Normally with our Rogue Squadron articles we develop a squadron for you and provide you with some information on best to fly that squadron. Today though we’re going to look all the recent news coming out from Fantasy Flight Games about X-wing.
FAQ and Tournament Rules Update
First came an update to the FAQ and Tournament rules. Only three big changes here. First, tournaments have been set at 75min. Previously, Tournament Organizers (TO)’s had flexibility here all the way down to 60min. The difference between a 60min and a 75min game is huge. Lots of lists just can’t be killed in 60min but can’t win a 75min game. A few friends went to a Regionals game that was set to 70min and would have won if there had been 1-2 more rounds of play.
The other major rule change is that you can no longer Boost or Barrel Roll off the board. Previously, if you attempted to Boost or Barrel roll and ended up off the board, it counted as fleeing and the ship was destroyed. This rule was particularly harsh as in all other cases, attempting a Boost or Barrel Roll into another ship or onto an obstacle meant you just couldn’t do it. It really is no fun to accidentally go off the edge of the board. Particularly when you are trying to reposition so that you don’t maneuver off the board on your next turn. So this is a very welcome change.
The final rule change of note is the addition of “Limited” to the Tactician crew card. Not many ships can even take two crew and it was not a very widely used tactic, but throwing double stress on anyone you shoot at range 2 could be very ugly. With the addition of the YV-666 coming and it’s 180 firing arc and ability to take three crew, it would have been ugly. Fortunately, you are now limited to one Tactician per ship so no worries about that.
GenCon News
The real big news for the game came out of GenCon. FFG’s In-Flight report revealed the next wave in X-wing Ship. And boy is amazing. First, a primer. Just last week I decided to go ahead and give Star Wars Rebels a try. Then, Friday morning while out, I saw a small $5 toy of Ghost and got it for my son. Later that day, FFG announces Wave VIII which is largely about Star Wars Rebels. There are four (five) new ships coming with this wave.
For the Rebels is the iconic Ghost a VCX-100 complete with the entire crew from the Rebels show. This ship looks to be a monster. It’s huge first of all. Bigger than any other Large ship. And it’s stats are quite impressive. Four attack, ability to equip a turret, torpedoes and a special rear arc. On top of all of that, it comes with the Phantom shuttle and mechanics for attaching and deploying it during the game. It’s unclear how expensive this will make the final ship but it looks pretty beefy.
The Imperials get a special TIE Advanced protoype as flown by the Inquistor. Stat wise it’s very similar to a TIE Advanced but comes with a Boost action along with it’s Barrel Roll. And a new missile which allows you to essentially trade your attack for giving all of your allies a target lock. When facing a big target, like Ghost or the Millenium Falcon, a bomber swarm is going to become very dangerous.
The scum gain two more iconic bounty hunters. Zuckuss in the Mist Hunter and Dengar in the Punishing One. The aesthetics of these ships is left to your personal tastes but does definitely fit the scum feel. What’s really interesting about these ships is the addition of an illicit cloaking device and the first non-symmetrical maneuver dial. I’m really interested in seeing how that plays out.
But guess what, FFG wasn’t done yet. In addition to Wave VIII the next Epic level ship was also revealed. Another ship featured heavily in Rebels we are getting the Gozanti Cruiser. Filling the same role in the game as the Rebels transport, this ship looks to be largely a support roll. But with a twist. The Rebel transport carries no guns but makes up for it with abilities that can really buff your ships or mess up your opponent. The Gozanti also looks to have no primary attack but does appear to have the ability to equip secondary guns. And it also comes with two TIE fighters and the ability to carry four of them in battle. Literally, carry the models attached to the ship. That sounds friggin’ cool.
Force Awakens…
Not revealed at GenCon was any X-wing products coming that are related to Episode VII. But they did reveal that Disney is holding announcements on all EpVII merchandise until September 4th. They also announced that all products they have coming have already been manufactured and will be released on that day. That is unprecedented for FFG. The typical release schedule is
- Announcement
- Scheduled release 4-6 months later
- Actual release 8-12 months later
To get some products announced and released at the same time will be pretty cool. While it has not been confirmed or denied that there will be any X-wing products coming some folks on Reddit have pointed out that there is a gap in the model numbers between the Gozanti and the Wave VIII ships. Three gaps to be precise, SWX36, 37 and 38. While not conclusive evidence, as there have been gaps in these numbers before, but it is enough evidence to be cautiously optimistic.
Personally, my monies are on a new Core Set/Aces pack which includes new model X-wing and TIE fighters along with pilots from Episode VII. Plus maybe a new model ship that has not been seen in any trailers yet. FFG has stated a plan to fix the X-wing and Wave VII or VIII includes nothing that does that. We’ll find out Sept 4th…
Wayne Basta
Latest posts by Wayne Basta (see all)
- X-Wing Tier List – Rebels - May 10, 2023
