The Admirals Mess- Adventures in Armada

[Brenlak]

Thought I would take a page out of Mystery's book and start up a thread where we can discuss Fantasy Flight's newest reason to work overtime: Star Wars Armada!
A game of Space combat on a scale larger than X-Wing I am pretty keen on it (maybe because I actually win once and a while!), there are videos posted on how to play and I have been taking lots of pics, hopefully it has encouraged some of you to go out and try this game!

Last weekend while making the rounds I picked up one of everything (well two of the Imperial Fighter Squadrons) and thought I would share the joy of ripping open a brand new packet starting with the Emperors finest...

First up the Imperial Fighter Squadrons, you get two of everything in this box, Regular TIE, TIE-Advanced, TIE-Interceptor ans TIE-Bomber, with a unique squadron for each.
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Not only does Mr. Mithel have the brace defense token but the scatter token will allow you to cancel all attack dice from one attack per turn(two if you want to discard it, it beats dying I guess). Use it wisely as he is almost double what a TIE Squadron clocks in at points-wise.

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Finally an escort for the Imperials(maybe finally doesn't fit it is wave one after all) not only does your opponents squadrons have to attack them first, they 5 hull points to chew through. Guess Vader is stuck in his TIE-Advanced until he gets on a Star Destroyer in Wave 2.

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For 3 points more than a regular TIE Squadron Interceptors have it going on! an extra attack die against squadrons,an extra move distance, not to mention the counter ability. And the Baron? Talk about an escort for your escorts engaged enemy squadrons will have to attack your escorts first, and every time they do its gonna cost them a damage and when they do get around to dealing with him you have brace and scatter to help you out and then a counter on top!

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Last up is the Heavies, not a lot of anti-squadron weapons on these bad boys so be careful. Major Rhymer is confusing the hell out of me, I'm reading that he allows squadrons close to him to attack ships at close or medium range even though they normally can only attack ships at close range.

[40kGamer]

I'm loving this game. I have the new squadrons but my other Wave 1 ships are coming later this week! I read the Major Rhymer the same way. ie Any sqds within distance 1 of him can attack at either close or medium range.

[Houghten]

Finally an escort for the Imperials

What are you talking about? We got an escort for the Imperials in the starter box - there's just nothing for it to escort until wave 2!

Edit: silly me, the pictures hadn't loaded and I thought you were talking about the Gladiator, and so what I was talking about was flanking an Imperial with a pair of Victories. I can't wait!

But yeah, I guess having an escort starfighter is kind of nice. Have you modelled your Vader with two regular TIEs for wingmen instead of a trio of Advanced?

[Brenlak]

Have you modelled your Vader with two regular TIEs for wingmen instead of a trio of Advanced?
Haha, not as of yet but I am going to need a couple more sets of Imperial Fighter Squadrons just for the extra Interceptors and Advanced TIEs since I already have 10 squads of TIE-Fighters i am planning to not build them just so I can use the extra bits to set up my squads the way I want too.

Then all my unique pilots will have boss squads then all that will be left to do is paint them!

Hopefully 40kGamer will throw up some juicy pics and a color guide once the paint dries...

[40kGamer]

Haha, not as of yet but I am going to need a couple more sets of Imperial Fighter Squadrons just for the extra Interceptors and Advanced TIEs since I already have 10 squads of TIE-Fighters i am planning to not build them just so I can use the extra bits to set up my squads the way I want too.

Then all my unique pilots will have boss squads then all that will be left to do is paint them!

Hopefully 40kGamer will throw up some juicy pics and a color guide once the paint dries...

I'll definitely get some squadron photos up this week... I'm trying to work up Vader with 2x regular ties but the ships come out pretty crowded on the couple bases I tested. Will have to see what I can work up to get the right look for the big baddy! :)

[Brenlak]

Now on to the Victory Class Star Destroyer:
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Never noticed the blue engine glow before, nice touch!

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Might recognize these bad boys from the Starter set. The only difference between the two builds for the Victory Class is the die colors on the hull zones. For an extra 12 points The Victory II replaces its black, close range dice with blue medium range dice.
Black dice: Blanks(misses) 2/8
Hits 4/8
Hit and Critical 2/8
Blue dice: Accuracy 2/8
Hits 4/8
Critical 2/8
The accuracy is nice for disabling defense tokens, but the Black dice look like they would really tear squadrons up, and if your like me you are going to get your Destroyers closer than you want to anyway.

