Space Bone-Arm is back with an article highlighting the most recent points changes! While early tournament results continue to roll in for Store Championships, the Space Bone-Arm crew is still a bit uncertain as to what the meta will eventually shape out to look like.
A brief recap; for this segment, I polled the Space Bone-Arm crew and forced them to judge a selection of pilots in a segment titled “Hot (
) or Not (
)”, where we judge X-wing pilot (not people!) strength post May points changes. Members of the Bone-Arm crew were presented with a single pilot and their respective changes, asked to declare “Hot” or “Not”, and then given an opportunity to provide a short explanation for their vote. We’ve previously covered the Galactic Empire faction.
Did the article length, once gain, get out of hand due to all the points changes and my inability to select only a handful of pilots? Yup! Is it too long for non-Space Bone-Arm members to read? Probably! Regardless, I hope it’s a fun and simple read!
Let’s get into it with the Rebel Alliance faction, which appears to be an early favorite as a top meta pick!
Hera Syndulla: A/SF-01 B-wing
Old: 6 points and 20 loadout.
New: 5 points and 14 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Sensor, Cannon, Cannon, Torpedo, Missile, Payload, Modification, Title, Configuration
Steve: Not! She’s an immobile support ship with no stress ability. If you want a B-wing, just take Ten or Braylen. If you want Hera’s ability, take the A-wing version.
Ted: Hot (Not)! Sure, take a 5 cost B-wing. I don’t mind when my Rebel opponents do that.
Kevin: Not! It’s good that she is finally cheaper, but she’s just going to burn without the cool offensive power of Ten and Braylen.
Ernie: Hot! Less points for her ability, with a decent loadout, is great on paper.
Jon: Hot! Seems like a good cost for the initiative and firepower.
Final Verdict: Not ! While the points drop helped, five points for Hera B-wing is still a steep ask. Especially since B-wings tend to die so quickly.
Gina Moonsong: A/SF-01 B-wing
Old: 5 points and 16 loadout.
New: 4 points and 11 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Sensor, Cannon, Cannon, Torpedo, Payload, Modification, Configuration
Steve: Not! Four point, i5 ships are good, but without the stress mechanics, B-wings tend to be slow and predictable.
Ted: Hot! This actually seems fair and cool. I’m glad they’re not just allowing you to cheese Proton Torpedos with her as well.
Kevin: Hot! This feels like the correct choice for a 4 point B-wing. She will probably just die, but can go out double-tapping her way into efficient points trades.
Ernie: Hot! I was never too crazy about this pilot ability, but with a cost of four points and the right stress-loving squadmates, I would finally consider using her.
Jon: Hot! You’re not going to feel the loss of those five loadout points and now she can fit into more lists.
Verdict: Hot ! Gina hasn’t seen much play since the first iteration of 2.5 when she was four points with trajectory simulator. This feels like a much healthier version.
Garven Dreis: ARC-170 Starfighter
Old: 5 points and 11 loadout.
New: 4 points and 7 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Cannon, Missile, Gunner, Astromech, Modification (Lost two Crew slots)
Steve: Not! Maybe there is some interesting loadout/squad combinations, but the Republic four point ARCs haven’t really lit up the meta despite feeling better than this.
Ted: Not! Do we really need more four point ARCs? Seems rude.
Kevin: Hot! He might be situationally hot, but it is good to have a choice over BoY Garven.
Ernie: Hot! Hera+Garven for token passing used to be sexy. This is cheaper than that combo previously was, but loadout might be a concern.
Jon: Not! He’s always been kind of meh. If you’re taking an ARC, I think you should use Norra or just use BoY Garven instead.
Verdict: Not ! The majority has spoken and declared Garven ARC to be not hot. I slightly disagree (I’m thinking about a Selfless Garven with Hera and token friends…), but they’re probably correct.
Norra Wexley: ARC-170 Starfighter
Old: 6 points and 16 loadout.
New: 5 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Torpedo, Gunner, Astromech, Modification (Gained Talent slot and lost two Crew slots)
Steve: Not! She needs more loadout, but could be an option. She’ll probably still end up on a list that does pretty well, but I don’t think she’s worth a quarter of your squad points.
Ted: Hot! I can’t wait for someone to fly her and win a tournament with that ability.
