Guys, in the 800 point games you have played, how is the balance? Are Imperial's stomping Rebels? Are rebels holding their own? Just wondering which side is winning more games with just the wave 1 stuff.

The fact that game is won by objectives, it is fairly balanced.

In the few games I played with my friends, at first Empire looked more powerful, but we immediatley understood it was due to lack of real choice in the army listing (after all we oonly have one kind of troop and one kind of support or heavy per faction) . And because our mind was still set on the point victoy system typical of other games (i.e. WH) which we were used to play,

Later games, with more wise use of battle cards and a gameplay more focused on taking objectives, the same lists got a completly different result.

So apparently the game is balanced...

On a more basic level, consider that rebel troopers shoot better and defend worse but have a rule helping in defense and defense surges. While stormtroopers shoot worse and defend better (after all they ARE wearing armor) and have offensive ability and surges....

Have played several games this week, and it´s balanced just fine, as long as people remember to use the full rules for picking scenario, conditions and battlefield setup, which will generate a different game each time.

So far it seems the "balance" is not that much in the factions themselves (Empire is much stronger in direct combat if you play like that) but in the generated circumstances - meaning that they favor one player or the other more heavily than any faction imbalance does

But I am positive with the first few releases at latest we will find lists that are best at covering most requirements for objective play, and can be virtually unbeatable by a typical mixed list.