With FFGs release of the Imperial Assault Carrier(IAC)expansion and the somewhat revamping of the Epic play format, I would like to discuss something that I feel is coming in the near future. And that is some sort of boarding action/mechanic in Epic and Cinematic gameplay. I know this has been discussed before, but I feel there are several new hints to this, some explicit and some infered that I will point to.
The first and most obvious hint to a boarding mechanic is in the IAC expansion mission G2: Turning the Tide on page 9 of the IAC book. In the mission, Rebel agents have to board/steal the IAC. The boarding mechanic used is fairly simple. In order to board, the Wing Leader(an unique, large base ship) must be in range 1 of the fore section of the IAC at the start of the combat phase. It then rolls 6 attack die, needing to roll a number of focus and blank results equal to or fewer than the number of damage cards assigned to the IAC. If this condition is met, the Wing Leader attempts to Attach. The player then marks the Wing Leader's position and moves the Wing Leader to a position adjacent to the fore of the IAC and facing the same direction. If this is not possible due to overlapping another ship, the Attach does not happen and the Wing Leader is moved back to its original position.
Takeaways:
The boarding craft is unique and large based. I'm betting the unique will not be in the final version of the boarding rules but large base will(except in certain circumstances - see below)
In order to board you have to be able to Attach by rolling equal to or fewer focus and blank results on 6 dice than your opponent's ship has damage cards. This feels opposite to me on how it should be as it will get harder and harder to board as a ship takes more and more damage.
If a huge ship's fore is surrounded by fighters, it can't be boarded. This kind of makes sense.
The next two "evidences" are admittedly big assumptions on my part, but I think they are educated assumptions.
The first is the surely imminent arrival of a Scum huge ship. Most Scum forces are pirates of some kind and boarding actions are right up their alley. I "assume" they would be interested in a boarding mechanic to represent their in universe aims.
The second is the announced Tie Shuttle title in the Imperial Veterans expansion. The Tie Shuttle was often used in boarding actions and gives 2 crew slots to a small based ship.
So what?
I'm guessing that the boarding mechanic will be introduced into Epic play with the advent of the Scum Huge. It will follow similar (hopefully slightly revamped) rules as the rules in the IAC mission, and will allow the boarding of Huge ships in Epic format only. Boarding craft will have to be either, a) large base and/or b) have 2 or more crew options. I really have no guess as to what boarding will accomplish as far as game terms, but I'm guessing some kind of damage/disabling of upgrade cards on the boarded ship. I think there will be a "boarding party" crew that will help you either attach more easily or do more damage, etc.
What do you think? Possible? Not likely? Am I out of my mind? Let me know.