Let me start by saying this is only after two games with Wonderbread. So take everything with a giant grain of salt (I know you would have anyways). Also these are just opinions that are highly likely to change. As you will see i've already changed some of my preconceived notions about the wave.

First thing first I have not yet used or played against the following;

Rapid Launch Bays

Strategic at all

Entrapment or Shields to Maximum

Reinforced blast doors

Damage something or other officer

and plenty of squadrons

Let me start with the squadrons. I could not rap my head around them prior to playing there was just too much!

Relay is amazing, this ability cannot be understated.

and for all of you that think the colonel is bad....... He is really good.

Jonus just as good as we all thought he would be.

Defenders anti squadron is great. They just chew through things.

Biggs.... o what can be said about Biggs. Whatever is said it isn't enough. This guy just turned the imperial frustration with the x wing ball survivability up to 11.

distance 2 for snipe is REALLY far

Decimators especially the ace are devastating to nebs and flotillas

I don't think I will ever be able to kill Ciena Rey........ ever.

Attacking with Z95s is just as unpredictable as you would think.

Some other observations;

Ahsoka is a nice upgrade and pairs really well with Raymus on the pelta.

Speaking of the pelta, its much more formidable in combat than I was anticipating. I didn't think I would really be into the assault variant but I must say early finding gave it a big thumbs up from me.

Still speaking of the pelta, the assault variant specifically did you know that it is only on possible variant in the game that can effectively use the flechette torpedo? Talk about niche.....

Salvation is back.... in a big way. because.........

I was dead wrong, but also dead right, about Sato! Now I want to point out i was using Han so that helps with the whole prereq thing but the removal of the variance or the auto 7 damage from an MC80L cannot be understated. SO that were I was dead wrong I have stated all over these forums that I thought he was over costed for what he was. But were was I dead right???? I said somewhere that I would probably change my mind when I got him on the table and I have!

Arqs are better than I thought. with minimal upgrades they can have their way with smaller ships. Also that d-token track makes it much more survivable than you would think.

DTTs are great

Vader has a home.

Tarkin is quite interesting now.

Tua makes everything great again... even though everything already was.

raider1 with kallus and the extra attack in this world of geniques and aces everywhere is as devastating as it is on paper. Its the OE that sends it over the top. I've been trying to get wonderbread to do this for ever and got caught with my pants down tonight.

All fighters follow me is quite nice speed 4 y's and x's are something I didn't know I needed but I'll tell you what I do.

these are just my initial reactions that I know will change over time. but wanted to share with everyone.

How is wave 5 treating everyone else?

In the single proxy game I've gotten with Sato so far, I found the same thing about Salvation.

I haven't gotten to pick up any of my stuff yet, can you elaborate on the Pelta/Flechette thing? Why is it effective there and not, say, the Raider?

I think he means it the only rebel ship that can use flechettes.

I think he means it the only rebel ship that can use flechettes.

That... was obviously his point, in retrospect. >.>

IGNORE ME.

... so all in all, very good for the game health? I love this.
I poo poo on armada stuff all the time, but their game balancing so far is very very heart warming.

Is the VSD actually viable now? What about the interdictor? Does it have a role?
One more, does the Assault Frigate get some love?

I did one game with a buddy of mine today. My thoughts:

+ Ten Numb must die horribly before he kills everyone!
+ Nora Wexley is Rhymer's arch nemesis. Rhymer buffs a lot of bombers with range, but Nora annihilates shields.
+ Jendon and Maarek Stele are like best friends: Anti-Yavaris with the best squadron attack rating in the game that gurantees autodamage.

+ Z-95s die when you look at them.

Try Pelta with ET! This ships just looooves ET. From a slow and sluggishly turning beast of burden ET makes an agile and maneuverable ship. Add Entrapment for flavoring

I think he means it the only rebel ship that can use flechettes.

That... was obviously his point, in retrospect. >.>

IGNORE ME.

My squadron heavy Liberty list has new life thanks to the wonderfulness that is Garm/Ahsoka. It helps that I've finally figured out how I need to fly Liberty in that list.

