Wooohoo, preview update!!!!

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/7/7/single-reactor-ignition/

Initial knee-jerk reaction time:

• Exploit Weakness seems kinda terrible; an attempt mission that only dumps 1 random objective card, and sends it to the top of the deck? Meh.
• I like the potential of Imperial Might; good surprise move capability but also requires a decent leader investment (2 for the Coruscant optional + 1 for the following move).
• Reconnaissance looks potentially very powerful; Empire is gonna want to keep some Intel strong leaders in reserve for that.
• Behind Enemy Lines looks pretty familiar.......the resolve is nice though.
• Discredit Rebellion is a fantastic looking card ! Love how it is potentially powerful or relatively useless depending on the situation, but also gives agency to the other side in terms of how to react. This type of layered card is a great addition.
• Also really like We're the Bait, except it seems a bit too strong given the inability for the Rebels to react (although I guess freeing a leader and the high intel cost makes it a difficult to use card). Would've preferred something more along the lines of DR where the Rebels could decide to either allow the troops to go or take a reputation hit. Or maybe the number of health worth of troops that get baited would vary depending on the diplomacy level of the captured leader.
• Seem to be several new cards (Promotion, Hire Mercenaries, My Only Hope) that are allowing for more direct control over leader pools. I feel mixed on this for while the agency is nice, it's probably just gonna end up with there always being a "best" use of these cards, rather than it depending on the situation.
• Secret Mission looks great and very powerful, not sure I like it being just 1 logistics AND resolve AND in Rebel system.
• I'm liking the potential of Prepare for Battle; another card that could be situationally great but not without risk.
• Assault is a good example of a variable impact card that I would like to see more of (see comments on WtB).
• Single Reactor Ignition completely changes the value of a Death Star and I believe will make it a threat all game long now as opposed to a liability in the second half of the game. How many copies of this will there be in the deck? Maybe a version that targets capital ships?

Discuss!

I like the access to more leaders. I like the ability to choose which set of cards you're using independently, though I was kinda hoping things would work fine together (but obviously dilution would be an issue).

I dislike that they reference several features/rules that we have no info on, though.

53 minutes ago, ArbitraryNerd said:

I dislike that they reference several features/rules that we have no info on, though.

Yeah you are right about the new rules! But it seems like we are getting new infos every week now because of this twitter-thing!

And i have to say i am very excited about this expansion right now. Looks really cool! Im also hoping for way to play both versions together, maybe just the missions for the new units and the Leaders.

1 hour ago, Sebmono said:

Initial knee-jerk reaction time:

• Exploit Weakness seems kinda terrible; an attempt mission that only dumps 1 random objective card, and sends it to the top of the deck? Meh.
• I like the potential of Imperial Might; good surprise move capability but also requires a decent leader investment (2 for the Coruscant optional + 1 for the following move).
• Reconnaissance looks potentially very powerful; Empire is gonna want to keep some Intel strong leaders in reserve for that.
• Behind Enemy Lines looks pretty familiar.......the resolve is nice though.
• Discredit Rebellion is a fantastic looking card ! Love how it is potentially powerful or relatively useless depending on the situation, but also gives agency to the other side in terms of how to react. This type of layered card is a great addition.
• Also really like We're the Bait, except it seems a bit too strong given the inability for the Rebels to react (although I guess freeing a leader and the high intel cost makes it a difficult to use card). Would've preferred something more along the lines of DR where the Rebels could decide to either allow the troops to go or take a reputation hit. Or maybe the number of health worth of troops that get baited would vary depending on the diplomacy level of the captured leader.
• Seem to be several new cards (Promotion, Hire Mercenaries, My Only Hope) that are allowing for more direct control over leader pools. I feel mixed on this for while the agency is nice, it's probably just gonna end up with there always being a "best" use of these cards, rather than it depending on the situation.
• Secret Mission looks great and very powerful, not sure I like it being just 1 logistics AND resolve AND in Rebel system.
• I'm liking the potential of Prepare for Battle; another card that could be situationally great but not without risk.
• Assault is a good example of a variable impact card that I would like to see more of (see comments on WtB).
• Single Reactor Ignition completely changes the value of a Death Star and I believe will make it a threat all game long now as opposed to a liability in the second half of the game. How many copies of this will there be in the deck? Maybe a version that targets capital ships?

exploit weakness can be useful if played early maybe but I dont know...

imperial might you are right but seems like you are getting more leaders anyway and then really cool!!

