Why do people assume the pilot packs would be random? How bout I buy a pack of x-wing pilots and they come with all the same say 10 x-wing pilot cards?

Then I buy a pack of 10 a-wing cards and so on. there is no need for them to be random. maybe some pilots in other ships like Tycho in an x-wing or wedge in a y wing.

Reread the original post which talks about having "random" packs. That is why you see all the harsh discussion against "random" packs.

While they may not happen most people are ok with the idea of non-random card packs containing pilots and upgrades.

I agree that a certain kind of card-only product could be good. Maybe one for each faction, offering a couple of new pilots for several ship plus a mix of some reprint upgrades and a few new ones.

However, adding 10+ pilots per ship is just absurd. This would mean that after one wave of such products they will simply run out of unique pilot skills and recognisable names too!

Frankly FFG is doing a great job with the game. The artificial rarity of some upgrades (AS with shuttle only) only affects tournament players (casuals print lists, proxy cards, etc.). And for a tournament player buying every combination you can field in a 100 points game is still cheaper than almost any tier1 MTG deck. And for that you get a bunch of painted minis and other stuff - compared to just 75 cards of MTG. That's a pretty sweet deal!

I would eventually like to see a pack released that is only pilots (original ones). It would cost less for them to manufacture, and be significantly more readily available (i imagine printing and shipping is much cheaper for cards than for miniatures). I feel this would be optimal once they've come out with enough waves of fighters (so, possibly after wave 4). This would give them a break on developing new rules and balances for more ships, give the base enough time to breathe and tool around with what they have been given. It would also slow possible power creep, which I already feel is starting to show (and yes I'm aware that last bit is all personal opinion). But realistically, after this many waves people already have all the minis they'd need to field things. Buying further ships would be fairly pointless just to obtain new pilots. At the very least, it could give them a product to release where they are actually able to meet their own release goals/demand for the product… give them a chance to disperse the bad reputation they have in that regard.

But it isnt just cards, they would also have to print the cardboard pieces for the ship stands as well, so now you have cards and game pieces to print and sort and shuffle into packaging.. in the long run, I seriously doubt they will do any such thing, and they have said as much ...

With all these new pilots coming out, I had a lightbulb appear above my head..

Why won't FFG put the pilots into card packs? 15 pilots per pack (each fighter has its own pack), with 5-10 upgrade cards inside. There would also be the pilot thingies that go on the base, etc etc. Completely randomized, but each fighter has its own pilots. (For example, an X-wing pack would have Wedge, Janson and Porkins in one pack, Luke, Biggs and Garven in another, but would NOT have Howlrunner, Tycho or Soontir Fel.)

1) It'd save money on miniatures.

2) There wouldn't be a need to buy the GR-75 just for the X-wing pilots (HINT HINT)

3) You could get Tycho for an X-wing or something like that.

How I feel about this idea:

I see where I went wrong.

Whoops.

Dammit, Takeda, I'm a fighter pilot not an admiral! Besides, I saw what happened when the Rebellion let fighter pilots command a cruiser.