X-Wing/Tactics/The Resistance
- "We are the spark that'll light the fire that'll burn the First Order down." -Poe Dameron
A Sequel Trilogy faction introduced in The Force Awakens, basically the Rebel Alliance several decades later. General Organa leads the Resistance in their fight against the First Order, fighting against tyranny for the past three decades. However, in a surprising stroke of realism, most of the senate isn't behind the Resistance fully (in fact, quite a few of them are secretly funding The First Order), and the Resistance technically isn't an arm of the New Republic's military; rather, it's under Leia's personal command as she wages her one woman war on the First Order, funded and clandestinely supported by her allies within the Senate. This is why the Resistance focuses on fighters rather than capital ships, and why they're using the somewhat long in the tooth T-70 X-Wing rather than the flashy new T-85(which we still haven't seen which appeared in the ST cartoon, but no one watched it, so no one knows what it looks like).
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The Resistance Faction is characterized by limping through the worst possible scenarios, such as rolling blanks...
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...losing your friends...
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...and hiring these people to make movies.
The Resistance
After winning the Galactic Civil War, the New Republic chose to demilitarize and instead rely on local 'cells' to form the defensive back bone of it's army, sort of like the USA before it had an army and relied on state militias.
Pros
- Tech upgrades
- Offers the most opportunities to recover from fuck-ups
- Heroic Talent
Cons
- Few Force users
- Even more expensive than Rebels
- Fewer ship options compared to the Empire and Republic
- Many abilities have short-term benefits that can bite you in the ass later
Ships
T-70 X-Wing
If the original X-Wing is a P-51 Mustang, the T-70 is an F-86 Saber(and the T-85 is an F-100 Super Saber) Unlike the T-65 X-Wing, the T-70 wings do not overlap and when the S-Foils are closed they lay side by side rather than pressed together. The engines themselves are smaller in size while the nose of the ship is more streamlined. They can accept the new BB series of astromech droids in addition to standard models, which are smaller than traditional astromechs and look like a soccer ball with an R-series head floating on the top.
In general, the T-70/T-65 differences are a single additional point of Shields, the requirements for boost and barrel roll are swapped, and the option for a Tech upgrade. It also introduced the T-roll (Talon Roll technically, although some have compared it to Tokyo Drifting) which combines K-turn with a hard turn at 3 distance with a Barrel Roll, since there's nowhere to line-up on the ships side allowing you to slide up or down the move.
- The Weapon Hardpoint feature presents the T-70 as a modular craft, able to take a cannon, torpedo, or missile upgrade.
- When S-Foils are closed, you don't take a penalty to attack if the defender is in your bullseye arc.
- The Black One title gives a single use SLAM with the option of taking an ion token to keep weapons online.
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Poe Dameron.
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The Black One mini
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Jess Pava wearing the T-70 flight suit
Pilots
- Blue Squadron Rookie: The barebones pilot when you just need a body in the craft.
- Jaycris Tubbs: One of the first X-Wing pilots killed in The Last Jedi, he's actually pretty decent here. When he completes a blue maneuver, one nearby friendly can shave off a stress. His initiative 1 means that he can do this before anybody else activates. This makes him a great wingman to pilots that would get stressed easily, like Poe Dameron, any A-Wing pilot, or any Scavenged YT-1300 pilot. Giving him a BB Unit can help get him in a better position before pulling off the needed blue maneuver.
- Nimi Chireen: (HoH) Pilot who was held in reserve until after The Battle of Crait, which means she wasn't included in Leia's SOS. Init 2, gets to turn one blank into an eyeball when attacking somebody whose initiative is higher than hers. She's definitely better if somebody is passing actions her way. She should always be focused, ideally with a target lock to pick up the slack.
- Lieutenant Bastian: The excitable, black dude who flew over Starkiller Base. He can acquire a free target lock on any ship, friendly or hostile, after they take damage. M9-G8 seems to be made with Bastian in mind.
