As with the last points change, I have a lot more to say about the points adjustment. In this series of articles I will break down a faction and its associated upgrades to dissect what was accomplished by the June 2019 points update. Should FFG see these articles, I hope that they appreciate them as honest constructive feedback and not some random Internet person nay-saying them. But as a starter opinion, this update feels like we have received a much more balanced game which is great. First, we will look into the heroes of the Galactic Civil War, the Rebellion. For reference, our points change evaluation for the January 2019 update can be found here.

The Ships

To start us off, I will dissect each and every ship chassis and their pilots. I may make some comments about upgrade prices, as some of them drastically affect a ship’s usefulness (Leia and Moldy Crow, I’m looking at you). Each ship will have a verdict applied to it grading the changes or lack of changes.

B-Wings last season saw a huge increase in usage in Rebel Beef, wrecking everybody’s day. Braylen Stramm and Ten Numb became some of the best heavy hitters in the faction. Bringing them up to 51 and 48 respectively was a solid change. Leaving the generics at the same price seems a good move, as well. Verdict: Good

The ARC-170 got some love this time around, but when compared to the Republic ARCs, they still seem pricier. Norra stayed at the same price, but as she is a tank that is fine. The others could see a 1 point reduction to bring them closer into line with the other faction. Verdict: Better, but needs Adjustment

The Attack Shuttle still sits at a decent price point for a three attack die ship. I still question Sabine and Ezra’s price points as they may be a little high, but they are at a workable point to put them in a list. Verdict: Good

The Auzituck Gunship has yet to see a price change, and they are mildly overcosted. But I don’t really want to see them drop in points as I have played against four Wookiee Liberators with Leia, and it is a slog, so dropping points to allow for more upgrades sounds unappealing. But at the very least, Lowhhrick can drop in points as his ability is much weaker than his 1E counterpart. Verdict: Decent

The Y-Wing had an early meta presence with Veteran Turret Gunner and Ion Turrets after the January points change, until Rebel Beef showed its face. With the increase to both those upgrades, the lack of points change in the pilots is fine. It is odd that Dutch got singled out for a 1 point increase, but overall, that didn’t hurt too much. Evaan Verlaine could probably drop down to 34. Verdict: Good

Both K-Wing named pilots dropped a further 2 points which are both good calls. Esege still only has faux action economy, and Miranda is still recovering from her nerf bat bludgeoning, so they both needed the drop to be more relevant. Warden Squadron Pilots going back up to 39 is good as it prevents running four with Barrage Rockets and Proton Bombs AND Sabine. You can still drop down to Seismics without Sabine, but that isn’t quite as scary. Verdict: Good

Generic E-Wings saw another point decrease, but yet we don’t see them around much. Perhaps, continue with a cautious point drop of 1 point. I am super hesitant to suggest anything higher, as I don’t want to see four E-Wings on the board across from me. Gavin could probably stay since he has a solid ability, but Corran’s ability being limited to bull’s-eye has really toned down its effectiveness, so he could get the 1 point decrease, as well. Verdict: Good

Every HWK pilot saw a decrease, which is great, as you never saw this ship without the title. You still don’t, but the changes are still good. Roark could probably drop down to Torkil’s price of 37 points; upping a ship to I7 isn’t anywhere near as good as downing a ship to I0. Verdict: Good, aside from the Title

The YT-1300 is the one large base Rebel ship that actually has seen some significant victories since their point drop, so keeping the points the same isn’t bad. I would argue that upping Han by 2 points instead of R2 crew would have been a better choice, as the little blue droid isn’t as strong on other pilots. Removing the illicit slot from all of the pilots seems a poor choice as well, since only Han made strong use of that upgrade. It should have gotten the same treatment as the crew on Leebo and not hampered the rest of the chassis. Chewy could likely drop a point. Verdict: Good, but could take some adjustments

The Rebel A-Wings have seen much more play time with their point drop. I would suggest a mild drop in price of 1 point on the named pilots, but they would be fine if they stayed at the same cost. Verdict: Good

The Sheathipede is a great ship, and AP-5 and Zeb are decently priced, but it seems Ezra and Fenn are still paying their 1E dues. Both should drop at least 2 points to get them to make appearances in the game, maybe even 4 points for Fenn. Verdict: Not bad, but needs work

The T-65 X-Wing needs some love. Wedge appropriately went up, but no other changes were made. Kullbee, Leevan, and Edrio should drop by 2 to 3 points each. Jek and Garvin could drop by 1, but it would no big deal if they didn’t. Let’s get some more X-Wings into the game of X-Wing! Verdict: Several pilots need drops

No changes in the Rebel TIE prices means I am going to copypasta from the last point change article.

