The latest Star Wars movie, Rogue One, contained various new things to add to the now growing Star Wars universe. Of particular interest to those who play the Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures game were the exciting new ships. The rebels, it seemed, had a previously unseen transport ship called the U-Wing, adding to the good guy’s growing flying alphabet squadron.
The U-Wing is a large based model, which means it’s bigger than an X-Wing. It’s a beautiful piece of plastic; the wings swing in and out depending on whether you want to make it look like its landing or in flight. Like all of FFG’s products, it’s solidly built and much less delicate than you might think. It’s nice enough to put on a shelf and display.
Gameplay wise, it’s a great piece. The expansion comes with a list of crew cards. We get Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Baze Malbus, Bistan and Bodhi Rook. Or to put it another way, the two main characters, the bad ass with the big gun, the wickedly armed tiny alien and the Imperial pilot who went rogue. Jyn’s special ability is to assign focus tokens to up to three friendly ships in her arc, and the U-Wing has a good wide arc. Cassian can allow you to rethink your movement out of turn, Baze and Bistan add to your murder potential and Bodhi adds extra target locks, making it easier to hit things. Of these, Jyn has the most flexibility, making her a valuable asset
to any other ship in your fleet.
The U-Wing is also very nippy. The ship can choose not to move at all (unusual in X-Wing) and pivot. It’s a special rule (provided on a handy card) that lets you full stop and rotate 180 degrees. It knocks down the ship’s agility (making it more vulnerable) and stresses the ship, but in practice it grants a lot of area control in play. Throw in Flechette Torpedoes and you can shred some of the star players in both Imperial and
Scum forces.
Overall, the U-Wing is a lovely model with some great rules attached. If you’re part of the Rebel Alliance, you’ll want to add this to your fleet.
STAR WARS: X-WING MINIATURES GAME – U-WING EXPANSION PACK / DESIGNERS: VARIOUS / ARTISTS: VARIOUS / PUBLISHERS: FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
