As for the old & new deck, this is what I've seen:

"The damage deck included in this box replaces the damage deck in the original X-wing core set. If players have both, they should use the new deck included in this box"

So, if the new deck really is considered better than the old one, and since your own deck is always used against yourself, doesn't that mean it's to a players advantage to just not have the new deck?

Yes and no depending on your squad. People running Elite Pilot Upgrades/Named Pilots/Secondary Weapons will still not enjoy the old deck.

Everyone that wants to dish out ridiculous damage (really just everyone) will enjoy this new deck.

Crit damage got a significant boost with this. Time to break out the Mangler/ATC/Calculation/Mercenary Copilot/Marskmanship(hah just kidding on that one)/Etahn Abaht.

As for the old & new deck, this is what I've seen:

"The damage deck included in this box replaces the damage deck in the original X-wing core set. If players have both, they should use the new deck included in this box"

So, if the new deck really is considered better than the old one, and since your own deck is always used against yourself, doesn't that mean it's to a players advantage to just not have the new deck?

I think the new deck is just more consistent. The old one had a bunch of cards that you might not care about unless you had a certain ship and then the crits were crippling.

I had a Stresshog get dealt Weapons Malfunction, and Munitions Failure in one hit. That ship was useless at that point. That sort of thing is gone.

You've got that exactly backwards. The new deck is far more powerful, not less. Removing the overly specific, often-redundant criticals means there's exactly no chance of getting away easy when you're dealt one.

But Maarek already had almost no chance of his enemy getting away easy due to his ability. By evening out crits by getting rid of the useless ones, but also the devastating ones, his ability is now much less useful.

There will still be situations where some criticals are more devastating than others. Would you rather Soontir miss an attack or lose his PS? Would you rather Dash lose 1 attack die out of 4 or become double-stressed? Would you rather Han take 1 extra damage or lose his actions next round? Maarek's ability is still useful; he's just going to have more tools to work with.

Time to break out the Mangler/ATC/Calculation/Mercenary Copilot/Marskmanship(hah just kidding on that one)/Etahn Abaht.

Maarek Stele+TIE/x1+ATC+Calculation+Advanced Homing Missile+[Why is there no modification that helps crits?]

Honestly, the only old crit I'll miss is Injured Pilot.

Honestly, the only old crit I'll miss is Injured Pilot.

It's been replaced with a much cooler Crit that restricts maneuvering options.

I'll be honest, I'm going to be buying this stupid box just for Wired. That is the sexiest 1 point EPT in the history of EPTs.

Honestly, the only old crit I'll miss is Injured Pilot.

IG-88 wont.

All is good and great about new starter, but proton torps? I know its iconic stuff, but until they release death star they are waste of paper

I'm curious.... If the new core is the T-70 and FO ties.. with specific pilots.. are there going to be T-70/FO tie expansions with different pilots and upgrades? Or just the core?

I'm curious.... If the new core is the T-70 and FO ties.. with specific pilots.. are there going to be T-70/FO tie expansions with different pilots and upgrades? Or just the core?

I'm hoping that the 9/4 big box store release is just this core set and that when smaller game stores get their starters they also get the individual expansions.

I'm curious.... If the new core is the T-70 and FO ties.. with specific pilots.. are there going to be T-70/FO tie expansions with different pilots and upgrades? Or just the core?

I'm assuming yes but we don't know for sure. If they do the blisters might not even come until Dec when the movie comes out.

I'm curious.... If the new core is the T-70 and FO ties.. with specific pilots.. are there going to be T-70/FO tie expansions with different pilots and upgrades? Or just the core?

I'm hoping that the 9/4 big box store release is just this core set and that when smaller game stores get their starters they also get the individual expansions.

To elaborate, there are still two SKUs unaccounted for between Wave 7+The Raider and Wave 8+Gozanti. So far there's been no buzz of anything else on September 4th other than what we've already seen, but the odds of the other to SKUs being T-70 and FO blisters seem pretty high. They just may not be releasing right alongside the new box.

Really? Because last time I looked at MajorJuggler's Math Wing, it seemed to show that ships with better jousting values tended to be the ships seen in most tournaments...

According to his math the Yt-1300 (named pilots), YT-2400, z-95 and Decimators all have relatively high jousting values, and all of these are seen pretty frequently in competitive lists. His topic is a little out dated now, but it has some really great info in there.

From the link you provided, here is a list of "jousting values" for some ships:

Z-95, 12

Soontir Fel, 16.1

Generic X-Wing, 17.8

E-Wing, 21.1

YT-1300 (named), 24.8

VT-49, 24.1 to 33.1

YT-2400, 18.8 to 38.5

Which of those ships have the "better jousting values"?

How do those "jousting values" predict which ships are "seen in most tournaments"?