Kevin: Not! I think she’ll be decidedly “ok”, but that’s not hot to me.
Ernie: Not! I like her more at five points, but the loadout hit is significant. I would still try her with VTG.
Jon: Hot! It will definitely be nice to fit her into more lists. She probably doesn’t feel the loadout hit too much. Maybe you can even fit a coordinator into a list with her now.
Verdict: Not ! Norra is right on the bubble of being hot to us. We wouldn’t be surprised to see someone find a way to slot her into a successful list, but she probably won’t be a faction staple.
Evaan Verlaine: BTL-A4 Y-wing
Old: 4 points and 16 loadout.
New: 3 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Turret, Torpedo, Missile, Astromech, Payload, Modification, Modification (Lost Talent slot)
Steve: Hot! For only three points, there could be some silly uses with his* ability. It’s a small investment and he* can take a turret. Would need some practice for range control, but I say hot because he* was so very cold at four points.
Ted: Hot! THREE POINT Y-WINGS ARE HOT IDC WHAT FACTION IT IS
Kevin: Not! Her gimmicky ability might actually have a place in a list now, but not exactly hot.
Ernie: Not! I wish Y-wings were better, but they seem to die way too fast. I can image that tossing extra defense to ships in bad situations, while having an ion turret, would be useful.
Jon: Not! I’m lukewarm on this. It’s nice to cost three points, but still needs to fly in formation with a higher priority target to take advantage of the ability.
Verdict: Not ! Once again, we’re pretty split/lukewarm on Evaan. Great to see more three point Y-wings and she probably has her place in the correct list. She’s much better off than she was before.
*Steve is in timeout for misgendering Evaan.
Horton Salm: BTL-A4 Y-wing
Old: 4 points and 14 loadout.
New: 3 points and 7 loadout.
Slots: Turret, Torpedo, Missile, Astromech, Payload, Modification (Lost Talent slot)
Steve: Not! Not enough loadout to be worth taking and the Y-wing is a bad chassis as an objective chump.
Ted: Hot! SEXY Y-WINGS AT A REASONABLE PRICE!!!
Kevin: Hot! He’s kinda hot? Especially with an Ion Turret and flying next to Hol.
Ernie: Not! Still just a Y-wing. But, I’m at least imagining using other 3 point Y-wings with this guy.
Jon: Not! Again, its nice that he’s three points, but no heavy hitting focus-based ordinance (like Proton/Barrage Rockets) means that you’re either taking an Ion Turret and pretending to be Broadside.
Verdict: Not ! Once again, a Y-wing on the verge of being declared hot. It feels like Horton will still find his way into some lists, especially alongside other ships that love range 1 (Rebel Fangs, Hol Okand, Norra, etc). The question will be is if that is the correct call in an objective-based game.
Hol Okand BoY SL: BTL-A4 Y-wing
Old: 4 points.
New: 3 points.
Steve: Hot! He’ll be a staple in six ship Rebel salad lists.
Ted: Hot! This might be the one Y-wing that shouldn’t cost 3 points…
Kevin: Hot! Just look at that hot trade piece.
Ernie: Hot! If you can resolve the stress easily, this looks pretty good for three points.
Jon: Hot! Find a lower/equal initiative ship and just bully it with the Advanced Proton Torpedoes (APT). Definitely worth the three points.
Verdict: Hot ! He can double mod his own Advanced Proton Torpedo shot! For only THREE points! Plus he has a Dorsal Turret for time on target! AND HE CAN RELOAD HIS APT! Likely competing for the hottest Y-wing in the game. We may find that three point A-wings are better in 2.5, but at least we have competition within that price point!
Bodica Venj: Fang Fighter
Old: 5 points and 6 loadout.
New: 4 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Torpedo, Modification, Modification (Gained Modification slot)
Steve: Hot! Great ability and she benefits from all the Mandalorian upgrades getting cheaper.
Ted: Not! Fangs that are below i5 personally make me sad. More ships means more range 2-3 shots that she’ll have to take.
Kevin: Hot! Definitely hot, especially if you put her in a squad with juicier targets.
Ernie: Hot! Four points and a loadout bump make her pretty good. Concordia Faceoff is always great and getting it in Rebels for four points sounds appealing.
