Vassal Corellian Conflict: Campaign blog, part 2 (the fleets)

Darth Vader, the boarding party version

So now that we've placed our bases and outposts, it's time to reveal our fleets. Prior to this we've discussed a lot of possible fleets, and I'm sure the rebels have too. Be aware that we have an agreement that we won't spam flotillas or otherwise try to abuse activation advantage. Generally speaking we're trying to build fleets that are fun, and maybe a little different, rather than trying to go max competitive. We're not building BAD fleets of course, but we don aim to be different. A little at least.

Imperial Fleets, start of round 1

We individually submitted out ideas. Stuff with Interdictors even. Crazy stuff. Then we talked about them some. After a little back and forth I settled on Vader (initially with Arqs instead of Raiders), Broba ditched boring Motti for Sloane (otherwise I'd taken her) and Ghost... he knew Thrawn was his man all along, but had a couple different ideas.

BrobaFett (GA)

Broba has some different ideas, including one with Motti and a Dictor. Very tanky, but looked boring to me. When I insisted we needed at least one fleet with some squads, and offered to swap to Sloane, Broba stepped up and shouldered the burden. Many aces from the start, which we hope is OK, as he will diversify more later. It is only 7 squads from start, and Dengar is black, so the "Sloane-effect" is somewhat limited. Still, we all know what Slaone can do if left unhindered, so Rebs gotta have a plan for that. That probably means more squads, which will hurt me an Ghost further down the line - we already have poor squads, and I'm sure it will get worse. If it goes south, we'll totally blame it all on our Grand Admiral!

Faction: Galactic Empire 

Points: 399/400

Commander: Admiral Sloane

[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points)

-  Admiral Sloane  ( 24  points)

-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)

= 143 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)

-  Flight Controllers  ( 6  points)

= 60 total ship cost

Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)

-  Ordnance Experts  ( 4  points)

= 48 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)

-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)

= 25 total ship cost

1 Whisper ( 20 points)

1 Dengar ( 20 points)

1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points)

1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points)

1 Soontir Fel ( 18 points)

1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)

1 Black Squadron ( 9 points)

GhostofNobodyInParticular

Ghost was sure about Thrawn from the beginning. He just wasn't sure exactly why fleet. There were some proposals, including a 3x ISD one. Didn't feel that suited the spirit of the campaign well. Once the ISD and GLads get some bling, it can be a good fleet. Very flexible with Thrawn's commands. And with the ISD providing a lot of board control, and very agile Glads. Not sure about squads tho. Ints die so easy, and then you bleed pts or start with onyl 2 hp next game. Meh.

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 397/400

Commander: Grand Admiral Thrawn

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
-  Grand Admiral Thrawn  ( 32  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
= 159 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
-  Ordnance Experts  ( 4  points)
= 60 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
-  Ordnance Experts  ( 4  points)
= 60 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
-  Ordnance Experts  ( 4  points)
= 60 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 25 total ship cost

3 TIE Interceptor Squadrons ( 33 points)

Green Knight

Vader. Loved the guy since w2. Took him to regionals back in 2016 (w 3+4). Rerolls failed me miserably, and bloody Aceholes beat me at the top table. I've had that alt art Vader in my shame box ever since. There he has languished... until now. OK, that's a gross exaggeration. I've used him in CC before. At 500 pts he a nice commander. I also placed 2nd in the Vassal WC last year, so he's decent at 400 too. But now, the CYMOON. Or the Devastator Cymoon to be precise. Lovely stuff. Match made in heaven.

So I based the fleet on my Vassal WC 2018 list, but took out the worst cheese. Five activations - total. Only 1 Goz. Some squads. Raiders. A Glad 2. No Intel Officers. It's still going to be a fun list to play, and effective, but it's no longer abusive.

The plan is to pimp the ISD and Demo. Use the raiders for support. Squads are light, but includes Jonus, which should cause quite some threat until he pounces. Probably a good assaulting fleet, but Demo is good on the defense too, and so is the raider 2.

