Today is the epitome of the X-Wing series, the T-85 X-Wing. This advanced X-Wing starfighter was the mainstay starfighter of the New Republic navy, trying to protect the NR from threats while their leaders ignored the dangers coming from afar.
We've known about the T-85 since before the Force Awakens movie. We first saw them on-screen during the pilot for Star Wars Resistance, The Recruit. Although it is it's only on-screen appearance and we only saw it for a couple of minutes, we see its effectiveness in combat.
And yes I know Kaz and his wingmates were running away from one TIE/Ba Interceptor, but I feel when they said they can't touch him, I don't think they meant they were incapable of hitting him, I think they were ordered not to engage. As we know the NR tried its best to bury its head in the sand about the First Order until it was too late, so Kaz taking the interceptor on was him disobeying orders.
So if this is the case, the T-85's survived an onslaught from an ace pilot that they could not attack, then Kaz was able to disable the ace in a well-placed set of shots.
The Overall Design:
I decided to make the T-85 by following in the footsteps of the T-70, a ship that I feel is the perfect example of improving on a classic design, both in-universe and in-game.
The T-70 takes the T-65 and just makes it better with the additional shield, the slightly better dial, and the much better S-Foils. All of these show how although the T-70 was very similar to the Rebels T-65, it was a much more refined version that had improved and updated the fighter in every way. I will be going down a similar root for the T-85, streamlining the Resistance's mainstay X-Wing where needed.
The stats:
I kept the T-85's stat line very similar to the T-70, increasing the shields by one to show how the NR would have improved their shielding tech over the years. This ends up making the T-85 a real powerhouse, it has the firepower and health of a B-Wing with the agility of an X-Wing, and as we all know, that second dice makes all the difference. The stats that I decided on are:
3 Attack
2 Defence
4 Hull
4 Shields
The Actions:
The line up for the action bar again is the same as the T-70, however this time I improved it by allowing the T-85 access to both the boost and barrel roll actions on its pilot cards:
Focus
Target Lock
Barrel Roll
Boost
This makes this ship even closer to being an ace, allowing it to be as flexible as the T-65 and T-70 without having to close its S-foils like its predecessors.
The Ability:
The T-85 was famous for having an incredibly advanced targeting computer, allowing it to easily fire its payload without needing its pilot to spend time acquiring a lock on their opponents. To simulate this, I let the T-85 ignore any restrictions on secondary weapons if the opponent is in your bullseye arc. This lets your pilot be more flexible with aiming their missiles compared to other ships.
The Dial:
Again, the T-85 just improves the T-70's dial, making it slightly faster, and giving it access to one more K-turn than its predecessors. This again pushes it further towards being an ace.
The Modifications:
The upgrades for the T-85 is a slight back step compared to the T-70 because it has lost the Weapon Hardpoint ship ability, so it cannot equip as many secondary weapons, however it does have a torpedo slot to make up for this.
The Pilots:
Poe Dameron:
Possibly the best non-force sensitive pilot in the galaxy, Poe is a true ace. After Poe ran spice in his younger years, he followed in his mother's footsteps by joining the NR navy where he was trained by the legendary Wedge Antilles. Poe then quickly rose through the ranks to lead his own Fighter squadron, Rapier Squad. This squad of T-85's deployed to the Mirrin sector, protecting the NR from pirate threats. However, after coming across the First Order and losing one of their members, Poe and his squadron left the NR to join Leia and the Resistance so they could make a difference against the FO.
Because Poe is already deadly in a T-70, he would be a nightmare in the T-85. To combat this I decided to give him his original ability, allowing him to perform a bonus red action, but making it only work once every two rounds to show that he was younger and less experienced.
Iolo Arana:
One of Poe's squadmates from Rapier Squadron, Iolo joined Poe in the Resistance when he left the NR and gained command of a squadron of his own, Dagger Squadron.
Iolo's ability allows him to make a second attempt to damage a ship, or even switch target if he misses his first shot each round. This will pair well with an upgrade further down the article, Disabling Shot, allowing him to make two impactful attacks.
