https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/1/20/prepare-for-ground-assault/

Ground and space combat in Rebellion!

Luke and Lando are shown as additional leaders too. No mention of any other Imperials, but apparently that's part of what Thursday's news will bring.

Combat is simple but pretty elegant. I really like the 2 types of hit symbols on the dice. And the tactics cards add a cool layer.

My only concern is that late game fleets could have some pretty large dice pools and of all the things FFG is known for - being generous with dice is not one of them.

In the picture, it looks like after the Death Star is blown up...there's not much left of it. I was wondering if FantasyFlight will be providing replacement parts or if we will be responsible for purchasing new Death Stars? Repeat playability could grow expensive over time. And although it is a small explosion, I would recommend that everyone keeps a small fire extinguisher near by to prevent any flames from spreading.

I really like combat. Fairly simple, but the tactics cards adds nice twists to it.

This game is starting to look like everything I love about Axis and Allies mixed in with what I love about Imperial Assault.

I was disappointed about the aspect of the game from yesterday's news article about it. Seemed pretty simple due to the 4 leaders and actions you can take. Now with the knowledge of being able to increase the amount of leaders to increase the amount of options you can take during a turn, completely reversed my waning interest in the game.

As Stone37 said,

Combat is simple but pretty elegant. I really like the 2 types of hit symbols on the dice. And the tactics cards add a cool layer.

My only concern is that late game fleets could have some pretty large dice pools and of all the things FFG is known for - being generous with dice is not one of them.

Definitely a huge concern. Especially for late game battles, and of course the final battle at the rebel base.

The pictured battle for the rebel base would have an Imperial space battle that would include 7 red and 8 black die. The ground combat would be 4 red and 7 black.

I suspect 8 die of each color will be included. But it's FFG, so who knows, they could do 6 or even 4 and tell you to just remember results. Even with 8 though, the space combat with 1 more Tie is a problem.

Remembering results is a problem for this game though. With large combat you'd like to be able to group dice to assign hits and such.

Rerolling the blanks would help a bit I suppose.

The other side of the coin though is after a lot of playtesting, they probably rarely saw more than 8 dice used in combat. So is it worth them including 10 of each if most people almost never use more than 7? You have to pick a reasonable point and stop. Obviously, things like X-wing were stupid because the base game could result in needed 4 dice of one color and they only included 3.

I'm guessing they'll include the game on the app, and they'll likely give us the option to buy some more dice also (because why not right?).

Combat is simple but pretty elegant. I really like the 2 types of hit symbols on the dice. And the tactics cards add a cool layer.

My only concern is that late game fleets could have some pretty large dice pools and of all the things FFG is known for - being generous with dice is not one of them.

I'm guessing they'll include the game on the app, and they'll likely give us the option to buy some more dice also (because why not right?).

I have already contacted FFG about this and was told ALL Star Wars games that require dice will be added to the app soon after release. It's a one time purchase for all the Star Wars games FFG makes!

Also, FFG made a conversion chart for the RPG dice so you could use standard 6 and 8 sided dice if you wanted to.

Is image 10 incorrect? My understanding is the black hit should be applied to the storm trooper and the black direct hit should be applied to the AT-ST.

I wonder what the difference between the red and black dice are. There are 4 possible faces and both have at least 1 of each, so the difference is probably in the remaining 2 faces.

My guess is that black has an extra blank and a big hit icon whereas the red has an extra lightsaber and targeting icon. It is hard to tell for sure from the images tho.

I wonder what the difference between the red and black dice are. There are 4 possible faces and both have at least 1 of each, so the difference is probably in the remaining 2 faces.

My guess is that black has an extra blank and a big hit icon whereas the red has an extra lightsaber and targeting icon. It is hard to tell for sure from the images tho.

Honestly, they could be identical except for color.

I can't really think of any reason that you'd want fighters to be more or less effective against fighters than capital ships are against capital ships.

I'd suspect 1 crit, 1 lightsaber, 2 hit, and 2 blank.

I guess the HP difference and size issues might provide a reason... Vehicles and capital ships are easier to hit as they are larger, and they have more HP. So maybe the red dice are 1 crit, 1 lightsaber, 3 hit, 1 blank.

