Actually, now I really want to try:

Soontir

Turr

Lorrir

Cowall+Adrenaline Rush

=100pts

Coincidence? I think not. Go Go Saber Elite.

I'd even take VI for Cowall.

Ugh. As a mainly Rebel player I'm incredibly jealous of some of these abilities. Janson, Hobbie, Porkins, and Tarn better bring it...

On a related note, how do people feel about having two pilots with the same ability? Be it on the same faction with different PS or different factions? Just curious. I like the unique mechanic of just the one but, man, some of these are so good I almost find myself lamenting them since it means they won't go on somebody coughRebelcough else.

I'm a big fan of the 181st, so getting this is a must for me. That being said, I'm not so big on the Royal Guard guys. Does anyone want to split a box with me? PM if interested.

21 points

Saber Squadron pilot

PS 4

Elite Pilot Talent

23 points

Lieutenant Lorrir

PS 5

23 points

"Fel's Wrath"

PS 5

24 points

Kir Kanos

PS6

24 points

Tetran Cowell

PS7

Elite Pilot Talent

In my opinion, Tetran Cowell is the only one that is point costed about right. The other named pilots need a point reduction across the board.

Edit: That said, I'll be getting 4 sets, so I can run four Royal Guard TIEs with the "correct" paint scheme. I'll need to get more regular TIEs to even it out.

None of the PS5 and PS6 Interceptor pilots will likely ever get used competitively. They cost too much and don't even come with an EPT.

But do SSP get used competitively at PS4? There has been plenty of discussion about whether adding Veteran Instincts to it would allow it to qualify for the Royal Guard tile but the easy counter to that is simply "use the Royal Guard Pilot" who already is PS6 and just costs 22 points while leaving the Elite Pilot skill available. You could field four of those "PS6" Interceptors equipped with PtL without much trouble.

None of the PS5 and PS6 Interceptor pilots will likely ever get used competitively. They cost too much and don't even come with an EPT.

Oh well. I can use house rules to fix their cost.

In my opinion, Tetran Cowell is the only one that is point costed about right. The rest need a point reduction across the board.

I think it is a bit early talking about point cost reduction, but fells wrath could have been a point cheaper.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

Kir kanos also seems like a badass its like its equiped with a HLC. Not bad for 3 pts more.

Also not having an EPT, does not seem like a waste, as you gain a good ability for the points costed, so its more than a EPT in itself.

But then again I'd have to playtest it first I guess...

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

45 degrees. Not 90. Same angle as boost.

None of the PS5 and PS6 Interceptor pilots will likely ever get used competitively. They cost too much and don't even come with an EPT.

But do SSP get used competitively at PS4? There has been plenty of discussion about whether adding Veteran Instincts to it would allow it to qualify for the Royal Guard tile but the easy counter to that is simply "use the Royal Guard Pilot" who already is PS6 and just costs 22 points while leaving the Elite Pilot skill available. You could field four of those "PS6" Interceptors equipped with PtL without much trouble.

None of the TIE Interceptors generally see much competitive use, but the PS5 and PS6 ships are in a useless class all by themselves. Sabers' redeeming factor is that they can take PtL so they can stay alive. Without an EPT, those PS5/PS6 ships are going to be a huge points dump and will get killed VERY quickly. The new PS5 ability is slightly better than Fel's Wrath's ability, but it's not enough to justify using him, not by a longshot.

Someone used a Shuttle / Saber PtL combo that worked well in a VASSAL tournament, but from what I gather (on the interwebs) TIE Interceptors didn't make make it to the competitive level at World's. There were none in the top 8. I don't know if any made it to the top 16 or not.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

45 degrees. Not 90. Same angle as boost.

Yes you are right, but what I meant was that you can use the bank in both ways giving you a 'potential' 90.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

45 degrees. Not 90. Same angle as boost.

This is the issue with this pilot. It's an extremely niche ability, since using barrel roll is mutually exclusive with using boost. You have more flexibility in your barrel roll, at the expense of an extra stress token. If he could take an EPT and PtL for both boost and barrel roll, then that would be useful. I think it would be balanced by virtue of the fact that doing some would give you 2 stress tokens.

None of the PS5 and PS6 Interceptor pilots will likely ever get used competitively. They cost too much and don't even come with an EPT.

