So with wave 6 around the corner, what sort of things do we expect to see the may change the game? What ships, squadrons and upgrades might appear more? Any counters to them? What are your thoughts everyone?

I wouldn't be surprised to see a Sloane Quasar list with double Lambda's pushing a TIE swarm do decently well. Probably have Demolisher in there as the hammer.

I think what mileage expanded launchers was getting is probably gone with external racks.

I think DC gives the VSD and Interdictor a nice one off and should raise their stock a little bit.

Pure anti-squad Imp swarms will see more mileage. Now they have a purpose against ships once the squad battle is over. In particular, the scatter aces with blue anti-ship dice.

Rebels are going to start more variety in the trash mobs.

I think external racks ends up as a dud, mainly because it still has to be at close range. If it was out to medium range, you'd see it on several ships as an anti squadron backup tool that could also slightly extend their anti-ship range (non-Demo gladiators and VSD1s, for example).

I think a lot is going to hinge on what the quad battery turrets end up as, because they either counter enemy squadrons or they don't, and right now that is a big deal.

1 hour ago, thecactusman17 said:

I think a lot is going to hinge on what the quad battery turrets end up as, because they either counter enemy squadrons or they don't, and right now that is a big deal.

That's the biggest unknown I think. What ships will those go on, what will they do? I guess they're an answer of some sort since they've kept them under wraps?

The hammerheads might shake things up a bit. As actual ships you might peel some points out of squadrons to field those instead of flotillas without losing too much activation race wise.

Sloane is going to be a big deal I think. A buff to all the TIEs could turn the flotilla and squadrons and intel conversations on their head. Riekaan may come down a notch if TIEs can go through those Rebel Squadrons a bit faster.

I can see Agent Kallus on a Quasar with a Red Anti-Squadron die have some impact on Aces heavy squadron lists.

Even under the protection of Gallant Haven they can suffer up to two damage and if you attack them with bombers elsewhere you force them to leave that safety and be prone to that devastating long range Anti-fighter barrage even worse.

Avenger gets more support in a list. Supressor was always there to turn an enemy brace red but now Overload pulse can work at long range (once), Sloane can get Ties to exhaust tokens and boarding troops can shred a whole defensive set. We may even see the Tie Phantom being used in Sloane lists.

TIEs and Phantoms become more playable with Sloane, which is great, especially for Phantoms.

I think Leia will be the new Vader. For rebels anyway. She's less deadly, but wayy more versatile. And if you are offensive and doing Concentrate Fire each turn she's close to being very much like Vader. I'm anxious to try her out.

We'll see even more squads than before which also means even more flotillas to activate them. At first.

Am I the only one aching to live the jank life with boarding parties?

Sloane and the Quasar are the hits for me. I'm not a big squadron player, but Sloane really plays into my love of control. I'll break my tradition of playing without them, or with minimal numbers, when she's in the wild, for sure. I'm thinking they'll need some protection though.

The Hammerheads aren't really doing it for me, but I can absolutely see them being a threat given how cheap they are, and how tanky they can be in numbers with that title. Scary en masse with racks, too. Leia, as mentioned, is going to be a great addition, too. I can see folks clearing room on some Dodonna lists to get her in there.

15 hours ago, thecactusman17 said:

I think external racks ends up as a dud, mainly because it still has to be at close range. If it was out to medium range, you'd see it on several ships as an anti squadron backup tool that could also slightly extend their anti-ship range (non-Demo gladiators and VSD1s, for example).

I tested External Racks with MSU fleet on Vassal and I have to disagree, it is a solid upgrade, especially on cheap ships.

9 hours ago, PT106 said:

I tested External Racks with MSU fleet on Vassal and I have to disagree, it is a solid upgrade, especially on cheap ships.

My raiders will not be leaving home without them..... My new flexible friend......

I am so looking forward to Wave S*x.

My initial thought is that the squadron meta will be tweaked. The introduction of Sloane should lift up the Imp TIE squads. Because of this, I think running low squads (with little Anti-squadron fire) will become very difficult.

I also am also an early supporter of External Racks on Raiders. That little combo is going to bring a lot of pain.

We still need to see the **** Quads. I hope that they are significant. Insert other media

EDIT: Oh yeah there are Rebels too...Leia will be fantastic in Rebels MSUs.

12 hours ago, PT106 said:

I tested External Racks with MSU fleet on Vassal and I have to disagree, it is a solid upgrade, especially on cheap ships.

I haven't tested it, but it looks like a way better expanded launchers. Black dice ships without demolisher seldom get more than one or two attacks against skilled players, so the price feels great.

3 minutes ago, Caldias said:

I haven't tested it, but it looks like a way better expanded launchers. Black dice ships without demolisher seldom get more than one or two attacks against skilled players, so the price feels great.

And from any arc too. That's pretty sweet.

Swarms will revive with stronghold, all TIEs will end up having some utility now, Raiders make a big comeback with ER, several TF Hammerheads flying around ( I LOVE their sinergy) and ramming like there is no tomorrow, and big fat carrier builds for imps. Did I mention ISD1 Avenger Boarding Troopers and how they cause hell?

You can even push the dice onto a critical enemy fighter, a raider with kallus, racks and a CF dial can put 6 dice on an ace... With a bit of ruthless that's a one shot Janmare.....

Dropping Mauler Mithel followed by a Howlrunner ball sounds like fun. With the Quasar-Fire, squadron activations will get cheaper and easier... can't wait. Plus, it will look nice adding to my angry space triangle collection.

13 hours ago, ImperialCaptain2017 said:

With the Quasar-Fire, squadron activations will get cheaper and easier

Not cheaper, but definitely better. It would still be cheaper to drop two EH Gozantis (56 pts) for six activations. However, bringing six Squadron activations with a single ship activation is the real kicker. And a Quasar with Wulff, FC and EH is 72 pts, 19 points cheaper than a Vic-I with the same combo. You do lose some durability and offensive capability, but you have a more maneuverable platform, can add Boosted Comms, and that 19 points is another two squadrons. So expect to see a lot of TIEs and Interceptors led by Howlrunner with a 5/6 die Alpha strike. And those titles, too. Having Interceptors zip around at Speed 7+ would be ridiculous, or getting that guaranteed first-round bombing run with Rhymer.

A completely impractical but hilarious use of the Squall title would be to push three YV-666's around to keep up with your TIE swarm.

23 minutes ago, reegsk said:

A completely impractical but hilarious use of the Squall title would be to push three YV-666's around to keep up with your TIE swarm.

I don't think it's going to be so impractical. Those YVs can now go distance 4. With Valen Rudor that's a scary thought. I also am imagining VT49s going speed 5 to wreck someone's day.

3 hours ago, reegsk said:

Not cheaper, but definitely better. It would still be cheaper to drop two EH Gozantis (56 pts) for six activations.

True, but a Quasar-Fire has ship-to-ship combat capabilities about equal to a CR90, making it a viable support combat ship as well as a squadron-pusher.

12 minutes ago, ImperialCaptain2017 said:

True, but a Quasar-Fire has ship-to-ship combat capabilities about equal to a CR90, making it a viable support combat ship as well as a squadron-pusher.

Absolutely, strengthening the "better" argument. Flotillas remain the cheapest squadron pushers in the game, however.

Personally, I like the Quasar in that role. I'm a fan of Vic-I's, but the Quasar's ability to move to where the battle is, or move AWAY from where the big ships are, is something the Vic just can't do.