Bit of a necro, but I felt like adding my two cents...

Wouldn't it make more sense to introduce a title card that upgrades the TIE/fo to the TIE/sf? In a similar vein to how the Royal Guard TIE, while more or less the same model, has more customisation than a regular Interceptor while also being distinctly different in appearance (being bright red and all) so why not go along the lines of;

TIE/sf
TIE/fo only.
2 points
Your upgrade bar gains the Missile upgrade icon. The ship can perform an attack with its primary weapon and secondary missile weapon outside of its firing arc. You cannot equip this card if your Pilot Skill is 3 or lower.

That way we're not adding a new meta in terms of TIEs with turrets or releasing a new ship when someone can just repaint the old one. No need to introduce a new flight stand card to include an auxiliary arc, and it restricts the upgrade to TIEs with a better PS who will inevitably be more expensive. Of course, this essentially makes it a TAP but better, but FFG already set the bar by making the TIE/fo that much stronger than a regular TIE/ln.

So apparently I'm the only one who couldn't tell the special forces tie from a regular tie fo?

What's really interesting was the concept art that has shown up for earlier versions of it.

From this...

...to this...

...to what we finally got.

Clearly that first art was already used for The Old Republic's Fury-class interceptor:

Wouldn't it make more sense to introduce a title card that upgrades the TIE/fo to the TIE/sf? In a similar vein to how the Royal Guard TIE, while more or less the same model, has more customisation than a regular Interceptor while also being distinctly different in appearance (being bright red and all) so why not go along the lines of;

I thought the same thing at first. You can share a lot more pilots between the two packs if it's not a whole separate ship. But sometimes I look at my Royal Guard models and sigh, because to add the little fins I have to buy them separately from Shapeways or somewhere. It would be nice to not have to do that with this ship.

And this is our big chance to get Mag Pulse! Can you imagine? "Attack [Target Lock]: Spend your target lock and discard this card to perform this attack. If this attack hits, deal 1 damage to the defender, and assign it a "Weapon's Disabled" token." Or something like that. Weapons Disabled doesn't work unless you're higher PS than the target, so it would need some work.

Or here's a crazy thought: what if the "turret" works like Ordnance Tubes and allows you to attack again and again with an equipped missile upgrade from either the primary or special aft firing arc?

Imo if this is added (and I actually hope so) it will be a small base with a fore and aft arc. If it has a turret slot, then cool but that is just because the base being redesigned would be problematic some how. It shouldn't have a crew slot. My reasoning is the rebels have had a y-wing for years and it's gunner in my opinion is just understood to be too preoccupied firing the turret (what his job exists for) to also be making any other effects in game happen.

So if they stick to the normal base design the upgrade bar will probably be: missile, turret, tech. If they give it 2 arcs like I hope, then get rid of the turret upgrade. Just my opinion though of course.

I think the tie SF is a lie.

We have a new tie fighter in the game...the fo .

That's it.....there never was a sf. All the ties in the movie are the same.the ffg people did not see the movie early or anything. They did the best they could with the little info that was allowed,and the very few images.

We have been playing the "sf" the entire time.

Then the movie comes out....everyone sees the little antennas now, and that Abrams....Abramsed up the tie fighters to make them slick and lensflarey.and ...uh.oh...it's now a Abramsed up two seater and turrets and missiles and lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my.

Whatever shall we do.

Quick....say the one in the movie is a different type....and....yeah.that's it.

It should be the same as the TIE FO but with additional: Cannon and Missile Slots (maybe also an additional Shield bringing it to 2).

And an auxillary rear arc that its primary guns can fire in.

There should also be a Title Card (free, or at most 1 point) that lets equipped the Cannon and Missile to fire in a rear arc.

Done - simple, easy to use, all the Imperial players will have almost every cannon and missile upgrade, which is a pretty Imperial thing to do, especially with the Tie Defender and the Tie Advanced ships.

I think the tie SF is a lie.

We have a new tie fighter in the game...the fo .

That's it.....there never was a sf. All the ties in the movie are the same.the ffg people did not see the movie early or anything. They did the best they could with the little info that was allowed,and the very few images.

We have been playing the "sf" the entire time.

Then the movie comes out....everyone sees the little antennas now, and that Abrams....Abramsed up the tie fighters to make them slick and lensflarey.and ...uh.oh...it's now a Abramsed up two seater and turrets and missiles and lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my.

Whatever shall we do.

Quick....say the one in the movie is a different type....and....yeah.that's it.

You

You do realize

That standard TIE Fighters chased The Falcon on Jakku?

...No, no you don't realize that...

Amen FGD. No more PWTs!

I'm reasonably certain it'll be similar to the f/o TIE (TIEfoo) with a secondary rear arc...it'll fit on the card just fine. It'll probably have all the same actions as a TIEfoo but I'd wager to say it'll have a less forgiving dial: probably lose the green hard 2s. It'll prob, of course, come out at a base of 18ish points and have missile slots and perhaps cannon slots that can be shot out of either arc (or even rear only) in order to give Imps a cheaper cannon-carrier. I'd wager the Tech upgrade will also stay.