Jon: Hot! She’s getting more table time now, but was previously strong. Getting more loadout at a lower cost means she’s a real contender if you ever want a Rebel Fang.
Verdict: Hot ! Bodica already saw a small amount of table time and got cheaper with more loadout! She’s possibly the best Rebel four point ship now and we suspect she’ll see heavy play.
Fenn Rau: Fang Fighter
Old: 6 points and 16 loadout.
New: 5 points and 10 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Torpedo, Modification, Modification (Gained Modification slot)
Steve: Not! Maybe there is some crazy play with his ability? I want my Fangs to be heroes, not support.
Ted: Hot! A Fang above i4 for five points? Pretty good.
Kevin: Hot! I don’t think he’ll tear things up, but it’s hot that he might be playable. Can compete with BoY Luke for that five point spot.
Ernie: Hot! Hey, here’s how to resolve the stress issues on Hol. Also, he’s hot for the same reasons Bodica is hot.
Jon: Not! Not as good as Scum Fenn Rau. The i6 is nice, Concordia is nice, but he really wants that Scum Fenn Rau ability.
Verdict: Hot ! An i6 Fang for five points is very points effective. His ability is extremely useful and can help out with combos (remove Bodica deplete, remove Hol’s stress, etc etc). While not everyone is on board, we think this guy will see play.
Airen Cracken: Z-95-AF4 Headhunter
Old: 3 points and 9 loadout.
New: 4 points and 11 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Sensor, Torpedo, Modification
Steve: Not! Please don’t pay four points for a Z-95.
Ted: Not! Lol get f%$ked Cracken. A Z-95 for four points?
Kevin: Not! A four point Z-95 might be the least hot ship of all time.
Ernie: Not! Can still do the old loadout builds, with extras, but now he costs even more.
Jon: Not! A Z-95 at four points feels bad, even with a nice ability. We likely wont see him on the table.
Verdict: Not ! Hitting Cracken was probably necessary, but four points for a Z-95 is likely unplayable. They could have just cut his loadout instead and prevented torpedo spam.
Ezra Bridger: Gauntlet Fighter
Old: 7 points and 16 loadout.
New: 6 points and 12 loadout.
Slots: Force, Talent, Crew, Gunner, Payload, Illicit, Modification, Modification, Configuration, Title (Lost Missile slot)
Steve: Not! *no reason given
Ted: Not! F#$k force.
Kevin: Hot! Thicc with force for six.
Ernie: Hot! They really want Rebel lists to include Fang Fighters and Gauntlet Fighters. I like the reduction. He can block up lanes and hit hard with his ability.
Jon: Hot! Everyone loves Ezra. Don’t worry about losing four loadout. With the Force, you can pretend like he had 22 and just took a Force Crew.
Verdict: Hot ! I think Ted is just jealous of the Rebel Force Pilots and Steve clearly has beef with Ezra. Six points for a Gauntlet that has Force and benefits from stress shenanigans feels pretty good!
Han Solo: Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter
Old: 8 points and 20 loadout.
New: 7 points and 20 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Missile, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Illicit, Modification, Modification, Title
Steve: Hot! BoY Han saw a lot of play and I think this is very competitive for the same amount of points.
Ted: Not (Hot)! For only one less point, you can roll two reds, have less health, and have a worse dial*! Let’s just suck Rebel player’s d%$#s!!
Kevin: Hot! BoY Han was hot. This Han is hot.
Ernie: Hot! Love it. BoY Han seemed like a no brainer for Rebel lists. Now we can get a different version of the same ship for seven points.
Jon: Not! Cheaper Han is good, but BoY Han seems better.
*I think there might be a decent debate about if having blue 2 banks (Rebels) is better than having blue 1 banks (Scum).
Verdict: Hot ! I’m shocked that this wasn’t unanimous (although Ted’s just got that Scum salt). Expect to see lots of Han on the table this tournament season!
Leia Organa: Modified YT-1300 Light Freighter
Old: 8 points and 20 loadout.
New: 7 points and 20 loadout.
Slots: Force, Missile, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Modification, Modification, Title
Steve: Not! Just take Han if you want a Falcon. You probably don’t want two Falcons.