Recon great

Discredit Reb I'm not sure about the right timing to play this card and as a rebel I would always throw the dice if I had two or more sabotagemarker on the field, at least in theory . Oh ok at the end, if you need just one more round to destroy the base and there are no sabotagemarker on the field it sounds very useful! And i dont think this picture shows motti! Or is it just my bad monitor?

we're the bait great card to empty the rebel base short befor you attack. And I dont think that the leader is liberated

I like more leaders because sometimes as a rebel it becomes very annoying when one leader is captured, one is frozen, one is turned... and as imperial I always have problems in moving all the stuff AND resolve missions...

secret mission you mean its to easy and without risk? I think you are right but i will really like to play it!

prepare fpr battle what is the tactic deck? But sounds cool! Advanced tactic cards?

Assault I never roll lightsabers when I need them...

Single Reactor Ignition Here Im a little bit confused.. The part about the rebel base! If the base is on the planet, wouldn't it be more useful and glorious to blew up the hole thing? But of course its useful to destroy some rebel troops and speeders without destroying the hole planet. It depends on the number of copies of this card in the deck, as you said. The more the better...

And I hope they will release the german version as soon as possible...

11 minutes ago, Bantha said:

Discredit Reb I'm not sure about the right timing to play this card and as a rebel I would always throw the dice if I had two or more sabotagemarker on the field, at least in theory . Oh ok at the end, if you need just one more round to destroy the base and there are no sabotagemarker on the field it sounds very useful!

If there are no sabotage markers on the board, you cannot play this card at all. (Unless you mean something else entirely.)

1 minute ago, Bron Ander Haltern said:

If there are no sabotage markers on the board, you cannot play this card at all.

Jup, should have read the hole card...

Not a fan of Single Reactor Ignition . Inspire Sympathy isn't that impressive, tbh, since by the time the Rebels hit the III objectives their hand is often clogged with Refresh objectives - particularly if the Imperial has been wielding the Superlaser properly; 90% of the time it's only going to be worth one point. There's an opportunity cost on the widow to play it, as well as in objective deck manipulation. You often have to choose to bury something else to keep it on top of the deck. Inspire Sympathy isn't something to fear.

That Superlaser though, swats down Rebel Loyalty objectives like a boss. That remote loyalty is also pretty stellar for scouting, particularly if you can get it somewhere hard to check like Ryloth. Vaporising a planet with Rebel Loyalty and then putting down a Empire marker in the region is the whole point of running the mission. Killing Rebel troops is sort of a small bonus. Unless it's the base, in which case Inspire Sympathy doesn't matter since you've just won.

Speaking of the Death Star, We're the Bait is going to be incredible for protecting it. Empty the Rebel base of 4 Starfighters and the anemic contingent left is going to have a pretty hard time punching through the DS's TIE screen.

Really hope I can run We're the Bait and Superlaser Online in the same set of cards instead of getting stuck with Single Reactor Ignition . Not sure how these replacements interact with the Project deck since SRI doesn't have the Vader symbol on it.

I think Exploit Weakness is pretty incredible, honestly. Objective Deck draws are very valuable.

Also, trying to make up my mind about Prepare for Battle, I think it's pretty cool (and thematic!) that'd you be able to assign Saw to Prepare, stick Mothma on Incite Rebellion . Saw fixes the tactics deck, bounces back to the pool - and then when Mothma runs Incite Rebellion, Saw can show back up to lead your guerillas with his 3 ground. Also, being able to feed yourself blocks for the Trench run. It also works as a "pass" action to give yourself last action in a round. Hmmm...