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Besides the ship cards (and weapon liaisons, expanded hanger bays and Assault concussion missiles) that's where the differences in the starter set stop. Admiral Motti looks amazing! but 24 points? I haven't played enough to know if that's worth the cost. Ysanne is nuts! (Oh excuse me I mean Director Isard), one enemy ship, no range stipulation for 3 points? Yep she's going on my classiest ship.

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I didn't include the weapon liaison since she came with the starter set too but I should have so that everybody gets a feel of exactly what's in the set. Defense Liaison looks good if you get in a pinch(easy to do as Victorys plan there commands three turns ahead of time). And hey if you went for the longer range Victory II then those accuracy results combined with an Intel Officer looks like a great way to strip your opponent of there defense tokens.

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Squadron value of 4 on my Victory class? Yes Please. Obviously the Concussion Missiles are better suited to the Victory I and the Overload Pulse to a victory II just think of the token denying ability of a Victory II with Overload pulse and an Intel Officer...

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On a victory class this card equals 2 points per each blue die you add, cheaper if you expanded your fighter bays and lets face it, aren't you sick of X-wings one shoting you while you roll 3 attack dice and they laugh with there 5 hull value.

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These cards are new in this set, Turbolasers are like regular lasers only turbo, great when your enemy enjoys reinforcing their shields. The Ion Cannons (again Victory II only) lets you choose and discard, always nice to choose...

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The new Victory Class Titles are pretty specific take Corrupter if you take bombers and take Warlord if your a Victory II (the red dice have 1/8 Accuracy faces I don't like those odds for 8 points).

There you have the Victory Class Star Destroyer, now on to the exciting one, the new one, The Gladiator!

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I'm trying to work up Vader with 2x regular ties but the ships come out pretty crowed on the couple bases I tested.

Tell me about it, those TIE-Bombers, I thought they would never fit!

[Brenlak]

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Ah finally the Gladiator Class star destroyer, it's a cute little fella, but I am still trying to figure out how to best use the wee thing.

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Well that's a huge improvement of movement over a Victory Class, Almost as good as a Nebulon Class and a command of 2 gives you a bit better reaction time than the big Victorys. So basically for an extra 7 points the Gladiator II gains red dice on either side an doubles it's anti squadron attack dice pretty nice.

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The third Admiral for the Empire so far trades quantity for quality. you only have a 1/4 chance of a crit with a red die so why not guarantee it? Million dollar question: If I cancel my red die to switch a die facing to a critical the only dice left will be black. The only critical on a black dice also has a damage on it (2 for 1) would I then receive an extra hit? That being noted since you only roll the black in close range this ability is useless on a Gladiator at medium or long range. Chiraneau I will have to try out. Speed 2 is only enough to get you just out of engaged range, wouldn't the enemy just engage you again? I guess it's good for the TIE-Bombers.

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Weapons Liaison is cheap enough but probably looks better on a Victory(Since it has a higher Command than the Gladiator) and I guess the sensor guy can help get rid of some of those braces the Nebulon has.

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The Gladiator Class is the only Imperial ship so far that has support teams so there will be no moving these fellas onto a Victory. That's a shame as the ability to increase a yaw value on a Victory would be huge! The Engine Techs would be particularly useful on a Gladiator I seeing your going to want to get close and don't want to cause a pileup.

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No Ordnance allowed on a Victory so these are both Gladiator exclusives. Expanded Launchers are very nice with black dice being pretty deadly, and those concussion missiles can start to prove useful against Braces and against ships with low shields (Lookin at you Corvettes).

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And the titles. Insidious is cheap enough, imagine combining that with Expanded Launchers and the Engine Techs? I think it would be deadly zoomy. Demolisher seems expensive but all things considered if you are unable to make two attacks anyway why not make one that counts? Plus the Gladiator seems fairly maneuverable.