Name: VCC New Vader 400

Faction: Imperial

Commander: Darth Vader

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)

• Darth Vader (36)

• Gunnery Team (7)

= 155 Points

Gladiator II (62)

• Demolisher (10)

= 72 Points

Raider II (48)

• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)

= 57 Points

Raider I (44)

• External Racks (3)

= 47 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)

• Comms Net (2)

= 25 Points

Squadrons:

• Lambda Shuttle (15)

• Captain Jonus (16)

• Valen Rudor (13)

= 44 Points

Total Points: 400

Rebel Fleets, start of round 1

Vader's spies have told me the Rebels too went through many different lists before landing on the ones below. Exactly what the alternatives were I don't know. Probably something with Dodonna and Angry Bees and Yavaris. Glad that's not the case :-)

One thing I've noticed is that YT-2400 is suddenly back in numbers. The moment we agree that flotillas are not kosher, the old transport suddenly become the no. 1 Rebel squadron. It really is very, very good still. Interesting to see how a small change can change the "meta" so quickly. VCX is, no surprise really, much more popular than Lambda. In all Rebels have avoided stuff like Biggsball, but have gone with plenty of rogues, strategic, and oc scatter A-wings.

Tokra (GA)

Ackbar Home One. Not a lot of ships you use H1 yet, but 2 TRC platforms should be enough at the start. He probably plans to add another ship. An assault frigate (maybe even Gallant Haven?) or MC30 Scout is my bet. The combination of Ackbar H1, long range TRC and close-in black is pretty devastation to non-ECM ships. Squads are plenty, 110+ points, with lots of rogues. Corran is so cool to see, and with Jan his rogues are plenty tough. This could prove a difficult fleet for all of use, Sloane included.

Faction: Rebel Alliance

Points: 400/400

Commander: Admiral Ackbar

MC30c Scout Frigate (69 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits ( 7 points) 

= 76 total ship cost

[ flagship ] MC80 Command Cruiser (106 points)

-  Admiral Ackbar ( 38 points) 

-  Home One ( 7 points) 

= 151 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits ( 7 points) 

= 51 total ship cost

1 Corran Horn ( 22 points) 

1 Jan Ors ( 19 points) 

4 YT-2400s ( 64 points) 

1 Shara Bey ( 17 points) 

Dr Alex

Like Broba Dr Alex doesn't look like he has a very special fleet. It's a pretty meta-standard Mon Mothma MC30 spam and TRC spam. Only one flotilla, but since the rest of use are activation light, he'll still last-first everyone. But with squishy shrimps he may need to do just that to have a decent fleet - he's facing a lot of black dice, XI7 and/or squadrons. I think that without 6 activations this would be a very sad fleet. Squads are very light ATM. He may have to add some more later. This fleet will be very difficult for us, since we have no fleet with this many activations. We all know how dangerous MC30 are when there are many of them, and last/first.

Faction: Rebel Alliance

Points: 400/400

Commander: Mon Mothma

[ flagship ] MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 points)

-  Mon Mothma ( 30 points) 

-  Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) 

= 97 total ship cost

MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 points)

-  Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) 

= 67 total ship cost

MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63 points)

-  Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) 

= 67 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits ( 7 points) 

= 51 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits ( 7 points) 

= 51 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

-  Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points) 

= 23 total ship cost

2 VCX-100 Freighters ( 30 points)
2 Z-95 Headhunter Squadrons ( 14 points) 

DarthVeggie

Sato. You don't see him often, so I'm happy he's in the lineup. At 500 pts and with the Ordnance Cruiser he should be very good. And Hammerheads. Love those things. Very nice starting lineup, the MC75 Ord, Salvation, 2 HH and flotilla. Nice selection of squadrons, although 3 VCX is overdoing it more than a little. Probably means a lot of strategic missions. I bet this is going to be a base defense fleet, using the Ion Cannon mission. There is absolutely no use for them, AFAIK, other than good hull. But Y-wings have that too. He could also go Wide Area Barrage, which will cause many problems for us, Sloane especially.

