The Space Bone-Arm crew is back with another article highlighting the May 2023 points change! Today we will be highlighting the Resistance faction! To be honest, I found the prep for this article to be a bit boring. Not because I think Resistance is boring, but because the number of ship chassis that received changes was quite minimal.
As with all the “Hot or Not” articles, I like to start with brief recap about the format; I polled the Space Bone-Arm crew and asked 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. I then source a longer format “overall” opinion from a squadmate that has experience flying the selected faction in a competitive environment.
As with all previous faction reviews, the majority of included pilots saw their loadout/squad values changed, but a couple of pilots remained at their previous values (points are relative, so it’s good to include some of the static pilots). We’ve previously covered the three original factions (the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and Scum and Villainy) and one sequel faction (the First Order). This means that it’s time to tackle the second of the two Sequel factions, the Resistance.
If you’re interested in just a few of our opinions, feel free to scroll down or use the Table of Contents to find the pilots you care the most about! I hope it’s a fun read!
Let’s get into it!
Table of Contents
Corus Kapellim: BTA-NR2 Y-wing
Old: 4 points and 15 loadout.
New: 3 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Tech, Turret, Astromech, Payload, Modification, Modification, Illicit, Configuration
Ted: Hot! I’ll never apologize about being excited for cheap Y-wings. Resistance has the benefit of Wartime Loadout to them beefy, or the hilarious Intuitive Interface. Huge fan of nimble Ys!
Steve: Not! He will never engage because at i1 he’s already dead.
Kevin: Not! This ability seems really bad at i1 and I doubt you ever waste the time to Swarm Tactics him up. Take one of the other three point Y-wings.
Naomi: Not! Not because people will get shot and there probably aren’t going to be any green tokens left by the time he engages.
Jon: Hot! For a blocker that can take extra shields for two points, he seems like a good use for disrupting.
Final Verdict: Not ! The first three point Y-wing on the list got a mediocre response from the Space Bone-Arm crew. Unfortunately, he just doesn’t have a whole lot going for him compared to the other three point Y-wings. I can see his ability surprising people every so often, but i1 feels rough without a little more loadout or additional slots.
Shasa Zaro: BTA-NR2 Y-wing
Old: 4 points and 13 loadout.
New: 3 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Tech, Turret, Astromech, Payload, Modification, Modification, Configuration (Lost a Talent slot)
Ted: Hot! That cost tho 😉
Steve: Not! Free tokens are fun, but there are fully built out T-70 X-wings for one point more.
Kevin: Hot! I’m sure you can do something annoying with Intuitive Interface and nine points of loadout.
Naomi: Not! I’m not a fan of these red action bars on the Y-wings.
Jon: Hot! Seems like a solid Plasma Torpedo boat. She’s as chunky as some medium bases. These Y-wings for three are solid.
Verdict: Hot ! Steve and Naomi (I think she forgot about Intuitive Interface) aren’t big fans, but the rest of us think that Shasa might have some juice. Her ability seems decent and she gets the most loadout out of the three three point Y-wings. I’m not sure she’ll see the table often, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she finds her way into some lists.
Lega Fossang: BTA-NR2 Y-wing
Old: 4 points and 14 loadout.
New: 3 points and 7 loadout.
Slots: Tech, Turret, Missile, Astromech, Payload, Modification, Modification, Configuration (Lost a Talent slot)
Ted: Hot! Even though I wont ever take all three, these Y-wings all have a hot spot in my heart.
Steve: Not! Also seems decent, but because of that initiative and other ships in the faction, you aren’t going to reach for these.
Kevin: Hot! Hot because she has a Missile slot, but she’s probably not hot in actuality.
Naomi: Hot! Good ability for a low initiative ship.
Jon: Not! The loadout is too low to really take advantage of Wartime Loadout. I just don’t feel like this one is as valuable as the others.
Verdict: Hot ! Lega squeezes her way into the Hot rating! Lets ignore that this is probably because Naomi mixed up her ability with Shasa’s. Interestingly, she’s the one Y-wing that has the ability to take Missiles without needing Wartime Loadout. I’m not sure this will help her see the table, but it feels a little compelling to have a three point, three dice gun on the table. That said, i3 means that she’s no Leema!
Zorii Bliss: BTA-NR2 Y-wing
Old: 5 points and 19 loadout.