But even without that upgrade, Iolo can use his ability to easily force enemies ship to spend their tokens on defending against his attacks.
Kazuda Xiono:
Kaz is the First main character we see fly the T-85 on screen, and we see his skill in its pilot seat. He was able to temporarily disable Major Vonreg's ship, even after his T-85 was crippled by the Major moments before.
I tried to use Kaz's clever tactics to make his ability, letting him use his allies to hide his oncoming shots so the enemies don't see it coming until its too late. This makes Kaz perfect for the rear guard of a box formation, letting him gain advantage from the friendly ship blocking his view in front of him.
Kare Kun:
Poe's wingmate in both Rapier and Black squadron, Kare was a skilled and loyal pilot who was skilled at improvising during combat, able to change directions in both her plans and flight within a seconds notice. This was shown well in her T-70 ability, letting her use her boosts to turn much faster and change direction more effectively if needed. I went with a similar ability, letting her rotate her ship after boosting, showing how the more manoeuvrable T-85 can be deadly in her expert hands.
Joph Seastriker:
I love Joph, he feels like he's just a normal person, trying to do his best to be a good person in the manic Star Wars galaxy. I decided to put him in the T-85 as although we don't know specifically the model of X-Wing he flew in the Bloodlines book, it's almost certain that he few a T-85 as his service was during its deployment period.
His ability is inspired by a stunt he pulled in the book when he flew his X-Wing down a tight cave system. To mimic this, his ability simulates his skill in piloting around obstacles, letting him perform an action after moving through an obstacle. This lets him ignore half the issues with asteroids and gas clouds, and pairs well with both the Marg Sabl Closure and Backwards Tailslide, letting him put them to good use.
Hugh Sion:
The First of Kaz's wingmates, Hugh joined Kaz to deliver information to the Resistance before he was forced to retreat. We discover that he joined the Resistance and became a part of Jade Squadron later on in the Resistance TV show.
Hugh's ability works well with the New Republic preference for a more pacifistic military, that would rather disable and capture enemy ships over outright destroying them. He takes advantage of an ionised enemy, Hugh becomes harder to hit if the ship is disabled in anyway (via; ion, tractor or jam).
Mia Gabon:
Kaz's other wingmate who was also forced to retreat with Hugh during Vonreg's attack.
I gave Mia an ability that fitted her willingness to retreat during the battle, letting her try to boost away if there is no enemy ship in her front arc, so she can try to either escape or possibly get a ship in her arc. Because her ability triggers in the engagement phase Mia can easily act as both blocker and ace, letting her force an enemy into a bump, then she can boost into a more aggressive or defensive position.
The Generic:
As with most ships, there must be a generic, and the T-85 is no different. I will say though that I feel that even the generic Rapier Squad Survivor should have a talent slot, as we can see that the New Republic seem to favour a more thin spread but a more skilled military, a far cry from the Imperial navy's style.
The Upgrades:
Interlocking S-Foils:
As with all the other parts of the T-85, the S-Foils are just a more streamlined version of the T-70's S-Foils. The open side, like with the other X-Wings, does not affect the starfighter, however the closed side turns this ship into an ace! Like with the T-70, if the S-foils are closed you only lose an attack dice if the enemy is out of your bullseye arc, however, it's the linked
actions that set this card and ship apart. The white barrel roll to boost and vice versa is a powerful ability that will allow this ship to act as a pure ace, capable of taking on all other aces, even without the additional agility. This is compounded when you factor in BB astromechs and BB-8 specifically, with them letting you perform a boost and barrel roll before you move (however it is only twice per game).
Mission Specific Payload:
It felt wrong improving upon the T-70 in almost every way and then removing its biggest advantage. This card gives you back this advantage, letting the T-85 be decked out for specific missions. It also has the added benefit of giving the T-85 access to the Underslung Blaster Cannon, which works very nicely with the Fabritech Tracking Computer.
Disabling Shots:
This is an upgrade suggested to me by Reddit user Crazy_Skylord. As the NR is a demilitarised organisation, it makes sense for them to deploy starfighters with ionised shots designed to only disable a ship and not destroy them.
