First Impressions: X-wing 2.5 Update Part 1: Scenarios, Rules, Bans, and Rebels.

"Republic took some hits, but fear not, because in exchange AMG gave them... Cheaper Oddball?!"

Scenario Changes:

Assault at the Satellite Array:

• Scoring begins in the second round. - I'm ok with this change. It gives squads a turn to get into position, while still keeping the game moving forward. This change might give aces a boost, as they now have an extra move to set up a flank.

Chance Engagement:

• Scoring begins in the second round.
• You get 1 VP a turn if you have at least 1 ship at range 0-2 of the central objective. You get an extra 1 VP if your opponent also does not have at least 1 ship at range 0-2 of the central objective. - I like it. In my experience this mission goes to time a lot, so this just works to keep the game moving forward. Realistically you're now scoring to ~15 points to win, with the rest of your VPs coming from this.

Salvage Mission:

• Scoring begins in the second round, and you can only pick up boxes after the first turn. - This sorta changes where you want to place the boxes, as you can't just grab them first turn and take them with you. They need to be on the way to the engagement, so you can grab them turn 2.
• While you hold a box, you can execute advanced manoeuvres. - Sure sounds fine.
• While you hold a box, you can't perform barrel roll actions, boost actions, cloak actions, SLAM actions, or have a cloak token. - I'm fine with this. No more being able to grab a box and just run away all game. Note: Their are still a few ways you can reposition with a box, as it specifies actions (Eg: Young Anakin's "spin", Striker/Reaper's errata'd ailerons, and tractor moves on that Separatist needle ship). 

Scramble the Transmissions:

• Scoring begins in the second round, and you can only tag satellites after the first turn.
• There are now only 3 satellites. - I feel like this change would have made more sense in Assault at the Satellite Array. Scrabble was always the mission that could snowball the fastest. If you had a ship advantage, you could cap a bunch of objectives, and then deny your opponent the chance to flip them back by blocking, killing, and/or controlling their ships. This would then snowball you into a pretty quick win. That could be frustrating, but isn't the point of these scenarios to have them favour different kinds of squads? This just seemed like the one that encouraged numbers.
• There's no more failures, when tagging the satellites. - I actually liked this not being a sure thing, but I understand why they changed this. Ideally they'd have this mechanic designed to occasionally throw a spanner in the works, without having the potential for you to fail 2-3 of these in a row. Removing the chance to fail was the easiest solution I suppose.

"AMG is altering the rules..."

General Rules Changes:

• You can't use force to mod Range 0 attacks. - Love it. GTFO jedis. No one likes you. 
• When you're ionized, you break all your locks, and can't maintain any (note: enemies do not break their locks on you, and can still lock you). You now still set a dial, which is used to determine  if you do a forward, left bank, or right bank ion move. Also, you can now be unionized before you engage, in which case you activate as normal. - Again the designers are trying to remove the "feels bad" aspects of X-wing. Getting ionized and forced to 1-forward onto an asteroid is pretty frustrating (I once ionized an almost full HP decimator off the board to win a store championship back in the 1.0 era). My overall impression is that the designers want to minimise the control aspects of the game, where you are stopping and/or influencing the moves your opponent makes. There's quite a bit of evidence for this: Sloane, Pyre, Sabine, and Trajectory bans; these ion changes; red-focus on bumps; no longer being able to tractor opponents onto rocks.
• Before a ship moves, if it is overlapping an obstacle, it does not suffer the effects of moving through that obstacle. - This makes obstacles a little less deadly, and helps to mitigate some of the "feels bad" of landing on a rock and then knowing you'll have to go through it again the next turn. Your opponent can still block you on the obstacle to ruin your day.

Added to the banned list (RIP the fallen):

1. Admiral Sloane (Imperial Crew)
2. Autoblasters (Generic Cannon)
3. Commander Pyre (First Order Crew)
4. Hull Upgrade (Generic Mod)
5. R2 Astromech (Generic Droid) 
6. R5 Astromech (Generic Droid) 
7. Sabine Wren (Rebel Crew)
8. Trajectory Simulator (Generic Sensor)

Trajectory and Sabine being banned seem to be direct reactions to the B-wing bomber lists. I'm not sure if it was such an OP archetype that it needed these bans, but bombs have always had the potential to be negative play experiences, so AMG doing away with this is understandable. 

Speaking of negative play experiences, the next bans are Sloane, and Pyre. They're both good crew, who can be a pain to play against. Again, it seems AMG is removing a negative play experience, rather than overpowered cards. Sloane was also arguably about to get a lot better with the changes to Imperial 2-costers, especially with those Disciplined Black Squadron Pilots. Her ban could also be pre-emptively avoiding that archetype becoming oppressive.

I haven't seen much R2, and R5 astromech recently. It seems to me the intention of these two bans is to remove generic regen and keep the mechanic restricted. This seems like more nerfs to Republic, who could make the best use of these cards. I am ok with that.

Autoblasters and Hull upgrade being banned are two which I agree with. Hull was really efficient on agility 2+ ships, and was too functionally similar to shield to warrant it's existence. It also caused weird interactions which shield avoids, like with Tel Trevura. Autoblasters were just too good, especially on ships like the ETA, and Boba who can reliably get 3+ crits. It was also pretty brutal to be on the receiving end of one in Salvage Mission.

