Maximise the impact of your TIE bombers and defenders with the Imperial Veterans Expansion pack for X-Wing! Plot your bombing runs, unleash torrential volleys of cannon fire and rule the skies with Imperial might.
Providing arguably the most impactful support for your alpha striking bombing runs is the new long range scanners modification. While it is always a trick to balance your squad point investment in upgrades against the purchase of more or better ships, the long range scanners make your life easier by weighing in at zero squad points. By this you gain the ability to acquire a target lock on your first round of play, before any of your ships end up in firing range, and that allows you to enter your first round of combat with both the target lock and focus tokens. Two new miniatures comes with alternate paint schemes. One grey TIE bomber with the Gamma Squadron’s signature white stripe and one TIE defender with the bold red paint scheme shared by Countess Ryad and the Glaive Squadron.
The TIE bomber excelled at destroying larger ships and delivering devastating payloads of explosive ordnance with pinpoint precision. It was slower than the standard TIE fighter but featured stronger hull plating and a distinctive dual-hull shape. Two hulls sat side-by-side, and one served as the cockpit while the other carried a pair of general purpose warhead launchers as well as a store of munitions tailored to the ship’s mission. Among Rebels, the TIE bomber earned the nickname “sitting duck” due to its lower speed and maneuverability, but a limited number of pilots, such as the elite veterans of the Gamma Squadron, were able to outfit their bombers for air superiority, pilot their ships perfectly, and take their foes by surprise. With its grey base and white stripes, the TIE bomber reflects the ships flown by these skilled veterans.
Meanwhile, the TIE defender was arguably the strongest dogfighter of its era, and only Imperial veterans who had successfully flown at least twenty combat missions were given the opportunity to pilot one. The TIE defender featured both shielding and a hyperdrive unlike most TIE designs, and its appearance was every bit as distinctive as the TIE bomber’s, owing to its three quadanium steel solar array wings, which were mounted around a pilot module similar to those found in most TIE designs. The new paint scheme ensures your foes will see it and be aware of the threat it poses no matter where they are on the battlefield. The TIE defender exudes a strong sense of its tremendous, predatory speed.
Additionally you’ll find eight veteran pilots and an impressive arsenal of thirteen upgrades that expand the capabilities and versatility of your TIE bomber and TIE defender. As well as this there is a new mission called Disable the Relays which highlights many of the new tricks and tactics that its ships, pilots, and upgrades add to your Imperial forces! The Imperial Veterans Expansion Pack also includes rules for the Tractor Beam that it shares in common with the Mist Hunter Expansion Pack from Wave VIII.
While nothing can be done to impact the fighter’s use in a Civil War that concluded a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, much can, and will be done for its use in X-Wing. Soon, with the Imperial Veterans Expansion Pack, everything changes. Coming June 23rd! Available here.
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