Rebel Officer Updates!

Bail and Draven in the Rebel Officers section!

http://cannotgetyourshipout.blogspot.com/2017/06/rebel-officers.html

Matt Santos, leading Rebellions all over the place.

Bail Organa, one of the 2 Rebel officers in Wave 7, is GREAT.  He's a potential counter to Governor Pryce and HER ability.  He ALSO is just a good choice for when your list is perfectly happy going second but wants to go first on ONE turn.  You get all the benefits of your objectives (Advanced Gunnery or Fire Lanes on your MC80! Precision Strike with your bomber list!) and the ability to go first on the one turn you need to claw your way out of trouble.

Bail, much like Pryce, is optional FOR CHOOSING THE ROUND, so you don't need to choose the ability if you don't want to (I don't know why you WOULDN'T, but....).  If you end up going first (thanks to your opponent outbidding you and him choosing you to go first), you can choose whatever round you want to gain the tokens, BUT it doesn't have to be the first ship you activate that turn.  Very worst case, 2 free tokens round 1 isn't bad.  I personally feel that panicking and choosing to Bail round 1 because you don't like the list across from you only works in very limited circumstances (your opponent selected your Fleet Ambush AND deployed badly somehow.  Don't... don't do this).  Try not to panic that way.

Panic this way, instead!

If you do choose to use Bail, he's bailing you out of trouble anyways, (a yuk yuk yuk), whether you like it or not.  Make sure whatever ship you're on is either in range to concentrate fire HARD (navigate the turn before to end in a double arc of your opponent's ship) or run out of trouble from whatever ISD you're near (so, navigate THAT turn that you're Bail-ing?).  There's also the worry that whatever ship you activate first with him is going to wander into trouble (Avenger waiting to trigger its Boarding Troopers, several small ships with a bunch of black dice that want to fire on you) that ended their previous turn out of range of your large ship (this is especially a potential worry with Pryce and choosing the turns.  Be careful, and you're potentially going to need to wander INTO trouble early to punch your way OUT OF IT the turn you use Bail.

If you somehow BOTH have Bail, the triggers seem to work out pretty simply.  Whoever is first player gets the tokens on the round they choose, and whoever is (normally) second gets to go first that round instead.  As for whether Bail or Strategic Adviser? Bail is a nice "Get Out of Scarif Free" card when you're not as concerned about needing one more activation that the Politeness Officer gives you.  I've personally been running Bail a lot more than Strategic Adviser, but he's also helpful in that way I don't have to bid like 30 points to be competitive to go first these days (on the ONE turn I need it!).  I'm also much less concerned with having a "set" number of activations that I "need," so YMMV.

General advice I've been using for mild success with him (so, you know, grain of salt): pick the turn you think you're going to need to Bail.  Then add 1 to it and choose that turn.  (And that's how I ended up choosing turn 7).  I usually end up in trouble later than I figure with it, so that's my (again) mild success with it.  Keep in mind, that if Bail is in hyperspace from Admiral Raddus or Hyperspace Assault, you don't get to use his ability.  Bail occurs upon deployment, and if his ship isn't deployed.... womp womp.

I was totally important in the movie!

General Draven is the Rebel Agent Kallus.  Adding an extra dice against squadrons with counter or Intel means that he naturally hates on Jan/HWKs and Dengar/Jumpmasters, along with A-wings, Interceptors, YT-1300s, Aggressors/IG-88, Black Squadron, and Decimators.  The OTHER fun fact is that because of the way Dengar works, Draven targets EVERYTHING he's helping out by giving Counter to.  So, if there's a chance he's going to die, target Dengar last so you can wail on everyone else with more dice.

Draven usually ends up riding a Combat GR-75 or something with 2 dice of flak.  The Combat GR for the cheap option that helps extend range, and the 2 dice of flak because a potential 3 dice of flak is REALLY GOOD, surprising no one.  Once again, of course, Draven occupies that officer's chair, the eternal problem.  I've debated trying him on a Gunnery Teams Assault Frigate.... but that also means that I'm not putting Caitken and Sholtan on there.  Advanced Gunnery is always an option there, too.... hmmmm, decisions, decisions.  I haven't run Draven much, but he's a solid anti-squad option if you can fit the points and officer's chair.