Well that's it for now. Not going to get into the Rebelscum tonight, kinda ran out of time rambling on about all the great Imperial stuff. I am excited people are on here posting and replying! I did one of these when I first got Armada and no one even said boo on that thread! I thought Armada was on the down and outs, that it would never get the respect X-Wing gets, but now I see it's still early in the game and people will come around. Posting this helps keep me excited since no one around here has gotten into it yet its good to get this stuff of my mindgrapes. Now it's time for a traditional bachelors dinner of Hot Dogs and Gin, flavor country!

[Houghten]

Might recognize these bad boys from the Starter set. The only difference between the two builds for the Victory Class is the die colors on the hull zones. For an extra 12 points The Victory II replaces its black, close range dice with blue medium range dice.
We~ell, it also swaps the missile slot for a cannon slot.


If I cancel my red die to switch a die facing to a critical the only dice left will be black. The only critical on a black dice also has a damage on it (2 for 1) would I then receive an extra hit?

Until and unless they FAQ Screed to say "face with only a [crit] icon," I believe you would.

[Mr Mystery]

I'm still reticent about the game, but remain kind-of interested.....

From the pictures I've been seeing online, the slightly ropey models I saw at the SciFi Weekender may well have been factory seconds for demo purposes only....but I dunno. I'm a definite 'twelfty of everything' gamer, and this is just looking a bit out of my price bracket.

For now anyways!

[Erik Setzer]

I'm still reticent about the game, but remain kind-of interested.....

From the pictures I've been seeing online, the slightly ropey models I saw at the SciFi Weekender may well have been factory seconds for demo purposes only....but I dunno. I'm a definite 'twelfty of everything' gamer, and this is just looking a bit out of my price bracket.

For now anyways!


Well, with the size fleets are meant to be, I don't think a fleet will run more than $150. If you're looking to get ALL THE STUFF!, then yes, it could run up the price. But seriously, didn't you just comment in another thread you're looking to get a book that's going to run something like $110 (I'm a bit rusty on the conversion at the moment)? And you get all kinds of GW stuff, where the armies make this game look super-cheap. So the only issue is that you're choosing to invest the vast majority of your dollars into another game(s), which doesn't leave much for this one. And that's fair enough, but come on, man, when you play GW games, you can't really call other games "pricey."

The models aren't bad. You probably saw early prototypes or something, not sure. I got the core box, and the ships are pretty good looking. The paint jobs aren't bad, either. I'll probably end up doing some of my own over time, but for now, I'm content with how they look.

My friend is wanting to do Imperials, so that leaves me looking at Rebels for now. Their ships are either $20 or $40, and that includes a decent model already painted, plus all the rules for the model and plenty of options (which often can be used for other models). Pretty good deal, really. Given the core game contents, I can probably grab another Nebulon B, another Corellian Corvette, and one of the Assault Frigates, and toss in some squadrons... at full retail it'd be about $100, but less if I go the Amazon route. If you think that's a bit much, imagine picturing all of that stuff sitting on a table beside a single Bloodthirster model (and toss in another Corvette or Neb-B to even it up). Helps put it in better perspective. Sure, you can also compare a VSD to a squad of Skitarii Rangers, but that still doesn't make the VSD look bad. (Quite nice, really. It's more comparable to a Space Marine Dreadnought or Razorback, but cheaper, already painted, and, again, has all the rules in the box.)





(Note, this isn't a GW pricing rant. It's just making comparisons based on a baseline many people know.)

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Oh, and the game is actually pretty fun. Lightweight rules, sure, but they give plenty of room for tactics and all. You really have to be careful with a ship's speed and maneuvering, too, so that adds a whole new element to consider (small ships going fast might seem nice, but when they can't get in range and keep skirting the edge of the table, you're losing effectiveness).

[Houghten]

Prices for SW stuff are a little marked up here in Blighty. That same fleet (Core set plus one of each Wave 1 Rebel item and throw in an extra Neb-B) would set you back £140 plus change from Amazon. That's two Bloodthirsters. And a sherbert dip.

[40kGamer]

I'm definitely loving this game. Still learning the gameplay mechanics but this is the first spaceship combat game I'm played that gives the feel of big ponderous ships. I've also just started a thread in the Other painting projects section titled "Star Wars Armada - Paint Your Squadrons!".

