So, it seems very much to lots of people that 'Rogues and Villains' ('Rouges and Valets') was a response to Squadrons' perceived weakness in Wave 1, which is fine, but does it seem to anyone else like they're still lacking? Not in terms of power, but in terms of fun/thematics?

My friend and I are both of the opinion that a really neat new feature would be upgrades for squadrons - upgrade cards that apply to every squadron of that type that you run, that cost a premium to give certain keywords and their benefits.

For example (illustrative only, I have no idea how you'd balance points), something like "3pts / Squadron - All Squadrons of this type gain 'Bomber'." Or maybe something even more restrictive, such as "Rogue Squadron - 4pts / Squadron - X-Wings Only - All X-Wing squadrons gain 'Rogue'." Or something, I dunno, whatever.

That aside, it does seem to me that their introduction of keywords like 'Intel' and 'Grit' have meant they sort-of missed a trick with earlier squadrons. For example, 'Intel' applies 'Heavy' to enemy squadrons, meaning there's no way to lock down those big bomber wings. But you could, for example, have had an 'Interceptor' keyword on A-Wings and TIE Interceptors, making them immune to 'Intel'. That way, the under-used TIE Interceptor retains its key role as an air superiority craft and gives players a better reason to include them in their lists.

I should point out that I'm not suggesting that specific example should have been included, it's meant more as an example of "what could have been".

With the benefit of hindsight of Wave 2, what sort of changes do you think you might have made to the Wave 1 fighters, or what fixes do you think there might be to reduce this notion of "power builds", such as the Fireball, or the Janball? Or balls in general?

RV is apparently pretty worth its cost.

And can make the older ones seem a little lackluster and harder to use.

The wave1 squadrons are cheaper though.

better to see that affects on admirals to theme your lists around certain things, like squadrons attacking heavy targets get a reroll or an extra dice would make Awings or xwings come back into the fold in a bomber heavy meta

What did wave two bring to rebel fighters..... A use for x wings.

. . . . Another thread on squadron upgrades. . .

So how does a squadron upgrade card work? If I buy it, does it add to the cost of all squadrons? So if I pay for an upgrade on a TIE Fighter squadron and have 10 of them do they all get it or does just one? What if I only want it for 4 of the squadrons?

At this point in the game, while it would be nice, the implementation would be difficult.

R2-EQ posted a similar suggestion back in this thread, with some implementation suggestions. It got mixed reviews at the time, and probably still will (full disclosure, I liked them and still do). But if you're looking for buffs to squadron "fluff," there's some neat ideas here.

As far as missing a trick in Wave I, I think it's pretty evident that the full squadron experience isn't present until Wave II. Intel and Boosted Comms, even more than Rogue in my opinion, have really given us a level of customization that wasn't present in Wave I. That, combined with all the experience gained practicing with generic squadrons under the Wave I rule set, has made it easier to exploit the potential of the new Wave II goodies.

My two cents.

I agree with Lyreus that while, regularly wishing for more individuality within my fighter wings, it would be a huge pain to balance and implement this stuff. Squadrons also have a quite narrow set of stats to differentiate one from another, for example AS goes from 2-4 dice, albeit of different colors. Properly costing an upgrade from 2 to 3 or 3 to 4 within the small points tag and without making it either obsolete or a mandatory pick would be almost impossible.

. . . . Another thread on squadron upgrades. . .

I'm sorry if I was boring you. Do you get billed by the number of forum posts you view?

In truth, I wasn't attempting to offer a complete and play-tested solution, it was just a concept that I thought was neat that I hadn't seemed posted elsewhere. In answer to your other questions, my personal preference would be that it's an upgrade that applies to every squadron of that type, that multiplies in cost by the number of squadrons of that type in your fleet - basically, exactly the same way Squadron cards work now - you'd be applying the upgrade to the squadron card, and paying the multiplied points.

But it's mostly just a beginning of a thought. I haven't sat down and worked through all of the ins-and-outs or anything.

So, it seems very much to lots of people that 'Rogues and Villains' ('Rouges and Valets') was a response to Squadrons' perceived weakness in Wave 1, which is fine, but does it seem to anyone else like they're still lacking? Not in terms of power, but in terms of fun/thematics?

My friend and I are both of the opinion that a really neat new feature would be upgrades for squadrons - upgrade cards that apply to every squadron of that type that you run, that cost a premium to give certain keywords and their benefits.

For example (illustrative only, I have no idea how you'd balance points), something like "3pts / Squadron - All Squadrons of this type gain 'Bomber'." Or maybe something even more restrictive, such as "Rogue Squadron - 4pts / Squadron - X-Wings Only - All X-Wing squadrons gain 'Rogue'." Or something, I dunno, whatever.

That aside, it does seem to me that their introduction of keywords like 'Intel' and 'Grit' have meant they sort-of missed a trick with earlier squadrons. For example, 'Intel' applies 'Heavy' to enemy squadrons, meaning there's no way to lock down those big bomber wings. But you could, for example, have had an 'Interceptor' keyword on A-Wings and TIE Interceptors, making them immune to 'Intel'. That way, the under-used TIE Interceptor retains its key role as an air superiority craft and gives players a better reason to include them in their lists.

I should point out that I'm not suggesting that specific example should have been included, it's meant more as an example of "what could have been".

With the benefit of hindsight of Wave 2, what sort of changes do you think you might have made to the Wave 1 fighters, or what fixes do you think there might be to reduce this notion of "power builds", such as the Fireball, or the Janball? Or balls in general?

The Interceptor is underused? I wasn't aware

Anyway, wave 2 brought a lot of exiting options to squadrons: all the new squadrons of course, but also the awesome Boosted comms and some new carrier-capable ships, so I'm pretty happy with the current state of affairs.

Fun fact: my current rebel fleet has 10 A-wings in it and is doing pretty well. Very retro. Come to think of it... Ackbar is the only wave 2 card in it!

The other thing wave 2 brought was 400 point lists, making 100-134 points of fighters a credible damage dealer while still leaving points for a commander and 2-3 quality ships.

Not to mention that the game ends after the status phase even if all ships are destroyed