The Imperial Aces Expansion Pack for X-Wing (TM) Is Now Available

“Soon the Rebellion will be crushed and young Skywalker will be one of us!”
    –Emperor Palpatine

The time has come to crush the Rebel Alliance… The Imperial Aces Expansion Pack for X-Wing™ is now available!

Imperial Aces allows you to recruit any of several highly skilled new pilots and send them into battle with two TIE interceptors that feature stunning, variant paint schemes. You’ll also find a dozen upgrades designed to complement the TIE interceptor’s high-risk, high-reward play style, and you’ll gain all the tokens and maneuver dials you need to field the expansion’s two starfighters.

Imperial Aces also introduces a new mission, Cutting the Cord. As the Imperial player attempts to defend a powerful new prototype starfighter from a strike force of Rebellion starfighters, he can activate and harness the astonishing powers of the prototype’s new flight system and weaponry. The result is a desperate race to control some of the galaxy’s most powerful new technology, all conducted amid the heat of battle!

Saber Squadron and the Emperor’s Royal Guard

Fly your TIE with pride! The alternate paint schemes on the TIE interceptor miniatures from the Imperial Aces Expansion Pack allow you to wage your X-Wing dogfights while representing either or both of two of the Empire’s most recognizable TIE units: the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing and the Emperor’s Royal Guard.

Also known as the Saber Squadron, the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing was an elite TIE unit and one of the Empire’s premier fighter groups. Led by Baron Soontir Fel, the group’s aces marked the wings of their TIE interceptors with distinctive bloodstripes as soon as they recorded ten combat kills. Because of the group’s elite composition, nearly all of its TIE interceptors proudly displayed these red, horizontal stripes, and they feature prominently on one of the TIE interceptor miniatures from the Imperial Aces Expansion Pack.

A 360-degree view of the Saber Squadron TIE interceptor

The elite members of the Emperor’s Royal Guard were handpicked by the Emperor to serve as his bodyguards, and did so with absolute loyalty. They were carefully scrutinized for strength, skill, intelligence, loyalty, and any latent Force sensitivity. They received intensive training and became extremely lethal in multiple forms of combat. And when the Emperor traveled in his personal shuttle, they would escort him in their specialized crimson TIE interceptors, and their paint scheme is brought to life in Imperial Aces.

A 360-degree view of the Royal Guard TIE interceptor

Both of these TIE interceptors share the same 1/270 scale sculpt as the miniature from the TIE Interceptor Expansion Pack.

Stay in Attack Formation

While the two variant TIE interceptors from Imperial Aces look great, they fly even better!

Especially when their flown by any of the expansion’s four new unique pilots, your TIE interceptors are lightning quick and hard to lock down. You can learn more about the expansion’s pilots and their unique play styles in a preview by lead developer James Kniffen.

Lieutenant Lorrir performs a barrel roll to get out of the X-wing’s firing arc. Though the standard barrel roll would prevent Lorrir from taking a shot at the X-wing, Lorrir can barrel roll along the 1-speed bank template and catch the X-wing in his firing arc.

You can also explore some of the ways that you might bring these starfighters to battle by reading the preview, Ace Wingmen, in which we present a sample squad list that features two TIE interceptors commissioned to serve as personal escorts for Darth Vader’s Lambda–class shuttle.

No matter how you use the expansion’s two variant TIE interceptors, its new pilots, or its myriad upgrades, Imperial Aces is destined to intensify your X-Wing space combat. This expansion is a dogfighter’s dream come true, and it’s now available at your local retailer. Pick up your copy today, and crush the Rebellion!

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