Winning.

We have our Love for The Empire, the only thing we need.

A Galactic Empire is a big thing. It needs to be everywhere. So it makes cheap ships out of flimsy materials so it can have a squadron on every planet of note. This has the benefit of making very fast and maneuverable ships, even though they are not able to sustain much damage when fired upon. With that many ships, it is hoped that fear will keep the local systems in line.

In game terms, cheap ships with good dials, high agility and evade actions, often with repositioning options, but low hit points.

While Rebels and Scum are stuck with things like BBBBZ or 5X Khiraxz, all at PS2 and no abilities, the Empire can field 5-6 "Aces" like Howlrunner, Dark Curse, Epsilon Ace, Omega Ace, Wampa, etc.

I think this is why it will be a long time before see a Z-95 Veterans pack with new pilots. They are trying to keep the Empire as the Swarm Faction.

Rebel ships with a Barrel Roll

1. B-Wing
2. E-Wing
3. YT-2400
4. Attack Shuttle

Scum ships with a Barrel Roll

1. Starviper
2. M3-A Interceptor
3. G1-A Starfighter (With title)
4. Jumpmaster 5000

Imperial ships with a Barrel Roll

1. TIE Fighter
2. TIE Advanced
3. TIE Interceptor
4. TIE Bomber
5. TIE Phantom
6. TIE Defender
7. TIE/FO Fighter
8. TIE Advanced Prototype

The Empire is clearly the Barrel Roll faction.

Easily the whiniest players

The... Assault Gunboat?

Space pies!

Tie CARRIERS!!

Empire = EPIC!!!

Phantoms. Palpatine. Best pilot abilities in the game. Best baseline ship in the game in the form of the academy pilot.

They also have a large lockdown on three agility ships. They have 6 ships types with that, seven if you count the Phantom, while Rebels only have two and scum three.

The empire has green dice

that are fickle

oh wait...

Anyway, they have unique pilots. considerably more than other factions. With fancy abilities at multiple cost levels from cheapish Chaser to the costly Chiraneau. This opens up a lot more build variety, regardless of whether or not it actually translates to advantage in the competitive scene.

Oh also they have several good pilots that are crippled to eternity like Lorrir or Kir Kanos (bonus rant: Kir Kanos is a royal guard champion that eventually killed Carnor Jax and doesn't have EPT. Let that sink in for a bit)

The Empire has a unified aesthetic: any two Imperial ships look good next to one another.

The Empire typically has very maneuverable ships, featuring some combination of boost, barrel roll, and the 1-turn maneuver.

The Empire typically has a stronger focus on tech: they have the most ships featuring the system slot, as well as exclusive access to tech-themed toys like Advanced Targeting Computer and Advanced Cloaking Device.

Although the three factions all now have ships in each "role", the median Imperial ship remains noticeably less expensive than that of the Rebels or S&V.

Players whining a lot about a lack of diversity then playing nothing but palpatine and two aces.

I used to think Imperial has the most infuriating aces, but then...

Players whining a lot about a lack of diversity then playing nothing but palpatine and two aces.

Wow. and I just made the post about empire having the most diversity. Players who think that way do not deserve to wear the empire insignia. Even palpaces builds has a lot of variations to it that I haven't tested all of them yet!

The Empire has the Emperor. I would be very surprised if FFG ever made a comparable card to that for any other character, with the possible exception of Snoke, who's be in the same faction anyway.

Subjugating the free people of the galaxy, that's the imperial thing.

Is this an Imperial thang?:

I think, more than the rest, the Empire is able to supplement aces with a sizable number of generics. They're the only faction that can get a large number of named pilots/generics with EPTs on the field and maybe still have an ace with them. When it comes to numbers and "discount aces", they're the go to faction.

The Empire has the most maneuverable and agile ships almost every ship has either a barrel roll or boost the Tie Interceptor has both. Almost all their ships have an evade action.

The Empire has the Emperor.

