I would love to see ugly fighters. even if it is just bases and cards, maybe a customizable kit of some sort.

I predict:

Skipray Blastboat - to give the Empire it's first ship with a 360 degree arc (the Rebels now have 3! - Y-Wing, YT-1300, HWK)

Z-95 Headhunter - to give the Rebels their own 12 point ship (2 attk, 2 def, 2 hull, 2 shields, missile)

TIE Defender - to give the Empire a B-Wing equivelent

I think no ships will be in the next wave and we will see card packs that have new pilots and upgrades for the last three waves ships.

But if I need to guess actual ships I think that stormtrooper's guesses would fore runners as they are several of the next closest ships to movie canon. The Tie Defender and Tie Hunter are probably the next two tie models we will see. For other Imperial ships I see the Skipray and the Xg-1 Star Wing. Rebels will probably get the Z-95, beyond that most ships are either much more obscure or are clone wars era ships that got recycled. I figure we will probably see a couple more smugglers and bounty hunters for each side too.

Personally my choices would be Defender, Star Wing, Z-95 and probably another smuggler (preferably not YT class).

I really want a gunboat and a real mk-2 advanced. Imagine if the gunboat were a slower X-wing with a dice roll to ionize if it hits you when shields are down.

Aren't uglies supposed to have awful performance? To the point where a 1/0/2/1 stat line would not be a stretch for most of them?

I predict:

Skipray Blastboat - to give the Empire it's first ship with a 360 degree arc (the Rebels now have 3! - Y-Wing, YT-1300, HWK)

Z-95 Headhunter - to give the Rebels their own 12 point ship (2 attk, 2 def, 2 hull, 2 shields, proton torp)

TIE Defender - to give the Empire a B-Wing equivelent

As I recall, Z-95s carried concussion missiles as their missile armament. Also a Tie Defender would exceed the performance specs of the B-Wing, so not a fair comparison for the B-Wing or the Defender. Borrowing from Wookieepedia:

The TIE Defender was one of the fastest starfighters in use during the Galactic Civil War.[4] Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, it was upgraded to the entirely new,[13] powerful P-sz9.7 twin ion engine, which allowed it a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G and a top speed of 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere—almost 40 percent faster than a standard TIE Fighter.[7] In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section,[13] the Defender's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets[6]—which gave it a maneuverability rating of 175 DPF[1]—and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. When combined, these systems made the ship not only faster, but more agile than any other starfighter in Imperial service[6] and capable of matching the fastest starfighters in the Alliance Fleet.[15]

I'm not really sure where into the meta a Tie Defender would fit, but if they do introduce it I would hope they do the fighter justice. In Michael A. Stackpoles X-Wing novel "Isards Revenge" Rogue Squadron ended up working in collaboration with a unit of Tie Defenders. While I don't recall who said this, almost assuredly either Wedge or Corran, one of them mussed after flying the ship that had it been in mass production before the end of the rebellion that the alliance would have floundered. That gives some indication as to just how powerful the defender is as a fighter.

It's a bit of a problem that there are tons of cool Imperial ships but not much for the Rebels. T-wings maybe if you want cheaper A-wings? Personally I'd like to see some A-wing specific upgrade to give a second missile for cheap or something just to make them the good fighters they're supposed to be. Though that would have to be in the context of competing against new Imperial ships.

Z-95s would have to just be cheap cannon-fodder.

As I recall, Z-95s carried concussion missiles as their missile armament.

I stand corrected:

Z-95 Headhunter: 12 points, 2 attack, 2 agility, 2 hull, 2 shields, missile

Z-95s would have to just be cheap cannon-fodder.

If they are going to be a 12-point missile carrier, that's actually pretty devastating - you could load up 6 Z-95's each with a Assault Missile or Homing Missile. That's not cannon fodder - that's missile spam!

I guess Z-95s just feel like they shouldn't be all that great or a swarm killer since they stank in the games and are supposed to be nearly obsolete.

What about a ground assault mission mat with atmospheric flight rules like no reds?

I guess Z-95s just feel like they shouldn't be all that great or a swarm killer since they stank in the games and are supposed to be nearly obsolete.

Well according to the Rogue Squadron books, i believe it was 5 Z-95s that were used in the fall of Coruscant. Granted they were piloted by Rogues, but it illustrates the point that in the right hands, they can still be a good ship, even if a little outdated. 12 points might be a little too cheap though. Based on the stats suggested it would be an A-wing with 1 less agility and a little worse of a maneuver dial. 13-14 points i think

TIE Defender - to give the Empire a B-Wing equivelent

I'd love to see the defender make an appearance. They just look awesome!

Z-95 headhunter seems like an obvious choice.

I'd love to see the skipray blastboat as well. The weapons on that are suppose to be Cap ship scale, so I'm not sure how well it would fit into the game. However, FFG has been known to bend the canon a bit for playability in the past.

TIE defender may be a possibility, as would another freighter (the YT-2400 springs to mind) or an Imperial Customs ship.

Something inside of me doesn't want to stray too far into the EU. Some of those ships get a little wonky and try to 'one-up' each other.

Now that I think about it, the Z-95 and YT-2400 (and to some extent, the Skipray), are use by independents. It'd be nice to see a 3rd faction show up.

The other option would be for FFG to take a step up and introduce some larger ships. We've seen plenty of Blockade Runners and Rebel Transports on here. Dust has some larger models. A couple of Frigates (with relevant rules) would be a welcome addition as long as it doesn't break the balance and flow of the game.

In Michael A. Stackpoles X-Wing novel "Isards Revenge" Rogue Squadron ended up working in collaboration with a unit of Tie Defenders. While I don't recall who said this, almost assuredly either Wedge or Corran, one of them mussed after flying the ship that had it been in mass production before the end of the rebellion that the alliance would have floundered. That gives some indication as to just how powerful the defender is as a fighter.