I find the easiest way to dissect the numbers is to just look at the predicted and actual cost columns of each specific pilot. The predicted cost is weighed heavily on the jousting value, but also takes into account other specifics (such as pilot ability where applicable, pilot skill, etc.). The best jousting ships are-

1- a ship with an actual cost (this is the literal cost of the pilot in the game) lower than their predicted cost. These are seen as the "best" valued ships, as you are mathematically getting more then you are paying for.

2- a ship with an actual cost the same as their predicted cost (these ships are very fairly costed and usually good options)

3- a ship with an actual cost only slightly higher then the predicted cost (some effective ships such as the B-wing fall in this category).

Obviously some things are difficult to value, such as measuring the "value" of a dial, so the math isn't perfect, but it is still pretty solid.

And honestly, I'm not the one who is best capable of explaining these numbers, so sorry if I'm still making no sense.

And to answer your 2nd question, jousting values, which help in predicting the true value of a ship, prove how well or how poorly costed certain ships and pilots are. It doesn't so much predict tournament usage as much as it shows WHY certain ships perform better then others. And, not surprisingly, those ships which are the best priced, or possibly even under costed, often perform well at high levels of play.

I find the easiest way to dissect the numbers is to just look at the predicted and actual cost columns of each specific pilot. The predicted cost is weighed heavily on the jousting value, but also takes into account other specifics (such as pilot ability where applicable, pilot skill, etc.).

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

I find the easiest way to dissect the numbers is to just look at the predicted and actual cost columns of each specific pilot. The predicted cost is weighed heavily on the jousting value, but also takes into account other specifics (such as pilot ability where applicable, pilot skill, etc.).

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

To elaborate, there are still two SKUs unaccounted for between Wave 7+The Raider and Wave 8+Gozanti. So far there's been no buzz of anything else on September 4th other than what we've already seen, but the odds of the other to SKUs being T-70 and FO blisters seem pretty high. They just may not be releasing right alongside the new box.

I'm guessing that the Expansions are being released the same day, but the reason we haven't seen them leaked yet is because big chain stores don't usually carry the Expansion packs.

The reason the core set leaked is because it was leaked from the warehouses of one of the big chain stores.

Meanwhile the expansions are likely only coming to hobby stores and such, and won't even show up until the big day.

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

Z-95, 12

Soontir Fel, 16.1

Rookie Pilot, 17.8

Generic E-Wing, 21.1

Lando, Calrissian, 24.8

Always.

Seek and ye shall find.

Yes. I see it too. I can confirm. Wonderful news!

Obsolete Damage decks, x-wings, TIEs, etc I can deal with, but did anyone else notice that they also made the Senator's Shuttle obsolete? THAT I cannot forgive.

I find the easiest way to dissect the numbers is to just look at the predicted and actual cost columns of each specific pilot. The predicted cost is weighed heavily on the jousting value, but also takes into account other specifics (such as pilot ability where applicable, pilot skill, etc.).

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

Think of jousting value as evaluating each ship only considering the attack, agility, hull, and shields. Based on that, it assigns a "price" (the jousting value) for the ship.

Then, more intense numbers are put into the equation to best evaluate the worth of the ship based on its actions, upgrades, dial, pilot skill, and (for named pilots) their pilot ability. This is where the predicted price comes from. It's less perfect math to get this number, but it's still good math. Then it is compared to the price FFG has given the ship, attempting to prove which ships have the best value.

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

So how do the following "jousting values" show a "very strong correlation" with the performance of a ship on the table?

Z-95, 12

Soontir Fel, 16.1

Rookie Pilot, 17.8

Generic E-Wing, 21.1

Lando, Calrissian, 24.8

Those aren't jousting values, they're projected costs. Read through Juggler's information in full; it's much more than one set of numbers.

Think of jousting value as evaluating each ship only considering the attack, agility, hull, and shields. Based on that, it assigns a "price" (the jousting value) for the ship.

So taken by itself a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table - all it does is "assign a price" to a ship?

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

So how do the following "jousting values" show a "very strong correlation" with the performance of a ship on the table?

Z-95, 12

Soontir Fel, 16.1

Rookie Pilot, 17.8

Generic E-Wing, 21.1

Lando, Calrissian, 24.8

Those aren't jousting values, they're projected costs. Read through Juggler's information in full; it's much more than one set of numbers.

So taken by itself, a ship's "jousting value" is not enough to determine how well it will perform on the table?

The two have a very strong correlation

It's a pretty good rule of thumb to measure by

So how do the following "jousting values" show a "very strong correlation" with the performance of a ship on the table?

Z-95, 12

Soontir Fel, 16.1

Rookie Pilot, 17.8

Generic E-Wing, 21.1

Lando, Calrissian, 24.8

See my previous post. A lot of the stories of the cost of a ship aren't complete until you look at the predicted value vs the actual cost. For all intensive purposes just ignore the jousting values, as they are just a tool to help get to a predicted cost for a ship.