3 minutes ago, Captain Lackwit said:

I like that she's cute, but it just fuels my hatred of Phasma even more.

They hyped Phasma up to be some amazing female stormtrooper leader, instead we got a useless shiny coward.

1 minute ago, HolySorcerer said:

I like that she's cute, but it just fuels my hatred of Phasma even more.

They hyped Phasma up to be some amazing female stormtrooper leader, instead we got a useless shiny coward.

No, no.

Media hyped her up that way. The dudes making the films never said she was an incredible awe inspiring leader.

She's not. She does everything she can to survive and literally nothing else.

Just now, Captain Lackwit said:

No, no.

Media hyped her up that way. The dudes making the films never said she was an incredible awe inspiring leader.

She's not. She does everything she can to survive and literally nothing else.

The cast/crew interviews, the toys, the trailer, her costume. They all made her out to be an interesting character. She's not.

I enjoyed TFA, but they really dropped the ball on Phasma.

2 minutes ago, HolySorcerer said:

The cast/crew interviews, the toys, the trailer, her costume. They all made her out to be an interesting character. She's not.

I enjoyed TFA, but they really dropped the ball on Phasma.

You really need to adopt a, "I'll wait and see for myself" approach instead of buying into hype and getting disappointed.

You'll be a lot happier because you won't have preconceived notions building things that won't exist.

It works.

1 minute ago, Captain Lackwit said:

You really need to adopt a, "I'll wait and see for myself" approach instead of buying into hype and getting disappointed.

You'll be a lot happier because you won't have preconceived notions building things that won't exist.

It works.

Oh, I wasn't hyped for Phasma at all. I was happy that star wars was back, but I'm no fanboi. I was cautiously optimistic and hopeful. Of course that is all gone now since TLJ.

I just find it baffling that anybody likes her at all. I find it doubly baffling that x-wing players were asking for that shiny idiot in the game.

That said I'm done with the negativity. I'll be picking up a FO conversion kit for my existing stuff, but I'm not really excited for any of the sequel stuff going forward, as so far all it has been is gcw stuff with a different paint job.

She’s the Boba Fett and Darth Maul of the sequels. A character with a distinctive look that never really does anything but fans latch onto anyway.

At this point it wouldn’t be Star Wars without a character like that.

15 minutes ago, Forgottenlore said:

She’s the Boba Fett and Darth Maul of the sequels. A character with a distinctive look that never really does anything but fans latch onto anyway.

At this point it wouldn’t be Star Wars without a character like that.

A Boba Fett that doesn't actually get to do anything in the films aside from backstab her own organization. Boba Fett was able to get away with Han, and take a few shots at people, and Maul got to have a cool fight scene and was well explored in Clone Wars and Rebels.

I just find it a shame she wasn't given anything more to do, or even really given a moment to do something standout cool. In TFA she just gives an order or two, walks around, and then turns off the shields and is shoved into a garbage compactor. In TLJ she again gives orders, teleports between shots, her armor absorbs a few shots and she gets smacked in the face before presumably falling to her death. Its kind of disappointing that they rushed her confrontation with Finn so it had little to no weight. But I have to wonder if she won't end up like Maul and having material say she survived the events of TLJ to try and give her more depth or let her do something cool or of note.

10 minutes ago, Animewarsdude said:

A Boba Fett that doesn't actually get to do anything in the films aside from backstab her own organization. Boba Fett was able to get away with Han, and take a few shots at people, and Maul got to have a cool fight scene and was well explored in Clone Wars and Rebels.

I just find it a shame she wasn't given anything more to do, or even really given a moment to do something standout cool. In TFA she just gives an order or two, walks around, and then turns off the shields and is shoved into a garbage compactor. In TLJ she again gives orders, teleports between shots, her armor absorbs a few shots and she gets smacked in the face before presumably falling to her death. Its kind of disappointing that they rushed her confrontation with Finn so it had little to no weight. But I have to wonder if she won't end up like Maul and having material say she survived the events of TLJ to try and give her more depth or let her do something cool or of note.

She was presumed dead after the first film as well, so I'm sure she survived this time too. I bet she'll be revealed as the trilogy's true villain, as well as Rey's secret mother. ? She must have amazing force powers to be able to shrug off being compacted, left on an exploding planet, and then falling into a raging inferno.

1 hour ago, player3010587 said:

Well, is 4 ships a swarm? (FO TIE aces of 1.0). I expect to fit 5 near naked aces in a list.

Not enough swarm for me !

I don't think Rivas, Muse, TN-3465 or Longshot will be expensive. I expect a big shot pilot (Midnight or Malarus) with others aces to fit 5 or 6 !

I'd be surprised if you could fit more than 4 named Fo's. The named TIE/lns are 40pt and a little under, I'd expect these to be a little over.

5 minutes ago, Cuz05 said:

I'd be surprised if you could fit more than 4 named Fo's. The named TIE/lns are 40pt and a little under, I'd expect these to be a little over.