New: 4 points and 11 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Turret, Astromech, Payload, Modification, Illicit, Configuration
Ted: Not! Once you cost as much as a T-70, I have to bail…Sorry Zoro, your ability is still cool
Steve: Not! Maybe there is an i5 Plasma Torpedo build here?
Kevin: Not! Interesting ability, but she’s competing with four point T-70s now. I think the lack of mobility, required range tether, and “just ok” loadout tamper my excitement for her.
Naomi: Not! Too much trigger upon trigger to keep track of.
Jon: Hot! Consistent double mods are “easy” for four points. Seems good even if you can’t fit Proton Torpedoes. Might not win out over the three point Y-wings, but if you want beef, this fits the bill.
Verdict: Not ! Poor Zorii. She has a super cool and powerful ability, but feels overshadowed by other options within the faction. The chassis limited mobility probably staples R4 Astromech to her, which further limits her loadout potential. You also need to keep a ship relatively close to her, which probably requires some practice and strategy (which, I believe, is what Naomi is referring to). Sadly, this all means thats she not hot for now.
Finn: Resistance Transport Pod
Old: 3 points and 12 loadout.
New: 4 points and 15 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Tech, Crew, Modification
Ted: Hot! Make him cost five.
Steve: Not! He is fair now? He’s fair now.
Kevin: Hot! I think he’s more fair at four points and now he can take Pattern Analyzer to help him turn around. He probably won’t see much play, but I bet he’s still very effective.
Naomi: Hot! I love Finn.
Jon: Not! make him cost more. He’s annoying as hell.
Verdict: Hot ! Finn somehow squeezed into the hot category despite going up squad point. He was borderline oppressive at three points unless you were able to point 2+ real (3 red dice) guns at him. At four points, he won’t feel so bad to play against. Getting enough points to take Pattern Analyzer also helps him turn around and retain his focus token stack.
Rose Tico: Resistance Transport Pod
Old: 3 points and 8 loadout.
New: 3 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Crew, Modification, Modification
Ted: Not! Give me the Y-wing’s instead!
Steve: Not! Is there some critical crew you can fit in here?
Kevin: Hot! C3P-O Crew and Heroic fit on her, which feels pretty decent for a three point support piece.
Naomi: Hot! Fun 2 fly! Let’s go ladies!
Jon: Not! Doesn’t feel like a good use of points for such a weak ship.
Verdict: Not ! Poor Rose. She hasn’t seen much play in 2.5 and getting a single loadout point probably won’t help all that much. That single point now allows her to take a couple different toys alongside C3P-O crew, but nothing looks incredibly compelling. She might be able to fit into lists as a support piece, but I don’t see her making a huge splash any time soon.
Zizi Tlo: RZ-2 A-wing
Old: 5 points and 15 loadout.
New: 5 points and 10 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Tech, Missile, Modification
Ted: Not! Lol, I don’t get this one, but I support it.
Steve: Not! Zizi would probably see play if T-70s weren’t costed the way they are. He’s* good, but compared to four and five pointers across the game, he doesn’t hold up.
Kevin: Not! No one was playing old Ziti pasta before this nerf. Why did they do it?
Naomi: Hot! Always nice to have a recurring charge on hand. Solid choice.
Jon: Not! I wouldn’t take a five point A-wing when you can take a T-70 instead. You’re hoping it gets shot for a chance at a double mod, or just making it slightly more tanky with the ship ability.
*Zizi is a lady. Naomi knows.
Verdict: Not ! I really didn’t think anyone was playing Zizi before the changes, so dropping her loadout just feels a bit insulting. As mentioned by the rest of the crew, it’s really hard to pick a five point A-wing when four and five point T-70s exists. She’d need a lot of loadout (again…why AMG?) to get her on the table in a competitive manner.
Chewbacca: Scavenged YT-1300 Light Freighter
Old: 7 points and 18 loadout.
New: 6 points and 18 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Missile, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Illicit, Illicit, Modification, Title
Ted: Not! Six points is decent for a YT-1300, but I think for one more point, you’ll find a better deal.
Steve: Not! I’d put him at borderline. One more point for Rey or Poe feels better.
Kevin: Not! Chewie with Rey Gunner seems pretty hot, but you’d need a good reason to not find the extra point for Rey or Poe YT-1300.
Naomi: Hot! Love Chewie. Pretty good defense on this guy too.
Jon: Hot! Glad to see more reason to take a Falcon other than Rey. Chewie looks scary for what else fits too.