To clarify - initiative is decided by who is the assaulting player rather than fleet points total right? Meaning the ol' debate about point bids for first player is moot?

To clarify - initiative is decided by who is the assaulting player rather than fleet points total right? Meaning the ol' debate about point bids for first player is moot?

in the Correlian Conflict yes. But outside of the CC, you still bid.

Thank you, tis what i thought. Is very nice not having to worry about a bid... and planning for expansions up to 500 points is great. That's a lot of CR90s...

I did one game with a buddy of mine today. My thoughts:

+ Ten Numb must die horribly before he kills everyone!

+ Nora Wexley is Rhymer's arch nemesis. Rhymer buffs a lot of bombers with range, but Nora annihilates shields.

+ Jendon and Maarek Stele are like best friends: Anti-Yavaris with the best squadron attack rating in the game that gurantees autodamage.

+ Z-95s die when you look at them.

Yes Norra is hilarious. I did 2 games so far, one i kinda flopped on the Hangar deployment but i didnt on the 2nd. They shredded an ISD's shields...just utterly shredded it lol. Rolling a crit with her around is an unavoidable 2damage since its a Crit effect for +1 shield damage, not 2 damage so you cant brace. You can still Contain it, but probably wont help too much since theres 4ish ships there able to resolve this crit against you lol

Here's some musings from me after one 500 point game using the new stuff:

1. Ten Numb and Torryn make a nice couple, and he's a great counter to a ball of imperial fighters with Scatters.

2. Rapid Launch Bays is good if it allows you to shoot as you deploy.

3. Biggs brings some much needed life to Luke and Wedge - I think overall he's my favourite new addition for the Rebels as X-wing aces needed some love to help them stay alive beyond the alpha strike.

4. Despite not having Bomber, the Decimator can be devastating to ships with its 3 blue dice.

5. I was also pleasantly surprised with the fire power of both the Phoenix Home and the Arquittens. I used the Command Class and it and a AFII managed to take down an ISD-1 with the help of a few squads.

6. I initially thought Fighter Ambush was bad, but then if you have the right list, the fighters can wrack up a substantial number of victory points.

7. Yavaris plus Relay VCX-100s definitely has potential to wreak havoc.

Decimators are the obvious winner in the Imperial squadpack. I only faced 1, and that thing was ANNOYING. It cant 1shot anybody since it has 0 Crit impacts, squadron or otherwise, but it reliably does 3 damage to squads and it doesnt go down easy. And like you said, 3blue is still mean against ships.

Decimators are the obvious winner in the Imperial squadpack. I only faced 1, and that thing was ANNOYING. It cant 1shot anybody since it has 0 Crit impacts, squadron or otherwise, but it reliably does 3 damage to squads and it doesnt go down easy. And like you said, 3blue is still mean against ships.

The only problem I ran into is when an ace with scatter locks them down when they get too far from the my other fighters.

I did one game with a buddy of mine today. My thoughts:

+ Ten Numb must die horribly before he kills everyone!

+ Nora Wexley is Rhymer's arch nemesis. Rhymer buffs a lot of bombers with range, but Nora annihilates shields.

+ Jendon and Maarek Stele are like best friends: Anti-Yavaris with the best squadron attack rating in the game that gurantees autodamage.

+ Z-95s die when you look at them.

Yes Norra is hilarious. I did 2 games so far, one i kinda flopped on the Hangar deployment but i didnt on the 2nd. They shredded an ISD's shields...just utterly shredded it lol. Rolling a crit with her around is an unavoidable 2damage since its a Crit effect for +1 shield damage, not 2 damage so you cant brace. You can still Contain it, but probably wont help too much since theres 4ish ships there able to resolve this crit against you lol

Its a Non-Default Critical Effect.

Just like APTs, it can't be Contained.

You need to have the Damage Control Officer on board, to be able to make a difference with a Contain Token.

