https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2017/8/28/true-professionals-dead-precise/

Looks great

Awesome! So...when is the next preview article?

6 minutes ago, GDJXTX said:

Awesome! So...when is the next preview article?

I think we've already previewed as much as we're gonna get now. We've now been on the boat for about 5 weeks, so I'm hoping this week gets updated to shipping now.

Han and Chewie upgrades too! Thoughts?

2 minutes ago, SeerOzymandius said:

Han and Chewie upgrades too! Thoughts?

I think I'm going to be playing more Han and Chewy

Here's my quick thoughts about what was revealed today:

• It wouldn't be a FFG news update without at least one oopsie. The rRiotTroopers we see are Campaign-only. Still missing the official reveal of eRiotTroopers, eShapeshifters & eDroidikas eSentryDroids (though it does appear that eSentryDroids are going to cost 10 deployment points).
• The Heavy Weapon trait looks to have been the focus for this expansion (and Force User the focus of the A/V Pack wave). I really like that Heavy Weapon & Troopers now have worthwhile 0 and 1-point cost Command cards. This immediately helps AT-STs. I still wish there was a Skirmish Upgrade to reduce AT-STs cost & increase their abilities just a bit.
• I was kinda close on Han's changes! Return Fire + the extra attack from exhausting the skirmish attachment gives Han 3 attacks which is what Han should have, and I figured he was going to lose Distracting. I was further away on Chewie -- I tried to make Chewie into the ultimate Heavy Weapon Wookie, but Drokkatta took that role (and used the extended Blast mechanic that I thought was necessary).
• Han's officially worth playing, and now makes Smuggler/Spy lists for the Rebels very interesting. I don't know if they'll be top of the meta, but they'll be able to do some fun things.
• Giving Chewie the ability to Slam for free is pretty nifty, but he'll still get focus-fired to death if you run him in the middle of an opponent's army. Especially now that Chewie is also converting a DODGE into an EVADE. So the real benefit to his Skirmish Upgrade card is that Debts Repaid is *always* in your hand. And... that's pretty good... but I'm not for sure if it justifies Chewie's 11-point cost in a list that doesn't include other Wookies or Wookie command cards. (It's going to be fun to play with him and find out!)
• With the Force Users A/V Wave, Riot Troopers and Jarrod Kelvin, we have a pretty melee-heavy pool of new figures. I'm wondering if there's going to be some sort of rule change to buff melee character's usability and/or survivability. On most maps, unless you're Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker or another figure with additional movement options, your melee characters are going to be picked apart before they get within melee range of anything.
• Did you guys notice that Drokkatta drops something called a Rubble token? I suppose it makes that square difficult terrain.
• Between the Rubble token, the new shield token and all the power tokens, we're all going to have to buy more little storage cases. To the craft supply stores!
• I love Ready Weapons for Troopers/Guardians. But I still feel like 3-figure Trooper deployments -- that aren't Alliance Rangers -- are still very susceptible to be exploited in current meta. I still think that a generic Troopers Skirmish Upgrade to increase Health +1 and rework some of the range & damage math is necessary.
• I'm not for sure if Jarrod Kelvin can contribute enough in every round of a Skirmish game to be super effective. The fact that he has the Leader trait means he can play Planning & other decent Leader cards while he's moving into position during Round 1. But moving him into melee range basically means you're sacrificing him. I'd love to see what his named Command Card looks like.
• The other two Rebel heroes are very exciting. For a while now I've been having dreams running Ko-Tun Feralo with eEchoBaseTroopers. Drokkatta's free attack and extended Blast should be FEARED by those of us playing eWeequays.
• The Clawdite Shapeshifter might be the figure I'm most excited about for Skirmish. The Senator role makes them into a scum version of Ko-Tun Feralo; the Streetrat gives them a chance to do unblockable red die damage to an adjacent figure... and they have the Hunter & Spy traits? Oooooh!

One final, very important thing: If you believe in reading between-the-lines of news announcements, you'll notice that Temporary Alliance was explicitly mentioned as something that Scum players can do to use the new Rebel heroes. Why mention it if there's plans of making it go away? Just sayin'.

Oh, FFG updated the article to show us the skirmish version of rRiotTrooper:

1 hour ago, cnemmick said:

Oh, FFG updated the article to show us the skirmish version of rRiotTrooper:

I think it's interesting that the figure/reinforcement costs (2 figures at 2 points each) are less than the total deployment cost.