Faction: Rebel Alliance

Points: 400/400

Commander: Commander Sato

[ flagship ] MC75 Ordnance Cruiser (100 points)

-  Commander Sato  ( 32  points) 

= 132 total ship cost

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 points)

-  Task Force Organa  ( 1  points) 

= 37 total ship cost

Nebulon-B Support Refit (51 points)

-  Salvation  ( 7  points) 

= 58 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

= 18 total ship cost

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 points)

= 36 total ship cost

1 Han Solo ( 26 points) 

1 Tycho Celchu ( 16 points) 

2 YT-2400s ( 32 points)

3 VCX-100 Freighters ( 45 points) 

All in all we have some interesting fleets. Quite varied, and very little cheese. Ackbar is Ackbar and will be boss of red dice. Vader will combine Cymoon reds with close-in attacks. Sloane will clear out enemy squads then hurt things. Mothma's fleet will cut things with TRC, then dash in and blow shit up. Sato will... blow shit up, looking cool and black doing it. Thrawn I think will prove surprisingly good, if he can get his squad game right.

That's all for now scrubs. Stay tuned!

Solo

Stay on target, 100% Armada related

The first trailer for the upcoming Han Solo movie has been released. I think it looks pretty slick, so I'm crossing my fingers!

I've heard some worries about both the director (not known for his sci-fi blockbusters, but IMO an experienced filmmaker) and the actor (doesn't LOOK enough like Harrison Ford, as if that is really what matters), but I don't really care. This Ehrenreich fellow looks more than enough like Han Solo to me... and if he can play well, then all IS well.

First the actual, longer trailer.

Official trailer

The other trailer is a shorter one, a "Super Bowl teaser". No idea what a super bowl is. Maybe it's something that can hold a lot of crisps?

A shorter teaser

So apart from being Star Wars, what has this to do with Armada? Not a whole lot, but some. We get to see a fresh-looking Millennium Falcon, some now transport-looking ships, an ISD in the clouds, and what appears to be a new kind of TIE.

Red is ominous, red is dangerous

And that's all for now folks. See you in the theater in May... oh no, I forgot: where I live everything is released 2 days before the US, so by the time YOU see it, I will already have SPOILED IT! MOHAHAHA!!!

Vassal Corellian Conflict: Campaign blog, part 1 (the setup)

This is Corellia. It is mine, and you'll never have it!

We are just starting up an new Vassal version of the Corellian Conflict (CC). If you're not familiar with the CC, it's an Armada campaign where 2 teams (one Imp, one Reb) of 3 players duke it out over the control of the Corellian sector.

Battles are fought over planets in the Corellian system and sector, with each planet you control contributing something to the war effort: resources (fleet points), repair yards, spies, skilled crew, etc.

You start with fleets of 400 points, where you can have max 1 upgrade per ship. After the first round of battles, the points cap goes to 500, and you can have any number of upgrades.

There are lots of special rules for what happens when a ship gets "destroyed", how you can repair ships, how to flee into hyperspace mid-battle, etc.

At the end of the campaign there is usually a HUGE battle involving all 6 500-point fleets. I really look forward to that one - I've been in several CC campaign, but never gotten to the final battle.

Teams are as follows:

Imperial: BrobaFett (GA), Green Knight, GhostofNobodyInParticular
Rebel: Tokra (GA), Dr Alex, DarthVeggie

The Corellian Sector, start of round 1

- map made in the Vassal module

As per the CC rules/FAQ Imps start with Corellia, the best system in the game. Then they get to pick 1 planet to put a base on. Then Rebs pick 2 planets. Then Imps get 1. Rebs get 2. Imps get 1. And finally 2 more for Rebs. Giving Imps 4 bases and Rebs 6 PRESENCE stickers. Half of presence stickers are rebel bases, the other half is rebel outposts.