- Jessika Pava: The cute female T-70 pilot, apparently associated with Tierfon Yellow Aces. Her ability rewards formation flying, allowing you to reroll an attack or defense die for each other allied ship at range 1 of you. She can do this once per round by herself, but she can spend charges from her astro droid to do it multiple times, if needed.
- Joph Seastriker: A New Republic pilot who worked directly for Leia and helped discover the growing threat of The First Order in the Bloodlines novel. He gains an Evade token after losing a shield, which helps him survive being under fire by multiple enemy ships, but this ability is a shadow of its 1E incarnation that could slap on a Comm Relay and not lose its evade token at the end of the round.
- Red Squadron Expert: Red Squadron equivalent. Can take an Elite upgrade.
- Kare Kun: Prominent character in the Poe Dameron comic series, married Snap Wexley. When Boosting, she can use a hard 1 turn in either direction instead of just a straight 1 or soft 1 bank.
- Temmin Wexley (Snap): One of Poe's buddies, son of Norra Wexley, he flies recon and likes to go fast. Survived TFA and TLJ, but not ROS. Way to trip at the finish line, fat boy. His ability allows you to boost for free after you perform a speed 2-, 3- or 4- maneuver and aren't touching another ship, which means he loves the Tech upgrade "Primed Thrusters" which lets you boost or barrel roll even with a small number of stress tokens.
- Temmin Wexley (Black Two): (HoH) Snap again, as he is in Rise of Skywalker. He allows any number of friendly T-70s Range 0-3 to flip their S-Foil card at the start of Engagement Phase at the cost of getting Strain. Pretty useful as a wingmate in Epic.
- C'ai Threnalli: (HoH) Ello Asty made a very brief reappearance in The Force Awakens after his onscreen death. When the error was noticed, he was just declared to be a different abednedo who went on to survive Episodes 8 and 9. In XMG, he's Init 4 No Talent. When executes a full maneuver that goes through a friendly ship, he can perform an Evade action.
- Black Squadron Ace: Like Red Squadron Expert, but higher cost and initiative if you really need a high init generic.
- Ello Asty: An alien pilot who bites it in the run on Starkiller base. His ability allows him to treat his T-roll maneuvers as white so long as he isn't too stressed, so he can drift with the best of them. Put Outmaneuver on him to make the First Order Weep.
- Nien Nunb: Everybody's favorite Falcon co-pilot and resident Sullustan, Nien is back as a T-70 pilot. His ability allows him to instantly shed stress so long as there is an enemy in his firing arc at Range 1 when he gets the token, thus making him ideal for any kind of build which might self-stress.
- Poe Dameron (Trigger-Happy Flyboy): The new leader of the elite X-Wing forces (although his fighter is black and orange) and their top ace, laying waste to a dozen ties in a single battle and destroying Starkiller base (the First Order's Death Star, made from a planet). His ability lets him link any action into a white action, treating it as red. BB-8 pushes him to 11 because he can reveal a blue maneuver, perform BB-8's move, link it to a red action, perform the blue maneuver, lose stress, then do the normal action.
- Poe Dameron (Resistance Commander): (HoH) Post-TLJ Poe is a little older, wiser, and more commander-y; that is, if you don't count that moment in the Battle of Exegol where he just announced to his subordinates that he had officially given up any hope of victory. His Flyboy ability has been mixed up so he grants the red action to Range 0-2 friendly instead of himself. Also gets a second charge. It specifies that it only applies to actions performed during that ship's activation, so as to prevent Coordinate tomfoolery. He still syncs well with friendly BB units and Nien Nunb can be hilarious if you land him right.
Scavenged YT-1300
The Millennium Falcon, 30 years after the Galactic Civil War. It's been stolen multiple times, "upgraded" by a putz, and left to rot in a desert scrapyard before winding up in the hands of scavenger turned Jedi, Rey. The unkind years are reflected by its shields dropping 2 points and turret rotation now being a red action. The title, Rey's Millennium Falcon (just make yourself right at goddamned home, why don't you?) helps compensate for its age by allowing you to perform sloops, boosts, and turret rotations with 2 or fewer stress tokens.
