So this week has been a bit more of a crazy week for me and I could tell I was not going to get as much time to write as I would like and with some of the craziness looking like it will spill over into next week I am going to split the 1.5 squadron evaluations into three parts Rogues and Villains, Rebel, and Imperial. These wright ups are more about how the value of squadrons have changed and not necessarily about squadron tactics in 1.5, and with that let's dive in to Rogues and villains.
Aggressor Assault Fighter
So these guys got better, but I am not sure they got better enough. So in 1.5 counter is going to be so much more valuable as they are unable to just ignore you in most cases now so that is nice. I also think Rogue is a bit better of a keyword as you are likely going to have more squadons now with cheaper generics making it possible for many lists to fit in more squadrons then they could activate and having rogue to help alleviate that in some lists will be nice. My main issue is that when I look at this I just ask why am I not taking a Tie interceptor for 5 less points, you gain a re-roll with swarm and your counter is increased to two, you also can take RHD to make the Interceptor have as much hull as an aggressor and you are speed 5 not speed 3. The only thing the Aggressor Fighter has over the interceptor is rouge and its black anti ship die, but there are just better rouge ships with better anti ship capabilities if your list really needs a cheapish rogue I could maybe see it, but I would suggest finding the extra squadron pushing power somewhere and take interceptors.
IG-88
Okay so he is really good ignoring escort and counter in the new squadron game is even bigger than before in my opinion, and the boost to speed 5 is a big help. However you are limited to 4 aces with defense tokens and can IG-88 make that cut? Sadly I think the answer is no. Ignoring escort and counter is nice, but Saber squadron exists and can do pretty much the same thing, and because of that I just don't feel like IG-88 can really compete for one of the 4 slots.
IG-88 B
okay so this guy can take a small anti-squad wing and make it very deadly or you could Rapid Launch Bays him from a raider and with more generics in the squadron game now it's going to get ugly. However his positioning is going to be key on that as if he is tied up by just one escort squadron he can only attack that squadron, now that should not be a problem against V-19 swarms as all the squadrons have escort, but Plo Koon counter could get pretty nasty. I really like dropping him in with a raider do a bunch of damage and then flack with the raider to really put the hurt on the generic squadrons. I think he has a lot of potential to help smaller fighter wings hit above their weight class when placed correctly against generic fighters in 1.5 so we will see.
HWK-290
So I have mixed feelings about this one I do think its the best generic source of Intel in the game and its essentially an A-wing that black anti ship drops to a blue looses a anti-squad die and drops to speed 3 for Intel and one more point. Is the flexibility of Intel worth it? I have a hard time saying yes, if it had 3 anti-squad dice I think I could bite, but with that said it is the best generic with intel so there is that. I am hopeful that the generic sources of Intel will be changed up a bit in the near future in the living rules reference.
Jan Ors
Totally worth it X-wings are better now I will explain why in the rebel squadron evaluation but Jan Biggs and a pair of X-wings is pretty beast, and even outside of that she makes your generics in general just more durable she will be a prime contender for one of the 4 ace slots.
Kanan Jarrus
He is fine I think he might have a place in a smaller squadron wing to buy some time for your squadrons to activate before the other player gets to activate their squadrons. He is a fun squadron, but I don't think he is very competitive outside of a list that leans into raid at least a little bit.
Firespray-31
So I think the Firespray is in a pretty good spot right now I think it can be used to help supplement a smaller imperial fighter wing with a bit more anti ship firepower while not requiring a squadron command to push, that is its role and its the cheapest option the imperials have to fill that role so its solid 4 interceptors and 2 firesprays comes to 80 points and that's not bad for what you are getting.
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a better firespray, however at 26 points he is a pretty “hardcell”. His ability is nice to pull a squadron off the table that is at one health is nice. Maybe in a Soontir, mauler, Boba, paired with a few tie advanced could be an interesting thing, but 26 points is pretty step and because of that I am not sure he will make the cut in most lists.
Hondo Ohnaka
So Hondos ability got a lot better in 1.5 as being able to re-position squadrons be it your opponents or yours, yes Hondo lets you do that can be key to say nothing about completely negating one of your opponents squadrons. Sorry Morna Kee you don't get to go this round, sorry Jan I am moving you away from your generic X-wings, or thanks for Mauling the squadrons Mithel I will go in tie them up and pop you out of engagement so you can do it again next turn, or excuses me Darth Vader your about to die let me pop you out of combat. Now you are forfeiting attacks to do this and his rogue key word is a little odd as sometimes you really like it so he can move squadrons around other times you might want to activate him early to toggle a squadrons activation slider. Hondo is good a attacking both ships and squadrons, but the extra utility he brings with his ability to move stuff around is so much more valuable in 1.5 I think this makes him a really interesting choice in the new 1.5 squadron game, I know I will be messing around with him more.
