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OR, FFG is holding them for an in-between Wave release so that there is less of a gap between new product (as this is a bit of a complaint amongst the fanbase, and also not good for product sales (despite how strong they have been in general) as they currently miss out on cashing in on player income except for once every 3-4 months.

OR, even more likely, the production delays which caused Armada Wave 1 to ship late, and which have also caused delays of Armada Wave 2, as well as X-Wing Wave 7 and the Imperial Raider (and presumably Wave 8) have also affected the release of the T-70 and TIE/FO, resulting in them being pushed back.

chaos0xomega wrote:
OR, FFG is holding them for an in-between Wave release so that there is less of a gap between new product (as this is a bit of a complaint amongst the fanbase, and also not good for product sales (despite how strong they have been in general) as they currently miss out on cashing in on player income except for once every 3-4 months.

Unlikely. There is no real complaint about FFG's release schedule because they have consistently given us a steady stream of new toys with enough time between each wave for things to settle. Besides, as you noted, their sales for X-Wing are pretty damn good.

OR, even more likely, the production delays which caused Armada Wave 1 to ship late, and which have also caused delays of Armada Wave 2, as well as X-Wing Wave 7 and the Imperial Raider (and presumably Wave 8) have also affected the release of the T-70 and TIE/FO, resulting in them being pushed back.

Armada was late because of shipping delays, not production delays.

I think it's pretty clear that the two missing SKUs are tied directly to Episode VII and are being played close to the chest for a reason (even the new core set plays it really safe with pilot names). With Wave 8 expectedly early as January 2016, I wouldn't be surprised to not see any Episode VII stuff until after that.

One thing I suspect is that there will be spoilers with the pilot names (Luke flies an X-wing in Episode 7? Darth Vader comes back from the dead?), that FFG isn't allowed to reveal yet. Hence why we just have code-names for the TIE pilots, and a Generic "Blue Ace" for the T70. The blisters will have these spoilered pilot cards, and will be released closer to the release date.

I heard it was production delays, considering that FFGs manufacturing facility is basically booked for the next 3 years or so I wouldn't be surprised. If its shipping delays then oh well.

Regarding the codenamed pilots in the starter, I wouldn't read too much into them. FFGs staff aren't likely to have had access to the script or the film, so even they won't necessarily know who ends up flying stuff, depending on how detailed the briefs they received from Disney/Lucas are (knowing what I know about past practices of both products re: licensed product development, it was probably pretty vague overall, in some instances vague enough that details are changed in film post production that arent reflected in the Toys). The generic character names might very well be just that, generic character names.

chaos0xomega wrote:
Regarding the codenamed pilots in the starter, I wouldn't read too much into them. FFGs staff aren't likely to have had access to the script or the film, so even they won't necessarily know who ends up flying stuff, depending on how detailed the briefs they received from Disney/Lucas are (knowing what I know about past practices of both products re: licensed product development, it was probably pretty vague overall, in some instances vague enough that details are changed in film post production that arent reflected in the Toys). The generic character names might very well be just that, generic character names.

Disney and LFL are playing it close to the chest more so than FFG. There will be new ships and characters we haven't seen yet in Episode VII, but FFG is going to have to hold out on introducing them to the game. That doesn't mean they've sat around and read the script for the movie, but I'm sure someone at FFG has been given a general idea of what to expect. Also consider how far ahead we know FFG plans the Waves (I believe shortly after the release of Wave 6, Alex Davey said in an interview that they already had Waves 7 through 9 planned). They may not know all the specifics, but they know something we don't.

Oh for certain they know something we don't, the point Im making is that they themselves wont know everything. Also keep in mind that most of the named pilots taken from the films (outside of the majors ala Luke, Han, etc.) are never actually named in the films themselves, if they're even seen/heard at all (such as Mauler Mithel, Backstabber, Dutch Vander, Garven Dreis, etc.), instead being named in other publications of varying canonicity or by the makers of action figures, etc. I mean yes, there are the "Biggs Darklighters" and "Jek Porkins" who are seen/heard/named in their brief appearances on screen, but its entirely possible that they went with "Blue Ace" etc. because the characters they are based on simply arent named in the film or haven't been named yet in the continuity and the characters really are just referred to as such. Its also entirely possible (in fact entirely likely) that these characters weren't included in the briefs that went out to manufacturers etc. as they are relatively minor characters/elements of the story that they may have overlooked (not everything you see on screen will necessarily be getting a toy).

