In the wake of the reveal that FFG will be releasing card packs to include new pilots for existing ships, the various writers of the blog put our heads together to come up with pilots that we would like to see make their way into the game. Many pilots from First Edition are viable candidates, but they may need some tweaking to be reintroduced in Second Edition. Some of these choices may be from nostalgia, while others can actually help fill gaps left in the game by their exclusion. After reviewing the wide range of pilots left behind, here are the ones that we picked:

Dan’s Picks:

Thweek (StarViper): I started playing Thweek as soon as we had enough info spoiled during First Edition to do so. And I didn’t stop playing him until the switch to Second Edition forced me to stop. I absolutely loved him, and my love for Guri in Second Edition stems more from my time playing Thweek than it does from any time spent playing Guri in First Edition. At that time, playing a StarViper that always moved last was really good, but, due to the inherent lack of action economy, it wasn’t terribly broken. Now that the Starviper has repositional actions linked to mods, Thweek’s 1.0 ability could be absolutely broken. For those who don’t know what in the world Thweek’s ability was, he could assign a condition card to an enemy pilot during setup that would allow him to either copy that pilot’s pilot skill (initiative value), or copy their pilot ability. The latter part of his ability rarely saw any competitive play, and the former only by the few that played Thweek. But, built out correctly, having a fairly cheap P.S.-infinity ace was awesome. If his ability came into Second Edition unchanged, I would never play anything but Thweek, Guri, and a bid. And everyone would hate my guts for playing it and complain even while they beat me. Regardless, the real answer here would be to make him an I3 or I4 pilot and keep only the portion of his ability that copied an opponent’s pilot ability, and call it good. It wouldn’t be great, but there could be some pretty fun situations that could arise from it.

Dalan Oberos (M12-L Kimogila):

Now, before you say, “But Dan, Dalan in the Kimo did make it into Second Edition!”, let me say this: yes, the name transferred over to X-Wing 2.0. However, FFG killed him off even as they brought him over. His First Edition ability was very solid, without being broken. And instead of transferring it over, they gave him a super crappy ability, on a sub-par chassis. They took away his ability to acquire a lock on a ship in bull’s-eye, even though it would have been reined in a bit simply by the switch to a medium base with a red barrel roll, making it that much harder to get bull’s-eye consistently. I can’t imagine that FFG would change Dalan’s written ability now, but I would love to see another Kimo pilot given his old ability.

Emily’s Picks:

Ahsoka Tano (Rebel TIE/ln): I understand that Ahsoka was held back out of Rebels so that she could make a splash in the Republic, but thematically her absence from the Rebels is a glaring omission. I don’t think she would have to be in the TIE/ln necessarily either – there’s no particular thematic reason for her to be there, and she could just as well be thrown in as a pilot to any of the ships from the Rebels TV series. I’d love to see FFG come up with a new pilot ability for her and bring her back to Rebels.

Gemmer Sojan (Rebel A-Wing): Assuming that this pilot would land at I2 or I3, I think “while you are at Range 1 of at least 1 enemy ship, increase your agility value by 1” for an A-Wing is not unreasonable. It’s less powerful than the similar Norra Wexley, because it’s not an automatic evade, and it feels a little less impactful on a ship that already has 3 agility regardless. The Rebel A-Wing has been underutilized due to its relative mediocrity (especially in comparison to its Resistance counterpart), so it could use another solid, consistent pilot ability outside of Jake Farrell. Gemmer can make his way back into Second Edition with no real change to his ability, and I2, he would be a fantastic blocker for the Rebels.

Matt’s Picks:

Commander Alozen (TIE/x1): Alozen didn’t see a lot of play in First Edition, probably due to his low pilot skill and high cost. With the Advanced Targeting Computer upgrade, he would cost 52 points in Second Edition, which is bit pricey, but his ability to obtain a target lock at range 1 would be pretty decent if it were brought into this edition. The TIE/x1 currently has a problem: it needs a lock to do any real damage, but needs a focus token to not get destroyed immediately (which is largely why we only see Vader in that ship). However, the Commander could get around that by taking a focus action, then acquiring lock with his ability at the start of engagement. Make him an Initiative 3 pilot, change the range 1 restriction for acquiring the lock to range 0-1, and price him in the 44 point range. More solid initiative 3 and 4 pilots is something that this game needs, and Alozen can help fill that gap.

Valen Rudor (TIE/v1): My appreciation of the TIE/v1 is somewhat well known now, but my love goes back to First Edition. Baron Valen Rudor was originally one of the pilots in the TIE/v1 which with its plethora of actions worked great with his ability to take actions when he was shot at. Giving him a Proton Rocket and Intensity (or Push the Limit) was a treat: Lock a target, and when Valen was shot at, he would focus and boost to range 1 for a double modded 5 die shot. Very nice. Now in the TIE Fighter, he doesn’t get a lot out of his ability. You pretty much focus, then evade when shot at, or vice versa. Put him back in the TIE/v1 and price him in the 35-37 point range. Valen would also be another solid middle initiative pilot that would continue to round out the 3’s and 4’s.

Michael’s Picks:

NOTE: Michael had mentioned that Carnor Jax would be a likely pick of his, but due to a busy schedule, he wasn’t able to write about him. So, we’re gonna do it for him.

The TIE Interceptor hasn’t seen much play in Second Edition outside of the Ace of Legend himself, Soontir Fel. Turr Phennir might see some play once Snap Shot comes out, but overall, the chassis just isn’t making the cut. One pilot that would see play if returned to the game is Carnor Jax at Initiative 5. There is a decent gap between I4 and I6 that an Interceptor could do good work in. His ability would need some tweaking though as it seems rather strong in the current Second Edition climate. We could update him to “At the start of engagement, you may choose one enemy ship at range 1. If you do, spend one charge. That ship cannot spend green tokens or force tokens while defending or attacking this round.” Limiting his ability to one ship at range 1 tamps down the ability to Second Edition standards, without reducing its relative power. Expanding the ability to include force seems prudent as force users seem to be at least partially immune to several game effects. Make it one charge recurring, and we have another decent Interceptor pilot.

So there you have it: the pilots we’d like to see transition over from First Edition. What do you think of our choices? Which pilots would you have brought over? How would you update them to bring them into 2nd Edition? Let us know!

If you are in the St. Louis area or coming to visit, reach out to Arch Alliance X-Wing on Facebook to find out where we are playing on any given night.

For more Arch Alliance content check out:

Our YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Biophysical’s Starfighter Mafia blog.