Exploit weakness has 3 factors, and you need to consider them all. 1.) It slows objective deck digging ever so slightly 2.) it forces the rebel player to give up an objective card and put it back on the top of the deck. If they were planning to play that objective this turn, they just lost it. So it could delay or disrupt plans. 3.) it forces the rebel player to REVEAL the objective card. This is the real advantage. The Imp player now knows what objective the Rebels are going to pick up. Coruscant card? Better deploy another trooper or two there. Death Star plans? Better reinforce or move to a shielded position. Destroy 3 health of ships in a battle you start? Better check my fleets for obvious weaknesses or start a few battles myself. It's still not a great card, and could mislead the Imp player as much as it could help them plan. Certainly not high on my priority list, but in those last couple turns where the Rebels are only 1 or 2 objectives from winning, I'd probably do it in hopes of throwing a monkey wrench in their plans.

Imperial might is amazing. Great way to reinforce an offensive fleet before a big battle and skirt around things like sabotage. Takes a hell of a commitment though. Good way to protect DSUC though. Remember you place the DSUC in some remote system and have to plan defenses for it. This way you just leave 4 TIEs on the build que and use this mission to deploy them to protect the DSUC.

Recon could be very powerful. It could even be used to do some previously impossible stuff.

Behind enemy lines is cool. Is the graphic misleading, or do Uwings have a 3 capacity?

Discredit Rebellion scares me. I love playing with sabotage in creative ways. Having one mission that can wipe them out or lose reputation....****.

The Bait card is interesting. First off, it's an attempt. So you have to face off against the captured person...so you could fail at the mission. But the payoff could be very powerful, especially just before attacking the base. It allows the Imps to compensate for a lopsided turtle/sabotage play.

Kind of mixed on the additional leader cards. As this game is random with mission cards you could have a scenario where the Imps just end up with an unbeatable advantage in actions through extra recruiting and captures. Especially now that captured characters have a few extra options to use.

Assault is pretty cool.

Single reactor is game changer. Not sure if it's enough to really make the Death Star worth the effort, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

On 7/8/2017 at 5:59 AM, Uglymug said:

Really hope I can run We're the Bait and Superlaser Online in the same set of cards instead of getting stuck with Single Reactor Ignition . Not sure how these replacements interact with the Project deck since SRI doesn't have the Vader symbol on it.

No motivation to hunt it down now, but I'm pretty sure the article says that you'll still have the Superlaser Online card regardless of what deck you go with.

On 7/7/2017 at 4:50 PM, Bantha said:

I like more leaders because sometimes as a rebel it becomes very annoying when one leader is captured, one is frozen, one is turned... and as imperial I always have problems in moving all the stuff AND resolve missions...

Yeah it's exactly that tension of never have quite enough leaders to do everything you want, and having to make tough decisions, that is an element of the game I love and feel is very important. If we start getting more and more leaders then we lose that, and that's on top of the randomness in even getting those missions. The rebels already have two (I think?) missions that can grant them extra leaders, the expansion gives them two more - that's a potential 4 leader surplus over the Empire which is brutal.

On 7/8/2017 at 5:59 AM, Uglymug said:

Not a fan of Single Reactor Ignition . Inspire Sympathy isn't that impressive, tbh, since by the time the Rebels hit the III objectives their hand is often clogged with Refresh objectives - particularly if the Imperial has been wielding the Superlaser properly; 90% of the time it's only going to be worth one point. There's an opportunity cost on the widow to play it, as well as in objective deck manipulation. You often have to choose to bury something else to keep it on top of the deck. Inspire Sympathy isn't something to fear.

That Superlaser though, swats down Rebel Loyalty objectives like a boss. That remote loyalty is also pretty stellar for scouting, particularly if you can get it somewhere hard to check like Ryloth. Vaporising a planet with Rebel Loyalty and then putting down a Empire marker in the region is the whole point of running the mission. Killing Rebel troops is sort of a small bonus. Unless it's the base, in which case Inspire Sympathy doesn't matter since you've just won.

I think Exploit Weakness is pretty incredible, honestly. Objective Deck draws are very valuable.

The beauty of SRI isn't to avoid Inspire Sympathy, it's to provide added utility to the Death Star which in the 2nd half of the game usually is just a liability due to Death Star Plans. Once the Rebel player gets far enough into the objective deck to start pulling DSP, it's just not worth it to "use" the DS in any meaningful way, it's just about turtling up. But now that in addition to blowing up planets it can ALSO do massive planetary bombardment, that'll make it more worth the risk to deploy it into combat situations and risk getting hit with DSP. It's about giving more utility to the DS to encourage players to use it more.