Only Howlrunner and Iden are that expensive; the rest sit at 28-32. I'd expect the I1-3 FO aces at somewhere around 34-38, with the I4s at 40ish, Midnight at 40-45 and Commander Glitterstim in the mid 40s. Any more and the whole faction is probably DOA. These are still just TIE Fighters with shields.

11 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

Not a fan of the generic names coming back with serial number lady, but the abilities mostly look good.

At least it is better than _______ Squadron Ace/Leader. Although it did make a list of generic ranks for build your own character in campaigns.

Probies Squadrons Uniques

1. Academy
2. Rookie
3. Pilot
4. Specialist
5. Veteran
6. Ace
7. Leader

10 hours ago, generalchaos34 said:

There is 7 dials and 26 pilot cards (including all 9 unique pilots) so if you can get more go for it!

Also I'd like to point out the inclusion of plenty of female pilots in this expansion is pretty neat!

I like the fact that a single FO conversion kit seems to be 'all the TIE/fo you could ever need', unlike the rebel/imperial/scum versions.

And yes....according to the article:

• "Scorch"/Zeta Leader - Male
• "Longshot"/Zeta Ace - ???
• "Midnight"/Omega Leader - Male
• "Static"/Omega Ace - Female
• "Muse"/Epsilon Leader - Female
• Lieutenant Rivas - Male
• TN-3465 - Female
• Commander Malarus - Female

With Epsilon Squadron now badged as "cadets", it wouldn't surprise me if Epsilon Ace is no longer a thing (Cadet + 'Ace' seems an unlikely combination), especially since we have two more confirmed unique pilots than we previously did even without Epsilon Ace, and certainly more unique pilots than you can possibly fit in a squad.

Oh - Malarus is also from the comics.

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Malarus

1 hour ago, Okapi said:

Only Howlrunner and Iden are that expensive; the rest sit at 28-32. I'd expect the I1-3 FO aces at somewhere around 34-38, with the I4s at 40ish, Midnight at 40-45 and Commander Glitterstim in the mid 40s. Any more and the whole faction is probably DOA. These are still just TIE Fighters with shields.

This. I've played with 4 unique TIE/fo in 1.0 and it really doesn't work, no matter how good their abilities are.

6 would be a dream but unlikely, 5 would be perfectly workable.

Note that the presence of 7 dials in the conversion set can be taken as (very circumstantial) evidence that fielding 7 TIE/fo at once is a realistic possibility, which implies the Epsilon Squadron Cadet is a maximum of 28 points, compared to the 15 points of the Epsilon Squadron Pilot in 1.0. Add in that Muse is only I2, compared to Epsilon Leader's I6, Rivas is only I1 and TN-3465 only I2, and they shouldn't be that expensive at all.

Meh. There was a reason why Glitterstim was one use in 1.0. Not a fan of Commander Glitterstim having 2 charges. She actually can use her ability consecutive to ensure killing off her target, not caring about 2 stress if the target is thus removed.

Longshot can be a mean sniper, also with trickshot (if there is a talent slot), suddenly the chassis is up to 4 reds. Granted, the defender gets more greens, but old Zuckuss pilot was still worth it (apart from having an overcosted chassis in 1.0), as the probabilities are shifted towards red.

If Static gets any tech retaining locks or foci, or getting shared foci or target locks, she can to be pretty mean as well, esp to finish off already damaged stuff.

Or Dormitz+Hyperspace Tracking, and let her scream forward. Not that good against shielded enemies or in the boring 400/6 format, but in other instances....

3 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

Of course that is all gone now since TLJ.

...as so far all it has been is gcw stuff with a different paint job.

1: I always wonder how, and this isn't aimed at you specifically, frail one's love for something is when one perceived gaff is all it takes to destroy it.
2: But uh, yeah that's mostly true, MG-100 and Upsilon aside. At least those are actually brand new concepts.

I swear, TLJ is like this forum's version of Godwin's Law .

1 hour ago, Magnus Grendel said:

Note that the presence of 7 dials in the conversion set can be taken as (very circumstantial) evidence that fielding 7 TIE/fo at once is a realistic possibility, which implies the Epsilon Squadron Cadet is a maximum of 28 points, compared to the 15 points of the Epsilon Squadron Pilot in 1.0.

That what I have done for the generic and found the same increase price for Imperial Tie Fighter.

28 pts for the Epsilon Squadron Cadet

29 pts for the Zeta Squadron Pilot

31 pts for the Omega Squadron Ace

29 minutes ago, Arkanta974 said:

31 pts for the Omega Squadron Ace

A lot of that will be driven by the price of the First Order unique talent (Fanatical, I think?) - if you can pack in 6 TIE/fo which get a perma-offensive focus once they lose their shields, that's actually a fairly menacing force, despite it being only 2-attack-die ships.

6 hours ago, Captain Lackwit said:

That's what we call a Squadron.

That's what I thought.

6 hours ago, HolySorcerer said:

I just find it baffling that anybody likes her at all. I find it doubly baffling that x-wing players were asking for that shiny idiot in the game.

I think largely because there are only so many First Order characters to go at. Like her or not she's instantly recognisable.

