Zarovichx said:

MetaphoricDragon said:

When you say cheap fighter I think A-wing Prototype. For 17 points you get boost and evade that you would probably not get with a Z-95 Headhunter. There is no astromech (like a X-Wing), you would probably switch missles for torpedoes and would probably get one extra hull or shield. It would also be slower and no-where near as manueverable as an A-Wing prototype. So unless the Z-95 starts off with thhe best pilot at around 17 points, I don't find it viable with so many better options.

When you searched wookiepedia did it tell you that Mara Jade was trying to kill Luke Skywalker during the time she flew the Z-95 (which was given to her by the Emperor)? I find that very un-rebellion like . Azzameen would be possible, but did Jaden Korr actually use his Z-95 in dog fights, or did he use his just to get around?

MetaphoricDragon said:

The Rogue Shadow would be a personal favorite to add to the game, howeve at over 60 meters it might be tough flying it in and around asteroids I believe if The Outrider and Virago were released, it would be in the same waive as they are tied together.

I can see them adding Rogue Shadow at the same time as Hound's Tooth since they both are about the same size of 60m. But another option would be to add Lady Luck since its at the 50m range. I really hope they add these three ships but size may be their undoing.

Zarovichx said:

They had those Sorosuub yachts in Star Wars Galaxies, but they had no combat abilities at all. Did Lando modify his to be able to fight?

The very first pilot of the Z-95 in the EU was Han Solo in "Han Solo at Star's End". So….yes please! I'd love a Han card in a Z-95!!!

Jim

MetaphoricDragon said:

We also have Cracken and Blount who piloted Z-95's in the commando Tala Squadron.

progressions said:

Wookipedia states that Lady Luck has 5 retractable laser cannon turrents and a ion cannon. If nothing else it could always fall under a support role.

Tervlon said:

I can see Cracken in one, but I'm holding out that they will release more X-Wing pilots from the X-Wing series (such as Cracken) where they belong in the T-65. Cracken would probably be your elite at a 7 with Azzameen at a 6. So you have 2 named pilots, now give me a reason why "The Honda Civic*" of the Star Wars galaxy belongs in this game. You have cheap pilot cost in the A-Wing prototype and X-Wing Rookie that would be more viable and better equipped. I don't think the named pilots' special abilities would bring anything to the table that would make you want to purchase one.

*nothing personal against The Honda Civic.

Zarovichx said:

Mara Jade's Sorosuub 3000 Yacht "The Jade's Fire" was heavily modified as well and had better abilities then The Lady Luck. This is another "larger" than the YT-1300 ship that I hope that FFG eventually releases. I think the base pilot would be very weak, but modified versions of this ship could be awesome.

esmolinski said:

I think you're misunderstanding the word "cheap" here. 12 points is cheap. What the Z-95 will give the Rebels is a fighter that they can effectively swarm with in the 13-16 point range for the unnamed ships.

We're essentially looking at a ship with 2 attack, 2 defense, 3 hull, 1 shield and missiles and a maneuver dial closer to that of the Y-Wing than the X-Wing (the Z-95 was slower and less maneuverable…but could turn tighter than the X-Wing).

If the Imperials can get a high-attack power ship with high agility and shields (the TIE Defender) and thus solidly breaking into the territory of rebel ships…..than the Rebels can get a dirt-cheap shielded fighter thus breaking solidly into the territory of the Imperial ships.

…though I don't think each ship would be totally taking a page out of the other side.

The Z-95 would be a cheap swarmy attacker, but lack the barrel roll and no-shields cheapness of the TIE Fighters. The only strength of the Z-95 would be in the number of attacks a group of them could make. The Z-95 could also serve as filler for rebel lists, but it would still end up being more expensive than TIE Fighters.

The TIE Defender may be similar to rebel ships (3 attack, 3 dodge, 3 shield, 3 hull, superior dial), but end up more expensive than any of them. I actually kind of expected the ratio of Defenders to X-Wings to be 1:2, the same way it is for TIEs to X-Wings. Cheap initiative 1 TIE Defenders come at 25 a pop, but with no modifiers as four rookie X-Wings can take to better their odds against the Defenders.

Actually on a guess, I wonder if a possible wave 4 would be;

Z-95 Headhunter (Rebel swarmer)
E-Wing Fighter (Rebel Raider, sensor carrier with astromech?)
Assault Gunboat (Imperial Raider and sensor fighter carrier)
TIE Defender (Imperial Assault Fighter/B-Wing counterpart)

You know we pretty much already know one of the Wave 4 ships if FFG sticks to their tease.

In Wave 1 they teased the Falcon for Wave 2. In Wave 2 they teased the Tie Bomber for Wave 3.

And if you look at Roark Garnet you can see he is chased by a ship that we do not have yet.

You can see it in the top right corner. And that looks like a Kihraxz light fighter.

Those fighters were used by the Black Sun.