Leland Chee had started the practice within Lucasfilm of naming all background characters/extras seen on screen, either by tying it into a name/backstory established in a novelization or other non-Canon source or creating a new one when such information did not exist, (it wasn't a top priority and I dont know if that practice continued after the Disney buyout, though I would assume to some extent it did, although a lot of those backstories no longer exist so I would imagine there would be a lot of editing and revisions to be made in that regard) so they will no doubt get a name eventually (if not already).

Nothing to see here.

And the Previews are up

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/9/10/fight-a-bigger-battle/

Some Highlights

-Continuing the trend of having generic Squad aces for both TIE's and X-wings. However, we see nothing of the PS 7 Pilot for the X-wing, so it may still be a named Ace.
-Integrated Astromech is a nice boost for generic R2 and R5 units. Free upgrade, and lets you discard your astromech to discard a damage card you are being dealt. It's a modification, so you have to pass over Autothrusters on a T-70, but it + an R2 unit cost only 25 points. Also looks nice for Biggs.
-New generic Targeting astromech. We don't see what it does, but it seems to key off of taking a certain maneuver type, and allow you to acquire a target lock.
-Only one new tech upgrade- Comms booster. Lets you bank an evade token.
-New EPT, Juke, lets you change opponents evades to eyeballs if you are holding an evade token.
-Red Ace- first time you lose a shield each turn, gain an evade token. No EPT, so cannot take Juke.
-Omega Leader- Target lock someone, they cannot modify any dice when attacking or defending in combat with you.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:
And the Previews are up

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/9/10/fight-a-bigger-battle/

I can't view the link from where I'm at, can you give a synopisis of the link?

Interesting approach they took with the Integrated Astromech - it works on both X-Wing variants, but you would have to sacrifice autothrusters to take it on the t-70. Effectively gives you one more total health.

I wonder what that will mean for cross-compatibility between the TIE Advanced and the TIE Adv. Prototype (especially for the TIE/x1 card?). You could make the argument that Adv.≠Advanced, but that logic isn't going to fly with a lot of people.

Cool Hand seems underwhelming, even for a 1pt card.

Comm Relay is interesting. It's obviously useful for a support TIE/fo such as Epsilon Leader who wants to stay alive and buff his squad. I'll be curious to see what sort of applications it will have with T-70's (who will need to aquire the evade token from another ship or special ability).

Juke is super interesting, and relatively inexpensive. This is going to see use in creative ways.

Fight a Bigger Battle

Build up your Resistance and First Order squadrons with the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack, coming soon to X-Wing™!

The Resistance’s T-70 X-wing and the First Order’s TIE/fo fighter just recently debuted in The Force Awakens™ Core Set, and they’re already flying missions, shooting down enemy fighters, and making their mark on the game. With their new stat lines, tech upgrade slots, and talented aces, these starfighters are rapidly helping to decide the fate of the galaxy, even before The Force Awakens arrives in theaters!

Soon, you’ll be able to add more of these ships to your fleet. We are proud to announce that the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack are being added to the game’s eighth wave of starship expansions!



Like the other expansions in Wave VIII, the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack introduce pre-painted miniature starfighters, faithfully sculpted at the game’s standard 1/270 scale, along with an assortment of new ship cards, upgrade cards, a maneuver dial, and all the tokens you need to fly your ships into battle.

T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack

Resistance pilots commonly find themselves outnumbered by the First Order. Accordingly, they know that in order to win their engagements – even just to survive – they’ll need to push themselves and their ships to the limits.

In addition to one detailed T-70 X-wing miniature, the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack comes with five upgrades and four ship cards, including two unique aces, to help push your Resistance forces to victory.



You’ll find an Astromech droid and an X-wing only modification that play to the X-wing’s strengths, and you’ll find a new elite pilot talent, Cool Hand , to help you emerge unscathed from your moments of weakness.

Most importantly, the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack allows you to field another Resistance X-wing in battle, and that helps you even the odds, especially when that X-wing is flown by a pilot as talented as “Red Ace.”

