Here comes the worst bomber ever...
Today is a ship that I thought would be relatively boring, the BTA-NR2 Y-Wing, better known as the Resistance Y-Wing. This ship was first introduced in the Rise Of Skywalker as a part of the Resistances strike team going to Exegol as well as being the ship that Zorii Bliss flew as a part of the Citizens Fleet.
I originally believed this was just going to be like the T-70 X-Wing, just the same as the Rebellions BTL-A4 Y-Wing only slightly upgraded to show its years of advancements. Although this does influence a lot of the design, the BTA-NR2 Y-Wing was a lot better fleshed out than I realised!
So let's get stuck in!
The Lore:
Like I said the Resistance Y-wing is much more fleshed out than I expected, however, there are still some gaps, so I have filled them in with some logical designs and lore!
The BTA-NR2 Y-Wing was built during the golden age of the New Republic, a long time after the Battle of Jakku and the introduction of the T-70 and RZ-2, making it one of the Resistances more modern starfighters. However this isn't really an advantage for it as the NR was in the midst of its demilitarisation, so the designers were held to very strict rules for the design of their new Y-Wing. This meant this ship could not actually hold any heavy munitions like torpedoes or bombs, so its designer had to redesign what the Y-Wing would be used for.
They eventually settled on making better use of the Y-Wing's iconic turret, installing an advanced ion cannon turret that could more easily disable a ship. This helped cement the BTA-NR2 as a solid scout and patrol vessel that could disable opponents while waiting for the superior T-85 X-Wing or capital ships to arrive and either deal with or capture the enemy. Even though the BTA-NR2 had no munitions because of these rules, others who got hold of the starfighter were able to modify it to hold these munitions at the cost of some of its manoeuvrability.
They also designed the style of the BTA-NR2 to more closely resemble the Rebellion's Y-Wings over the Republic's older and more armoured design. This is partly due to the public's love for one of the core starfighters of the Rebellion that saved the galaxy, however, it was also down to the pilots' preference for the more easily repaired and modified BTL-A4 Y-Wings.
The Overall Design:
For my design in-game I decided to strip back all of its munitions like the NR did in-universe, and then give it a set turret that would define its role as a control ship, disabling opponents and suppressing them. I also decided to lean most of the upgrades towards converting this ship into a bomber like the Resistance later did.
The Stats:
The BTA-NR2 like with the T-70 was very similar in strength and manoeuvrability to its predecessor, because of this I decided to only increase its shields by one to show the technological development. I did also add a primary turret arc which will be expanded upon in the next section!
This ended up with the BTA-NR2 having the following stat line:
Front: 2
Single Turret: 3
Agility: 1
Hull: 6
Shields: 3
The Ship Ability:
"Peacekeeping" Starfighter describes the ship ability quite well! It takes the three attack turret and makes it a lot like the Ion Cannon Turret, except it does no damage to the opponent's ship. However, one bonus it gains is that on a critical result, not only does the defender gain an ion token, they also gain a deplete token as their power supplies are drained. So not only are they unable to manoeuvre, but they also cannot perform effective attacks!
Of course, the downside of no damage from this turret is clear, however, combined with a slow-moving heavy ship, like the MG-100 Star Fortress, you could use the BTA-NR2 to disable ships so your allies can more easily target them down and demolish them.
The Actions:
I decided that because the BTA-NR2 depends much more on its turret than most Y-Wings, it deserves a few goods linked rotate actions, this helps keep your opponent on target even despite the BTA-NR2's slower dial.
I also gave it a red reinforcement to help show its more advanced shield compared to its predecessors.
The Dial:
The BTA-NR2's dial is a slight improvement over the two other Y-Wings in the game, making the four red straight a white manoeuvre and giving it two blue banks. These changes along with the now white barrel roll make it much more manoeuvrable compared to its predecessors, letting it keep up with its allies.
