With a new edition of the Star Wars X-Wing game pretty much imminent, the new Saw’s Renegades set straddles the line between the old and new games. It’s a special set, containing two existing models: a U-Wing and the T-65 X-Wing. They’ve been given nifty new repaints, marking them out as members of Saw Guerra’s Renegade rebel faction, rather than your usual run-of-the mill rebels.
The black and white paint job isn’t anything terribly special, though it’s likely to delight fans of Newcastle United Football Club. The X-Wing is of the new design. This means the S-Foils can be moved. This is a little delicate, as the model is quite small. It also means you can wobble the body of the X-Wing if you want to. The U-Wing can also move its wings, and it’s a lovely model.
The expansion comes with cards for both first and second edition rules. The first edition pack features “Renegade Refits”, a card that can be used to drop the point costs of either ships and add extra modifications. There isn’t a second edition equivalent card because the new game handles point costs differently. Instead, they can equip certain illicit abilities, and the pack comes with the Dead Man’s Switch card, which lets you do damage if you get taken down. This is usually a Scum tactic, but it makes sense for Saw’s Renegades.
Both models have cards that allow the player to change tactics by moving their wing position. The various pilot and crew cards support this; these renegades move like Scum and shoot like Rebels. This makes both ships very flexible tactically, and introduces a bit of variation to the usual Rebel tactics, though it can be a messy change at times. It also provides a rough guide as to the direction in which the second edition is going – thematic rules with relevant tactical bonuses.
Much like Saw Gerrera himself, these Renegades are an odd fit. Not quite their own faction but not really something that fits with a normal Rebel outfit, it’ll be interesting to see how they adapt in the new edition.
STAR WARS X-WING: SAW’S RENEGADES EXPANSION PACK / PUBLISHER: FANTASY FLIGHT GAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
