The Battle of Yavin Preview

SWZ96 The Battle of Yavin Preview

Hello, and welcome to another installment of Atomic Mass Transmissions! Ministravaganza has, unfortunately, been delayed, but we aren’t going to let that stop us from sharing some of the exciting products that we have been working on for Star Wars™: X-Wing! The Battle of Yavin is the first of many Scenario Pack expansions coming to the game and is chock full of content for both experienced players and new cadets who are just taking control of their first starfighters.

Scenario Packs are a new type of expansion for X-Wing focused on iconic space battles from across the Star Wars galaxy. Each Scenario Pack contains a collection of Standard Loadout ship cards for pilots who took part in the battle, as well a unique scenario so that players can re-enact the battle on their tabletop. Scenario specific conditions and special rules bring memorable moments from the movie to life on the tabletop, so if you’re the kind of X-Wing player who has ever wanted to hop into the cockpit of a T-65 X-wing alongside Luke, Biggs, and Wedge to start your attack run on the Death Star, this is your chance!

The scenario for The Battle of Yavin is a massive engagement where players build squads to a limit of 35 squad points and face off to determine the fate of the Rebellion. The Rebels face an uphill battle against the forces of the Galactic Empire, but with skilled piloting and a few tricks up their sleeves, the Rebels stand a chance of getting a single starfighter in the trench for its attack run. Once a ship has equipped the Attack Run condition, it can make its approach and attack the exhaust port with its Proton Torpedoes. This is easier said than done, however, as only a precise hit will set off a chain reaction.

Aside from the awesome narrative scenario, The Battle of Yavin also introduces standard loadouts to X-Wing. Standard Loadouts are a new type of ship card that incorporates all of the ship’s abilities and upgrades on a single card. Many standard loadouts have unique abilities and upgrades that aren’t available anywhere else and are built specifically to fly with the other ships in the same Scenario Pack, as well as fitting seamlessly into squads that players have already built to bring new strategies and playstyles to the table!

Since Battle of Yavin’s reveal at Star Wars Celebration, some keen-eyed fans have noticed the appearance of a TIE/in Interceptor in the cover art. A seemingly odd inclusion given that these ships don’t appear in battle on-screen in A New Hope. The inclusion of these new TIE/in Interceptors was deliberate and done in close partnership with Lucasfilm Ltd. While it’s true that the Interceptor doesn’t appear in the film, we know that it did exist in a prototype stage at the time of the battle, and that there was an Imperial fleet stationed nearby enough to the Death Star that many of its ships were damaged or destroyed in the wake of the Death Star’s destruction.

We wanted to ensure that this Scenario Pack provides an exciting range of new content, so we worked with LFL and determined that it was likely that prototype TIE/in Interceptors were part of the fleet composition surrounding the Death Star and that Iden Versio and Sigma squadron were some of the initial test pilots for these new starfighters. One thing players will notice when they see these cards is that some of these TIE/in Interceptors boast unique upgrades or action bar compositions that represent them as more advanced prototypes than the ship that eventually became the standard issue TIE Interceptor we see at the Battle of Endor.

Being able to add a selection of prototype TIE Interceptors to the Galactic Empire in this expansion allows us to provide a spread of ships that represents a faithful translation of the movie scene, but also expands upon it using established Star Wars canon from the shows, comics and books. The end result invites players to go beyond the screen and experience the full depth of this iconic battle, while also introducing some exciting new options for all standard games.

Some of the heroes of the Rebel Alliance that fought in the Battle of Yavin have been absent from X-Wing for a long time, and this Scenario Pack was a great opportunity for us to get those pilots into the cockpit and ready for takeoff. “Pops” Krail from Gold Squadron flies into action in a BTL-A4 Y-wing and is fully armed to take on any Imperial threat. The “Hope” ship ability is found across all the Rebel starfighters in this expansion and allows these ships to perform exceptional feats in the Rebellion’s darkest hour. Armed with an Ion Cannon Turret and a powerful pilot ability, “Pops” Krail is prepared to lay it all on the line to buy time for his allies.

As we mentioned above, Battle of Yavin wouldn’t be complete without Darth Vader, and the standard loadout included in this Scenario Pack is primed and ready for combat! This TIE/Advanced x1 has a new pilot ability and trades Vader’s well-known action economy for more consistent damage output. Flown in formation alongside his wingmen, “Backstabber” and “Mauler” Mithel, even the most robust enemy ships will need to respect the sheer power that Vader brings to the fight.

Speaking of robust ships and iconic movie moments, the Millennium Falcon comes late to the party to take us home – piloted by none other than Han Solo. Han has a unique perspective on the battle, and his unorthodox tactics allow his Rebel allies to find openings in the Empire’s defenses that they may not otherwise be able to exploit. While his pilot ability is a huge boon to other friendly ships, the “Solo” ship ability means that Han Solo is equally comfortable in an isolated position and has the ability to survive against uncertain odds.

That’s all for now, but more Scenario Packs are coming soon! We hope you’re excited to see these new ships on the table, and to learn more about how to use them to prepare for your own attack run against the Death Star.

Pre-order your copy of the Battle of Yavin Scenario Pack at your local games store or through our webstore today! Until next time, this is Atomic Mass Transmissions signing off!