Max and Brooks' OP Stream this week made the comment that there was a ship whose breakpoint for inclusion into a list would change in the January points update (and that it wasn't TIE Defenders). I haven't seen any speculation for which ship this might be, but I'm curious to see which one everyone thinks it might be. Guess away, friends!

My shortlist:

• RZ-1 (Phoenix Squadron Pilot, 30 --> 28)
• TIE/FO (Epsilon Squadron Cadet, 26 --> 25)
• TIE/SK (Planetary Sentinel, 34 --> 33)
• N-1 (Bravo Flight Officer, 34 --> 33)

What do you think?

The TIE fighter. Is the only ship that doesn't cause a lot of troubles if gives more room.

Academy Pilot - 23 -> 22

And we are limited to 8 ships... ☺️☺️

What does the term "points break/break point" actually mean?

1 minute ago, Goseki1 said:

What does the term "points break/break point" actually mean?

Referring to a change in points that would enable you to field more of the ship in a list (or the inverse, an increase in points that would decrease the number you can field in a list).

For example, the X-wing is 41 points, which means that you can't put more than 4 of them in a 200 point list (because five X-wings would cost 205 points). Lowering it down to the 40 point threshold would allow you to field 5 in a list.

T65 X-Wing, Blue Squadron Escort and Cavern Angels Zealot

Both 41 --> 40

Knave squadron from 52->50 is reasonable as it is nowhere at all on the tables.

G1A from 41->40. Its not gonna break the meta running 5 of them if 4 + friend isnt even close to being anything, and 40pts keeps them out of torkhil,seevor + 3 list.

Striker is a good candidate as well. 5 + Wampa isnt top tier, so a 6th instead of wampa isnt going to push it to the top. Dropping the generic striker to even 32pts might help get it on the table.

It’ll be a ship that’s recently released which they want to sell lots of generics of to shift expansion packs.

I’d bet TIE Interceptors to 32, though that would still be too much.

5 minutes ago, wurms said:

Knave squadron from 52->50 is reasonable as it is nowhere at all on the tables.

G1A from 41->40. Its not gonna break the meta running 5 of them if 4 + friend isnt even close to being anything, and 40pts keeps them out of torkhil,seevor + 3 list.

I also hope it’s these plus the N-1. The thing about the N-1 is that you have to put points into upgrades if you want to get anything out of it; just the bare naked chassis isn’t going to cause a fire. And as much as I love the G-1A, let’s be honest: it kind of sucks. It’s not going to wreck the game at 40.

Scavenged YT-1300. Safest 3-red turret to test at three per list.

1 hour ago, Stay OT Leader said:

It’ll be a ship that’s recently released which they want to sell lots of generics of to shift expansion packs.

I’d bet TIE Interceptors to 32, though that would still be too much.

RZ1 fits that bill as well, as they’re in the same wave as the interceptor. And new paint scheme for even more sales.

Starvipers. Enforcer up to 51, Assassin to 53. Named pilots up 5 each. That will limit them to three per list and fit with the theme of Scum getting nuked every points change.

2 hours ago, theBitterFig said:

Scavenged YT-1300. Safest 3-red turret to test at three per list.

First choice. Not even that good at 66 points, but maybe worth a second look.

2 hours ago, Stay OT Leader said:

It’ll be a ship that’s recently released which they want to sell lots of generics of to shift expansion packs.

I’d bet TIE Interceptors to 32, though that would still be too much.

Second choice. 33, not 32, but also gain Talent slot and maybe Ruthless is free. Would be a bit of a buff to Empire generics, which otherwise suffer.

2 hours ago, PaulRuddSays said:

TIE/SK (Planetary Sentinel, 34 --> 33)

Third choice. I could see this, though I think the fragility and Iconic status of the Interceptor makes it a hotter target. They could both be at 33 with enough slot/stat differentiation. Sure they're both highly-mobile highly-fragile 3-primaries, but one has an extra talent slot and one can carry a gunner and device. One is more dependent on green dice while the other is more guaranteed to survive a Proton Torpedo shot.

An I1 blocker with a single talent is cool, and an I4 ace with two is awesome. The striker doesn't get either, but they do get to drop bombs and shoot a 3-primary at the same time, which is still quite something. It's less versatile, but then, their operations were limited to one planet for a reason; they're more specialized anyway. Bonus prediction: Soontir to 55, in part to accommodate for second talent.

Those are my wishes anyway, if not predictions.

Fourth choice: Phoenix down to 28-29, as well as green down to 30-31. I don't think that will be a major breakpoint change though.

2 hours ago, Stay OT Leader said:

It’ll be a ship that’s recently released which they want to sell lots of generics of to shift expansion packs.

I suspect it will at least be a ship that’s launched in second edition.

2 hours ago, PaulRuddSays said:

My shortlist:

• TIE/FO (Epsilon Squadron Cadet, 26 --> 25)
• N-1 (Bravo Flight Officer, 34 --> 33)

What do you think?

