Prepping for the SC 2018 season, part 2 (Sloane again)

This is part 2 of my Prepping for SC season.

Last time I talked about brushing dust of something old. 

So I did. With Sloane, using my winning list from Nordics 2017 as a basis. There has only been 1 more wave since then (wave 7) and a teeny tiny FAQ. 

I mean, how different can the meta be?

Turns out it's quite a lot. 

Relay was hit hard by the FAQ. So I can no longer relay on my flotillas to stay safe while commanding squadrons on the other side of the board. I had 4 Gozanti, remember, as they could then push around all 4 squads, freeing the ISD to maneuver and repair. The ISD would only act as a carrier for alpha strikes and such, or if the Gozanti for some reason were destroyed (I think I lost a total of 2 during the course of 4 matches).

And it's the flotilla nerf as well. Max 2. I used to have 4 (there were lists that took FIVE), which gave me both deployments and activations. Very important for good ISD positioning and activation control. But if I swap in Strategic Adviser and a Quasar, I still have 5 activations, and the same squads.

Which leads to this:

It's not a bad list as such, but the Quasar is just as predictable as the ISD was and far less tanky. The Gozanti have to fly close to the action. And the ISD is downgraded to a I, which is exactly the type I moved away from during playtesting last year. No Defensive retro means the ISD can die really fast, and with the relay limitation I may have to plot in squad commands when I'd rather Nav or Repair.

Name: Sloane w7 (8 squads)
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Sloane

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

Imperial I (110)
• Admiral Sloane (24)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Avenger (5)
= 150 Points

Quasar Fire I (54)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Pursuant (2)
= 66 Points

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

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
= 25 Points

Squadrons:
• Colonel Jendon (20)
• Maarek Stele (21)
• Dengar (20)
• Mauler Mithel (15)
• Ciena Ree (17)
• Howlrunner (16)
• Valen Rudor (13)
• Saber Squadron (12)
= 134 Points

Total Points: 400

I had to drop some squads if I want to keep the ISD-II. Howl and Saber are the ones to go. With only 6 squads I'm still confident in the squad battle. But the problem is I don't kill fast enough. I need to wipe squads ASAP, then start "bombing" for accs. It takes too long to clear squads, and after I don't have enough squads to do enough damage/strip enough tokens. I have GT + XI7 on the ISD, so that does compensate somewhat. It also has 1 less deployment, down to 7 total, so now I'm the one being outdeployed, which is pretty bad actually.

Name: Sloane w7 (6 squads)
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Superior Positions

Imperial II (120)
• Admiral Sloane (24)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Leading Shots (4)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Avenger (5)
= 177 Points

Quasar Fire I (54)
• Skilled First Officer (1)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Pursuant (2)
= 67 Points

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

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
= 25 Points

Squadrons:
• Maarek Stele (21)
• Colonel Jendon (20)
• Dengar (20)
• Mauler Mithel (15)
• Ciena Ree (17)
• Valen Rudor (13)
= 106 Points

Total Points: 400

So that leaves me with one other option: ditch a Gozanti and go back to 8 squads. But at 3 activations SAdv is pointless, so might as well drop it and put Brunson on the Quasar. No rooms for any XI7, but less need for it. 

Name: Sloane w7 (8 squads, 3 activations)
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Superior Positions

Imperial II (120)
• Admiral Sloane (24)
• Skilled First Officer (1)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Avenger (5)
= 168 Points

Quasar Fire I (54)
• Captain Brunson (5)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Pursuant (2)
= 71 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
• Comms Net (2)
= 27 Points

Squadrons:
• Maarek Stele (21)
• Colonel Jendon (20)
• Dengar (20)
• Mauler Mithel (15)
• Ciena Ree (17)
• Valen Rudor (13)
• Howlrunner (16)
• Saber Squadron (12)
= 134 Points

Total Points: 400

I could win games with this, but I'd get plastered by a squad-heavy Pryce list. And Raddus would probably do a number on me. Generally speaking I'm in real danger of being tabled, or at least be forced to run with the ISD and/or abandon the squad game. Furthermore, the squads can no longer reliably go to work on the enemy before I engage with the ISD.

Overall I'm OK with all 3 lists, but none feel like top tier. Not bad exactly, but not what I'm looking for in listbuilding.

Prepping for the SC 2018 season, part 1

Just to make it clear: by SC "season" I mean the one SC I'm going to. That'll be the one in Østersund, Sweden. Locally we don't have a SC this year, because those who play Armada around here can't be bothered to actually make time to come out and play.

But I still need to prep. After I could not go to Worlds or Euros bc of having like zero money to waste on that, I put all my Armada stuff into a closet and logged off Vassal. It's only for the last week I've actually begun thinking about Armada for real. If it wasn't for the SSD announcement, I don't think I would have bothered breaking out my stuff again.

