Hey there, fellow X-Wing Pilots!

Last updated :3/20/2016

RELEASE DATE: ALREADY HAPPENED OMG BUY THEM NOW!!!ARRGHGHHAGA!!!

If you wanna see me unbox this junk, check it out here!



I like thing neat and tidy and in their own place. That’s what this post is for: X-Wing Wave 8 consolidated news and spoilers! With previous waves, information gets tossed out preview by preview. For me, it’s always hard to make comparisons or see the capabilities of the wave as a whole. Since X-Wing Wave 8 is relatively jammed with content, this one will be exceptionally difficult to keep track of. Now that everything considered Wave 8 is out, here it is in it’s entirety.

Of course, you should always do your best to support your FLGS, but if it’s not in the cards, you can support us by using these links!

Gozanti Inquisitor’s TIE The Ghost/Phantom

TIE/FO Mist Hunter Punishing One

T-70 X-Wing

X-Wing Wave 8!!!

Revised/New reference cards!

*Thermal Detonators are the same size as Seismic Charges/Proton/Ion Bombs.

The Ghost Expansion (Updated!)

THE GHOST:

The VCX is proving to a tough nut to crack. It is currently the first ship in the game to sport both a Turret and Systems upgrade slots (helloooo Accuracy Corrector/Autoblaster Turret). In addition to the 4 attack dice, it has an extreme amount of hull equalling that of the Decimator, just configured in a better split (6 to 10 instead of 4 to 12).

The ship seems to be useful in multiple capacities. It can function as a cheap gunship (FCS) and tank, or as a Swiss Lothal Army Knife (TLT, Docked Phantom, FCS, Sabine Crew, Extra Mentions, Bombs) as it can take a myriad of upgrade combinations. It can fire torpedoes out of it’s “Special” arc, or even it’s primary weapon if you dock The Phantom to it.

Unfortunately, the lack of EPT slot caps it’s Pilot Skill and almost demands inclusion of Fire Control System in the Systems slot for free dice modification. Keeping the Ghost stress-free isn’t mandatory, but having the evade action available can delay crits and stop it from getting burned down so fast.

Overall, I’d say the Ghost is a must buy, even if you don’t fly the ship. Some of the other crew members enhance existing builds, like Kanan on a PTL Dash Render piloted Outrider. Too bad the model is too big for it’s base…

TIE Advanced Prototype

The TIE Advanced Prototype is essentially the Imperial A-Wing, which is a bit weird because the A-Wing kinda overlaps with Interceptors, TIEs and TIE/fo’s, and even the TIE Advanced a bit. However, with the TIE/v1 title, almost all the T.A.P. pilots can get the action economy usually reserved for the high Pilot Skill aces.

With PTL, they are good long range snipers (especially the Inquisitor) but may have issues if they have to start arc dodging due to the lack of fast green banks and turns. Autothrusters, TIE/v1 and Juke might be a good home for the PS4 generics, or even Rudor, if you intend on knife fighting.

If you’re not going to buy the Jumpmaster, this will be the only other way of getting Guidance Chips, not to mention XX-23 S-Thread tracers.

“Mist Hunter” G-1A Starfighter (Updated!)

The Scum B-Wing, with a better shield/hull ratio. Unfortunately, B-Wings aren’t doing so well in the current environment (thanks, Twin Laser Turret!) so the timing on this release might be a little late.

These named pilots, though…ooof, talk about sneaking in under the radar. They seem innocent enough until you’re on the receiving end of their abilities. Evade dice usually suck, so Zuckuss’s ability is definitely in his favor, and 4-LOM is one of the the few pilots who actually wants to be stressed. Too bad there are no secondary weapon slots available, but a 4-Dice Hot Shot Blaster could be interesting…

The packing list only including a single Tractor Beam is a little disappointing, as the preview article showed two. Instead, we get two Electronic Baffles, which is useful, but I’m not sure if the swap is equal. Though, it would be fun to run 2 Electronic Baffle Lambda Shuttles with Engine Upgrade…no one expects 2-Turn and Boosting shuttles.

I think the real meat of this pack are Zuckuss/4-LOM crew cards. Outmaneuver + Homing Missile + 4-LOM can really disable the defenses of ships relying on tokens. “Oh, you focused AND evaded instead of boosting out of arc? Bummer…” I was also on the receiving end of Zuckuss hitching a ride with a Trandoshan Slaver and it cost me a lot of would-be evades.

Jumpmaster 5000 (Updated!)

At first, I thought the Jumpmaster was dumb. Dumbbbbbbbb, so dumb! Lame! Pfffft, next!!!

Though, I’m wrong. Having the model in hand, wow, it’s nice. In game, it’s even better. Like the Ghost, the JM5K can fit a lot of different roles, from blocker to lynchpin. Take, for example, this build: Contracted Scout + Intimidation + Anti-Pursuit Lasers + Feedback Array + Intelligence Agent. You can see where an enemy is going to go, Barrel Roll into position for the block, hope the APLs kick in, bone their agility, then zap ’em with the Feedback Array. If you miss the block, you can then either blast them with three red dice or zap ’em anyway.

Not to mention the triple torp-boat build, or any number of Dengar builds. The dial is asymmetric, but damn, you’ve got 2 S-Loops and a K-Turn, but only two of those three moves are red? Daaaaaaamn. It’s also the first big based ship to have a green 1-turn, which is going to be a clutch maneuver. Just try not to bring an action-dependent ship and get stressed, or you will be quite literally spinning in circles.

