Chimera Preview: Still a lot of questions

FFG has been on fire here, pumping out article after article, for us.  This one though, I think is missing a few too many parts.  We got a few answers that I'll look at, but we're still missing almost all of the officer slot upgrades as well as any of the possible new ordnance or turbolaser upgrades.  Possibly the one that I'm most interested in is the Early Warning System that might give a bit of real relief from some of the more fighter heavy 2+3 builds.

We did however get to see some very good stuff.  The biggest item is definitley the new fighter that has been dancing in our heads, the Gauntlet Fighter. 

At 20 points its a hefty investment, but the new Raid mechanic (Delivered via the Assault Mechanic here) is going to potentially be game altering.  Being able to stop a carrier from being able to execute squadron commands, or an MC30 from hitting the gas with a Nav is going to likely be very sought after.  It is speed 4, with 7 Hull so its no slouch at absorbing fire.  Its anti-squadron capability is a little rough, giving about a 30% chance to do 1 damage, and 30% to do 2.  We'll likely see Majr Rhymer make a return, helping to expand the threat range of these fighters and the Raid mechanic. 

We also got to see the parallel to the MC Exodus title in the last preview, with the 7th Fleet.  Being able to mitigate a damage is good, but as we've seen with other Task Force titles, you need numbers to really make it work.  I'm also a bit worried that the its fairly easy to mitigate, by just getting out of arc.  Vics have always had trouble with flanking, and ISDs can be open to attacks thanks to the large base. This though might help find a home for Dual Vic lists again, paired either with an lightly kitted ISD or with a couple of Glads so you get one extra title carrier in there. 

Finally, we see Taskmaster Grint. 

He's a slightly less powerful version of the Rebels Raymus Antilles.  He'll find a home though on Quasars where they want to always be using Squadron commands, and any ship that might benefit from extra engineering points (JJ Victories maybe?  Interdoctors?) 

Overall this preview was a little bit of a let down, especially since it didn't explain Raid any further or give us the other titles or officers.  I wish FFG would give us everything so they can see potential issues earlier.