Guys…it…it happened. After years of crying and moaning and screaming and begging, we got what we wanted….

G-G-G-G-GUNBOOOOOOOOOOAT!!!!

Not only that, but it looks like X-Wing Wave 12 has a lot of other interesting stuff as well. Let’s take a look!

Alpha-Class Star Wing aka Assault Gunboat

So, if you’ve ever played any of the old X-Wing or TIE Fighter games from the 90s, you’ve known and loved (yes loved, there is no escaping it) this ship. It has more in common with the Lambda-Class shuttles than it does any of the TIE fighters that usually fill out the Empire’s Ranks.

OK, so how does it work in the actual game we’re playing? It’s the second ship in the game with a native SLAM action, but with the non-unique title, it can still fire with a cheap cannon. Ideally, this ship will have a full contingent of 3-speed moves so it can SLAM around the board and still make Tractor or Jamming Beam attacks. I’m tempted to gush over Major Vynder, but I’m wondering if he’ll be a bit action starved to be effective. I’m imagining equipping him with Stealth Device, VI, as well as some ordnance, potentially giving him 4 defense dice with he gets a Weapons Disabled token. I could see that being really annoying to kill. However, to trigger his ability, he needs to spend his action on either a SLAM or a Reload, meaning he won’t have any way of modding his green dice. Push the Limit might work, but PS7 might not work so well and if he doesn’t have good green maneuvers, he’s toast next turn. And we haven’t even considered how to get him a Target Lock to fire his ordnance.

An Upsilon shuttle or TIE Shuttle with a Fleet or Systems Officer might be of value, but it seems like getting Vynder all the actions he needs to be effective will be too tricky. I’m anticipating this ship fitting better in a “backup muscle” kind of role; not the most threatening, but if ignored, will make you regret it. Additionally, taking Extra Munitions and a missile upgrade might be more effective than using the Reload action. The lack of a Systems or Crew slot really holds this ship back, but then again, we don’t need anymore power creep, right?

One of those unspoiled Cannons is definitely Jamming Beam and I think it’s safe to say it’s basically the same text as Tractor Beam; (if this attack hits, give the defender a jam token and cancel all results). It sounds like Jam tokens are designed to shut down passive token generation (K4, Fire Control, Attanni, etc). It’s interesting that it doesn’t prevent actions, but essentially stays on your ship until you get a token, then eats it. This is consistent with the Jamming Beam from X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, which prevents your targets from using their targeting computer as long as you maintain it. Don’t mistake this for the Jam Action, which is a double-stress mechanic for Epic play.

Sheathipede-Class Shuttle aka Phantom II

Sheath-i-pede. Sheath-i-pede. Sheathipede. Got it. I’m sure nobody is going to call it that, opting for Phantom II instead. But hey, bringin’ the Ghost back as a support ship! Actually, the Sheathipede looks to be much more capable than the Attack Shuttle and could possibly be deployed sans-VCX. The ARC-170 was the first ship to give us the EPT, Astromech, and Crew combo and proved to be very effective at disruptive tactics. Now, a natively PS9, disruptive ship with those slots open? For 20 points? Dannggggggg…pretty amazing, I think we can expect Rebel Fenn Rau (spoilers…apparently, haha) to see lots of table time.

I’m really excited to see the new Astromechs. We’re definitely getting Chopper, who seems to affect an equipped upgrade card. The other generic, Flight…Astromech (?) has something to do with obstructions and barrel rolls. We’re getting some new crew members, too, but wait…look closer…

Does that say…Scum Only? Woah woah…this is a Rebel Ship coming with Scum upgrades? I double checked and according to the preview spread, there’s nothing to indicate there are any Scum pilots like the Havoc from Wave 11. There’s a mountain of text on this card, so who knows how this is going to work.

While the PS1 pilot ability is a complete mystery, I think it’s safe to assume that Ezra and Zeb’s pilot ability will remain the same as their Attack Shuttle counterparts. An interesting bit of trivia, Zeb has now tied Sabine for number of appearances (3 pilot, 1 crew). Welcome to Zeb Wing.