Posted this elsewhere but mine thus far are:

• Jerrjerrod and VSDs are absolutely legit. It's like a completely different ship. Try it, you'll love it.
• Arquitens are a really new thing for Imperials and those side arc broadsides from downtown are impressive. I ran them in two different configurations, both of which were very good.
  • Needa (so 2 Evades)+TRCs+Blast Doors w/Jerrjerrod
  • Intel Officer+Enhanced Armament+Blast Doors w/Vader
• TIE Defenders are respectable. I need some more playtime with them. Marek Steele is quite good, especially when he's working double duty as a fighter and a bomber.
• Whisper (TIE Phantom ace) is also quite good and difficult to pin down. I need to try regular TIE Phantoms, but Cloak shows promise.
• Relay 2 on the Lambdas is helpful. Relaying Gozanti squadron commands through it is efficient. Colonel Jendon double-tapping Marek is mean.
• Minister Tua+ECMs on a VSD is also very effective for keeping a VSD in the fight much longer for a minimal additional cost. Brace getting locked down is a frequent problem for VSDs and usually a good reason not to invest in too many upgrades on them (just to keep their durability for the points ratio favorable).
• Peltas seem to require a steady stream of tokens to remain effective. Without some means of providing those (Raymus, Comms Net, Garm, etc.) it's okay but not great.
• Z95s are funny but those red dice are very unreliable. They seem to be pretty reliant on Swarm/Blount to be reliable and they're miserable against ships. They like having bigger friends to hide behind.
• Snipe is useful and was used to pick off Mauler Mithel before he got to mauling (or Mitheling?). I'm not sure it's going to have a huge effect on the squadron mini-game but it's nice to have for sure.
• It would be nice to have an FAQ on how exactly Rapid Launch Bays work (there's two competing schools of thought, as most of you likely know by now).
• New objectives are fun. Wrapping my head around all the new everything is going to take some time.

There's still a LOT more playtesting that needs to happen before I feel even close to a settled opinion but so far it's all very exciting.

Got a game in trying out a bunch of the new stuff.

Jerrjerrod is fantastic for VSD's. I had a VSD1 with Tua and ECM that was able to live an incredible amount of time and hammer away at the enemy with its front.

Arquittens are really good. Needa and TRC's made it amazing flying cover around the outside edges. That back arc is surprisingly handy.

Whisper is great at being able to move into really annoying positions forcing reactions. Double red dice fail me. 3 complete blank rolls.

Col Jendon is amazing.

Maarek Steele is great. Survived a lot of shooting.

Ciena Ree is also very hard to kill, that loss of a die is very very annoying to enemy squads.

I know, X-wings that can move 4!!!!!! I'm for sure going to play a max X-wing list!!! "Lock S-foils in attack position!"

love hearing everyone's experiences!

I look forward to trying out my Wave 5/CC purchases. Sadly i got shorted on my Pelta order. I ordered 3 and got 1, but at least i have 2 more coming next week.

I did one game with a buddy of mine today. My thoughts:

+ Ten Numb must die horribly before he kills everyone!

+ Nora Wexley is Rhymer's arch nemesis. Rhymer buffs a lot of bombers with range, but Nora annihilates shields.

+ Jendon and Maarek Stele are like best friends: Anti-Yavaris with the best squadron attack rating in the game that gurantees autodamage.

+ Z-95s die when you look at them.

Yes Norra is hilarious. I did 2 games so far, one i kinda flopped on the Hangar deployment but i didnt on the 2nd. They shredded an ISD's shields...just utterly shredded it lol. Rolling a crit with her around is an unavoidable 2damage since its a Crit effect for +1 shield damage, not 2 damage so you cant brace. You can still Contain it, but probably wont help too much since theres 4ish ships there able to resolve this crit against you lol

You cant contain the Shield Damage crit.

Onto Nora. . . she. . .is AMAZING! You add in Green Squadron, some Lancers and it gets CRAZY!

Onto Nora. . . she. . .is AMAZING! You add in Green Squadron, some Lancers and it gets CRAZY!

Green Squadron? Lancers? What are these things? All you need is:

Norra + 11 Y-wings - Or 10 + Gold Squadron.