Ted: Not! Same with Ham Bolo Tie, go raise your f@#ked up kid or something.
Kevin: Not! She’s fine, but not hot with Han at that same price.
Ernie: Hot! I still think Han at seven is better, but I always liked Leia crew. I’ll have to play with her LV, but at first glance it doesn’t seem like his has the same punch that Han brings.
Jon: Hot! Get her in a list that likes red maneuvers and forget that she has the force for herself. She fits in more lists now.
Verdict: Not ! Leia is facing stiff competition with the father of her child costing the save Squad Value as her. I’d love to see her hit the table more often, but I’m not sure the extra four loadout over Han (and three over Lando) will get that done.
“Chopper”: VCX-100 Light Freighter
Old: 7 points and 18 loadout.
New: 6 points and 14 loadout.
Slots: Sensor, Turret, Torpedo, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Modification, Title
Steve: Hot! I could see this working as the centerpiece in a Rebel salad list.
Ted: Hot! I kinda respect this move.
Kevin: Hot! Spicy six pointer. Hot.
Ernie: Not! I didn’t like Chopper in this ship before. The jams at range 0 seem fairly avoidable and shooting at initiative 2 means you can get focused down pretty quickly.
Jon: Hot! Chopper is a great murder droid. I’m a fan and will likely be putting him on the table.
Verdict: Hot ! I don’t know what Ernie is smoking, but a six point VCX can’t be anything other than hot! Even with his low initiative, Choppers tankiness will allow him to get shots off before exploding. If you’re not facing down Han, you’ll probably be facing down Chopper.
Hera Syndulla: RZ-1 A-wing
Old: 5 points and 14 loadout.
New: 4 points and 5 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Sensor, Missile, Modification, Configuration
Steve: Hot! Her ability is great and now cheaper. Unfortunately, that LV means that she’s not contributing much beyond her ability.
Ted: Not (Hot)! How come Rebels have so many i6? Thank God half of them are named Hera.
Kevin: Hot! Great ability. Not an autotake with that low LV, but still good.
Ernie: Not! The B-wing is only one point more, has more loadout, another red dice, and twice the health.
Jon: Not! Good for in-engagement “coordinate”, but still might cost too much in an A-wing.
Verdict: Hot ! I decided to interpret Ted’s response as backhanded praise for Hera A-wing. She’s no ace, but her ability is still quite amazing with the timing window. At four points, you can now afford to fly her as a true support piece near the back of your list rather than wishing she was dealing damage. Add in some extra token generation and she might go from borderline hot to super hot.
Jake Farrell: RZ-1 A-wing
Old: 4 points and 8 loadout.
New: 4 points and 11 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Missile, Modification, Configuration
Steve: Not! There are so many ways for Rebels to generate focus/calculates these days and the three point A-wings at similar initiative outshine him. He’s a good ship that is past his primer, but him in a museum.
Ted: Not! I think he’s too pricey now. Poor guy is so cool.
Kevin: Not! Still hard to justify for four points. Just get rid of his missile slot and make him three points. That said, pieces around him getting cheaper might help push him back into relevance.
Ernie: Hot! He got more LV, but I think there are better A-wings. Marginally hot.
Jon: Hot! He didn’t get enough table time before, so hopefully he gets a bit more now that he has more loadout. Great for essentially coordinating friendly ships and the double reposition means that he can get a focus himself. Seems like good action economy.
Verdict: Not ! We’ve flipped the script in terms of voting from Hera A-wing. Jake is a really cool ship, but I just don’t see him being played a whole lot at four points with that initiative compared to more flexible ships (Hera) or higher initiative, beefier ships (T-65s). I’d love for Ernie and Jon to be correct and for Jake to make a comeback!
Wedge Antilles: RZ-1 A-wing
Old: 4 points and 10 loadout.
New: 3 points and 5 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Modification, Configuration (Lost Missile slot)
Steve: Hot! Solid, very annoying three pointer. He can grab objectives and push some damage when needed.
Ted: Hot! Better than big Wedge and feels fair.
Kevin: Hot! He’s a little sh!t.
Ernie: Hot! I like this as a low point ship that can be a real pest to one defense die ships.
Jon: Hot! Baby Wedge can pack some punch. Just have to be careful that he’s not focused down for his name.