Repair Yards are worth a lot, especially early game, so they always get taken first. Spynets are OK, while the rest of the specials are pretty meh.

The end result:

Imps: Corellia, Nubia, Xyquine, Duro.

Rebs: Saberhing, Selonia, Drall, Crash's Drift, Vagran, Centerpoint.

This is the first in a series of posts following our Vassal CC campaign. House rules, fleets, and battle reports to come. So stay tuned.

The Online Armada Community

Look, someone broke my precious antennae!

Armada is a tabletop game, but as with all hobbies there is an online community. While you may actually never meet any of these other people, you share a common interest, and may be interested in sharing ideas or discussing the hobby. Or play a game with them, using one of the online platforms.

Here is a list of the online arenas I'm aware of.

Armada Wiki

The Armada wiki is very comprehensive and quick to update. As with all wikis YOU can contribute if something is missing or could use some more info.

FFG Armada forum

This is the most obvious one: the FFG forum. As of wave 7 it's quite active, with lots of post each day. There are subforum for battle reports, fleet building, rules discussions (stay away from this one unless you like hurting yourself) etc.

Join the FFG forum.

Armada Discord sever

Discord is a platform that is known to many gamers. It's a platform both for text chat across various channels, but also used for voice. There has been a marked upswing in activity here. Many of the same people that post on the forum, not not exclusively so. It has a very relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

Apart from logging into the Vassal lobby, the Discord lfg channel is the best place to find opponents for online play.

The voice channels are used primarily for online play.

Join our Discord server.

Facebook group

There is a Facebook group promoting online (Vassal) play. It's not terribly active, but it has quite a few members. I'm probably the most prolific poster. Discord is a better option if you're looking for opponents.

Join our Facebook group.

Online play: Vassal

Vassal is my go-to application for on-line play. It runs on any computer, is easy to use, and widely used by players across the globe. This is where I learned to play Armada for real.

You find all kinds here. From World Champions to scrubs just trying to learnt he basics. From highly competitive builds that win Worlds and Nationals and Regions, to people experimenting with exotic builds and little-used upgrades. Crazy stuff like Konstantine and YV-666s. So it's considered good form to ask about skill level and if its a casual match or not.

Bird's view of the battlefield. Perfect for honing your skills.

Sometimes people log on just to chat and dick around. Watching other people play their games is also quite popular.

Die Rebel scum, DIE! Why Vader is the BEST admiral...

Get the Vassal application.

Get the Armada module.

Online play: TTS

Since I don't TTS myself I'm just briefly going to mention it: it one of the 2 platforms where you can play Armada online. You have to buy TTS for around 20 dollars, then you can add the Armada expansion and play that for free.

We sure look good in 3D.

Get TTS on Steam.

Blogs

There are a number of blogs out there covering SW: Armada, but most of them seem defunct at this point. I would recommend (based on regular new content and quality) only two:

Steel Squadron/Steel Command is the oldest Armada blog that's still alive AFAIK. The founder is BiggsIRL, known on the forum for his annual Vassal World Cups (and being a very nice guy - in the traditional UK English meaning of the phrase). He has both shmitty and Truthiness on board now, both of whom are well known on the forums and used to run their own separate blogs.

Cannot Get Your Ship Out is a relative newcomer, starting up in January 2017. Run by geek19 and snipafist, both active on the FFG forum and Discord. Despite being just a year old, this blog has a TON of quality content. You really should check it out.

Archive of Ossus is run by our favorite opinionated Brit, ginakpo, with some notable guest speakers. It has a quality over quantity approach.

Vlogs

Crabbok's YouTube channel doesn't do pure Armada, but its worth mentioning. He does some battle reports and other Armada content. In conjunction with wave 7 FFG actually sent him the expansions ahead of time, allowing him to do some unboxing spoilers. Great stuff.