I don't know that the TIE/fo needs it. It's got a lot of stats for the cost already, and is starting to creep into play. I think some of the higher TIE/fo limited pilots could use a buff (Midnight, Malarus, and Static in particular), but the generic might be fine.

The more I think about it, the more I've come around to liking a points cut on Bravos. They're a lot like an RZ-1 A-Wing. They get access to a specific second action, if they restrict themselves to a narrow subset of their dial, and have fairly similar statlines. A-Wing is more nimble, N-1 is perhaps tankier but also has the benefit of going stress-free.

Just now, theBitterFig said:

I don't know that the TIE/fo needs it. It's got a lot of stats for the cost already, and is starting to creep into play. I think some of the higher TIE/fo limited pilots could use a buff (Midnight, Malarus, and Static in particular), but the generic might be fine.

The more I think about it, the more I've come around to liking a points cut on Bravos. They're a lot like an RZ-1 A-Wing. They get access to a specific second action, if they restrict themselves to a narrow subset of their dial, and have fairly similar statlines. A-Wing is more nimble, N-1 is perhaps tankier but also has the benefit of going stress-free.

I agree that I’d rather see the Tie/FO aces come down rather than the generic, but i figured that if a break point will change, the /FO seems like a fine option. No one will be taking 8 as an efficiency play without having a force multiplier like howlrunner.

I agree with your thoughts on the Bravo.

I agree with most of what's said, so I'll just add stuff less talked about:

Generic TIE Agressor at 26 so you can do 6 + Howlrunner for the lols, which current points forbid.

Contracted Scout to 40 for 5 Jumps. Still trash, but it'll drive fully execute abilities insane with 20 bases squared of footprint.

Cartel Marauder to 41 just to insist that it's a Scum T65.

11 minutes ago, PaulRuddSays said:

No one will be taking 8 as an efficiency play without having a force multiplier like Howlrunner.

On principle I agree, but we did see it with Torrents. I feel like 25-26 is the right base cost for both of these. One has an extra hull and a missile slot, the other has an extra agility, a better dial, and a tech slot; they're pretty similar. I would also throw the TIE aggressor into that price range, maybe up 1 point to 26-27 for the base generic as it has most of the advantages of both. The Scyk also belongs there.

I also think that Howlrunner needs to go up and the generic TIEs need to go down if we ever want to see non-block TIE swarms.

Cartel Spacer to 26 and Tansarii to 30. Breakpoint for 6 MM+ABS tansariis. They've released 2.0 scyks and need to sell them.

i1 Silencer to 50 or less.

I’m hoping for Rz-1 A-Wings to 28, but I’m guessing it will be TIE Interceptors. There’s been a strong 6x Interceptor lobbying party on the forums for a while now. Rz-1’s need some points of upgrades tacked on to actually do anything besides fly around real fast, get in the way, and blank out on their green dice. So changing the break point isn’t going to see them spammed. It will allow me to put even more questionable upgrades on them though.

WhyNotBoth.gif

I’d love to see 25 point Epsilon cadets. Come on ffg, help us get the First Order out of Worst Order!

25-point Epsilon Sq. Pilots means you could afford some toys on Captain Cardinal if you fly him with 5 of the Epsilons, I haven't tried it yet, but it's been on my list for a couple of months. Really want to see how it shakes out after 3 or 4 games. I'm guessing it's bad because nobody talks about Captain Cardinal, but maybe that's why I want to try him out so badly.

Ewings could go down to 48 without being busted.

VCX

1 hour ago, Phelan Boots said:

I’m hoping for Rz-1 A-Wings to 28, but I’m guessing it will be TIE Interceptors. There’s been a strong 6x Interceptor lobbying party on the forums for a while now. Rz-1’s need some points of upgrades tacked on to actually do anything besides fly around real fast, get in the way, and blank out on their green dice. So changing the break point isn’t going to see them spammed. It will allow me to put even more questionable upgrades on them though.

Dropping all generic lock-based missiles would mostly do the same thing, though, wouldn't it? Up Passive Sensors by one and there's no net change there, up Jendon by 3 and you remove all forms of abuse as far as I can tell. Missiles have only been good on things that were too good to start out with.

Maybe also drop Daredevil, Intimidation, and Elusive to 2 – that would make them better blockers.

42 minutes ago, ClassicalMoser said:

Dropping all generic lock-based missiles would mostly do the same thing, though, wouldn't it? Up Passive Sensors by one and there's no net change there, up Jendon by 3 and you remove all forms of abuse as far as I can tell. Missiles have only been good on things that were too good to start out with.

Maybe also drop Daredevil, Intimidation, and Elusive to 2 – that would make them better blockers.

I like all of those suggestions, and I don’t think they’re unreasonable in addition to Rz-1s coming down 1 or 2 points.