21 minutes ago, Shohet said:

I think it's interesting that the figure/reinforcement costs (2 figures at 2 points each) are less than the total deployment cost.

there's a bunch of them like that. Tusken Raiders come to mind but there are others.

I'm afraid the streetrat fighter Jed and his buddy Jax are too easily killed to be worth putting into a list. I think he's dead on arrival competetively. I really need to see the elite versions of these figures. KoTun and Drokatta have their place. I'll need to try Chewie and Han (I think Han is going to pricey but playable just due to sheer number of attacks and good dice set GGB) ATDP is already lighting my boards up and Ahsoka and Darth Vader rock. Emperor is okay.

I think I'm going to love the Shapeshifter, I can't wait to see what other FACES they give him. They can keep updating him with new characters to play.

A focused Chewbacca hits for an average of 7 damage against a black die, and that doesn't count potential to stun. Add debts repaid in and you get an average 14 damage worth of attacks in one round. It's monstrous.

Chewie doesn't need to be in a Wookie list to be viable- sure it would give him access to a few nice command cards, but I think the Smuggler trait for him is the best one. That slam is gonna be brutal for controlling objectives, taking out some weak figures potentially with one trigger of it (bye bye hired guns).

I think Jarrod could do fine in some Rebel spy lists (Ahsoka will beef these up too). his 5 speed is important. Just don't send him in against the heavy hitters. He could fit in some brawler based Mercenary lists, but I'm not sure he fits in many other Rebel 'traits based lists' at the moment.

I'm super excited. I think the Meta is more diverse than ever, once this expansion hits I could see lists for every faction being completely viable- with different units and command cards and traits. And that's what we want.

The thing about the Meta growing it that different lists will counter different lists...one list is countered by hunters, one is countered by the untaught swarm, another is countered by speedy figures, another is trick with smuggler or spy stuff. And with the maps continually rotating, different lists will shine on different maps and objectives. It's really great. Big props to FFG for taking care of us Skirmish players with this set!

You guys...I'm just so happy right now. I'll collect myself enough to share my thoughts later on, but for now I'll bask in the glory of these new figures and skirmish upgrades. :-)

-ryanjamal

I'm actually really happy about the riot troopers! I think that for 5 points, they are a pretty decent buy and their damage output should be decent for their price point. I almost wish I could bring them into mercs for my trandoshan strain list XD. I really want to see the elite version of the cards though! I think the elite sentry droids are going to have huge changes since they are 10 for 2.

If I recall correctly, the elite clawdite adds a yellow die to its attack pool, which will actually make the senator version a very potent support that also has the spy trait, not to mention the increased likelihood to use the streetrat assassination.

I think that drokkatta will be a big hit, we haven't seen anything with a decent blast 2 on a reasonably costed and effective figure.

Jerrod will need to be used with finesse, but he is someone I would send off by himself to fight over some objective, say a shield generator or a stash on jabba's. As a person who loves to use eRGs, the auto surge block really adds to his effective health, and I think he will be able to stick around longer that people think. He also has a really large effective attack range of 8 spaces away, which is just shy of ahsoka and luke at 9. I think he will go really well with ahsoka and davith to make some sneaky melee oriented spies.

Ko-tun will be a decent support/sniper. I think that if white dice become more prevalent, then her stocks will rise, much as sorin's are rising with all the new droids and vehicles that are coming out.

Overall, I'm really exited for this wave. You will still see alot of hunters, and spies have been pretty good since blaise, but they are going to get even more toys to play with, making them a top contender. If spies are running around, I don't know if we will see some troopers to hit them, or if their days are done.

Actually with the new tokens, Jerrod May last longer than I initially thought, his damage ought to be decent as well as he has 1 innate and +2 Pierce 2. He also has his robot buddy which may enhance his abilities even more.

Both Han and Chewie become way more useful IMO. Many were speculating that they would be tied together somehow which I was not a fan of. Now they are way more independent. They both lost their defensive ability which kept them pigeon holed and made them play close to other figures, now they can get out where ever they want and do some serious damage on their own.

Chewie's shot is still pretty inconsistent, slam got a lot better though.

i wish they would print new cards without the old abilities on them though.

the Guardian trait is still pretty debilitating though. I wonder what will make the sentry droids worth taking? My limited use of the regular ones has been pretty lackluster, even the droid cards and the new Ready Weapons seem pretty bleh.

i can really see Spies taking off, especially in the other factions. Look at the emphasis on Heavy Weapons and then add elite Rebel Sabs, Jarrod, Davith, Mak, mix in some smugglers, (will the elite clawdites make Saska worth it in a list like this?)

