Going to order 2 b-wings, 2 tie bombers, 1 lambda shuttle, and 1 hwk-290 to start. Is there any need to field 2 hwk 290.. they are decent support ships however, I feel like having 2 in play sacrifices too much fire power. Thoughts?

Going to order 2 b-wings, 2 tie bombers, 1 lambda shuttle, and 1 hwk-290 to start. Is there any need to field 2 hwk 290.. they are decent support ships however, I feel like having 2 in play sacrifices too much fire power. Thoughts?

it's not necessarily about having them in play as it is about acquiring the equipment that comes with the ships.

If you kit it out right, the HWK can be fairly effective as a combat ship. They basically require a turret, and tend to be more expensive than I think they're worth, but it's not completely unreasonable to run two.

I probably wouldn't do it, but it's not a "Never ever".

If you kit it out right, the HWK can be fairly effective as a combat ship. They basically require a turret, and tend to be more expensive than I think they're worth, but it's not completely unreasonable to run two.

I probably wouldn't do it, but it's not a "Never ever".

At some point I'm going to run Jan alongside Blaster Kyle for kicks but I suspect their faces will quickly get eaten, so it's just for giggles.

Also with epic coming up at some point, we will have more points to work with. Perhaps more support ships will make sense. I know I already got a 3rd Firespray in prep.

If you kit it out right, the HWK can be fairly effective as a combat ship. They basically require a turret, and tend to be more expensive than I think they're worth, but it's not completely unreasonable to run two.

I probably wouldn't do it, but it's not a "Never ever".

At some point I'm going to run Jan alongside Blaster Kyle for kicks but I suspect their faces will quickly get eaten, so it's just for giggles.

I think there's actually some potential in this idea.

Assuming a standard Kyle loadout (Moldy Crow title, Recon Specialist, Blaster Turret) you could bank a few turns worth of focus tokens, then take Kyle in. With a pool of focus he could TL the desired target, with Jan boosting to 4 dice for a near-guaranteed 4 hits, and enough focus to evade a number of shots.

I think it would be easier vs. other Rebels - TIEs will close quickly, and you won't have much time to bank the focus... I don't know that it's a top-tier competitive idea, but I also don't expect it to get utterly stomped.

I saw a post about a 3 HWK squadron (Jan, Kyle, Roark), where each of the 3 would generate 2 focus per turn for their Blaster Turrets. Kyle could bank focus and share it out in case of a lost action, Jan could boost one attack (and get focus from Kyle for her own shot when/if she is stressed), and all 3 fire at PS 12 (swarm tactics on Kyle and Jan). I am curious to see how difficult it will be to orchestrate the maneuvers with such crappy dials, but on paper the list has some potential.

If you kit it out right, the HWK can be fairly effective as a combat ship. They basically require a turret, and tend to be more expensive than I think they're worth, but it's not completely unreasonable to run two.

I probably wouldn't do it, but it's not a "Never ever".

At some point I'm going to run Jan alongside Blaster Kyle for kicks but I suspect their faces will quickly get eaten, so it's just for giggles.

This brings up something that's been confusing me for awhile. Why are people talking like the HWK is some exceptionally fragile ship? It's pretty much an x-wing with a slightly boosted vulnerability to critical hits. Granted it's dial is much worse but people were making these comments before that part had been spoiled. And even so it still has the fact that it can use a turret to clear ships from its six if need be. It's no tank by any stretch but I don't think it's going to go down especially quick compared to most other things.

On the same note, people seem to be talking like the B-wing is going to be able to tank like a champ despite having nearly the same stats as a y-wing which has always been dismissed as an easy target. Maybe I'm just not at a high enough skill level to see it but I don't see how either of these new ships is going to have a massively different survivability than the older one. Slightly sure, but not massively.

In the case of the B-Wing I think a lot of the extra survivability may come from the ability to Barrel Roll and having more shields than hull. Less chance for a crit compared to the Y-Wing.

You're not wrong, Vonpenguin. I think people tend to take the most minor differences and blow them up into very big deals.

The only thing I'd disagree with is how people viewed the Y-wing. I think it's generally considered to be not a very good ship, but most people I know acknowledge it as pretty tough.

You're not wrong, Vonpenguin. I think people tend to take the most minor differences and blow them up into very big deals.

The only thing I'd disagree with is how people viewed the Y-wing. I think it's generally considered to be not a very good ship, but most people I know acknowledge it as pretty tough.

From what I've seen here and on BGG I got the impression that most people, or at least a vocal subset, feel the while the Y-wing can take a few pot shots it will drop near instantly if it becomes a target because of it's one agility. I don't agree but it's something I've seen voiced by several people.

Going to order 2 b-wings, 2 tie bombers, 1 lambda shuttle, and 1 hwk-290 to start. Is there any need to field 2 hwk 290.. they are decent support ships however, I feel like having 2 in play sacrifices too much fire power. Thoughts?

it's not necessarily about having them in play as it is about acquiring the equipment that comes with the ships.

