Being in my late 30's....I grew up with SWs....and still love it today!

I am also in love with this game! I am a long time minis game player as well....

As a collector, so far I have bought at least 4 of ever fighter....and one of each of the big ships (as far as I am concerned, there is only 1 Falcon, 1 Moldy Crow and 1 Slave one!).

So..to my question.....

I am on the fence about buying 4 b-wings and 4 TIE bombers.....

Why? I just don't remember seeing them in any large amounts in the movies or the books.....

Thoughts?

I don't think there will be a reason to have that many, but they could have distinct advantages to the battle.

I have 4 each also on order, maybe I wont use them all at once but I'm sure the oppertunity will present itself too! We can play some large battles sometimes. But another good reason for that many is the extra upgrade cards.

Well the reason the B-wing was only seen a few times in Jedi was because, like the A-wing, it was a brand new ship. The B-wing also had a lot of specialized systems that meant only a small number of pilots were actually trained in using them.

As for in game, They are expensive, the 2 skill generic is 22 points by itself and the 8 skill named is 31 points. Add to the fact that they will probably have the second worst maneuver dial in the game after the Lambda and odds are you aren't going to want to fly them in large numbers. I plan on eventually getting three just to keep my options open but that's just me.

The Bomber probably wasn't seen to often in the movies because they never really showed a ground assault by the empire except for Hoth, and I don't think they had them yet. Its technically a modification of the tie advance design and that was a prototype in new hope.

In game I'd say they'll only really shine if you like to use one shot weapons. They can take more of a pounding than most of the imperial ships and aren't that expensive so you might find a use for them as meat shields but that might not be the best use.

If you're buying based on Fluff and flavor then it makes perfect sense to only get one or two. of each. If you like heavy fire support then I'd say get as many B-wings and Tie-bombers as you like.

The Bomber probably wasn't seen to often in the movies because they never really showed a ground assault by the empire except for Hoth, and I don't think they had them yet. Its technically a modification of the tie advance design and that was a prototype in new hope.

It was just after the Battle for Hoth that TIE Bombers were used to smoke the Falcon out of the asteroid field, so the Empire definately had them at the time. I'm guessing the Rebel Hoth shield was too low or the extreme cold prevented a TIE Bomber run.

Ah. My bad. Been so long since I've had a chance to sit down and do a proper re-watch.

The TIE Boarding Craft, which was itself a variant of the Bomber, was designed and built for the original movie. Exterior shots of it wound up on the cutting room floor. But this was the craft Vader hisself used to board and capture Leiea's Corvette.

I'm getting 8 of them to start with. A flight of 4 Bombers, and a flight of 4 to convert to Boarding Craft.

Standard complement on a Star Destroyer is 4 squadrons of TIEs, 1 sqd. of Interceptors, and 1 sqd of Bombers.

Well the reason the B-wing was only seen a few times in Jedi was because, like the A-wing, it was a brand new ship. The B-wing also had a lot of specialized systems that meant only a small number of pilots were actually trained in using them.

Nop, the b-wings didn't appear much because when SW special effect crew take shots of the model, its cannot be seing weel over the starfield... its a really thing starfighter.

Well that's the real reason. But the in universe excuse is what I said.

I'm getting 8 of them to start with. A flight of 4 Bombers, and a flight of 4 to convert to Boarding Craft.

I believe I have found the source of FFG's supply chain problems.

Haha that's good.

I'm getting 8 of them to start with. A flight of 4 Bombers, and a flight of 4 to convert to Boarding Craft.

I believe I have found the source of FFG's supply chain problems.

*curtsies*

But to help everybody else out, I've had to pass for now on getting Interceptor 5&6 and A-Wing 5&6 during the current re-issue to be sure to have money on hand when my pre-order comes in at the FLGS.

According to the West End Source books on fighter squadrons, a flight group is four ships each (broken down into a flight element of 2 fighters each, followed by individual craft). The flight simulator TIE Fighter ignores this and often goes anywhere between 3-8 for each flight group. Four seemed apt for me, so I've collected 4 of every fighter, with two flight groups of TIE Fighters. Fortunate that the legal maximum is 8, which is two flight groups.

So far I've pre-ordered 3 Bombers and 3 B-Wings, which is the realistic limit, but I'll probably go to 4 each and hold there.

I'm planning to get 2 of each to start and then I'll expand into 3 of each eventually. Depending on how much the lower pilot skill bombers cost I may end up getting between 5 and 7. They might make an interesting swarm with their higher hull value. If there is a ps1 ship I expect it would cost around 14 points. In that case you could field 7 ships but have a similar hull to 14 ties. I don't know how good it would be with only agility 2 but it could be an interesting time.

As for in game, They are expensive, the 2 skill generic is 22 points by itself and the 8 skill named is 31 points. Add to the fact that they will probably have the second worst maneuver dial in the game after the Lambda and odds are you aren't going to want to fly them in large numbers. I plan on eventually getting three just to keep my options open but that's just me.

I agree with the reasons why they did not appear much.

With the 22 point base cost though I would think their manoeuver dial is in any case better than the Y-Wings, for balancing reasons. The Y-Wing has the same amount of hit points but has the 36 degree joker (now with a serious threat blaster turret too) in its sleeve. The B-Wing would not make a lot of sense if it has cannons and better standard weapons and can't get them to bear.

