Do you guys not all have 4 Defenders already?

That was the only place to get Predator.

I respect that they give Alt Art generics and hope they do more, because it helps with the card number problem you're speaking to. I'd be happy too for an alt art Defender Onyx Squadron because it's honestly my least favourite art.

Look at it!

It does look tiny next to that B-Wing.

The base inserts are definitely a big part of it I'm sure. They pretty much only provide enough generics to be the backside of each unique and an extra of the new generic makes more sense than picking one of the other generic options. I think the only time they've ever broken this to my knowledge is with the Gozanti due to adding 4 unique pilots and 3 generics to set them to. The extra unique pilot is takes one of the generics and then there's an extra token with a generic on each side.

If they shiped it with the old generics instead of new ones their would be threads along the lines of "I already have those generics why didn't ffg make new ones instead?"

They can't win, and don't say they should put both in as that effects the cost of the pack, and if you don't care what it costs then it does not matter to you anyways since you can buy the single defender packs.

I personally like getting more options, so am happy about the contents of vetrans.

If there is any reason, you could say that for both the TIE Defender and especially the TIE Interceptor the base generics are rarely if ever used. It does seem like putting in a few more cardboard pieces should not cost that much, but arguably players aren't likely to need them so maybe there's nothing of value lost. Definitely not as blatant as Integrated Astromech

I am now reminded that I only have two copies of Twin ion Engine mk2 and don't want to buy another TIE Punisher.

The core problem is that Drltas and Scimitars are actually desirable with the new upgrades vs. Alphas and Avengers

I respect that they give Alt Art generics and hope they do more, because it helps with the card number problem you're speaking to. I'd be happy too for an alt art Defender Onyx Squadron because it's honestly my least favourite art.

Look at it!

It does look tiny next to that B-Wing.

Preface: This post is not intended to complain/whine about the options in Imperial Veterans but rather a place to discuss/speculate as to the reasoning about why FFG chose to do what they did.

Imperial Veterans as with Imperial Aces both introduce new generics for the ships they contain but are the only two expansions(thus far) that don't include all previously released generic pilots. With Imp Aces we lost Alphas/Avengers to get more Unique pilots and Royal Guard Pilots. Similarly with Imp Vets (based on current preview photos) we don't get Scimi/Gamma pilots for the Bomber and Delta/Onyx for the Defender.

This got me curious if FFG is doing this on purpose to boost sales or if its to keep the card count down and in turn keep the cost of the expansion down?

I find it amusing/silly that if I want to run 3 Deltas, or 3 Onyx with matching titles (all Tie/D or all x7) I need 2 Imp Vets and 3 individual Defender expacs (i.e. 5 Defender ship models to run a 3 ship list). Similarly if I want to run 4 Scimi/Gamma(non-Vet) LRS bombers I need 4 bomber expacs and 2 Imp Vets. (once again 6 models for a 4 ship list).

From a marketing perspective this seems genius and at the same time evil.*

At the end of the day it doesn't matter too much to me as I do not participate in the tournaments and don't need all the matching cardboard/cards to play at home but I could see it being a bit of a minor annoyance for competitive players especially if said lists above become super competitive.

To FFG Marketing, if this was on-purpose, I applaud you for your genius but as a customer I feel like I should dislike you for being so sneaky

*I could be way overthinking this and FFG just wanted to give us new pilots and the only way to do that in their current expansion scheme is to replace the old generic slots with the new ones.

So, would it be less evil not to have any Veterans expansions at all?

I respect that they give Alt Art generics and hope they do more, because it helps with the card number problem you're speaking to. I'd be happy too for an alt art Defender Onyx Squadron because it's honestly my least favourite art.

Look at it!

It does look tiny next to that B-Wing.

"OK, one last time. This Defender is SMALL. The one out there is FAR AWAY."

"some of the lasers will be obscured by the B-wing if the Defender is far away..."

"We can't have that. Put all the lasers in the foreground. Nobody will notice it's a tiny defender"

i'd rather what theyre doing than what Magic does.

X-Wing makes its money by making every expansion viable in some way shape or form. Even the Tie Defender pre-Veterans has reasons to be bought, even though i'd rate the ship as the lousiest Tie pre-Vets (not talking specific pilots). Not much, but it does. Both from facing them and heresay, the StarViper is another such expansion where the ship itself is kinda bleh but the expansion is still wanted due to the cards. Not that expensive either so no biggie.

Magic, on the other hand, plays the RNG game to get competitive lists. Yeah you can theoretically get one dynamite deck by only buying a starter box and a few dozen boosters, good luck with that though lol you'll need it. Every magic player i know has briefcases PACKED in cards, 90% of which they dont even care about because theyre repeats. Boosters are cheap but you have 0 idea whats inside or even whats available without some hefty research until you buy a ton of them.

In the end, unless i turn into one of those 3 U-Boat people who buy several pricy expansions PER SHIP in a 2-4 ship list, i will always pay less than any serious Magic player because i KNOW what im getting, they dont.

Dont get me wrong, i wish we could buy cards on their own, but i know better. They would never do that because it would bust their delicate merchandise balance. Though i at least wish there werent any 100% unique upgrade cards...looking at you Autothrustors/C3P0/Adv Targeting Computers....

As someone who used to play CCGs, and the Wizards Star Wars minis game, I love FFG's model. Initially, I was put off by the price of the expansions. Then I realized that I would spend much more than take over time with the other games. I love knowing what I am getting and that every ship I buy is playable (even for fun). There is no wasted cards (expect ordinance maybe?).

I can't comment on why FFG does what they does, but I can tell you the solution: proxy. Proxy like mad.

If you are playing in anything other than a high-level tournament (personally, I never do those) there's no reason you can't do this. And if you ARE playing in regionals, or an Open, or one of the tourney levels where proxies are outright banned - borrow one from another player (hopefully you know somebody else who plays x-wing - most of us do!).

I'm just happy that they put more than 1 attanni mind link in the same expansion.

Funny that they do this with Imperial alt paint packs and not any other. Rebel aces and even the raider and gozanti had the skill 1-3 pilots. Why is it that Imperial Aces/Vets are the only ones that don't have these is beyond me.

They are including 2 copies of each new generic in the Veterans pack. Personally I prefer that, otherwise I'd need 4 packs (in stead of 2) to fly a group of 4 Gamma Squadron Veterans, and I already own 4 regular Tie Bombers.

In the end I'll still end up with 1 more Defender and 2 more Bombers than I can use in a 100 point squad, but that's what Epic is for I guess.