New Tie Interceptors Annouched "Earn Your Bloodstripes"

By CaliAlpha, in X-Wing

I could see rebel aces being A-Wings. They can release Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron expansions later. Or maybe it'll be a combo deal of Rogue and Wraith to get a pair.

I am going to go with the game is X-Wing. So We will likely see Rogues first. But i do see them doing a set for every fighter in the game. Because it makes sense.

I did bloodstripes on 2 interceptors of my 4 as in fact only alpha squadrons could not have them. Everyone else in the base interceptor pack is from the 181st. Now with even more pilots everything should be even better.

But what if their red color is different from yours or mine.

I have been intentionally painting some of my minis slightly different colours to denote different pilots- hopefully this will work with the new aces. Fingers crossed...

I could see rebel aces being A-Wings. They can release Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron expansions later. Or maybe it'll be a combo deal of Rogue and Wraith to get a pair.

I am going to go with the game is X-Wing. So We will likely see Rogues first. But i do see them doing a set for every fighter in the game. Because it makes sense.

the game isnt called A-wing or Tie interceptor because x-wing i believe has more notoriety. I think that the rebel ace pack would probably be aces that come from the era of the original movies. they may just get one ship, the outrider, or maybe a combo x-wing/y-wing combo to add the few pilots that may be missing

Hands down i like this set. And if ihad my vote the A-wings would be the rebel aces. The A-wing is a very hard ship to feild in a squad. After its missles have been spent (if the ship lived that long) its almost useless. its agility to HP is balanced yes. but its very hard to keep it on offense. It needs something, to make it better, not sure what though. On a side note i believe the Y-wing is a fantastic ship that doesn't need changes. With the blaster turret they are even more viable. Say what you will but i have taken down 2 tie interceptors with only my Y-wing left. I always make sure to field room for either Gold squad, Dutch or Horton. Just got to know how to fly em' ;)

Does anyone have ideas why Kir Kanos does not have an elite pilot upgrade icon?

Too good would be the only thing that would make sense. But then if that were true just up the points?

I'd think that FFG has some sort of formula that they use to assign a point value to a pilot. I'd assume being able to use a EPT should increase the points... But Jax has 2 better PS, and a EPT slot, but only costs 2 more points.

But this isn't the first pilot out there lacking a EPT slot for reasons that no one seems to know. Like the Green Squad pilot does but Arvel doesn't. Or the fact that no Y wing pilot has one.

I think with the Y-Wings it was a different story. To me it's at least a some mistake that Salm does not have an elite slot or no Y-Wing at all for that matter.

Arvel and Kanos probably do not have it for balancing reasons. Kanos can often just get an additional attack which is already huge. Arvel would also be really strong. Imagine Push the limit on Kanos for the hit plus a focus. At least like this soneone needs to give him an additional action by some means to accomplish this. On Arvel i can't think of offensive options that are too powerful because the turn he crashed into people he won't really get an action anyway. But passive stuff or movement improvements could be very interesting on him. Also if they had the medal they would perhaps cost a point more.

I'm pretty sure it's been discussed elsewhere, but I think the EPT slots are indicative more of ship type than pilot. Well, both really. I always ask myself, "Could I see this ship performing a barrel roll?" If not, then it probably shouldn't have an EPT. Like the Y-wing & Lambda shuttle. (Although I am having a hard time seeing the HWK-290 bArrel roll, so who knows?)

And I think the unique pilots lacking EPT slots has got to be for game balance, but I can't figure out a good reason. The two pilots I miss it most on are Garven (Red Leader=Squad Leader, anyone?) and "Fel's Wrath" because he's one of my favorite interceptor pilots. I guess it's the same reason the B-wing and TIE bomber are limited to the strange speeds of Koiogran Turn that they have: pieces that play differently.

Edited by Parakitor

I could see rebel aces being A-Wings. They can release Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron expansions later. Or maybe it'll be a combo deal of Rogue and Wraith to get a pair.

I am going to go with the game is X-Wing. So We will likely see Rogues first. But i do see them doing a set for every fighter in the game. Because it makes sense.

the game isnt called A-wing or Tie interceptor because x-wing i believe has more notoriety. I think that the rebel ace pack would probably be aces that come from the era of the original movies. they may just get one ship, the outrider, or maybe a combo x-wing/y-wing combo to add the few pilots that may be missing

It would be kind of niche, but A-wings that are good (pace Tycho), would make me very happy. I've just about given up on the things, though they're one of my favorite fighters.

