First Impressions: X-wing 2.5 Update Part 4: First Order.

"We're totally the good guys."

FACTION CHANGES: FIRST ORDER

Their were no First Order specific erratas in this update, but there were a few upgrade changes for the faction: 

• Commander Pyre (Crew) was banned. - GTFO Pyre! As I discussed when I covered the banned list, I thought this was a bit of an overreaction. This card obviously fell into the no-fun category AMG seems to want to remove from the game.
• Commander Malarus (Crew) went down from 3pts to 2pts. - The issue with this card is it shares a name with 2 outstanding pilots. I don't think this 1pt reduction will make any difference.
• Special Forces Gunner (Gunner) went down from 9pts to 5pts. - This is the only meaningful change on the list IMO. In a more roundabout way this is a TIE/sf buff.

On the generic side, the loss of Hull Upgrade, and points hikes to both Afterburners, and Outmanoeuvre will impact the First Order, who generally had the loadout points to use these upgrades. Vonreg in particular has lost his 'best' build (Daredevil, Outmanoeuvre, Hull, Afterburners), and I expect to see a lot less of him in FO lists. 

There weren't too many direct nerfs to FO ships in this update:

• Null, Rivas, & Epsilon Squadron Cadet (TIE/fo Fighter)
• Recoil (TIE/vn Silencer)
• Nightfall, & Red Fury Zealot (TIE/wi Whisper)

Like most other factions, First Order has lost access to a 2-cost ship, which is a shame as Rivas was one of the better value 2-cost ships. I think he's still ok in the 3-cost slot with some loadout, but the issue will be can he compete with the other excellent 3-cost TIEs like Malarus, and Scorch? Probably not, so he becomes the 4th, or 5th TIE to fill out your swarm.

Null suffers from the same issue as Rivas, except he's not as good. He doesn't have the loadout for Squad Leader, so he doesn't bring anything unique. This means you may as well take one of the better TIEs like Scorch, Malarus, or Static.

The changes to Nightfall, the Red Fury Zealot, and the Epsilon Squadron Cadet all seem fairly inconsequential. The loadout nerf to Recoil is nonsensical. I think AMG just randomly changes some of these ships.

"Kylo, you son of a bitch!"

The First Order got quite the haul of buffs from this update, which is impressive considering their small ship/pilot pool. The following pilots received buffs, with their cost, loadout, and/or slots improved:

• Holo (TIE/ba Interceptor)
• Longshot, Scorch, Malarus, & TN-3465 (TIE/fo Fighter)
• Breach (TIE/se Bomber)
• Quickdraw (TIE/sf Fighter)
• Avenger, Blackout, & Kylo (TIE/vn Silencer)
• Wrath, & Kylo (TIE/wi Whisper)
• Dormitz, & Tavson (Upsilon Shuttle)
• Terex, & Malarus (Xi Shuttle)

As always, the Upsilons aren't standard, so I have no opinion on their changes.

The buffs to Holo, Longshot, TN-3465, Breach, Avenger, Wrath, and Terex all seem pretty inconsequential. None of them were popular, and I imagine they will all continue to not be particularly popular.

Quickdraw gained 5 extra loadout (yay!), a cheaper gunner (yay!), but more expensive afterburners (boo!), for an overall net buff of +5 loadout. He's still quite expensive in the 6-slot, but is also PS6 with the ability to double-tap. I think we might start to see some more Quickdraw in FO lists.

I've always liked Blackout, and he gained a heap of loadout, but his slots do make it a bit awkward to actually spend all 20 of his loadout effectively. I always debate myself whether his ability is worth leaning into, or just ignoring. Still I think he was good before this update, so he's looking pretty good afterwards.

Both versions of Kylo got a cost reduction. The Silencer version appears better value at 7-cost, being able to independently sling a PS5, double-modded Proton Torpedo at enemies. The Whisper version is cheaper, but also more difficult to use, so I expect to see the Silencer version more.

Malarus in the Xi going down also opens the way for some FO-swarms to return. You are limited to Malarus + 5xTIEs, which is on the smaller side for a swarm, so I'm not convinced that will happen. She's still a good support piece, in a more rounded squad, who can also carry Terex for 4-cost.

"More buffs!"

What I consider to be the strong First Order pieces in each slot:

The Kylo-Slot:

• Kylo w/ Hate, Proton Torpedoes, [Config?]. - I've always viewed Kylo in the Silencer as the First Order's version of Luke. He can independently shoot high PS, double-modded Proton Torpedoes, while still being quite tanky with 6HP, agility 3, and Hate. The config is optional, but personally I think I prefer the PS5 double-reposition of the ship ability.