Verdict: Not ! Barely a not with a couple of borderline votes. Chewbacca looks super solid at six points with all of that loadout. Unfortunately, finding the points for the higher initiative YT-1300s is probably worth it. That said, I wouldn’t be shocked if someone is able to take a list with him on a solid run at a top event. Also, I think Naomi is referring to how much health Chewbacca has for only six points?
Lando Calrissian: Scavenged YT-1300 Light Freighter
Old: 8 points and 20 loadout.
New: 7 points and 20 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Missile, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Illicit, Illicit, Modification, Title
Ted: Hot! I actually think Lando is a sleeper pick that could be a great support/punch piece. He might be tough to fly with the range tether, but that ability is amazing.
Steve: Not! This isn’t Rey or Poe.
Kevin: Not! Just pay for Poe or Rey instead. I’m sure there is a niche role that he can be used in, but hotness is relative and Poe/Rey look much simpler to effectively use.
Naomi: Not! I think I would get confused.
Jon: Hot! A tanky coordinator ability, that can target yourself, for seven points would make me try it out. Probably loses out to Rey still.
Verdict: Not ! Coming in the “recent’ Hotshots and Aces 2 pack, Lando is a new addition to the faction. Unlike Poe (see below), this new YT-1300 hasn’t seen much play at all. Lando’s ability looks great, but it landed in a faction that has a lot of passive mod availability via upgrades. I hope someone takes him the distance at a tournament, but he’s not hot to the Space Bone-Arm crew.
Rey: Scavenged YT-1300 Light Freighter
Old: 8 points and 25 loadout.
New: 7 points and 25 loadout.
Slots: Force, Talent, Missile, Crew, Crew, Gunner, Illicit, Modification, Title
Ted: Hot! Always and forever a menace. Not sure why she got dropped down to seven, but this YT-1300 can party.
Steve: Hot! Hey! There she is. Still very strong. Maybe suffers a bit now that there are more ships on the table to shoot at her.
Kevin: Hot! If Poe Falcon didn’t exist, I think we’d see her all over the place.
Naomi: Hot! Can’t go wrong with this card!
Jon: Hot! Soooooooo much loadout?! This was already the most taken Resistance ship, why wouldn’t you take her?
Verdict: Hot ! A unanimous “Hot” by the crew! Rey is a classic Resistance monster that demolishes ships. Her flying style isn’t super conducive to the current high offensive firepower meta (I suspect she’ll melt quickly), but there is no denying that she’s a great ship. I hope we start to see her on the table more often now that she’s down to seven points!
Poe Dameron: Scavenged YT-1300 Light Freighter/T-70 X-wing
YT-1300: 7 points and 25 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Missile, Crew, Gunner, Illicit, Modification, Title
T-70 X-wing: 7 points and 25 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Torpedo, Astromech, Modification, Modification, Configuration, Title
Ted: Both are Hot! I think I prefer the T-70, but I know the Falcon is probably going to be taken way more. Poe is gud, no doubt.
Steve: Both are Hot! Leaning towards Poe Falcon. That is seven points that are virtually impossible for your opponent to kill.
Kevin: Both are Hot! The T-70 should probably see more play, but the Falcon has great time on target and consistency with Rey Gunner (and maybe an M9-G8 carrying friend?).
Naomi: Only the Falcon is Hot! I can’t think of a good T-70 list for him that I like.
Jon: Both are Hot! Poe is just so good, hands down.
Verdict: Hot ! We all agree that Poe is great. The T-70 version has fallen out of favor now that the YT-1300 version exists, but both should have a place in a meta. I’m not sure any ace (besides maybe an Extreme Maneuvers Anakin Delta-7B) can really compete with a well flown T-70 Poe with Overdrive Thrusters. That said, the YT-1300 version has incredible maneuverability, room for toys, and fantastic time on target. We all love Poe (besides a confused Naomi)!
C’ai Threnalli: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 13 loadout.
New: 4 points and 7 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! I liked the three point huge loadout Y-wings a lot more than these no loadout four cost T-70s.
Steve: Hot! Four point T-70s are good.
Kevin: Not! What a silly ability. Take a different T-70.
Naomi: Hot! This is a fun ship.
Jon: Hot! Am I basic if I just say “it’s a T-70 so it’s hot.”?
