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https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/9/6/the-garbage-will-do/

On mobile (as I usually am) so perhaps some kind desktop poster will import the pics.

Han seems like fun!

EDIT: Now on laptop, the two new images missed below..

 Da Kommizzar wrote:

Spoiler:

Can you add Finn and Rey's crew cards in your post as well?

Looks like a very fun set.

Rey [Pilot]: Probably the fourth-best YT-1300 pilot. While not bad, I do not see her being used competitively, because her ability is rather overshadowed by Han1's re-roll everything ability. She is also not as tanky as Chewbacca1, or as shenanigany as Han2,

Chewbacca2: The revenge shot looks cool, but I'm not sure how useful it will be. At Chewbaccas cost, it won't trigger more than 2-4 times per game. It is good that you can potentially shoot before someone has activated (via proximity mine or obstacle shenanigans), but that really just ensures that anyone with aces worried about that kind of thing will focus down Chewie first.

Han2: The real winner here. Simply including Han2 in your list forces your opponent to spread out during deployment, to avoid being flanked at PS9. This opens up a lot of divide and conquer strategies.

Rey[Crew]: Basically a discount Moldy Crow (Moldy Crew?). Being able to store unused focus is nice. I suspect that this is the main way that Rey will turn up for a game. Question is, will she be able to rise above very other 2-point "Do something different with your tokens" upgrade?

Finn: Holy point cost, Batman! Still, adding another dice to modify against anything you are jousting with is a good ability. Lone Wolf seems an obvious Combo with him, perhaps on outflanking Han?

Burnout SLAM: Another great Illicit upgrade. Best viewed as inertial dampeners, except "Move you very fast" instead of "Stop you moving". The YV-666 will love this.

Chewbacca2 seems like an interesting choice in Epic play. In 100pt dogfights, I can't imagine that he is cost effective compared to standard Chewie (four bonus shots at most).

I can't help but feel that Han2 is a bit broken...

 captain bloody fists wrote:
I can't help but feel that Han2 is a bit broken...

I don't think so. Consider that you are likely to be isolated, and you run the risk of being isolated and destroyed. He also loses a bit if someone sets up after him- now they are going to get a range 1 shot from the get go.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 captain bloody fists wrote:
I can't help but feel that Han2 is a bit broken...

I don't think so. Consider that you are likely to be isolated, and you run the risk of being isolated and destroyed. He also loses a bit if someone sets up after him- now they are going to get a range 1 shot from the get go.

Mmm true. i suppose it is a bit of a double edged sword when i think about it. sure he can get in range quicker by position from the get go but so do i.

anyway no matter, my tractors beams shall still reduce him to a debris field...

I like the burnout SLAM on a Shadowcaster.
Put in some games this weekend with Asajj (thanks, GENCON!), and that ship is FAST. And it's awesome.
Being able to get the hell out of dodge if necessary could be very useful.

First impressions:

Rey (pilot): good, especially now that we've seen the obvious synergy with Finn. If the interaction between the new title and Kanan (crew) actually works, effectively giving you a white s-loop, the in-arc restriction might not be so bad? The main thing I'd be concerned about is that you give up best your arc dodging ability in exchange for those re-rolls. So that's a ton of points spent on a ship that has to joust to win, and you don't really have enough points left over to take a tough regen ace for the long game. But still, double re-rolls and extra Finn dice give you some really good math.

Chewbacca: very thematic, but bad. I'm not even convinced he's better than the old version. To get any use out of his pilot ability you pretty much have to fly him with a mini-swarm of z-95s, it's garbage in every other list. And you're only getting that benefit when stuff is dying, so if you're flying the best possible game you're shutting off your own ship's pilot ability. If your opponent kills Chewbacca first you get nothing and most lists should have no problem mopping up the z-95s. That seems like a high price to pay for a couple of unmodified 3-dice attacks, especially when compared with the very powerful ability "your 8-hull ship that is normally crippled by crits is immune to them" old-Chewbacca has if you're willing to settle for PS 5. And forget about the stupid "kill your own ship in activation to shoot at Soontir Fel" gimmick. Garbage like that is how you lose games.