So after 4 Vassal games, 1 with Vader Arq swarm, 2 with Sloane ISD + Quasars and 1 with Raddus (essentially my Regionals-winning list, but with a TRC90 instead for a flotilla and VCXs), I can verify that I am indeed VERY rusty. When last I played I was at the height of my skill, now I do stupid little things and forget to take into account this and that. My fav blunder thus far is constantly fixing shields, then moving the ship to expose stripped arcs... really should know better!

Anyway. I think I'll be OK if only I practice a little bit more. Maybe not 110%, but good enough not to make a fool out of myself. 

Then there is listbuilding. Stuff has happened in the months since I took a break. Worlds oc. Euros. Many other tournaments. Mata has been evolving. People have worked on their lists. I have not. So what do I do?

Should I take something tried and ture and just tweak it a little? It's not as if there have been many new waves, so there is really nothing new to take into account. 

Should I try for something brand new and inventive? I want to, because I don't really like to play the same fleets over and over. But I'm not sure I'm quite there. I look at my screen, and its the same fleets that get built over and over, with a few variations. 

Maybe I can copy someone? Then adjust it after playtesting? I've had success with that before. I just don't think there is time: the SC in late September, so I better settle on a list and start practicing ASAP.

I think I'll be forced to settle for something I've at least some experience with. Stay tuned as I try to narrow down the search for the perfect SC list!

Wave 8: Executor Arrives

“If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed.”

   –Emperor Palpatine, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

"Something huge is coming to Star Wars™: Armada. Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the Super Star Destroyer Expansion Pack!

This expansion pack arrives to swell the forces of the Galactic Empire with the first ship of an entirely new class—huge ships. The pre-painted, beautifully sculpted Super Star Destroyer miniature within this expansion is the largest miniature yet created by Fantasy Flight Games, measuring over 24 inches from tip to tip.

Of course, such a huge miniature serves as a stunning reminder of Imperial might on the battlefield—and it’s also a fully functional warship that you can add to your Imperial fleets. With four unique ship sheets, an assortment of tokens, and twenty-four upgrade cards, including iconic commanders like Admiral Piett and Emperor Palpatine, any rival fleet will tremble to face the might of your onslaught."

The Executor SSD was FINALLY announced at Gencon 2018, which was promptly shared on the forum, and an article was released the day after! The article is full of the usual errors, inconsistencies and weirdness, such as toting that the SSD sports six SHIP TOKENS, when it's clear they mean DEFENSE tokens. Monkeys and typewriters and all that.

Some of us have been waiting for this for a LONG time. Others, the oh so faithless, never expected this day to come at all. Well, what can I say? I was right, and you were wrong. I told you so. And so forth.

It's a big ship, both in size and in upgrade content: There is the actual model of course, which really is huge, two large bases and two double sided ship tokens to go with the 4 ship cards included. There is also 24 upgrades in the pack, plus the usual assortment of dials and tokens (including a SCATTER token) and whatnot. 

As a Huge ship (it's a new size, separate from Small, Medium, and Large), the SSD comes on TWO large bases. The cardboard ship tokens fill both bases, plus a space between then. The actual model is much bigger than that, as shown in the image below. Even on Armada's sliding scale it's going to look... HUGE!

These puny Destroyers do not concern me.

If you try it out, this baby won't fit into the deployment zone without going radically sideways. Since that would be a 100% crippling and lame restriction, my guess is the SSD gets a special deployment rule. The simplest would be to just require it to touch the edge, but I guess we won't know for sure for a while.

Since the SSD is Huge, not Large or Medium or Small, don't expect to be running stuff like Pryce or Strat Adviser on it. Complain/fantasize all you want, but if you search your feelings, you know this to be true.

The SSD also has many other special rules (there may be more, unspoiled):

The SSD can pass like a SAdv each round. 

It can shoot THREE times (instead of the usual TWO).

It moves from the REAR base (supposedly said in the FFG presentation, see form thread above). This makes a LOT of sense, as otherwise the ass would swing so insanely wide.

When it resolves a command dial, it resolves it as a dial+token.

It has SIX arcs, with two new aux right/left (the rear ones) arcs. These arcs have separate batteries and shields. And no, they are NOT side arcs, but aux arcs. So Enhanced Armament and that Ion thing only Aresius uses will only work on the regular side arcs, not the aux arcs.

It has SIX defense tokens too. Two each of Brace, Redir and Contain. Not a special rule as such, but special enough to warrant mention. There is no Defensive Retro, but it CAN take Tua in one of THREE officer slots. Wow. Tua + AP or EWS, Brunson and DCO anyone? Goes well with 22(!) hull and 20 shields total.

It's speed 2, but can't turn without a Nav command. And of course Moff Jerry will make it turn on a dime.

Command 4 is just massive. Thrawn will be really useful, same with the new Admiral Piett. Liaisons with or without Tarkin. Skilled First Officer. Even Support Officer (but a huge "maybe" there).

Squadron 5 is huge, with the option of squad 6. Which will actually always be 6/7 because of the SSD dial+token rule. Sloane alpha with SEVEN squads anyone!?

Engineering 4 is good, but not exceptional.

