I was wondering what you guys see as the new list's or combos that will be appearing with wave 8?

Obviously for SV, Boba Fett will be see a lot of action. Especially since he only costs 1 point, and can nerf a palpmobile fairly easy.

But what else do you guys see coming in our future?

I expect to see plenty of Ghost/Phantom lists although I suspect only a small subset will end up being competitive in the tournament scene. I rather hope it will revive "fun" lists in non-competitive games though.

Looking further out, I suspect Defenders will see a big surge once Veterans lands. If the Glaive turns up at the expected 33-point level then 3 Juking x7 Defenders will be pretty effective although the Tie/D may prove more potent in the long run as people get a handle on how to use Tractor beams.

I think Veterans will also see a boost for ordnance based lists. A Jonus-shuttle with a Fleet Officer will give some real heft to Bomber/Punisher lists as you can give an extra couple of ships the kind of firepower and efficiency that Redline normally brings to the table.

For Scum I think triple U-boats is going to mark a new baseline for effectiveness and ease of use.

https://geordanr.github.io/xwing/?f=Galactic%20Empire&d=v4!s!53:44,144,132,-1:-1:-1:;62:18:5:15:M.1;187:152,153:-1:-1:&sn=Unnamed%20Squadron

this is my wave 8 list, still on the fence about SJ vs Reinforced deflectors, RD will do more vs aces, but if TLT's stick around i'll have to take SJ to try to counter.

Ghost and P1 are, by far, the most exciting of the lot as they're amongst FFG's best expansions evar (imo) in terms of options they open up

they just have so many options, from super face smash (ordnance, ghost's 4 dice) to blocker supreme (feedback int agent, auto-blaster accuracy correct zeb) to extreme fat ship (dengar, Kanan ghost; both titles that are hilariously expensive being 12 and at least 18 respectively)

ghost has extra stuff in fat jouster (Generic with FCS, ezra and hera crew) and auto-blaster surprise which uses the pilot Hera and int agent zeb to just slam (not ASLAM) into the opponent and ruin their ****

also Sabine. Bomber ghost? maybe. Bomber Ks? oh hell to the **** yeah!!!

the TAPs and Misthunter...I'm not as optimistic about

Misthunter at least has the amazing zuckuss and 4-lom crews that'll see more play on the YV-666 and jumpy

sadly, the TAPs is by far the most underwhelming expansion in a while. It has no unique upgrades outside the Tie/v title and its only inspired offering is the Inquisitor himself (who is cool, at least, and will open up a nice budget ace for around 30-31 points)

projected Combos

P1

Scout:

• (deadeye r4 chips) the scout is going to be a disgusting ordnance platform
• (intel agent, intimidation, apl, feed back) the scout is going to be a disgusting blocker

Manaroo:

• (Adaptability, intel agent, apl, feedback) Manaroo uses Adaptability to get to ps 3 explicitly to support two torp scouts. She trades intimidation for her ability to enable deadeye on her friendlies from any range, even if they're stressed or used their action to barrel-roll into a block or better angle

Tel:

• Idk. Fat turret material, can't say I'm the least bit interested

Dengar:

• (PTL K4 EU Unhinged Punishing One) likewise fat turret material. Hypermobile with a stupid powerful ability.

Ghost

Lothal Rebel/Chopper

• (FCS, Hera, Ezra). Completely stress immune with a wide open dial and a 4-dice primary. Arc-locked, but merely a point more expensive than the patrol leader. Troll potential is off the scales
• (autoblaster turret, accuracy correcter, zeb; hera) Shreds any agility though less punchy overall than FCS + Ezra. Ghost/phantom optional

Kanan

• damage canceling ability makes for some incredible fat ship material. Not a fan of fat ships, though.

Hera

• (autoblaster turret, accuracy correcter, zeb, intel agent) use ability to willingly slam into both higher and lower PS, let the turret + zeb do its thing. Ghost/phantom optional

FGD intuisitors is the only one that had the XX-23 i think! thats unique!! its also a cheap way to get Chimps

As a primarily Imp player, I am a little meh on wave 8. The TAP is nice, and Inquisitor's ability is awesome, but they don't bring anything really new to the table. Just more variety in pocket aces, Palp lists, and 3-ship ace lists. I really think Veterans is the Imperial wave 8. Talk about shaking up the Imp meta! Defenders will be everywhere stomping faces, taking mothers on nice dinner dates, and NEVER CALLING THEM AGAIN!! I am equally excited about TIE Shuttles, which give an amazing support ship option and may finally make Fleet Officer competitive! Not to mention whatever Systems Officer does (crossing fingers for great synergy there).

FGD intuisitors is the only one that had the XX-23 i think! thats unique!! its also a cheap way to get Chimps

So you're saying they're cheap as chips then?

Only problem is I believe you'll see 3 scouts far sooner than you'd see 6 taps worth of gcs, or even the more realistic 3

Hell I can't imagine anything outside the inq surviving when the dust settles

idk i feel like Rudor will do well if TLTs still dominate.

they won't

not with all the sexy ordnance coming out (jumpmasters; don't have to wait for vets for Redline or bombers to be viable) and t-beam defenders on the horizon, and the inquisitor himself

I'm thinking the lambda is going to be more relevant with ebaffle. It can actually turn consecutively if it needs to now (not to mention full stop).

I'm expecting a lot of Ghosts/Phantoms and a lot of Jumpmasters. Especially given that Vassal has apparently demonstrated that the Wolf Pack triple torpedo jumpmaster is a solid build.

The Inquisitor will see some use, but he's got a LOT of competition for his points value and squad position as a upper-mid-PS ace, and I'm feeling the TAPs otherwise are a touch overpriced and face a lot of competition in terms of where they fit in squads from f/os.

Mist Hunter feels like it's landing in a bit of a dead zone, though 4-LOM looks amazingly funny/trolly.

And yeah, I'm expecting scatterings of Boba crew (though, again, I think those slots have a tonne of competition, and I'd often prefer to spend a couple more points on something reliable and controllable like Dengar or K4 than something which risks wasting a point and a slot on being irrelevant or never being used at all). I'm also expecting scatterings of people putting WAY too much into making Boba work - I really don't think he should be anything more than a 'oh I have a point left' afterthought. SImilarly, I can see the odd tractor beam coming up, but I can also see a lot of people overusing them, as I'm not sure there are many cases where giving up a 3-die attack for 0 damage is likely to be worth it, the rolling onto asteroids thing is way overblown.

In terms of other upgrades, Adaptability will show up a bunch, as will the various Ghost crew, particularly Kanan, and Waffles will similarly see some use (I'm particularly looking forward to Yorr with Waffles sucking down all the stress from a k-turning miniswarm then exploding for sheer comedy value). I'm not sure they will get a vast amount of use though as the most common shuttle is Palpatine's, and you don't want to spend more on him than you have to nor shorten his lifespan voluntarily, and I don't see any of the other system-slot ships liking them much. I'm also expecting to see Thermal Detonators scattered around a bit. I can see Bomb Loadout Thermal Detonator Stresshogs being a thing >.<

I want to see RAAAAAEG too, but I can't see anyone other than Tycho being that likely to run it, albeit I've wondered about Advanced Sensors Rage on 4LOM which could be hilarious.

And obviously, Guidance Chips are going to show up a tonne.

But overall I think Imperial Veterans is going to shake things up by itself a lot more than Wave 8 will, at least for me. There are a lot more things with it I'm excited to play than with wave 8.