- The only Resistance ship that doesn't have a Tech upgrade slot.
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The TRAITOR himself admiring dat ass.
Pilots
- Resistance Sympathizer: A generic pilot who isn't much cheaper than the other options.
- Chewbacca: Chewie's ability is anger. He gets a free action and attack when an ally, including himself, bites it.
- Rey: A desert scavenger who just wanted to go back to Jakku, but ended up accidentally becoming a Jedi. Her Force points can be used on blank results during attack and defense if the enemy is in her front arc. She pretty much always needs to be paired with her BFF Finn, who adds blank results to attack/defense against enemies in front arc. Rey also comes in Gunner flavor with essentially the same ability applying to your turret arc(s).
- Han Solo: A surly old fucker who only agreed to be here so he could die, Han can still kick ass and take names. He can recreate his infiltration of Starkiller Base with his ability to start the game anywhere on the mat outside Range 3 of enemy ships. This is pretty good for breaking the starting formation and getting promptly swarmed.
MG-100 StarFortress
The Resistance's heavy bomber was briefly introduced in The Last Jedi before getting a TPK. Unlike in the movie, these things can survive more than a single volley of TIE Fighter fire. Also unlike the movie, Rose Tico can actually be pretty useful. It has a powerful forward cannon and a slightly weaker bowtie turret, giving impressive coverage. The double Gunner slots mean that unlike the Y-Wing, you can spread the love between your turret and your bombing capabilities.
- None of the pilots have Talent slots.
- Rose can spend an unfavorable die result on a target lock. Works nicely with Finn and/or Targeting Synchronizer. She's usually placed on the Falcon.
- Sensor and double device slots put the StarFortress on the tier of ships that can lob bomblets across the mat.
Pilots
- Cobalt Squadron Bomber: Initiative 1 generic.
- Cat: One of the crew in the Cobalt Squadron novel. Gets an extra attack die against targets Range 0-1 of at least 1 friendly device. Because bombs typically explode before the shooting starts, this can only apply to mines and bombs dropped with the help of Paige Tico if you have a Veteran Turret Gunner.
- Vennie: Another Cobalt Squadron character. You can add an eye result to defense rolls if the attack is in a friendly turret arc. This can of course apply to your own turret, but it was made with A-Wing escorts in mind. Just be ready to invest in a Perceptive Copilot to capitalize on this ability.
- Ben Teene: One of the many bomber pilots killed in the opening of The Last Jedi. If your bowtie is covering an enemy defender, you can assign them Rattled. A Rattled ship takes a critical damage if a bomb or mine explodes in close range. Rattled can only be removed by an action, so in all likelihood, you won't actually deal that extra damage, but you will waste their next action which is still pretty nice.
- Edon Kappehl: Another Last Jedi casualty, along with Rian Johnson's reputation. Can drop a device after maneuvering, pretty much exactly like "Genius." You'll definitely want to bring Ablative Plating along.
- Finch Dallow: The pilot that got Paige Tico over the FO Dreadnought before asploding. Appropriately, he can drop bombs on himself, which works well with Gunner Paige.
- Paige Tico: (H&A) Rose Tico's older sister who died in TLJ. Likes animals. As a pilot, she has Init 5 and can drop two devices at a time. Syncs nicely with Skilled Bombardier and/or Trajectory Simulator. Or just to dump two mines in somebody's face.
- Paige is also a gunner who can drop a bomb or rotate the turret right after attacking. She can also drop a bomb when being destroyed. Remember that her ability supersedes the "one device per round" limitation.