[Brenlak]

We~ell, it also swaps the missile slot for a cannon slot.
Ooooh I missed that, nice!


From the pictures I've been seeing online, the slightly ropey models I saw at the SciFi Weekender may well have been factory seconds for demo purposes only....but I dunno.
I think they look fine, maybe not the best but good. I think the Nebulon looks a bit in need of a wash but the other ships look fine. Painting up the squadrons is going to be another story. It seems like a great idea until I actually look at the size of the ships. If you though ripper teeth were tough this is a whole new ball game.


I'm a definite 'twelfty of everything' gamer, and this is just looking a bit out of my price bracket.

I would say the price is quite comparable to X-Wing. The points value for a game is set at 300 with 1/3 allowed to be spent on Squadrons and with a Victory clocking in at at least 73 points, and the cheapest Admiral is Motti at 24 points, that's 1/3 of your points for the crust and not even any toppings yet. You are never going to have 3 Victories or 4 Gladiators in one game (Well you could but the rest of your options are pretty limited) unless you have to have more Destroyers than North Korea...
Haven't looked at the Rebel side of things yet there ships are less points but also less money.
I am a completist to but really the starter set, another Victory, 2 Gladiators and 2 Imperial fighter squadrons will give you all the options you could ever want.


If you think that's a bit much, imagine picturing all of that stuff sitting on a table beside a single Bloodthirster model (and toss in another Corvette or Neb-B to even it up)
Bah ha ha! Too true too true. The worst part is so many people will buy one because of GW hype and it will sit un-assembled for a couple years and then end up on eBay, My Victory II has been chasing the cat for the whole weekend, money well spent.

[40kGamer]

I'm still reticent about the game, but remain kind-of interested.....

From the pictures I've been seeing online, the slightly ropey models I saw at the SciFi Weekender may well have been factory seconds for demo purposes only....but I dunno. I'm a definite 'twelfty of everything' gamer, and this is just looking a bit out of my price bracket.

For now anyways!

Anytime I can collect an entire game system for the price of a single GW faction I consider it a win. Seriously enough this looks to be a pretty small investment compared to the potential tabletop shenanigans and the fun factor.

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Tell me about it, those TIE-Bombers, I thought they would never fit!

Egads! That's the last imperial variant I have to finish up! I hadn't thought about how huge they are! :eek:

[Mr Mystery]

Pricing is an odd one.

GW I spend a lot on.

X-Wing appeals because it's impulse buy priced (and don't I half impulse buy!)

But Armada...it's just.....yeah.. It's costs are a bit prohibitive for the people I X-Wing with, and those who GW can't currently divert the funds required from ongoing GW projects.

Not knocking the game like, it's just in an odd place for my locale.

[40kGamer]

Pricing is an odd one.

GW I spend a lot on.

X-Wing appeals because it's impulse buy priced (and don't I half impulse buy!)

But Armada...it's just.....yeah.. It's costs are a bit prohibitive for the people I X-Wing with, and those who GW can't currently divert the funds required from ongoing GW projects.

Not knocking the game like, it's just in an odd place for my locale.

Ah Community > price any day... not having a decent spread of opponents is a definite negative for any game. I guess I should thank GW for alienating the majority of the local player base. Now where I live players are fractured between so many different games you can pretty much get into anything and find a small thriving community. Works well for me as I love having the option to float between all the different game systems. It would be hard to buy into something when no one else was interested in playing!

[Erik Setzer]

Didn't know there was some overseas markup. Well, I suppose it's fair game for what we get over here from GW (which I always assumed was a "Screw You, Colonials" tax). Quite odd, though. But then, I forget that many countries impose extra tariffs and such on imported items, even games, in order to help businesses based in that nation. So yeah, guess that's to be expected.

I didn't put my Bloodthirster on the shelf unassembled. Arkhan still is, granted, but only because right now I'm burnt out on painting Undead. My Bloodthirster's seen some game action, ranging from stumbling on Necron Warriors to lopping heads off their leaders and somehow surviving a Knight's attacks to then swing back and destroy the Knight (doing far more damage to the Orks he was locked in combat with than his attacks were). But a Bloodthirster really isn't as fun to use in chasing cats as a VSD, where you can also make appropriate turbolaser sounds. (I do the same with my X-Wing ships.)

