The new tactics cards are a welcome change, and the special abilities for each unit add a lot to theme and strategy. I need more time with the new mission deck but I like the possibility of picking a deck to match a player’s style. My one issue with the new leaders on the Rebel side is they reduce the likelihood of recruiting the classic heroes which takes something away from theme. In the old format you were almost always assured to recruit Luke, Han or Chewie.
Nebulon-B Frigates give Rebel fleets some much needed punch and durability while Golan Turrets make for rugged base defenses.
Unfortunately Interdictors haven’t hit the table yet.
I think Saw can only be recruiting at the start of the game, and if so, you get to start with an extra leader, which is cool. Same with Admiral Motti.
Saw is also paired with Cassian on a very useful recruitment action card (you can peek at the top four probe cards and save one for base relocation) and Motti is with Jabba (another useful card ‘Ambitions of Power’ that allows the the Empire to exceed the new hard limit of 8 leaders).
I’ve never encountered the Saw starting card that sacrifices a reputation. I’d try it out but I’m still leery of it. Motti’s card that pairs him with Tarkin significantly slows the first turn down (which can be important for production) but can pay itself off (especially if you get the Ambitions of Power card).
I’ve only one game with the new expansion and enjoyed the new tactics decks and combat. Need more time with the new missions and such. Decent expansion form a shaking up the gameplay standpoint.
I don’t plan to buy the expansion (and I’m an expansion whore, so this is a big deal).
I like the new ships, but I really dislike the cinematic combat (and I really liked the interaction between dice and tactic cards in the original system).
I do like the new ships and green dice, but the leaders - while I don’t dislike them - only serve to dilute our chances of recruiting each of the classic characters which I like a lot more.
