So I’m bored here at work today, and with all this discussion on the point costs of Rey / Finn and how they got it all wrong, I figured I’d take a look back in time at the various waves to see what we know today affects the value of the old cards.
First up – the original core plus Wave One .
X Wing – Wedge Antilles*, Luke Skywalker*, Garvin Dreis, Biggs Darklighter, Red Squadron, Rookie
Y Wing – Horton Salm, Dutch Vader, Gray Squadron, Gold Squadron
TIE Fighter – Howlrunner*, Mauler Mithel*, Dark Curse, Backstabber, Winged Gundark, Night Beast, Black Squadron*, Obsidian Squadron, Academy
TIE Advanced – Darth Vader*, Maarek Steele*, Storm Squadron, Tempest Squadron
Upgrades: Determination, Marksmanship, Expert Handling, Swarm Tactics, Squad Leader, R2D2, R2F2, R5, R5K6, R2, R5D8, Proton Torpedoes, Cluster Missiles, Concussion Missiles, Ion Cannon Turret
Wow, it’s amazing to think this is how this game started. I personally didn’t join until shortly after wave 2 landed, but seeing as it was sold out everywhere, I had a decent amount of time playing with essentially W1 stuff. It’s clear that EPTs were only supposed to be given to the truly elite at the beginning. This trend made its way into W2, but by W3, almost everything named had an EPT. This continues to hurt the Y wings and Garvin, though I would say that Backstabber with an EPT is just downright scary for 16 points. Of course we’ve all talked about how the X wings are underpowered, but the other knowledge we now have is just how important an action is. Even back when TIE/x1s were at their lowest, Vader was still playable due to the double action. Squad Leader is just gathering dust on the shelf because it’s never worth it to give an action to a less qualified pilot at the expense of a higher skilled pilot. Looking at the EPTs, 3 of the 5 are actions, and are really never used – not to mention that Vector Thrusters is straight out replacing Expert Handling. Only one of the named droids ever accounted to anything, go figure it’s the one who doesn’t rely on dice (and doesn’t cost actions). But the other problem – is ordnance. There was a belief that ordnance was good, leading to the X wing, Y wing, and TIE advanced being over cost.
Wave Two
A Wing – Tycho Celchu*, Arvel Crynyd, Green Squadron*, Prototype
YT-1300 – Han Solo*, Lando Calrissian*, Chewbacca*, Outer Rim Smuggler
TIE Interceptor – Soontir Fel*, Turr Phennir*, Fel’s Wrath, Saber Squadron*, Avenger Squadron, Alpha Squadron
Firespray-31 – Boba Fett*, Kath Scarlet*, Krassis Trelix, Bounty Hunter
Upgrades: Deadeye, Push the Limit, Draw Their Fire, Elusiveness, Veteran Instincts, Daredevil, Expose, Assault Missiles, Homing Missiles, Heavy Laser Cannon, Ion Cannon, Proximity Mines, Seismic Charges, Gunner, Mercenary Copilot, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker, Nien Nunb, Weapons Engineer, Millennium Falcon, Slave One, Engine Upgrade, Shield Upgrade, Stealth Device
Ahh, Wave 2. It seems like some of the most hated (and most used) cards come from Wave 2. Soontir Fel, Han Solo, PTL, VI, Deadeye (today at least), HLC, Gunner, MF, EU, SD… All have made their impact onto the game for extended periods of time. Again it seems that the developers uncost the value of an action, otherwise PTL would have probably be more expensive. Think on this for a minute – during W1, the ONLY way to get stressed was by doing a K turn, a 3 speed turn on a Y wing, equipping Expert Handling on Luke/Wedge (and using it), or drawing the Thrust Control Fire crit. Enter wave 2, where they introduce some of the few ships with green turns, along with PTL, allowing them to utilize all of that green with really no downside besides 3 points. To this day, PTL has been abused on Fel and an A wing is almost never seen without it (almost). W2 is interesting as there are only 3 named pilots that didn’t get an EPT (compared to the 8 from W1) while 8 received one (compared to 6 from W1) – already they have started to realize how powerful the EPT slot is. Go figure – two of those three never saw competitive action (Arvel and Fel’s Wrath), while the third (Krassis) only ever saw fringe play due to the HLC reroll his ability granted him. Ordnance continues to be overvalued in the eyes of the developers – making it all that much more sad when HLC comes out just 2 points more, isn’t a 1 time use, and doesn’t require an action to fire it.