Master of the Fleet has a series of more instructive clips that try to teach new players how to fly different ships, and maybe teach old dogs some new tricks.

Green Knight's YouTube channel is MY channel. It's AWESOME. The best channel. OK, maybe not, but it does have the only Vassal video tutorials in existence. That's gotta be worth something? 

The Durandal Initiative is a steady provider of very nice Armada battle reports. Their slogan is "Lifelong friends bicker like old wives over plastic spaceships and dice", but you know what? They actually know how to play. Check them out!

Podcasts

There are a number of podcasts out there. Most of them seem defunct. Also, most are too... wordy for me. It's too little game and too much of a bunch of guys sitting around a table farting and cracking jokes.

Fire When Ready by Armada Jim is the only one I'd recommend. It's short and to the point, and generally well informed. He even edits (shocker) his episodes before posting them. 

Driving Admiral Sloane

Your shuttle is ready and Colonel Jendon is waiting for you, Admiral Sloane.

When I play competitive I get very... competitive. I need to have THE perfect list, so I fret endlessly before settling on something. In the past this has usually meant I don't settle on ANYTHING before the VERY LAST MINUTE. Ending up with something that looks good on paper, but hasn't been playtested properly. I know I'm not alone in doing this.

Last year, however, I actually managed to settle on a list a long time before nationals, play it more than once, and refine both the list and my tactics. I got my inspiration from Tokra (2x German champ) and his Sloane 1+4 list (eventually also German winner list 2017). 1+4 meaning 1 ISD and 4 Gozanti if you didn't know.

My list went through several iterations. Special thanks to rasproteus on the FFG forum/Vassal who suffered more at the hands of Sloane than any other player in history. Here is what I settled on:

Sloane ISD-2 w/SFO+ECM 8-squad (Nordics 2017)  

Author: Green Knight

Faction: Galactic Empire 

Fun fact: I went 1st in 3 of 4 games with a 1 pt bid. Twice by die roll (1 would have given me 1st anyway), one was a 400 pt list, and the last guy regretted not giving me 1st :-)

Points: 399/400  

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Most Wanted is hands down the best Red objective. Probably still is in w7. Definitely in w6. You pick an exposed enemy ship (or Demo/Admo), then pick it apart with squads for twice the pts.

Fire Lanes might seem risky, but with so much anti-squad no enemy squads will steal your tokens. So it forces the enemy to come to you, or lose. Badly.

Sup Positions gives perfect setup for your ISD. Squad light fleets won't take it. If you meet another squad heavy, they might, in which case you don't usually get tons of points, but still get the better setup.

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Fire Lanes
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

Tokra ran the ISD-I, but I felt the need to go ISD-2 to get that ECM. I also found points for Leading Shots - very useful for making the key shots count - and SFO. The SFO is always useful. Great Slicer protection, but also great flexibility in commands for just 1 point. You can put an Eng or Nav in there between your Squad commands, and either pull it up fast or skip it if you didn't need it. How good is that for 1 pt?

In hindsight I would probably be better served with Gunnery Teams than Flight Controllers. In those matchups I did get at least. There were plenty of times where I had more targets in my front arc than I could shoot at, while getting only 1 or 2 FC strikes with my squadrons. But I guess if I had swapped, then I'd feel the other way around :-)

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
-  Admiral Sloane  ( 24  points)
-  Avenger  ( 5  points)
-  Skilled First Officer  ( 1  points)
-  Flight Controllers  ( 6  points)
-  Boosted Comms  ( 4  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
-  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
= 171 total ship cost

You can see my Gozanti are really lean - I'd like a 2nd Comms Net and 1-2 jamming Fields, but alas, no points left over. Could have dropped the SFO and LS on the ISD, but I felt it wasn't worth it.