Verdict: Hot ! C’ai Threnalli might have a silly ability, but being a four point T-70 makes him hot according to the crew! Only seven loadout might put him on the low end of the four point T-70s, but I suspect that we will sometimes see him on the table for his initiative in a simple list.
Ello Asty: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 11 loadout.
New: 4 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Talent, Tech, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! Why AMG, why?
Steve: Hot! Four point i5 T-70s are very good.
Kevin: Hot! An i5 T-70 for four points? If this isn’t hot, then I don’t know what is. Eight points is also enough for some decent builds.
Naomi: Hot! Great ability, but somehow he always dies first when I play him.
Jon: Hot! Four points with a white Talon Roll is hot.
Verdict: Hot ! One of the least contentious hot votes (besides Ted’s clear disdain for four point T-70s) of the article. Ello was already decent at five points, even if he didn’t see a ton of play. Lowering him to four points likely puts him into almost every Resistance list that wants a T-70. Be prepared to see him whenever you match up against a Resistance list!
Jessika Pava: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 11 loadout.
New: 4 points and 7 loadout..
Slots: Tech, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! Maybe I just don’t like this faction?
Steve: Hot! Jess has always been around and now she’s four points.
Kevin: Hot! Jessika can be a compete terror. Hot.
Naomi: Hot! She’s awesome! Let’s go ladies!
Jon: Not! Good ship, but the ability just doesn’t seem as much of a threat without more munitions options.
Verdict: Hot ! Jessika Pava has a great ability that can make her incredibly consistent on offense and defense. Pair her with a wingmate and those rerolls mean that she’s always modded. The range tether can make her a bit tricky to fly once she gets into the scrum, but having it work at range 0 is a big help. I suspect that she’ll continue to be a staple in lists that feature four or five T-70s.
Joph Seastriker: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 9 loadout.
New: 5 points and 13 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! Booo.
Steve: Not! Get rekt Joph. The devs must hate you specifically.
Kevin: Not! Oh look, they gave Joph four more loadout instead of making him four squad points! No one cares.
Naomi: Not! Not sure the ability takes advantage of the T-70’s attributes. Not good enough synergy.
Jon: Not! Why would you fly a T-70 for five points?
Verdict: Not ! Poor Joph was apparently left behind during the Great T-70 Discount of May 2023. The additional four points of loadout don’t go all that far on a pilot that was already not seeing much play. His ability feels ok in a objective based game, but he’s not going to see the table at five points.
Karé Kun: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 10 loadout.
New: 4 points and 8 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Cannon, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! Oh look, another one.
Steve: Hot! Four point T-70s are good.
Kevin: Hot! Enough loadout for Afterburners, which makes her ability amazing. Seems pretty hot.
Naomi: Hot! Great dial enhancement ability.
Jon: Hot! Free white Daredevil makes up for those lost loadout points. She’s unpredictable.
Verdict: Hot ! Another four point T-70 and another “Hot” vote by the crew. Karé might not top the list of T-70s to take, but her ability is great and she has room for some toys. Just like her husband, she could function as a great flanking piece.
Nien Nunb: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 10 loadout.
New: 5 points and 16 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Missile, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Hot! Hey, this actually seems balanced! Too bad no one will take a five cost T-70 considering the alternatives that exist.
Steve: Hot! He’s five points, but that initiative and loadout make it worth it in my opinion.
Kevin: Hot! He didn’t come down to four points with Ello, but giving him sixteen loadout probably makes him worth the five points. Nien can do some terrible things to people.
Naomi: Hot! High initiative and maybe the best T-70 ability.
Jon: Not! Nien is cool and has a good ability, but five points just doesn’t feel worth it for the ship.
Verdict: Hot ! If any five point T-70 was going to make the hot list, it was going to be Nien Nunb. AMG wisely gave him additional loadout in order to make him feel worth it. Even after Pattern Analyzer, he has plenty of room for great toys. While the meta has cause initiatives to creep up higher and higher, Nien’s ability allows him to do things that most ships cannot. He probably won’t be super popular at five points, but I think he’ll do work in the correct lists.
Nimi Chereen: T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 10 loadout.
New: 4 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Tech, Astromech, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! Ope, there we go, got another!
Steve: Hot! Four point T-70s with passive blank mods are very good. Focus her down first, I think.
Kevin: Hot! Nimi is super annoying to fly against and draws attention away from other high priority targets.
Naomi: Hot! I love Nimi. Let’s go ladies!
Jon: Hot! It’s like Broadside, but an X-wing. Seems good.