Otherwise it wouldn't be the Empire now would it.

Aside from the obvious edge in manoeuverability, the biggest thing I would say the Empire has going for it is the challenge.

There are very few lists that I have found with the Empire that can survive not being flown well. You can survive making a mistake with Rebels or Scum as everything has some form of shielding to protect them. With the Empire, if you make a mistake, you are going to pay for it in the most painful way ever.

What is the most straight forward list the Empire can put on the table? TIE Swarm. How easy is it to fly the swarm effectively within the constraints of a tournament setting? Not very.

Put that in your X-wing and smoke it!

Aside from the obvious edge in manoeuverability, the biggest thing I would say the Empire has going for it is the challenge.

There are very few lists that I have found with the Empire that can survive not being flown well. You can survive making a mistake with Rebels or Scum as everything has some form of shielding to protect them. With the Empire, if you make a mistake, you are going to pay for it in the most painful way ever.

What is the most straight forward list the Empire can put on the table? TIE Swarm. How easy is it to fly the swarm effectively within the constraints of a tournament setting? Not very.

Put that in your X-wing and smoke it!

Which is why, if and when someone wins world's with an Empire list, it will be a huge deal. I don't think it will ever happen. The greatest players try to minimize random factors and Empire relys on green dice to much to win it all. So unless your the god of Xwing, you play it safe and hedge your bets and play Rebels.

Whatever the Imperial "thing" is, it's too late for them to have it. Cause whatever it would be, would have been on the dozen ships they already put out.

Aside from the obvious edge in manoeuverability, the biggest thing I would say the Empire has going for it is the challenge.

There are very few lists that I have found with the Empire that can survive not being flown well. You can survive making a mistake with Rebels or Scum as everything has some form of shielding to protect them. With the Empire, if you make a mistake, you are going to pay for it in the most painful way ever.

What is the most straight forward list the Empire can put on the table? TIE Swarm. How easy is it to fly the swarm effectively within the constraints of a tournament setting? Not very.

Put that in your X-wing and smoke it!

Which is why, if and when someone wins world's with an Empire list, it will be a huge deal. I don't think it will ever happen. The greatest players try to minimize random factors and Empire relys on green dice to much to win it all. So unless your the god of Xwing, you play it safe and hedge your bets and play Rebels.

That's the truth. Ever since that Regional event - arc dodged every one of my three elite Interceptors out of every arc, out of range of the Fat Han, nothing but a generic A-Wing firing 2 unmodified attack against an undamaged, hull-upgraded, Carnor Jax...with focus...at range 2...as the only shot he had. And Soontir, Turr, AND Carnor all fired at that stupid A-Wing first, with it taking not a single shield damage. He takes his shot...and he rolled 2 natural crits on 2 dice. I roll my 4 evade dice (stealth device, yo)....all blanks. Draw two crits...direct hit, direct hit. &^$#%^#^^&*(&^ - 1/3 of my list down with a single luck shot.

I just....yeah. Imperials as a competitive faction? Nah. No chance. Dice just frack you over at the most damnable times.

Whatever the Imperial "thing" is, it's too late for them to have it. Cause whatever it would be, would have been on the dozen ships they already put out.

That's not....necessarily true. I mean, I don't know what it could be, but....FFG could totally release a modification that was "Imperial Only" and somehow completely redefined the faction via some characteristic the Imperial ships have (I dunno, the 3 evade dice that the vast majority seem to favor or something). Or a crew that does something similar - just a very tight synergy with...something common amongst Imperial ships. Or....I dunno, I'm reaching a bit, here.

I agree, it'd be tough to 'patch something in' at this point to become "The Imperial Thing", but FFG has done more impressive patchwork before, so....

The two things that stand out me the most in the imperial faction are flexibility and variety in swarm building, and the style of Ace ships they favor.