And hey, what's wrong with having multiple Star Destroyers? The Empire had 25,000 ISDs, you have to imagine there were at least 10,000 VSDs. And at some point you just know a SSD is coming. (And then I'll end up buying one just to repaint as the captured Lusankya. Maybe I'll get two, just to have a before-and-after, but that'll probably be like $250 worth of models if they're to scale.)

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Ah Community > price any day... not having a decent spread of opponents is a definite negative for any game. I guess I should thank GW for alienating the majority of the local player base. Now where I live players are fractured between so many different games you can pretty much get into anything and find a small thriving community. Works well for me as I love having the option to float between all the different game systems. It would be hard to buy into something when no one else was interested in playing!

Local player base here is still pretty heavy GW... but it's because of a weird Catch-22. People don't want to buy into games no one else is playing, but if people don't get the games, then of course there's no one playing them. So you have to find some folks willing to be the first ones in. And then the stores don't really stock other games (at one store, the Star Wars games are pretty much it, other than a rather small Warmachine selection) because people aren't playing them, so then people don't see them on the shelves, and if you want to buy the stuff, you have to spend money away from the local stores. I'm considering getting into a few games and grabbing enough for two forces in each so I can help people play demo games, try to get them into the games, and convince the stores to stock more stuff.

I can see Armada being a bit more than people playing X-Wing might be used to, depending on how they're playing. I dropped about $100 on Scum & Villainy stuff for X-Wing and ended up with over 200 points worth, so I was able to even do a Scum-vs-Scum match with a friend to help him learn the game without us even using all my S&V stuff (much less the starter game stuff). You can do a 100 point squadron (sort of squadron, anyway) for $50-$60 (i.e. four TIE Interceptors using Soontir Fel, Turr Phennir, and a couple others representing other 181st pilots).

[Houghten]

Do your cats not turn around and attack the ships?

[Mr Mystery]

I think I have a solution.....

Order up a single ship, and see what I think.

Probably that smaller Star Destroyer variant, because it looks cool!

[Erik Setzer]

Do your cats not turn around and attack the ships?

No... They learned a while back not to attack me or make threatening motions toward me, and that I'm not going to actually hurt them, just play with them. We have a nice relationship.

I wouldn't recommend any strangers do that with my cat Jaina, though. She's a friendly sort, likes new people, but, well, she got the name Jaina for a reason. (If you're familiar with the character Jaina Proudmoore from World of Warcraft, and the recent direction she took in that setting, you'll get it.)

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I think I have a solution.....

Order up a single ship, and see what I think.

Probably that smaller Star Destroyer variant, because it looks cool!

Seems like a fair idea.

I like the Imperial ships a lot, so I was thinking of going Imperial, but luckily, the Rebel ships are pretty sweet, too. I do like how they contrast with each other in style, with the Imperials being hard shapes, generally looking like a spear tip about to be thrust into the enemy, while the Rebel ships are mostly "organic" shapes that are round and somewhat "soft" in their appearance (while still being pretty formidable vessels).

[Mr Mystery]

Rebel Big Ship looks 'orrible to me.

Thankfully, the Mon Cal stuff is pleasing unto Nuggin!

[40kGamer]

Not a fan of the Assault Frigate?

[Mr Mystery]

Nope. It looks very silly.

[40kGamer]

I like it for it's weirdness factor. The big Mon Cal ship seems a little generic.

[Mr Mystery]

Rebel Assault Frigate appears to have left port without its Engines!

(Criticism of design, not the model!)

[Houghten]

If you think that's bad, you should have seen the Assault Frigate Mark I.

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(It does, in fact, have a single engine, on the bit from which the rearmost fins project.)

[40kGamer]

Funny about the engines since it's described as surprising Imperials with it's speed. Maybe they're surprised it can move at all! :p

[Mr Mystery]

I prefer the Mk1!

It looks like a beefed up, scaled up Nebulon B, which I have always considered an excellent design.

Maybe the bug will bite harder with further Waves. Wave 2 in particular has me 'collector' interested at any rate!

[40kGamer]

Maybe the bug will bite harder with further Waves. Wave 2 in particular has me 'collector' interested at any rate!