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)

-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 25 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
= 23 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
= 23 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
= 23 total ship cost

My squad mix is 8 ace squadrons. Tokra's list had 10 squads, including 4 TIEs, but no Dengar or Saber. Without an Exp hangar ISD-1 I can't really control that many squads, so I opted for quality over quantity (with Sloane you really want as many blue anti-ship dice as possible, so this was a hard choice). With the ISD-2 I also couldn't afford Chiraneau, so I had to take Dengar, further reducing my blue dice.

The pro Dengar has over Chirry is that you can move full speed, rather than speed 2. And that Intel lets you shoot AT SHIPS, rather then just move around. If you get in close with Avenger and really need to take out an enemy ship despite a screen, that's really important.

The Jendon/Maarek double tap is well known by now. But Jendon pairs so well with Saber and/or Valen for cleaning up enemy squads. Nothing better than killing Shara without her every shooting back. Howl is good here - it’s just at the limit of where she's no longer useful, but between the Swarm squads and the Counter engine, she's still gold.

The weak link is JENDON. If he dies, relay goes away, and only the ISD can effectively control squads (and late game you often want the Gozanti to be doing that). And the list has NO ESCORT! WTF!? The trick is to keep Jendon safely back, while also presenting all the other juicy targets...

Who will you kill first? Jendon, exposing yourself HORRIBLY to even have a shot at it? Maarek, hiding on a rock? Howl and her extra blue dice? Mithel surely, you MUST kill him first? And Dengar must die NOW! Saber too... the only quick kill you can hope for.  

1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points)
1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points)
1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)
1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points)
1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points)
1 Saber Squadron ( 12 points)
1 Dengar ( 20 points) 

Card view link

Fleet created with Armada Warlords

In the end the list did win Nordics, going 4-0 and placing well ahead in points to 2nd place. This final iteration is also undefeated in all other games, both IRL and Vassal.

Looking - and feeling - like shit, but happy!

I'm not claiming it's unbeatable, and w7 may have added some new counters, but it is a very strong list. It has the deployments, the activations, the means to win the squad fight AND bomb the shit out out the opposition, a "stiff spine" in the ISD, and hard-to kill Gozanti that can either fly along the board edges or be blockers as needed.

It's also fun to note that this EXACT squad mix now seems the preferred loadout for many Sloane players, including the Aussie National champ, who ran it with ISD+5 not too long ago.

I think it could continue to do well in w7 too. Unless FFG does something to nerf flots and/or relay there is no reason to suppose otherwise.

Online Armada (Vassal & TTS)

From FFG Worlds 2016

I'll be the first to admit that Armada is best when played around the table against real opponents (playing with yourself doesn't count). I mean, why start playing a minis game if you don't A) like board games and/or B) don't like other people? Doesn't make any sense.

That said there are plenty of reasons why you'd want to try a digital version of Armada. Having no/a small local community, not always being able to leave the house, too far to travel to tournaments, just wanting to get some practice against skilled opponents, experiencing a different meta than the local one, and more.

I can play it on my computer too? What devilry is this!?

The first alternative is Vassal. This is my go to. It has all the components from the game, in a perfect top-down view. It is easy to learn (not everyone agrees, but they are wrong), quick to play (or it can be, unless the players themselves are slow to act), and you'll almost always find opponents willing to play YOU.

It's always up-to-date with the most recent releases - as soon as a card is spoiled, you'll find it on Vassal. That means the Vassal crowd has usually tried out a lot of new stuff looong before the actual expansions hit the shelves.

You need Java on your computer to run Vassal. Then DL and install Vassal and add the Armada module.

Vassal DL page: http://www.vassalengine.org/download.php

Module DL page: http://www.vassalengine.org/wiki/Module:Star_Wars:_Armada

I'll do more blog posts about the Vassal Armada, so rest easy. In the meantime you can watch these tutorial vids that I made a while back:

Sorry about the crappy sound. But you know, take it or leave it.

The other option is the Armada adaptation for Tabletop Simulator (TTS). TTS is a Steam application, so you need Steam and a Steam account. TTS costs a little to buy, but the actual Armada content is free AFAIK.