Why no more PWTs? We just got Dengar and nobody even plays the ship in its 9PS 3 attack shield regenerating (Dengar with title and Gonk) version. Also Falcons and Decimators are not exactly overplayed these days.

I agree that the Tie/SF should not have a PWT just because it's illogical, it would shoot its panels off most of the time. A rear or special arc makes way more sense!

I would also assume that they bring out a whole new expansion and not only new titles and tiles... Because moar money!

If the jumpmaster with its massive deadlines still gets a 360 shot there's no longer a good reason empire shouldn't get a small base turret.

I like the idea of the empire getting access to turret upgrades but they could lock it in forward and back, make it interesting. More of what we've seen with turrets doesn't excite me.

I think the tie SF is a lie.

We have a new tie fighter in the game...the fo .

That's it.....there never was a sf. All the ties in the movie are the same.the ffg people did not see the movie early or anything. They did the best they could with the little info that was allowed,and the very few images.

We have been playing the "sf" the entire time.

Then the movie comes out....everyone sees the little antennas now, and that Abrams....Abramsed up the tie fighters to make them slick and lensflarey.and ...uh.oh...it's now a Abramsed up two seater and turrets and missiles and lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my.

Whatever shall we do.

Quick....say the one in the movie is a different type....and....yeah.that's it.

The film has both models. The TIE/fos have the most screen time. The TIE/sfs escort Kylo Ren's shuttle and one is stolen in the escape from the Finalizer.

My main concern is that it's yet another 20 point ship for the Empire.

Two reasons.

First is canonically it can't shoot sideways. Second is that aux arcs are far more interesting.

I'm kind of hoping they soup it up a bit and put it between the x1 and the x7. The Empire don't really need another 2 die + tricks 20 pointer, but a baby Firespray could be interesting.

I like the idea of the empire getting access to turret upgrades but they could lock it in forward and back, make it interesting. More of what we've seen with turrets doesn't excite me.

Empire severely lags behind the other two factions we have one PWT ship rebels have seven ships with some type of turret and scum have three.

One small base turret isn't alot to ask.

I like the TIE/sf though, I don't want to see it as a dull turret.

Wouldn't be surprised to see it as an aux arc 2 dicer with a title giving it a 1 die boost in the forward arc.

I am calling it

Tie/SF (http://www.starwars.com/databank/first-order-special-forces-tie-fighter)

Psi Squadron Pilot
Attack 2

Agility 3

Hull 3

Shield 1
actions: Target lock, Focus, Barrel roll, Evade

upgrade bar: Tech slot, Secondary Turret slot

(Same dial as Tie/FO)

16pt

This allows you to run quad Psi-TLT-Comms Relay (16+6+3=25), which will be the Imperial Y-TLT unhinged equivalent, with the difference of trading a low/medium mobility + low agility + high-health tank, into a high mobility + high agility + low health glass cannon (although the Comms Relay helps a bit).

In the expansion will be a new Tech upgrade:

Mag Pulse
(Imperial Only)

At the start of the Combat phase, discard this upgrade to select one unit at range 1 that ship recieves 1 ion-token.
2pt

(Well at least I hope we will se something like this )

Please god no.

If you want a narcolepsy inducing TLT spam list use the Y-wing.

Upshot is I all but guarantee it won't be 16 points. They'll make it more than a point better than the TIE/fo. Probably the 20-23 point range. In order to fill a new niche I expect to see it circa TIE phantom/StarViper price range.

There's no way it will be just a title. The SF fighter is too big of a deal. It's involved in a major plot point of the movie; it's the craft that Finn and Poe escape in. The other TIEs are standard filler.

All of the merchandising is focused on the SF version and not the FO. There are two model kits (Bandai and Revell), a Lego kit, a toy for the small action figure range, a giant 1/6th scale one, two micromachines (one crashed, one intact), a Hot Wheels die-cast metal one, a Black Edition one about the same size as the Hot Wheels one, a radio-control drone version and a folding metal kit.

I have found one FO. It's from the black edition range.

FFG gave us the FO first for some reason. Maybe they didn't know about the SF until later in development. Maybe they wanted the cheaper version to put in the new core set. Maybe they wanted to save it for a later release instead of having it overshadow the FO. Who knows?

FFG gave us the FO first for some reason.

It's the generic TIE fighter, the most common TIE fighter in the new films and suitable for a core set.

The TIE/sf is, however they do it, an expansion ship. Rear arc or *shudder* turret, title cards, all that jazz.

It's the generic TIE fighter, the most common TIE fighter in the new films and suitable for a core set.

Yes, but there's no reason it needed to be a new ship type.

Certainly nothing in the films suggests that the non-SF TIEs are any different from the old TIEs outside of the paint job.

It could have been the same ship, just with some new FO-themed pilots.

Anyway, here's how I'd do it.

TIE/sf Fighter

Base pilot skill of 2 or 3, 24 - 25 points

3 3 3 2

Rear facing special firing arc (missile)

Focus, Target Lock, Barrel Roll, Evade

Crew, Missile, System, Tech

Fancy dial.

