I am a pretty seasoned player in IA and a friend (who will control 4 heroes) and I will go through the mini campaign. He has the following (I'm speculating on his XP upgrades and we don't know about items/mods but I'm pretty sure these will be it)

- Saska Teft (Gadgeteer)

- Biv Bodhrik (Trophy Armor)

- Verena Talos (Point Blank Shot)

- Shyla Varad (Responsiveness and Proximity Strike)

I'm the Imp guy. Chose Subversive Tactics as my Class Cards (just chose Surgical Strike. Saving XP for next mission). I looked at the first mission and after some simulating of my being both sides I can't see how the Imps can win. He's a very smart player and knows it's all about the OBJECTIVE and not about killing things.

[Warning: Minor Spoilers for the Mission]

If I were him (Pub player) here's my overall strat which barring wild dice rolling will get a victory almost every time in 5 turns (less than the necessary 6).

TURN 1:

1. First turn have Verena go kill either the Stormtroopers near Han or simply kill a weak squad if he brought it out in the upper right near the safe. You'll almost certain to kill the Stormie and may kill another with Close Quarters depending on the dice .

2. Have Han attack the door. He can easily do 5-6+ damage to it.

3. Have Biv and Saska attack the door. It should go down.

4. Have Shyla 11-movement herself (Responsiveness) over next to the Code Token.

TURN 2:

1. Have everyone but Shyla start killing off guys and making their way towards the hangar door.

2. Shyla picks up the Token then starts hightailing it towards the Hangar door (11 movement points, remember. Well, 6 in this case).

TURNS 3-4:

1. A lot can happen here depending on what the Imps bring out (and Boba is out too) but basically focus mainly on the door and then whatever actions leftover on Imps.

2. Door opens and reinforcements come into play (trying not to spoil it too much).

3. The group then clears out the hangar and Shyla runs towards the Terminal.

TURN 5:

1. Have Shyla run towards and activate the terminal. Her attribute check fits perfectly with it (doesn't even need Saska to help with a token).

You completely ignore the troops at the start of the mission towards the bottom.

I can't see how the Imps can win this with this combination. There are far too many wounds to wound all heroes (esp w/ Trophy Armor) AND defeat Han as well.

You can try and slow Shyla down but she moves at an ungodly rate. If you can get a couple lucky stuns in maybe. Even is she gets wounded she can still move 9 a turn.

I tried blocking the safe door to buy me time (maybe w/ a Nexu or cheap troops like Wing Guard) but it didn't seem to be enough.

Any ideas? Should I spend the initial Threat to buy something or save it for next turn to get something stronger (Royal Guard perhaps?). I can often defeat Han by turn 2 but that means I'm focusing solely on him and not anyone else. He's very survivable. But it seems I have little choice given his damage output. I'm almost resigned to him winning this first one.

If the Hero holding the token is wounded, they drop it. That would force them to spend another action picking it up.

You can drop an E-Web right next to the door to the closet and make them think twice about just running up to the door and trying to open it.

Han isn't that strong and he only attacks once per round. He won't be that useful.

If you have Subversive Tactics, I recommend picking up Savage Weaponry right away, even if you want to save up for other things. The Pierce 1 is usually the same as +1 damage when used with Stormtroopers, and the bleed is a serious pain for the Rebels. And it's only 1 XP! It's probably the most powerful card in that class deck, for its cost.

You can put units in front of doors to make them take those out first. Nexus are great for that because they'll occasionally dodge and make them take even longer. You can position Boba by the door to the hangar, maybe with another unit. Make it so they have to at least walk by him (and take some extra strain), if not kill him, to get through the door.

Finally, if they get through all that, you can body block the terminal with even more units. Of course, all this body blocking is a lot less effective vs. Shyla and her Whip, but then again you can just use use Nexus

I think this one's pretty tough on the Rebels with 4 heroes (with 2 it's pretty much a cakewalk). You probably have an okay chance.