So I've been away most of the summer, due to testing, and unable to really experience Wave 11. Scrolling through thought the Wave 12 hotness seems to have usurped those old threads. So if it's not in bad form, as Jefferson said upon returning from France... "What'd I miss?"

If you face NymGar, you're going to have a bad time. Fair Ship is back and worse than ever, and I think that pretty much covers the change in the meta. Talk of the forums is that a big FAQ is coming to nerf jm5ks and adv. slam, no Biggs nerf is in this supposed nerFAQ (no one is happy about that part). Imperial forces are in a bad spot with things like K-wings and Nym around, and complain about it (as they have a right to).

edit: Nice TJ quote!

Gunboat .

But yeah.

Wave 11 in a nutshell:

• Cruise Missiles are a 'new hotness' ordnance. They are a lot harder to use than people on the internet think because they're dependent on your launch maneuver. If you can launch them right, however, it offers a cheap, 5-dice secondary attack which doesn't spend the target lock - meaning high PS alpha strikes just got a lot nastier (Vader and Quickdraw specifically benefit a lot).
• Auzituck gunships are tough as bricks, but Lowhhrick really beefs the toughness of those around him. Biggs and he are already fast friends.
• Intensity is an awesome elite upgrade, but primarily for BB-8 Poe Dameron, who with this and primed thrusters, has gone a long way to true 'ace' status. Jake Farrel is irritatingly good with it, too.
• Imperials have the ability to field 4 ships with twin laser turrets as well. And there was much yawning rejoicing jury's still out, largely depending on whether you're playing with them or against them, and I haven't yet done either.
• Unguided Rockets gives any ship with two missile slots (i.e. bomber or punisher) a cheap way to gain a 3-dice attack that doesn't 'run out'. Unguided Rockets/Lightweight Frame bombers are a nice addition to the imperial's stable of 'heavy swarmers' alongside the TIE striker.
• The bomblet generator is awesome (to the point it could probably have cost more and it'd still be good). It makes Nym (new scum/rebel ace) and, suprisingly, Deathrain, really, really good.

Fair ship rebels are now a thing. Lowhrik and the new Selflessness card and Rex in the Tie fighter to make Biggs unkillable, coupled with a fourth cheap ship you got yourself a squad with a LOT of survivability and 11 attack dice.

Captain Nym is good, he's kinda like a new Miranda that likes weaving through the battlefield with weird Advanced sensors maneuvers dropping bombs along the way. Couple with Dengar or Rey to get a new and scary 2 ship list.

Tie Aggressors haven't made much of a splash, perhaps because the other two are still dominating player interest, it seems like a dependable ship though.

It doesn't seem the new ships pushed out or made space for any old builds that weren't already dead, perhaps the rise of fair-ship rebels is going to give rise to some clever Ace players? In other words: Welcome back, the game is the same but it does have a few extra viable options.

6 minutes ago, GLEXOR said:

If you face NymGar, you're going to have a bad time. Fair Ship is back and worse than ever, and I think that pretty much covers the change in the meta. Talk of the forums is that a big FAQ is coming to nerf jm5ks and adv. slam, no Biggs nerf is in this supposed nerFAQ (no one is happy about that part). Imperial forces are in a bad spot with things like K-wings and Nym around, and complain about it (as they have a right to).

edit: Nice TJ quote!

it's Denym, btw. It's a pun and doubles as an effective indicator as to who the real threat in the list is

Nym is actually not that difficult to deal with if you position to punish his 1-2 damage bombs with concetrated fire on his fragile 1 agi ***. Turrets and SF aux arcs are especially effective against him because it is very difficult to bomb things that don't have to chase you

but Dengar is still incredibly broken, coming off two consecutive world victories (with another jm5k, no less) and not having had anything done to him directly. He doesn't care whether or not you chase him, as he will still blow your *** up

the utter lack of scum nym's pressence outside denym (and like 1 rau + palob list I've glimpsed once) supports this

Watch the Nationals games on gold Squadron YouTube. That's the meta. It's certainly unique.

Thanks guys! I appreciate it. I just picked up 1 of each from 11 and was immediately intrigued by Intensity and the Cruise Missiles. I figured Nym would be a beast. And yeah as soon as I saw Lowhhrick, I figured he was a game changer. Good to see my meta senses didn't fail me.

The New: Gunboat is here!!

The Old: Whining, up to and including Gunboat.