First off, so y'all know of what I speak:

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4645

Now that you've read that...

Wow.

With the Z-95 Headhunter, we have something that equals an Academy Pilot's cost, which can theoretically be a 6 ship swarm for the Rebels, with 6 missiles (2 Concussions and 4 Assaults = 100 points)! Rebels are now the kings of the Alpha-Strike, and may yet be the kings of the Swarm.
It's essentially an A-Wing with 1 fewer attack die, for +1 PS and -5 points. Like the A-Wing, it dies to a Direct Hit from a Proton Bomb, which will certainly see significantly more play.

With the E-Wing, we have a third ship that dies to that Direct Hit from a Proton Bomb, and this one is terrifying in its own way. It is slightly more survivable than the Tie Advanced (previously the most survivable small-based ship in the game), has a Sensors Slot and a natural Barrel Roll (making it as hypermobile as a B-Wing), 3 attack dice, and a freakin' Astromech slot.

It has 3 native shields, can take R2-D2, and be as much of a knife-fighter as Ibtisam. It is an excellent thing it's so bloody expensive, 'cause 4 of these suckers would be a nightmare.

As for Etahn A'Baht's pilot ability, it gives all of your ships Winged Gundark's pilot ability if they happen to be shooting at someone in your firing arc, except they don't have to be in Range 1 of the victim. He's gonna be Ten Nunb's best friend.

With the Tie Defender, we have a small-based ship with 3 attack, 3 evade, 3 hull, and 3 shield: a full Hull Upgrade better than the E-Wing. It also has a missile slot and a freakin' cannon slot. Because it wasn't good enough before the cannon addition, evidently. Also, it comes with a never-before seen maneuver.

Given that we currently have a 0 stop, and a 1(Tetran Cowall),2,3,4,and 5 koiogran, my money's either on doing a Koiogran off of a bank or turn template, a 0 koiogran, or a maneuver that goes backwards. Otherwise, they'll have to release new templates!

With the Tie Phantom, we see our first ship with 4 native attack dice, if the graphic they spoilered is legit. It will also come with a Systems slot and a Crew slot, meaning it can take Fire Control Systems + Gunner.

As far as spoiled upgrades:

We now have a 3 point missile that causes a 2x Ion effect (and 1 damage). It is the only Ion-based weapon to knock out a Large-base ship on one hit, but it's also a significant 3 point missile, which will also be viable on A-Wings. 5 prototypes with Ion Pulse Missiles might be something to watch for.

We have a 3 point astromech that you activate for a conditional Target Lock + Boost, and it doesn't appear to need an Engine Upgrade on board to use it. I do not know on whom this is best suited, but it's slightly terrifying to me already.

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Overall, Wave 4 seems specifically designed to screw over everything we already know about the Metagame of X-Wing, and I am thoroughly excited to see what else we can glean from it!

Also, be prepared to spend ALL the money for this wave. Those Headhunters come one in a package, as opposed to the 2-for-1 discount that Ties got in the Core Set.

I had not noticed the Phantom's attack dice. I'm not an EU guy, so can anyone fill me in on where else this has appeared besides the Rebel Strike II game?

Good review.. I can agree with most of this really.. strong ships coming out here..

one thing though.. Cowalls ability only lets him do a 1,3,5 K turn.. just to clarify..

I imagine that droid would be nice on X's, but might actually help a Y with a turret float out of arc and score a hit.

I had not noticed the Phantom's attack dice. I'm not an EU guy, so can anyone fill me in on where else this has appeared besides the Rebel Strike II game?

They were in Rebel Assault II, they also showed up in Empire at War as really useful pin-point strikers.

Excellent break down and a little preview of the possible uses in the game. I am really excited for this wave havent been this excited since the announce the Falcon.

With the Tie Defender, we have a small-based ship with 3 attack, 3 evade, 3 hull, and 3 shield: a full Hull Upgrade better than the E-Wing. It also has a missile slot and a freakin' cannon slot. Because it wasn't good enough before the cannon addition, evidently. Also, it comes with a never-before seen maneuver.

Given that we currently have a 0 stop, and a 1(Tetran Cowall),2,3,4,and 5 koiogran, my money's either on doing a Koiogran off of a bank or turn template, a 0 koiogran, or a maneuver that goes backwards. Otherwise, they'll have to release new templates!

The preview specificallly says "The TIE defender is a straight-forward fighter with strong shields, weapons, agility, and a maneuver never before seen on a dial." That's very specific wording. We've never seen the 1 k-turn on a dial, just as a pilot's special ability. I bet it's just a 1K.

Don't forget that the Z-95 is a flat 2 across the board, so it's only got 2 agility.

Good review.. I can agree with most of this really.. strong ships coming out here..

one thing though.. Cowalls ability only lets him do a 1,3,5 K turn.. just to clarify..

I Think he only meant the 1 for Cowall, and the other numbers are just K-turns that one ship or another possesses.