“Red Ace” possesses an uncanny ability to shrug off incoming fire. The first time he removes a shield token each round, he gains an evade token, making him a hard target for pairs of TIEs to pin down. Combined with the Integrated Astromech modification and the Classic Core Set’s R2-D2 upgrade, “Red Ace” can easily help you turn the tables against the forces of the First Order.



TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack

An extremely nimble starfighter, the First Order’s mass-produced TIE/fo offers a unique blend of durability, maneuverability, and advanced tech that its best pilots quickly learn to use to their advantage in combat.

You’ll find one of these ships available in the TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack as a carefully detailed and pre-painted miniature, along with six ship cards and two upgrades that allow your First Order pilots to employ cunning new tactics in battle.



Two of the expansion’s three unique aces feature the elite pilot talent slot, and that means they can equip the new Juke upgrade. For two squad points, this elite pilot talent enters X-Wing as one of a very limited number of cards that allow the attacker to modify the defender’s dice results.

“When attacking, if you have an evade token, you may change 1 of the defender’s results to a result.”

The drawback, of course, is that you have to hold an unspent evade token, and the rules state that you clear all of your ships’ evade tokens at the end of each round. Here, the TIE/fo fighter’s new tech upgrade, Comm Relay , offers a solution. For three squad points, this upgrade allows you to store a single evade token that you don’t need to remove at the end of the round. Thus, you can perform an evade action in the game’s first round as you close on your opponent’s Resistance forces, and save it to fuel your Juke.

What’s more, if your pilot fires early enough in combat, you can still use that evade token to save his ship from damage after he takes his shot. Accordingly, you’ll find there are few better at juking their opponents than “Omega Leader,” one of the expansion’s three unique aces, whose pilot skill value of eight ensures he almost always fires near the top of combat.

X-Wing Past and Present

With their new starfighters, pilots, and upgrades, the T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack will soon add new intensity to the battles already raging between the forces of the Resistance and the First Order.

As part of X-Wing Wave VIII, they will also expand and intensify all your X-Wing battles, including those fought between the forces of the Rebel Alliance, the Galactic Empire, and the galaxy’s Scum and Villainy.

The Force Awakens Core Set introduces rules for playing with your Resistance and First Order forces alongside the game’s three existing factions, and that means you can look forward to giving Luke Skywalker an Integrated Astromech, flying your swarm of TIE/fo fighters alongside “Howlrunner,” and shutting down focus tokens with Carnor Jax , only to Juke your opponents.

The Star Wars galaxy is a vast and wondrous place, and your X-Wing expansion packs afford you tremendous freedom to explore its space battles, past and present.

Along with all the rest of Wave VIII, T-70 X-wing Expansion Pack and TIE/fo Fighter Expansion Pack are scheduled to arrive at retailers in the fourth quarter of 2015!



Some of the new upgrades and piltos:

 DanielBeaver wrote:

I wonder what that will mean for cross-compatibility between the TIE Advanced and the TIE Adv. Prototype (especially for the TIE/x1 card?). You could make the argument that Adv.≠Advanced, but that logic isn't going to fly with a lot of people.

Here's the thing- new rulebook, it states explicitly that you must contain all of the wording requirement in your ship name to take the title. Lot of people may not like it, but it looks like FFG is being clear about who can take it or not.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 DanielBeaver wrote:

I wonder what that will mean for cross-compatibility between the TIE Advanced and the TIE Adv. Prototype (especially for the TIE/x1 card?). You could make the argument that Adv.≠Advanced, but that logic isn't going to fly with a lot of people.

Here's the thing- new rulebook, it states explicitly that you must contain all of the wording requirement in your ship name to take the title. Lot of people may not like it, but it looks like FFG is being clear about who can take it or not.

I agree. That combined with the precedent in the game (all titles refer to only one individual ship), you can guarantee that the TIE/x1 title will not be legal on the TIE Adv. Prototype and vice versa. People will still argue otherwise (coughManchucough ), but I think the new rulebook makes it clear(er that it already was). Though I don't think it needs to be FAQ'd, I'm sure it will just to shut people up (and seriously, no one arguing that the titles are interchangeable would show up for a tournament with the Inquisitor + TIE/x1 + Advanced Targeting Computer and expect the TO to allow it).