I fully expect things will get better as we go. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us down the road!

[Houghten]

Mmm. By the time Wave 2 hits I want to have already hoarded at least six Vicstars so they can escort the trio of Impstars I'm plotting to get.

Also if wave 3 doesn't give us an Interdictor (that is, an Immobilizer 418 Cruiser, not some silly TIE variant) I will be most disappointed.

[Brenlak]

Do your cats not turn around and attack the ships?
Not unless it's a Borg sphere, she hates the Borg...

So all day at work I have been pricing everything I do in Khorne Bloodthirsters, never realized all my Zombiecide cost 3.5 Bloodthirsters, or that I drink half a Bloodthirster worth of alcohol in a standard week.
The main Armada box is worth a Bloodthirster, and the wave one stuff was another 1.75 Bloodthirsters.
I guess the way to do it is to find a friend that wants the opposite faction you do, then you really save on Bloodthirsters.

The Assault Frigate is from some RTS I never played, and according to Wookiepedia the Gladiator should have two main engines and thats it, the model has the Two big un's and 6 smaller engines. I don't like the look much either but then again I haven't cracked it open yet.

I am still pretty irritated at the new 7th edition of 40k, in fact the last GW models I bought were an old metal Archon from the internet(absolutely loathe the new one) and some old old metal Zoanthroapes(only to see new plastic ones a couple weeks later, D'oh!). Before that was Deathstorm, and that was only because of exclusivity, I pick up models faster than I can paint them.
Slowing my GW buying has been such a positive thing, we have discovered wonderful games like Zombiecide, Twilight Imperium, Khet and FF's wicked awesome Battlestar Galactica, meanwhile X-Wing has been there to satisfy my collecting urges. This was enforced upon discovering GW was a "model" company and not too interested in balanced rules, seems pretty obvious in the new 40k and might I say Endtimes, (guessing there haven't played fantasy for a looooong time).
Armada is super fun, and though it might be rules "light" compared to Warhams we spend a lot more time playing than pouring over three different books trying to find some tiny blurp about a rule, but hey that could be just us.
Though my lovers scorn for GW drove me to this brave new gaming world it doesn't mean Armada is better, just different. Both games will appeal to different people and I would guess many people on this site purchase GW models because they like the look, or they want to paint them it doesn't work that way for Armada (or X-wing or any other games I mentioned) these models you buy because you want to play a game with them!(okay there may be some of us that also like having a shelf full of Star Wars that's cool too but we love them because they ARE TIE-Fighters not because we MADE them TIE-Fighters).

I guess what I am saying, pretty much directly to you Mr. Mystery is don't buy a model and expect to fall in love with the game. That's how Warhammer works. Here you have to buy the game; then you fall in love with the model.

But now I must leave. So hungry I could eat a Bloodthirster!(Have you seen the back cover of WD #66 they are huge!!)

[Brenlak]

Before I put up the Rebel Fighter Squadrons I just wanted to show off the anatomy of a squadron dial, moreso fo those of you not playing Armada yet. I know while I was watching the video I was wondering how the thing works (Plus Rebel Fighters is the perfect place to talk about the activation colors)
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First pic is kind of unrelated, this is the kajigger that the wee ships fit into. You get two of each type, just in case your particular like me and want to set things up a certain way.
Second pic is the plastic bases, activation slider, squad counter and the plastic stand that holds them all together.
Third pic you out the slider in the recess of the base, pierce the squad token with the stand...
And there you have it, the completed base. You can swap token sides when you want to use the unique character on the opposite side.
The Activation slider has two colors, blue and red. Turn one start everything on Blue, there is a double sided turn indicator in the main box as well. It is turned to blue at the start of the game. Once you activate a squadron(move, shoot, or depending on your commands move and shoot) change the color of the slider. Now you can tell which squads have moved! Second turn the the double sided turn indicator is flipped to red... the same color all of the squadrons are! This is how you tell if your squads have activated or not.

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Well the lighter ships sure photograph well, plus I have a new phone with a better camera. Like the TIE-Bombers those B-Wings are a tight fit but I just had to have them on that stand.

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Two Brace tokens will help Wedge stay in the air, and he looks pretty good at taking out activated squadrons(remember that's a fancy term for stuff that went already, leave him till last, muah ha ha!)