Scurrg H-6 Bomber
So nativity having grit is really nice meaning you don't need Intel to give you grit and as a bomber you would like grit when you can get it. The problem with Scurrgs is that they compete with B-wings, and B-wings while being slower and a little less hull have better anti-squad firepower, if scurrgs get tied up they will have a harder time blasting out, but will also have a harder time getting tied down because of grit. I think they have a place and I think I like them when paired with an A-wing ball to intercept enemy squadrons and the scurrgs head toward the ship's to go on a bombing run, I mean shara, Tycho two a-wings, and two scurrgs comes in at 87 points that's a very flexible squadron wing.
Nym
Nym I think got a boost I think he is best in a combined arms type of list where the ships hit hard and the squadrons chip in. put him in position to strike a ship before the big hit make sure Toryn and or bomber command center is nearby to get the crit and you can really follow up that small squadrons attack with a devastating ship attack, he is a squadron to look at in a list with a heavy hitting ship.
Malee Hura
She is expensive and mostly used to trigger crit effects she hardly saw play in the past and will likely continue to not see much play now, with how crit effects have changed she really should come down in price and then she might be worth considering, as is I would stay away.
Jumpmaster
Okay its bad 12 points for basically a worse tie fighter that gains Intel should be a hard pass, needs a rework badly.
Dengar
If you want Intel as an Imperial player Dengar is the pick. Giving squadrons counter in a world where squadrons now actually have to attack squadrons is so good, not to mention the black anti ship and 3 anti-squad dice, brace scatter make him hard to kill he is just so good even if you don't get use from intel.
Tel Trevura
Put simply when used well he is the best escort ship in the game so take him learn to use him when to spend and discard defense tokens and this guy will be a thorn in the other players back side.
YT-1300
Escort with counter is always nice brought with Biggs and Jan they will soak up damage for what will feel like forever. There speed is there most limiting factor but if you can boost it by other means they can be a mean little ship and if you can get them in to tie up a few squadrons it will keep them tied down for a long time.
Han Solo
he is a bit expensive, but he is a first last monster hit a key squadron in the squadron phase then hit it again at the start of the ship phase can be devastating, but man the other guy.
Lando Calrissian
Lando will not die, and he will kill when you need him to an un-scatterable double hit from discarding a token at a key moment is so good or even just get that accuracy. He is so good he wont first last you on a monster turn he will just do what he dose and when needed he can have his monster turn lando should be considered in almost all Rebel lists he is just that good.
YV-666
They are one of the worst squadrons in the game far to slow have heavy and their anti-ship die is just terrible, just find an extra squad command and take a tie defender for 1 more point, it's just bad.
Bossk
Bossk is your delete this squadron button, with 4 blacks he will eat generics and once he gets some damage on him he will really put some stress on ace defense tokens. He is a great pick for really any list as he will do whatever you need him to as his anti-ship dice are not bad ether, but is primarily used to take down squadrons.
Moralo Eval
Okay so he can be pretty crazy in very specific builds if I remember correctly there was a build that could get him to trigger 16 times in a single round or something absurd like that and did very well. It never seemed to creep into the main tournament scene mostly because I think it was a brain burning list, and well covid. With 1.5 I stand by my original evaluation if you are an imperial player that wants to farm tokens Eval helps you squeeze more value out of the rather terrible Lambda and is a must in that kind of list.
YT-2400
put simply these are the best squadrons with Rouge in the game, so if your a rebel player and need some rogues this is you ticket.
Dash Rendar
Re-rolls for days his consistency is amazing a bit pricey, but he will get damage for you.
Mart Mattin
So he has always been intriguing, but I think with the new squadron game even more so send him into where the squadron battle will take place and drop mine to punish flack boats like raiders for trying to contribute to the squadron game. I don't think he will be amazing, but his application is a little more interesting.
(Bonus) Gauntlet Fighter
Okay so raid did get a little better with 1.5, but still not enough to justify the way overpriced gauntlet. Really one of two things need to happen the gauntlet needs a price drop by at least 5 points, or assault needs to be changed so that it reads something like “whenever you deal damage to a ship that ship gains one raid token of your choice.”
Gar Saxon
he is still pretty bad and takes up a valuable ace slot so it should be a pretty hard pass for anyone these guys need reworks bad, raid I think is fine where it is at its just giving up damage for raid tokens is sub-optimal if you did not have to do that then they might be worth looking at, but a price change is probably still in order. The only reason Kannan is worth taking is because he gives you the option to spend a die that is not damage or potentially get two raid tokens.
Well there is our hive of scum and villainy Next week we will look at all the rebel squadrons. Until then have a great week!
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