Just a quick observation in the naming. The names feel Imperial. Rebels and Imps are differentiated by their uniqueness. Rebels are named (mostly) and we see their faces and emotions. They are folk we can relate to. The Imps are faceless and nameless (makes it easier to gun them down in movies). The few exceptions (outside of named villians) are names like 'Howlrunner', ' Backstabber', etc.

I would either :

a) make up names. Eg. Barry McKenzie

b) make up names to go with the nickname. Eg. Barry "Fearless" McKenzie

c) give them a callsign. Eg Gold 7,

d) give them their own squadron and 'rank'. Eg. Rapier squadron veteran

I think this is more fitting to the canon and the FFG standard naming convention.

Cards look great by the way and I really .. REALLY .. love what you're doing with the astros!

what i feel too

Even more playtesting complete. Nothing seems particularly powerful, not even Saw. The titles and Etheric Rudder provide a decent amount of firepower, maneuverability, and durability that was needed but it's far from top-tier.

What kind of stuff were you playtesting against, out of curiosity?

If you need pilot names, this thread has a few. All from the original trilogy. https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/topic/230568-the-definitive-call-signs-project-help

This one has pilots from the EU http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-50-best-x-wing-pilots-ranked-1750228206

What kind of stuff were you playtesting against, out of curiosity?

So far, i've playtested against DashPoe(loss for me), Imperial Bombers(also a loss), Scum Aces(victory), KathKetsu(Victory), and Imperial Aces(victory).

i've discovered that Adv. Etheric seems to be spot on as it is; It's very difficult to stack the evade and regen on the same maneuver and still go where you want, and you can still very easily be focus fired but it just extents the life-span of the X-Wing. T-65C-A2 is really nice for staying in those dogfights, T-65B is great when it works but it's very difficult to coordinate, and impossible to reliably trigger it on an opening turn. The Astromechs are decent, definitely worth what you're paying for them, no doubt. All the pilots are good in their own right. Neophyte is great on the opening turn when loaded with T-65B, Chimps, and Proton torps. It only works once but it's a fantastic opportunity to put some crits on tough ships in your opponents list before they get tokens, like Dengar for example, but Neophyte typically dies really quickly. Saw's ability surprised me with how balanced it was. My opponent almost always chose to modify dice but the stress didn't stack to the ceiling like i thought it might. It definitely made a difference, but it was more just forcing my opponent's hand with what maneuver they needed to make. The Y-Wings are pretty good and not horribly out there, too.

I really like these cards, R8 is a good idea, survivability is improved without actually raising the roof on possible survivability.

I wonder if Etheric thrusters should be a bit more- or differently limited, perhaps 2-speed only or just Banks only? I also dislike a design that so closely resembles an existing one.

The ion/tractor beam counter droid has such a specific use that it dances on the edge of playability, given the fact that you still take a stress token perhaps it should be 0 points?

From a pack-selling perspective there's 3 droids and 1 pilot that have to do with stress, that feel´s like a little too much.