Rebels got the biggest buffs in this latest expansion. Here are my thoughts: http://rollfordamage.net/index.php/2017/10/30/heart-of-the-empire-impressions-part-4-rebels/

Interesting thoughts. I might have to test out the Han's New Wookiee list.

I'm not sure I agree with the assessment of Jarrod as below average. He has an insane upper end to his attack (6 + Pierce 2) and even his floor (3 damage) is better than most (it's also incredibly unlikely). A 7 speed melee attack with solid traits on top of that, plus a very solid defense, is far more than below average.

Jabba's Realm boosts Mercs, Heart of the EMPIRE boosts Rebels, it seems FFG likes to keep Imperials down on the bottom of the barrel.

7 minutes ago, theaficionado said:

Interesting thoughts. I might have to test out the Han's New Wookiee list.

I'm not sure I agree with the assessment of Jarrod as below average. He has an insane upper end to his attack (6 + Pierce 2) and even his floor (3 damage) is better than most (it's also incredibly unlikely). A 7 speed melee attack with solid traits on top of that, plus a very solid defense, is far more than below average.

I think he's worth his cost, I just don't think he fits into the meta right now. As far as his attack, it's almost exactly the same as Greedo's, but without access to hunter cards and without range.

Just now, Darth evil said:

Jabba's Realm boosts Mercs, Heart of the EMPIRE boosts Rebels, it seems FFG likes to keep Imperials down on the bottom of the barrel.

It seems like people have forgotten that it wasn't THAT long ago that Imperials were everywhere. The Wave VI/VII meta of worlds last year was dominated by Imperials, though the Top 16 did have good faction distribution.

I think the boosts the Empire got in this wave are currently being very underrated. Riot Troopers (R + E), Sentry Droids (E), and Vader are all very solid, and I suspect that they'll be a lot better than people currently believe.

we might see Riots more once Nal Hutta phases out, as is Imps are shooters not melee

i can't add on the meta of last year since i only started in December

Jarrod was a bit of a surprise when I tried him out. He did way more damage than I thought and the j4x figure was a pain for my opponent. I do worry about his health being so low as one false move and he can be one-shotted.

i really don't think the imperials are as bas as everyone says, of course there is a whole subset of the player population that only plays the current rotation maps and never looks at the rest of the game.

im interested in anyone's estimation or experience with the elite clawdites (regular are pretty worthless) I've been playing two of them and always feel I still get their forms wrong at the wrong time.

i will also say that the new maps are gorgeous and would love to see multiples of them in the rotation, I feel that would balance a lot out as well. I've had tons of fun playing the new skirmish maps as I think the scenarios are more exciting than Jabba's or Bespin

Just now, Darth evil said:

we might see Riots more once Nal Hutta phases out, as is Imps are shooters not melee

i can't add on the meta of last year since i only started in December

Fair enough. To paint a picture of just how omnipresent Imperials were during that time, I believe that 6/8 rounds of my nationals were against Imperials. People were constantly complaining about how OP Cross-Trained Stormtroopers, Zillo Technique and Reinforcements were, and how it was an oppressive part of the game. Rebels and Scum were considered to be virtually non-existent in the top tier.

I honestly feel like the meta right now is way healthier than it was back then. Clearly, there are dominant archetypes for each faction (Rangers + Main, Jet Troopers, Hunters, Ugnaughts) but there is a lot of flexibility within the archetypes.

16 minutes ago, buckero0 said:

Jarrod was a bit of a surprise when I tried him out. He did way more damage than I thought and the j4x figure was a pain for my opponent. I do worry about his health being so low as one false move and he can be one-shotted.

i really don't think the imperials are as bas as everyone says, of course there is a whole subset of the player population that only plays the current rotation maps and never looks at the rest of the game.

im interested in anyone's estimation or experience with the elite clawdites (regular are pretty worthless) I've been playing two of them and always feel I still get their forms wrong at the wrong time.

i will also say that the new maps are gorgeous and would love to see multiples of them in the rotation, I feel that would balance a lot out as well. I've had tons of fun playing the new skirmish maps as I think the scenarios are more exciting than Jabba's or Bespin

I like Jarrod so far too. The nice thing for him on Nal Hutta is that you can always use him to pick up crates (5 speed), and the shielded mission helps him to get up close and personal. With Hera/Gideon, you can easily move him up and potentially get an attack in round 1 in that scenario. And then he's benefiting from 2 automatic evades. Not bad! His health is low so the timing of activating him is especially important. And the droid doesn't really do damage, but he could get rid of pesky junk droids and his pierce is really nice. I wonder if he and Luke can work together for some Brawler synergy? Hmm

A small nitpick: Elite Alliance Rangers have just one "up to 2-dice reroll", not "2 rerolls".

Actually, I really like Jarrod. His speed, attack and defense are great for 5 points.

I played the Drokatta + Han + Elite Rangers + 9 Point Rebel support list Thursday on Jabba's Realm, and was stunned with how well it did. There's a lot of damage output and it could remove figures at will. Drokatta's damage output was beyond what I expected, and his ability to splash damage made it a lot easier for Rangers to finish off figures. Gideon and C-3PO keeping Han supplied with focus nearly made him a powerhouse. The only complaint is that the list has awkward synergy for command cards. I built it around Hunter/Smuggler, but it felt like that could've fallen apart.

On 10/29/2017 at 9:40 PM, theaficionado said:

I think the boosts the Empire got in this wave are currently being very underrated. Riot Troopers (R + E), Sentry Droids (E), and Vader are all very solid, and I suspect that they'll be a lot better than people currently believe.

Palpatine seems to be the best addition to the Empire this wave.

On 10/29/2017 at 10:40 PM, theaficionado said:

I think the boosts the Empire got in this wave are currently being very underrated. Riot Troopers (R + E), Sentry Droids (E), and Vader are all very solid, and I suspect that they'll be a lot better than people currently believe.

And the command cards for Troopers & Leaders adds a bit more punch to these two core Imperial traits.

Just about any combination of the following can make a pretty solid list: eJets, eRiots, eSentries, Darth + Driven by Hatred, Emperor, Terro, Blaise + Cross Training, BT-1, eImpOfficer, rImpOfficer. I'll bet you'll find a few lists with some combination of these figures entering the meta.

We had a store tournament here in KS w/ 10 people and two of those players were basically brand new to the game and won first round against veteran players with new Vader lists. One of them was very close and got a little lucky but the newbie in that game hadn't even played with command cards yet! I've played against new Vader once and killed him pretty quick but he soaked up a lot of attacks so and ended up losing so as a mostly Rebel player I am terrified of Vader.

2 hours ago, Dishbird said:

as a mostly Rebel player I am terrified of Vader.

Fear is the path to the dark side!

But that aside, what is your list? A healthy access to pierce can help, but you have to have multiple figures (curse you zillo!). And of course range and mobility help (though eventually you run out of room).

Regardless, it's great to see the Sith Lord back on the table.

-ryanjamal