New-Han: been thinking about this for the past couple months and I think he's arguably better than Rey. You don't have the math advantage of Rey or old-Han, but you do have the ability to win "turn zero" by presenting your opponent with deployment threats that no other ship can make. Countering a split deployment is hard sometimes, how do you counter it when the split can be anywhere across the whole table instead of just left and right corners of the deployment zone? And of course if your opponent counters the potential threat you just deploy "normally" at PS 9 and still have a conventional PS 9 pancake. IMO the ability to completely screw with your opponent's deployment strategy and open the game with a favorable engagement has the potential to be worth significantly more than a re-roll or two.

Also, one rather amusing fact is that if you deploy exactly range-3 away from Soontir Fel or a similar ace and do a k-turn you can drop a conner net (using Chopper to take an action while stressed) on Fel before he moves, do a second damage with Sabine, and no matter what maneuver is on Fel's dial he will land within range 1 of Han for feedback array to kill him. Expensive? Yes. Hilarious when you delete an ace on turn 1 without even rolling dice? Hell yes.

Finn: and here we see where the rumors of "so powerful some of the playtesters were wondering if it's even worth it to keep playing" were coming from. Maybe Finn used to be cheaper to get that kind of reaction, but as-is he's really powerful on the right ship. If you have a re-roll (or similar way to make use of the extra die) you're effectively getting +1 agility and +1 attack. The only real drawback here is that very few ships have the ability to modify that blank result into something useful on defense, and Finn is probably not worth it for just the offensive buff when compared to other offensive buffs. You're pretty much limited to Rey, and maybe a ship with lone wolf. But on Rey? Don't even pretend that Finn is optional, Rey just costs 50 points before upgrades.

Rey (crew): not bad, but not amazing. It's a weaker version of the Moldy Crow title, but one that doesn't commit you to a HWK. Most of the time she's effectively 2 points for "at the beginning of combat you may assign yourself a focus token and then discard this card", but if you manage to bank 2-3 focus tokens before the first turn of shooting you're getting a pretty spectacular deal. The biggest problem is that right now the metagame is full of stuff that can be in shooting range on the second turn, usually limiting Rey to being a one-shot effect that doesn't seem all that appealing compared to other crew options.

Burnout SLAM: we knew what it was based on the visible text, so this just confirms the point cost. And I'm still not impressed. SLAM is great on the k-wing because you have advanced SLAM and mines to make up for the fact that you can't shoot when you SLAM, on most other ships you can SLAM into a great position but you can't do anything once you're there. And if you want to look at it as a "get out of jail free" card as the article suggests there's a very significant problem: it does nothing for you if you get blocked, which is the situation where you need it most! I guess there are reasons to use it, but it costs a single point for a good reason.

The 'turn 1 conner-net' is a nice thought - especially since you'll need sabine to do it, which means an extra-nasty kaboom, followed by a range 1 shot on a tokenless target. I've seen it done with a Ghost, but this requires a lot less shenanigans.

I was talking to someone last night and they seemed unimpressed with the new Han. Personally, I'm with you on this one - it strikes me that you'll have to think carefully how to use it - because it's an easy way to get a 50-60 point ship isolated and killed - but if done right it can really kick someone in the nards before the fight starts. He is especially good at hunting down and killing ships that normally try to stay out of the fight; being able to outflank a squad and take out Palpatine or Manaroo quickly could make a big difference.

I'd be tempted to try and load him out for short-term advantage; you're going to be in the thick of it quickly, after all. Might be the first time in a while I'd remember and seriously wonder about the Falcon's missile slot, for example - a cluster missile is very good at knocking holes in a not-very-agile target, especially if backed up with Predator (and theoretically Glitterstim if you're prepared to give up engine upgrade).

Burnout SLAM.....agreed, engine upgrade is probably better....but I guess that's why it's 1 point.

My main thought for Burnout SLAM is actually for Aggressors. You cannot SLAM as a free action, but as I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong!) nothing stops you (if you have Boost already) from using your action to SLAM, then using Push The Limit to Boost (plus evade, if you have the appropriate IG-88). That covers one hell of a lot of ground - enough to potentially cross 2/3 of the board, and not necessarily in a straight line, or allows you to come about in a ludicrously tight 225' turn.

Plus, being limited to a 'normal' arc, the Aggressor is used to having to give up shooting for a turn for superior position (compared to a primary turret), and it has a one-use Bomb slot which allows it to do something aggressive on the turn it uses burnout (if using burnout/boost, thermal detonators or ion bombs strike me as best - if you're trying to outmanoeuvre someone, you might as well mess with their manoeuvres into the bargain!)