Hobbie is dead, long live Hobbie!

FACTION CHANGES: THE REBEL ALLIANCE:

First up for Rebels we have a card errata.

Basically Ursa Wren (Rebel Crew) now only triggers when enemies TL her. - This is another change which sounds good to me. I've written about Ursa in other blog posts, but I'll restate: Ursa Wren crew supported by another ship with R3-astro was a silly combo, which I enjoyed abusing. The R3 jig is now up, though Ursa Wren is still best buddies with The Child.

The Rebels no longer have any 2-cost ships! This is good for balance, as Hobbie was undoubtedly the best 2-coster in the game (fight me!), and Blount was pretty darn good too. Hobbie is now a very reasonable 3-coster with 6 loadout, a missile, and an EPT slot. Scratch that, Hobbie is still amazing. Concussion Missiles, Config, and your choice of 1pt talent and he's all set to do your dirty objective work, and throw a missile at the odd enemy. On the flipside, Blount now seems pretty trash when you compare him to Airen Cracken.

The loss of hull upgrade is a pretty big deal for Rebels. The X-wings in particular really benefitted from going up to 7HP for cheap. Shield is still an option, but I think it's too expensive for everyone except maybe Luke. The increase in afterburners also impacts pilots like Luke and Wedge who liked to supplement their manoeuvrability. The only Rebel specific upgrade change of note is Baze Malbus going up by 2 points. This is understandable given how he interacts with the red-focus from bumping. I think Baze is still great at 5 points on a Falcon with Bistan gunner.

Now we have the (IMO) straight up nerfs to the Rebels. These are ships which went up in points. lost loadout, and/or lost slots: 

• The named B-wings
• Ibtisam (ARC-170)
• Generic A-wings
• Hobbie, Shara, & Sabine (A-wing)
• Thane, Jek, & Wedge (X-wing)
• Non-Fenn sheathipedes
• Generic X-wings
• Ezra (TIE/ln)
• Blount (Headhunter)

As discussed, Hobbie is still excellent, and he replaces Shara in the 3-slot. Of this list I think Ten Numb is the other one least effected. He can still shoot a double modded Proton Torpedo unassisted, so he's good in my books. The other named B-wings seem situational at best since they've lost their bomb-flinging combo. All the previously 4-cost, 3 red dice ships that went up to 5-cost seem underwhelming at that cost. Wedge lost 2 loadout, and some of his kit has become more expensive, but I think he's still ok. Ezra can no longer equip Leia, which seems like a pretty big nerf to him.

"Luke, you son of a bitch!"

Next we have the gains. These ships had their cost, loadout, and/or slots improved:

• Named Fangs
• Dutch (Y-wing)
• Han, Lando, & Leia (YT-1300)
• Ahsoka, Arvel & Wedge (A-wing)
• Fenn (sheathipede)
• Biggs, Edrio, Garven, Kullbee, Leevan, & Luke (X-wing)
• Zeb (TIE)
• Saw (U-wing)
• Named Ghosts

I can't say I think too much of the Fangs, even with these buffs. The one that gets free locks at R1 seems ok, but I don't think I could justify bringing one over something reliable like Ten Numb. These expensive, fragile, ace-style ships aren't in vogue at the moment. Compare Fenn to the newly reduced Luke (Tanky + Double-modded Proton), and Fenn really comes up short.

There were some minor buffs to some of the A-wings. Arvel has lost access to a Shield Upgrade, but can now take Predator + Crackshot to really punish enemies at range zero. I still think Hobbie is better, but it's an option. Wedge gained a missile slot, which doesn't synergies with his pilot ability (options are nice I guess). Ahsoka still seems steep at 5-cost, especially when you compare her to the Republic Jedi. She can take concussions though, so maybe she's worth it. 

The named Falcons were already pretty solid (I'm a big fan of Chewie), so the 1-cost discount will probably mean we see more despite the Ursa nerf. Even without Ursa Wren crew, the Bistan, + Baze combo is pretty great on the Falcon. Ursa might find a place on the newly buffed named Ghosts like Kallus or Kanan. They compete with the Falcons though, and I don't think they come out on top.

The Rebel support ships got a real shakeup. Zeb in the TIE fighter has usurped TIE-Ezra, and AP5 as the Rebel's cheap Leia carrier. I think I'd still prefer to find the one point to instead bring the newly 4-cost Fenn (sheathipede) with R4, and Leia. That's a pretty solid Leia carrier, which can coordinate/jam a ship, and also nerf an enemy ship's ability to use tokens on offense. His ability can really shut down a ship like Poe, who relies on his tokens for offense. Saw's straight up buff means if you're taking a U-wing, I think Saw is the easy choice.

Finally, Dutch can now take a torpedo. A fluff win, which also seems good game-wise. A 4-coster with a 4-dice attack and a support ability seems really good.

