I brainstormed with a few friends on how one could make classic Rebel ships more attractive than they currently are without destroying what they are and simply making them mainstream-better. I invite you fine folks to take this all apart and tell me where I have really bad ideas because I'm sure there's a ton of stuff I missed. I'll explain my intentions below (I actually made upgrade cards for this but my upload function doesn't work; once support got back to me I'll upload them).

T65 X-Wing

I'm saying sorry upfront because this has been debated to death. Our conclusion was that T65 are simply too expensive in the current meta (where they weren't in earlier days) and thus need a bit of a buff to be attractive.

1. T65B. Title. X-Wing only. Increase your Hull value by 1. If your pilot skill is 3 or higher, your upgrade bar gains the elite icon. You may not equip two elite upgrades of the same type. (0 point cost)

The idea is to improve the T65 without making it into a second T70, so it needs to be worse than its successor. Hull vs. shield and still no boost and green 3-straight does that. The elite icon is meant to give them the options to aleviate the pretty bad dial and stats, inviting creative combos. The main problem is Biggs, of course. I have no way around this other than "Cannot be equipped by Biggs".

2. Incom Refit. Torpedo. X-Wing only. This card has a negative point value. (-2 point cost)

This aligns the cost of both T65 and T70 more with the current meta, since they're slightly overpriced for what they bring to the table. Again, the major (and in my eyes) only problem is Biggs.

A-Wing

The A-Wing already got a buff in Rebel Aces, obviously, and it's a fine ship. Its problem seems to be more that it has no real task or place in the current meta, and luckily, the new Resistance Bomber gives a new tool.

1. Dymek Reloader. Title. A-Wing only. Your upgrade bar gains the Reload icon. (0 point cost)

The idea is that you need to choose between this and A-Wing testpilot. The Dymek Reloader would encourage you to take something like Proton Missiles, fly in hard, shoot, disengage and reload, flying back in. This seems like a fun alternative way to fly an A-Wing and make Missiles on it actually attractive instead of defaulting to the Chardaan Refit.

B-Wing

The B-Wing is another ship that is pretty good, but simply too expensive and weird in the current meta (a cannon slot?). Opening it up to more option to aleviate its inherent weaknesses might be interesting, hence:

1. E2 Astromech support. Title. B-Wing only. You can equip Astromech upgrade cards as if they were Crew upgrade cards. You may equip other titles. (1 point cost)

The idea is to give you much more options to play with in giving you abilities for your poor B-Wing (like regeneration with R2 and the like), but at a significant cost: all those Astromechs cost 1 point more than usual due to the title.

U-Wing

If I'm informed correctly, this is the third-least flown ship in the current meta, so it needs some love. Unfortunately, the Auzituck now is a better alternative to fly a hypothetical Rebel Emperor (strong crew card requiring two slots), so creating such a card wouldn't necessarily help it out. Since in the movie, the only damage it does comes from the door gunner who's a bit stupid in space, we thought we could emphasize its supporting role.

1. Jamming Device. System. U-Wing only. Friendly ships in range 1-3 may reroll one defensive die.

In this case, Biggs isn't really a problem IMHO, because if this leads to an U-Wing on the board, I'll take a stronger Biggs.

All these cards are restricted to their specific ships simply because I haven't thought through the ramifications for other ships and wanted to strenghten them specifically. Likely, it's not necessary to restrict the cards in all cases. Anyway, these are our humble opinions, so, by all means, tell me where we're wrong

7 minutes ago, Stefan said:

1. E2 Astromech support. Title. B-Wing only. You can equip Astromech upgrade cards as if they were Crew upgrade cards. You may equip other titles. (1 point cost)

Just picking this one out for a comment: that would bump the cost of R2 to effectively 4 points - on a ship that suffers from being too expensive. I think a better solution is to make it 0 or even -1 pt and limit the cost of upgrades, as e.g. the snuggling compartments do: " You may equip 1 Astromech upgrade that costs 2 or fewer squad points. "

I was unsure as to whether this wouldn't make the B-Wing too powerful. Shouldn't this apply to all crew then?

7 hours ago, Stefan said:

I was unsure as to whether this wouldn't make the B-Wing too powerful. Shouldn't this apply to all crew then?

Make it cost "0" and say the cost reduction is due to not having to provide a pressurised cockpit.

I didn't mean from a lore perspective, but rather mechanically. Should we make all crew cheaper for the B-Wing to buff it? Or only astromechs? I don't want a scenario in which taking an astromech over crew is basically a no-brainer due to pricing. That closes half your options.

4 hours ago, Stefan said:

I didn't mean from a lore perspective, but rather mechanically. Should we make all crew cheaper for the B-Wing to buff it? Or only astromechs? I don't want a scenario in which taking an astromech over crew is basically a no-brainer due to pricing. That closes half your options.

I think the E2 mod should have been a title not a mod and allowed the use of mechs as well as crew for "0" points. A one agility ship, even an 8 health over priced tank, like the B-Wing couldn't become too powerful.

Good point.

That A-Wing title would be perfect. Gives you a opportunity cost for sure. "Do I take a second EPT? Or do I get to reload my PRockets?" AWESOME!

I did a card called Superiority Fighter Retrofit. It's a T-65 X-Wing only, Torpedo slot card for 0 points, haven't quite figured it out yet. Also working on a Title card that, much like the Vaksai title, allows for ONE additional modification that is cheaper than the other you've already equipped for free. So, I mean, the best way to spam it is to give an X-Wing Engine or Shield Upgrade and then pick whatever else you want. It's pretty good, though, and we've not really gotten around to balancing it out since we're mostly doing HotAC right now.

The Superiority Fighter Retrofit simply gives more options to the ship and enhances the X-Wing's durability. And it's simple. I think this is super important if implementing any kind of "fix". It should be neat and elegant and should not have loopholes.

23 minutes ago, AngryAlbatross said:

That A-Wing title would be perfect. Gives you a opportunity cost for sure. "Do I take a second EPT? Or do I get to reload my PRockets?" AWESOME!

Thanks.

Just now, Praetorate of the Empire said:

I did a card called Superiority Fighter Retrofit. It's a T-65 X-Wing only, Torpedo slot card for 0 points, haven't quite figured it out yet. Also working on a Title card that, much like the Vaksai title, allows for ONE additional modification that is cheaper than the other you've already equipped for free. So, I mean, the best way to spam it is to give an X-Wing Engine or Shield Upgrade and then pick whatever else you want. It's pretty good, though, and we've not really gotten around to balancing it out since we're mostly doing HotAC right now.

The Superiority Fighter Retrofit simply gives more options to the ship and enhances the X-Wing's durability. And it's simple. I think this is super important if implementing any kind of "fix". It should be neat and elegant and should not have loopholes.

Also a possibility, yes.