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Six Hull Points! and for an extra 6 points you get the Dutch, an extra attack die should see you getting his ability used often(but not too often, you want him attacking ships).

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Onto the B-Wings. They are your best bomber when it comes to damage to capital ships, and they can hold their own in a dogfight too but you pay for it. Plaus a speed of two? Guess you can tell I favor the TIE's because two is just bad. I think that for the points compared to the ability (he's not exactly going to be zooming were you want him to go) Farlander is overpriced.

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Finally the only non-bomber at your disposal and a whopping speed of five! Tycho is the opposite of overpriced, an extra 5 points and he can always go where you want him to plus a brace and a scatter means you will see his counter a lot.

Well it looks like everybody is a bomber here (besides for the specific ship hunter) which means as Imperials you will want to load up on enough squads to keep these wee fellas at bay!(at least until the wave 2 raider) As for Rebel Tactica? Off the very top of my head take some A-Wings to fight ships some dedicated bombers to bomb fill in the rest with X-Wings they do both!

Tomorrow I am going for the Corvette, that is unless it's another 3 overtime hockey game...

[Brenlak]

Just like last time, for our friends just getting into Armada, or looking into it these pics are of how the ship base assembles.
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Couldn't be easier, shield counters line up under the base and snap in like an X-Wing dial. The nubs in the back of the base are to accommodate an ID token.
And now the CR90!

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As you can see the "B" version of the CR-90 trades its long range armament for a points reduction, and also it's Turbolasers for Ion Cannons. So far I have 3 of each of these upgrades so it is pretty up in the air but I am leaning toward the overload pulse, you aren't rolling many dice with this bad boy so why not use it to screw up a Star Destroyer for your big fellas.

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Here are your Unique cards including Mon Mothma the second general for the Rebels. She makes your evade evadier while Raymus makes your command commandier...

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These two are nothing new, starting to get quite a collection of Nav teams...

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Leading shots is new, and noice! though I would put it on a bigger ship...

[Brenlak]

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Aaaaand the titles. The Tantive really adds synergy to your fleet, I am interested to see how it works as for 3 points your going to see it around. Jaina's light seems cool too with it's high speed and maneuverability nothing will stop it.

[Brenlak]

14264
The glorious Nebulon-B

1426514266
Well if you ever saw a Nebulon-B and thought to yourself "what a derpy looking ship, I would just crack it right in the center" you were right! one shield value on each side facing? come on! The support refit seems like a gap filler seeing how for 6 points less you lose a squadron value and a dice off your squadron attack.

14267
These cards are already out there in the other sets, I guess those engine techs are useful at keeping your flanks out of enemy firing lanes.

14268
Here's a new card! X17 Turbolasers can really help pile on the hull damage. Forget them on this ship, throw them onto a CR-90 and go straight for the *** end of a star destroyer.

14269
These Titles will help get some use out a Nebulon-B. Salvation can really make a mess out of enemy shields. I could see it working well with the XX-9 Turbolasers or a weapons liaison.
All and all I am not to impressed with this ship. No new General and nothing that jumps out at me as a new strategy. Going to keep this one as squadron support while my corvettes go out and pick off weak points. That is unless the Assault Frigate changes things...

[Brenlak]

And the Biggest ship last, The Assault Frigate Mark II!
14270
Well that really tied the fleet together.

1427114272
This is much closer in points value to a Star Destroyer than any Rebel ships, this is a beast! The same maneuverability as a Gladiator Class with some beefy left and right side dice. 9 points less for the "light" version you lose some attacking power but gain a squadron point.

14273
Those extra command tokens will really let you plan for contingencies and at 25 points Garm Bel Iblis is the third Rebel Commander. I think he was in Force Unleashed? Wing Commander over there is pretty cool to. For 10 points(less than a squadron of anything but Y-Wings) you can really give your heroic squadrons a boost(or your hopelessly slow B-Wings an extra move).

14274
Once again we have seen these hosers before, moving on...

14275
Here's some new candy. Both the Assault Frigate and the CR-90 can use Defensive retrofit so that Advanced projectors is useful. Point Defense can only be taken by the Assault Frigate or re-purposed to support the glory of the Empire. Though with the extra bllue dice it's money well spent on the Assault Frigate.

