Hotshots & Aces II Republic Overview

SWZ97 Hotshots & Aces II

The war left its scars on all of us.” –Captain Rex™, Star Wars: Rebels™

The Galactic Republic receives five additional pilots in the Hotshots and Aces 2 Reinforcements Pack for Star Wars™: X-Wing. The faction continues to focus on Jedi and clones, but there’s also another Naboo Starfighter pilot as well.

For new Jedi, Adi Gallia™ joins as a new Aethersprite pilot. You’ll receive both the Delta-7 and Delta-7B versions in the pack. Unlike many of the other high initiative Jedi pilots, Adi’s abilities benefit only her, and don’t require other ships to enable. This allows you to bring her as an ace without having to build around synergies typical in the faction. Adi prefers sniping at long range, as she can proactively use her Force to prevent her opponent from gaining a bonus defense die. If opponents focus on her, she can use her Force to prevent their bonus attack dice, but she should then consider retreating to regain her strength. With straightforward abilities and a strong chassis, Adi’s Aethersprite is excellent for players looking to try out the Republic faction.

The other new Jedi in the pack is Kit Fisto in the Eta-2 Actis. Kit has a defensive ability, but it’s one that he cannot take advantage of himself. However, there’s no range requirement on the ability, so Kit should assist other Jedi while avoiding drawing too much attention to himself. The ability is powerful, as there are not many effects that let you convert a blank while defending. Jedi are generally in fragile ships and fixing a bad defensive roll can be worth a lot. Kit likes to be in squads with lots of other Jedi, especially ones that have other rewards for getting opposing ships in their bullseye, such as Calibrated Laser Targeting. He will be a complex ship to use correctly, since any error with him will likely end up with his ship lost for little value.

The Galactic Republic always needs more clone pilots. The first, “Sicko”, brings interesting tactical decisions to the LAAT/i Gunship. Typically, the maneuvers on a LAAT/i are easy to predict. It generally loiters around the battlefield and soaks up attacks. With “Sicko”, however, you have more options at the cost of weaker defensive capabilities. After “Sicko” does a basic maneuver – anything but the 0-speed stop – he can assign his condition to himself. Once he does that, he gains a lot of options. The next turn, he can gain a strain to sideslip, which lets him continue to support a battle in front of him with equipped munitions. Or, he can perform a Koiogran Turn, for a quick turn that other pilots can’t handle. Or it was all a bluff and you execute a stop. You can only do these moves every other turn, but it should add a lot of options to the previously predictable ship. Pair him with Jedi to give Fire Convergence to and try to keep a field obstacle-free to maximize his options.

The other clone is “Slammer”, in a V-19 Torrent. This pilot pushes the V-19 to its limits by getting a free SLAM action every other turn. Afterwards, he receives his normal action, so his Torrent can end up in places your opponent won’t expect with a SLAM followed by a barrel roll. He can also perform scenario actions after doing his SLAM, freeing up Jedi and more expensive ships to dogfight. “Slammer” moves at a low initiative, which can be beneficial when setting up blocks with his ability. The Torrent has not seen much play lately due to faster V-Wings taking the slot of an inexpensive, mobile blocker. “Slammer” is trying to change that.

The final ship is Gavyn Sykes, a new Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter pilot. Much like other N-1s, Gavyn gains benefits for going fast. Rerolling blanks on both attack and defense, plus the chassis ability of a bonus evade action, means Gavyn will almost always be doing the fastest maneuver possible. Gavyn rerolls his blanks even if stressed or blocked, so he can be survivable even if your opponent surprises you with an unexpected maneuver. Gavyn’s ability also isn’t limited to primary attacks, so any equipped munitions can get extra rerolls. Remember to occasionally consider speed 1 maneuvers with Gavyn: while you lose all your bonuses, your opponent probably isn’t planning for you to do that.

That’s all of the Republic pilots coming in the Hotshots and Aces II Reinforcements Pack! Look for it at your local game store in November. Pre-order your copy at your local game store or through the webstore today!