Rogue Review- Skystrike Academy

Welcome to Rogue Squadron, pilot! In this series, we will be looking at the ships you can fly in Fantasy Flight Games X-Wing miniatures game. We’ll take a look at a chassis and what makes it unique along with some upgrades and squadron combos. Strap in and get ready to fly.

Lock S-Foils in Attack Position

The Rebels got their day in the sun and now it’s time for the Imperials to gun you down. Skystrike Academy expansion box brings in a plethora of new TIE Interceptor pilots and some very controversial new TIE Defender pilots. Already having an overabundance of Interceptors, and Defenders honestly, I was initially hesitant to pick this one up. But the new epic cards and the new pilots brought me around to it. This pack fixes some of the most glaring errors from 1.0 with Interceptors with improved Lt. Lorrir and a rebranded Fel’s Wrath.

Besides the new pilots, the pack also adds new configurations for the two ships that toys with their chassis abilities. Unfortunately, both ships come with very good chassis abilities and aren’t in need of a “fix.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the two configurations work as alternative play styles for the ships, as they are both interesting. The fact that the configurations have a point cost is what does them in. Paying more points, per ship since they are standardized, to lose a good ability and replace it with another that’s not significantly better hurts.

The new Imperial talent, Disciplined, shines compared to the Rebel one (Hopeful). This is primarily because it allows ships to take a Lock, which is an action many Imperial ships lack. The Rebels get to Focus, which they all probably already did on their turn. This works well in combination with other Imperial abilities, Sloane for example, that are powered by ships dying.

The TIE Defender also gets its own unique talent in Interloper Turn. This is an odd one, because Defenders generally don’t want to go speed 1-2. All those maneuvers linked to the Talent are red (unless you’re using the Elite configuration). And then a tractor token reduces their defense, which is never fun. BUT, that doesn’t mean you should just dismiss the talent. If you have the Elite configuration, you can use this for a free straight boost or barrel roll, then maneuver, and then still have an action to take a Lock so you can fire twice. This allows Defenders to put themselves in positions facing rocks, or Huge ships, in one turn and then get out of them with the pre-maneuver barrel roll.

There are also two Wing formations included in the pack for epic play. Skystrike Class allows damage to be shared among five different ships, instead of the usual two, but limits your ability to barrel roll/boost. Shadow Wing allows your wingsmates to more easily break formation using barrel rolls or boosts. These are not as thematic or unique as Phoenix Squadron command formation but they do add a little variety to wings in your epic games.

Red Five Standing By

Skystrike comes out of the box with eight unique pilots across two ships. How do these pilots compare?

