The Season 7 Playtesting Phase is finally over, and we have our final results after 2 weeks of community voting. 28 players, members of the community just like you, participated in an open voting process and cast their votes for the cards that should be permanently added to the Imperial Assault IACP skirmish project. Which I am proud to say is an increase from the number of players that participated in last season’s community vote, so thank you everyone that chose to participate and welcome to all of our new players that have been slowly growing the ranks of this amazing community.
IACP is Moving to a Yearly Release Schedule
Before I get to the Community vote results, I want to make an important announcement here on behalf of the IACP Steering Committee. Back in December 2021 we made the announcement that we would be slowing down releases from a 6 month schedule to a 9 month schedule, with 4 months of public playtesting and tweaking the cards in a new Season and then 5 months of uninterrupted Approved play. We found that the additional playtesting time was a great improvement and the additional time for iteration backed by public playtesting data was very helpful in getting cards to where they needed to be by the end of public playtesting. We also found that the extra time between public playtest periods was extremely useful for us to get ready for the next season and to get the designs as good and balanced as we could get them without public playtesting so that once they are released they required only small and minimal changes for the most part.
In light of these benefits and how intense of a process the public playtesting period for a new Season can be for everyone involved in the production and decision-making of a new season, the Steering Committee has decided that moving to a yearly release for new IACP seasons makes the most sense for everyone involved. This means that each season will have a 4-month public playtesting period culminating in a 2-week Community vote that leads into an 8 month Approved play period where no changes to cards will be scheduled, though updates can be made if urgently needed to solve any balance issues that become obvious only after the Community Vote. This means that Season 8’s release date has been pushed back to April 2023. No increases are planned for the amount of cards released in each new season. The map rotation for IACP competitive play will still follow the same current schedule of rotating roughly every 4 months.
We hope that in addition to giving the all-volunteer Steering Committee and the valued community creators that support our endeavors more time to breathe in between seasons, this also gives players more time to explore the myriad list-building possibilities available in IACP as well as giving new players a longer period to absorb and process all of the approved cards that have been added through IACP before they get thrown into the chaotic process that is a new season release and public playtesting.
We will be posting more details about the new release schedule going forward as well as information about upcoming Organized Play support for digital and in-person play.
Results
Below are the full detailed results of the vote, but I won’t beat around the bush, every single card on the Season 7 Community vote reached the required threshold for full approval of having 50% or more of their votes be for full approval combined with 30% or less votes for disapproval, though there were a couple of very close shaves this Season. Also as a reminder, The Mandalorian Rising Phoenix was a card on probation from Season 6 that was originally planned to be on this season’s community vote, but after some focused playtesting at 12 points instead of 10 for 3 weeks by the community, the Steering Committee made the decision to pull the card from IACP play indefinitely. We will make available a reference sheet with this version of Mando on it for those that wish to keep playing with the card casually.
| Card Name | Fully Approve Votes | Probationary Approval Votes | Disapprove Votes | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Deployment Card – Smuggling Compartment | 88.9% | 11.1% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Command Card – Of No Importance | 85.7% | 10.7% | 3.7% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – Reduce to Rubble | 71.4% | 25% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – Savage Vigor | 67.9% | 25% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Command Card – Triangulate | 82.1% | 17.9% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Command Card – Lure of the Dark Side | 67.9% | 28.6% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – Guerilla Warfare | 85.7% | 14.3% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Command Card – Karabast! | 78.6% | 21.4% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – Still Faster Than You | 85.7% | 14.3% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – Forbidden Knowledge | 82.6% | 17.4% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| New Command Card – There is Another | 78.6% | 14.3% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| New Deployment Card – Saw Gerrera | 75% | 21.4% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Skirmish Upgrade Attachment – Heir to the Jedi | 71.4% | 21.4% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – Leia Organa | 50% | 39.3% | 10.7% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – Zeb Orrelios | 82.1% | 14.3% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Deployment Card – Purge Commander | 78.6% | 14.3% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| New Deployment Card – Purge Trooper | 67.9% | 25% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| New Purge Trooper Loadout Card – Electrostaff | 67.9% | 28.6% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Purge Trooper Loadout Card – Electrohammer | 67.9% | 28.6% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| New Purge Trooper Loadout Card – Electrobaton | 71.4% | 25% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – The Grand Inquisitor | 71.4% | 10.7% | 17.9% | Fully Approved |
| Recosted IACP Deployment Card – Shoretrooper | 50% | 35.7% | 14.3% | Fully Approved |
| New Deployment Card – Cad Bane | 89.3% | 10.7% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| New Deployment Card – Taron Malicos | 75% | 21.4% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – Rancor | 64.3% | 28.6% | 7.1% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – HK Assassin Droid | 78.6% | 17.9% | 3.6% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Deployment Card – Hired Gun | 92.9% | 7.1% | 0% | Fully Approved |
| Updated Skirmish Upgrade Card – Punishing Strike | 85.7% | 14.3% | 0% | Fully Approved |
Some interesting take-aways from the results of the Community Vote that I noticed.
Most Approved S7 Card – Hired Guns (92.9%)
The Hired Guns had the highest fully approved rating out of all the cards and 0 disapproval votes as well, which shows us they are probably in a really good spot right in terms of balance and competitive viability.
Old IACP Card that had the Most Requests to Revisit – Scout Troopers
It’s not listed above, but at the beginning of the Community Vote we had a survey asking players what IACP cards that have already been done should be revisited again to correct their balance, similar to what we were trying to do with Shoretroopers and Luke Skywalker in Season 7. Scout Troopers had the most mentions with 6 responses mentioning them in their list of cards to revisit. Coming in 2nd place at 5 mentions was the AT-RT, and tied for 3rd place at 4 mentions each were Bossk, Gamorrean Guards, Rebel Troopers, and Wing Guards.
Most Controversial S7 Card – Shoretroopers (50% full approval, 14.3% disapproval)
While both Leia Organa and Shoretroopers both just barely slipped into fully approved status with a 50% fully approved vote while maintaining a less than 30% disapproval vote, the Shoretroopers win the superlative here thanks to having a higher 14.3% disapproval rating over Leia’s 10.7%. And there certainly has been a lot of chatter in the community lately about how Shoretroopers and Squad Upgrades should be handled in general, so be sure to join the discussion over at the Zions Finest slack channel or our IACP Discord.
While both Leia and Shoretroopers did reach the bare minimum required threshold for fully approved status into IACP, we do see and understand that these results mean that there is a good portion of the community that would be in favor of possibly revisiting these cards in the future if changes are needed. While it’s unfortunate that doing so would ultimately represent a third pass at these cards which were already playtested and voted on in a previous season, we know there is a need for balance between getting something right and getting something done.
A huge THANK YOU again to everyone who participated in the Season 7 public playtesting and Community vote. Whether it was by submitting Vassal logs and playing in the playtest league, participating in discussions on Slack or Discord, updating our valuable community resources like Vassal or Tabletop Admiral, or even just paying attention to IACP and participating in your first Community vote, it’s the players and the community that are the sole reason this project continues to exist and give us all new cards and new experiences to enjoy in the game we love, Star Wars: Imperial Assault skirmish.
Be sure to check the main site’s Events section for upcoming Organized Play events for Season 7 like Leagues and Tournaments.