RZ-2 A-Wing
Successor to the Rebellion's stunt flyer. The RZ-2 only appeared briefly in The Last Jedi before Kylo Ren blew up the hangar they were in. The big change is the turret. It can point forward or backward, and it can only be rotated as a red linked action. In the fluff, the RZ-1 cannons are also supposed to rotate, but FFG probably wanted just wanted them to have a mechanical contrast. Who the hell knows? If you were good at zipping the RZ-1 into flanking positions, you will appreciate the versatility the RZ-2's turret offers. It is worth mentioning that because it counts as a turret, you cannot use Outmaneuver's effect, no matter how much it feels like you should. Statwise, it's almost identical to the RZ-1. The only other differences are the blue Bank 3s and tech upgrade slot. Its "Refined Gyrostabilizers" wholly has the effects of the RZ-1's "Vectored Thrusters," just with stuff for the turret added on.
- Prime candidate for Ferrosphere Paint. Or Primed Thrusters.
- It's not a bad idea to have some stress management on-hand, like Jaycris Tubbs.
Pilots
- Blue Squadron Recruit: Initiative 1 generic with a talent slot.
- Green Squadron Expert: Initiative 3 generic with a talent slot. This is where it gets awesome.
- Ronith Blario: (H&A) A rookie pilot who appeared in TLJ, and therefore died. When attacking or defending, if the enemy ship is in another friendly's turret arc, Ronith can spend that friendly's focus token to convert one eye result. It's kind of like a weirder Networked Calculations.
- Zari Bangel: Minor character in Bloodline who was interested in Joph Seastriker's work with Leia and ended up being among the very first to join the Resistance. She can perform an action even if she bumps another ship.
- Greer Sonnel: A race pilot from Pamarthe (Space Scotland). Had to abandon racing after being diagnosed with Bloodburn and became Leia's personal assistant leading up to the founding of the Resistance. She can rotate her turret (without getting stressed) after fully executing a maneuver. This frees her up to do another action and possibly boost.
- L'ulo L'ampar: A Duros pilot who flew with Green Squadron in The Battle of Endor. Close friend of Shara Bey and honorary uncle of Poe Dameron. When stressed, he gets +1 attack and -1 agility. Mostly awesome, as the ship is maneuverable and responsive enough to be able to avoid firing arcs, but if things go not as planned, low agility is a death sentence for such a fragile ship. As the 'Luminous Mentor' the squad leader talent is a natural upgrade to give him a red coordinate to stress him and help another ship.
- Tallissan Lintra: The insanely cute pilot who died too soon in TLJ. Being an escort pilot, she can grant an extra defense die to an ally if the attacker is in her bullseye. Cheaper than the potent L'ulo L'ampar, but definitely safer. Daredevil and Pattern Analyzer can help her get into position.
- Zizi Tlo: (H&A) TLJ casualty. No other information is available. She has a single recurring charge that can be spent after attacking or defending to gain a focus or evade token. Simple, but awesome, and probably very expensive to field.
Resistance Transport
The unwieldy-looking transport that Leia rode to Takodana in The Force Awakens. It has a generally weak dial, but can full-stop and reverse when needed. Crap gun, crap agility, has about the durability of a Y-Wing, and can force itself to play support with red coordinate and red jam actions. The customizability is pretty nice, boasting two crew, an astro, torp and cannon slots. The cockpit pod can be detached from the rest of the ship and flown independently. The maneuver dial is mostly worse than before and durability is lower, but deployment cost is lower, agility is up, and you trade your red coordinate for a red barrel roll. There's also only one crew slot. If you're taking the Pod, it's either for Finn or to carry a single crew on the cheap.
- The intended star of this pack was General Leia Organa. She's expensive as hell and takes up both crew slots (No pod for her), but can spend her Force to lower the difficulty of any friendly ship, regardless of distance.
- Korr Sella burns all stress tokens when you fully perform a blue maneuver. Good pick for the stress magnet pilots, and is pretty much a required companion of Larma D'acy.
Transport Pilots
- Logistics Division Pilot: Init 1 generic.