Darth Vader (I6)- TIE Defender- You cannot spend Force except while attacking. While you perform an attack, you may spend 1 Force to change 1 blank result to a Hit result.
1. This is the pilot that got all the attention from this pack. Darth Vader in the amazing TIE Defender. And then priced at 115 pts to discourage you from flying him.
2. He’s quite good, even for those points. You have the Full Throttle ability to help him defend and then with his new ability supercharging his offense he’s going to do some damage.
3. Hate all the time on this Vader. He has four shields which become Force recharge.
Ciena Ree (I6)- TIE Interceptor– After you perform an attack, if the defender was destroyed, gain 1 stress token. After a friendly ship at range 0-3 is destroyed, remove 1 stress token.
1. Imperials now have three I6 pilots. Yay.
2. Her ability is a mixed bag though. It’s primarily a negative. Killing ships is your primary goal so that she suffers when she succeeds feels bad. This is especially bad with the Interceptor chassis ability encouraging her to already be stressed. Double stress is super bad.
3. At I6 she at least has the lowest odds of killing something since she will shoot first.
Vult Skerris (I5)- TIE Interceptor and TIE Defender- Action: Gain 1 strain token to recover 1 Charge. Before you engage, you may spend 1 Charge to perform an action.
1. Skerris has the same ability in both of the new ships.
2. In the Interceptor, it works better since after he takes the new action before he engages he can then use Autothrusters to boost or barrel roll too. This allows him to double reposition with perfect knowledge. Though, at I5, he doesn’t need that against most opponents.
3. Don’t discount it for the Defender though, as with Full Throttle he can have an Evade for defense to use until it’s his turn to activate.
Gideon Hask (I4)- TIE Interceptor-While you perform an attack against a damaged defender, roll 1 additional attack die.
1. This is the same ability as on the TIE Fighter and it’s even more powerful because he can get attacks up to five dice.
2. Targeting computer is a worthy upgrade on him. Hate to roll blanks when you get that five die attack.
3. Pairs nicely with Ciena. She just wants to damage targets, shoots first, and Gideon is good at finishing them off.
Commandant Goran (I4)- TIE Interceptor- After a friendly ship at range 0-3 with a lower initiative than yours partially executes a maneuver, it may perform a red Focus action.
1. He works as an escort for regular old TIE Swarm. Send them in formation, unworried about bumping or blocking and they still get an action.
2. His range is excellent so doesn’t have to even stay nearby to help.
3. While his ability works at range 0, it does nothing for himself as he is not a lower initiative than himself. But it does mean TIE’s that bump into him still get to focus. He’s incredibly forgiving. Which is weird for an Imperial.
Captain Dobbs (I3)- TIE Defender- While another friendly ship at range 0-1 defends, before the Neutralize Results step, if you are in the attack arc and are not ionized, you may gain 1 ion token to cancel 1 Hit result.
1. This is an odd one. An Imperial who tries to protect other Imperial ships. Who does that?
2. There are a lot of conditions to his ability. Limited range, in the attack arc and not ioned. That generally means he can only use his ability once a round, unless you find a way to pass that ion token.
3. It specifies “another” friendly ship so he can’t take an ion to reduce the damage to himself.
4. The ion effect is quite nasty, especially for a Defender. No Full Throttle next round. No taking the Lock action to use a double attack in the Elite configuration. Though, they can’t natively go speed one straight so this can be handy when you want to do that.
Lieutenant Lorrir (I3)- TIE Interceptor- While you barrel roll, you must use the bank template instead of the straight template.
1. This is what Lorrir should have been able to do in 1.0. That stress he gave himself was killer.
2. Does he have a place at I3? Banked barrel rolls are very nice, as StarVipers have shown. I3 is high enough to beat most generics, but he is also six more points than Saber’s, which are I4.
Nash Windrider (I2)- TIE Interceptor- During the Engagement Phase, after a friendly small ship at range 0-3 is destroyed, if that ship has not engaged this phase, you may spend 1 Charge. If you do, that ship engages at the current initiative.
1. Fel’s Wrath with a new coat of paint and a new name.
2. This ability is quite useful. Throw him in a swarm and he’ll keep them alive to shoot.
3. Unlike Goran, his ability can be used on himself.

All Wings Report In

Do you need to buy more than one Skystrike Academy? Probably not. If you really like the new paint-jobs, sure. Unlike the Rebels, whose cheap A-wings can use more of their upgrades than were included in Phoenix Cell, the Imperial ships are more expensive. In standard games, you can’t fit more than two TIE Defenders so you’ll never need more than the two Elite titles. You could fly up to six Alpha Squadron pilots with Sensitive Controls, so you would need two more if you’re flying a premier tournament that will require every ship to have a copy of a Standardized card. But beyond these fringe cases, you’re good with one box.

Skystrike Academy (Extended)

Commandant Goran (TIE Interceptor)
- Ruthless
Nash Windrider (TIE Interceptor)
Wampa (TIE Fighter)
4x Academy Pilot (TIE Fighter)

This list is a swarm variation. You have five TIE Fighters who, thanks to Goran, can freely fly in formation and ram into targets and still get a focus (in exchange for a stress). They are your cannon fodder to overwhelm with numbers. Goran is flanking at I4, free to stay a fair distance away and do Interceptor things while still giving them use of his ability. Nash is also doing Interceptor things, though less well at I2. He’s your insurance. The first ship to die will get to shoot regardless of initiative. Wampa serves as an ace in the hole. Does your opponent shoot him first, to take away his bonus die, or try and go for Goran or Nash to remove their ability early?