Yes yes you are right, I overlooked that

If you kit it out right, the HWK can be fairly effective as a combat ship. They basically require a turret, and tend to be more expensive than I think they're worth, but it's not completely unreasonable to run two.

I probably wouldn't do it, but it's not a "Never ever".

At some point I'm going to run Jan alongside Blaster Kyle for kicks but I suspect their faces will quickly get eaten, so it's just for giggles.

This brings up something that's been confusing me for awhile. Why are people talking like the HWK is some exceptionally fragile ship? It's pretty much an x-wing with a slightly boosted vulnerability to critical hits. Granted it's dial is much worse but people were making these comments before that part had been spoiled. And even so it still has the fact that it can use a turret to clear ships from its six if need be. It's no tank by any stretch but I don't think it's going to go down especially quick compared to most other things.

On the same note, people seem to be talking like the B-wing is going to be able to tank like a champ despite having nearly the same stats as a y-wing which has always been dismissed as an easy target. Maybe I'm just not at a high enough skill level to see it but I don't see how either of these new ships is going to have a massively different survivability than the older one. Slightly sure, but not massively.

I've wondered the same thing myself - I think somehow the 1-shield and 1-attack almost plants it in people's heads subconsciously that it only has 1 agility as well. I actually got it in my head that it had 1 agility just because of the way everyone kept talking about it. If you run a Blaster Kyle type build it helps make up for the dial, too, since you can fly it defensively, shoot at anything behind you, and not need to worry about K-turning in the first place.

And Y-Wings, yeah, those things take a beating. They tend to survive a long time because A. they can take a lot of hits, and B. since they've got low agility people prioritize killing them pretty low on their list of things to do, figuring they can always hit them later. But Y-Wings can have a lot of fun with torpedoes, they can rock a blaster turret (Garven + Dutch FTW), and they're tough. Give them an R5 or something and they're a huge pain.

You're not wrong, Vonpenguin. I think people tend to take the most minor differences and blow them up into very big deals.

The only thing I'd disagree with is how people viewed the Y-wing. I think it's generally considered to be not a very good ship, but most people I know acknowledge it as pretty tough.

From what I've seen here and on BGG I got the impression that most people, or at least a vocal subset, feel the while the Y-wing can take a few pot shots it will drop near instantly if it becomes a target because of it's one agility. I don't agree but it's something I've seen voiced by several people.

I played a game recently where my squad was Horton, Tycho, and Luke - the Crazy Eights. Nobody wanted to come in close to Horton with his blaster turret, especially since he gets free rerolls at range 2. So a bunch of TIEs were taking range 3 shots at him, which boosted his agility up to X-Wing levels and made him a very tough kill. He hung around that game for a long time, surviving one round of focused fire from Vader and a PAIR of Firesprays without a scratch because none of them would close with him.

From what I've seen here and on BGG I got the impression that most people, or at least a vocal subset, feel the while the Y-wing can take a few pot shots it will drop near instantly if it becomes a target because of it's one agility. I don't agree but it's something I've seen voiced by several people.

I think there's a very reasonable point that the 1 Agility means that 8 damage to kill it isn't as tough as it might seem.

There's also a lot of people who just hate the Y-wing, and think that 1 Agility means it spontaneously blows up 30 seconds after it hits the battlefield just because it's on the Y-wing.

I think the reality is that even with only 1 Agility, the Y-wing is a tough ship. It will go down pretty fast to concentrated fire, and the 1 Agility suffers a bit in comparison to the standard 2 attack dice from TIEs... But it's hardly a fragile ship, and any view that the B-wing is super-tough compared to the Y is based more in Y-wing hate than the reality of the numbers, IMHO.

The Y-Wing is one of my favorite ships in the game. Actually, besides the interceptors and the shuttle, I like all the ships. The Ints and Shuttles just kinda suck for their points cost/dial.

Important to note, the Y does not stand for Yugo. It doesn't just burst into flame in your hands the minute you put it on the flight stand.

But yeah, someone from TC who is all 'maths-y' would have to tell you 5hp with 2 agility versus 8hp with 1 agility and who comes out ahead in the end. Then again, they're low priority targets BECAUSE they have weaker guns and less agility than an X-wing, so that works in their favor too. I think if you bring along a torpedo or two they pay for themselves pretty quickly, and 1 agility matters less if you have a 360 turret that makes nobody want to close to range 2 or better against you.

I wanted to do a Horton or Dutch build, probably paired with Garven but maybe Kyle, where he had a torpedo, blaster turret, and advanced torpedo - the triple threat. He can hurt you from range 3, he can hurt you at range 2, he will absolutely maul you if you get to range 1 on him.

The Y-Wing is one of my favorite ships in the game. Actually, besides the interceptors and the shuttle, I like all the ships. The Ints and Shuttles just kinda suck for their points cost/dial.