Verdict: Hot ! Unanimous hot! For three points, little Wedge will likely compete with a slot that has been occupied mainly by Keo and (sometimes) Ezra TIE/ln. I look forward to getting this annoying little ship back on the table!
Sabine Wren: RZ-1 A-wing
Old: 4 points and 11 loadout.
New: 3 points and 7 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Modification, Modification, Configuration (Gained Modification slot and lost Torpedo slot)
Steve: Hot! Three points and gets all the Mandalorian upgrades. Awesome. Thank god the torpedo version of her is dead.
Ted: Hot! I don’t mind an i3 getting a discount.
Kevin: Hot! I liked old Sabine with torpedoes, but cheap Sabine with Mandalorian stuff is cool too.
Ernie: Not! This could be hot, I like her ability, but initiative is low and the LV reduction are a concern to me.
Jon: Not! Feels like a dollar store Fang. Maybe she’s super good, but just doesn’t get the teeth.
Verdict: Hot ! Another new three pointer for Rebels that has a solid ability! She gets the added bonus of being able to take all the discounted Mandalorian updates. If Sabine TIE/ln wasn’t two points (see below), I think Sabine A-wing would see table play this competitive season.
Corran Horn: T-65 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 18 loadout.
New: 4 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Missile, Astromech, Configuration (Lost Torpedo slot and Gained Missile slot)
Steve: Hot! i5 four pointers are good. The ability is good too.
Ted: Hot! If you have a ton of i6, why also get so many i5? F@#k the Rebels.
Kevin: Not! He doesn’t really want to lock without torpedoes and T-65s have a tendency to just die without green tokens. He could be a silly procket boy with the S-foils linked boost action.
Ernie: Hot! I think four point X-wings are great. I feel like you saw a lot of Kullbee before the points change for that reason.
Jon: Hot! He doesn’t need a lot of loadout to do his job. Getting the lock for something with Proton Torpedoes to generate the double modification.
Verdict: Hot ! I’m overruled! Everyone else thinks Corran Horn for four points is hot! They’re probably correct; a four point i5 T-65 is going to see play and will likely do well. His ability is relevant and he still has a missile slot to leverage it. However, I remain skeptical that four point T-65 X-wings will make a huge wave.
Luke Skywalker BoY SL: T-65 X-wing
Old: 6 points.
New: 5 points.
Steve: Hot! This will be the new default Luke. All Luke ever wants to do is roll eyes and shoot torpedoes. At five points, he still gets to do it.
Ted: Not (Hot)! Go back to the farm cry baby.
Kevin: Hot! Boring, but hot.
Ernie: Hot! Less points and pretty much how you’d build Luke out anyways.
Jon: Hot! Pretty standard for loadout and costing five points mean you don’t really want to waste the point on the other Luke, even if you can boost bank with your S-foils closed.
Verdict: Hot ! We’re going to see a whole lot BoY Luke going forward. The build is super boring and the lack of a bank boost makes him less flexible, but this Luke can brawl for super cheap!
Thane Kyrell: T-65 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 14 loadout.
New: 4 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Missile, Astromech, Configuration (Lost Torpedo slot and Gained Missile slot)
Steve: Hot! Four points, i5, and a decent ability.
Ted: Not (Hot)! Oh cool, another f*$king i5 ship for Rebels at a discount.
Kevin: Not! Procket boy, but probably just dies.
Ernie: Not! Didn’t really see the appeal of his ability in the first place and Corran seems like the better option if want an i5 T-65 for four points.
Jon: Hot! The theme here is getting the cost of the ship down, which is the important part. He’s a budget Maarek and Cluster Missiles can make his ability trigger twice.
Verdict: Hot ! Despite my reservations, I’m interpreting Ted’s response as some i5 jealously in favor of Thane. He’s cheap, high initiative, and doesn’t have an awful ability. While he might not be the first choice of a four point T-65, he doesn’t seem like a bad choice.
Wedge Antilles: T-65 X-wing
Old: 6 points and 18 loadout.
New: 5 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Torpedo, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Steve: Not! He can’t afford Proton Torpedoes anymore and while Plasma’s still hurt, they aren’t as scary. I think there is better value in the faction than five points here.
