Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game – Imperial Raider

The Raider is a two-section ship, divided into a fore and aft section. Each section has its own health, shields, and upgrade slots. The Raider comes with a campaign book that includes a branching campaign, allowing players to track pilot deaths and outcomes across multiple missions. It also includes numerous energy tokens, which are crucial for the Raider's abilities, and new upgrade cards. The Raider's model has less detail and a more basic paint job compared to other ships like the CR-90, but the underside has some cool details. The Rebel Transport also suffers from a similar lack of detail, but can be customized with magnets for easier play. The Raider also comes with its own damage deck for its fore and aft sections, which is mostly similar to other damage decks but includes a few unique cards.

The primary objective in Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game is to destroy your opponent's ships. With the Imperial Raider, the objective is to leverage its unique combat capabilities and support options to overwhelm the enemy. The campaign book introduces specific mission objectives that can influence the overall narrative and future missions, adding a strategic layer beyond simple destruction.

The Raider's maneuver dial is superior to the CR-90's, offering a one-straight maneuver that the CR-90 cannot perform, and providing more options for gaining energy. The Raider's special ability allows it to perform another primary weapon attack by spending two energy, effectively attacking twice per round. In contrast, the CR-90 has a special ability to fire its primary weapon outside its firing arc and can roll an additional attack die by spending one energy. The Raider's stats are generally better in terms of shields and energy storage. The Raider also has a unique overlap feature on its base, allowing it to attack ships that end up in specific overlapping zones up to five times, combining attacks from its two rear hardpoints, one front hardpoint, and two primary weapon attacks. The CR-90, on the other hand, is most effective when broadsiding to get the most guns on target.

The Raider is priced at 100 points, making it 10 points more expensive than the CR-90. Despite this cost difference, the Raider offers significantly better stats and abilities. Its superior maneuver dial, increased energy storage, and powerful attack capabilities contribute to its higher point value. The distribution of upgrade slots also plays a role, with the Raider having more upgrade slots in its front section, while the CR-90 has a more balanced distribution. This affects strategic choices, as losing the Raider's back section can severely cripple its primary weapon and energy generation, whereas the CR-90 remains more viable even after losing a section.

The game concludes when all ships of one player are destroyed. In the context of the campaign, pilot deaths are permanent, adding a layer of consequence to each mission. The branching campaign structure means that the outcome of one mission can directly affect the setup and objectives of subsequent missions, leading to different narrative paths and replayability.