What is still unknown?

​What fleets do you expect to see?
​

Will you buy 8 of everything, ostensibly for Epic?

6x Bandit Squadron, 4x Homing Missiles, 2x Concussion Missiles, 6x Chips.

Baba O'Reilly, 7x Academy Pilot.

Fat Jumpmasters, blatantly game ruining all green Super Dash.

The occasional bomber.

Fat Ghosts.

Hopefully the death of Aces. He'll have so many Homing Missiles he'll drown in it. DROWN IN IT!

The Mist Hunter and Jumpmaster are requisite buys.

The Ghost and TAP are nice-to-haves, they can wait for birthdays and Christmas.

I don't much use ships with crew, nor do I use much ordnance so the upgrades are not that urgent and the ships don't call to me.

Thermal detonators

Overcharged agromechs

Systems officer

fat jumpmaster aint got **** on torp boat/u-boat Deadeye + r4 + chips

it's the new imperial bounty hunter, only it kicks far more ass!

Systems officer

That's Veterans though.

What is still unknown?

​What fleets do you expect to see?

​

Will you buy 8 of everything, ostensibly for Epic?

I think the Punisher may finally be a big thing with chips, which is great news to steal back some spotlight from that showboat K! If Thermal Detonators are good then Deathrain will especially benefit.

The Phantom seems like a must-have. Is it a TLT and Tactician carrier? An agile PtL pocket ace? An 18 Ghost upgrade? A support crew carrier? It can do it all, and I think we'll see it all over the place.

I'm not sure if I can even begin to predict how much Scum will he changed. Mist Hunter aces, Punishing One PWTs and JumpMaster torpedo boats, cloaking device hijinks, Manaroo as the Scum Palpatine... it's a lot to take in.

While the TAP is a ship I've been looking forward to, it doesn't have the slash and dash of the rest. The Inquisitor is a fine ace, Rudor is a good intermediate ace, and the ship has a fine dial. It's another quality addition to the Imperial toolbox, but we have to wait for Imperial Veterans to see really dramatically new builds. Apart from the occasional Rage swarm, I think Imperial list fundamentals will change the least.

Systems officer

That's Veterans though.

It remains an unknown, doesn't matter if it comes in wave 8, imperial veterans, or this fortune cookie I have here.

The non-uniques for Mist Hunter haven't been spoiled (at least 1 item in each expansion hasn't been spoiled actually).

For now I'll be happy to get 2 of each scum ship - I'm still catching up with older releases.

The jump master comes out at a strange time where large PWT ships are no longer all the rage (pun not intended) thanks to the MOV nerf. But despite what overzealous TIE interceptor fans say it is nice to see a Scum flavor of a large PWT ships that both Imperials and Rebels had since Wave 5.

The Imperial A-wing might be making TIE interceptors even more rare and may even displace a few TIE advances on the Imperial side. As for crossing over rebel players to the dark side well most of them are not playing A-wings as there are more damaging options.

Rebels might try to make flying fortresses but really I see them falling back to the tried and true Corran, Poe, Stresshog lists.

As for upgrade and what effects they have, well guidance chips may help some EM builds as it is a better option than MF. Boba Fet is going to be a knife in Super Dash side. Fat Han may be making a comeback but you can count on C-3PO beign a target. Same for Palpmobile. Boba is a hard counter for overplayed upgrades, especially unique ones.

However this does give Scum a unique mechanic that hasn't been introduced into the game and that is the counter attack. Attack scum at your own peril they will be either attacking you back or even give you a damage that you cannot evade.

I'll be running these as soon as wave 8 comes out:

35 Ezra w/ PtL, TLT, Jan, Engine.

33 RSV w/ Juke, R3A2, Comms, Integrated.

32 RSV w/ Juke, R2, Comms, Integrated.

Similar to a list I already run, but better!

36 Scout w/ Deadeye, Boba, R4, ProtonT, EM, Feedback, Chips.

35 Scout w/ Deadeye, 4-LOM, R4, PlasmaT, EM, Feedback, Chips.

15 Enforcer w/ Feedback.

14 Banana w/ Feedback.

Looks very fun. A similar list placed quite highly at the Australian nationals.

30 Inquisitor w/ Juke, AT, v1.

26 Omega Leader w/ Juke, Comms.

44 (2x) Epsilon w/ Juke, Comms.

Have I mentioned I like Juke?

This wave's looking good for all 3 factions, especially Scum, who have been lacking in a few options IMO.

I'm definitely picking up a Jumpmaster and Mist Hunter. I'm actually tempted to pick up two JumpMasters to be honest given the versatility of the Contract Scout and the upgrades; and depending on the generics on the Mist Hunter, maybe a second one of that too.

I'll get the Ghost mainly for some of the crew and upgrades, but could see myself running it.

No interest in the TAP given I rarely fly Imps. Will probably get one eventually, but it won't be the priority.

The Mist Hunter and Jumpmaster are requisite buys.

The Ghost and TAP are nice-to-haves, they can wait for birthdays and Christmas.

I don't much use ships with crew, nor do I use much ordnance so the upgrades are not that urgent and the ships don't call to me.

That's what I love about this game – show two people exactly the same ships and they'll want different ones. I'm the exact opposite of you. For me, the Mist Hunter and Jumpmaster can wait, but the Ghost and TIE Adv. Prototype are immediate must-buys.

The biggest unknown to me is the Dual Card rule.

I want the Ghost, Misthunter x2, JM5000, TAP- in that order.

Just one of each for me. I'm might buy another Jump Master and Inquisitor but, just one for now.

Unfortunately my 4 Tie Advances might start collecting dust. For 21 points the Stone Temple Pilots (Sienar Test Pilot) with concussion missile, Chips, and Title are simply better than the Tempest with AC. They offer a more powerful alpha and the dials aren't even close. You give up 1 hull, but with the title, you'll be getting Evades all day long. Should more than make up for it. Or you can run them with Thrusters and a Procket for the same cost.

Every other ship in the wave looks fairly solid. The Jumpmaster and the Ghost are going to have a ton of flexibility in how you equip them. I actually like every JM5k pilot. I think they all have their uses. The Ghost brings so many more crew options for the Rebels it is hard to wrap your head around. B-wings with Bombs, HWKs with Bombs, everything with Bombs! Sabine Wren is going to be my favorite crew. I like Bombs! The Attack shuttle is very interesting. I think it might be one of the best ships in the wave. Lots of options there and cheap! For 23 points you can get a PS 9 pilot with 3 attack dice

I wish we knew the G1-As generics point cost. I think the PS 5 will be 25 and the PS 3 will be 23. They might have some utility but I think 4-LOM and Zuckuss will be the more popular options. Especially with some tractor beam action.