TIE/sf, Title, 1 point,

You may perform primary weapon attacks from your special firing arc. When performing primary weapon attacks from your special firing arc, roll one fewer attack die.

Yes, but there's no reason it needed to be a new ship type.

Certainly nothing in the films suggests that the non-SF TIEs are any different from the old TIEs outside of the paint job.

It could have been the same ship, just with some new FO-themed pilots.

No reason for it not to be its own ship type either.

No reason for it not to be its own ship type either.

Well, there is to ME. I'd much rather just own 10 TIE Fighters than 6 TIE Fighters and 4 TIE/fo.

It's just an unnecessary level of abstraction, and it makes the TIE/sf slightly less unique and interesting when it finally does show up. Because instead of being a completely new and unique thing from the TIE Fighter, it becomes just another step in the progression from TIE Fighter, to TIE/fo, to TIE/sf.

It's just an unnecessary level of abstraction, and it makes the TIE/sf slightly less unique and interesting when it finally does show up. Because instead of being a completely new and unique thing from the TIE Fighter, it becomes just another step in the progression from TIE Fighter, to TIE/fo, to TIE/sf.

I fail to see how. TIE/fo is TIE fighter+. TIE/sf is not TIE/fo+.

Well, there is to ME. I'd much rather just own 10 TIE Fighters than 6 TIE Fighters and 4 TIE/fo.

Then buy 10 TIE fighters. The TIE/fo's a distinct ship and having it separate gives them more design space to work with, and it's more elegant than a title that turns all its turns green, adds a tech slot, a shield point and somehow two Segnors to the dial. Putting titles in a Core Set is overcomplicating it, especially convoluted titles.

Furthermore, those titles become applicable to the old TIEs which limits the design space for both.

Anyway, here's how I'd do it.TIE/sf Fighter

Base pilot skill of 2 or 3, 24 - 25 points

3 3 3 2

Rear facing special firing arc (missile)

Focus, Target Lock, Barrel Roll, Evade

Crew, Missile, System, Tech

Fancy dial.

I suspect the 3,3,3,2 stats are going to be correct, and I suspect it will have front and rear arc like the Firespray (Slave 1) or the Ghost. However, I would bet that the action bar loses barrel roll in favor of boost since there was that escape scene in TFA where it boosts out of the hangar and Poe yells, "Whoa! This thing can move!"

It would make sense or this special forces TIE to lose barrel roll as a trade-off for the front/rear swivel turret and an extra point of shields. I would also suspect the dial to be the same as the TIE/FO but with all straights green and with the four white hard turns changed to red and the two green hard turns changed to white. Again, keeping with the theme that this special forces TIE can "really move" straight but lost some maneuverability due to the upgrades.

Although I would like a system upgrade slot I think it's more likely to just come with crew, missile, and tech (as well as EPT and modification) and this will be an opportunity for the devs to give us more tech upgrades. Right now we only have two tech upgrades for the T-70 and TIE/FO, and this expansion would be a good way to add two more tech upgrade cards to the list of available tech upgrades.

However, I would bet that the action bar loses barrel roll in favor of boost since there was that escape scene in TFA where it boosts out of the hangar and Poe yells, "Whoa! This thing can move!"

The TIE punisher is the only TIE in the game to lack Barrel Roll, and that's because Boost AdvSen was too good to pass up and Boost Barrel on a TIE/IT would have been silly.

Besides, being crazy fast is the TIE fighter's thing. It's half the reason there's so little to them.

I think the tie SF is a lie.

We have a new tie fighter in the game...the fo .

That's it.....there never was a sf. All the ties in the movie are the same.the ffg people did not see the movie early or anything. They did the best they could with the little info that was allowed,and the very few images.

We have been playing the "sf" the entire time.

Then the movie comes out....everyone sees the little antennas now, and that Abrams....Abramsed up the tie fighters to make them slick and lensflarey.and ...uh.oh...it's now a Abramsed up two seater and turrets and missiles and lions and tigers and bears.

Oh my.

Whatever shall we do.

Quick....say the one in the movie is a different type....and....yeah.that's it.

You

You do realize

That standard TIE Fighters chased The Falcon on Jakku?

...No, no you don't realize that...

best picture I could find of the Tie's in the chase scene.

right on,

i`m looking for good pictures of the mysterious /sf. i want to see a film still of each of them so i can be wrong about this.

theres this which is nice and informative....it looks like its from a sourcebook of some kind

http://i.stack.imgur.com/43Pe5.jpg

but whats interesting is if you do an image search for each one....you get lots of mixed images. as if nobody can tell which is which.

theres licensed hotwheels that say one but the toy is the other.

its like a a race to retcon a difference between the two and every company is getting it half right.

Should not be a turret, not because of whiner losers complaining about PWT but a rear arc makes most sense. Ship is already an arc dodger should be easy to line up rear shots.

Crew slot and it will be separate ship (not card upgrade) FFG will make their gold.