So we kinda got some leaks from Asmodee Germany with the contents of the squadron pack, and really the most interesting thing we got was a translation for what seems to be a rework of the intel keyword. It is a change that I personally have wanted and am very glad it is now in the game. So what is the change well put simply intel no longer gives enemy squadrons heavy, but gives friendly squadrons grit.
Grit is an ability that is very much overlooked, so what is grit? If a squadron has grit it is not prevented from moving while you are engaged by only 1 squadron. This makes the squadron game particularly the small screen game much more interesting, Whereas before you could just bring Intel and ignore so to speak the other players squadrons now you can't do that.
This change has far reaching consequences for the game and it's going to make the squadron game so much more interesting in my opinion.
First and foremost this gives players the ability to use squadrons to actually screen their ships, For example a few tie bombers bomb the side of a CR-90 bringing its shields on that area down to zero, now the rebel player bring in an A-wing to protect the side now even with grit the bombers can not keep attacking the same side with zero shields because they will be engaged and grit only lets you move not attack ships if engaged by one squadron so now the bombers must ether attack the a-wing or move to another arc to attack this makes taking a small screen to protect you ships a much more intriguing choice.
Second a bit like the first is that all of a sudden because your opponent can no longer just ignore your 60-80 point investment in fighters it becomes a much more interesting option in fleet building. I have always been an advocate of the small and medium fighter screen but with this change to intel its more viable than ever.
Third, I think we will start to see a shift away from the “all or nothing” type of mentality when it comes to building list in that you ether always take the max amount of fighters or you take no fighters at all. I think we will see fighter groups from all types of sizes, but I think it might be hard to justify not taking at least a few fighters now, as its just so easy to use them to screen a weak side of your ship from enemy fighters now and sure it might only take 2 or 3 attacks to kill your single A-wing, but that's damage your 100+ point ship is not taking and that is a pretty big deal, so I mean I feel that dropping in even just two A-wing squadrons or generic ties into a list is going to pay dividends far greater than the investment, because they can not be ignored.
With this change there are few winners and losers as far as squadrons, and upgrades go there are some cards that are really going to see a lot more play time and some a little less, so let's look at them briefly.
Admiral Chiraneau
he basically has not seen play since intel hit the screen, but now he is a really intriguing card. Your fighters can now be engaged and still have some mobility in the squadron game this seems like it is a pretty big deal and I think you should look for him to make many more appearances than he has.
Instructor Goran
worthless because of intel now again a card I could see hitting the table especially to make a small interceptor screen super deadly.
Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Instructor Goran (7)
• Reserve Hangar Deck (3)
= 33 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Reserve Hangar Deck (3)
= 26 Points
Squadrons:
• 4 x TIE Interceptor Squadron (44)
= 44 Points
Mauler Mithel
is a bit of a loser here intel was very nice to just let him hop around like a spiked rabbit on crack but toughs days are over, but he has found his old friend again at long last Admiral Chiraneau. I think Mauler will still see a good amount of play he will just ether be a bit easier to contain or will have a super expensive offer in Chiraneau to make him mean.
Tie Phantoms
are another winner in the nerf to intel with intel only giving grit having the ability to move around while engaged is huge I think phantoms will likely start to see a bit more play in small numbers just for what I think will be amazing ability to move around in the squadron game.
Wedge Antilles
His officer because of how cloak makes you movable while engaged will likely see more play on the rebellions side of the table as having movement flexibility in the squadron game is going to be very nice.
Snipe
this might seem odd as snipes primary ability seemed to be to kill intel ships, but because snipe is distance 2 range you can attack a target and move because you are not engaged again I think the ability to move around in the squadron game will just be very valuable in this new age of how intel works.
Grit
squadrons that just have grit already like the Lancer and Scurrg have their values increased as they don't need or want intel because they already have grit so that makes for some interesting list building ideas.
This kind of leads us to an interesting question is intel still worth it? Intel has kinda fallen out of favor recently, in favor of just sheer overwhelming anti-squadron firepower. However strangely enough I think that was brought no by the existence of intel and no ace cap. With the change to Intel and the ace cap both Dengar and Jan Ors have an interesting roll. Because of the ace cap Jan gives the extra generics you are going to be taking a little bit more durability, and because the change to intel and not being able to ignore squadrons anymore the extra counter given by Dengar is going to be more impactful and they give a little extra utility with Intel giving some flexibility to other ships in moving around during the squadron dog fight, so I think they both bring things worth considering even when taking up an ace slot.
Now that is all fine and dandy, but what about the generics, well the HWK-290 is 12 points and when looking at it, it's basically a slower A-wing with slightly less punch. I think in some cases that you could be justified in taking it based on fleet composition and again the squadron game is about to get a whole lot harder to move around in so that little bit of flexibility granted by grit from intel I think could be pretty impactful at times so I think the HWK is a fine ship in the right build.
Now the Jumpmaster I had stated using a generic jump master in place of Dengar as I just felt like Dengar was so expensive and because of intel rarely did his extra counter ability ever come into effect and I could get similar durability from a generic Jumpmaster and Reserve Hangar Deck. However with the change to Intel I have a really hard time justifying a jumpmaster, its closest comparable squadron is the tie interceptor and it falls flat in nearly all accounts it has half the anti squadron fire power in fact even less when you factor in the interceptors counter, and is slower, it does have one more hull so the slight speed with slightly more hull seams like a net zero to me but it also cost 1 more point than just a interceptor it's a very hard sell for me, but the empire has only one generic squadron with grit and that is the terrible YV-666, So how valuable will grit be for the Empire's squadrons I am not sure but I really have a hard time taking a Jumpmaster with this intel change, but maybe I will be surprised.
It's possible that even more changes are coming and we don't have all the info to fully understand the implications of this change, but regardless it will be impactful. What do you think of this change how will it impact your games? I am really looking forward to it I think the game will start to feel more like “fleet battles” as I think these changes will really emphasize ships and squadrons working together and I am really excited for that, but what do you think? Until next time have a great week!
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