GAME REVIEW: STAR WARS X-WING: MOST WANTED / DESIGNER: JAMES KNIFFE, COREY KONIECZKA, JASON LITTLE / ARTIST: BEN ZWEIFEL / PUBLISHER: FANTASY FLIGHT / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
Star Wars X-Wing is easily the best space combat game on the market today. Fantasy Flight Games have carefully managed this game and, up until now, there’s only been two factions – Rebels and Imperials. Though this is keeping with the Star Wars theme, multiple army types are important for the longevity and playability of any strategy miniatures game. Most Wanted introduces a most welcome third faction; Scum and Villainy.
As the name suggests, this is bad guy faction, focusing on the more criminal types in Star Wars, and borrows heavily from the Star Wars Expanded Universe for inspiration. Star Wars X-Wing: Most Wanted is an expansion; you need the main rules to play, but it’s also a very useful way to start a new fleet. The set comes with three models; a Y-Wing repainted to look quite individual, and two Z-95 Headhunters repainted to look like members of the Black Sun crime syndicate. These are good models, produced to the standard we’ve come to expect from the game. They’re solidly built and look nice enough to decorate a cubicle with. (Though they look better on the game board.)
The box also contains enough cards to adapt another three ships to the new faction, namely another Y-Wing, a HWK-290 and a Firespray. Or to put it another way, it allows you to take that Slave-1 model you picked up and put Boba Fett to good use. Each ship has multiple pilot cards, and most of these are unique types with their own tricks.
The expansion also introduces some new elements. Illicit upgrades are short term upgrades that usually have some sort of catch attached. Salvaged Astromechs are basically regular astromechs with a thematic change, and a new manoeuvre called the Segnor’s Loops, which allows for a rapid about-face. Combined with various pilot options, this makes the faction cunning and full of clever tricks.
Out of the box, Star Wars X-Wing: Most Wanted plays as a unique and flavour-filled faction. The ships are faster and work as an association of individuals, rather than a coherent force. This means that Imperial enemies are constantly trying to second guess you, and Rebels are typically failing to outfly you. As an introduction to the Scum and Villainy faction, the set really shows off their strengths and makes for firm and solid new variant that fits well with the existing game. If you’re a fan of Fett and chums, or you just prefer cunning over brute force, then this will appeal to you.
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