What I consider to be the strong Rebel pieces:

The 8-Slot: 

• Lando w/ Bistan, The Child, Ursa, Title. - Is the Child + Ursa + Bistan the new Rebel combo? It seems pretty decent, and Lando can focus + evade to blunt enemy fire. Leia can also do this build, but I like it better on Lando.
• Kanan w/ Compassion, DorsalT, Agile, The Child, Ursa, Title. - You could also switch Dorsal + Agile for an Ion Cannon Turret. I think this might be one of the better uses for The Child + Ursa, as Kanan can reinforce to blunt any attacks against him, or protect his squad mates if they get targeted.
• Han w/ Notorious, Bistan, Baze, Zeb, Cargo, Title. - I think Chewie at 7-cost does this better, but Han has his benefits (rerolls and a useful illicit).

The 7-Slot:

• Chewbacca w/ Notorious, Bistan, Baze, Zeb, Deadmans, Title. - I've flown this, and it's pretty solid. Throw Chewie in the mix, and he'll do a heap of damage before eventually dying, or disengaging to cap objectives.
• Kallus w/ Crackshot, The Child, Ursa, Title. - Again a Child + Ursa combo. Chopper, and Ezra in the Gauntlet can do a similar build, but Kallus actually mitigates some of The Child's negative. You get a green die if they mod their attack against Kallus, so those locks against him are buffing his agility. Pair him with Fenn to blunt 1-2 attacks, and he looks pretty scary throwing out 4-5 double-modded shots.

The Luke-Slot:

• Luke w/ Predator, ProtonT, Shield, Servos. - Luke at 6-cost is quite good, basically because he can throw a double-modded Proton Torpedo at PS5, while being decently tanky, and he can do all that on his own. You could do R5D8 + Instinctive instead of the shield, or even just take R2D2. I just value the straight up +1HP in these shorter games, rather than the chance for 2-3 extra HP. Dropping shield + predator for afterburners is also an option, but predator is really good on Luke.

The 5-Slot:

• Ten Numb w/ [Predator/Selfless/Elusive], ProtonT, JammingB, Servos. - In my experience he's a very solid ship. He does like to have Leia support, but what Rebel ship doesn't?
• Garven w/ Predator, R4, ProtonT, Servos. - Garven needs a support ship (Airen or Fenn) to give him a second action, but I think he's looking pretty solid. 
• Saw w/ Notorious, Leia, K2S0, Cybernetics, Pivot. - Seems like the go-to support U-wing. I could see an argument for Benthic too. All 4 of his upgrade cards are A-tier, and his pilot ability is also pretty solid, so I think he's a good pick in this slot, but might be competing with Fenn as your support option.

The 4-Slot:

• Fenn w/ R4, Leia. - Might be the new Rebel go-to support ship. Between Leia, coordinate/jam action, and Fenn's debuff, it seems like a lot of value for a 4-coster.
• Kullbee w/ [Predator/Notorious], R4, Cybernetics, Servos. - Loved him before, and now Kullbee gain a loadout. I can confirm that Predator + R4 + Cybernetics is really good, but I'm yet to try out Notorious.
• Leevan w/ Crackshot, R4, Cybernetics, Servos. - Like Kullbee, but slightly worse. He's still a 4-cost tanky hitter, so he's your 2nd X-wing after Kullbee.
• Edrio w/ [???], Servos. - Can do PRockets, or Cybernetics, but unfortunately not both. I'd only do PRockets if you can get a second action from somewhere (Fenn, Airen, Dutch, Garven, etc). I think he's your 3rd pick if you're after a cheap X-wing.
• Y-wing w/ ProtonT + extra. - Dutch can now take a torpedo for a cheap 4-dice ship. He does need support to get it off consistently (Fenn or Airen), but I think this is good.

The 3-Slot: 

• Hobbie w/ [1pt Talent], Concussion Missiles. - Hobbie suffered a nerf, but now that the Rebels have no 2-costers, he's your best objective runner. The A-wing chassis is just phenomenal in the objective games, and now he contributes even more with a reliable 3rd attack dice.
• Zeb w/ Leia, Computer. - The cheapest Leia carrier. He runs your objectives, blocks, and might chip a damage on occasion, and that's really better than most TIE fighters.
• Airen w/ Crackshot, IonT, FCS. - A really nice support ship. His ability to give locks in the engagement phase is not to be underestimated (screw you Goran!). As I've noted before, he pairs really well with Ten Numb. You could also just give him Squad Leader, or even Snapshot to lean more heavily into the support role.

Overall I think the changes to the Rebels are pretty good, and addressed some of the more egregious balance issues in the faction (Ursa, bomb-flinging B-wings, and Hobbie). AMG's balancing is a little baffling at times, and I think it would just make more sense to remove the generic pilots if they're not going to make them a viable option (show us on the doll where the generic X-wings hurt you). There's some nice buffs too, which seems to be pushing rebels to 4-5 ship builds. 

I will be trying this lists out at some point in the future:

4 Fenn w/ R2, Leia.

5 Garven w/ Predator, R2, ProtonT, Servos.

4 Kullbee w/ Notorious, R2, Cybernetics, Servos.

4 Dutch w/ ProtonT.

3 Hobbie w/ Marksman, ConcussionM, Cannons.