The TIE fighter has more unique pilots than any other ship in the game, and they are all 18 points or less. The black squadron pilot is the cheapest pilot with an EPT slot in the game, and the most expensive TIE fighter pilot is only 6 points more than the academy pilot. Compare that to other ships like the A-Wing, X-wing, and B-wing who have a gap of 8-9 points. Even the Z-95 take 7 points to get up to Airen Cracken, and the cheapest unique Z-95 pilot starts at 17 points. TIE Fighters can upgrade their damage output (backstabber, scourge, mauler, wampa, black squadron with crack shot), defensive power (dark curse, night beast), or add squadron support (Youngster, Howlrunner) at swarm-level pricing. Not to mention that Imperials currently have a significant amount of options in the 21 points and under range including bombers, TIE/fos, TIE Advanced Protypes, and Tempests with accuracy corrector.

Rebels can swarm Z-95s or a mix of Z-95s and A-wings, but it does not play the same as a TIE swarm. There also isn't much customization to be found other than bringing missiles into the mix, which is vastly different than how a TIE swarm plays. Moving beyond that you get more into the 5-ship rebel "swarms" which rely on the rebels' ability to field 3-attack ships in the ~22 point range, plus a Z-95 or two to fill in the leftovers. Again, these builds are fine but they do not play the same as a TIE swarm or feature the same amount of options in the price range as Imperials have. Scum swarms are mostly just Z-95s, but with lower PS than rebel Z-95s they have to rely on their illicit slot options more (RIP Scyk).

As for Aces, the Imperials favor naturally high pilot skill, maneuverability and action economy along with at least 3 attack (or Vader+ATC). Darth Vader with engine upgrade and Soontir Fel (or other Interceptors) can consistently barrel roll and boost, turtle up with focus+evade, or mix and match at their discretion. Whisper can decloak and barrel roll, as well as turtle up with her ability + advanced cloaking device (cloaking in general is still quite unique for the imperials, scum are getting a little taste soon but it's still nothing to reliably build your ship around like the phantom and its modifications.) Emperor Palpatine rounds out the unique tools available to the imperial aces' combat style.

Rebel Aces tend toward damage mitigation or health regeneration and/or offensive power, and most rebel ships don't have the green maneuvers or action options to support the constant PTL use. A-Wings like Tycho and Jake can but at natural 2 attack and lower PS it's not quite the same. You can give them missiles or EPTs like outmaneuver or VI to try and counteract their shortcomings but ultimately they don't play the same as Imperial ace ships. The closest you can get is an E-wing with PTL, engine upgrade, and r2 astromech but most players favor the regeneration of R2-D2 and just make do with the handful of natural greens available on the dial. Scum aces are usually large ships like IG-200, Boba Fett, or Dengar, with the jack of all trades Star Viper occasionally making an appearance. Again, not really the same play style as the Imperials.

The TIE Defender is also a fairly unique ship, and once the Imperial Veterans expansion drops the new titles will give it some very unique capabilities.

Post-maneuver mobility. No one can maintain action economy, damage and mobility like Vader with EU or Soontir Fel. Whisper and Echo also have a high degree of mobility (although theirs comes before the maneuver), and no ship in the game excels at blocking like an Academy TIE, mainly because of its glorious dial and the invaluable Barrel Roll for clogging maneuver lanes.

For awhile Bombs were unique to the Empire, but things have changed and that's okay. At the moment it's their incredible market for ace options. Need a cheap but immediate threat? Look at Wampa. Want something slightly more expensive and painfully annoying? Check out Omega Leader. The Inquisitor is also a decent option hovering just below or above 30 points depending on how you kit him, then the 30~40 range (especially after Imperial Veterans) is absolutely stacked in the Empire's favor.

There is an unmatched degree of freedom in squadbuilding for the Empire that enables mini-swarms to be successful alongside a pair of aces or even a single ace / large ship.

Then we can throw all that away as our perfectly token-loaded Soontir dies while rolling 6 blank green dice at range 3 through an asteroid with Stealth Device.