Also, I'm really surprised this is being included in Wave 8 and that it will be out before the end of the year!
"Sorry kids, Santa didn't bring you any presents... Daddy needed to buy X-Wing ships!"

DanielBeaver wrote:
Comm Relay is interesting. It's obviously useful for a support TIE/fo such as Epsilon Leader who wants to stay alive and buff his squad. I'll be curious to see what sort of applications it will have with T-70's (who will need to aquire the evade token from another ship or special ability).

Doesn't look like it'll do much good with most T-70's. Could be useful with Jan Ors' crew card (replace focus tokens at range 1-3 with evades). Use that first turn where you generally aren't shooting to Bank an evade for later. Maybe with Kyle Katarn/Moldy Crow passing out focus tokens. Problem is, this is a lot of points for a once-per-turn thing. Could see running a pair of Red Vets with Juke, although that may be a kinda gimmicky list. Red Ace, with R2-D6 and Juke, could also be a place to use this on a T-70.

DanielBeaver wrote:

Juke is super interesting, and relatively inexpensive. This is going to see use in creative ways.

Like I said above, I see some uses with Comm Relay. Also, it's one I'd like to try on Vader. Once I've target locked someone and focused for the turn, if I don't need to/can't arc dodge, there's not much use for his pilot abilities second action other than to evade (and no point if my opponent doesn't have a shot anyways). Now Evade helps me kill stuff. Since Vader is PS 9, I probably shoot first, hold the evade for Juke, then spend it later when my opponent returns fire.

Wow... a 6-ship wave 8.
That's unprecedented.
Poor astromechs... I see even more of them fried in the future. I 'mean... they seemed to have bullseyes painted on them in the movies and this will only make things worse.

 Anpu-adom wrote:
Wow... a 6-ship wave 8.
That's unprecedented.

I feel a great disturbance in the Force...

 Anpu-adom wrote:

Poor astromechs... I see even more of them fried in the future. I 'mean... they seemed to have bullseyes painted on them in the movies and this will only make things worse.

If it makes you feel better, you can imagine that the Astromechs are busy repairing the ship, and are unavailable for their normal duties.

Poor Rookie's still obsolete.
22pt Rookie + Integrated + R2
vs
24pt Blue T70

Same HP. But the T70 has most of the advantage of R2 (more greens), and a boost and T-Rolls...

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 DanielBeaver wrote:

I wonder what that will mean for cross-compatibility between the TIE Advanced and the TIE Adv. Prototype (especially for the TIE/x1 card?). You could make the argument that Adv.≠Advanced, but that logic isn't going to fly with a lot of people.

Here's the thing- new rulebook, it states explicitly that you must contain all of the wording requirement in your ship name to take the title. Lot of people may not like it, but it looks like FFG is being clear about who can take it or not.

How does that explain Integrated Astromech then? By that logic, it will only work with the old X-Wing, yet its being released with the new T-70 X-Wing, but says "X-Wing Only". Does the T-70 count as containing all the wording requirements in the ship name because its a T-70 X-Wing and the TIE Adv. Prototype doesnt because its a TIE Adv. and not TIE Advanced?

chaos0xomega wrote:

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 DanielBeaver wrote:

I wonder what that will mean for cross-compatibility between the TIE Advanced and the TIE Adv. Prototype (especially for the TIE/x1 card?). You could make the argument that Adv.≠Advanced, but that logic isn't going to fly with a lot of people.

Here's the thing- new rulebook, it states explicitly that you must contain all of the wording requirement in your ship name to take the title. Lot of people may not like it, but it looks like FFG is being clear about who can take it or not.

How does that explain Integrated Astromech then? By that logic, it will only work with the old X-Wing, yet its being released with the new T-70 X-Wing, but says "X-Wing Only". Does the T-70 count as containing all the wording requirements in the ship name because its a T-70 X-Wing and the TIE Adv. Prototype doesnt because its a TIE Adv. and not TIE Advanced?

It works just fine. Since the upgrade card says "x-wing only", both the original AND the T-70 contain the necessary "x-wing" in the their titles. The T-70 has everything needed to use the upgrade card; the extra word count is inconsequential in this case. The inquisitor's Tie says "Tie Adv." not "Tie Advanced" and therefore doesn't get acces to that upgrade.

 warboss wrote:
The inquisitor's Tie says "Tie Adv." not "Tie Advanced" and therefore doesn't get acces to that upgrade.