The 6-Slot:

• Kylo w/ Extreme Manoeuvres, Brilliant Evasion, Predator, PRockets, Sensor Scrambler, Config. - This version of Kylo just wants to nuke something at R1 with those PRockets. I'm not sure it's better than the Silencer version, but he is a cost slot lower, and can do some funky moves with extreme manoeuvres.
• Quickdraw w/ Crackshot, [Predator / Proud Tradition], Special Forces Gunner, Pattern Analyser, Afterburners. - I like to build Quickdraw with the aim of trying to keep him at R1 of an important enemy piece as much as possible to threaten double-tapping them. Having Proud Tradition + Pattern Analyser is a nice combo, but I'm not sure if it's better than just having Predator.
• Blackout #1 w/ Outmanoeuvre, Advanced Optics, Sensor Scrambler. - This is the first of two Blackout builds I've included. This really leans into him ignoring his pilot ability, and playing as a double-reposition ace. Use the early decloak to get him on a flank and pew-pew at enemies butts.
• Blackout #2 w/ Trickshot, Proton Torpedoes, Targeting Synch, Sensor Scrambler, Config. - This is the second Blackout build, which leans into his pilot ability. He's looking to orbit an obstacle to setup those devastating 5-dice, -1 agility Proton Torpedo shots. Sensor Scrambler, and the Config make getting his ability off quite a lot easier than before, but it still might be a bit too setup-heavy.

The 5-Slot:

• Lehuse w/ Fanatical, Special Forces Gunner, Cluster Missiles, Shield Upgrade. - This is the exact same LeHuse build I was running before the update, except with a Hull upgraded to a Shield. He's a solid ship, who combo's pretty well with the rest of the First Order ships for easy double modded shots.

The Packed-Slot:

• [Nightfall / Whirlwind / 709th] w/ Predator, PRockets, Config. - Overall Nightfall is a pretty brutal ship for the 4-cost slot. If he catches a ship in bullseye, at R1 and can focus + jam them, he'll really ruin their day. You could swap Predator for Sensor Scrambler, and Fanatical. With first turn scoring no longer being possible, I think Scrambler isn't as essential as it was. Whirlwind is another option, and loses a PS, has a weaker ability, but gains the loadout for Sensor Scrambler. Finally after you take Nightfall, you can spam the 709ths, which are Nightfall without the pilot ability. 
• [Backdraft / Phasma / Omega ] w/ [Fanatical / Crackshot], SFGunner, Optics. - The SF is a solid chassis for 4-cost, which gives you a pseudo-X-wing profile. You have plenty of options with pilots, I just happen to think Backdraft is the best of the three. The Omegas are mostly if you just want to spam generics after you take the 2 named SFs.
• [Gideon / Malarus] w/ Terex, [8pts of Upgrades]. - The loss of Commander Pyre makes the Xi-shuttle less appealing, but I think both Gideon and Malarus are still ok support pieces. Terex is the only essential pieces of kit, so the other 8pts can really be anything. Thanisson crew could be a solid card in the meta considering ships will red-focus from bumps. Either your opponent won't understand you can double-stress them, or they will, and they won't focus. Win-win.

The 3-Slot: 

• Malarus w/ [1pt Talent], Cluster Missiles. - A proven ship, which has now gained access to a talent (likely Fanatical). Going straight up Concussions is also an option, but I think I prefer the Clusters for that occasional engagement where you get to pop her ability and double-tap with Clusters.
• Static w/ [Predator / Elusive / Proud Tradition], Ion Cannon. - Static is a great little TIE/fo who is one of the only FO ships with access to an Ion Cannon. He can also run with a HLC, but I think the FO benefits from having a sneaky Ion shot in the list.
• Scorch w/ [Predator / Proud Tradition], Fanatical, Optics. - A very solid TIE/fo pilot. Getting the 3rd attack dice on a 3-cost ship is a big deal, and Scorch can have the modifiers to make the extra die count. 

The First Order faction got some pretty big buffs, but the changes to generic upgrades they relied on hurt. Their 3-cost, and 4-cost slots are packed full of really efficient looking ships, and they still have access to some really nice higher cost acey ships like Kylo. I can see something like: Kylo (Silencer), Nightfall, Malerus (TIE/fo), Scorch, and Static working pretty well as a 5-ship list. It gives you 2 heavy-hitters, with 3 cheap TIEs who still get 3 attack dice. It will be interesting to see where the faction goes.

I'm honestly looking forward to playing some more with the nasty little TIE Whispers. They're a brutal little ship, and I'm interested to see if they work well with Hux support as a sort of turn 2 alpha-strike list:

4 Gideon w/ Proud Tradition, Fanatical, Tactical Officer, General Hux, Pattern Analyser, Biohexacrypt Codes.

4 Nightfall w/ Fanatical, PRockets, Sensor Scrambler, Config.

4 709th Ace w/ Fanatical, PRockets, Sensor Scrambler, Config.

4 709th Ace w/ Fanatical, PRockets, Sensor Scrambler, Config. 

4 709th Ace w/ Fanatical, PRockets, Sensor Scrambler, Config.

Fly up and shoot some double-modded PRockets at the enemy. Could be fun!