Verdict: Hot ! Nimi is a complete pain to play against! She forces you to shoot at her in order to prevent that ability from destroying you on defense. Luckily, her low initiative means that you’ll get plenty of chances to knock that focus token off her. She makes a great pair for Jessika, which means that you’ll probably face off against her relatively often.
Temmin Wexley (Snap): T-70 X-wing
Old: 5 points and 11 loadout.
New: 4 points and 9 loadout.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Astromech, Modification, Modification, Configuration
Ted: Not! 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
Steve: Hot! Four point T-70s are good.
Kevin: Hot! Great ability for flanking and plenty of loadout for silly Resistance toys.
Naomi: Hot! Fun 2 fly.
Jon: Not! Should I hate on him because his Mom is annoying?
Verdict: Hot ! Why does Jon hate Norra Wexley?! Temmin has a great ability that was heavily featured during the initial 2.5 points update. He took a back seat once he was nerfed down to five points, but he’s seen a resurgence again at four points. He’s incredibly versatile with that ability and has the loadout to provide him with those cool Resistance Astromechs and Talents.
Cova Nell: Resistance Transport
Old: 5 points and 20 loadout.
New: Unchanged.
Slots: Talent, Tech, Cannon, Cannon, Torpedo, Crew, Crew, Astromech, Modification
Ted: Not! But wait, this thing costs five???
Steve: Not! Was anyone even flying this thing when all the T-70s were still five points?
Kevin: Not! Poor Cova, the faction is moving past her. They need to either give her even more loadout or just bite the bullet and lash her loadout with a squad point reduction.
Naomi: Not! Not worth the points.
Jon: Not! I don’t know enough about what makes this ship or config to say much, but it doesn’t seem to be worth five points.
Verdict: Not ! Cova is such an interesting ship design that I really want her to be good. Unfortunately, she just doesn’t feel worth the points now that the faction can get four point T-70s and three point Y-wings. While she can provide a list with a nice support platform that can dish out good reds, she just doesn’t feel super relevant at the moment.
Kazuda Xiono: Fireball
Old: 4 points and 14 loadout.
New: Unchanged.
Slots: Talent, Missile, Astromech, Illicit, Modification, Modification, Title
Ted: Not! I mean, heavy stocks down after all the other price cuts.
Steve: Not! No comment.
Kevin: Hot! Kaz is still good, even with the T-70 discounts. He should probably take the place of a T-70 in the five T-70 archetype.
Naomi: Hot! Still good.
Jon: Hot! Kaz is always a solid choice. To blow up.
Verdict: Hot ! While Jon’s vote feels sarcastic, I’m still claiming Kaz as hot! His ability feels even “better” in a world where we see a ton of i5 and i6 pilots. His boosted statline puts him on par with First Order Silencer chassis and he has the loadout to equip upgrades that help minimize the impact of crits. He probably won’t be taken a ton, but people should still look his way at four points.
Honorable Mentions:
A couple of interesting omissions from the survey were:
MG-100 Starfortress(all received 4-10 loadout): Hot ! It might be an Extended only ship, but getting a huge boost in loadout is always hot!
L’ulo L’ampar (4/12 -> unchanged): Hot ! I’m not a huge fan of L’ulo (I think its easy to get yourself into trouble with stress), but he’s been putting up solid numbers ever since he went down to four points.
Most RZ-2 A-wings and BTA-NR2 Y-wings: Not ! It’s hard to justify taking any of the four point Y-wings and A-wings at this point. Hopefully AMG can find a nice balance, but its hard to see a lot interesting pilots relegated to the points graveyard.
Venisa Doza 5/13 -> 4/7: Hot ! Another T-70, but this one can shoot Barrage Rockets out of her back arc!
Hot or Not: Resistance Summary
Our Resistance recap rounded off with 14 “Hot” and 7 “Not” pilots. Pre-May, the Resistance was bouncing around a bit. After the heavy handed Y-wing nerfs, popularity dipped a bit. However, the faction saw a bump with the release of Poe Falcon in Hotshots and Aces 2, meaning that they were far from obscure during Worlds 2023.
Taking a look at the current meta, Resistance feels right near the top. Metrics websites like pattern-analyzer.app have Resistance as the top performing faction once results are normalized according to popularity. This is likely fueled by the massive discounts they received to their T-70 pilots.
