I have noticed a couple of players said that they cannot apply the Royal Guard TIE to their beloved 181st pilots. I might've found a fix for it, but I would like to ask if it is possible.

The Royal Guard TIE title cannot be applied to Interceptor pilots with a skill level of 4 or lower, which the Saber Squadron pilot has 4 exactly. However, the Saber pilot can have an elite pilot talent, which is where my question begins. Can't you put Veteran Instincts on the Saber Squadron Pilot, making him/her have a pilot skill of 6 then apply the Royal Guard TIE title card?

I would tend to think yes, that the fact Saber is ps4, VI grants +2ps, and the Royal Guard title requires you to have a ps of 6 or higher is probably not an accident. It certainly could be a happy coincidence, but it seems like they could just has easily have said 5 or 7, or simply added a line about "before adding any bonus PS from Veteran Instincts" or something if they didn't want you doing it.

But honestly, my personal guess would be that Saber + VI is precisely the reason it requires a ps of 6.

We have the precedent of one upgrade allowing others (Slave 1 for example), so it seems entirely consistent that your VI would allow you to qualify for the Royal Guard title.

What do you mean?

I agree with you.
I just find it hilarious you referred to FFG and used the words 'precedent' and 'consistent' with a straight face.

What do you mean?

To try and ninja him here, he means that you have a Firespray. You add the Slave-1 title, which adds the torpedo icon to your ship's upgrade bar. That HAS to take effect the minute you add it to your ship - otherwise, how would you be able to add a torpedo to it at all? It has to be in effect the moment you add it to your build to allow you to make use of it during set up.

So what he's saying is, similarly, VI would have to take effect the minute it is added to your ship - also meaning that, if you have a Saber with VI, it would set up for play as if it were a ps6 ship and not as ps4. And if it takes effect the instant you add it to your build, there's no reason it wouldn't allow you to add the Royal Guard title, unless they specifically went out of their way to directly disallow that combo.

What do you mean?

To try and ninja him here, he means that you have a Firespray. You add the Slave-1 title, which adds the torpedo icon to your ship's upgrade bar. That HAS to take effect the minute you add it to your ship - otherwise, how would you be able to add a torpedo to it at all? It has to be in effect the moment you add it to your build to allow you to make use of it during set up.

So what he's saying is, similarly, VI would have to take effect the minute it is added to your ship - also meaning that, if you have a Saber with VI, it would set up for play as if it were a ps6 ship and not as ps4. And if it takes effect the instant you add it to your build, there's no reason it wouldn't allow you to add the Royal Guard title, unless they specifically went out of their way to directly disallow that combo.

This is great news.. I wasn't entirely sure because I'm mainly Rebellion, but aside from Maarek, Kath and Vader. I don't really have any real... want to play Imperials, but now I do :3

They're getting some neat toys. I'm excited to see where they go with Aces expansions or whatever down the road, fleshing out the options for each ship (some of which need it more than others).

I was playing with one of my favorite wave 3 squads recently (2x Rookie, 2x Blue w/HLC) and joking with a friend that the fact that combo comes out to exactly 100 points is better proof of intelligent design than anything I've ever seen. It was a joke, obviously, but I do think there's some deliberation to why this costs 21 and not 22, or that raises your ps by 2 - not 1, not 3, etc.

I like to think, anyway, that some thought is put into making the pieces fit together as neatly as possible, and to me Saber + VI making you ps6 and the RG title requiring ps6 is an even better example of where I see some conscious thought and careful balance behind the pieces.

I have noticed a couple of players said that they cannot apply the Royal Guard TIE to their beloved 181st pilots. I might've found a fix for it, but I would like to ask if it is possible.

The Royal Guard TIE title cannot be applied to Interceptor pilots with a skill level of 4 or lower, which the Saber Squadron pilot has 4 exactly. However, the Saber pilot can have an elite pilot talent, which is where my question begins. Can't you put Veteran Instincts on the Saber Squadron Pilot, making him/her have a pilot skill of 6 then apply the Royal Guard TIE title card?

Here I'm simply going to ask "Why would you need to do that?"

I mean your Saber Squadron Pilot + VI cost 22 points. The Royal Guard Pilot costs 22 points but still has its elite pilot talent open. It looks to me like you'll have a RGP available for every Royal Guard TIE title that you have so while I believe you should be able to throw VI on a SSP and allow it to accept the title there is no reason you should ever need to do it.

Why would you need to MAKE a PL 6 Interceptor for 22 points when you already HAVE a PL 6 Interceptor for 22 points?

Now hold on there just a minute - the question, in fairness, was CAN you do it.

Why WOULD you do it is an entirely different question altogether.

"Q: How does Veteran Instincts work with other abilities that set a ship’s pilot skill value to a new number?

A: Veteran Instincts increases a ship’s printed pilot skill value"

Not a direct response, but good enough for me. I say it qualifies. If the printed value increases, they qualify.

Did this question come up before?

Ahh... but what if you get a CRIT that reduces your pilot skill to 0? Or a CRIT that takes away your Elite Pilot Upgrade?

Would you loose the ability the use both modifications?

Ahh... but what if you get a CRIT that reduces your pilot skill to 0? Or a CRIT that takes away your Elite Pilot Upgrade?

Would you loose the ability the use both modifications?

Nope. The title lets you "equip" two upgrades. I'd say once you are in battle the "equiping" has allready happened. Basicaly the title is just used befor the match starts... That would be my reasoning without actualy reading through all the rules and cards text so... Take it with a ton of salt.

As with so many things, we don't actually have a solid definition of "equip", so we don't know if it means "Place on a ship during squad selection" or "Have on the ship at any given moment." My general inclination would be that unless it instructs you to discard it, you wouldn't do so. But who knows? Send it off to FFG.

Good question, even if there is no big interest to do that, I am curious to see the official answer.

Royal Guard Pilot FTW!

Royal Guard Pilot FTW!

Despite costing the exact same as the SSP + VI yet still having its elite pilot slot open that option must not count towards this debate. Maybe someone is figuring out how to get the title cards without the set and thus missing the RGP but I agree, if you have the title card you should also have the pilot card it goes on without needing to mess around with things like SSP+VI. Now if you are throwing out the tournament rules and allowing proxy cards then it isn't too far to allow the same for pilots.

Yeah it's a bit of a non-event, there is no reason you would choose to go this way when you could just get the RGP instead. I personally would never stop someone paying the same points for a pilot that is identical but has used up his Elite slot.

There are a decent number of reasons it might come up that don't involve a need to check for brain activity on the part of the player. Friends might be sharing the pool of cards. The dog could have eaten one, or one got lost (don't laugh, canine-related losses over the years are impressive). Draft or scenario situations. Maybe someone just enjoys running the Saber over the Royal Guard.

If you're not planning on using the elite slot for anything, they really are identical, so what's the big deal?

I am kind of disappointed that the Sabre squardron ship is now obsolete since it is the same cost as a Royal guard pilot. Kind of a bummer.

They are not the same cost.

A sabre with vet ins is 22 a royal guard at ps 6 is 22 with an upgrade available. So yes youre right, but who will run sabres anymore, really?

A sabre with vet ins is 22 a royal guard at ps 6 is 22 with an upgrade available. So yes youre right, but who will run sabres anymore, really?

People who need to trade the Pilot skill for an upgrade?

A sabre with vet ins is 22 a royal guard at ps 6 is 22 with an upgrade available. So yes youre right, but who will run sabres anymore, really?

Someone who doesn't need the PS 6 and thus wants to save the points.