First understand that I only play casually, and my buys are based not on how powerful a ship or pilot is perceived to be but by how fun it is both to fly with and against. It's 100% possible for something to be "relatively balanced" or even "weak" but still not fun to fight.

I know I'm late to the party for this purchase, but I never bought the original Millennium Falcon because old Fat Han was a dirty, obnoxious play-style that took a lot of fun out of the game with its combination of disregard for arcs, high pilot skill, great damage, and grotesque tankiness. It was a both too powerful and anti-fun. HotR sought to change this up by making arc matter to Finn and Rey.

And now I ask... was FFG successful? Are the HotR Millennium Falcon pilots "fun" or at least "pleasant" to play against with semi-serious lists? Or are Rey and "Old Man Han" still obnoxious to play against but noticeably weaker than the original "Fat Han?"

It would entierly depend on how you kit the pilots out. The "best" Rey builds are very strong and will usually have a pretty easy time vs. something semi-serious. So you might go for an intentionally weaker build, or pair her with Luke in a t-65, or just go for one of the other pilots. Both Han and Chewie have what you might describe as "fun" abilities that can sometimes be pretty powerful. Likewise, Nien and "Snap" would probably be just perfect for a casual game. The expack also contains quite a few cool upgrades that might fall in the "fun" category, if you are so inclined.

'Fat' Rey is very effective when flown well, but always vulnerable if you can shoot her in the back. A good challenge and enjoyable to fly with or against.

New Han has a single gimmick which is either ineffective or, if it works, allows him to wreck a ship before the battle really starts so is less fun than the original.

I've not used new Chewie.

The T70 pilots are all useful and fun.

1 hour ago, Calibri Garamond said:

Likewise, Nien and "Snap" would probably be just perfect for a casual game. The expack also contains quite a few cool upgrades that might fall in the "fun" category, if you are so inclined.

Rey/Nien Nunb has been my favorite list to play for several months now, even after Wave 10. Nien Nunb is fragile but his ability lets you kit him out to deal some heavy hurt before he goes, and if you shove him at the enemy, it protects Rey a bit longer.

I've never had a bad game against Rey or Poe. In terms of fun purchases - HotR is near the top of the list.

I haven't played against new han or chewie yet. But I have had a few games against Rey.

I'm not sure I'd describe them as "fun" as Finn crew is nasty with Rey. But the games were more enjoyable than fat han games at least. Plus I think I won most of the games against her.

The Falcon is one of the most fun ships to play, as far as I'm concerned. You could always choose not to kit Han out into a typical Fat Han. Try some different things on him and see how it goes.

You don't see 'em because Chewie, Rey, and Han are all good, but the Resistance Sympathizer is actually a really good deal. It's just not a Jumpmaster, so it doesn't see as much competitive play.

Rey/Finn really punch you in the face if you're in their front arc, especially with Expertise. It is challenging to play against especially because of the new Falcon title. If you're not up for that kind of challenge then you may not like it. However, it isn't an impossible task, nor is it "broken".

The T-70 pilots are a GREAT addition. I don't think there is a stinker in the bunch. Go check out the thread " Are triple T70's viable?" for 20+ pages worth of awesome insight.

44 minutes ago, Force Majeure said:

Rey/Finn really punch you in the face if you're in their front arc, especially with Expertise. It is challenging to play against especially because of the new Falcon title. If you're not up for that kind of challenge then you may not like it. However, it isn't an impossible task, nor is it "broken".

Based on what you and other posters have said so far, I guess my biggest question would be... If you get beaten by a Rey (assuming she has the HotR Falcon title, Finn, Kanan Jarrus crew, and higher PS than your whole team) do you feel that you could have done anything about it? As in, do you feel that you can outplay her and that an enemy player sufficiently outplayed you if they beat you with her?

2 minutes ago, f0rbiddenc00kie said:

Based on what you and other posters have said so far, I guess my biggest question would be... If you get beaten by a Rey (assuming she has the HotR Falcon title, Finn, Kanan Jarrus crew, and higher PS than your whole team) do you feel that you could have done anything about it? As in, do you feel that you can outplay her and that an enemy player sufficiently outplayed you if they beat you with her?

I'd say the biggest buzzkill is that unless you have a way to deal out stress you're pretty boned. Free double mods, modded defense, etc. with no real way to shut it down. Engine Upgrade Rey can wreck anything it moves after due to actionless attack mods.

So basically the ability is fantastic, directly boosts offense AND defense, and Kanan plus title makes it trivially easy to trigger. Not an issue for most top lists with similarly crazy action efficiency and/or stress output, but semi-serious lists will struggle.

To beat Rey, you need to shoot her in the back; mostly only be shot by her from out of her arc; predict where she's going (quite easy (compared to any arc-dodging ace) since she's mostly doing 3 bank) and block her or avoid her arc; or fill her with stress.

This is why she's more fun to fly against than Han, and also more fun to fly. It needs thinking and flying skill more than list-building skill.

Has Rey ever won anything?

I mean... yeah... probably Rey may have won a smaller Store Championship somewhere on this planet.

But somehow it feels like she is being played a lot.... without success.

A list which is NOT successful, but still sees a lot of playtime is somehow the best proof, that it's fun to play her (and against her too, as youre gonna win against her)

45 minutes ago, Schu81 said:

Has Rey ever won anything?

