When I first got the game I was basically just playing it out like a fun scenario for the Rebels and as such they were breezing through the missions. I then realized that giving them all the max rewards every mission was a huge mistake as I lost control of missions just due to their over whelming abilities. Since then I did my research and became a much, much better player. But now I feel that I have gone to far and made it impossible for them to win any missions. They went from 4-0 to 4-5 with two missions left.

So my question is this, how do you guys as the Imperials balance the fun and competitiveness of the game? The general attitude I have seen is that you don't want them to win every match, but if winning is everything to you, go play skirmish. I agree with this but I don't want it to be a cake walk. They have The Source and the Finale left, so I just want to make it a challenge and I don't just want them to win both games, but I want to make sure they at least have a chance. I think my mistake was picking Subversive Tactics, it is just so nasty.

I fear that if I take it to them for the final 2 games they will get burnt out on the whole thing and get sick of being my punching bag.

I'd say the most 'fun' deck is Military Might, since it lets you deploy stormtroopers cheaper and everyone loves to kill them. Subversice tactics just murders stamina, which is no fun for rebels and Technological Superiority has healing droids which just makes rebel players feel like their attacks were pointless.

Also, since the imperial player is the one that keeps track of all the recording (due to agenda cards) you can just cheat a little and add an exp/influence or two to yourself if you went too easy on them too much and are falling behind.

I'd say the most 'fun' deck is Military Might, since it lets you deploy stormtroopers cheaper and everyone loves to kill them. Subversice tactics just murders stamina, which is no fun for rebels and Technological Superiority has healing droids which just makes rebel players feel like their attacks were pointless.

Alternatively Military Might lets you increase stormtrooper health by 67% which makes killing them extremely uneconomical.

I tend to use a variety of methods to keep things fun but interesting.

The class decks, as others have mentioned, are not created equal. I have not played subversive tactics, and won't until I get a play group that has played a campaign or two already.

I move around a lot, so its pretty much always new people playing the Hero's, which puts them at a significant disadvantage. I tend to balance this by pointing out what options they have and reminding them of abilities whenever possible, an in general offering advice. The missions are harder the first time through, always, since the Hero's have no idea whats coming. However as they progress, I start cutting this advice/help off as they learn.

Another thing I do is try to use open groups thematically, bring units that I think fit the mission, instead of what I think is best for the mission. Or just bring random fun things.

I also sometimes will play thematically. Sure, I could move Royal Guard Champion over there and make it totally impossible to win...or I could charge those jerks who just killed my troopers and either take them out or go out in a blaze of glory myself. I could stand a nexu on that terminal and prevent them for getting it...Or I could pounce on someone like the cat monster I am, and let them test tech, with the mission resting on that one roll. I could give the terminals 7 hp...or just close the door.

If the hero's start getting out of hand, then I can just change my play style, not giving advice, bringing optimal groups, and playing to win. Agenda cards are a great balance force for this if you need to turn things. I tend to limit myself to only 1 per mission, unless I need to win in order to re-balance.

I guess what I really want out of IA is a fun experience for everyone while trying to make the outcome as close, as down to the wire, as possible. I have gotten pretty good at this, so most mission are quite close. If the Hero's win two in a row, then the next mission I will try harder to win.

That being said, this game is complex, in multiple dimensions. No one method or even combinations of methods will always work, and things really depend on your playgroup dynamics and what your trying to get out of the game. And sometimes the luck comes in and just throws things around.

TLDR: Play to have fun, Attempt victory, leave room for defeat.

I'd say the most 'fun' deck is Military Might, since it lets you deploy stormtroopers cheaper and everyone loves to kill them. Subversice tactics just murders stamina, which is no fun for rebels and Technological Superiority has healing droids which just makes rebel players feel like their attacks were pointless.

Alternatively Military Might lets you increase stormtrooper health by 67% which makes killing them extremely uneconomical.

Then what do you suggest?

I'd say the most 'fun' deck is Military Might, since it lets you deploy stormtroopers cheaper and everyone loves to kill them. Subversice tactics just murders stamina, which is no fun for rebels and Technological Superiority has healing droids which just makes rebel players feel like their attacks were pointless.

Alternatively Military Might lets you increase stormtrooper health by 67% which makes killing them extremely uneconomical.

Then what do you suggest?

I think, of the base three, tech superiority is easily the most fun, it's also unfortunately the weakest. Inspiring leadership is probably my favorite for fun overall.

Great advice in this thread already, hopefully this can become a resource others can look to down the line. I took a step back today to try and think about what I could have done differently last night to make it more enjoyable. The way I beat them in the end was with conditions, essentially taking away their actions made it impossible to complete the objective in the amount of time. This is a very frustrating way to lose. I think the more fun way for them to lose is to take out their heroes, at least then they go down fighting and are desperately trying to reach Objective A before the round limit instead of just Stun Stun Stun Stun Bleed, break LOS, repeat.

I like the part about leaving room to lose, I think I need to do a better job of matching their tempo instead of setting the pace myself by just going 200% right out of the gate. if they are playing scared on an objective based mission, give them a bit of room to actually move and make some head way in the rounds that they need to. If they are trying super hard to run the board, plop down those troops a round earlier to slow them down and mix things up a bit.

I definitely agree that it needs to be organic, this game is way to complex to have a formula. Especially since you can't accurately represent the human variable.