Interesting....that would make the TIE Defender the Star Wars equivalent of the WW2 German Luftwaffe's ME262.

the rebels have

E-Wings

K-Wings

as well

and i dont know if you would consider this "rebel" but it would be cool to have some claw fighters

and maybe some starvipers (the black sun fighters) for the imperials

Why on earth would you want a TIE hunter? It's just a TIE Fighter pretending to be an X-Wing!

The TIE Defender is a very obvious parallel to the ME262. While it seems some fans think the TIE/D is overpowered, I think it makes perfect sense when you realize it comes from an Empire that can manufacture Star Destroyers in the thousands. I figured that the TIE/D would be a good parallel to the B-Wing but which sacrifices hit-points for agility. The stat line would probably be 3/3/3/3, cannons, Sys Upgrade, and missiles, and cost about as much as a B-Wing. You'd be able to fly a maximum of three-four generics. It would have a dial similar to the TIE Interceptor.

I think the Empire needs the TIE Defender because the only "quality" small ship Imperials have - the TIE Advanced- is a disappointment. The only other ship you can take as the Empire with reasonable hitting and staying power is the Firespray.

The other option is the XG-1 Alpha-class Assault Gunboat, which I'm a fan of, because it is a neat and often overlooked addition to the Imperial Navy. It'll come with a cannon slot, missiles, shields, likely a system upgrade (for the tractor beam), probably 2/2/3/4 for a stat-line. If FFG feels the TIE/D is too powerful, the Assault Gunboat can fill much the same role without being too powerful. It'll probably have an X-Wing dial. It's one of the two hyperspace-capable strike craft of the Imperial Navy not to be more commonly identified with pirate factions.

I concur with the Z-95 for many of the reasons people are suggesting, but I'll also add that the Z-95s won't have the same performance envelope that TIE fighters do, even if they have the same cost. They'll have shields, but no barrel roll, high-agility, or dodge tokens. They'll be the cheapest ships in the game, good only for being able to dump a lot of them in a list. Expect them to die quicker than TIE Fighters. *shrug*

My only other thoughts for filling out Wave 4 would be either the K-Wing or the Pulsar Skate. I think the YT-2400 (Outrider) is too similar to the Falcon to make that much of a distinction. For the rebels I want something new.

I would love to see the Tie Defender, and as a counterpart - probably the E-wing for the Rebels. A ship slightly better than the X-wing in most respects. The A-9 interceptor would be pretty cool too, you could have it on either side, as a ship with 3 attack, 3 agility, and 2 hull, with an amazing maneuver dial. The Howlrunner would also be pretty cool, and the Chiss Clawcraft! I wouldn't be surprised if the next wave of ships gave the rebels 1 big ship, 1 small, and the imps 2 small ships to even it all out again. One of Mara Jade's ships possibly? And an E-wing. To the imps Tie Defender and Skipray...

But frankly, i fully expect the next thing released to be a Pilot Pack, or many pilot packs. Add a few pilots for each ship, maybe even some non-uniques that can take medals for the rebels (at a higher cost than normal) - like Rogue Squadron *generic*, and a unique pilot or 2 or 3 for each ship. This would allow FFG to catch up majorly on the production of minis, and be ready to dive into the Wave 4 of ships without delaying it again.

I'm not familiar with a lot of EU, but realistically how many more ships can be released before it just feels like re-hashes of ships that may already be in print, or have been released through previous waves?

I'd love to see Tie Defender, Tie Hunter and Tie Phantom. That would be a hard squad with the squints!

I'm not familiar with a lot of EU, but realistically how many more ships can be released before it just feels like re-hashes of ships that may already be in print, or have been released through previous waves?

A fair few for the Rebels and Imperials...but still probably only 3 or 4 more waves. Then they can start pulling out New factions, or get into Clone Wars era stuff, etc. They'll not just rehash ships.

The Tie Defender and Tie Phantom would be really cool. Loved them.

Personally I like the Lamda Shuttle; okay I know it's coming out. I don't even care about it's specs. I want to field a couple unarmed or disabled ones with missions, rescue, destroy, board, etc.

I would welcome new factions. New factions could potentially introduce 3-way game where it's 1 on 1 on 1...

Or a neutral line of ships that can be used for either Rebel or Imperials.

The TIE Defender would need stats like an Interceptor but with the shields of the Advanced (along with their cost) and then a few upgrade slots as well. I could see space for a canon, missile (which means it gets Target Lock on the bar in addition to the Interceptor's goodies), and sensor upgrades. A Defender should be an AMAZING ship but at a cost that will make flying more than two of them nearly impossible.

Neb B Frigate, Death Star, Probe Droid, Snow Speeder.

The TIE Defender would need stats like an Interceptor but with the shields of the Advanced (along with their cost) and then a few upgrade slots as well. I could see space for a canon, missile (which means it gets Target Lock on the bar in addition to the Interceptor's goodies), and sensor upgrades. A Defender should be an AMAZING ship but at a cost that will make flying more than two of them nearly impossible.

Yeah I think a Defender would have about the same stats as a B-wing with a few differences: 3 agility, 3 shields, evade action, missiles instead of Torps, and a maneuver dial like the Tie Fighter if not interceptor. But of course such an awesome ship means that it will cost a ton of points. I see the base Defender easily costing 26 pts before uprgrades. Making it impossible to have more than 3 in a list. You'd have room for 1 other fighter or a few upgrades. You'd see some 3 basic Defender lists but the high cost of the ship would probably cause many people to only take one with a few uprgrades and some other ships. Similar to what I think will happen with the B-wing

So no one's keen on a second gen Tie Advanced (Avenger)? Would there be any way to differentiate it from an interceptor and the x1?