Wave Three
B Wing – Ten Numb*, Ibtisam*, Dagger Squadron, Blue Squadron
HWK-290 – Jan Ors*, Kyle Katarn*, Roark Garnet, Rebel Operative
TIE Bomber – Major Rhymer*, Captain Jonus*, Gamma Squadron, Scimitar Squadron
Lambda Shuttle – Captain Kagi, Captain Yorr, Colonel Jendon, Omicron Group Pilot
Upgrades: Adrenaline Rush, Autoblaster Cannon, Advanced Proton Torpedoes, Blaster Turret, Proton Bombs, Fire Control System, Advanced Sensors, Sensor Jammer, Anti Pursuit Lasers, Darth Vader, Flight Instructor, Intelligence Agent, Navigator, Rebel Captive, Weapons Engineer, Recon Specialist, Saboteur, ST-321, Moldy Crow
Wow, what a mess of a wave. I believe the only time Alex and Frank has openly talked about mistakes they would do differently revolve around giving the HWK a primary attack of 1. It would appear that the developers (note, Alex and Frank had not taken over yet) started to recognize some of the errors of W1&2. They tried fixing ordnance for imps by adding Jonus, allowing you to modify your torpedo/missile shots, and by giving Rhymer a pretty decent power, making every ordnance (except for APT) R1-3… Except they made his ability way too expensive, and toting Jonus along as a support ship didn’t really do much. They even tried to address the issue about getting a TL by creating the ST-321 and coupling it with Jendon (and to be fair, I’m not entirely sure why we haven’t seen more of that these days when you’ve already spent 29 points for a Palpmobile). On the rebel side, Kyle was the sole answer for how to make ordnance better, but he coupled extremely well with the deadly APTs – sadly they are just too expensive and situational to use, even today. But some of the old issues of W1&2 still linger – they still don’t know what the true value of an action is – under costing FCS, making Saboteur, and butchering the Blaster Turret. FCS is a near auto include in any ship with a system slot, and that’s been the case since it debuted. The rare exception is an AS Corran w/ PTL (though I still wager that FCS is better), along with ATC /x1s. I would love to try out reinforced deflectors on the Ghost, but FCS is just SO good, that it’s hard to pass up, nevertheless pay more points for another system upgrade. I’m still a little surprised that SJ hasn’t found more play time, but it has started to appear on some Palpmobiles, so perhaps it’s just a matter of time before it’s relevant. Vader will always be a good card – never overpowered but always useful, as will Rebel Captive. I have to say, they did a pretty good job on the crew this time around. 4 of them are well priced and balanced, and 4 are kind of useless. I’d be interested to know what was going on in their heads regarding the B wing, I can’t understand why the named pilots have never been competitive but it’s clear that they aren’t. Perhaps it has to do with the overall lumbering nature of the ship, that even with a higher PS and barrel roll, they’re not capable of being dodgy enough to live longer? The pricing seems reasonable as well, perhaps a point high, and the overall ship might be a point high, but I doubt you’d see many Ten Nunb’s even if he came in at 29 points. Interestingly, there was only 1 EPT this wave, and it never saw any real play, but you can see that with the exception of the shuttle (which they clearly wanted to be a lumbering beast) the top two named pilots are all getting EPTs now. This is a trend that continues going forward.