- Nodin Chavdir: Another mutineer who died on Crait. When he coordinates or gets coordinated, he can perform any of his actions as red as long as he has less than 3 stress tokens. The need for this is pretty situational.
- Pammich Nero Goode: Dispatcher on D'Qar in TFA. In TLJ, she sided with Poe's mutiny, and shuttled him and Leia down to Crait. Killed in the speeder charge. Can perform red maneuvers as long as she has less than 3 stress tokens.
- Cova Nel: She flew Leia to Takodana in TFA and was actually one of the 5 or 6 survivors of TLJ. When attacking or defending, Cova rolls 1 additional die. Does combine with R4's effect.
Transport Pod Pilots
- Vi Moradi: A Resistance spy in the Phasma novel. She's basically an enhanced Informant. She tags a ship at Setup and can look at their maneuver during Systems if she's within range 3 of them. Also, the tagged ship cannot spend focus when attacking or defending against her.
- Finn: A janitor who commits treason twice. When attacking or defending, he can add a blank result or take a strain token to add an eye. Sticking him with Heroic and Perceptive Copilot shot him to the top of the Resistance meta.
- BB-8: Can red boost or red barrel roll during System Phase.
- Rose Tico: The azn engineer who tells Finn "We'll win not by destroying what we hate, but by protecting what we love" right after kamikaze-ramming into his craft while he was trying to save his friends, nearly destroying both of them. When attacking or defending, she can reroll one die result for each other friendly ship in the relevant attack arc.
Fireball
Gotta go fast! The fireball is a modified racing ship and it shows. While it's actual dial is nothing truly impressive,. it's ability, Fireball with wings, makes it unique in two ways: first at the start of the game it takes 1 damage, so in practices it has six hull, and second it can expose one of it's damage cards after it SLAMsin order to remove the disarm it gets from SLAMing, so it can move, SLAM, then shoot at the cost of a crit. Worth it? depends on the pilots. It does combo well with Electronic Baffle so you can take one damage, to get rid of a red token (like stress), then use the damage to fuel fireball with wings so you can shoot after a slam.
Pilots
A note about the pilots, SLAM is an action, which means it's more powerful on pilots with high initiatives. That way they can use the SLAM to either get a ship that has already moved into there cross hairs or dart out of trouble. The latter any ship can do, but the former is one the fireball excels at since it can remove the disarm to shoot in the same turn as the slam. Hook up Advance slam so you can focus after you slam and proton rockets and you have a nasty little close range missile platform.
- Colossus Station Mechanic: Standard pilot, but can't take full advantage of Explosion with Wings since it's Initiative is only a piddly 2, so it can't pull out maneuvering shenanigans on anybody of note, but of course they can slam to get out of trouble easily enough. Combos well with ability's that let you look at enemy ship dials.
- R1-J5: Only Initiative 1, so R1 can't use slam to really fly around on ships that have already moved to line up attack runs, additionally as a droid he can't focus, so he can't use proton rockets, and Fireballs lack a targeting computer for heavy weapons. His ability lets you look at your damage cards before you expose them, to try and get the least bad crit effect, but he can't do as much with those slams. A probable pass
- Kazuda Xiono:Hay look at this guy I've never heard of. not bad though, if an enemy ship has higher initiative then your damage cards (So at game start 2) your guns do an extra damage. Not bad, but does get worse if she starts takeing hits. Would be better on a less masochist ship. As is, avoid Electronic baffles and avoid getting hit at all cost to keep doing constant damage.
- Jarek Yeager: Wonder who this guy is named after? Anyway, Jarek can push the fireball even farther able to pull off basic red maneuvers even if stressed, and advanced red maneuvers if he's critically damaged. . . and he's in a fireball he WILL be critically damaged, so long as he does not get more then 2 stress tokens. So basically Jarek can pull off two red moves in a turn if he has to pull a U turn to get into position.