Should FFG use the Star Wars Prequels?

Should Star Wars Armada and X-Wing delve into the world of the Prequels and the Clone Wars? Lets discuss…

One of our favorite past times when talking about FFG Star Wars Games, or any game really, is discussing potential future releases.  Just the other week I talked about what Admirals should come to Aramda. The FFG forums are littered with threads discussing what ships should be used. There are a lot of great options out there, from obscure video game ships, to ships from the movies and mainstays of the old EU. However in all these discussions there is one major dividing line, one burning questions.

Should FFG use ships from the Prequels, or Clone War, Era?

Who doesn’t want to play this out?

Now first off, let’s clarify a quick point. Ships that appear in the Prequels and the Clone Wars, what you might call Clone War Era ships, do appear in Armada and X-Wing. In Particular, the Z-95, Slave I, the Falcon, the Arquintens, the Peltast, the Lancer Pursuit Craft and the YV-666 all come from that era. There maybe a few more I’m missing. The big difference is that all of these also where in use during the Galactic Civil War Era. In fact in both X-Wing and Armada FFG has stayed away from using Clone Wars Era Only ships or characters. The closest they come is the ARC-170 in X-Wing, but even that showed up in a handful of old EU post- Clone War Stories. It is also mentioned in the novel Tarken as being used post-Cone Wars.

I recognized your foul stench when I was brought into this book store

So so far no purely Clone Wars Era ships have been used, no Venators, Lucrehulk-class battleships, or Naboo Starfighters. To many this is a good thing. This may be a shock to you, but not everyone likes the Prequels. Some people have an almost violent reaction to them and would prefer they be totally forgotten. To these people the fact that FFG has so far mostly ignored the Clone Wars is great. Sure you can use a few things that show up in Rebels, the occasional odd old ship is OK. But to acknowledge the Phantom Menace? No sir.

Just thinking about them makes them rage like Anakin

However the Clone Wars Era is a rich rich source of ideas, ships, fighters and heroes (or villains). Moreover, despite many people’s personal opinions, the prequels are popular. More than popular, they are Iconic. To many people, especially younger people, the Prequels are  Star Wars. To a whole generation Anakin and Obi-Wan’s battle on Mustafar is as important as Luke and Vader’s fight on Cloud City is to me my generation. That’s not even to mention the Clone Wars TV show, which aside from being critically acclaimed, is also one of the more visible Star Wars properties in recent years.

Six seasons and a movie! 

Overall I think there are a lot of good reason why using Clone Wars era stuff in X-Wing and Armada is a great idea. Doing it would allow for a lot of new ships. And lets face it, does it make more sense to use some random bomber from a bad video game for the next wave or a popular ship from a major movie? In addition it would help appeal to a wider base and possibly draw in younger players, allowing them to get the same feeling of awe and “cool!” most of do had when looking at the Falcon or ISD models. So lets assume they want to start bringing in the Clone Wars ear, how would they do that?

I’ll give you a hint…

Keep on, Keeping on

I can see two ways they could bring the Clone Wars Era ships fully to life in X-Wing and Armada. The first option is in essence to just keep doing what they are doing already. Both X-Wing and Armada for the most part focus on Galactic Civil War, the battle between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. Keeping that focus is not necessarily a bad thing at all. A simple option would be to slowly phase in Clone War era ships as older ships that are still in use by one side or another. That is what they have already done with all of the ships I mentioned back up at the top, and there is no reason they couldn’t keep doing this. Why wouldn’t the Rebels use a few Venator Class Star Destroyers they found laying around? Just take some Clone War era ships, slap Original Trilogy factions and heroes on to them and call it a day. This is basically what they did with the ARC-170 and it could work again. If FFG ever makes a Scum faction for Armada this could be a great source of ships for them in particular. Maybe some pirate king has an old Lucrehulk laying around or something. The possibles are endless.

Don’t forget to include this as part of your complete Clone Wars

Go Full Clone Wars

The other option is to simply bring the Clone Wars and it’s factions into the game and adapt the ships as they fought in the Clone Wars. This is not as impossible as it sounds. While both games are mostly rooted in the Civil War era, there is a chunk of X-Wing at least that is set in the Force Awakens Era. Because of that we already have a template for how sub-factions work, and for how they do ships and pilots in different eras . In addition as more movies come out I have a feeling that we will see more ships from different eras come into play. Episodes VIII and IX will no doubt push us futher away from the Galatic Civil War, while movies like Young Han Solo and the hope for Obi-Wan movie will push us closer to the Prequels.

Just never go full Jar Jar

FFG could simply make the Separatists and Old Republic sub-factions, like the First Order and the Resistance and bring the whole Clone War’s to life. And to me that is pretty appealing. Not only would we get cool ships and visual looks that I love, but we could get hosts of Jedi Pilots and Hondo. We need some Hondo.

Fanboys, Fanboys everywhere 

A Galaxy of Possibilities

For me I would love to see a full delve in to the Clone Wars Era, though I recognize it has it’s risks. I think it could do a great job of opening up the game and bringing new players in. Even if they don’t go that route I would like to see some of the more iconic ships brought into the Civil War era and used in both games. Overall FFG, and us players, can think about not only should it be done, but how it should be done. Luckily when it’s to Star Wars, the possibilities are endless.

Well fair readers , that’s all for today. Let us know if you think the Prequels should be used or forgotten down in the comments. 

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Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.