There are 4 ship cards, two of which can be used in normal 400 pt games (1 has been revealed). The other two are presumably for "epic" place, worth points values greater than 381, so that you can't legally field them. How many points I don't know, but I think I see 5 red/5 blue on the front arc of the ship token and maybe 4 red/3 blue/1 black on the side there.That's just massive. I assume other values like hull, shields, etc. will also be increased. Are we looking at 500 points or more?

The upgrade card lineup is huge, 24 cards, but many of them are not new. The only new ones seem to be commanders (2), officers (6), and titles (4). Of these, only Palpatine (commander) has been fully revealed. Much squinting has also revealed (most) of the text of Piett (commander), but we'll look at that in another article. The rest of the cards you can make out the title of or guess based on the image.

That SCATTER token... it's for me dumb-ass!

Commanders:

• Emperor Palpatine
• Admiral Piett

Officers:

• Admiral Someone (I think it's Piett in the pic, but can't tell for sure)
• Commander Someone (referencing my SWCCG cards I think it might be Brandei or Gherant)
• Darth Vader (says Darth and has him choking someone, so has to be the 4th Vader!)
• Director Krennic (director and White uniform, has to be)
• Emperor Palpatine (says Emperor, so has to be)
• Lira Wessex (says Lira, so has to be)

Misc:

• Boarding Engineers (meh)
• Flight Controllers (so you can by SSD instead of VSD lol!)
• HIE (good)
• Point-Defense Reroute (oh great!)
• Quad Turbos (so so)
• RLB (ok)
• Vet Gunners (sure)
• XI7 (a little too late lol)

Fleet Commands:

• All 4 (ok, I guess)

Titles:

• Ann-something (probably Annihilator)
• E-something (possibly Eclipse)
• Executor (a given really, plus I think it's the rightmost of the 4 in the pic)
• R-something (possibly Ravager)

Thanks to Ironlord for help with those titles. 

What not to like (unless your a pure Rebel player that is) about the Executor? I can't for the life of me find any reason to hate on it. This is 100% pure joy.

And the bad news? This baby isn't being unleashed upon the galaxy before Q1 2019. And knowing FFG that's just an estimate. I just hope there isn't a long delay this time, because it's been a while since wave 7 hit the shelves, and this rate of expansions is just horrendously slow.

Take me to Worlds, A Raddus Fleet

Kylo Ren's sister, Alexis Ren

Bad news: I'm not going to Worlds (can't afford to, simple as that).

Good news: Who the winner will be is no longer a forgone conclusion!

Since I'm not going, I'm free to discuss what lists I might have taken. This Raddus list (which I know is already being netlisted - a high honor indeed) is one list I might have taken.

Looks like most players are expecting a strong Raddus showing at Worlds. I agree with this assessment. Raddus a strong commander, and still new enough that not everyone has their counter-play down.

He's almost like another fish-face admiral: took a while to figure out the counters to masses of red dice being thrown downrange.

So I think that gives Raddus (if you can use him properly that is) an interesting advantage. Not necessarily against every single player, but enoguh that you might score a few points extra during Swiss. Or even get one or more very helpful 10-1s...

On to the actual list:

A while back a wrote about my Regionals-winning Raddus fleet. It was a lot of fun to play, and despite having been thrown together with only minimal playtesting it worked quite well. I would not say surprisingly well, because I was quite sure it had all the bits and pieces needed to perform well. But as always in Armada it helps a LOT to have actually practiced...

Anyway, based on previous playtesting and my Regionals matches, I hade some tweaks to the list. DCO had worked OK, but in general I think Lando would be a stronger option.I also got rid of the Comms Net - it simply wasn't doing much work. Together with the leftover 1 pt bid, I could now afford Endeavor. In every game the BC had proven highly vulnerable to crits (no surprise there), and only luck (and well-timed repairs) had kept it from being blown up/crippled.

Not sure it makes the list much better, because there are definitely matchups where I'd be temped to go back to the original version... but that's always the case with Armada. But based on my limited playtesting v2 should be just a tab bit more versatile.

Name: Raddus Bail BC+OC v2

Faction: Rebel

Commander: Admiral Raddus

Assault: Most Wanted

Defense: Planetary Ion Cannon

Navigation: Intel Sweep

MC80 Battle Cruiser (103)

• Admiral Raddus (26)

• Bail Organa (7)

• Gunnery Team (7)

• Engine Techs (8)

• Leading Shots (4)

• Quad Battery Turrets (5)

• XI7 Turbolasers (6)

• Endeavor (4)

= 170 Points

MC75 Ordnance Cruiser (100)

• Lando Carissian (4)

• Ordnance Experts (4)

• Electronic Countermeasures (7)

• External Racks (3)

• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)

• Aspiration (3)

= 126 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)

• Bright Hope (2)

= 20 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)

• Hondo Ohnaka (2)

• Quantum Storm (1)

= 21 Points

Squadrons:

• Shara Bey (17)

• Tycho Celchu (16)

• 2 x VCX-100 Freighter (30)

= 63 Points

Total Points: 400

So far, so good. Then along came the new FAQ...and it does affect the list. Some. Not a lot, but enough to require either adjustments to the list or adjustment to how it's played. The change to Relay means your flotillas can't stay on the flanks AND be effective squadron pushers. Not a crippling flaw, but it needs thinking about.

