The official summery for the new Star Wars book Aftermath: Life Debt has been released and with it the first confirmation that the Grand Admiral rank/title still exists in the new canon with the recurring character Rae Sloane being listed as that rank. Those of you who read the first Aftermath book will recall that it ended with her talking with an unknown high ranking Imperial that commanded a great deal of fear and respect from other remaining Imperial leaders and so what do you think this will mean for current fan theories?

We've heard rumours of a Thrawn or Thrawn like character coming to Rebels so it's quite possible it's the same character in the end of Aftermath. Certainly seemed similar.

Aftermath was good. This'd be a really cool way to reintroduce Thrawn into the "canon"

And this isn't off topic, how?

And this isn't off topic, how?

As much as I liked Grand Admiral Thrawn as a character, he's more effective the less he's seen. He either wins all the time- which means our heroes lose all the time- or he loses- in which case he's not nearly as awesome.

Aftermath was good. This'd be a really cool way to reintroduce Thrawn into the "canon"

"Good" is highly debatable. It wasn't a terrible story, but it had basically nothing to draw my interest being all brand new characters (wedge doesn't really count since he's barely in the book) on a random out-of-the-way planet of no previous importance, and I didn't find the writing itself to be particularly good. I was rather unimpressed with the book as a whole. Some of the other new canon (and post-RotJ) books, such as Lost Stars, were SO much better.

As for the rest, I WOULD be perfectly happy if they used the sequels (or rebels, or any other venue) to reintroduce thrawn.

And this isn't off topic, how?

Better this than a front page full of ID conversations.

I figured it was an eventuality, since the recanonized Grand General in the Vader comic. And Sloane is a good one to be the reintroduction to the rank.

Which is higher ranked. Grand moff or grand admiral?

thrawn!

Thrawn!!

THRAWN!!!

Grand Moff

If Thrawn were to come into the game, how would you treat him?

I had this idea the other day:

"Before an enemy ship executes a maneuver, you may guess a speed and bearing. If the enemy ship executes a maneuver that matches your guess, you may assign a Focus token to a friendly ship."

No limit to the number of times it can be used per round, as I figure that the need to correctly predict your opponent's maneuver is enough of a restriction. You can use Intelligence Agents to gain knowledge of your opponent's maneuvers, and your opponent can use cards like Navigator, Stay On Target, and Hera Syndulla to change their maneuver if you guessed correctly.

It seemed fitting to the way that Thrawn was always studying his opponents and using that information to give his units an advantage.

Whoever the Emperor says. I imagine a LOT of the higher end of the Imperial hierarchy is entirely dependent on the Emperor.

If Thrawn were to come into the game, how would you treat him?

I had this idea the other day:

"Before an enemy ship executes a maneuver, you may guess a speed and bearing. If the enemy ship executes a maneuver that matches your guess, you may assign a Focus token to a friendly ship."

No limit to the number of times it can be used per round, as I figure that the need to correctly predict your opponent's maneuver is enough of a restriction. You can use Intelligence Agents to gain knowledge of your opponent's maneuvers, and your opponent can use cards like Navigator, Stay On Target, and Hera Syndulla to change their maneuver if you guessed correctly.

It seemed fitting to the way that Thrawn was always studying his opponents and using that information to give his units an advantage.

My take on thrawn from a while back: http://imgur.com/qIan4Iw

Please, no blue space Sherlock.

If Thrawn were to come into the game, how would you treat him?

I had this idea the other day:

"Before an enemy ship executes a maneuver, you may guess a speed and bearing. If the enemy ship executes a maneuver that matches your guess, you may assign a Focus token to a friendly ship."

No limit to the number of times it can be used per round, as I figure that the need to correctly predict your opponent's maneuver is enough of a restriction. You can use Intelligence Agents to gain knowledge of your opponent's maneuvers, and your opponent can use cards like Navigator, Stay On Target, and Hera Syndulla to change their maneuver if you guessed correctly.

It seemed fitting to the way that Thrawn was always studying his opponents and using that information to give his units an advantage.

Way too easy. I lot LOT of time manuevers are obvious. and even the alternatives to the obvious are obvious. Its really only difficult in opening rounds.

Also, this would slow down the matches a LOT

Whoever the Emperor says. I imagine a LOT of the higher end of the Imperial hierarchy is entirely dependent on the Emperor.

The rank ordering within the Empire seems to be very much based on who can take command of others. Tarkin was dominant over Vader- something the Emperor was not pleased about. That's one of the reasons Palpatine is working to replace him...

Please, no blue space Sherlock.

I find that offensive.

Please, no blue space Sherlock.

I find that offensive.

No, it sounds like it could be used as a defensive ability as well.

Well, I'm not certain if we will or even should see him make a full return but I live in his character archetype and would love to see it revived in the new lore. Sloane as a Grand Admiral is exiting on its own though.

I figured it was an eventuality, since the recanonized Grand General in the Vader comic. And Sloane is a good one to be the reintroduction to the rank.

Technically, Ackbar was the "reintroduction to the rank" - being specified as being a Grand Admiral, before Sloane was.

I figured it was an eventuality, since the recanonized Grand General in the Vader comic. And Sloane is a good one to be the reintroduction to the rank.

Technically, Ackbar was the "reintroduction to the rank" - being specified as being a Grand Admiral, before Sloane was.

Not really as the Rebellion uses a completely different and much more ad hoc and casual ranking system.

Maybe. Still, seeing the phrase "Grand Admiral Ackbar" got a few Ackbar fans happy as I recall.

As much as I liked Grand Admiral Thrawn as a character, he's more effective the less he's seen. He either wins all the time- which means our heroes lose all the time- or he loses- in which case he's not nearly as awesome.

Imho not really, Thrawns plans are usually broad enough that they have ways this could go wrong for Thrawn AND include those options within is plan to still gain advantages out of it. Thrawn acknowledges those situations and still goes into them if he think they are worth the risks and retreats/avoids them if he thinks they are not. Which means that there is plenty of options for the rebels to have success.

On top of that one central element of the character was that Thrawn was acting for the greater good, meaning he was supporting the empire for good reasons, reasons beyond the scope of the galactic civil war. In the EU it boiled sadly down to the Yuuzhan Vong, but there are plenty of more interesting threats in the unknown regions and Disney can develop anything for this, but the core of Thrawn is to use imperial power to establish order against very dangerous adversaries outside of the scope of the galactic civil war.