1 minute ago, buckero0 said:

Actually with the new tokens, Jerrod May last longer than I initially thought, his damage ought to be decent as well as he has 1 innate and +2 Pierce 2. He also has his robot buddy which may enhance his abilities even more.

haha, i was typing out a reply to your last post saying about the same. Also, he could have some uses in a spy list and his cost isn't going to drag down your list. I'd prefer that he was ranged, but I'm definitely going to need some playtesting with him

I love the Melee figures, most are well balanced, and the brawler trait keeps getting better. competitively, they just need to select maps like the Jawa Alley instead of Sniper Ranger target practice.

Those riot troopers look good, the Gamorean guards are great (elite), Luke and now Vader are superb as is Ahsoka. This Jarrod guy may be alright with his droid. Nexu have always been good and Maul and Shyla, etc.

Just use some maps where you can get closer than 12 spaces to each other without getting shot to pieces

13 hours ago, SeerOzymandius said:

Han and Chewie upgrades too! Thoughts?

I know! Quite a surprise! Where's all of the threads?!?

Tried han, Chewie, and Vader today w/ new cards. han is still squishy, but he can really do stuff before going down now! Vader will excel on smaller maps (not sure about Nal swampland). IMO, Ig88 is still better overall and more versatile- but maybe new force cards will mix it up? Chewies slam is awesome now. he works well early in rounds to use Debts Repaid. anyone else tried yet?

Some good and some bad:
* The set looks AWESOME! I really like the fixes for Vader, Han and Chewie and most of the spoiled cards looks decent to awesome. I feel they have really done a good job in ballancing out the meta with the additions from this set.
* But what the **** is up with releasing fixes for a $10 blister pack in a ~$60 box?! Or am I missing something? We have seen way too much of this from FFG in other Products where Aces packs are used to fix something that was bad design from the start and then charging twice to five times the price of the base product to play the card at the expected price. At least offer them in some smaller packs. Not everyone can afford to get the huge box to be able to play Han Solo.

But all and all, good work (but poor customer service) FFG!

(You only need the actual cards if you play in tournaments and the TO does not allow proxies. Even then, I don't think anyone would buy the box JUST for one of the fixes anyway.)

1 hour ago, a1bert said:

(You only need the actual cards if you play in tournaments and the TO does not allow proxies. Even then, I don't think anyone would buy the box JUST for one of the fixes anyway.)

I still think it would be very reasonable to release them all in a small pack, perhaps even a pack without a figure in it. Like a "Legends reborn"-card pack or whatever. It is in essence a (very welcome) bug fix after all.

Well, hopefully they will release tourney reprints of all these cards since with IG, Han, Chewie and Vader they are all erasing certain rules on the main cards. I hope for a separate card altogether to avoid confusion and the extra housekeeping (there are enough cards on the table anyway in all FFG games that consolidating the amount of cardboard on the table could really be a nice move)

I think we'll end up getting tournament alt arts that will have the attached upgrade card as printed text.

I dunno... the cards would also have to have the text: cannot attach upgrades (since there's a limit of one attached upgrade). I think this is just the way they're fixing the original units and I think it'll just be fans who create the revised cards.

-ryanjamal

11 hours ago, buckero0 said:

Actually with the new tokens, Jerrod May last longer than I initially thought, his damage ought to be decent as well as he has 1 innate and +2 Pierce 2. He also has his robot buddy which may enhance his abilities even more.

Both Han and Chewie become way more useful IMO. Many were speculating that they would be tied together somehow which I was not a fan of. Now they are way more independent. They both lost their defensive ability which kept them pigeon holed and made them play close to other figures, now they can get out where ever they want and do some serious damage on their own.

Chewie's shot is still pretty inconsistent, slam got a lot better though.

i wish they would print new cards without the old abilities on them though.

the Guardian trait is still pretty debilitating though. I wonder what will make the sentry droids worth taking? My limited use of the regular ones has been pretty lackluster, even the droid cards and the new Ready Weapons seem pretty bleh.

i can really see Spies taking off, especially in the other factions. Look at the emphasis on Heavy Weapons and then add elite Rebel Sabs, Jarrod, Davith, Mak, mix in some smugglers, (will the elite clawdites make Saska worth it in a list like this?)

Idk if Saska will ever be playable, sadly. 6 points to take in 1 deployment card is meh. if she only had the leader trait, maybe