I hope they announce the next thing on the list for additional ships soon! They should have released all the information at once so our brains will get overloaded and we loss our minds. :D

I could see rebel aces being A-Wings. They can release Rogue Squadron and Wraith Squadron expansions later. Or maybe it'll be a combo deal of Rogue and Wraith to get a pair.

I am going to go with the game is X-Wing. So We will likely see Rogues first. But i do see them doing a set for every fighter in the game. Because it makes sense.

the game isnt called A-wing or Tie interceptor because x-wing i believe has more notoriety. I think that the rebel ace pack would probably be aces that come from the era of the original movies. they may just get one ship, the outrider, or maybe a combo x-wing/y-wing combo to add the few pilots that may be missing
And yet the first announced aces are TIE/INs...

Of course they did. The Previous announcement was for Rebels and included an X-wing.

I don't think FFG places as much weight on symmetry as a lot of us do. I'm not sure we will see counterparts to the Tantive IV and Transport before they are released. The cinematic play scenarios will make sure both sides are I volved in scenarios involving either of these ships without capital ship vs capital ship action. I'm also not so sure that "Rebel Aces" is required immediately, either. Although I think it's a sure bet we will eventually see many more repaints for both sides. In fact, I'm not so sure even about wave 4 ships. FFG has just about exhausted the ships predominate in the trilogy. It's hard to argue that a big part of the success of this game are the iconic highly detailed scale ships. I don't know how many times I've read someone exclaiming their discovery that the game is actually fun after they've already bought in. So where is the incentive to bring in more ships that a much narrower audience can identify with? Especially when the game mechanics really aren't lacking without them?

I sure hope I am wrong. I really like the game, but I want to collect more variety of ships as well. Even if they aren't significantly different from others already in the game. I'm also wanting these for Edge of the Empire, where the variety will be more meaningful.

Still, to date, we really have only one outlier from the EU, and I suspect it was the closest thing FFG could find to balance the support aspect of the game that was introduced in wave 3. Even then, they went after probably the most recognizable ship in the EU due to the success of the computer game. What would justify bringing in more?

Hands down i like this set. And if ihad my vote the A-wings would be the rebel aces. The A-wing is a very hard ship to feild in a squad. After its missles have been spent (if the ship lived that long) its almost useless. its agility to HP is balanced yes. but its very hard to keep it on offense. It needs something, to make it better, not sure what though. On a side note i believe the Y-wing is a fantastic ship that doesn't need changes. With the blaster turret they are even more viable. Say what you will but i have taken down 2 tie interceptors with only my Y-wing left. I always make sure to field room for either Gold squad, Dutch or Horton. Just got to know how to fly em' ;)

A-wing is deadly if flown right. Zig and zag your way into getting an out of arc range one shot and tell me it's not great. And with the Imps now getting some ships that aren't agility three it's even better. Honestly I like it much more than the interceptor. Target lock sticks around which means you can get a nice modified shot after you boost in. The interceptor has to shoot blind if it does the same.

I do think though that the first Rebel pack we get, whenever that is, will be fore A-wings or Y-wings. They are the two least loved rebel ships at the moment, while I don't think they need a boost new options never hurt if power creep is avoided we all know that if people start seeing them as more viable ships then FFG will make more money. Which is the end goal of any game.

What would justify bringing in more?

Why would you need to justify more?

Lets say that wave 4 is mostly all EU ships. You'll have 2 responces to those ships. People will either buy them, or they won't. Why doesn't really matter. The fact that someone may not buy a Z-95 just because it wasn't in the movie is no differen then someone not buying it because they think it's ugly.

Producing EU ships having them sell not quite as well as the OT stuff is still better then selling nothing at all for FFG's bottom line. Better to have something out there and make a profit off it, then to simply stop producing anything at all.

Repaints can sell, but only for so long. I don't think you'll see as many Imperial Aces sold as you did Tie/In's. Repainting Tie/Ln's would also sell fewer models then what they've already sold. Or X's, or Y's, ect...

Pretty much any repaint set is going to sell fewer units then the orginal.

I sure hope you are right. I, for one, would buy a ton of headhunters, since they are prevalent in Edge of the Empire and would give the Rebels a swarmish type ship.

I just don't see FFG making these kinds of decisions, so far. And they have been very successful with what they have done. So, why would they change their formula?

On a totally different note: I wonder how well the Star Trek version is doing? Wizkids took essentially the same game system with a different branding and then tweaked it to their style. I have to take what I hear here about thegame with a grain of salt, but I'm curious how a company that is emphasizing collectibility over detail and balanced mechanics is going to fare. If the still have a strong showing, then maybe there is hope that FFG will consider more EU ships.

I sure hope you are right. I, for one, would buy a ton of headhunters, since they are prevalent in Edge of the Empire and would give the Rebels a swarmish type ship.

