by Kandorth

So we pretty much know what’s the deal with Wave 4. We’ve seen the cards, seen the dials and a lucky and skilful few of us have actually played some. The waves of time lap at the earthen line that lies between conjecture and experience.

But that’s not what I’m going to talk about. I predict that this will be the wave of stress, picking up the trend started by R3-A2 and Flechette Torps which I’ll also discuss. The cards in question are, of course, Tactician, Munitions Failsafe and, for those of us who don’t yet have transports, Flechette Torpedoes.

It goes without saying that a stressed ship, like an ioned ship, is bad news. No reds, no actions, no Push the Limit, no Opportunist until you clear every. last. one. Whereas ion tokens get cleared for non epic ships, stress tokens don’t and unless your name is Tycho Celchu, you’re in for a bad time.

Flechette Torpedoes

Flechettes were already a big deal. 2 points for a 3 dice, range 2-3 attack puts other munitions to shame. But Flechettes have something else: any ship with 4 hull points or less take a stress token. Just like that. Some are immune of course. Lambdas, Tie Bombers, Firesprays, YT-1300s and Y-Wings spring to mind. But most starfighters are vulnerable to this. So if there’s someone who needs to die fast (Howlrunner, Biggs, E’tahn) a one stress will either force a green or deprive them of actions. A wave of stress will do this for as many rounds as you have missiles.

More, this card is spammable. It’s cheap, easy to fit in on a ship for both sides and can be taken in pairs by Y-Wings and Tie Bombers. Three ship lists are very much in danger of being completely stressed on Turn 2.

The icing on the cake is the way the card gives a stress. Hit or miss, just by being attacked you gain a stress token, meaning that those two points are never wasted. A stressed ship at the right time could make all the difference in a game.

Munitions Failsafe

As good as they are, Flechette Torps get even better with Wave 4. Munitions Failsafe allows players to retain their munitions cards if they miss. So if you have Jonus, or any other character that allows a reroll, you reroll your hits and, if everything is blank, get your missile back. Couple that with Flechette Torps and you have a stress cannon. For three points (one for the Failsafe, two for the Torps).

Munitions Failsafe also works with bombs, seeing as a) they’re secondary weapons and b) their token instructs you to discard the card. At face value this isn’t such a big deal, but realistically you don’t _want_ to hit with a bomb with a Failsafe attached. As it explodes at the end of activation, the bomb is a suppression device to deny a large area of space to the enemy. Faster, typically more fragile ships will think twice before entering the rather large radius (Range 1). Squadron based lists that rely on clustering together, have a choice: take 1 damage per ship in range 1 or be herded by TIE bomber/s. Neither are attractive prospects.

Tactician

“After you perform an attack against a ship inside your firing arc at Range 2, that ship receives 1 stress token.” After an attack. An attack that doesn’t have to hit or miss. So Dark Side it up, toss him in a Gunner, get a Target Lock and, as above, _reroll_ your hits. Aim to miss and the Gunner will give you a second attack… two stress tokens on a target. Two. Did I mention he’s only 2 points? No? Well now you know.

So if the price of a Lambda or a YT-1300 with a Gunner and Tactician seem steep, it’s fine. Goes without saying that any ship that can take a crew can benefit, even if you don’t force double shots. A basic HWK with Tactician and Ion Turret is 23 points and can potentially throw out both stress and ion tokens. If you’ve never felt the sharp end of being in a stressed, ioned ship, congratulations: it’s probably the worst position to be in.

A TIE Phantom can also pick one up, although I personally feel that other crew might be more worthwhile with that ship. Granted, with cloaking it can manipulate its way into Range 2. But it’s a risk, for Phantoms aren’t the most durable of things. But that’s a discussion for another time.