Look what I have, the new Forced Awakens Core Set for X-Wing. Last Friday was Force Friday with a lot of new releases for the upcoming Star Wars movie Force Awakens. As part of this special day, Fantasy Flight Games released this new set in certain stores, I was lucky enough to grab a copy to show everyone.

The new set is very similar to the old set, or shall we say 1st Edition? The Force Awakens set has obviously different graphics based on the soon to be released movie. A big concern with this new release was were our old miniatures from the original set going to be compatible? With a sigh of relief, yes in fact every release is going to work together.

The major change is the force building option which now includes the Rebel Alliance alongside Resistance and the First Order with the Empire. These names concern me. If it is 20-30 years after Return of the Jedi why is the alliance called the resistance? Did the Empire or the First Order come back into power? Did the Jedi not return after all? Oh, my head hurts thinking about it, anyhow I digress.

What Is In The Box?

The contents of the box are basically the same as the original core set. You get a T-70 X-Wing and two TIE/FO Fighters along with their upgrade cards and pilot cards. There are also the typical eight sided dice, counters and manoeuvre templates.

Here is a breakdown:

• 1x Incom T-70 X-Wing Fighter
• 2x First Order TIE/FO Fighters
• 4x Resistance Pilot cards including the Red Squadron Veteran, Blue Squadron Novice, "Blue Ace" and last but most certainly not least Poe Dameron
• 9x First Order Pilot cards including: Epsilon Squadron Pilot, Zeta Squadron Pilot, Omega Squadron Pilot, "Zeta Ace", "Epsilon Leader" and the always dangerous "Omega Ace"
• New upgrade cards that can give the Resistance pilot some upgrades to their Astro Mechs including BB-8 and R5-X3
• 4x Sheets of manoeuvre templates, dials and obstacles
• 6x  eight side dice (3 red, 3 green)
• Learn to play booklet
• Rules Reference booklet
• Mission Guide for extra scenarios

Of course everything is full colour and well made to the high quality of other Fantasy Flight Games.

How About The Miniatures?

Okay, we are here for the miniatures are we not? We love miniatures and sometime we love miniatures ready to play (only when they are done well!) even though some among us will always want to customize them. Let me start by saying, Fantasy Flight Games has done a really good job with these miniatures.

T-70 X-Wing

Let's take the T-70 X-Wing. The detailing and wash to highlight the panels and shading is well done. Other companies that offer pre-painted miniatures could take a page from Fantasy Flight Games book and meet the standard they have set.

Comparing the T-70 to the T-65 I notice that they were a little more sparing with the wash and this leaves the details a little more crisp.

First Order TIE / FO Fighter

The First Order TIE / FO Fighter appears to be nearly identical to the original set with some very minor differences in terms on the body. It does appear that the body might be a smidgen bigger to the original TIE Fighter. It could just be an optical illusion due to the new TIE Fighter's colour scheme.

The black body with red highlights for the glass contrasts nicely with the white panels of the wings/stabilizers. Again, a nice model and it will make a wonderful addition to my collection of ships.

Is There More To This Edition Than Good Looks?

Of course there is! One of these is the upgrades of the new Astro Mechs as I stated earlier, which give you some awesome manoeuvre options. BB-8 has "when you reveal a green manoeuvre, you may perform a free barrel roll" and R5-X3 has "Before you reveal your manoeuvre, you may discard this card to ignore obstacles until the end of the round."

The First Order is not left out either. They now have shields and "swarm" is even more effective.  Probably the most anticipated manoeuvre is the Tallon Roll which allows the Resistance Player to make a hard turn and side-slip so your ship still faces an enemy ship along with a little forward or rearward movement.

There is also the character pilot Poe Dameron, who looks to have a big part in the upcoming movie. He has a high pilot skill value which will allow him to react to most of what the First Order can throw at him.

What Do You Think? Is It Worth Getting The New Set?

If you are a fan of Star Wars (who isn't?) then yes, you should pick this up when you can. If you enjoy playing X-Wing then yes, you should get this set.

The miniatures are nicely done, and will add some new dimensions to your game. I can't wait to get in a couple of games in and see what this baby can do. Remember, 'May the Force be with you!'

Do you have what it takes to be a Star Wars Fighter Ace?