Now if FFG decided to dip into Black Sun we could see a lot more of Shadows of the Empire. So as ship 2 and 3 i would suspect the Outrider and the Virago.

I'm expecting another core set at some point. Could they do one based around Shadows of the Empire?

Reaver027 said:

Was this myth actually confirmed or are people running away with coincidences and making more of them than they should?

Do we need Black Sun? There are more popular designs that could make a bigger impact than the Kihraxz (which apparently half of the variations are different than the one posted anyway). Frankly I'd want more imperial standard equipment like the TIE Defender… which is also more popular.

It would all depend on if FFG saw the Kihraxz as a vector to introduce some kind of game fix or new mechanic. I'm half certain the HWK-290 was chosen was because it introduced a new turret to fix the Y-Wings.

I don't think the art depicting the Kihraxz means anything at all, and I doubt we will see another faction. I fail to really see how the previous Tie Bomber and Falcon art were teases since it's not like anyone doubted we would be getting those ships anyways. If anything, I think FFG decided to illustrate that ship because it is so obscure and unpopular and would make good background art. Of course I could eat those words one day, but I don't think so.

Norsehound said:

Since I have to write at least 3 words…

ditto!

With a lot of the artwork being shared between this game, Edge of Empire and the LCG I wouldn't read too much into this…

Some people are saying that the HWK means that there would be no place for the Z-95 but I disagree, while some people may be buying multiples of specific ships to build a competitive fleet I would think that a large amount of sales are accounted for by people like me who like to play (rarely get the oppertunity) but are buying one of everything because they are cool little Star Wars ships that are all to scale!

My predictions/wishes for wave 4/5:

Z-95 (it has earned its place)

E-Wing

Jade's Fire

Guardsman Stern said:

This to me seems like very sound logic.

Rebels need a cheap swarm-like option like the Z-95, so that seems logical too.

The Tie Defender and the E-Wing both are next-generation fighters, i would not see any problem in adding both as the real top-end of the fighter foodchain for both factions. Even if the Defender existed a while before the E-Wing.

I am no so sure about the second imperial ship really. Perhaps something with a turret option, or an older model like the V-Wing? The assault Gunboat would also be possible but i don't know what it could offer that the Imperials do not already have…

Norsehound said:

i think a 3/3/3/3 ship should be more than 25 points really, it should not be possible to play more than 3 defenders really, because whatever an X-Wing Rookie squadron takes as options, there would be no way around such a ship in comparable number even with torpedoes or Astromechs and better initiative. At 26 or 27 it would be okay to me. Well perhaps someone take that spreadsheed for ship creation and create such a ship to verify…

Rogue Shadow, Lady Luck and Hound's Tooth are all listed as pretty long ships, but don't forget that the source material claims that the HWK 290 is 29 meters, on parr with the Falcon in length. But the real length (which FFG learned from Lucasfilm) is more similar to the X-wing. I have a feeling some of these space transports may not be as large as we have been told. (Especially the Rogue Shadow).

I like the thoughts that have been thrown around about Shadows of the Empire. That could be a fun avenue.

I'm still holding out for an Assault Gunboat (Alpha-class xg-1 Starwing).

Somebody posted a link to a picture of the Z-95 listed in the Edge of the Empire section, but the same picture also has a Cloakshape fighter. That could be an interesting choice, though just about as weak as the Z-95.

Personally, I like that people haven't been throwing around the endless TIE variants. I think the TIE defender will be a good one, but the other ones…not so much.

*shrug* I desire to have a full flight group of Four TIE Defenders in a tournament setup, but I know that's probably not possible in 100 points. I would realistically expect 2, possibly 3. It may be thematic anyway since TIE Defender production was… hampered across the events of Empire and Jedi, with less than a handful seeing action at the Battle of Endor. Even afterward, Defenders were not as prevelant

Some people have expressed a desire for the TIE Hunter, but for me personally it skates too close to gimmickry for me to take seriously. The only other TIEs I could ask for are the TIE Avenger and perhaps the TIE Vanguard. The TIE Scout would be an interesting option but I think the Vanguard would be a more attractive choice than the Scout. The Vanguard has only been depicted in the CCG and it would be nice to see it in more places. With a sensors option perhaps the Vanguard could be a Sensor carrier and support fighter for a TIE fighter list and not be so out of place (or large, like the Lambda).

I would love to see the z-95, it is the most well known/iconic EU ship. The Imps should get a new TIE, either Hunter or Defender. Third ship should be the Blastboat (Falcon/Slave I sizeed base) and it should be "neutral" and by that I mean the model can be used by either side but it will have faction specific pilots (essentially double the pilots of a normal expansion). Instead of fourth ship we should get a pack of new pilot and upgrade cards, booklet of new scenarios and the appropriate tokens to go along with said scenarios.

I don't think I've seen anyone mention Uglys. TIE-Wings, X-TIEs and so on. They shouldn't be too hard to design as the basic elements already exist. Might be interesting.