Go Ahead and Kill Me (Hyperspace)

Major Vermeil (TIE Reaper)
- Ruthless
- Admiral Sloane
Ciena Ree (TIE Interceptor)
- Ruthless
4x Academy Pilot (TIE Fighter)

Another TIE swarm variant. This one aims for the TIE’s to die, allowing Ciena to clear stress, giving the enemy stress, and giving the rest of the squadron rerolls against the attacking ship. Vermeil will be their primary target but that’s okay. He’s got the most health and then your enemy has an untouched TIE swarm and an I6 to deal with.

1,2,3,4,5 (Extended)

- Vult Skerris (TIE Interceptor)
- Turr Phennir (TIE Interceptor)
- Lieutenant Lorrir (TIE Interceptor)
- Nash Windrider (TIE Interceptor)
- Alpha Squadron Pilot (TIE Interceptor)

This list takes a look at the convention of trying to match initiatives and says “nah.” You get five Interceptors all with different initiatives. They roll in at a perfect 200 points too. Vult, Turr, Lorrir all get some funky way of maneuvering that will keep your opponent on their toes for anticipating maneuvers. Nash helps ensure everyone gets a final attack before dying. And the Alpha makes a great blocker.

Six Six Sith (Extended)

Darth Vader (TIE Advanced)
- Hate
- Afterburners
Soontir Fel (TIE Interceptor)
- Shield Upgrade
- Targeting Computer
Ciena Ree (TIE Interceptor)
- Shield Upgrade
- Targeting Computer

The Imperials also now have three I6’s that can all fly together. Ciena doesn’t particularly shine here but she’s still an I6. Paired with two others, she can be sure to shoot when she’s unlikely to get the killing shot, saving that for Soontir or Vader.

Aside from Vader and Afterburners, most of the other upgrades are just ideas to fill the available 32 points. Crackshot is always worth considering on Soontir. Targeting Computer is nice to give the Interceptors the ability to Lock when they have gotten out of all arcs. Outmaneuver is another option as I6’s can trigger that more often. But ensuring a bid is also worth considering. Nothing sucks more than bringing all I6 and having to move first.

Saber Squadron (Extended)

Turr Phennir (TIE Interceptor)
- Disciplined
- Sensitive Controls
4x Saber Squadron (TIE Interceptor)
- Disciplined
- Sensitive Controls

Sensitive Controls works best on lower initiative pilots, but it can be used anywhere. Particularly in combination with Discipline. Normally, this would be a useless upgrade on Interceptors, as they are likely to be stressed during the engagement phase thanks to Autothrusters. But with Sensitive Controls, they can system phase move, clear stress with their maneuver, take a standard action. Then if anyone dies, the rest get to take a Lock, or barrel roll if it helps. They normally can’t Lock so this ups their threat. Turr also doesn’t particularly want to be stressed when he engages, as it prevents him from using his ability.

TIE Defender Elite (Extended)

Colonel Vessery (TIE Defender)
- TIE Defender Elite
- Interloper Turn
- Ion Cannon
- Proton Rocket
- Advanced Sensors
Countess Ryad (TIE Defender)
- TIE Defender Elite
- Interloper Turn
- Ion Cannon
- Proton Rocket
- Fire-Control System

There are better two Defender lists. But this one is intended to showcase the new Defender upgrades. Ironically, the new Defender pilots aren’t the best choices for the Elite upgrade, so we fall back on two of the original pilots. Vessery is good at getting Locks and using them so he doesn’t need FCS. Without Full Throttle, he also doesn’t feel bad taking Advanced Sensors. With Interloper they have some maneuver options to avoid running into asteroids. The Elite title allows them to shoot like four ships, which is important since they are priced like that.

Vader Hater (Extended)

Darth Vader (TIE Defender)
- Hate
Soontir Fel (TIE Interceptor)
- Crackshot
- Targeting Computer
Academy Pilot (TIE Fighter)

Darth Vader is crazy expensive in a TIE Defender. But you can still afford Soontir Fel and he’s always good. There’s enough points for a TIE Fighter for some blocking. You’ve got two elites, one of which can die from one good shot, so there’s a lot of risk. But hey, Darth Vader. In a TIE Defender. That will keep everyone distracted and Soontir can win for you.