And wouldn't it figure: just before Imperial Aces is within my grasp, after all this waiting…. and they go and announce something ELSE that makes me salivate! WHY MUST YOU TEASE ME LIKE THIS FFG!?!

the special Defender Maneuver could be a 0-[Hard]Turn. or possibly a 1-Reverse.

my bets would be on the 0-[Hard]Turn..

Good review.. I can agree with most of this really.. strong ships coming out here..

one thing though.. Cowalls ability only lets him do a 1,3,5 K turn.. just to clarify..

Cowall's got the 1

B-Wings have the 2

Numerous ships have 3, 4 and 5.

I mentioned this in the maeuver thread, and feel I should bring it up here. The specific wording they used:

"a maneuver never before seen on a dial"

Means it could be a 1K turn, since that is Cowell's ability, and not on a dial.

Good review.. I can agree with most of this really.. strong ships coming out here..

one thing though.. Cowalls ability only lets him do a 1,3,5 K turn.. just to clarify..

Cowall's got the 1

B-Wings have the 2

Numerous ships have 3, 4 and 5.

Dude relax, I got your back bro.

We have a 3 point astromech that you activate for a conditional Target Lock + Boost, and it doesn't appear to need an Engine Upgrade on board to use it. I do not know on whom this is best suited, but it's slightly terrifying to me already.

That's totally for Dutch

Good review.. I can agree with most of this really.. strong ships coming out here..

one thing though.. Cowalls ability only lets him do a 1,3,5 K turn.. just to clarify..

Cowall's got the 1

B-Wings have the 2

Numerous ships have 3, 4 and 5.

ahh.. rereading I see what I did. lol.. cool..

the special Defender Maneuver could be a 0-[Hard]Turn. or possibly a 1-Reverse.

my bets would be on the 0-[Hard]Turn..

Or a Green 1-speed Turn...

I proclaim the TIE Phantom to be Buzzsaw Jr.

I proclaim the TIE Phantom to be Buzzsaw Jr

Except with 4 attack dice, the Gunner will enter the stage less often. Still a starting point, though.

I really want to know how they play that cloke ... it has some serious potential..

I think I would see the gunner as more of a 'variance insurance policy'. I mean if you're rolling 4-5 attack dice and you come up with only 1-2 hits, that's bogus. You're really looking to have that damage output. Anyone who flies interceptors knows that you kinda depend on getting at least 50-60% hits with them at range 1. So while it may not come into play often, maybe even only once per battle, it might just be that clinch moment that it does. For instance, if you were depending on a superior PS joust to close the game with 1 ship each, and you roll 4 blanks. I mean, has something like that NOT happened to anyone here? I doubt it.

I really want to know how they play that cloke ... it has some serious potential..

I've been wondering about that myself. Since there's crew, I've been fantasizing about a really useful craft for the Saboteur.

My proposals for the new, not yet seen, rules-

1. New Maneuver (Defender)

Side Slip- Executed by placing a 90-degree turn against the side of the ship's base (like Barrel Roll), with the arc curving forward; model is then placed at the head of the template facing the same direction as at start. Another possibility could be...

Weave- same as the yet to be released Lieutenant Lorrir's special ability (Barrel Roll may use speed 1 Bank instead of straight).

2. New Action (Phantom)

Cloak- Simplest would be... Action: Place a Cloak token on your ship; you may not conduct any attacks or be targeted by any enemy attacks. Remove token during the End Phase.

Chris

I really want to know how they play that cloke ... it has some serious potential..

My guess is based on how it's implemented in Attack Wing. It will be an action (you can see it in the action bar in the picture). A cloaked ship rolls 4 extra agility dice when defending. At the end of the turn you may choose to keep the cloak token or discard it to uncloak. If the ship performed an attack during the combat phase, it MUST discard the cloak token.

The Attack Wing rules also require the cloaked ship to disable it's shields, not sure how that would be handled. Perhaps any hits or crits received while cloaked would go straight to the hull. There's also a tricksy "Sensor Echo" action that a ship can perform while cloaked, which is basically a barrel roll using either the 1 OR 2 maneuver template. Maybe that is what is described on the middle rules card in the picture? It looks like the title starts with a "D" and could be "Decoy".

All purely speculation, but the Attack Wing rules are a pretty solid guess for a foundation.

My proposals for the new, not yet seen, rules-

1. New Maneuver (Defender)

Side Slip- Executed by placing a 90-degree turn against the side of the ship's base (like Barrel Roll), with the arc curving forward; model is then placed at the head of the template facing the same direction as at start. Another possibility could be...

Weave- same as the yet to be released Lieutenant Lorrir's special ability (Barrel Roll may use speed 1 Bank instead of straight).

2. New Action (Phantom)

Cloak- Simplest would be... Action: Place a Cloak token on your ship; you may not conduct any attacks or be targeted by any enemy attacks. Remove token during the End Phase.

Chris

Hmmmmm.....would a sideslip use 2 1-hard-turn pieces or 2 1-bank pieces?

Evasive action Manuvers on the defender. They are "yellow", count as a white, and you get an evade token when you reveal.

Phantoms with advanced cloaks/stealth devices, sensor jammers, and recon specialists are going to be a pain in the arse... For you! I'm flying them of course.