Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Balanced SSD Command fleet


My first SSD games (using Vassal) were all with the Command variant, which is much cheaper to being with - and leaner with the upgrades. I treated it as an oversized ISD and tried to fit a fleet round it. It took some getting used to, but it's quite fun once you get he hang of it.

My initial runs had Piett commanding, and he's pretty good on the SSD actually. His ability to turn a nav token into a dial gives the SSD the ability to yaw on command, which is quite strong. Same with making a repair token into a repair dial. 

BUT, Jerry's 2-yaw at speed 0 ability is too good to pass over. Just repair every round after engagement, and use Jerry if and when he's needed. Nav tokens to adjust speed. He also offers slicer/raid protection of your maneuvers, as his ability can't be blocked.

Speaking for slicers: The SSD is quite vulnerable to them. This fleet only has activation count as defense and Jerry for navigation. Being sliced to CF/Rapair is just gravy, but squad will hurt badly. If you fear this happening because opponents are regularly running slicers, you really should consider bringing protection. Could be just a Skilled First Officer or even an Engineering Captain. But then you have to ditch another officer - and find the points unless you swap out the IO, which  do not recommend.

If you can find the points, sticking Vader officer on a Goz is never wrong.

For upgrades I've taken a classic Kallus/DCO/IO combo. Add to this the GT (100% mandatory), QLT (for Kallus), and LS/QBT. This is a well-rounded loadout. If unique squads are not a concern, Kallus/QLT can go, but its 8 points well spent most of the time.

I've chosen the Ravager title. Adding 2 die with CF is nice, making the weak arc shots potentially much stronger. Just 1 extra die with a token from a Goz is pretty nice too. That said, its kind of a trap too: The dial already adds a die, so the only benefit is spending justa cheap token for extra effect. It could be the Eclipse title is just as good.

This fleet has 5 activations (if you count the SSD pass token), and 5 drops with the TIEs. That's pretty weak in terms of deployments, but decent in terms of activations. As 2nd player in particular there is a good chance the SSD will go last, or at least close to last, which should give it shots on some enemy ships and make its movement much less predictable.

2 Gozanti are there for tokens and activation spam, and possible some flak. The only other combat ship is a Raider-I. Between it and the SSD and the 2 TIEs, you have some defense against squadrons. The Raider also has the speed and punch to let it loiter early on, then hit hard from a flanking position later on. It's also cheap, so it actually fits into 400 points...

Objectives try to either put the SSD into a position where it can control the opening engagement (BR/SC) or force the opponent to engage (CO). Most Wanted and PIC may be other good options. I also hope/believe the new Rim objectives will have some good ones for the SSD. We'll see.

Hope you enjoy this build - I certainly have!

Name: Balanced Command SSD (4/5)
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Moff Jerjerrod

Assault: Blockade Run
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Solar Corona

SSD Command Prototype (220)
• Moff Jerjerrod (23)
• Agent Kallus (3)
• Damage Control Officer (5)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Quad Battery Turrets (5)
• Ravager (4)
= 283 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• External Racks (3)
= 51 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Comms Net (2)
= 25 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Comms Net (2)
= 25 Points

Squadrons:
• 2 x TIE Fighter Squadron (16)
= 16 Points

Total Points: 400

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