Also, screw you, Boba Fett!

(RELEASED) Imperial Assault Carrier (aka Gozanti Cruiser)

Wow!!! I’ve always wanted more TIE pilots, and these guys definitely don’t disappoint. Unfortunately, Youngster’s ability doesn’t work on all EPT’s, just on ones with the “Action:” heading. I was wondering why Expert Handling and Expose were chosen for the included EPT’s. It will be pretty funny to have a bunch of Academy TIEs performing Expose actions clustered around Youngster.

I go back and forth on my feelings on the packaging of desirable cards for Standard Play with Epic ships. I’m an X-Wing junkie, so I’m getting all of it, regardless. However, Epic requires a lot of work (time, mental effort, cash to support it, extra gaming space) so I realize it isn’t for everybody. Scourge, the new TIE pilot seems cool, but I think Agent Kallus will have the biggest impact on the game. There are a lot of ace builds lately, so taking Kallus on a Firespray or Phantom will really make it difficult for the enemy ship you select to fight you. I suppose he could be OK on a Decimator as well, but it might be a waste of half his ability.

The Docking mechanic is exciting, too. As mentioned with The Ghost, I’m curious what kind of tactical advantage it will give. However, it just looks so damn cool, who cares how effective it is in combat. It will be interesting to see how this compares to the GR-75 as well. This ship can’t Jam, but it can take hardpoint weapons.

UPDATE: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, ordnance on Epic ships?!?!? I was just thinking how jealous I was of Armada players that their ships can fire missiles, but my X-Wing Raider cannot. There are some serious game changers in this pack. Ordnance Tubes and Ordnance Experts, while 10 points, seems exceptionally awesome, especially since OE can affect the ship it’s on as well as friendly ships.

This is exciting to me because ordnance doesn’t require energy to fire and, if equipped to a Huge ship, the ordnance is unlimited. While a heavy cost, this can save energy for primary weapon attacks or Recover or support actions (like Comms Booster).

The other two modifications are exciting as well. Automated Protocols is essentially a Push the Limit for a Huge ship, and the Optimized Generators essentially lets you power a Hardpoint cannon (like a Ion Battery or Turbolaser) for free. The only problem is, according to current Rules as Written, you can only equip one of the three, as they are modifications and only one can be put on a ship.

One thing I thought was interested about the Gozanti was the Docking Clamps Cargo upgrade. This is something I assumed the ship would have natively. I suppose it’s not a big deal since it is a 0 point upgrade and the ship has two Cargo slots, but it will be competing with Slicer Tools, Comms Booster, Tibanna Gas Supplies, and Broadcast Array. Some of my potential combos are not going to work out here, but I guess that’s ok. Hopefully, the Gozanti is only 2 Epic points so I can field two of them!

On that note, I claimed earlier that the Gozanti is comparable to the GR-75 Rebel Transport. However, I think that, in light of these new upgrades, the Gozanti completely outclasses the Transport. Even though it has 1 additional Cargo slot that the Gozanti doesn’t, it really can’t make much use out of these new upgrades and has been somewhat left in the dust.

UPDATE 2! A little late, but looks like there were two unspoiled cards, Construction Droid and Cluster Bombs (see above). Cluster Missiles, Ion Torpedos, and Homing Missile were also included.

(Released!) T-70 X-Wing

Well, we know this ship. It looks like they’re keeping the theme of Poe’s survivability with Red Ace. It, potentially, gives Red Ace an effective “health” between 7 and 9, given the free evade tokens (it’s not even an action!). The big draw here seems to be the Integrated Astromech, which can be equipped to both types of X-Wings. Bare minimum, it gives you an extra hull/shield upgrade for 1 point (if you take an R5 or R2 astromech). On some of the aces relying on their named droids, I don’t see this being very helpful, but I guess it could make the difference between shooting the next round or dying in this one. Ello Asty seems…well…cool because he’s a PS7, but not all that amazing. Though, being able to T-Roll then boost might be kind of fun and hard to predict. In case you’re wondering who he is…

The T-70 X-Wing has been released and if you can’t grab it from your local game store, you can grab it here.

(Released!!) TIE/FO

Well…yeah, there’s not much to say here. I like to imagine Omega Ace as a Dark Curse who somehow survived both Wedge Antilles and the destruction of Death Star 1, as this ability is similar, but better. I do like Comm Relay not being restricted to TIEs or Imperials only. Paired with Red Ace, this could end up being really effective. Good thing the TIE Defender doesn’t have a Title, yet, because I can see Tech these upgrades being beneficial to the oft overlooked ship . On a negative note, neither the TIE/FO or T-70 come with copies of the EPT Upgrade Wired, which, so far, has only appeared in the TFA Core Set.

UPDATE: Woah…now that all the whole pack is spoiled, I’m taking a close look at Zeta Leader. Him with Wired? And Comms relay? Not only does it sound good, it’s pretty cheap, too!

The TIE/FO has been released and if you can’t grab it from your local game store, you can grab it here.

Welp, that’s it for now! Keep checking back for more info!

My X-Wing Wave 8 sources:

FFG X-Wing Forums Post by user Tipperary

FFG TFA News Article

FFG Wave 8 Announcement

FFG Gozanti Teaser

FFG Second Gozanti Preview

Bell of Lost Souls.net for Gozanti Pic