I just don't see FFG making these kinds of decisions, so far. And they have been very successful with what they have done. So, why would they change their formula?

On a totally different note: I wonder how well the Star Trek version is doing? Wizkids took essentially the same game system with a different branding and then tweaked it to their style. I have to take what I hear here about thegame with a grain of salt, but I'm curious how a company that is emphasizing collectibility over detail and balanced mechanics is going to fare. If the still have a strong showing, then maybe there is hope that FFG will consider more EU ships.

Here's my two cents on that. I don't know how it's doing, but I did pick up the starter and a couple of expansions when it came out, meaning to give it a fair shake (I like both universes and was curious to see if they pulled off the capital ship feel) and I can share a few thoughts.

The minis are bad. Just, not good. Go Google "star trek attack wing uss enterprise original" and check out the images. It looks worse in person. It's not just one thing, either. It's the overall quality and feeling like WK just don't care. I put in a ticket to replace two of the three ships in the starter set. The Klingon one is listing at a noticeable angle, and the Romulan one, the peg is mounted on the underside so badly that the ship is listing at a severe angle AND taking a nose dive. Just careless assembly.

They recycled the minis from the old Star Trek Heroclix game, so at least this first set the quality is all over the place. In general, though, they look and feel like cheap plastic toys, and not solid (if fragile and not competition quality) miniatures. Some of the Klingon ships have this interesting metallic sheen that gives them a unique look - others are bright green cheap neon plastic. There's no effort at painting details, washing, doing anything to make them look like tableworthy minis.

And yes, the scale is maddening. Now look, I know people here will argue about the A-Wing seeming a little oversized, the HWK seeming a little undersized, whatever. It's hard to say if FFG tweaked the scale on a couple of things or (more likely) they used the official numbers they were given from Lucasfilm, and those numbers were just off a bit from exact scale.

But oh man, where to start? The original series Enterprise is so tiny I can't tell conclusively if it's supposed to be in scale to anything else. I *think* the Reliant and the Enterprise-D are close to being in scale with one another, but the Reliant dwarfs the Enterprise; this despite the fact the Reliant model was built from the exact same parts as the Enterprise refit, which was basically the same size as the version on the show. Just updated a bit.

I won't even attempt to start in on the Klingons, because I think they're all over the place, but of course then the D'Deridex for the Romulans is purportedly almost twice the size of the Enterprise-D but the miniature is quite a bit smaller than the Galaxy class. Just wait until you see the upcoming Defiant, which is about the same size as the Reliant, by the looks of it.

So all around the models are just a big eyesore.

Maybe more like three or four cents. Oh yeah and the cards they included suck. They're printed on this weird linen stock that muddies the image and is prone to curling so bad they practically fold themselves in half of their own accord.

Anyway what's sad is that I actually like some of the rule changes they tried to incorporate.

The idea of disabling shields and being able to reactivate them later to achieve certain effects (cloaking being an obvious one) is extremely clever, although definitely better suited to that universe. Torpedoes that you can 'disable' and then spend an action later to reactivate? Awesome. They handle cloaking and such very well.

I mean they even printed a double sided range ruler; it's clearly got phaser beams on one side and torpedoes on the other, and the phaser side shows a +1 green die symbol next to range 3 and a +1 red die symbol next to range 1 - while the secondary weapons one on the back excludes the range bonuses. Somebody put a lot of thought into some nice little touches for the game.

Which makes it kind of a shame they had the misfortune to get produced by WizKids, who are using it as a chance to unload some of their warehouse stock of HeroClix ships. :wacko:

They're missing one of the Romulan ships and the Dominion stuff, but here are most of the ships in the first wave.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/9585798114_6c941a9da3.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jv-xZCli-DI/UfgaOBtQ_sI/AAAAAAAATa0/J0ZWtm6BSOA/s1600/Neca+Star+Trek+Attack+Wing+expansion+ships.jpg

Anyway, say what you will about X-Wing, but while your Trek stuff might be less likely to break, it also looks amazingly cheap and plasticky - yet costs exactly the same.

Edited by CrookedWookie

That they dare to recycle ships from a previous game is just total facepalm. I had considered trying out this game but when i saw the models and when i first heard why they were such bad quality i regretted even having wasted a thought on it.