I'll respond to Exploit Weakness along with the below...

On 7/10/2017 at 10:40 AM, kmanweiss said:

Exploit weakness has 3 factors, and you need to consider them all. 1.) It slows objective deck digging ever so slightly 2.) it forces the rebel player to give up an objective card and put it back on the top of the deck. If they were planning to play that objective this turn, they just lost it. So it could delay or disrupt plans. 3.) it forces the rebel player to REVEAL the objective card. This is the real advantage. The Imp player now knows what objective the Rebels are going to pick up. Coruscant card? Better deploy another trooper or two there. Death Star plans? Better reinforce or move to a shielded position. Destroy 3 health of ships in a battle you start? Better check my fleets for obvious weaknesses or start a few battles myself. It's still not a great card, and could mislead the Imp player as much as it could help them plan. Certainly not high on my priority list, but in those last couple turns where the Rebels are only 1 or 2 objectives from winning, I'd probably do it in hopes of throwing a monkey wrench in their plans.

Kind of mixed on the additional leader cards. As this game is random with mission cards you could have a scenario where the Imps just end up with an unbeatable advantage in actions through extra recruiting and captures. Especially now that captured characters have a few extra options to use.

All 3 of those factors you mention definitely have a value, but you have to consider the COST of all of that: 1) It requires a captured leader, so unless you draw it after you've already captured one you have to consider holding and clogging up your hand with it until the situation arises (more problematic with Imps since they tend to use fewer missions), and it also means you'd be using it over other far more valuable missions on captured leaders. 2) It's an attempt and a 2 fist meaning you have to deploy a leader which is usually more valuable used elsewhere and it'll be going up against both the captured leader and potentially another if the rebs oppose. This means that to optimize your chance of success you'd have to add two leaders, making this a very expensive card from a leader commitment perspective (and no leader specific bonus available). 3) Not only does the objective card go back to the top of the deck (meaning they can just get it back if they want it), but it's also a RANDOM card. It's just as likely (or maybe more so later in game when Rebels have more objectives than they can satisfy on a given turn) that the card would be useless to the Rebels as not. 4) The knowledge of the card has minimal use since the Rebel players tend to use Infiltration almost every turn anyways and that allows them the option to drill past the objective anyways if they want.

I'm not saying it is a useless mission, just that it's benefits are not worth it's cost and given the Imperial tendency to play fewer missions anyways, it will be rare that this card would be worth the leader action commitment.

I do totally agree with you though on the leader addition cards, although I actually think it's riskier that the Rebs end up with a huge leader advantage, but just in general this is an added element of luck with no way to respond that i'm not a fan of.

Ability of Exploit Weakness is basically "The Rebel player does not draw an objective card during the next Refresh Phase" (and you only draw 6-9? the entire game), everything else is secondary to that.

53 minutes ago, Sebmono said:

Yeah it's exactly that tension of never have quite enough leaders to do everything you want, and having to make tough decisions, that is an element of the game I love and feel is very important. If we start getting more and more leaders then we lose that, and that's on top of the randomness in even getting those missions. The rebels already have two (I think?) missions that can grant them extra leaders, the expansion gives them two more - that's a potential 4 leader surplus over the Empire which is brutal.

Except you don't combine the decks when playing, it says you choose one or the other for each faction.

Additionally, we can already see that the Imperials are getting similar missions.

As a final point, Imperials have multiple methods of reducing Rebel leaders -- I'd be surprised if someone actually suggested the Rebels have a surplus as opposed to a deficit more often than not. Captured, Carbonite, and Lure of the Dark Side all screw with Rebel leaders, and one of them can be done every round!

I have no concern about them keeping the balance with the new cards. I'm slightly concerned about how jarring the difference will be between one player choosing a new deck and the other an old deck, but it appears FFG seems to have considered that possibility and found it acceptable.

Based on the new article, it's clear they were worried about leader bloat as well - they set a cap on leader pools at 8 (and Imps have an action card for Motti & Jabba to bump it up to 9).