My son received the HWK-90 blister pack for the Fantasy Flight X-Wing game this past Christmas. So, of course, we broke out the TIE fighters to test it out. The scenario involved two smugglers (the Millennium Falcon and its consort, the HWK-90) that trip sensors, thereby alerting a nearby Imperial garrison.
Two sections of TIE fighters scrambled to intercept the smugglers, which quickly escalated into a dogfight. The HWK-90 as a fighter is a poor ship. It is not fast, nor is it maneuverable nor powerful.
It redeeming quality is the fact that it is a combat multiplier for the ship to which it is attached. My son was able to effect multiple rerolls with the Falcon. Considering the Falcon's 360 degree firing act with turrets. This made it a hard bird to take down, with two TIEs splitting off to harass the HWK-90.
Very quickly I lost one TIE to the falcon, but by turn 5 Boba Fett came on the scene in the SLAVE-I. Having listened to the Imperial chatter on his Type-I, Mod-2 Corellian Police Scanner, Fett heard the description of the ships involved in the action and joined in...much to his disadvantage, however.
Tight maneuvering brought the SLAVE-1 in close to the Falcon and sadly, Fett collided with the larger ship, sustaining significant damage to his hull, now that his shields were gone.
To add insult to injury, in turn 7, a lone Incom X-Wing came on the scene, piloted by Cdr Skywalker. The section on the HWK-90 pulled off to engage the X-Wing...about the same time that the Slave-1 and a second TIE were left dead in the water.
By turn 8, I was down to one TIE, which bugged out. I have no idea what explanation he would have for his squadron commander upon his return to base.
So, in the end, the HWK-90 should under no circumstance be your go to ship if you need a fighter. As a consort, however, it is a valuable addition to a squadron, able to augment the attacks and saves of its sister ships.