The Upgrades:
This is probably the saddest part of the BTA-NR2. Compared to the other Y-Wings it has lost most of its upgrades, with it only retaining its gunner, astromech and modification slots. It does gain a tech slot to show the technological advancements of the time, and a title slot for Zorii Bliss's personal Y-Wing, however, it's definitely a shell of a Y-Wing upgrade-wise...
The Pilots:
Zorii Bliss:
Of course, Zorii had to appear here as she's the only person we know to have flown the BTA-NR2. She was the leader of the Spice Runners of Kijimi and an old friend of Poe Dameron before he joined the New Republic. Zorii eventually met Dameron during the waning days of the Resistance and First Order war, and despite her anger at him leaving her behind, she aided the Resistance and then eventually joined the Citizens Fleet against the Final Order, helping give a killing blow to a Xyston-class Star Destroyer. I decided to give her a way to make better use of her Ion Cannon Turret by letting her have a similar ability to Bossk, spending a critical result for the defender to suffer two
damage. It had to be done this way instead of adding hit results like Bossk so that her Ion Cannon could actually do damage against an opponent.
Zorii would have a talent and illicit slots on her action bar, due to her skill and more shady nature compared to most Resistance pilots, so with that included as well I'd say she's about 43-46 points.
I also made a Scum BTL-A4 Y-Wing card for Zorii as she definitely fits into the Scum faction, however, I don't think they need this ship specifically. If this was an official pack, this card wouldn't come with it, as it would more likely come in a card pack. I was a little surprised she didn't appear in the Fugitives and Collaborators Squadron Pack. Her ability would stay the same and she would have the illicit, tech and modification slots, making her the best of both worlds for the BTL-A4 scum Y-Wings.
Points wise there I'd say she'd be about the same due to her much greater selection of upgrade slots, so about 41-44 points.
"Splasher":
Now we get into the pilots I made up because there aren't enough named pilots for the BTA-NR2 yet! I see Splasher being a Resistance pilot who originally was a technician on an NR capital ship, working specifically with the NR's advanced and sophisticated ion cannons. They later joined the Resistance after the fall of the NR at the First Orders hands, abandoning a crippled NR ship on the edge of the Hosnian cataclysm in a BTA-NR2. Thanks to their knowledge of ion weapons, they were able to modify their Y-Wing so its ion cannon turret's shots could splash over and hit a second target, crippling multiple targets at a time. I incorporated this into their ability, letting them perform two turret attacks a round, in a similar way to cluster missiles. This lets them more effectively pin down multiple targets without needing a gunner.
I will say, although normally giving a ship a bonus attack is worth a lot of points, as neither of their attacks can do damage, it will massively reduce the cost, making them about 38-42 points. I will also mention that they would have a talent slot and the New Republic keyword that would allow them access to some of the upgrades I made for the T-85 X-Wing.
(Oh and hats off to those of you who get the Nerd Cubed reference!)
NR-DD/66:
The New Republic Defence Drone 66 is an astromech part of an automation plan the NR had for the outer rim worlds, where they would heavily use scout ships like the BTA-NR2 manned only by fully integrated astromechs so organic pilots would not have to go on long scout and patrol missions. This was useful as you didn't need as many supply ships and the few you did need would then only have to refuel and recharge the astromechs before sending them on their way again. I see DD/66 as being one of only a few drones not being deactivated or destroyed by the First Order after the collapse of the NR, he would then go berserk and stage hit and run attacks against the FO ships. They would go on to take out many small patrols alone up until hearing Lando's call to join the Citizens fleet. I decided his ability should be based around disarming his opponents, giving them a choice to disarm as this is what the NR would have programmed him to do, letting his opponent choose to either give him an additional attack or gain a deplete token.
I'd say as DD/66 is an integrated astromech, this pilot would lose the astromech slot but gain a crew slot, like R2-D2 in the Republic's Y-Wing or Bucket in the Fireball.
This ability like Splasher's is very strong, and although it's in your opponent's hands, giving a ship a deplete token is very powerful! This would end up making him probably around 38-42 points as well.
