Well, here we go again...
NEW X-WING STUFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!
Today I'll be looking at all the new cards revealed by the new FFG article released today for the new Skystrike Academy Squadron pack!
I've already made a pair of articles on the other cards we've seen for these upcoming squadron packs, if you want to give them a read first click here!
Now let's dive straight in with the new pilots revealed for the TIE/in Interceptor!
Commandant Goran:
Goran is the lesser-known instructor of Skystrike, so it very fitting for him to be added into the game, and I'm ashamed that I didn't put him on my predictions list in my first article! I do love Goran's ability for a flavour aspect, it makes him the instructor that he truly is, where Vult Skerris is much more of an arrogant ace who has been ordered to teach others. Goran maybe a strict teacher, but he genuinely believes all his students are of the best standard in the Empire and that they would never betray them. His ability may be otherwise a little weak, however, a swarm of ships with Intimidation could make good use of his ability, letting them bump and gain a focus. I do wonder if there is a way for Oicunn to perform actions while stressed so he can use both Goran and Dauntless...
Nash Windrider:
One of Ciena Ree and Thane Kyrell's friends while they were both apart of the empire, Nash was one of the VERY few native Alderaanian's who stayed with the Empire even after the Death Star blew it up, killing his family along with it. This makes him a true Zealot of the Empire, that probably would never leave their ranks.
I LOVE his ability! I'm currently flying in the Rogue Outpost league, and have flown 2 Warthog swarms during the first four weeks alone. So I know how good it is to have the ability to always attack even if you are destroyed, it makes the already terrifying swarms of the Empire even scarier. I also love how well this fits with Sloane's ability and the other upgrades in this pack!
Ciena Ree:
I can hear everyone's sadness at this card.
However, I have to disagree! Yes, this ability is horrible and is almost only a downside, but it gives us room for a MUCH cheaper initiative six interceptor. For a good(ish) example look at Major Vonreg. Although his ability is much stronger and Ciena's, Vonreg's ability is stupidly easy to counter, as you can see when you are in his bullseye and can just set a blue manoeuvre to counter it completely. However despite this, he is amazing solely because of his initiative value, and although Ciena will be disappointing now, imagine that Vader, Soontir and Ciena list with good upgrades and a decent bid!
Disciplined:
I'm liking the direction they're going in for these new faction talents, giving you an upside to the loss of one of your starfighter, and I hope they continue it with all the other factions it the future (oooo card ideas for the next couple of days!). However, I do wish they'd changed the upside so it was more different from the Rebellions version.
That being said, this is much better than hopeful as locks stay during the end phase where focus don't, making this beneficial even if you've already attacked! It also gels better with the Empire's cheaper and more deposable ship design, as TIE/ln Fighters will love this with a Howlrunner leader to gain a lock when Howl is inevitably swarmed upon.
Skystrike Academy Class:
I like this ability, especially if this is much cheaper than most command upgrades. It nicely shows how the less experienced wingmates are likely to lose the instructors direction the second they pull off a complex manoeuvre without the students expecting it! I think this would be amazing for a scenario game where you have 2 squads of cadets out on training and the Rebels ambush them unexpectedly!
Shadow Wing:
Well, they beat me to it!
I'll still defiantly do my own Shadow Wing pack in the near future, but at least I have a card to work around, so I guess I should thank FFG for beating me to it!
Otherwise, I do love this card and how it shows the squadrons skill, letting them follow their squadron leaders manoeuvre, then burst free after they move, even after the Leader has already boosted or barrel-rolled, making these some very versatile aces!
Darth Vader:
WOW, I know when I said I'd like to see him in my first article on these squad packs, I didn't expect him to appear!
I know he was spoiled a few days ago, but I haven't talked about him yet so here we go:
OH GOD, I'M SCARED!!!!
That being said, I don't think he'll be that bad if correctly priced, he would be so expensive and unable to use his force to modify his defence dice or perform force upgrade abilities, so he's as vulnerable as any other Defender. But even then he will be evil to fly against, so be prepared to face the best plot in the best starfighter!
Conclusions:
These FFG articles are coming thick and fast now, I'll probably see you all tomorrow/today depending on when I post this and can write my next one (if they release the Scum article), so you'll be potentially getting four of my articles in three days, oh god I need some coffee! :D
Although I was disappointed by this pack at first, when reading the Strike Without Mercy article, I've come to think that although the abilities are not too flashy (with a massive Vader shaped exception) it could be very a strong set of upgrades for the Empire. It does have the unfortunate disadvantage of being compared to the Phoenix Cell pack where they are trying to make the RZ-1 relevant again, where both the Defender and Interceptor were already very strong and doing well in the game!
Overall I think this pack and all the packs coming soon will be a lovely breath of fresh air for all these ships, renewing them and making them even more relevant in the game going forwards!
Thank you all for reading,
Watcher Leader out.
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