It will take a while to get to my main point. Bear with me.
I don't really like the prequels. I mean, I can definitely enjoy them, and I like the aesthetic of the ships. Furthermore prequelmemes are about the only thing keeping me from insanity (save from drugs), so even though I might not like the way the story goes, or the way they progressed the mythology, I am not a hater.
However, I always felt a bit antagonistic towards prequel ships in the game. The ARC is okay (although, I'd like an Empire version with System slot instead of astromech), but I could do without it. Rebel players continuously asking for ships like the Naboo Starfighter and ETA Actis Interceptors etc. really grinds my nerves. Not only those ships represent the last niche more or less exclusive to the imperial faction (high agility aces), but in most cases the ships are also the direct technological predecessors of the Empire's iconic ships. Rebels having access to them is something I am naturally opposed to.
I also frequently think about future releases, and what ships could be released to add something new to the game. I am not unique in that aspect, just look at the Gunboat thread (don't hijack this post). I have no trouble finding ships for the Empire, naturally, and I can always find something for scum. Many ships I want to see in the game are from these factions, or they would fit really well into them. I am even more accepting towards prequel era ships in pirate hands, because that fits the aesthetic I have about Star Wars.
However, in a recent rush of desire to understand
fanatical terrorists
Rebel players, I looked into their ships and their lore in a bit more detail, and found that most rebel options have been exhausted by the game already. Of course there are ships that the rebels used, but they are either too silly, too similar to something already in the game, or used by another faction. The K-Wing is already obscure as they can get, and they already have access to the most iconic imperial ships, just because. The designers are really scrapping the bottom of the barrel here, especially with the wookiee ship. Barely any screen time, or presence in the EU as a serious fighter craft, yet it is released in a wave.
So I began to think. I'd really like to avoid prequel ships as much as possible, and I think the rate at which we receive "new" ships in the movies is quite slow, much slower than the number of releases for a faction in the game. I know I have no possible influence on the outcome, but just to humor me... What ships would be a good fit for rebels, that have the following criteria:
- Not a prequel ship.
- It fits the OT ships in an aesthetic and thematic POV
- It isn't obscure and silly looking like the K-wing
- It isn't associated with another major faction
So for example, the U-Wing fits the criteria, (even though it is a new ship) but the Wookiee gunship does not. Ghost is fine, Sabine's TIE is not.
TL;DR: It seems (at least to me) FFG has drained the EU of creative ship ideas for the rebel faction. Barring the new trilogy's tie-in releases, what other ships could qualify as Rebel ships in a thematic and aesthetic sense NOT including prequel ships?