I agree with this, but how would you respond to:

"Of course they work together, TIE Adv. is an abbreviation for TIE Advanced, because they didn't have enough room on the card to print the whole thing."

I can't think of a response to that doesn't make me sound like a pedantic rules-lawyering TFG.

 DanielBeaver wrote:

 warboss wrote:
The inquisitor's Tie says "Tie Adv." not "Tie Advanced" and therefore doesn't get acces to that upgrade.

I agree with this, but how would you respond to:

"Of course they work together, TIE Adv. is an abbreviation for TIE Advanced, because they didn't have enough room on the card to print the whole thing."

I can't think of a response to that doesn't make me sound like a pedantic rules-lawyering TFG.

So, wait. What has been the consensus on this matter?

I could easily see it going both ways. It is technically an early version of the TIE Advanced, so why can't it take the upgrades? Then again, there are slight wording conflicts.

Ugh, I dunno. Advanced Targeting Computer would be dumb on the Inquisitor, though.

Adv. =/= Advanced in the absence of an FAQ ruling. Simple rulesets like xwing need to be pedantic in order to maintain that simplicity. Ffg could easily have chosen to decrease the font and/or make a two line name for the ship but chose not to. More importantly, there is this upgrade that comes with the Adv.

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/v1



Adv. Proto titles included with the ship itself specifically do NOT cross over to the Tie Advanced. They could have fit Tie advanced in there but chose not to to instead write Tie Adv. Prototype. We have not one but two examples from both sides of the equation that fit perfectly within the rules and do not cross over. Two out of two make a pattern. Adv. =/= Advanced.

 warboss wrote:
Adv. =/= Advanced in the absence of an FAQ ruling. Simple rulesets like xwing need to be pedantic in order to maintain that simplicity. Ffg could easily have chosen to decrease the font and/or make a two line name for the ship but chose not to. More importantly, there is this upgrade that comes with the Adv.

http://xwing-miniatures.wikia.com/wiki/TIE/v1



Adv. Proto titles included with the ship itself specifically do NOT cross over to the Tie Advanced. They could have fit Tie advanced in there but chose not to to instead write Tie Adv. Prototype. We have not one but two examples from both sides of the equation that fit perfectly within the rules and do not cross over. Two out of two make a pattern. Adv. =/= Advanced.

Fair enough. Either way makes sense, and guess this does simplify things. It also makes it so that the original Tie Advanced isn't completely obsolete.

Thanks. Note that the above isn't a commentary about the power level of allowing it but rather just whether or not it is allowed by the rules. I find the standard tie advanced to be quite lackluster except for vader. I don't know what the Adv Proto dial looks like but the idea of a shielded tie with boost standard interests me especially in light of the new xwing variant.

I'm kinda bummed out there's no x-wing fix in the T-70 blister. Yes the astromech buff is usable by the T-65, but it's also still usable by the strictly better T-70. I guess we'll have to wait for another $100 rebel large ship to include an x-wing repaint and the fix. Glad I don't play in tournaments.

Henshini wrote:
I'm kinda bummed out there's no x-wing fix in the T-70 blister. Yes the astromech buff is usable by the T-65, but it's also still usable by the strictly better T-70. I guess we'll have to wait for another $100 rebel large ship to include an x-wing repaint and the fix. Glad I don't play in tournaments.

3 weeks ago I won a Tournament running Wedge, Luke, and Corran Horn. X-wings are still viable, and cheaper. I actually kind of prefer them. The Title is essentially a free "I'm about to die, let me not die right now" card, which isn't bad at all, considering the whole "free" aspect.

Or a $30 Rebel Aces set that comes with a T-65 fix. Problem is, there is no way to provide an "X-Wing Only" upgrade that wont also apply to the T-70.

Sure there is: X-Wing only: "Your shield value becomes three and the ship's action bar gains the boost action." I mean sure, you could use it on a T-70, but why?

Henshini wrote:
Sure there is: X-Wing only: "Your shield value becomes three and the ship's action bar gains the boost action." I mean sure, you could use it on a T-70, but why?

But then that comes down to "Why not use the T-70 anyway?". Considering that modification wouldn't be free, so you might as well just take the T-70.