Edited by ForceM

Hands down i like this set. And if ihad my vote the A-wings would be the rebel aces. The A-wing is a very hard ship to feild in a squad. After its missles have been spent (if the ship lived that long) its almost useless. its agility to HP is balanced yes. but its very hard to keep it on offense. It needs something, to make it better, not sure what though. On a side note i believe the Y-wing is a fantastic ship that doesn't need changes. With the blaster turret they are even more viable. Say what you will but i have taken down 2 tie interceptors with only my Y-wing left. I always make sure to field room for either Gold squad, Dutch or Horton. Just got to know how to fly em' ;)

A-wing is deadly if flown right. Zig and zag your way into getting an out of arc range one shot and tell me it's not great. And with the Imps now getting some ships that aren't agility three it's even better. Honestly I like it much more than the interceptor. Target lock sticks around which means you can get a nice modified shot after you boost in. The interceptor has to shoot blind if it does the same.

I do think though that the first Rebel pack we get, whenever that is, will be fore A-wings or Y-wings. They are the two least loved rebel ships at the moment, while I don't think they need a boost new options never hurt if power creep is avoided we all know that if people start seeing them as more viable ships then FFG will make more money. Which is the end goal of any game.

we might see FF release a title card for the Y-Wing and/or A-Wing which will make them more viable to play. a zero costing card that boots upgrades in some way perhaps... extra atk/def dice rolls would be too powerful so maybe a boost to actions of some kind - free focus is in theme with rebels... but that would be more of the same... something new is needed to elevate these ships above where they currently sit. maybe a boost to secondary weapons missiles/protons/advanced torps? that would be my guess.

I sure hope you are right. I, for one, would buy a ton of headhunters, since they are prevalent in Edge of the Empire and would give the Rebels a swarmish type ship.

I just don't see FFG making these kinds of decisions, so far. And they have been very successful with what they have done. So, why would they change their formula?

On a totally different note: I wonder how well the Star Trek version is doing? Wizkids took essentially the same game system with a different branding and then tweaked it to their style. I have to take what I hear here about thegame with a grain of salt, but I'm curious how a company that is emphasizing collectibility over detail and balanced mechanics is going to fare. If the still have a strong showing, then maybe there is hope that FFG will consider more EU ships.

Here's my two cents on that. I don't know how it's doing, but I did pick up the starter and a couple of expansions when it came out, meaning to give it a fair shake (I like both universes and was curious to see if they pulled off the capital ship feel) and I can share a few thoughts.

The minis are bad. Just, not good. Go Google "star trek attack wing uss enterprise original" and check out the images. It looks worse in person. It's not just one thing, either. It's the overall quality and feeling like WK just don't care. I put in a ticket to replace two of the three ships in the starter set. The Klingon one is listing at a noticeable angle, and the Romulan one, the peg is mounted on the underside so badly that the ship is listing at a severe angle AND taking a nose dive. Just careless assembly.

They recycled the minis from the old Star Trek Heroclix game, so at least this first set the quality is all over the place. In general, though, they look and feel like cheap plastic toys, and not solid (if fragile and not competition quality) miniatures. Some of the Klingon ships have this interesting metallic sheen that gives them a unique look - others are bright green cheap neon plastic. There's no effort at painting details, washing, doing anything to make them look like tableworthy minis.

And yes, the scale is maddening. Now look, I know people here will argue about the A-Wing seeming a little oversized, the HWK seeming a little undersized, whatever. It's hard to say if FFG tweaked the scale on a couple of things or (more likely) they used the official numbers they were given from Lucasfilm, and those numbers were just off a bit from exact scale.

But oh man, where to start? The original series Enterprise is so tiny I can't tell conclusively if it's supposed to be in scale to anything else. I *think* the Reliant and the Enterprise-D are close to being in scale with one another, but the Reliant dwarfs the Enterprise; this despite the fact the Reliant model was built from the exact same parts as the Enterprise refit, which was basically the same size as the version on the show. Just updated a bit.

I won't even attempt to start in on the Klingons, because I think they're all over the place, but of course then the D'Deridex for the Romulans is purportedly almost twice the size of the Enterprise-D but the miniature is quite a bit smaller than the Galaxy class. Just wait until you see the upcoming Defiant, which is about the same size as the Reliant, by the looks of it.

So all around the models are just a big eyesore.

i agree the attack wing models look poor. we have been spoilt with the amazing models from x-wing. anything less than this will look shoddy in comparison. its like they are saying - paint them yourself if u dont like them. trekkie fans that see what x-wing is playing with will feel like a poor cousin.

I sure hope you are right. I, for one, would buy a ton of headhunters, since they are prevalent in Edge of the Empire and would give the Rebels a swarmish type ship.

I just don't see FFG making these kinds of decisions, so far. And they have been very successful with what they have done. So, why would they change their formula?