Ted: Not (Hot)! Hey! I heard you were complaining about i5 Rebels, so let’s discount an i6 too! F&%cking get rid of his ordinance or ban him. That ability is oppressive.
Kevin: Not! He’s probably actually playable now in competitive squads that aren’t pure alpha strike, but his loadout means he doesn’t get many tools. I’m sure I’ll try him out, but I’m lukewarm on him (just take BoY Luke).
Ernie: Hot! No Proton Torpedoes is not great, but it’s still Wedge for less points.
Jon: Not! Meh, probably a good move to make him take less and cost less so that he doesn’t just sweep an enemy list if ignored.
Verdict: Not ! Wow! The Space-Bone Arm crew declares a newly discounted Wedge not hot! The loss of Proton Torpedoes means that his big dice threat is gone and the lack of loadout means that you can’t really build him out in interesting ways. I think I would have preferred that they kept his LV higher, but removed his Torpedo slot. It’ll be interesting to see how much play T-65 Wedge gets.
Sabine Wren: TIE/ln Fighter
Old: 3 points and 7 loadout.
New: 2 points and 3 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Modification (Lost Missile slot)
Steve: Hot! Cool, a two point TIE/ln with Beskar Plating. Going to be the default filler ship, great blocker, and objective chump.
Ted: Hot! Heh, she’s cool.
Kevin: Hot! Two points for a weird little objective ship? Hot.
Ernie: Hot! Absolute objective getter.
Jon: Hot! Cost effective objective getter and squirrely. Has tools to get way even at low intitiative.
Verdict: Hot ! The Rebels newest (and only) two point ships is a pretty spicy choice by AMG (and not friendly to new players being locked into the Conversion Kit…). She lets Rebels player build to 18 without feeling bad about it. We’ll be seeing a lot of her on the table going forward.
Kanan Jarrus: VCX-100 Light Freighter
Old: 8 points and 20 loadout.
New: 7 points and 20 loadout.
Slots: Force, Sensor, Turret, Torpedo, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Modification, Title
Steve: Not! *no reason given
Ted: Not (Hot)! Cool! The double force pilot goes down and loses no LB! Force is op. Neuter the LV of ships that have it. Too easy to abuse with objectives.
Kevin: Not! Interesting, but probably not hot.
Ernie: Hot! Ability is good and six points* is a lot less risk if he gets focused on.
Jon: Not! Seven points is still a lot to dump into a list for what you can get out of it, even with double force.
Verdict: Not ! Kanan has never seen much table time since I started playing X-wing, which is a bit of shame. At seven points, he has to compete with Han and the other YT-1300 pilots. While VCX’s can tank shots, they usually end up as pure trade pieces that cannot escape even if they want to. That said, I think someone will find a nasty defensive list built around him.
Honorable Mentions:
A couple of interesting omissions from the survey were:
AP-5 (4/4 -> 3/5): Very likely a “Not” by the crew, but I adored AP-5 when he was three points and could take K-2SO crew. Now his LV is fairly limited, which is a bit of a bummer. I’m sure he’ll see use in the squads, but probably isn’t a faction staple.
Squadron Starter Pack Standard Loadouts: All the Rebel Starter SL cards looks grossly overpriced and irrelevant for competitive play (unlike Starter Vader and possibly Maarek). Would be great if AMG could give them some discounts, otherwise no one is going to play them.
Kyle Katarn (6/12 -> 5/8): A previously staple in Hera token passing lists got a decent squad point discount. He can’t take many toys, but Moldy Crow HWK-290 at five with a relevant ability might finally see some play.
Unchanged A-wings (Ahsoka, Tycho, Hobbie, Arvel, Shara): With increases to many Talents (and Composure banned), most of the non-Keo A-wings that stayed at their previous points no longer feel as relevant. I don’t expect to see much Tycho, Hobbie, and Arvel on tables anymore.
Hot or Not: Rebel Summary
Our Rebel recap rounded off with 13 “Hot” and 11 “Not” pilots. The Rebel Alliance was previously near, or at, the very bottom of the meta. Their faction identity was confusing. Most pilots were priced to take Proton Torpedoes and perform an Alpha Strike strategy…but that strategy had worn thin and was easily be countered by top players and lists. While two players found great success with them at Worlds (two top four finishes!), that felt more like a reflection on the players than the faction itself. The new discounts and removal of Torpedo slots from many T-65s feels like a great way for AMG to spice up the meta and move Rebels away from their boring old Alpha Strike nonsense.