Wave 3.5
X Wing – Wes Janson*, Jek Porkins*, Hobbie Klivian, Tarn Mison
TIE Interceptor – Carnor Jax*, Tetran Cowall*, Kir Kanos, Lieutenant Lorrir, Royal Guard*
Upgrades: Opportunist, Royal Guard TIE, Hull Upgrade, Targeting Computer, R2D6, R3A2, R4D6, R5P9, Flechette Torpedoes, C3PO, Han Solo, Leia Organa, R2D2 (crew)
Huh, so I know these technically came out at three different times, but they were all within two months from start to finish. Looking back at it, these were some pretty good fixes, especially for the TIE interceptor. The stress mechanic was finally getting fully fleshed out with the addition of R3-A2 to Rebel Captive, allowing both factions an unique way to stress the enemy once per turn . The addition of the Hull Upgrade and Royal Guard Title addressed the interceptor’s greatest competitive issue – a single bad roll could knock them completely out of the game. But for a total of 7 points, you could practically double their health, so on a 30 point Fel, you get a 2.85 times return on those 7 points. I know the true fix was to be had later in terms of Auto Thrusters, but it’s hard to argue with the intended fix.I’m going to jump on the bandwagon and say that I think the C3PO card was a mistake. I’m not entirely sure what the developers were thinking when they designed that card – it couldn’t be used on the ship it was released with, and for 3 points it’s quite powerful on the Falcon. This card was a mistake. Wes, Opportunist, Jek, Hobbie, and R2D6 all synergize well together.
Wave 4
E Wing – Corran Horn*, Etahn A’baht*, Blackmoon Squadron, Knave Squadron
Z-95 – Airen Cracken*, Lieutenant Blount*, Tala Squadron, Bandit Squadron
TIE Phantom – Whisper*, Echo*, Shado Squadron, Sigma Squadron
TIE Defender – Rexler Brath*, Colonel Vessery*, Onyx Squadron, Delta Squadron
Upgrades: Outmaneuver, Decoy, Wingman, Predator, R7, R7-T1, Ion Pulse Missiles, Tactician, Munitions Failsafe, Advanced Cloaking Device, Stygium Particle Accelerator
Wave 4 was another one of those head scratchers. Hot on the heels of Wave 3.5, W4 completely revolutionized the game of X wing, and started the entire PS race and turret wing. Up until this point generics ruled the skies, and it was clear that FFG wanted more emphasis in named characters being competitive. Predator is clearly made to encourage players to use get away from cramming the most number of the cheapest pilots in a list. In a way, as silly as this sounds, the Z-95 also encouraged that. Since you’re cheapest rebel filler used to be 18 points for a naked Gold, creating a 12 point filler allowed you to spend those 6 points on your ace instead. And besides the Z95, the entire wave was made up of aces. To this day, Corran Horn is the only E wing played, and Whisper the sole Phantom. Brath still doesn’t see the table much, but that’s more to the issue with undervaluing actions once again – you’d think they would have learned by now! Regardless, the star of this entire wave was ACD. Previously, if you were outbid on pilot skill, the only risk you had was 1) you couldn’t get a TL for the ordnance that wasn’t worth taking in the first place, and 2) you could potentially get killed before shooting, but since you had more ships than your opponent, you still got the same number of shots on him. And it offered you the opportunity to force a block, denying actions and shots – heck I preferred to be a lower pilot skill because of that. It was also easier to read the board in its current state instead of attempting to predict what it was going to be like by the time you activated. But Whisper changed all of that. Specifically the decloak. Now a lower PS held the risk that you wouldn’t get a shot at all. And by lower I mean lower than nine . Thus, all of these PS8 pilots equipped VI, and PS9s got dusted off the shelf. Wave 4 completely accomplished FFGs goal of getting the meta away from generic spam and into named pilots, and thus far we haven’t really recovered to a point where any list archetype is viable. Short of the previously mentioned ACD, the only upgrade to have any significant impact to the meta was Predator, providing a TL-lite modifier, dependent of actions. Knowing how it completely tears through generics, I believe it was a mistake to offer two rerolls against PS1-2. Outmaneuver is a very interesting card, but when it activates, it’s barely better than Predator, but it doesn’t activate 100% of the time, and it costs the same. Comparing it to Tail Gunner, I think OM should have come in at 2 points. And it was an interesting time in the progression of the game to release Decoy – your activation PS was now the most important part, yet Decoy only affected the combat PS.