Rey & Finn is definitely a nasty combination. Yes, it forces you to joust, but a ship with essentially a 4-dice attack with a target lock, and agility 2 with (very rare!) defensive rerolls is going to be something most people should be pretty hesitant to joust with.

Given my love of splody bombs I think new Han will be fun with Sabby on board

Oh shoot, I thought that we'd already seen the crew cards. Woopsiedaisies. If anything, I just think these cards are cool. I am pretty intimidated by Han though, that sounds scary.

I will say that I'm am once again impressed with the designer's ability to translate on-screen action from characters to this game.

Rey, Chewie, and Han's pilot abilities all directly reflect what they do in The Force Awakens.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:
I will say that I'm am once again impressed with the designer's ability to translate on-screen action from characters to this game.

Rey, Chewie, and Han's pilot abilities all directly reflect what they do in The Force Awakens.

And implmented well. Han's ability explores new design space whilst making Rey's arc matter more is always welcome. Chewbacca is thematic but I can't see that it'll be a viable ability to build a squad around. Regardless, I'm also impressed - thos looks like an excellent expansion.

I'd rather have those avenues explored than what I foresee to be an unnecessary complication, the condition cards.

the condition cards just solidify what already exists in cards like Agent Kallus. The chief difference being that condition can switch targets, and the cost is higher accordingly.

Also, we can't forget to include Finn in the "FFG nailed the characters" thing; he's a stormtrooper, they miss!*





* joke shamelessly stolen from FFG's forums

I've never liked the idea that they missed all the time. i prefer the theory that Tarkin told the stormtroopers to miss on purpose for them to escape the Deathstar and reveal the rebel base.

 captain bloody fists wrote:
I've never liked the idea that they missed all the time. i prefer the theory that Tarkin told the stormtroopers to miss on purpose for them to escape the Deathstar and reveal the rebel base.

And they were just distracted by the cuteness of the Ewoks.

 Crazy_Carnifex wrote:

 captain bloody fists wrote:
I've never liked the idea that they missed all the time. i prefer the theory that Tarkin told the stormtroopers to miss on purpose for them to escape the Deathstar and reveal the rebel base.

And they were just distracted by the cuteness of the Ewoks.

no... sheer number of ewoks (which have nearly a natural camouflage) and being it being a surprise ambush.

Isn't the Stormtrooper's legendary inability to hit anything smaller than a Sandcrawler partly down to the Rifle, it was either some Video game or RPG where one complains they have been given cheap knock-offs of a better gun due to political hi-jinx

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Isn't the Stormtrooper's legendary inability to hit anything smaller than a Sandcrawler partly down to the Rifle, it was either some Video game or RPG where one complains they have been given cheap knock-offs of a better gun due to political hi-jinx

I'd heard it was explained by Mark Hammil's improvised line "I can't see a thing in this." When he put the helmet on. Although looking at Imperial Assault the guns have rifle barrels and pistol grips with no stock which makes real world firearms a pain to aim acurately.

 ChaoticMind wrote:

 Turnip Jedi wrote:
Isn't the Stormtrooper's legendary inability to hit anything smaller than a Sandcrawler partly down to the Rifle, it was either some Video game or RPG where one complains they have been given cheap knock-offs of a better gun due to political hi-jinx

I'd heard it was explained by Mark Hammil's improvised line "I can't see a thing in this." When he put the helmet on. Although looking at Imperial Assault the guns have rifle barrels and pistol grips with no stock which makes real world firearms a pain to aim acurately.

The Stormtroopers in IA can be depressingly good shots, even the lowest ones can be, like TIE's, fairly deadly in a swarm

The Edge Of The Empire RPG has much the same situation; stormtroopers are a lot less incompetent than you'd like them to be....

Keep in mind the posting of the Stormtroopers in A New Hope. The Death Star was regarded as completely invincible, and no one had ever expected it to have intruders. It's a good bet the Empire didn't put their best in a huge, impenetrable space station garrison that was also a secret weapon.

The movie has several instances of neglectful, incompetent troops and officers. It goes way beyond their marksmanship.

 Gitzbitah wrote:
Keep in mind the posting of the Stormtroopers in A New Hope. The Death Star was regarded as completely invincible, and no one had ever expected it to have intruders. It's a good bet the Empire didn't put their best in a huge, impenetrable space station garrison that was also a secret weapon.

The movie has several instances of neglectful, incompetent troops and officers. It goes way beyond their marksmanship.

Waow there boy, calm down with your logic and reasoned analysis.