Probably all of the Rebel TIE fighters are overpriced except Zeb. If you compare them to named TIE/ln in the Imperial faction of the same Initiative, they definitely seem overpriced. Rex’s ability isn’t anywhere near as strong in Second Edition; he should drop 3 or 4 points. Sabine really didn’t need the uptick in points by 2 as her Attack Shuttle linked action exploit doesn’t work on this chassis, so she should drop back down by 2. However, Ezra in the TIE fighter is the one ship where his cost seems somewhat justifiable as he can have an evade backed by a force charge… still drop him by 1 point. Verdict: Needs Adjustment

Honestly, I think that the U-Wing is in a good place currently. With Leia crew going up in points to 6, they all effectively got a point increase. Cassian got an increase for his part in the Rebel Beef shenanigans, which is the right move. Saw, Magva, and Bodhi could probably see a 1 point decrease, and it wouldn’t hurt. Verdict: Good

The VCX-100 is still hampered like many of the large bases are. I’ll keep with my suggestion from the last article and reduce the cost of each by 1. These have potential, but they are missing something, maybe mild points decreases will do it. Verdict: Decent, but needs love

The YT-2400 is also suffering from large base-itis, but got no change. This one I hope FFG remains cautious in point drops as a 180 degree lockless proton torp should be handled with kid gloves. The ship definitely needs to drop in price, maybe just 1 or 2 points on all pilots to stay safe. Combined with a drop in the cost of the title, we might actually see this ship show up. Verdict: Needs work

The Rebel filler ship. Decently priced from the start, but would be more useful if missiles went down by 1. Could safely drop Airen’s price by 1 or 2, as well. Verdict: Decent

The Upgrades

For this section, I will address each upgrade that made a point change and the upgrades that didn’t see a change that probably should have for this faction.

R2-D2 getting added to the agility sliding scale is great, all in all, making him cheaper on every chassis with the exception of E-Wings. R5-D8 should probably drop another point. “Chopper” is likely fine at his price point.

Rebels only saw increases in their crew costs, most notably Leia crew moving up to 6 points, which is a much more reasonable price point. Saw, Maul, and R2-D2 all went up, but honestly, I don’t think those were super necessary. R2 was only good on Han, and should have been adjusted on him, as I said before. Maul going up to 12 was unnecessary, as there are better force crew out there for cheaper (7th Sister for 9 points comes to mind, or Palp for 11 points). As for Saw, he comes with his own punishment beyond the now 9 points that he costs, so the increase is odd.

I still think that it might be worth trying out making the S-foils configuration cost 1 point, but decrease the cost of every T-65 by 1 point. It is essentially a 1 point engine upgrade with a linked action. That would be a steal for 1 point. This would allow for 5 T-65s, and as 5 Kirhaxz Fighters with points to spare is possible, I don’t think FFG fears 5 X-Wings, especially X-Wings without the boost action or linked actions.

Rebel gunners are still not great. Luke is useful in only certain scenarios, but is priced decently. Han gunner is paying for his Roark/Dash combo that has been errata’d out of existence, so that is odd. Bistan is okay, but not great. Drop Han and Bistan by 2. Ezra went down 4 points but is still just an expensive Veteran Turret Gunner. Drop a bit again, maybe?

Outrider could likely drop by 2 points and remain fair. The Millennium Falcon title should go down 1 point, as well. Phantom title could drop to zero points for as much as it is used. And the Moldy Crow title should drop by 3 points. Any pilot that is too good with the title should be reflected on the pilot not the title.

Well, there is my diagnosis on the Rebel points change. What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree? What do you think still needs addressed to be usable? What do you think needs addressed because it is too strong?

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