4 hours ago, Schanez said:I really like Rebels as a faction, with its cross ship synergies and unique ways to deal with stress.
My only problem with it is, that other factions can usually fit their combos on one ship, making losing a piece not that impactful. For Rebels losing Dutch means less action economy. They are solid. Fun.
I'm just waiting to see what the Resistance B-Wing will be like. Because that with access to Tech like Pattern Analyser will be interesting.
Rebels are solid, with "Aces" having simple abilities and being quite straightforward. I really lack a true Ace in the faction, who could reposition after movement. The best so far is Jake at I4 and maybe Sabine at I3. But that initiative...
What follows isn't necessarily a direct reply to you. You brought up some really interesting topics though so here are some thoughts
Personally I tend to limit the synergy pieces I bring in lists to either just Jake or occasional experiments with Leia/Lando (though I almost always replace the i5 falcons with Han or Hera). Those are all pieces that can function as support but don't have to for a list to work. Across factions its sometimes risky to build lists that depend on a specific synergy your opponent can counter. Dutch and Lando are good example even though they can be effective in game counters to them are pretty straightforward. I think Rebels as a faction have more to offer than cross ship synergy lists. Thats part of why I have enjoyed them so much more in 2.0 than 1.0. For context I mainly play Hyperspace and also rarely bring more than 0-1 upgrades on Rebel ships even with Hera and Han so my perspective is a bit warped. This is all personal preference as well, if you like rebel teamwork lists thats cool to and they for sure are there to experiment with. Rebel Shotgun with Jan Ors is probably the most interesting of them. I also have not really experimented with Selfless much and maybe should.
Overall point though I think Rebels have a reputation as being the Teamwork faction but its something I have found to be only partially accurate. The less card based teamwork required and the more individually the pieces function the more fun I tend to have. With synergy mixed in some minor way usually. Han, Luke, Braylen, Wedge, Jake, Generic Bs/Xs/As, Norra, and Hera all can stand on their own and are the main reason I have interest in the faction. The teamwork is still required but its more about coordinating all of the ships movements on the table. Basically in game strategic teamwork rather than combo synergy teamwork if that makes sense. Still feels like the list is working together to bring down its targets but instead of getting that feel via remembering triggers between cards the team work is about how you set your dials and approach engage as a team. Worlds 2019 Final rebel list is again a great example of this.
As for the traditional high mobility high init Aces I think Han is seriously underappreciated and does that job as good or better than most pilots in the game. Han, Luke, and Wedge as it should be are the Rebel Factions Aces. With Luke and Wedge being scruffy lower case aces and Han being a true upper case Ace. Lack of access to multiple 50-60ish point high mobility aces is part of what helps differentiate Rebels from the field and part of why I think the faction is cool. I am sure we will see a high init RZ1A in the near future though so Rebel players can scratch that itch.
Edited by Boom Owl