What I would love to see them do, along with some new pilots, kind of in the spirit of the 'escort' X-Wing, is this:

http://rpggamer.org/uploaded_images/BTL-B_Y-wing_fighter.jpg

Do an alternate one where it's a fresh off the factory line Y-Wing that's still got the cowlings and everything on it.

From what I've seen here and on BGG I got the impression that most people, or at least a vocal subset, feel the while the Y-wing can take a few pot shots it will drop near instantly if it becomes a target because of it's one agility. I don't agree but it's something I've seen voiced by several people.

I think there's a very reasonable point that the 1 Agility means that 8 damage to kill it isn't as tough as it might seem.

There's also a lot of people who just hate the Y-wing, and think that 1 Agility means it spontaneously blows up 30 seconds after it hits the battlefield just because it's on the Y-wing.

I think the reality is that even with only 1 Agility, the Y-wing is a tough ship. It will go down pretty fast to concentrated fire, and the 1 Agility suffers a bit in comparison to the standard 2 attack dice from TIEs... But it's hardly a fragile ship, and any view that the B-wing is super-tough compared to the Y is based more in Y-wing hate than the reality of the numbers, IMHO.

I agree with you, but I think most of the B-Wing love comes from the fact that it is much more dangerous if it gets to fire (especially with upgrades) and that having 5 shields and 3 hull is much better than the reverse for all the normal reasons making it more dangerous overall. Not a lot really, but enough that it distinguishes itself over the Y, which is a good thing.

I agree, all the ships are really great and all work to some degree. I think my personal least favorites are the Shuttle and A-Wing. Shuttle because of what it is, despite the model being awesome and the A since I think its a bit over-costed. I really wish the Advanced would get some love as well, since I almost never feel that taking anyone but Darth is worth it.

My problem with the shuttle is that it's a support ship - I like support ships! - that has a very hard time supporting anything. The short range of the abilities combined with the VERY bad maneuver dial really limits their ability to do what they're supposed to do. If Jendon and Yorr were Range 1-3 like the HWK pilots, they'd be much more viable on the table. As it is, I don't consider them combat-capable on their own merits, which means you're dumping 25-30 points into a ship that will give you two bonus target locks. Bleagh.

Pretty much double what Hida said, for me. Except I do have a soft spot for the A-Wing, and Tycho generating so much stress you have to leave one on his base and stack the rest on his card never gets old.

The B-wing is getting love because it's got better attack than the Y-Wing, better low speed agility when you factor in the barrel roll, named pilots who have elite skills, the much better shield/hull ratio, much more flexible weapons/upgrade layout... And I love the Y-Wing, don't get me wrong. But the B-Wing is in most ways the better fighter.

My problem with the shuttle is that it's a support ship - I like support ships! - that has a very hard time supporting anything. The short range of the abilities combined with the VERY bad maneuver dial really limits their ability to do what they're supposed to do. If Jendon and Yorr were Range 1-3 like the HWK pilots, they'd be much more viable on the table. As it is, I don't consider them combat-capable on their own merits, which means you're dumping 25-30 points into a ship that will give you two bonus target locks. Bleagh.

I think the HWK, which was voted somewhere as the ship 'Most Likely to Underwhelm' in Wave 3, will be vindicated as time goes on. 2 agility, range 3 support, a small base, a really interesting variety of pilot options, I think that ship is getting an unfair rap that will go away as more people play it and work it into squads and find interesting uses for it.

I dunno, the Lambda pilots for me, with two of them having abilities that only work at range 1 and range 2 respectively, underwhelm me a bit.

<nod> I like the Lambda pilot abilities too. Kagi is too situational, IMHO - your opponent doesn't bring missiles and he's a wasted ship... But Jendon and Yorr SHOULD be good.

Unfortunately, maneuvering that tub to try and stay in Range 1, or even 2, of fighters is way too hard for what you get out of it. The HWK has options which mitigate most of the limitations of its bad dial - turrets, long-range support, etc. The Lambda's only benefit is that it's hard to kill... A durable nothing is still a nothing.

Pretty much double what Hida said, for me. Except I do have a soft spot for the A-Wing, and Tycho generating so much stress you have to leave one on his base and stack the rest on his card never gets old.

The B-wing is getting love because it's got better attack than the Y-Wing, better low speed agility when you factor in the barrel roll, named pilots who have elite skills, the much better shield/hull ratio, much more flexible weapons/upgrade layout... And I love the Y-Wing, don't get me wrong. But the B-Wing is in most ways the better fighter.

Actually the upgrades are about even, astromech and system upgrade are roughly equal, Torp options are the same, Turret and cannon upgrades are relatively comparable. The dial and stat line are better for the B-wing but that is balanced by the, what, 6 point difference between their lowest skill pilots.

I love my Y-Wings and I think that 2 Y's and 2 B's might just be plain nasty. Not sure I'll go Blaster turret as I love my Ion Cannons on Y's.