Edit: I was mistaken, as i misunderstood how assigning dice worked. The 2 dice may very well be the same.

I believe black will have 2 blanks, because otherwise i think having more symbols in the mission battles will be too powerful.

Was that a misplay in the article? After I got done reading that you can only assign hits to units whose HP value the same color as the die, they show a black hit die being assigned to an AT-ST, whose HP value is in red.

The 2 dice have to be different since the type of ship that the targeting icon hits is determined by hp color, not die color.

I believe black will have 2 blanks, because otherwise i think having more symbols in the mission battles will be too powerful.

Red may very well have 2 blanks too, but since the stronger ships seem to throw red, it seems like it is overall the stronger die.

Your last comment about stronger ships seem to throw red, so it's the stronger die I think is a misconception here.

Ties, Xs, Ys, and troopers are all black HP units. Capital ships and vehicles are all red HP stuff.

While yes, a AT-ATs cannon is more powerful than a trooper's blaster, I think the mechanic is more of a Armada style one where unit X is designed to fight unit X, and Y is designed to fight Y.

Ties are good at killing x-wings, while capital ships suffer when trying to target them. If a planet is defended by 3 X-wings, you don't want to bring 1 Star Destroyer. An assault carrier and 2 ties would stand a better chance and may be the same cost to you (or even cheaper, not sure).

The dice are there to force you to diversify your units (and to be thematic to the IP). Otherwise you get the Axis and Allies scenario where you just want to stock up 30 tanks to attack instead of a mixed force of tanks and infantry.

Like I said, the only reason I could see a difference in dice is due to the increased HP of the capital ships. 1 tie could kill 1 tie in one round. A star destroyer can't do that. With a mix of die faces, and 2 blanks, a space battle of capital ships could take SEVERAL rounds. Taking away 1 blank for one extra hit on the reds wouldn't make them more or less effective against black HP units.

Was that a misplay in the article? After I got done reading that you can only assign hits to units whose HP value the same color as the die, they show a black hit die being assigned to an AT-ST, whose HP value is in red.

They drew the arrows wrong.

The black hit should go to the trooper and the black explosion to the AT-ST.

The result is the same, the illustration is just incorrect.

The 2 dice have to be different since the type of ship that the targeting icon hits is determined by hp color, not die color.

I believe black will have 2 blanks, because otherwise i think having more symbols in the mission battles will be too powerful.

Red may very well have 2 blanks too, but since the stronger ships seem to throw red, it seems like it is overall the stronger die.

Your last comment about stronger ships seem to throw red, so it's the stronger die I think is a misconception here.

Ties, Xs, Ys, and troopers are all black HP units. Capital ships and vehicles are all red HP stuff.

While yes, a AT-ATs cannon is more powerful than a trooper's blaster, I think the mechanic is more of a Armada style one where unit X is designed to fight unit X, and Y is designed to fight Y.

Ties are good at killing x-wings, while capital ships suffer when trying to target them. If a planet is defended by 3 X-wings, you don't want to bring 1 Star Destroyer. An assault carrier and 2 ties would stand a better chance and may be the same cost to you (or even cheaper, not sure).

The dice are there to force you to diversify your units (and to be thematic to the IP). Otherwise you get the Axis and Allies scenario where you just want to stock up 30 tanks to attack instead of a mixed force of tanks and infantry.

Like I said, the only reason I could see a difference in dice is due to the increased HP of the capital ships. 1 tie could kill 1 tie in one round. A star destroyer can't do that. With a mix of die faces, and 2 blanks, a space battle of capital ships could take SEVERAL rounds. Taking away 1 blank for one extra hit on the reds wouldn't make them more or less effective against black HP units.

Yah, i misunderstood how assigning dice works.

They probably are the same upon further thought.

Does anyone else think the AT-STs are missing a second black die roll? They're a lot more effective against infantry than stormtroopers are, LOL.

Does anyone else think the AT-STs are missing a second black die roll? They're a lot more effective against infantry than stormtroopers are, LOL.