Unfortunately, while I have plenty of experience in building Resistance lists, I have minimal actual experience in flying these lists. I blame my fiancée Naomi, who is the household Resistance player and has effectively banned me from using her tools against her. As payback, I persuaded her to contribute to this article in the form of votes and for the write-up below. One of point of interest is that Naomi is a fairly “new” player. The only version of the game that she really knows is AMG’s 2.5 ruleset and scenarios. She recently participated in her first tournament and was able to take home a win (against a mirror matchup)!
“I recently played in my first-ever X-wing tournament using a five T-70 X-wing list, and you can imagine my surprise when I realized that, of the ~16 lists in the tournament, around a quarter were nearly identical to mine! The newfound popularity of this archetype underscores the rise of Resistance faction lists centered not around Rey Falcon, Kaz Fireball, or RZ-2 A-wings, but instead around a squad of versatile T-70s of varying ability and initiative.
In my limited experience, my favorite Resistance pilots and upgrades emphasize maneuverability (reducing cost of maneuvers) and “free” dice modifications. These upgrades are fairly independent and simple (compared to Rebels or Republic), which has made Resistance a good faction for a new player like myself. A good Resistance list these days doesn’t need to rely on carefully designed, complex multi-card synergy. Rather, combinations of T-70s, A-wings, Poe Falcon, and even Finn Pod can compose a fun, entry-level list for any player where each ship can operate relatively independently. Of course, my favorite upgrades run a bit counter to this (see M9-G8 and R6-D8), but those triggers are fairly easy to remember compared to the token passing decisions that Rebel lists (Hera, Corran, Dutch, etc) require.
While I find the rise in T-70s to fit my current playstyle (I enjoy having 5 identical dials on the board), I understand complaints about the lack of variety within the faction. A-wings, Y-wings, and the Transport have not made it into any of my recent lists due to the strength and fun that simple X-wings bring to the table. That said, I think Finn Pod and the Resistance Falcons still seem good and can pair well with most X-wing lists. The main issue is that there is a T-70 for all occasions! Do you want fun pilots with cool dial “altering” abilities? Nien and Ello have the ability to flip around with no consequences (just don’t mess up)! Do you want weird boosting actions? Temmin and Kare (and even BB astromechs!) have the abilities for you! Do you want pure offensive power? Nimi and Jessika are ready for action!
Perhaps a caveat, which probably applies to many lists, is that how one flies their T-70s can greatly affect the outcome of a game. Keeping X-wings like Jessika, who needs wingmates to maximize her ability, close to one another is essential; meanwhile, opponents have already figured out that isolating and focusing down a single T-70 (Nimi is perfect at i2 ship) immediately will greatly weaken any Resistance list. To truly excel with a Resistance list, one needs to bear in mind that, as easy as it is 1-forward joust T-70s, it is equally easy to find ways to poke holes in its defenses when flown poorly. But that’s alright, because Resistance flying has made for some of my most enjoyable X-wing experiences so far! While these lists seem to have a high “skill floor” (as my fiancé says), I believe that the ceiling is equally as high. Good flying decisions are the difference between finishing first and last!”-Naomi
Overall, the Resistance faction feels like it is in a great place. They’ve never been an incredibly popular faction, but their current pilots have propelled them into the top performing spot. The biggest mark against the faction is that only the T-70s and Scavenged YT-1300’s feel super compeitive. While couple other pilots standout across the other chassis (e.g. L’ulo, Kaz, and Finn), they don’t feel completely necessary given the wide variety of solid T-70 pilots that can be used for the same cost. The extreme efficiency of the T-70s may be causing the faction to suffer from a lack of diversity that could exist if people felt comfortable moving outside the 5 T-70/3 T-70+Falcon archetypes that are common. With a few small changes, the three point Y-wings and A-wings could help add a bit more spice to the faction’s lists. Similar to the First Order, the faction also lacks fun (or any) Standard Loadout cards that have become popular in the Rebel, Empire, and Republic factions. I suspect that a Sequel Faction scenario pack is on the horizon, but we have yet to get an official announcements from AMG.
I hope you enjoyed this version of “Hot or Not” for the Resistance Faction! Gen Con just wrapped up and solidified a new Republic archetype, which will be the next faction that we review!
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! If you enjoyed this article, please check out our Rebel Alliance, Galactic Empire, Scum and Villainy, and First Order articles!
Posted on: August 16th, 2023
Written by: Kevin L.