Oh well. I can use house rules to fix their cost.

In my opinion, Tetran Cowell is the only one that is point costed about right. The rest need a point reduction across the board.

I think it is a bit early talking about point cost reduction, but fells wrath could have been a point cheaper.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

Kir kanos also seems like a badass its like its equiped with a HLC. Not bad for 3 pts more.

Also not having an EPT, does not seem like a waste, as you gain a good ability for the points costed, so its more than a EPT in itself.

But then again I'd have to playtest it first I guess...

For 24 points, you can have:

Saber at PS4 with PtL equipped (EPT).

Kir Kanos at PS6 without an EPT.

Tetran Cowall at PS7 with an EPT.

For 22 points, you can have:

Royal Guard TIE at PS6 with an EPT.

For 25 points, you can have:

Royal Guard TIE at PS6 with PtL (EPT).

There is no reason to ever get Kir Kanos, or either of the PS5 pilots for competitive play, at their current point costs.

Okay, so this set gives us 5 astonishing things:

1: Our first generic pilot with 6 PS, and our 4th with an EPT slot.

2: A pilot with 4 koiograns and a Navigator ability for them, with an EPT slot.

3: A pilot with 21 different mobility actions

4: Our first pilot with guaranteed damage, which can be chosen for guaranteed damage prevention as well.

5: Our first pilot with direct action prevention, and he does it in multiple zones! (R1 of his starting position for pilots with a lower skill, and R1 of his ending position for pilots with a greater skill)

Added to Turr Phenir and Soontir Fel, and I think that Interceptors will be making a resurgence in popularity.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

45 degrees. Not 90. Same angle as boost.

This is the issue with this pilot. It's an extremely niche ability, since using barrel roll is mutually exclusive with using boost. You have more flexibility in your barrel roll, at the expense of an extra stress token. If he could take an EPT and PtL for both boost and barrel roll, then that would be useful. I think it would be balanced by virtue of the fact that doing some would give you 2 stress tokens.

Same angle as boost, but you can take it in 4 different directions, with a slide along your base-side. This guy's essentially got a 270* firing arc if you get your action.

Even more than Kir Kanos, though, Carnor Jax demands that his handler have the precognition of a Sith lord to avoid being destroyed while maximizing his ability.

So if you are a Sith Lord, they will be competitive

I would think it would fit nicely with a firespray with HLC, but yes he is one of the lesser characters in the aces.

The Tie interceptors will alway's be hard to play because of the increased cost and same amount of hullpoints as a simple Tie fighter. They are not reliable or cheap enough to use in tournament play because their defense is not consistent, so they will not win tournaments because you have a hard time achieving consistency in multiple play rounds. The A-wing suffers the same problem. As soon as they become to cheap they will be used as swarm and will become too powerful.

That is why B-wings and swarms are currently doing pretty good.

I have one pre-ordered too. But I don't see a huge value in a 2nd Imp Ace pack... I already have 4 Interceptors, and most of the cards from Imp Aces will be unique as far as I know. So I'm not seeing much value in a 2nd set.

I'll probably end up getting two sets (one for sure), but it depends on how useful the upgrades are. I have been getting along just fine with 2 basic Interceptors, and I knew Imperial Aces was on the way when I started collecting them so there was no temptation to stock up. I feel bad for folks who were surprised by Imperial Aces after picking up several basic Ints, and it's made me cautious about over-buying ships in the future.

I think bloodstripes on Interceptors are aesthetic mistakes and will be repainting those to be basic Interceptors. Maybe we should trade?

I'll take that trade Dave.. lol..

IIRC the blood stripes on 181st ships is for those pilots with 10 kills..

I alreadt have 6 TIE/In fighters, and will also be getting 2 of these.. Cowall's ability is outstanding, and I have been really looking forward to Lorir and using them with Turr.

Really looking forward to these... giddy as a school girl.. lol

Ugh. As a mainly Rebel player I'm incredibly jealous of some of these abilities. Janson, Hobbie, Porkins, and Tarn better bring it...

On a related note, how do people feel about having two pilots with the same ability? Be it on the same faction with different PS or different factions? Just curious. I like the unique mechanic of just the one but, man, some of these are so good I almost find myself lamenting them since it means they won't go on somebody coughRebelcough else.