On a totally different note: I wonder how well the Star Trek version is doing? Wizkids took essentially the same game system with a different branding and then tweaked it to their style. I have to take what I hear here about thegame with a grain of salt, but I'm curious how a company that is emphasizing collectibility over detail and balanced mechanics is going to fare. If the still have a strong showing, then maybe there is hope that FFG will consider more EU ships.

Www.afewmaneuvers.com has opened a new section on their forums for attack wing. If you're interested in reading some players thoughts.

My question is: Is Star Trek Attack Wing enjoying the same kind of popularity as X-Wing? Not whether it is as good a game. My FLGS has a copy open on display, and I agree that the ships are 't quite as detailed and the cards are almost curled. But does this matter to Trekkies or are they buying it anyways?

My FLGS had quite a few expansions for Attack Wing as well as the Core Set when I was there last... Didn't look like anyone bought the game. When I looked at the Ships they really didn't look all that great but now I'm seeing that they are recycled from the Heroclix Star Trek game. That is just sad but does not surprise me. It's Wizkids.

Edited by GroggyGolem

My question is: Is Star Trek Attack Wing enjoying the same kind of popularity as X-Wing? Not whether it is as good a game. My FLGS has a copy open on display, and I agree that the ships are 't quite as detailed and the cards are almost curled. But does this matter to Trekkies or are they buying it anyways?

I don't think so. Maybe the rules are even cool to play although i prefer the starfighter setting of X-Wing, a lot of people do not inly buy X-Wing because it's a good game but also for the sheer quality and coolness of its models. You can play with them, or you can put them in a shelf for decoration. And that's nothing you can do with Attack wing honestly.

To add to this -- What made you a fan of the X-wing Miniatures Game? Was it Star Wars as a whole? Or was it the "FlightPath" System?

At the very first announcement that FFG was taking up a game for Star Wars piqued my interest, and that it was going to be a space combat miniatures game increased my interest even more. When I began playing, I began to enjoy the game mechanic more 'n more, with the free flowing movement. Albeit, I/we had a pretty bad first "attempt" with WotC's Starship Battles (shudders at the mere mention).

I am a fan of Star Trek as well. I like to say "I live in the 'Galaxy far far away', but visits the Federation from time to time." So I would give Star Trek: Attack Wing a shot, playing the game casually. I know the ships are not up to the same standards as X-wing, but it's all about the game.

The only thing I'm not too fond of about Wizkids/Attack Wing is that to get the "promotional" ships, you have to participate in the "Dominion War" OP Event. That's Wizkids for ya. What can you do, eh? I have not seen FFG hold back product (ships) from the general public after their initial showing.

To conclude, I would love to see what FFG has planned for the FlightPath System in the future.

Well, that's my two credits.

My question is: Is Star Trek Attack Wing enjoying the same kind of popularity as X-Wing? Not whether it is as good a game. My FLGS has a copy open on display, and I agree that the ships are 't quite as detailed and the cards are almost curled. But does this matter to Trekkies or are they buying it anyways?

I haven't seen that many people playing Attack Wing so, in my area, it's not that popular. What's keeping me away from it is:

1. It's WizKids. I can't stand the idea of spending money on their products, especially with what they did with/to the Battletech franchise.

2. The models are butt ugly with their substandard paint jobs and dreadful lack of scale.

Now they did get a few things right IMO. The bases for Attack Wing have a notch cut into the base where the maneuver templates go as opposed to the 2 nubs the X-Wing bases have for this purpose. Attack Wing's dice are bigger and easier to read than their X-Wing counterparts. And, finally, each ship in the game comes with an actual card showing the maneuvers on the ship's dial, which can be sleeved and marked with a dry/wet erase marker for your maneuvers instead of using the dial if you want.

As for the original topic, I plan on preordering 4 of the Imperial Ace box sets, giving me 4 Royal Guard and 4 with Blood Stripes to go with the 4 regular Interceptors I have already. With the Epic Combat rules coming out, I'd like to be able to take a full Interceptor squadron into a tournament situation. I think it would be a fun list to run.

Edited by zathras23

I just made a 100 point list including the new Royal Guard Squints and the Lambda shuttle. This is what I came up with. Just made this list for fun. Was imagining Emperor Palpatine was on board the Lambda or a decoy and being escorted.

21 Omicron Group Pilot (Lambda)
3 Anti-Pursuit Lasers
3 Advanced Sensors
3 Recon Specialist
3 Rebel Captive
3 ION Cannon

24 Kir Kanos
0 Royal Guard Interceptor TITLE
3 Hull Upgrade
3 Stealth Device

26 Carnor Jax
0 Royal Guard Interceptor TITLE
3 Hull Upgrade
3 Stealth Device
3 Push the Limit

TOTAL 100 POINTS