As a degenerate Rebel (and sometimes Republic) player, I decided to do a mini recap in a similar manner to Steve’s Empire recap from last week:
“Unlike the Empire, Rebels were previously in a very bad spot last meta. Their tried and true top pieces all felt overpriced and their early season top finishes with Alpha Strike lists were a thing of the past. Despite having two top four finishes, they posted one of the worst winrates at Worlds and in the LCQ. They felt like they desperately needed top down changes to revamp the faction and promote more list diversity.
The reduction of many Y-wing pilots down to three points means that we will finally be able to see more non-Dutch pilots on the table. They’re slow and clunky ships that can easily be outflown, so pricing them down just feels right. Hol looks like a potential value piece at three points, but his APT is going to be fairly telegraphed and I doubt it ever feels too unfair.
T-65 pilots all feel like they’re now in a much healthier spot. Prior to the changes, most of the non-Saw’s Renegades pilots were paying a squad point tax for being able to carry Proton Torpedoes. This had the adverse effect of making lists feel really bad if you ever took a five point T-65 pilot without Proton Torpedoes attached to them. By removing the Torpedo slot and lowering squad points, T-65s should finally see play in a more diverse manner. Unfortunately five point BoY Luke will probably be stapled to every single list. So I wouldn’t be surprised if AMG later raised his price while lowering custom Luke down to five with a removed torpedo slot.
Rebel YT-1300 got a huge listbuilding discount by going down to seven points. I’m certain Han will dominate most list that contain a Falcon pilot, which is a bit of a diversity disappointment. I suspect that he’ll remain a top meta pick until AMG decides to hit his LV or give the other pilots a bit of bump. This feels like a meta-defining change for the Rebel faction and I’m excited to finally see this iconic ship on the table again.
The discounted Rebel Fangs feel like a biggest wildcard for the faction at the moment. A five point, i6 Fang with a great support ability (and Concordia tankiness) feels like something that could define a list archetype. Bodica also feels like the new “go to” four point ship in the faction. Rebel players that can properly leverage these Fangs will likely find a lot of success this upcoming season.
The one spot in the faction that I have mixed feelings about are Rebel A-wings. The Talent changes mean that all the A-wings that remained unchanged (Derek, Arvel, Ahsoka, Tycho, and Shara) feel worse than before. Tycho got hit particularly hard after having Composure banned and now has to compete with other efficient i5 four point ships (Corran, Thane, Gina, etc). Ahsoka, while fun, remains in an odd place. Hopefully AMG will eventually just give her a cannon slot and allow her to be relevant again. Despite these reservations, I’m overjoyed to finally be able to put A-wing Wedge back on the table. A-wing Sabine is also a great piece that should see play if a list omits her TIE/ln variant. An unchanged three point Keo also remains the best A-wing pilot in the faction and four point Hera will definitely see the table as a support piece. So overall, there isn’t much to complain about.
Overall, the future looks bright for Rebel players. A lot of seemingly clunky ships got discounts and suddenly feel a lot more playable. We’re no longer worried about constantly bleeding points from overcosted T-65s that tend to explode and we can leverage our new two point filler ship to make listbuilding a bit easier. We seem to be becoming a “high initiative” faction with all these discounted i5 ships, with the tradeoff being that none of them feel like true aces due to their limited movement repositioning options. The four point Arcs may mean a return to “Rebel Beef” lists that can tough out engagements (although offensive power is on the rise). Regardless, we appear to finally be free from the old “Alpha Strike” wombo combo lists of the past, which has helped me return to the faction after a long hiatus.”-Kevin
I hope you enjoyed this version of “Hot or Not” for the Rebel faction! I’ve begun sourcing votes and hot take opinions from the Space Bone-Crew for the Scum changes and will probably continue with this series throughout the summer until we touch all seven factions.
I’m certain that many of you (including other Space Bone-Arm crew members) disagree with any of our “Hot” or “Not” designations! If so, leave a comment below!
Posted on: June 21, 2023
Written by: Kevin L.