Docked, the Phantom II gives the Ghost a free Coordinate action at the end of the Activation phase. This is exceptionally useful for low PS ships that have re-position actions or ships that had lost their action to being blocked. From a rules perspective, Coordinate requires you choose ANOTHER friendly ship at Range 1-2, so the Ghost cannot Coordinate itself and get a free action. As always, docking also activates the VCX’s primary weapon out of the special arc for (I’m assuming) a much cheaper price than docking an Attack Shuttle.

M12-L Kimogila Fighter

Kee-mo-gil-uh…I guess? Who knows, I never played Star Wars Galaxies. This is the Scum ship for the wave and seems to fit the role of heavy fighter. So, right of the bat, everyone notices this weird arc coming off the front. That’s a new type, called “Bullseye” arc, which reveals that in the Star Wars universe, people play the game of Darts, and that they have cows and…haha, just kidding.

So, every pilot of this ship is basically Omega Leader-lite as long as the Bullseye arc is involved. The arc itself seems to be about the width of a maneuver template, as it almost lines up with the nubs of the base. Repositioning actions are going to be very important for this ship, which conveniently has barrel roll in it’s action bar. The title seems like an auto-include for this ship, but thank the Maker it is unique. Also, I’m thankful this ship doesn’t natively have the Evade action, as equipping Juke would be exceptionally annoying. Keep in mind, you cannot use the Bullseye arc to fire secondary weapons; it’s edge case, but you could potentially have a ship come at you at a 45 degree angle where the closest point is Range 1 in your primary arc, but Range 2 in the Bullseye arc. Sometimes that comes up with Tactician and turret ships, but it’s a good piece of information to remember. CLARIFICATION: the Bullseye arc can AFFECT secondary weapons, but it cannot be used when determining range.

Similar to the Gunboat Star Wing, this ship also has a Reload action and seems to come with Jam tokens as well. I’m assuming the new missile (possibly Scrambler Missiles?) will assign tokens if the missile hits…hey now…I just thought of something. Imagine if you end up stacking multiple Jam tokens? Ugh, according to the reference card, I would argue that you trade a single jam token for a single focus, evade, or target lock. Getting multiple jam tokens is going to put you at an extreme action/token deficit. To further the comparison, the Kimogila has two copies of the same EPT as the Star Wing, so I think it’s safe to say it’s friendly for ordnance carriers.

This ship is definitely a jouster and seems to front load it’s offense. The senior pilot, Torani Kulda, is ridiculous and is going to make ships that fly in formation think twice, especially if he equips the Harpoon Missile coming in the Guns for Hire expansion. Unlike the Star Wing, there doesn’t seem to be anything (yet, at least) for these ships to do while reloading. An important FAQ entry to remember, you CANNOT use Feedback Array when you have a Weapons Disabled token so don’t let Kimogila fliers pull that dirty trick on you.

R5-TK does [insert ability]. Awesome! Hopefully it gets spoiled soon, haha. Unhinged Astromech might be good to improve this ships maneuverability and R4 Agromech has always been a good choice for heavy-hitters. If you want to get really crazy, adding Hull Upgrade and Salvaged Astromech effectively (sorta) increases this ship’s health pool up to 10 and spares you from a crit, but those 5 points are probably better spent on other ships or upgrades.

There is a new Illicit card that we’ll be getting two of. I used to enjoy trying to piece together the half-spoiled wording of upgrade cards, but that one I’m just going to wait and see. There so much highly conditional text that I don’t even want to try. But hey, you love Dead Man’s Switch and don’t have enough Plasma Torpedoes, right?!?

As not only an X-Wing player, but also an X-wing “collector,” I will say, it’s been a while since I’ve felt compelled to collect a ship. By collect, I mean the see it = buy it mentality. I have an embarrassingly high number of Y-Wings and TIE fighters of most types. The Assault Gunboat Star Wing is going to be one of those ships. Maybe it’s just nostalgia, maybe it’s because I imagined a ship like that existing before I even played X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, but I want that ship. Like, a squadron of them. I want to curse thank FFG for bringing out a ship that gives me that feeling again.

Anyway, as new preview articles roll out for X-Wing Wave 12, be sure to check on this article! Maybe we’ll figure out how that damn Scum Only card works…until next time!