I mean... yeah... probably Rey may have won a smaller Store Championship somewhere on this planet.

But somehow it feels like she is being played a lot.... without success.

A list which is NOT successful, but still sees a lot of playtime is somehow the best proof, that it's fun to play her (and against her too, as youre gonna win against her)

Ha! Yeah, you do have a point that at the very least it's indicative that she's fun to PLAY. Still, casual environment and tournament environment are quite different. We don't have to worry about "timing out" or things like that in casual which can be a big deal with large base ships in competitive depending on how points are scored.

1 hour ago, RampancyTW said:

I'd say the biggest buzzkill is that unless you have a way to deal out stress you're pretty boned. Free double mods, modded defense, etc. with no real way to shut it down. Engine Upgrade Rey can wreck anything it moves after due to actionless attack mods.

What if Rey had Smuggling Compartment instead of Engine Upgrade? Would that feel a lot better to play against?

1 hour ago, f0rbiddenc00kie said:

Ha! Yeah, you do have a point that at the very least it's indicative that she's fun to PLAY. Still, casual environment and tournament environment are quite different. We don't have to worry about "timing out" or things like that in casual which can be a big deal with large base ships in competitive depending on how points are scored.

What if Rey had Smuggling Compartment instead of Engine Upgrade? Would that feel a lot better to play against?

Definitely helps! Comes down to prediction a little more that way.

New Chewie is fantastic in Epic. Drop him in the middle of your generic swarm and he's often getting 3 shots per round.

1 hour ago, RampancyTW said:

Definitely helps! Comes down to prediction a little more that way.

Great! What does everyone else think? Do you guys agree that a Smuggling Compartment on Rey "feels" a lot better to fight against instead of an Engine Upgrade?

I'd say so. I vacillate between Inertial Dampeners, Burnout Slam, and EMP device when I kit her out with Smuggling Comp.

I had a match against swarm leader Rey and I was playing Keyan Farlander, Ten Numb, and Biggs. It was probably one of the most fun matches I have ever had.

Knowing that Rey alone (not even counting the A-wings) could chuck 6-8 dice at a B-wing was harrowing, but by carefully leading her into dense asteroids and blocking the crap out if her with Biggs and even Keyan once, she never got to make her big attack. We called time when I had killed Rey, and one of her A-wings was trapped in a corner with one health. I still had full health Keyan, a shieldless Ten, and Biggs with an astromech and one health.

Rey with Fin crew is a lot of fun, as while you can still fire out of arc you are continually trying to get enemies into arc for both attacks and defense.

HoR Han pilot can be hilarious when you unexpectedly place Han on the opponent's end of the field during setup. The fun factor may be the only thing going for this ability though, as the actual effectiveness during the game is questionable.

HoR Chewie can be a lot of fun when surrounded by a Z-95 mini swarm, as he gets a free shot each time one of the Z's gets popped.

The HoR Falcon title allowing you to rotate 180 degrees after a 3 speed bank meshes well with Rey's ability and makes the Falcon a bit more fun to fly.

Overall I'd say the fun factor is at least improved over the original.

Rey is my favorite pilot in the game. I agree with your assesment that Han isnt necessarily the funnest pilot to fly against. I think Rey is a little more fun to play against because her arc matters and the 3 bank is a little predictable. Also to reinforce what others have said, there are a lot of fun upgrades and fun t70 pilots in the pack.

Resistance Synth doesn't get a lot of credit but he/she is quite useful to use in casual games.

HotR Chewbacca really wants to run in a swarm so run him with three Z-95 Headhunters and let them do the work, if they die to a Quickdraw/Dengar return shot, Chewbacca gets his own return shot! Can be quite enjoyable to use and its hard not to smile when your opponent gets gets his ship removed as a reward for killing a Z-95. Beware though, a defensive Chewbacca can also be annoying for others to play against!

HotR Rey seems to be the go to. The ability forcing you to keep things in arc for maximum efficiency is a welcome twist and you will often find yourself trying to work out the odds of turning in and rolling alot of modified dice or flying away and playing safe.

HotR Han is, as others have said, fun for the deployment phase but lacklustre thereafter. His ability, much like Dormitz helps at the start up and then not much else. It WILL dictate how the game goes though. A Han set up along side the same board edge as the enemy will generally see the entire fleet turn towards him or the enemy may just deploy infiltration Kroot style across the entire length of their deployment zone, either way, Han has effected the game!

On a separate note, what are people pairing with their Rey/Han? Just a T70 as back up or someone else going ham and taking Jan Ors in a HWK with Rey for MOAR DICES?

If you are playing casual games, I would recommend a house rule to outlaw Engine Upgrade on large based ships. Rey was a conscious decision by the designers to encourage a large base turret to care about arc.

Heroes of the Resistance is one of the easiest to recommend expansions in the game. It's all good stuff.

On that note, I hope the designers get a little more information and lead time for the Episode VIII stuff. HotR was kind of a do-over because they did not have time or info to get the Ep 7 stuff right in the first place.

On 6/10/2017 at 4:18 PM, f0rbiddenc00kie said:

Great! What does everyone else think? Do you guys agree that a Smuggling Compartment on Rey "feels" a lot better to fight against instead of an Engine Upgrade?

Snuggling compartment+counter measures+scavenger crane is pretty cool. Nothing like an agility 3 falcon to joust with.