Powerful upgrade for 4 points, no doubt about it. Not only does it cancel a hit (which you can save for a critical once your shields are down), but it gives you a shield back (which has the potential to protect you from yet another critical hit). Only down side is that it can only be used on the YT-1300.

Shield upgrade also costs 4 ponts and gives you one shield. Another upside is that it can be used on any ship (I'm assuming evern TIE Fighters and TIE Interceptors since it doesn't explicitley prohibit it… but I just asked a question in the rules form to double check what other's think about that).

This thread http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_foros_discusion.asp?efid=254&efcid=6&efidt=734236 argues, I think convincingly for Wave 1 ships even after reading the concerns, that each hull is worth about 4.25 points, and each sheld is worth 4.5 points.

But, even if you adjust down a bit for whatever reason, that still makes the Chewbacca co-pilot a great deal and one of the best upgrade in the game for the points.

What do you think, is this too good for the points? Would you ever take a YT-1300 without this upgrade? Does the fact that it can only be used on the YT-1300 make up for the difference?

I'm not trying to change anything, but as try to make sense of things it seems it should have cost a bit more and I can't imagine playing a YT-1300 without it given its low cost and great ability.

It's definitely a bargain, and it's a very efficient way to enhance the Falcon's durability.

But on the other hand, while it's cheap for what it does, it's still a fairly expensive member of the set of upgrades. For the same cost you can have Push the Limit and Nien Nunb, or a Concussion Missile. For one point more you can get a Gunner or a Homing Missile, or upgrade a Rookie to Garven. To put it another way, Chewie is easier to use but probably less effective than R2-D2, who I feel is actually somewhat overcosted and rarely use. .

There's also the fact that it's a strictly defensive upgrade in a game where the primary win condition is "blow stuff up". As I said a few days ago about Stealth, it doesn't turn a losing squad into a winning one--it just means you lose more slowly.

So I think it's at about the right price point. It can only add to the cost of already-expensive ship, it doesn't contribute to your offense, and the set of upgrades is a crowded and competitive space.

Vorpal Sword said:

I disagree about it being less effective than R2D2

You wait to use it until you get a crit you don't want. Then you discard that and gain back a shield as well. That's a great deal, and it doesn't affect what maneuvers you can take. For the same cost as a shield upgrade, it's as good as 2 shield upgrades. For the same cost as R2D2, you have an upgrade that doesn't limit maneuvers, that you will definitely use, and that you can't be destroyed before you get a chance to activate. For the same cost as Expose….hahahaha…just kidding, no one would actually use that, right?

Chewbacca is a great card. I would not hesitate to put him on if the choice was between that, R2D2, and a Shield Upgrade. Of course, usually in squad building you are also looking to maximize offensive upgrades as well, so he probably doesn't get used that often. But on a ship that might end up with 2 or 3 critical effects, tossing one out could be a game changer.

Vorpal Sword said:

I totally agree with this. Chewbacca is good if you're running someone like Han Solo and you want him to survive an extra round or two, but choosing him means you won't get to throw those Concussion Missiles on your A-Wing or Proton Torpedoes on your Y-Wing. In X-Wing I find offense to be the best defense - if a TIE is blown up and off the board, I don't need to worry about it landing hits to my hull!

@magadizer: Rereading my post, I didn't put that very well (and left out half of the point).

I, too, would take Chewie over R2-D2 any day. What I meant was that Chewie recovers 2 damage, whereas R2-D2 heals a theoretically infinite amount. So if number of shields recovered in a match was the most important cost guideline, R2-D2 would be the most undercosted upgrade in the game.

But in practice I almost never use R2-D2 (for many of the reasons you mentioned). There are other factors that affect Artoo's value, just like there are for Chewie.

I tried a game the other day with han solo and chewbacca copilot, cant remember exact set up but falcon had push the limit and lots of upgrades. the game was at 270 pts so plenty of cool combos available, will do a full write up in battle report section, needless to say chewy was well worth the points, that and the fact I took biggs and a shield upgrade with r2d2 and kept it close by to draw the fire, very survivable.

Well, one nice thing about it is if you take it, it's not objectively bad. There may be arguably better uses of the points in a given squad, but I would say he's worth his cost. So if you want to have fun saying, "I'm flying the Falcon with Han and Chewie" it's a strong choice, and very playable.

I think it's a good sign for the game that some of the most iconic characters are strong and fun to play without being overpowering, especially if you are playing for fun and not for blood.

Chewbacca as an upgrade is phenomenal. Two immediate durability regardless of die luck for 4 points.

magadizer said:

Actually I think Expose is a great upgrade card for the Falcon (w/ Han). Obviously you don't use it ever round, but save it for those range 3 shots or the range 1 where you are in the enemy ships' rear arcs. Combined with Han's reroll and Luke's gunner, it makes a great range 3 attack, even against TIEs. Throw in Biggs and you can start to use it even when other ships have attacks on you, letting Biggs absorb a few hits.

Ismar said:

Expose is actually really hard to use well (something I've blogged about). In the context you're talking about, for instance, Marksmanship + Gunner is both cheaper and more effective than Expose + Luke, and it doesn't set your Agility to 0.

You're also talking about Han + Expose + Luke plus Biggs, which is a minimum of 82 points. That's very close to forcing you into a two-ship build, which is probably not ideal even before you throw in the defensive cost of Expose.

Chewbacca let's you discard a damage card, I always like to discard a crit. A YT-1300 can take a lot of hull points, but a nasty crit can really suck. Getting rid of that nasty crit is the best thing about good old chewy.

Agreed, awesome card. The Falcon's weakness is agility, it is going to take a few hits. Best defense is to bolster where it is already strong and she may not look like much but shes got it where it counts, staying power. So I will take my Chewie and add a Shiled Upgrade most times I reach for my Falcon.

The card gives me a funny mental image though, I imagine Chewie jumping out the dorsal portal to physically block a shot.

No, no. He's in the cockpit, and then there's a flash and everything starts shaking. Chewie growls and hoots, grabs a hydrospanner out of the tool locker, and goes to work. Then he's busy, so you can't send him to fix something a second time.