Six is an acceptable number for the term swarm as long as it's all the same class of fighter, the hive does not tolerate non uniformity.

Six is an acceptable number for the term swarm as long as it's all the same class of fighter, the hive does not tolerate non uniformity.

6 is a fine amount for a swarm, just make sure we're all flying the same Tie or it's going to look awkward!

wait, FOs count as Tie Fighters...don't they?

So I haven't been able to cough up the money for Imperial Raider yet, what is Palpatine on, a Decimator?

shuttle (naked PS 2) or Cheri so far (though whisper + Deci hit a nationals hard with almost every flavor of Deci)

given his only options are shuttle and decimator, it makes sense

I plan on giving jammer-whisper and kenkatine a run out next week, I've heard good things about it.

Six is an acceptable number for the term swarm as long as it's all the same class of fighter, the hive does not tolerate non uniformity.

**Incoming transmission**

Imperials FUBAR until further notice. Ghost Expansion broken, Rebels OP.

**Repeat, Over**

Imperials FUBAR until further notice. Ghost Expansion broken, Rebels OP.

**Roger, Roger**

I'm seriously thinking that the FOs add some interesting squad archetypes as well. I think you could see the emergence of "Imperial 4 ship" where you've got 2 low cost FOs and 2 quality aces. The FOs give you blocking and some backbone, and can be bought with a pretty cheap PS bid to give you 4 arc dodgers against massed beef like TLTs, but remain cheap durable blockers who can still generate quality offense against expensive enemy ships.

Look at:

Soontir Fel with standard kit: 35

2x Zeta Squadron Pilot: 32

Vader, Predator, ATC: 33

The two Zetas have more firepower and blocking ability than the shuttle, which you have to use to make up for the lack of the Emperor. They give you a more durable core help pin the enemy in place (or punish them for going after an ace) while Soontir and Vader work into position.

Alternatively, look at the new "budget aces" for a 5-ship Imperial list

Inquisitor, VI, v1 title, Autothrusters = 29

Omega Leader, Juke, Comm Relay = 26

Epsilon Squadron Pilot x3 = 45

Here you have 5 modestly priced, tough ships, with 3 blocking knife-fighters and 2 aces that are both really solid end-game winners and mid-game assassins.

Without reading any of the other posts (no disrespect intended ladies and gentlemen!), my answer to the OP:

YES

The hive is strong with everyone, but ficklegreendice... so close... but so far away...

No, I don't believe they do. Just take a look to what the Rebels are getting with the Ghost. Rebels can now fly any way they want. BB8 just increased arc-dodging for a lot of ships and now we have a bunch of rebel only crew that help dealing with stress (or just ignore them completely). They also are getting another small turret ship with very good dials and a monster ship that is arguably better then the Falcon. I've just seen 3 Palpmobile lists get butt kicked, one by a Rebel list and two by Scum lists.

I just can't see the imperials getting competitive even after we get the inquisitor and the gozantti. We are out.

All this Rebel stress mitigation stuff doesn't hurt Imperials as much as other Rebels, though. What Imperial ships really rely on generating stress? Imperial control is blocking with TIE fighters. If the Ghost has a weakness, it's that it's only got 2 crew slots. It has a ton of insanely good crew, but you can't take them all on the same ship. Want to take unlimited reds? Hera crew. Want to get actions while stressed? Chopper. Want to do more damage while stressed? Ezra. But you can't take them all, and you can't take them in any combination, because you need a pilot for the beast. Now, it's awesome, because these are cool strategic problems to think about, but the Ghost just can't have everything.

okay, I've heard this too many times now

how the **** does the Shuttle have a "very good" dial? It's a freaking X-wing with red one turns and paying for them with red three turns

same thing with the ghost, only it has z-95 greens that make it a massive pain in the ass thanks to how much space the big base displaces when it moves, making it far more likely to smack into another ship or an obstacle

not to mention Hera takes up a crew slot the ship needs for powerful defensive tech (ala R2-d2), Chopper hurts the ship he's on, and Kanan is expensive for what he does (which is really quite limited, only once per round; only white maneuver...boy ain't no Epsilon Leader is all I'm saying)

I've done very well with my 4 Tie Bomber list:

4 x Scimitars w/ EM, Homing Missiles, and Seismic Charges

You need to practice to get the approach right, but getting the TL's are as huge an issue as people think.