14276
Once again all stuff we have seen already, but that's a hefty amount of Turbolasers for one set! Enhanced Armament on a Mark II A are scary.

14277
The Titles, Paragon really shows you why it's called an Assault frigate throw in a gunnery team and laugh manically(but probably you won't seem to remember the Emperor being more jovial than the average Rebel).

[draco84oz]

Been playing around with ships and their loadouts for a bit, and found a few that I like the look of - will also pop in a recommendation for a fleet builder (http://armada.fabpsb.net/gindex.php) that's decent, if not a little unintuitive (too used to the x-wing squad builder app...)

Dodonna's Pride = 49 points
CR90 Corvette B
- Leading Shots
- Dodonna's Pride Title
Very good chance of a face up card per turn vs any one ship

Yavaris = 72 points
Nebulon B Escort Frigate
- Adar Tallon
- Yavaris Title
A decent squadron support ship - play a squad order, and get double shots, which, from X-wings, will almost definately kill a regular TIE squad. Plus, Adar is there to throw another of them forward later in the turn.

Gallant Haven = 95 points
Assault Frigate Mk II B
- Adar Tallon
- Expanded Hangar Bay
- Gallant Haven Title
This is actually my preferred squadron support ship, mainly because of the Gallant Haven's ability. Given that Rebel Fighters will almost always be outnumbered by TIEs, the additional resilience will give them the edge.

Demolisher = 81 - 93 points
Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer (I or II)
- Engine Techs
- Assault Concussion Missiles OR Expanded Launchers
- Demolisher Title
This one is a brawler, and has various points values depending on what you can afford. Basic tactic is to get in close at speed and then start using Navigate orders. Your first shot (probably with only red dice) should deal with a shield or two, but once you complete your maneuver (including your Engine Techs free one to get the arc right), proceed unload a lot of black dice. Killed a CR90 in one activation with this tactic (rolled 7 hits at close range).

Intruder = 94 - 106 points
Victory-Class Star Destroyer (I or II)
- Admiral Chiraneau
- Expanded Hangar Bays
- Flight Controllers
Another squadron support ship, and really useful for making sure those darn X-Wings have a fight on their hands. But you what my best combo is? One of these ships and Mauler Mithel. Light fuse, sit back, enjoy carnage.

[Brenlak]

Mithel Mauler
Way to say it like a robut. Do you remember which ship Flight Controllers came with?

[draco84oz]

Robut?

http://theinfosphere.org/images/thumb/2/2e/Assie_Come_Home_infobox.png/225px-Assie_Come_Home_infobox.png

Yeah, OK, got the words mixed up - its just whenever I think of MM these two come to mind

http://www.mijo.cn/uploadfile/2014/0905/20140905054043147.jpg

http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/May_6684dc_1193038.jpg

---------------------

Yeah - Flight Controllers come with the Victory SD expansion pack

[draco84oz]

Had my first full game tonight, and...it was embarassing.

None of our ships went below speed 2 - I almost my Assault Frigate off the board, and one more turn and my oppoent's Victory would have been off the board. On top of that, I completely forgot about my plan - which is a massive fail for me.

The only damage caused was all the TIEs dead (Mauler and Howlrunner from being plinked to death by the Corvettes and Wedge), one X-Wing squad dead, and one face-up card on a Gladiator that was put there by an asteroid.

http://imgfave-herokuapp-com.global.ssl.fastly.net/image_cache/1257349458904902.jpeg

So, big learning point - more space doesn't always mean that high speed is good. Sure, you get into range quicker, but it'll probably be one shot and then doing nav orders for the rest of the game just to stay on the board.

[Eberk]

First game is always embarassing ;)

Mine sure was. Using the Core set (am even now waiting for Wave I) we flew around the board at max speed so only long range shots were used. The only noteworthy event was when my opponent shot 3 red dice in my Victory SD rear arc and scored 6 hits (caculate the odds on that). Game ended with 2 TIEs and 2 X-wing dead. We realised we had much to learn :)

[Brenlak]

Even with the learn to play rules we messed up, If you don't slow your victory in the first three turns there is a VERY high chance you will run it off the board.