X-Wing - Wave 4: Initial Impressions...

Just when everyone was settling down from the excitement of Capital Ships and Imperial Aces, Fantasy Flight Games surprise everyone and announce Wave 4!

So, what will these new ships bring to the game and what are the initial impressions?

• The Imperials now have some seriously effective fighters at their disposal
• With the TIE Phantom, we see our first Attack 4 ship in the game. Is 5 attack dice at RB1 overpowered?
• The E-Wing and TIE Defender both have 3 Attack and 3 Agility. Prior to Wave 4, the TIE Interceptor was the only ship that could boast this
• Rebel Swarms - At 12pts each, the Z-95 Head-hunter means the Academy Pilot better watch his back
• Alternatively, the Z-95 acts as a cheap filler when trying to round out Rebel squads to 100pts
• The Ion Pulse Torpedoes deliver two ion tokens in one shot – Big ships should start getting worried
• The TIE Defender features a mystery maneuver never before seen on a dial. Could it be a 1 K-turn or a banked K-turn?
• The Flechette Torpedoes (Rebel Transport release) and the Ion Pulse Torpedoes, will be a boon on the humble A-Wing
• The rebels have two new droids to play with - The R7-T1 and the R7 Astromech
• The TIE Phantom sees the introduction of the Advanced Cloaking Device – No doubt for shedding target locks / focus tokens
• The Stygian Particle Accelerator gives the TIE Phantom a free evade action when it cloaks or uncloaks
• Ultimately, the Wave 4 release helps to fill gaps in both the Rebel and Imperial fleets without making any of the current ships obsolete

E-Wing - Designed to match or exceed the performance of the X-wing in every respect, the E-Wing introduces a star fighter that combines the best of the X-wing’s firepower and durability with the A-wing’s speed and maneuverability… 

Z-95 Headhunter - The Rebel star fighter with the lowest squad point value, the Z-95 Headhunter offers an extremely efficient missile platform, better enabling the Alliance to match Imperial forces ship-for-ship…

TIE Defender - Introduces a powerful, straight-forward Imperial fighter with strong shields, weapons, agility, and a maneuver never before seen on a dial…

TIE Phantom - With its stygium crystal cloaking device, deflector shields, and hyperdrive, the TIE Phantom is one of the most menacing star fighters in the galaxy…

I think FFG have outdone themselves with this release, maintaining the dog fighting roots of the game, whilst introducing some thrilling and exciting models for both Rebel and Imperial commanders. It's easy to forget what we'll have available to us in terms of choice and scope... God only knows what we can expect from the X-Wing game in the second half of 2014, but I suspect the Empire will be receiving something large and menacing...

Cheers :)