Ya, and x-wings being the same strength as tie fighters is pretty silly too. One has shields, 4 lasers, and 2 proton torpedo launchers. The other just has 2 lasers.

I suspect that the sides are going to be very mirrored in terms of unit strengths. Which is disappointing.

EDIT:

Basically half the units are mirrors of the other faction's units. Personally I'd make Star destroyers stronger than Mon Cal Cruisers and make X-wings and Y-wings take 2 hits.

Because of the scale, even adjusting the numbers by 1, it is a big deal.

I think tie fighters and xwings being the same is fine. It is probably for gameplay balance. And if you think of it as 2 squads of tie fighters vs 1 squad of xwings it works out thematically.

Ywings probably have a red die and 1 health. And i really cant see the mon cals being different than the star destroyers, because 2 dice doesnt make gameplay sense and less health doesnt make thematic sense.

Because of the scale, even adjusting the numbers by 1, it would be a big deal.

I think tie fighters and xwings being the same is fine. It is probably for gameplay balance. And if you think of it as 2 squads of tie fighters vs 1 squad of xwings it works out thematically.

Spot on.

To keep the numbers small and manageable, you have to make some concessions.

Beyond that, these are representations. The Tie fighter isn't 1 Tie. The stormtrooper isn't 1 stormtrooper. They represent an amount of power or force you get for that cost in resources.

Yes, 1 X-wing destroys 1 Tie, but 2 Tie are a fairly equal match to 1 X-wing, and their cost in production would be similar.

Honestly, there is a good amount of difference between the two sides.

Xs vs Ys. Rebel transports that can't fight, but are needed to transport armies. No super star destroyer or AT-AT equivalent, and obviously no death stars for the Rebels. Imperials not being able to move ties without transports. Imperial units having greater capacity. The rebels also have the interesting shield generators and Ion cannons which do some interesting things.

Does anyone else think the AT-STs are missing a second black die roll? They're a lot more effective against infantry than stormtroopers are, LOL.

Ya, and x-wings being the same strength as tie fighters is pretty silly too. One has shields, 4 lasers, and 2 proton torpedo launchers. The other just has 2 lasers.

But at this scale you aren't talking about individual fighters, or even squadrons, but whole wings of fighters. And that changes the dynamic a lot.

-Will

And 2 corellian corvettes equal the strength of a star destroyer? 2 Mon cal cruisers are more powerful than the Executor?

Or are you going to tell me that each Capital Ship token represents multiples of those now.

Face it, they dumbed it down to appeal to the more casual market.

I suppose that by the same token, the AT-ST is vulnerable against squads of enemy infantry...but again, are we to assume that Rebel troopers can take on AT-STs when stormtroopers can't damage the Rebel equivalent?

Perhaps tactics cards are responsible for smoothing out this inconsistency with the canon.

And 2 corellian corvettes equal the strength of a star destroyer? 2 Mon cal cruisers are more powerful than the Executor?

Or are you going to tell me that each Capital Ship token represents multiples of those now.

Face it, they dumbed it down to appeal to the more casual market.

Um, yes, they do represent multiple ships,there's no other way a game like this can work. The Empire had at least 30 Imperial Star Destroyers at Endor alone; I doubt there are 30 ISD pieces in the box. So clearly every capital ship is a squadron, and the piece probably only represents the largest/most important ships, not the only type of ship present. It's not dumbing down, it's abstraction. And there's no way to do a grand-strategic simulation of Star Wars without it.

-Will

Combat is simple but pretty elegant. I really like the 2 types of hit symbols on the dice. And the tactics cards add a cool layer.

My only concern is that late game fleets could have some pretty large dice pools and of all the things FFG is known for - being generous with dice is not one of them.

I'm guessing they'll include the game on the app, and they'll likely give us the option to buy some more dice also (because why not right?).

I have already contacted FFG about this and was told ALL Star Wars games that require dice will be added to the app soon after release. It's a one time purchase for all the Star Wars games FFG makes!

Also, FFG made a conversion chart for the RPG dice so you could use standard 6 and 8 sided dice if you wanted to.

The product page says the game comes with 10 custom dice so I imagine it will come with 5 black and 5 red dice.