some thought.

For the dreadnought, drop the engineering value and increase the command value by 1 each, an increase te starting shields.

Command 4? Thats more than an ISD....i dont think so. 3 is plenty bad enough for a relatively weak ship, 4 would be crippling.

I'm going to mess around with the shields a bit. it does need to be significantly lower than a VSD or Assault Frigate however. It relied very much on its hull and armour, with pretty poor shielding.

You can always add a % of your squadron pts limit to the advanced fighter types. Reflecting their rarity without actually having to invent new rules to reflect it.

I did expect the ISD to have command 4. I guess they figured 3 is about the max you can go and not make the gameplay awful. In a 6 round match, you only get to input 3 reactive commands with a 3 command ship. With a 4 it drops to a measly 2.

For the Dreadnaught I'd go hull 7. They were tough hull wise, but I don't think they had as much armor and structural rigidity as the larger VSD. I think the upgraded version should be the Slave-rigged Dreadnaught. Which drops command to 2 and the black for blue dice.

For the dreadnought I agree with Jo Jo, the Katana dreads had a heavy Ion battery, according to Zhan anyway.

Give them a low squadron value too, as they weren't known for their ability to carry and support their own strike wing like a Vic or Assault Frigate.

Good input all. I think i will drop the hull a little, and mock-up a slave rigged version later

For the dreadnought I agree with Jo Jo, the Katana dreads had a heavy Ion battery, according to Zhan anyway.

Give them a low squadron value too, as they weren't known for their ability to carry and support their own strike wing like a Vic or Assault Frigate.

Were the Ions on all Katana fleet Dreadnaughts or were they modifications to their Dreadnaughts made by the bel Iblis fleet?

For the dreadnought I agree with Jo Jo, the Katana dreads had a heavy Ion battery, according to Zhan anyway.

Give them a low squadron value too, as they weren't known for their ability to carry and support their own strike wing like a Vic or Assault Frigate.

Were the Ions on all Katana fleet Dreadnaughts or were they modifications to their Dreadnaughts made by the bel Iblis fleet?

never specified. I got the impression they were "Bel iblis Specials" but i dont believe it states for sure either way, as you dont actually see the other Katana Dreads in action much, if at all.

Z-95 Headhunter

Speed: 3

Hull: 4

Anti Fighter: 3 Blue

Anti Ship: 1 Black

Escort

8pts

The opposite of the Avenger....a baby X-Wing, instead of an Uber one. Shares the same role, but is just worse. Sounds right all in all.... a cheap and cheerful alternative to the rather pricy and powerful X-Wing, meant to be fielded in numbers.

Lacking swarm it is less effective than the TIE Fighter, but it keeps the X-Wings Escort ability to keep it's buddies safe.

I think he should have Hull 3. In my opionion it was always harder to get a TIE-Fighter down than a Z-95. The Z-95 had (weak) hields, but it was much less agile.

I am going to agree with the original Z-95 being hull 4. I don't see it being any less fragile then the A-wing at 4.