Fantasy Flight Games finally dropped the bomb, and now we’ve got a whole new game to figure out.

My beloved Scum and Villainy faction got hit the hardest, but I ain’t complaining. Boba Fett (+6) as we knew him is sitting in the Sarlacc Pit along with his pals Han Solo gunner (+8) and Marauder title (+3). A +17 bump to a single two-upgrade build was definitely the harshest nerf of the day, but Palob Godalhi (+2) with Moldy Crow (+6) and the generic Jakku Gunrunner (+4) took it on the chin too. Scum needs to rebuild its faction identity a bit, but that’s a good thing. Something tells me Boba Fett will still be involved.

The biggest winners were the Rebel YT-1300 pilots, particularly Han Solo (-10) and Lando Calrissian (-12). For anyone who ever liked flying the Falcon, these adjustments are hugely exciting. Leia Organa crew (-6) seems like a great value on these ships as does Lando crew (-3) and Kanan crew (-2), which both play well with Han. Dare I say that Luke gunner (-4 but still 26) almost looks usable in Hyperspace?

The real thrill here is getting some favorites from First Edition back on the table. So in that spirit, here are some lists I’m excited to try.

Wookiee Hate

Asajj Ventress — Lancer-class Pursuit Craft 76 Hate 3 Maul 11 Ship Total: 90 Half Points: 45 Threshold: 5 Bossk — YV-666 Light Freighter 66 0-0-0 5 Lando Calrissian (Scum) 8 BT-1 2 Inertial Dampeners 1 Ship Total: 82 Half Points: 41 Threshold: 6 L3-37 (Escape Craft) — Escape Craft 26 Tactical Officer 2 Ship Total: 28 Half Points: 14 Threshold: 2

Asajj Ventress (-8) was a 1.0-mainstay hurt by a costing bias against big-base ships and force users. Both biases were addressed in the point changes. Now with a cheaper Maul (-2) and Hate, she can freely spend her force on her ability, still the best on-demand stress control in the game, and expect to recover it by next turn. Asajj and the addition of the gunner slot to the YV-666 allows Bossk to reliably use his own ability for the first time in Second Edition, thanks to BT-1. While 0-0-0 (+2) went up, the ability to pair the evil droids on Bossk means reliable crits, which the lizard man can split into two hits. L3-37 (+4) is still great for her cost.

No Upgrades, No Quarter

Kylo Ren — TIE/vn Silencer 76 Ship Total: 76 Half Points: 38 Threshold: 3 “Blackout” — TIE/vn Silencer 64 Ship Total: 64 Half Points: 32 Threshold: 3 Starkiller Base Pilot — Upsilon-Class Command Shuttle 56 Ship Total: 56 Half Points: 28 Threshold: 6

Although price reductions to the big-base ships mean a return of “combo-wing” builds with tons of clever crew interactions, efficiency still rules in X-Wing 2.0. Kylo Ren (-6) and Blackout (-6) both got buffed for some reason. Now you can fit this really strong aces list under 200 points in Hyperspace.

Vennie, Vidi, Vici

Vennie — MG-100 StarFortress 62 Fire-Control System 2 C-3PO (Resistance) 6 Veteran Turret Gunner 6 Ship Total: 76 Half Points: 38 Threshold: 6 Poe Dameron — T-70 X-Wing 68 BB-8 8 Integrated S-Foils 0 Black One 2 Ship Total: 78 Half Points: 39 Threshold: 4 L’ulo L’ampar — RZ-2 A-Wing 38 Trick Shot 2 Crack Shot 1 Ship Total: 41 Half Points: 21 Threshold: 2

Vennie (-5) and the rest of the Resistance Bombers went way down, presumably in response to their signature upgrade, Trajectory Simulator (+10) being made prohibitive for TIE Punishers. But Vennie can work without bombs, and his favorite upgrades like Fire Control System (-1) and Veteran Turret Gunner (-2) got reduced. This double-tapping, super-tanky, bomberless bomber can now fit Poe and L’ulo. My friend Cal turned me on to this list and it appears to have been buffed by a clerical error. This squad is at 195 so there’s room to tweak.

Luke Gunner

Chewbacca — Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter 73 Luke Skywalker 26 Ship Total: 99 Half Points: 50 Threshold: 7 Wedge Antilles — T-65 X-Wing 52 Servomotor S-foils 0 Ship Total: 52 Half Points: 26 Threshold: 3 Thane Kyrell — T-65 X-Wing 48 Servomotor S-foils 0 Ship Total: 48 Half Points: 24 Threshold: 3

Luke Gunner 2019. Let’s do it, baby.