But before we get to looking at adjustments to the list: the FAQ makes the list stronger, not weaker. It makes it more difficult to relay-spam with flotillas, which is good for this list. The flotilla hard cap also weakens some of the popular squad-heavy archetypes (but do expect them to adjust and overcome). You're also well equipped to kill all of your opponent's combat ships if he's running only a couple of those. This can now give you a tabling, now that flotillas don't prevent this.

The list is also doesn't give away points easily (important in tournament play): the flotillas and squads are just over 100 points, so as long as no large ship dies you can't do worse than 7-4 (not accounting for objectives). That's not going to happen, so even of you lose you should lose small. Only the Liberty is worth a pretty penny (170 points), but it's also uniquely well equipped to disengage and run late game.

On to the adjustments:

It's tempting to just ditch the current squads and go all Rogue. Then you don't need to command squads at all, which is obviously an advantage. If you do this there are two options: pure YT-2400 (requires you to ditch something, such a Endeavor) or 3xYT + Rogue (1 pt left over).

Squadrons:

• 4x YT-2400 (64)

= 64 Points

or

• 3x YT-2400 (48)
• Rogue Squadron (14)

= 62 Points

The main issue here is the loss of Strategic. The VCXs are there primarily for the Strategic keyword: Intel Sweep and Ion Cannon just won't work without Strategic, so you'd have to come up with less powerful objectives. Also, Rogues is nice, but they lack the staying power and annoyance factor of Tycho/Shara.

Actually, if you go by this Rogue route, I'd actually recommend dropping the Liberty title, and taking 3xYT + Jan Ors. She can free up the YTs to shoot where it hurts the most, and 6 hull with 2 braces is STRONG. Sure, Jan becomes a target, but she's staying a bit further back, and has Counter 2 - and 2 braces. So either way you win.

• 3x YT-2400 (48)
• Jan Ors (19)

= 67 Points

Another option is to mix and match. Take Tycho (for his ability to scatter and move when engaged), only one VCX and 2 YTs. Only 1 source of strategic isn't as good as 2, but it let's you manipulate Intel Sweep sufficiently if you're clever. Probably Ion Cannon too. It's a viable combination I think, but I haven't tested it yet, so not 100% sure.

Squadrons:
• Tycho Celchu (16)
• VCX-100 Freighter (15)
• 2 x YT-2400 (32)
= 63 Points

The final option is to...keep as is. Sure, relay has a range-nerf, but you can keep Bright Hope close to the squads and just accept that you won't always be able to command all your squads. The VCXs are typically fine with going in the squad phase, and once the A-wing aces are engaged, they've done their job. Sure, being able to command them makes them a bit better, can let them shoot before dying, for example, or shoot and get away, or whatever.

But compared to many other lists the drop in efficiency really is minuscule: you squads are there for the drops, for strategic, and for dying as slowly as possible. Back in the day we did this with just Tycho and 3 A-wings. The kids these days are spoiled rotten: Tycho, Shara, and 8-hull generics...

So those are your options in terms of squadron adjustments. I can't say which is better, because that will depend on A) how you play and B) what you meet. All are viable options, although dropping 1 or both VCXs will have more far-reaching consequences (in terms of objectives).

Other things that can be tweaked without making this an entirely different list:

• Endeavor is nice, but optional
• Bright Hope can take Comms Net, if desired
• DCO (instead of Lando) is an OK choice on the MC75, but very matchup dependent
• APT can be turned into ACM, but I still think APT is the better (and cheaper) choice
• Hondo isn't 100% essential, but he's SUPER useful for giving out a token to the Lib and Aspiration on that key round
• Some people might prefer Spinals over QBT, but I would contend the Liberty is uniquely suited to use QBT bc of Engine Techs.
• Aspriation is situationally VERY good, especially with DCO/Lando, but there will matchups where it's completely irrelevant
• EWS can be btter than ECM in some scenarios, but most of the time ECM is the stronger option.
• Intel Officer over Bail IS a possibility. But IMO you miss out on possibly the best officer in the game ATM (if used correctly). He works so well with the MC75 Raddus drop and the great speed options on the MC80.
• Strat Adv over Bail. Sure, it's possible. but but you're now moved into the realm of mediocre lists, where you have failed to grasp the core concepts of what you're trying to replicate...

If you think this looks like a good list: feel free to bring it to Worlds (or any other tourney). Preferably to win, but top 4 is also acceptable :-P

Vassal Corellian Conflict: Campaign blog, part 10 (round 4 battle and results)

Start of r5... Imperial presence in Corellia is waning...