Wave 4.5
A Wing – Jake Farrell*, Gemmer Sojan
B Wing – Keyan Farlander*, Nera Dantels*
Upgrades: Chardaan Refit, Proton Rockets, Jan Ors, Kyle Katarn, Enhanced Scopes, A Wing Test Pilot, B Wing /E2
Rebel Aces failed to deliver, and I’m not quite sure why. I like how the developers basically admitted that there was no way that an A wing pilot would ever take another upgrade over PTL, so they decided to just provide a second EPT slot. And I love A wings, but they’ve never had their time in the spotlight as the awesome of the week. Jake is hands down the best A wing, and you can argue that all he needs is CR, bringing him down to 22 points, which is what the outgoing Green w/ PTL was, except he has the option of barrel roll, no stress, and PS7 instead of 3. In reality, you’re going to put at least PTL and VI on him, bringing him to 26 points and PS9, but in order to make those 2 dice really work, you need the prockets, and now he’s 31 points, which is 1 point more than Fel for an arguably worse ability, and while he gets one extra die at R1 once, Fel gets 1 extra die on every. Other. Attack. I suppose you have an extra health over Fel, but I’ll gladly trade that shield for a primary weapon. Again, I love A wings – I spent 8 months competitively play Psycho Tycho at 38 points, and did extremely well with him, but they have never been awesome or widely spread as most other ships have at one point or another. The B wing didn’t receive much – two more pilots who are too expensive to field, and you can pay an extra point to add a crew. This is an option that either doubles the cost of a cheap crew, or makes the ship too expensive for its life expectancy. The best choice is tactician, coming in at a reasonable 3 points. Enhanced scopes are 100% useless, but Jan and Kyle have found themselves situationally useless, they are finally beginning to recognize what an action is worth.
Wave 5
YT-2400 – Dash Rendar*, Leebo*, Eaden Vrill, Wild Space Fringer
VT-49 – Rear Admiral Chiraneau, Commander Kenkirk, Captain Oicunn, Patrol Leader
Upgrades: Intimidation, Ruthlessness, Lone Wolf, Stay on Target, Leebo, Dash Rendar, Lando Calrissian, Fleet Officer, Mara Jade, Moff Jerjerrod, Ysanne Isard, Tactical Jammer, Counter Measures, Experimental Interface, Outrider, Dauntless
What a good wave! With all the rage being the Phantom and trying to get it in arc, W5 introduced two turrets that could care less about arc, but each with their own special niche. The Outrider has a R1 donut hole that can be exploited, while RAC wants to stay at R1-2, and Oicunn loves to ram people. All of these add something new to the game that differentiate them from the stale YT-1300 PWT hate that was currently in progress, while addressing the Phantom hate at the same time. The upgrades leave much to be desired as few ever get used. Ysanne is custom made for the VT-49 and had some use on it for a while, but the crew slot is just not worth it anymore. If there wasn’t so much competition for crew slots, I’d expect to see more of Mara Jade as her ability is quite powerful, but there’s just too many other options. TJ gets some fringe use these days on Kanan+Biggs lists, but those aren’t even main stream, and CM is a staple of Dengaroo, though there are (inferior) versions that try not to use it. Otherwise the upgrades are all blah. I’m surprised Ruthlessness hasn’t made its way onto a TIE/xD yet to be honest. The other major change during W5 was the introduction of Debris Clouds, and the new tourney rules allowing you to select your 3 obstacles. Now I’m just waiting for the option to use my GR-75 as 3 obstacles as promised in the instruction manual that came with it!