I find that being a nerd helps. Every mission, when constructing my open groups I ask myself, "Would there be royal guards running around in this bar? No. All right then I guess I'll take hired guns." It balances the game and trains the Imp player to be much better.

PS I am not saying that I don't use royal guards, but I will usually only use them on an Imperial ship or a base of high importance.

I find that being a nerd helps. Every mission, when constructing my open groups I ask myself, "Would there be royal guards running around in this bar? No. All right then I guess I'll take hired guns." It balances the game and trains the Imp player to be much better.

PS I am not saying that I don't use royal guards, but I will usually only use them on an Imperial ship or a base of high importance.

i agree with this....there have been a few missions when i have seen forced reinforcements of royal guard and gone 'really? here...on this rock of non-importance over a disagreement over who spilt who's blue milk......'

In the past I'd just call in the Royal Guards to put an end to any butt kicking I may have been receiving, but I don't know how well that works now. If I'm doing too good I'll just bring in Regular Stormtroopers. That's how I balance it.

They went from 4-0 to 4-5 with two missions left.

I fear that if I take it to them for the final 2 games they will get burnt out on the whole thing and get sick of being my punching bag.

The rebels went from a brainless steamroll, to an evenly fought, win-some, lose-some campaign. I would say that right there is pretty fun. The Rebels should expect to win roughly half of the missions, give or take, depending on their skill level. If you feel like you are steamrolling the fun out of them, try bringing units you would not normally bring, just for fun. Or make tactical decisions that may seem unwise, while grinning like a maniac. "Huh, why did the empire bring in reinforcements way over there.....what's he planning?". Sometimes just the threat of pushing the rebels into what they dont know may or may not be an expertly crafted trap is enough to keep one side from steamrolling the other, while at the same time, keeping the game fun and fresh for the rebels.

The same can be said if the rebels are steamrolling you. Start playing defensively. Take pot shots while moving into cover (out of LOS). Lure the heroes with a false sense of power and security and then focus fire the tauntaun guts out of one of them, just to show them you CAN do it (E-Web Engineers are EXCELLENT for this, they are quite capable of wounding a hero with both attacks in a single activation from an excessive range).

The rebels went from a brainless steamroll, to an evenly fought, win-some, lose-some campaign. I would say that right there is pretty fun. The Rebels should expect to win roughly half of the missions, give or take, depending on their skill level. If you feel like you are steamrolling the fun out of them, try bringing units you would not normally bring, just for fun. Or make tactical decisions that may seem unwise, while grinning like a maniac. "Huh, why did the empire bring in reinforcements way over there.....what's he planning?". Sometimes just the threat of pushing the rebels into what they dont know may or may not be an expertly crafted trap is enough to keep one side from steamrolling the other, while at the same time, keeping the game fun and fresh for the rebels.

The same can be said if the rebels are steamrolling you. Start playing defensively. Take pot shots while moving into cover (out of LOS). Lure the heroes with a false sense of power and security and then focus fire the tauntaun guts out of one of them, just to show them you CAN do it (E-Web Engineers are EXCELLENT for this, they are quite capable of wounding a hero with both attacks in a single activation from an excessive range).

That makes me think of what our Imperial player did to me. He brought out an AT-ST and shot my character, while using Military Might and an Agenda card, made the AT-ST focused for shot and did around 9 damage to Fenn. Then he used the agenda card to shoot again (depleting it) and did another 7 damage to flip my Rebel Elited Fenn. Sad day for me, but just amazing at the sheer magnitude of that firepower.

Sad day for me, but just amazing at the sheer magnitude of that firepower.

"OUR HEROES CANT WITHSTAND FIREPOWER OF THAT MAGNITUDE!!"

Also, Frogtrigger, conditions are one of the *few* ways to actually slow down the rebels. Until the Imperials get a bigger toy box of tactics that actually *work (damaging the heroes is a long shot) dont turn your nose up at what works. Trust me, the rebels are heartless and are not going to blink even once if they are able to kill all your units and leave you with no activations (the peak of imperial "not fun")

Trust me, the rebels are heartless and are not going to blink even once if they are able to kill all your units and leave you with no activations (the peak of imperial "not fun")

So true, I don't mind it, but it's so true. I don't know what it is about playing the Rebels, but they get this video game mindset and sometimes forget that the Imperial is an actual human.

In the past I'd just call in the Royal Guards to put an end to any butt kicking I may have been receiving, but I don't know how well that works now. If I'm doing too good I'll just bring in Regular Stormtroopers. That's how I balance it.

now if only we had our favorite Imperial Hero available to bring on every mission, we wouldn't have such a dilemma:

In the past I'd just call in the Royal Guards to put an end to any butt kicking I may have been receiving, but I don't know how well that works now. If I'm doing too good I'll just bring in Regular Stormtroopers. That's how I balance it.

now if only we had our favorite Imperial Hero available to bring on every mission, we wouldn't have such a dilemma:

God, those costumes are just AWFUL! The proportions are all wrong He has NO ankles, and his pants look low enough to show his Star Wars underoos. Bring back the old designs!

God, those costumes are just AWFUL! The proportions are all wrong He has NO ankles, and his pants look low enough to show his Star Wars underoos. Bring back the old designs!

Maybe he's just a little short for a Stormtrooper.

- H8