I was finally able to get in my r4 gave vs Tokra's Ackbar fleet. Actually it was on Thursday. Today is Monday, so this report was slow in the making. I have been rather busy of late, but also I find my motivation to play Armada waning. That's directly related to me not going to Worlds (can't afford to this year, so I released my spot). Typically, without new releases on the horizons and no major tournaments, I find other things to occupy my time. The urge to play will return, it always does, but for now I'm light on Armada.

Anyway. For once I was the attacker, aiming for Corfai. The idea was that if we lost our Corellian base, that target of the only rebel assault this round, we'd be able to grab a system that would provide us with a good chunk of resources.

To recap, my fleet go tweaked slightly from last round. We decided to allow discarding upgrades, since it makes little sense to be able to discard a whole ship WITH upgrades (plus shift upgrades between ships) and not be able to get rid of an upgrade that isn't really working.

I refitted my ISD and Demo (both got scarred), plus all my squads, except the TIE, which I scrapped instead. I had too little command and control of my squads, so I figured that even if I ave up 1 deployment (I now have an odd number of squads), the addition of Expanded hangars on the Gozanti would make up for it.

Speaking of the Gozanti, I dropped Comms Net, which was seeing very little use. My combat ships are all Veterans now, so they have enough tokens. The raiders can only hold 1 a piece at any one time). Even the Cymoon can generate enough tokens to trigger the Fleet command like 4 times in a game, even wo/Comms.

Fleet Command got turned into Entrapment Formation! STM! wasn't a bad choice, but I've had so much fun with EF! in Monster Truck Mania, that I wanted to play some more with it.

Instigator got added to the Raider-1. Between Jamming Field and this title, I figured my squads would actually be worthwhile if I kept them between the Gozanti and Instigator.

Name: VCC New Vader r4
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Darth Vader

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Dangerous Territory

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Darth Vader (36)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Entrapment Formation! (5)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Battery Turrets (5)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Devastator (10)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 190 Points

Gladiator II (62)
• Captain Brunson (5)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• Demolisher (10)
= 94 Points

Raider II (48)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
= 60 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• External Racks (3)
• Instigator (4)
= 55 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Jamming Field (2)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
= 30 Points

Squadrons:
• Lambda Shuttle (15)
• Captain Jonus (16)
• Valen Rudor (13)
• Zertik Strom (15)
• Saber Squadron (12)
= 71 Points

Total Points: 500

The Ackbar fleet is pretty much the same as when I met it previously, but with a few more upgrades. In particular Strat Adviser on Home One seemed significant, as it gave Tokra a 6 to 5 in activations over me. Couple with 2nd player, he'd be able to get both H1 and the MC30 to go after all my ships had gone. Or he could delay his squadron-pushing flotilla, and together with Rogue squadrons go after all my squadron activations.

CC Ackbar R3 

Author: Tokra

Faction: Rebel Alliance

Points: 500/500

 

Commander: Admiral Ackbar

Assault Objective: Close-Range Intel Scan

Defense Objective: Contested Outpost

Navigation Objective: Dangerous Territory

[ flagship ] MC80 Command Cruiser (106 points)

-  Admiral Ackbar  ( 38  points) 

-  Home One  ( 7  points) 

-  Strategic Adviser  ( 4  points) 

-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points) 

-  Quad Battery Turrets  ( 5  points) 

-  Leading Shots  ( 4  points) 

= 171 total ship cost

MC30c Scout Frigate (69 points)

-  Intel Officer ( 7 points) 

-  Caitken and Shollan ( 6 points) 

-  External Racks ( 3 points) 

= 85 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Jainas Light  ( 2  points) 

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits  ( 7  points) 

= 53 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits  ( 7  points) 

= 51 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

= 18 total ship cost

1 Shara Bey ( 17 points) 

1 Corran Horn ( 22 points) 

1 Jan Ors ( 19 points) 

4 YT-2400s ( 64 points) 

= 122 total squadron cost

I was the assaulter and picked his Close-Range Intel Scan. Sure, he's farm some points, but it didn't give him any huge tactical advantages. Dangerous Territory was another option, but I've been playing 2nd player DT all campaign, so I wanted something different.

I forgot to start a log or take early images, but to summarize I setup on top, Admiral Snackbar on the bottom. He had Jaina's Light on the left, Home One and GR-75 centrally, MC30 and other CR90 to the right. I set up to the right hand side, with squads and Gozanti and Raider-1 and squads in the center, ISD slightly to the side so it could turn into the table, and Demo and the Raider-2 as flank security/activation padding.

Home One slow-rolled towards the sation, Jaina's Light sped up and curved in to flank me (in the image you can see her do her only shot of the game, towards my speed 0 raider's ass), the GR-75 sped up and then escaped into the void, far from any fighting. Meanwhile the other CR90 and the MC30 intercepted my ISD. They are not in the image, because they are already dead...

The CR90 had to block my Demo, to avoid it making a run on the MC30. But CR90s don't block as well as flotillas do, and it popped (but did prevent a side arc shot and forced Demo to do a double ram). 