Yes, I think Face Loran should have the same ability as Cowall.

However Lorrir giving you a barrel roll to get out of line of sight and give you an exra 90 degree adjustment option for the cost of a stress is well worth it IMO.

45 degrees. Not 90. Same angle as boost.

This is the issue with this pilot. It's an extremely niche ability, since using barrel roll is mutually exclusive with using boost. You have more flexibility in your barrel roll, at the expense of an extra stress token. If he could take an EPT and PtL for both boost and barrel roll, then that would be useful. I think it would be balanced by virtue of the fact that doing some would give you 2 stress tokens.

Same angle as boost, but you can take it in 4 different directions, with a slide along your base-side. This guy's essentially got a 270* firing arc if you get your action.

Yes, it is a good ability, but I still think it is clearly overcosted relative to a Saber at PS4 w/ EPT for 2 points less. Unfortunately he will also be rolling without any modifiers to his dice (no focus), so the first priority for the ability isn't to use it offensively for his own firing arc, but rather defensively to get out of other firing arcs.

Tetran Cowall's ability is, in my opinion, even better because it doesn't cost you an additional stress (action economy is everything in this game). On top of that, he only costs 1 point more, and you get +2 PS, and +1 EPT.

I'm saving judgement for some playtesting.. I think, possibly, many are not considering the maneuverablity of Lorir as being an asset.. he literally is going to be able to place himself... anywhere... he wants to be... that is a huge asset in my book, and Cowall seems rather awesome as well.. I guess we shall see as time goes by..

This expansion makes the Interceptor pilot choices like the TIE, lots of great pilots, you'll want to them all out.

Every ship has great abilities at the high skill range(most expensive) it's good to get some cool pilots at the top of the range.

Major really doesn't want anyone to use these guys Anyway, over/under cost doesn't really matter to a lot of people. not everyone plays to win all the time. For a lot of people it's about the fun, and these pilots will be fun to fly I'm sure of it. Can't wait. Did they put out an updated expected release? I think I missed it...

Major really doesn't want anyone to use these guys Anyway, over/under cost doesn't really matter to a lot of people. not everyone plays to win all the time. For a lot of people it's about the fun, and these pilots will be fun to fly I'm sure of it. Can't wait. Did they put out an updated expected release? I think I missed it...

Exactly, I want to at least try them all out. I don't think we can really tell how over or undercoat they are, until we play with them.

I actually think the interceptor is a better ship than people give it credit for. The 3/3 on attack and defense make it really awesome. If over the course of the game that extra attack dice rolls two evades than the interceptor is as survivable as an x-wing. I think interceptors die so fast because they are the imperials Wedge. Every one wants them dead. Yes, they can go down fast, in a single bad turn if you are unlucky, but I have seen the opposite happen, where a ship goes the whole game without taking a hit.

Exactly, I want to at least try them all out. I don't think we can really tell how over or undercoat they are, until we play with them.

I actually think the interceptor is a better ship than people give it credit for. The 3/3 on attack and defense make it really awesome. If over the course of the game that extra attack dice rolls two evades than the interceptor is as survivable as an x-wing. I think interceptors die so fast because they are the imperials Wedge. Every one wants them dead. Yes, they can go down fast, in a single bad turn if you are unlucky, but I have seen the opposite happen, where a ship goes the whole game without taking a hit.

Agreed. I played a game last week where that happened. I had Fel with PtL and in the first pass I misjudged and parked him right in front of 2 A-wings with missiles and a B-wing. He let loose with everything and Fel didn't take a single hit- he didn't even need to use his Evade token. He lasted the whole game and chewed the enemy to pieces. Try pulling that off with a ship with only 1 or 2 Agility.

Agreed. I played a game last week where that happened. I had Fel with PtL and in the first pass I misjudged and parked him right in front of 2 A-wings with missiles and a B-wing. He let loose with everything and Fel didn't take a single hit- he didn't even need to use his Evade token. He lasted the whole game and chewed the enemy to pieces. Try pulling that off with a ship with only 1 or 2 Agility.

I've done that with three shuttles. Took my standard albino space giraffes against Biggs, Luke, and Wedge. I took a single point of shield damage the entire game. I felt terrible, since the dice were my greatest ally.