Ooo... it comes in 3D too!?

It LOOKS better than Vassal, being 3D and all, but I've never actually tried it, so that's all I have to say really. I guess you should just try it would and decide which option you like the most. Or do BOTH Vassal and TTS.

FFG Worlds 2018

Last time I went to any kind of Worlds was... back in 1996!

FFG just put up info about May track Worlds 2018.

Very tempting. I have my reserved seat from winning Nordic nationals in October 2017, so that's no problem. It is more a question of time - and cost. Wifey is working part time and studying, so there is less income and more expenses than usual. Gah!

I haven't been to the US since 1996. That's a very long time. 22 years if my math skills haven't failed me. It was another Worlds actually. The first Star Wars CCG (placed 2nd - I think the diff was 3 Force or something, so close, but no cigar). Won our nationals, and Decipher paid for the whole thing - plane tickets, a nice resort hotel up in Vail, the whole package. You hear that FFG? :D

I gotta say it sounds a bit unrealistic. I'd like to go, but I'm not sure I can prioritize it this year. I suppose I could just win nationals again and attend next year, plus take home the Euros trophy in June. Gotta have some stretch goals!

Why did they have make you a whiny kid!?

Local tourney 11 Feb 2018

The ultimate power in the galaxy? Maybe not... but very fun!

We're having a small local tourney on Sunday. It's very casual. Just an excuse for some guys to get together and play 3 games in one day. If we get just 4 people that's OK - we still get the magic 3 games each. Six is better, but a lot of the regulars have indicated they can't make it, so I'm not counting on it. Our record is 9 players IIRC. So a pretty small community (but we do have one!).

For prizes I have a pack of Rogues & Villains for the winner. It (actually several packs) has been collecting dust for ages. I was going to make a YT swarm way back, but I could never shake my Imp addiction, so I didn't even get around to opening the packs. Everyone will also receive a couple of alt arts. I have a box of leftover stash from past tourneys, so there is always something to hand out.

I'm the TO. I only play if that gives us an even number. Don't get me wrong. I'd REALLY like to play. But I'm trying to make sure the community as a whole has fun. That doesn't involve me stomping on everybody at every opportunity.

Which brings me to the list I've prepared in case I do get to play:

I go for only 4 activations and no bid, which should hand the initiative to my opponent. That's kind of the point - to NOT overwhelm my opponents with high bid and activation advantage.

The pimped Vic-2 is a decent gunship, but not exactly hyper-mobile. With Tua, Motti and the Dictor pushing shields it should be pretty durable. But firepower is pretty meh; 3 red and 4 blue (with QBT) just doesn't do much damage.

The Dictor is a cool ship, but not one I normally would call competitive. The MS-1 is just bc I had 2 pts left, and I wanna see if with the DCaps it can be even remotely useful. Probably not. Anyway it's there for shield projection and targeting scrambler.

Arquitens is an OK ship, but doesn't deliver a lot of firepower in this configuration. Kind of hoping 6 hull with Motti will be enough to make Blast Doors matter. It's the rarely seen Command model, mostly just because. It might do some squad commands, but I'm not really counting on that. I put Hand of Justice on it. Could be useful in refreshing Motti's ECM brace.

Gozanti can send some key tokens early, then switch to squad command/flak mode.

I have some squads too, not enough to win the squadron fight, but sufficient to delay my opponent’s squads. I found room for a Lambda, so I opted for Salvage Run. Also makes commanding the squads easier. Between Strom and the 2 TIEs I have a little bit of firepower (too bad my ships have bad flak, otherwise it could be an OK mini-screen).

I'm no Vader, but I do have two braces!

It's not a bad list. It has some staying power, it has decent objectives for 2nd player, and it has pieces that work together in concert according to a Great Plan. That said it is hopelessly slow, and I would not expect it to win big against anything. It's a list that can, at best, hope to win by a smallish margin.

