Imperial Points Changes

Not something I usually do as I’m always late to the party. However I don’t have any Git Gud episodes in the pipeline so instead here is my take on the latest points changes. What it means for old lists and what we can expect to see going forward for the Emperor’s finest.

Let’s start with the big bad phantoms. The game designers worked so hard to make generics tempting enough to split a portion of the player base away from the established three high initiative elite pilots of 1.0. For the most part they succeeded. But then things like quad phantoms and dreaLoks took over as king shits of the damage race. Now quad phantoms can only fit a single juke in. Will it still see play? Probably. More likely we’ll have them all with crack shot instead which will be less oppressive and reward getting those bullseyes with a midrange turn order. Which means you gotta come out of your corner and start hunting. You know who you are.

TIE swarms remain untouched which is good. They’re not for me but fans of keeping it OT will be happy.

Imperial aces took a hit with the high initiative tax. This hurts their chances in the bidding war more than anything else. My favourite archetype wasn’t safe from it. Deathrain/Soontir/Vader went from 196 to 200. Vynder/Whisper/Vader went from 188 to 197. As for Vader/Whisper/Soontir you’re gonna have to hold back on upgrades if you want to move second (or switch out for duchess). Are the new points fair for what aces bring to the table? Yes. Is it healthier for the game? I’d say so.

Aggressors went down and barrage rockets, turret gunner went up. This is a trend you’ll see in other factions and FFG’s message is clear: we want generics to be viable for competitive list building, but please don’t spam them into absurdity. Same thing with the aces tax. You want the best of the best that’s fine, but you’re either gonna trim them down or move first sometimes. This is the first update done with this in mind and if it doesn’t shake up the meta to a significant degree then they will do it again.

The Decimator finally got a little love. Reduction in cost for non-force crew could turn that thing into a good albeit massive support ship. Only time will tell. Just in time for it’s 2.0 expansion release.

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The thing to remember if you feel your faction was hard done by is this; other faction’s points changes affect your factions too. I was a bit miffed when my Deathrain build got more expensive again. But things that would wreck him like proton torp spam got more expensive. So it all works out in the end.

With high initiative being squeezed and low initiative under surveillance we might see a surge of I4’s and I3’s becoming tournament staples. Oicunn, Gideon and Kestal spring to mind, and there’s something about Turr Phennir. Been flying him for a few games now and he’s better than you think.

Durr DuDurr Turr Phennur

The list I’m most looking forward to flying is four I3 inquisitors with supernatural reflexes and proton rockets. They can zip around at great speed with evade, focus, 3+ greens to keep them safe. Then focus, lock when the time is right and take a chunk out of the opposition. Definitely one for the more experienced players.

Come to think of it the TIE Advanced v1 2.0 expansion is coming out soon.

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But in all seriousness there were some much needed changes in the update. Not sure why they took illicit off the falcon and priced up dampeners, figured one or the other would be enough. Dash seems to have fix upcoming in the future. Oh and card packs are coming! Or maybe not. ‘Fans of card packs will be happy’ is what they said, slight difference there. Here’s hoping for the return of Fel’s Wrath.