After that things got awkward because of a dust field blocking the exchange of fire between the ISD and the MC30. I was able to keep in place with deliberate ramming, Tokra was forced to come over the dust becuase he'd dialed up a CF instead of a Nav (which would have seen him jump across to safety). And so the poor MC30 ate a full Vader front arc with XI7 at point-blank range.

Jaina tried to get away, but it had an awkward approach angle. A combination of rear External Racks shot from the Raider and a side arc from the Cymoon (boosted by Quad Batteries) sealed it's fate. Note how I've used EF! to drop my Raider-1 to speed 0. Ricky - but kept it out of Home One range. I also got good mileage out of my squads his game: they still died, but they kept the enemy squads occupied and allowed my to flak 2 YTs to death and nearly kill several more.

The final piece of action was my Raider-1 just surviving a parting shot from H1, jumping onto the station to heal back up, before stupid Corran Horn rogue bombed it in the ass for a nice Naturalist Damage and poof!

We called it there, as H1 went to hyper and the GR-75 was out of range (we play by the only rules, not the recent FAQ). Valen might have died, and a 2400 too, but we were both happy to just call it there.

I was pleased with the result. My setup and maneuver plan worked ok, as did the changes to my fleet and my use of squadrons to delay Tokra's nasty rogues. I was worried about his activation advantage, but was able to get the upper hand. A little bit of skill and a little bit of luck there (Tokra's CF dial at the wrong time). And also, MC30s with no Admo or Lando are quite fragile, so that definitely helped. 

Elsewhere in the sector: Sloane won her battle. Another bloodless affair. But we lost Corellia. MoV of like 5 or something, so very close. Also a bloodless affair. So I build a base at Corfai to compensate. Current score is Rebels 7 to imps 6.

Every fleet is now at 500 and players have money in the bank. Normally a team can't declare an all-out assault until it has 8 points, but we're talking about maybe doing the final assault next round. It seems kind of pointless to play another standard round. Nothing much will happen. But we haven't decided yet. But the assault will definitely happen very soon!

Ackbar Star Destroyers

It's a CARP!

Have you ever head the term "Ackbar Star Destroyers"? If you haven't, let me illuminate you: we're taking about the MC39 Torpedo with Enhanced Armaments - and Ackbar commanding. That's 3 red, 2 blue, and 3 black dice out the sides. Exactly the same as the ISD-1/Kuat.

And before you start raving about no being able to double arc: you totally can. The MC30 double side arc (you need a medium-largeship to pull this off) is a horrifying thing to behold. And of course making an Ackbar Slash with a small, speed-4 ships is MUCH easier than doing with any other ship!

You can double side arc a medium base ship, but you have to be careful so your LoS doesn't go through another of the defender's hull zones (not a legal shot). This image is OK, but the margins are VERY small. Doing the same vs a large base ship is much easier.

With any ISD (or MC75/MC8080) you can double side the FRONT if you're very good at maneuvering. Double siding the side of an MC80H1 is oc laughably easy.

It's an older concept, originating with Ginkapo all the way back in wave 2. Let me link to the original: a slightly dated article on the Archive of Ossus blog (it has some good content, but updates are very irregular). Despite being dated (wave 3/4), it contains some very profound insights, plus it's well written and accessible. Do check it out.

The reason I'm bringing it back out is the advent of large ships in wave 7, and the various flotilla/relay nerfs that should limit squad/relay spam a bit. Ackbar SDs are PERFECT for killing 1-2 large bases, while totally ignoring any flotillas and squadrons. Now that this earns you a TABLING, the risk/gain equation I think has swung a long way back to this old idea of Gink's.

Try it out. Surprise your buddies and their silly large bases with a swarm of hungry Ackbar Star Destroyers!

The FAQ is Nigh!

The rumored pre-Worlds FAQ hit today. The day AFTER I wrote about it. That's Dark Side visions for you ladz!

Link to article.

The big

Flotillas: We finally got a fix for flotilla spam. There is now a hard cap of max 2 flotillas AND you get TABLED if the only "ships" you have left are flotillas. Those fixes are just great!

This is in the TOURNAMENT REGS, NOT THE FAQ. So it doesn't necessarily affect casual games, or CC games.

And about time I'd say - for too long have 3+ flotillas been . Personally I'd done my share of flotilla abuse, with a Sloane Gozanti spam and my Vader Vassal World Cup list. But I'm sick and tired of it, and have already moved on. 

Relay: Relay now only works within command range of the ship. So distance 1-3 normally, or 1-5 with Boosted Comms. This is a game changer for many lists that relayed on flotilla spam and relay to squad the enemy to death with little risk. So indirectly also a flotilla nerf.

Roquax' 2+4 GHY takes a beating from this (also bc both Yavaris & GH get's nerfed too), and so does my old Sloane Nationals list. For Sloane I'd probably have to adjust by either taking a Quasar or doing Pryce on a tricked ISD. Which are good changes, as it makes it more a battle, rather than a technicality.

The medium

Avenger: Exhaust to use, so doesn't work on a double arc (or with GT). This one I didn't see coming, but OK, it's a decent change I guess.