Fluffwise I have read on Wookiepedia that they were slower than Y-Wings, but also that they were capable of incredible manoeuvers due to their rotating cockpit module if piloted right... So we could say they have more red straight manoeuvers but can make tighter turns on top of the barrel roll action. If they take fluff as a source for their balancing efforts that is of course

Like that, at least the cost difference would be explained. 4 points for one more attack die, barrel roll and a system Upgrade would be a little harsh if not. You would in any case not make much use of the 3 attack dice with a horrible manoeuver template.

Personally I will have 4 of each and if it is just for the upgrade cards. I will also get 4 HWK for the same reason. I probably won't get 4 shuttles unless they are (what could well be the case) the new meta...

I've preordered 2 of each of the small ships and 1 shuttle to start. I don't see myself using more than that in a game but that may change depending on upgrade cards.

Like that, at least the cost difference would be explained. 4 points for one more attack die, barrel roll and a system Upgrade would be a little harsh if not. You would in any case not make much use of the 3 attack dice with a horrible manoeuver template.

I agree with you by and large...except when it comes to here. You really wouldn't pay 4 points for a modification that increases firepower by 1? When a shield mod costs 4? Not to mention Barrel Roll for the first Rebel ship (an Elite Pilot skill that costs 2) + a new slot? In my opinion...+1 attack die + barrel roll is well worth 6 points, much less 4.

I don't think the B-wings are going to lack for good maneuvers, but I think they are going to have the most reds and probably only one or two greens. They are going to be tough to fly and you're going to want the on the edge of the fight so the can pull back and shed some stress when they need to.

At a basic level it is pretty easy to compare the Y-Wing and B-Wing. We've seen the card for each of them with a basic level 2 pilot for easy comparison. The B-Wing costs 4 points more but that buys you the +1 attack die and barrel roll which I'd say is a pretty good deal. You may also say the 3/5 hull/shield split on the B-Wing is better that 5/3 split on the Y-Wing but that's a toss-up. The two fighters may have different upgrades choices but when you pay more for those the comparisons become unfair.

If there was a 4 point modification that gave a ship +1 attack die at all ranges and added the barrel roll action would you ever consider using it? If you can answer that then you should easily have your answer to "is a B-Wing worth it" assuming you know if a Y-Wing can be worth it.

For the TIE-Bomber the comparison needs to be with the TIE-Advanced but it a lot more murky. The bomber needs +1 agility (we'll say 4 points based on the Stealth device but a touch better) and the Evade action (1 point based on Falcon title) while the Advanced need +1 hp (say 4 points from a shield upgrade) to make them even though it leaves the Advanced with 3/3 hit points with its three crit avoiding shields to the Bomber's pure hull. With these numbers you're looking at a 23 point Gamma Bomber to a 27 point Storm squadron pilot. Now the Advanced may not get played much so this is a four point bonus to make the bomber "worth it" while the bomber also has a lot more upgrade options open to it.

For the TIE-Bomber the comparison needs to be with the TIE-Advanced but it a lot more murky. The bomber needs +1 agility (we'll say 4 points based on the Stealth device but a touch better) and the Evade action (1 point based on Falcon title) while the Advanced need +1 hp (say 4 points from a shield upgrade) to make them even though it leaves the Advanced with 3/3 hit points with its three crit avoiding shields to the Bomber's pure hull. With these numbers you're looking at a 23 point Gamma Bomber to a 27 point Storm squadron pilot. Now the Advanced may not get played much so this is a four point bonus to make the bomber "worth it" while the bomber also has a lot more upgrade options open to it.

Can you not draw an ample comparison to a Tie/Ln? The PS2 Bomber is 16 points, and gives you 1 more PS and 3 more hull than an Academy pilot. You loose one agility but I think we can consider it more than made up for with a 4 point gap. While we can expect the manoeuvre dial to be worse you could add it up as the Bomber being worth 6extra points before the dial (+3 for each point of hull, +1 for the PS, and -4 for the agility). Meaning we should expect a 2 point difference in the dial, whatever that looks like. OK maybe thats not as simple as I was thinking... I haven't compared their stock actions either.

Anyway I feel that buying 3 scimitar squadron pilots for the price of 4 academy pilots is well worth it even before upgrades, you could have a swarm with close to twice the HP. Even though you would be more susceptible to crits and loose one agility on your ships I think it could still potentially be an interesting list.

To me the Tie Bomber swarm, which is 96 points for 6 ships is not worth it. Yes you have 36 hull points, compared to the academy swarm's 24. But you have less targets with less agility for your enemy to shoot at, and which is more important less firepower. Now this is the break point for me, you will not be able to down what you need to down fast enough as even the standard Tie swarm has problems with this. With only 12 shots per turn this will not get any better of course. Lastly they lack an evade option, so under fire their 6 agility 2 dice will not hold longer than a Tie Fighter would. Ifthe manoeuver dial is worse too, this swarm will not be very competitive in my eyes.

Perhaps a 5 TIE Bomber swarm with each having a missile would be better.

In large battles, like a 200-pointer, I can see using 4 TIE Bombers being used by Imperial players to carry Assault Missiles in order to break up Rebel starships clustered for synergy and support effects.

So as someone who played a ton of the computer games, I remember you'd always have a couple Tie-Bs escorted by some Tie-Fs and Ints, and it seems like this is what they're going for. I could see swapping one or two into a swarm to get off an assault missile and let the swarm do its work, but is the question whether a generic advanced would be better?

What about a Howlrunner with Squad Leader for 20, 4 academy pilots for 48, and a bomber with two missiles? SL could let him get a focus for defense and pop off a quick target lock.

Perhaps a 5 TIE Bomber swarm with each having a missile would be better.

That's probably a much better idea, yes. Bombers are not made for working without any ordnance i think.