The Generics:
As per the norm, here comes the generics!
The two we have today are Hail Squadron Aces and redeemed spice runners. Hail Squadron is a squad named after one of General Hera Syndulla's squadrons during the fall of the Empire. Being the veteran generic it gains access to a talent slot, making it about 34-36 points. The Redeemed Spice Runner is a Kijimi pilot that I see joining the Resistance as part of the Citizens fleet, bringing along another Y-Wing and any illegal cargo they may have had when they left, so although it has no talent, it gains an illicit slot. This would make it around 32-34 points.
The Upgrades:
Comeuppance:
As Zorii's personal Y-Wing I see it as having access to even more illegal cargo, and even the ability to recover said cargo as if you had reloaded it! I decided to add it to the Scum Y-Wing as well as the BTA-NR2 as it makes even more sense in the Scum faction than the Resistance. Its crew slot instead of a gunner slot is almost solely for the next upgrade...
Points wise I'd say it's about 6-8 points as being able to recover illicit upgrades indefinitely is a very strong ability for any ship.
Babu Frik:
The droid smith who helped unlock C3-PO's memories, Babu was skilled at rewiring and modifying droids. I made this card originally as a gunner, but it never felt right so I eventually changed it to a crew upgrade and added the ability on the Comeuppance. Points wise I'd say Babu is about 4-6 points.
R6-LE5:
This little astromech was a free droid, so I designed its ability around its independence, letting it gain a free calculate if it's away from other friendly ships, making it a great pairing for both Babu and Lone Wolf. Points wise I'd say LE5 is about 4-6 points, in the same ballpark as Lone Wolf, it's just a shame N’dru Suhlak can't take an astromech.
Upgraded Payload:
As promised, this upgrade gives the BTA-NR2 a munition slot, however, it can also be used to upgrade any Y-Wings number of munitions. This may seem good at first, however, you then lose any ability to execute red manoeuvres, becoming stressed before you execute the manoeuvre. I'd say it's only about 2-3 points as it's quite a drawback.
Fabritech Targeting Computer:
This upgrade is an ability is directly lifted from my T-85 X-Wing's ship ability as both ships could use the same sensor package, and although it was famous for being fully integrated into the T-85, any ship could have it added to improve their precision. It allows you to make a secondary attack ignoring lock or focus restrictions if the defender is in your bullseye. Points wise I'd say it's about 3-6 points.
The Example List:
NR-DD/66 (41)
Cova Nell (38)
M9-G8 (6)
Vennie (54)
Rey (13)
Total: 195
This list takes one of my first beloved list types in Second Edition, Vennie, and adds to it. Vennie's strength has always been in her ability to much more easily shrug off damage compared to most one agility ships, and still be able to pack a deadly punch. NR-DD/66 boosts this to the extreme, forcing opponents to gain a deplete token unless they want to risk an ion attack and still have a chance of becoming depleted, especially with the suppressive gunner.
The ion attacks are also massively useful as the Star Fortress isn't really the most manurable of ships so being able to pin down an opponent is quite helpful.
C3-PO is also a useful addition to either give DD/66 an additional calculate token or give Vennie an extra action without DD/66 losing their calculate.
Conclusion:
When the BTA-NR2 was picked I was a little worried it would be a little bit of bland ship to make, adding very little on top of an additional shield and slightly less stressful dial to the Y-Wing. However, once I started to get stuck into it, it became a lot more interesting, with it fitting in well with some of the designs I had set up with my T-85 X-Wing and the New Republic's pacifist ways.
Although I'm still personally more of a fan of EC Henry's design for a Resistance/NR Y-Wing, I always find putting any ship into X-Wing makes me fall in love with them a little more!
As normal feel free to use the cards in friendly games to show the rest of the X-Wing community that slow and steady wins the game, unless you're ionised!
Thank you all for reading,
Watcher Leader out.
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