Gallant Haven: Still works as before, but can't reduce damage to less than 1. This is a welcome fix.

Yavaris: No longer works with FC+FCT. If you add the relay nerf, Yavaris is probably where it should be now.

The small

Aspiration: You can MOVE (not recover) shields, either with Repair or Proj Experts, as long as you do't go over the normal max.

Biggs: Can't move more damage onto Rieekan zombies. Good change IMO.

Blockade Run: Now has a definite timing, which is nice.

Chimaera: Works like I told you guys. Discard a Fleet Command to swap in a new Fleet Command. It is the REMOVED FROM PLAY. The same command can even be brought back again later. For scoring only the command that was ON THE SHIP when it was destroyed counts.

Luke: Luke's special ability doesn't work with Norra's special ability. I think we've been playing like that for ages, but I guess clearing it up was needed.

Ordnance Pods: Shoots at ALL targets in arc-range. But we knew that already.

Raddus: If you deploy the Raddus ship (start of round), then Raddus' flagship gets blown up by an Ion Cannon (end of Command Pahse), the Raddus ship still cannot activate first. It's in line with other effects that last the round, even if the card leaves the table.

Set aside clarifications: Some stuff is cleared up, like Bail/Pryce can't set a round if they are set aside.

Strategic Adviser: To use ship has to A) be on the table (not set aside) and B) not have activated that round. 

Thrawn: Suddenly you CAN tokenize a Thrawn dial. Completely unexpected, but a nice boost. At the same time we get a clarification that stuff like Grint CANNOT trigger from a Thrawn dial, not even on the flagship

Vassal Corellian Conflict: Campaign blog, part 9 (round 4)

Start of r4

The Vassal CC has been a bit neglected of late, due to Regionals then a very long Easter holiday, but now we're back in action.

Last round we lost Aurea, which mean a bit less resources and no diplomat, but we're all at 500 points without anything scarred. On the other hand we claimed Centerpoint and built a base there to compensate, so we back up to max bases, and now we have 2 spies vs 1 rebel spy.

Due to a clerical error from the Rebel team, we believed the score was Rebel 5 - 4 Empire, so we went ahead with the following assaults:

• Sacorria (regular, no presence): Sloane vs Sato
• Corellia (base defense): MM vs Thrawn
• Corfai (regular, no presence): Vader vs Ackbar

Turns out the score is actually  4 - 4, but we didn't spot that until after the fact, so we opted to just go with what we had already declared.

I've changed my fleet a tiny bit (in addition to repairs). I was having trouble actually commanding my tiny squadron screen (and keeping it alive), so I want to test out a build with 1 less plain TIE, but Exp Hangars on the Goz + Jamming Field, and Instigator in the Raider (which I'll try to use in the flak role, if needed). That left me short 1 pt, so I swapped in Entrapment Formation!, which is a card I've come to love anyway.

BUT I'm not 100% sure we allow replacing upgrades like this (I have OC paid for them), so still awaiting confirmation on that. If we decide NOT, then I'll just use the same fleet as in r3, but play it better :-D

Oh, and this is the first time I get to be 1st player!

Name: VCC New Vader r4
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Darth Vader

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Dangerous Territory

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Darth Vader (36)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Entrapment Formation! (5)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Battery Turrets (5)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Devastator (10)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 190 Points

Gladiator II (62)
• Captain Brunson (5)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• Demolisher (10)
= 94 Points

Raider II (48)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
= 60 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• External Racks (3)
• Instigator (4)
= 55 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Jamming Field (2)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
= 30 Points

Squadrons:
• Lambda Shuttle (15)
• Captain Jonus (16)
• Valen Rudor (13)
• Zertik Strom (15)
• Saber Squadron (12)
= 71 Points

Total Points: 500

Wave 8 Is Coming & Hear the FAQ Roar

Wave 8 news

This is it boys: the Executor IS HERE.

Oh, sorry. Wrong tense. The Executor WILL BE HERE. I hope.

Now, after that little joke, back to topic :-D

You've all heard the rumors: There will be a wave 8 for Armada (and hopefully more after that). It's just taking a while. But we're not salty! The Armada community is ever patient, and we NEVER cry "Armada is dead!". Not without good reason anyway.

You've also heard the FFG statement "something big is coming", which came up in conjunction with wave 7 and was hotly debated. Guys, whatever you think, that "big" wasn't Thrawn, even if his ego is a bit large. It also wasn't just a reference to wave 7's big ships and big ship upgrades. The "something big" is even larger than that: it's positively EPIC, and it's the Executor. This interpretation was recently underlined in this forum post.

Also known as Armada SKU SWM20, a product that was playtested way back (confirmed by several now-dead Bothans), but never released. It's talked about in this thread and many others, but FFG has been really secretive, so we don't have any details. Just forum speculation (also try searching the forum for SWM20).