Do you mean 'TL's aren't as huge an issue' or that they are?

I seem to be the only one still fighting the good fight on this one. FFG really needs to fix the defender! Otherwise imperial players can only brings Aces, swarms, or decimator/phantoms plus support ships. I would like the fix to make the choice between an Ace in a interceptor or a defender difficult to choose between when list building.

Because the Defender doesn't need fixing. It just takes a lot of practice to learn how to fly it right.

No!!! Unless the Defender can beat any squad for the same amount of point or less it NEEDS fixing. I've played the Defender in Empire at War and unless this iconic ship is in every game and number 1 at worlds 12 years in a row may is markedly over priced and under powered. Please fix the Defender.

Did that sound convincing? I tried to put feeling in it? Did it work?

P.S. I kind of do like the Defender. In Empire at War it just felt and looked like a predator. But hey, it still isn't an X-Wing.

Ezra's far better than epsilon leader. He removes stress in the maneuver phase, not the combat phase. It's a totally different effect, isn't it?

As for the reds, well, it's not that simple anymore. Stress on an ezra-carrying ship turns it into a chirpy-imitator, and has no effect on its dial options if Hera's about. Isn't this what's so powerful about this expansion - that your standard assessment of dials no longer applies? And this coincides with two ships with very open dials, but with lots of (previously prohibitive) reds? That stress for rebels can now be strongly mitigated in many new ways?

Ezra's far better than epsilon leader. He removes stress in the maneuver phase, not the combat phase. It's a totally different effect, isn't it?

As for the reds, well, it's not that simple anymore. Stress on an ezra-carrying ship turns it into a chirpy-imitator, and has no effect on its dial options if Hera's about. Isn't this what's so powerful about this expansion - that your standard assessment of dials no longer applies? And this coincides with two ships with very open dials, but with lots of (previously prohibitive) reds? That stress for rebels can now be strongly mitigated in many new ways?

no, it cannot (not so simply, anyway)

because every time you slap a stress-mitigating crew, you're forgoing an incredibly powerful dice-modying crew. I'm talking c3po (for Yt-1300), R2-d2 (for ghost), KK (Dash), Gunner etc. Also, with these stress mitigating upgrades, you're not mitigating everything

Hera? No actions

Chopper? Damage

Kanan? Can't chain red maneuvers

etc.

red on a dial is still a relevant and significant limiting factor especially if you have to spend extra points trying to deal with it

also, Ezra (crew) is alright, but again that stress is a severe limiting factor. About the least limited ghost you can run is Ezra + Hera + FCS on w.e. There, you have full reign of the dial regardless of stress and full mods.

And yet, you cannot

1. evade

2. mitigate damage via crew such as R2-d2 (or mitigate any damage at all, except range 3 if lucky)

3. boost

standard assessment of dials notwithstanding, the assessment of these stress dealing upgrades has been very trigger happy and far too immediate to accurately capture what exactly it is you're paying for and what you're really giving up

To the OP. No.

Judging by the actual tournament results of this year's Worlds, certainly. There are two Imperial lists in the top 8 and 4 more in the top 16 for a total of 6 out of 16. There is also great variety in the Imperial lists: While both top 8 lists are Palpmobile+2 ace builds, the other lists are a Crackshot swarm, Whisper+mini-swarm, a triple ace list, and Chiraneau+Whisper.

All this Rebel stress mitigation stuff doesn't hurt Imperials as much as other Rebels, though. What Imperial ships really rely on generating stress? Imperial control is blocking with TIE fighters. If the Ghost has a weakness, it's that it's only got 2 crew slots. It has a ton of insanely good crew, but you can't take them all on the same ship. Want to take unlimited reds? Hera crew. Want to get actions while stressed? Chopper. Want to do more damage while stressed? Ezra. But you can't take them all, and you can't take them in any combination, because you need a pilot for the beast. Now, it's awesome, because these are cool strategic problems to think about, but the Ghost just can't have everything.