I also worked in an ability to allow you to almost completely disable a ship which forces it to stay ionised and slowly walked
off the board to be later captured. There is a chance though that a disabled ship can get its systems back online in time to save itself from capture.
The idea of a pacifist way of winning an X-Wing game is incredibly hard to make and balance. Even with this upgrade, Ion Bombs and Conner Nets would be a very easy way to disable ships without needing to get as many hits on them. However, the fact these ships can still shoot and escape their disabled state makes it a much harder way to win, especially if your opponent is good at preventing your ships from keeping the ion tokens coming in.
I also added a new builder keyword for this upgrade, New Republic. I decided on this as although you could argue that the NR is best lumped into the Resistance, there is also some cross over with the Rebellion period, so I could see some Rebel ships wanting access to NR restricted upgrades.
Koiogran Kick Back:
The Koiogran Kick Back is an idea I had for a talent similar to the Backwards Tailslide. The idea is for pilots to use a burst of thruster power while executing a K-Turn or Tallon Roll to both redirect their movement but also singe their enemies behind them. This could be a risky move though, as if your opponents don't overshoot you, you could easily end up right in their sights!
R2-C4:
C4 was Kaz's cowardly astromech while he was apart of the NR. They where desperate to save their skin (well metal) when in danger during a battle. Despite this, they seems to be capable of repairing Kaz's badly crippled X-Wing so Kaz could hit a FO ace. I tried to show both these sides in its ability, by letting you use it's calculate token to perform another action, however the second it senses danger, its mind go's to survival! On a side note, I like the idea that it's the same R2-C4 from Naboo who survived all the way up to the First Order crisis and was repainted and used by the NR!
CB-23:
Kaz's replacement astromech after Poe took BB-8 back during his mission on the Colossus. Although CB didn't fly a T-85 to our knowledge, I see it as being the only way to get her in a pack. Because of this, I tried to work on an ability that is both useful on the T-85 and for Kaz in the Fireball (when he gets more damaged his strength is reduced).
Holographic Imaging Systems:
Another newer system incorporated into the T-85, the holographic imagers lets pilots have a more precise view of the battlefield, letting them be more effective at hitting their target. However I see it as possibly being a more unstable system that crashes frequently if the ship is ionised or jammed, and it could be hard to use if the pilot is stressed.
Rapier Leader:
A command upgrade designed to bring a squad of the T-85s into epic combat under Poe's expert leadership. It incorporates an early idea I had for the closed S-foils, letting the T-85's have access to white K-turns and Talon Rolls making the ship even more manoeuvrable and ace-like. However, I decided it was too strong for a standard game ability and would work better in the epic format in a limited upgrade.
Conclusion:
I see the T-85 X-Wing as the New Republic's finest vessel and a crowning achievement in starfighter design for the period, in a similar fashion to the Rebellions T-65 X-Wing. It also makes sense for why the First Order was so desperate to collapse the New Republic from afar, as I believe that the NR was technologically superior to the FO (as proven by the T-85). However they made the foolish decision to spread themselves thin and base their military from one planet, letting them be destroyed in on sweeping move (ironically similar to the Empire in some ways)
With the T-85 I tried to extend its role as the all-purpose fighter that all X-Wings fit into, but I pushed it more into the ace role than its predecessors. This makes it very similar to the Tie Defender, a ship that can tank it out as a jouster but then keep up and some times outmanoeuvre pure aces, although it lacks some of the better and less stressful manoeuvres of dedicated aces.
However because of this, like the Defender, the T-85 would be an expensive ship to run in a list, we're talking 50 points for the generic at a stretch and 70-80 points for Poe himself.
But this would be worth it for such an amazing ship that is the pinnacle of starfighter design.
As normal feel free to use the cards in friendly games to show the rest of the X-Wing community that this ship is a real ace!
Thank you all for reading,
Watcher Leader out.
I'd also like to thank the lovely people on the homebrew section of the X-Wing: Second Edition Discord, who gave me access to new software for my pilots cards, its made them so much cleaner and better to look at. Thank you guys!