I also agree that the amount of marketing focusing on her was a bit annoying given her input into the film, and especially given Gwendolyn Christie's abilities as an actress - compare her most famous other role as Brienne of Tarth, who comes across every bit as awesome as Phasma was made out to be and wasn't.

I do actually find her more interesting in the comics and books - because it develops the 'screw you lot, survive at all costs' mentality which doesn't really come across in the film; I find it quite annoying that one of the best scenes with her ended up on the cutting room floor (Finn tells a squad of stormtroopers who really shut down starkiller's shields, she responds by shooting the lot of them the moment he finishes talking).

3 hours ago, Managarmr said:

Meh. There was a reason why Glitterstim was one use in 1.0. Not a fan of Commander Glitterstim having 2 charges. She actually can use her ability consecutive to ensure killing off her target, not caring about 2 stress if the target is thus removed

Agreed, but the point I'd raise there is that ultimately, she's flying a TIE fighter with delusions of grandeur. Glitterstim on Talonbane Cobra, IG-88 or Boba Fett matters. On Commander Malarus.....eh. It's a single 2-dice attack plus 1, maybe 2 defence rolls. Any more than that and she's probably dead anyway.

It's a nice thing to have in your pocket, especially with a TIE/fo's decent blue dial and defences build around lots of green dice, but would you really have sunk points into buying glitterstim for a Rebel TIE or Quadjumper?

3 hours ago, Managarmr said:

Longshot can be a mean sniper, also with trickshot (if there is a talent slot), suddenly the chassis is up to 4 reds. Granted, the defender gets more greens, but old Zuckuss pilot was still worth it (apart from having an overcosted chassis in 1.0), as the probabilities are shifted towards red.

Answer unclear, ask again later. Zeta Ace certainly had an elite slot in 1.0, though, so I'd expect Longshot to in 2.0. Trick Shot is probably one of the best options just because it's passively activated. Elusive or Lone Wolf might be nice if planning to lurk at range 3, too.

3 hours ago, Managarmr said:

If Static gets any tech retaining locks or foci, or getting shared foci or target locks, she can to be pretty mean as well, esp to finish off already damaged stuff.

Or Dormitz+Hyperspace Tracking, and let her scream forward. Not that good against shielded enemies or in the boring 400/6 format, but in other instances....

Yes and no. As noted, I've used a few TIE/fo All-stars and Omega Ace never really pulled her weight before Advanced Optics came out. What makes her awesome is any means of getting extra attack dice - because those extra attack dice automatically 'click' over into criticals.

Swarm Leader and Opportunist are unlikely to make a comeback, which means the options for extra attack dice are pretty slim on the ground; basically trick shot or range 1.

TN-3465 already has the ability to turn hits (well.... a hit unless you're desperate) critical when you're in a range 1 mosh.

If Rivas has a talent slot, his ability to get free locks may make him a decent squad leader but I doubt an initiative 1 pilot will get a talent slot.

You're basically stuck with a squad leader or upsilon (costing you an action elsewhere) or General Dastardly Hux

7 hours ago, Forgottenlore said:

She’s the Boba Fett and Darth Maul of the sequels. A character with a distinctive look that never really does anything but fans latch onto anyway.

At this point it wouldn’t be Star Wars without a character like that.

She's much worse.

Boba actually collects the bounty on the Falcon and on Han Solo.

Maul kills Qui-Gon Jinn.

Phasma does nothing at all but monologue before she dies.

7 hours ago, Forgottenlore said:

She’s the Boba Fett and Darth Maul of the sequels. A character with a distinctive look that never really does anything but fans latch onto anyway.

At this point it wouldn’t be Star Wars without a character like that.

Except that Maul and Boba are both integral to the plot of their primary movies (TPM and ESB respectively). You couldn’t tell the story told without them.

Phasma could have easily been deleted from the script and nothing plot wise changes.

She is the worst character of the First Order. By far. She’s tolerable only because of how little screen time she gets, unlike Rose.

When I asked (in a response to an overly optimistic post) if 4 ships was a swarm, I was 1: making a rhetorical point because 2: you can't fly a unique FO swarm. 6 ships is a swarm and you barely squeeze that in with the empire's uniques. This forum has no art in subtlety.

4 ships: either pocket aces or mini swarm to be paired with ship 5

5: almost a swarm, but definitely a mini swarm

6: most certainly a swarm

7: that's a swarm going for pure efficiency and not necessarily a bunch of fancy abilities (although you can fit this many gunrunners if you don't want the hard hitter of fenn or Boba that makes a gunrunner good).

8: the guy who flies it is delusional in his assertion that the Empire's fall actually is a heroic tragedy in star wars

18 hours ago, Hiemfire said:

At worse a TIE/FO squad can have a FO with Squad Leader to help with Static's set up. Or just be patient and save the first pass lock for the second pass.

I always flew Omega Ace with PTL and I'd wait for a range 1 shot for a solid 3 crit hit. You'll definitely need a coordinate on the board for ease of use with Static, but saving a TL is a solid option. Of course, this means jamming actually becomes useful against Static.