Yes it does! As you said it, imperial control is blocking with TIE Fighters. I count on being able to predict somewhat. You open the dial like that and it becomes hell to the imperial player. Things are only getting worse, first with BB8, now with Ezra and the worst of them all, Hera. And Kannan is freaking good too.

I'm not thinking just about what these crew can do on the ghost, but also somewhere else.

okay, I've heard this too many times now

how the **** does the Shuttle have a "very good" dial? It's a freaking X-wing with red one turns and paying for them with red three turns

same thing with the ghost, only it has z-95 greens that make it a massive pain in the ass thanks to how much space the big base displaces when it moves, making it far more likely to smack into another ship or an obstacle

not to mention Hera takes up a crew slot the ship needs for powerful defensive tech (ala R2-d2), Chopper hurts the ship he's on, and Kanan is expensive for what he does (which is really quite limited, only once per round; only white maneuver...boy ain't no Epsilon Leader is all I'm saying)

First, you must realize the attack shuttle is another ship that can TLT. Then take a look at some of its pilots, like Hera and especially Sabine.

I also don't get you saying it pays for the red one turns with red three turns. X-Wings don't have red 1 turns, I'd rather have a red option than not have the option at all. The red 3 turn is the only thing the shuttle is worse than the X-Wing. Besides, I can't see any reason to compare the two. Try playing imperial only against all those rebel options.

I'm comparing it to the X-wing because even the generic vanilla Tie Fighter has every single turn (White, the more advanced ones have green 2-turns)

these aren't dials that should impress you even the least bit as an imperial player

finally, why would you take a TLT on z-95? **** is frail. Sure, they're slightly more maneuverable but they're more expensive and they're weaker, you can easily outdice them point-for-point. Sure, they may look impressive but then you realize they're 2 agility, no thrusters and, most importantly given rebels, no regen whatsoever

what we have here is a massive overreaction to merely decent, and possibly below-average dials and some good but hardly anywhere even close to overpowered stress mitigation.

I mean, I get it. They sky falls every single wave, but this is getting ridiculous

I'm comparing it to the X-wing because even the generic vanilla Tie Fighter has every single turn (White, the more advanced ones have green 2-turns)

these aren't dials that should impress you even the least bit as an imperial player

finally, why would you take a TLT on z-95? **** is frail. Sure, they're slightly more maneuverable but they're more expensive and they're weaker, you can easily outdice them point-for-point. Sure, they may look impressive but then you realize they're 2 agility, no thrusters and, most importantly given rebels, no regen whatsoever

what we have here is a massive overreaction to merely decent, and possibly below-average dials and some good but hardly anywhere even close to overpowered stress mitigation.

I can only hope you're right. I'm an imperial player and I don't like the look of it.

No, I don't believe they do. Just take a look to what the Rebels are getting with the Ghost. Rebels can now fly any way they want. BB8 just increased arc-dodging for a lot of ships and now we have a bunch of rebel only crew that help dealing with stress (or just ignore them completely). They also are getting another small turret ship with very good dials and a monster ship that is arguably better then the Falcon. I've just seen 3 Palpmobile lists get butt kicked, one by a Rebel list and two by Scum lists.

I just can't see the imperials getting competitive even after we get the inquisitor and the gozantti. We are out.

Good thing Imperials are already competitive.

No, I don't believe they do. Just take a look to what the Rebels are getting with the Ghost. Rebels can now fly any way they want. BB8 just increased arc-dodging for a lot of ships and now we have a bunch of rebel only crew that help dealing with stress (or just ignore them completely). They also are getting another small turret ship with very good dials and a monster ship that is arguably better then the Falcon. I've just seen 3 Palpmobile lists get butt kicked, one by a Rebel list and two by Scum lists.

I just can't see the imperials getting competitive even after we get the inquisitor and the gozantti. We are out.

Good thing Imperials are already competitive.

We are talking about everything that is coming out, aren't we? We already live in the TLT meta that favors rebels and scum (as if they weren't the same actually... these rebel scum). Rebels get the Ghost and the Phantom, Scum get their big PS9 with new unique tricks, and we get... an Advanced wannabe and more TIE Fighters. Totally fair and balanced...