It'll be a new base size, that's a given. You can't fit in on a Large base. Let's call it a Huge (or maybe Epic?) base. Will probably have some special rules, but I've no idea what. For example: I wonder if Large only upgrades will go on a Huge/Epic ship? In a blog post Crabbok talks a little about how such large ships might fit on the table - I agree with this; it's possible if the designers want it to be.

I don't see the problem. Do you?

From Mel's Miniatures

It will also contain a host of exiting new upgrades (all expansions do), probably slanted towards Empire officers (duh!). And of course Admiral Piett, the commander. That's a given.

Anyway, feel free to disagree with me, but as usual I'm right and the rest of you are wrong ;-)

Except sometimes I'm not... I'm just very opinionated. So take my musings with a big pinch of salt please. I've always been in the camp that thinks the SSD could be viable in Armada, given the sliding scale. And games are built on hope, right? 

FAQ news

A new FAQ is also right around the corner according to some sources. I think it was some Armada players who talked to the brother of the daughter of the cousin of the aunt of someone who knows a janitor working at FFG. TOTALLY RELIABLE!

This new FAQ will drop BEFORE Worlds. Probably a couple of weeks before, enough so that half the players won't have time to adjust/playtest properly. Good one FFG, good one ;-)

But I can't afford to go anyway, so the timing doesn't matter. I'm a bit salty (about not being able to go), but I just can prioritize Worlds this time. Maybe next year?

On a more serious note: yes, a FAQ is coming. And it will have some impact on flotillas. But I don't know what. Playtesting has been done on various options (again a lot of Bothans died to bring you this), but I've no idea what the final version FFG puts out will be.

For me personally it doesn't matter too much. And I'm not thinking about Worlds here. I'm just talking the meta in general. I've had my fun using and abusing flotillas. By now I've had my fill, and moved on, before any FAQ. And while I would welcome some nerfs and tweaks, I'm a good enough player I can handle any flotilla-abuse I face.

What a nerf could do, however, is make more builds competitively viable. That's a good thing.

Custom Corellian Conflict, part 1 (intro)

Stuff in the box

By now I guess everyone who's into SW: Armada knows about the Corellian Conflict campaign expansion (CC for short). It would be very strange if you don't, since the CC box is where you find all the "new"objectives and extra unique squadrons, some of which see a LOT of use in regular/competitive play.

But I'm not going to be talking much about those components. Instead I'll be looking at the actual campaign, and more specifically what can be done to A) enhance it and B) add more options. Your milegage on house rules may vary, but you're free to use any, all or none at all - no one is forcing you to do anything.

Out of the box the CC does 3 things:

1. It gives an incentive to build a fleet and then stick with it over the course of several games, usually expanding it to a 500 fleet point limit
2. It adds a very shallow strategic minigame, where players fight over planets and their resources, using those resources to refit and expand their fleets
3. It (usually, unless silly ppl decide to win on points instead) culminates in a 7 round mega-battle of 6 players, each running a 500 pt fleet, on a 9x3 foot table

This is all very good, but my experience is that things feel a little samey from the get go: 

• Fleets are a little larger, but the same stuff is effective in CC as in competitive play, so if you don't enjoy losing, you kind of have to build a competitive fleet.
• Fleets usually cap at 500 pts VERY quickly (sometimes in r2, often no later than r3), after which fleetbuilding is kind of dead.
• The strategic minigame is SHALLOW AS FUCK. The same planets get taken during setup, because some are stupid good and the rest are close to useless, and then things proceed along the same frack like 95% of the time.
• Some players, or usually one side, get bored before the final assault battle. Usually because one side gets an advantage r1, and things snowball from there. So in my experience most CC games die before ever doing the final battle (I've only done it ONCE, and that was only a simulation,  6 500 pt fleets, and not the result of actual campaign play).

So what I hope to do with this series of articles is: 

• Add some options to fleet building to keep it interesting and varied. Example: errata to some cards, additional squadrons, rules for discarding upgrades etc.
• Expand upon the strategic minigame to make it matter a little more. Examples: make all planet specials actually matter.
• Add some tools to hopefully limit snowballing/keep it interesting even if you're losing. Examples: no early base assaults, alternate rules for special assaults.

Soon to be a Hero of the Rebellion

I'm not doing a total conversion (but I might do a wholly new campaign from scratch if I find the time to finish what I started). If you're into total conversions, I recommend checking out Darth Veggie's WIP over at the FFG forums.

Here are some useful resources you can dl:

CC Rulebook (pdf): The rulebook in a convenient, digital format.

CC Map (original): Scan of the original CC map.

CC Map (enhanced): Same map, but digitally enhanced (found this online)

CC Manager v4.0 (spreadsheet): Great tool for tracking planets and attacks and fleets. You can even customize it to fit your games.

I'd also like to mention the Camping feature in Vassal. I use it all the time for tracking the location of base/outpost/presence stickers. Start Vassal, create a game, hit the Campaign button, and start dragging stickers over from the Pieces menu. Save and export the map. Next round, load the map, make any changes, save and export. Very easy to share a digital map on Facebook or whatnot, or just display it to the group if playing multiple games in a row in a common location.