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 400/400  

Commander: Admiral Motti

Assault Objective: Station Assault
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Salvage Run

[ flagship ] Victory II-Class Star Destroyer (85 points)

-  Admiral Motti  ( 24  points)
-  Minister Tua  ( 2  points)
-  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
-  Disposable Capacitors  ( 3  points)
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
-  Quad Battery Turrets  ( 5  points)
-  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
= 137 total ship cost

Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points)

-  Interdictor  ( 3  points)
-  Wulff Yularen  ( 7  points)
-  Projection Experts  ( 6  points)
-  Disposable Capacitors  ( 3  points)
-  MS-1 Ion Cannons  ( 2  points)
-  Grav Shift Reroute  ( 2  points)
-  Targeting Scrambler  ( 5  points)
= 118 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Command Cruiser (59 points)

-  Hand of Justice  ( 4  points)
-  Skilled First Officer  ( 1  points)
-  Reinforced Blast Doors  ( 5  points)
-  Dual Turbolaser Turrets  ( 5  points)
= 74 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)

-  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
= 25 total ship cost

1 Lambda-class Shuttle ( 15 points) 

1 Zertik Strom ( 15 points)
2 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 16 points) 

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Fleet created with Armada Warlords

Welcome to I Have You Now, the opinionated Armada blog

Dodonna's Pride and Salvation vs. Warlord and Dominator

Welcome to my new Star Wars: Armada blog!

Me in this case is Green Knight from the FFG forums. In the dreary realm of IRL my name is Bjørn Blom Sørgjerd, and I come from the small city of Trondheim, Norway. In case you don't know where Norway is, I suggest looking it up on Google.

I'm old enough to have been playing games for a very long time. Computer games (my first computer was a Commodore 64, with data cassette I/O device), roleplaying games (Red Box Edition of DnD was my first true RPG, but before that Fighting Fantasy books), and of course a variety of board games (I was never satisfied with the kind of "family board games" we had back in the 80s). My very first brush (pun intended) with a miniatures game was Warhammer 40000: Rogue Trader. It's a game that was released in 1987, but I think it turned '89 before I picked it up.

I've been playing Star Wars: Armada since 2015. My Best Gaming Buddy Forever (BGGF) showed me the Core game and walked me through an intro game. We got some of the rules wrong, the Victory-class SD seemed impossible to kill, and squadrons appeared next to useless. But I was still intrigued, more than I ever was by X-wing. So not long after I went and got myself a Core set. Then I got hold of some Wave 1 expansions. And a second Core set. And extra dice. An additional maneuver tool. You see where this is going?

Like I mentioned previously, I live in a small city, and out Armada community is small. Maybe we could muster 10 people, if everyone turned up, but that rarely happens. IIRC our record is 9 players, for the 2017 Store Championship. The closest other community is Østersund (Sweden), which is a 3+ hour drive. An acceptable distance, a couple of times a year, but too far for casual games.

Consequently I was "forced" to play a lot on Vassal from the beginning, and I continue to do so. I was actually the Vassal module dev for a long time, but I've handed the responsibility over to Josiah Burkhardsmeier (aka. JJs Juggernaut), the winner of SW: Armada at Worlds 2016 and his sterling dev team.

IRL my peak performance is taking home Nordics (Nationals) in October 2017. I will attend Euros 2018. I'd really, really like to go to Worlds 2018 as well, but travelling all the way to the US to play with my minis. I think I have to be realistic and say that's probably definitely not happening.

Keep in mind that these are my opinions, not facts, even if I write it in a way that seems to imply just that. I should also note that while I play both factions, I play more Empire than Rebellion. Mostly because Giant Space Triangles... because... it's just more fun, that's all.

For content I'll be posting stuff that includes (but not limited to):

• expansion packs
• upgrades/ships/squadrons
• List building
• meta discussions
• AARs
• online play
• campaign blog from Corellian Conflict
• links to other blogs/YouTube channels
• and more

We cannot be defeated