Fleet Dossier: Ki-Adi-Mundi "The Black Dice of Disappointment"

I need to remake this Fleet Dossier.

Turns out I hadn’t actually read the fine print—more like I glanced at the card, got excited, and then let my imagination do the rest. A very astute Reddit reader pointed out the mistake almost immediately, and I took the post down rather than let bad rules information sit out there.

Here’s the issue: Ki-Adi-Mundi’s timing is extremely specific. His effect happens immediately after you roll your attack dice—same timing window as something like Intel Officer. That matters, because it means you don’t get to do the “add dice first, then copy that die color with Ki-Adi” trick I was building around. You can’t use Thunder Wasp, Swivel-Mount Batteries, or similar “add a die” effects before Ki-Adi triggers. Those dice-adders happen later, and Ki-Adi is already done.

So my original dream of “multiple ships throwing three black dice at long range with rerolls” simply doesn’t work. At best, you’re still throwing the two blacks that a lot of builds can already reach at long range, and Ki-Adi gives you a bonus die of a color already in the pool—appropriate to what you actually rolled at that range. That’s… significantly less spicy than I thought, and honestly a bit disappointing. But it also neatly explains why I haven’t seen other people pushing the same gimmick: because it isn’t a gimmick. It’s a misunderstanding.

More broadly, this is a perfect example of how easy it is to let assumptions take the wheel in Armada. We’ve all done it—looked at a card once, mentally played it out, and only later noticed that one little timing word makes the whole thing behave differently. (Overload Pulse, anyone? Or said Intel Officer timing debates from back in the day?) If nothing else, this has permanently reinforced one lesson for me: read the card, and read the timing twice 😅

With that correction out of the way: the fleets below still work. They just don’t do the absurd KAM magic trick I originally described. Which, TBH, takes them from potentially interesting to rather meh IMO.

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400 Points: KAM All-Ship (Squadless)

Name: KAM All-Ship 400
Faction: Republic
Commander: Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy]

Assault: Opening Salvo
Defense: Abandoned Mining Facility
Navigation: Volatile Deposits

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy] (30)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
= 124 Points

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
• Implacable (4)
= 98 Points

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser [ARC] (52)
• Clone Captain Zak (5)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Clone Gunners (4)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thunder Wasp [Legacy] (3)
= 70 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Munitions Resupply (3)
= 54 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Parts Resupply (3)
= 54 Points

Squadrons:
= 0 Points

Total Points: 400

What it’s trying to do

This list is a focus-fire engine. It wants one decisive turn where multiple ships line up, spend what they need to spend, and erase something important—ideally before your opponent can start trading effectively into your support.

If the opponent obliges you (slow bricks, low evades, predictable approach angles), it can feel absolutely miserable to face. You can stack long-range pressure and then cash in hard when the first ship drifts into the danger zone.

Why it might not be particularly competitive

The downside is equally obvious: it’s a bit of a one-trick pony. Not in the sense that it can’t win games—more in the sense that it’s built to do one particular thing extremely well, and some opponents can simply refuse to play that game. Highly mobile, evasive fleets can angle you and deny the clean focus-fire. Squadron-heavy fleets can punish you for going squadless.

That said… I could absolutely take this to a friendly basement game and have a good time.

Tweaks

There isn’t much room here without fundamentally turning it into “KAM MSU,” which is exactly what I’m trying to avoid.

• Implacable is technically optional, but with Projection Experts, it’s hard to cut.

• You can run double Parts Resupply instead of Munitions + Parts. But with the Veteran Captains already in the mix, I like having more reroll tech.

• Beyond that, you’re basically rewriting the concept.

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600 Points: More of the same

If the 400-point list is “one trick,” the 600-point version is “the same trick, but with more hands.”

Name: KAM All-Ship 600
Faction: Republic
Gamemode: Sector Fleet
Commander: Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy]

Assault: Opening Salvo
Defense: Abandoned Mining Facility
Navigation: Volatile Deposits

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy] (30)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
= 124 Points

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
• Implacable (4)
= 98 Points

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
= 94 Points

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser [ARC] (52)
• Clone Captain Zak (5)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Clone Gunners (4)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thunder Wasp [Legacy] (3)
= 70 Points

Arquitens-class Assault Cruiser [Legacy] (48)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• External Racks (4)
• Stellar Rise [Legacy] (2)
= 59 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Munitions Resupply (3)
= 56 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Parts Resupply (3)
= 56 Points

Consular-class Armed Cruiser (37)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
• External Racks (4)
= 43 Points

Squadrons:
= 0 Points

Total Points: 600

This version adds more bodies, more pressure, and a couple of close-range “don’t come here” pieces (Boarding Troopers, External Racks). It’s still fundamentally the same archetype: build the focus-fire turn, then ride your hull count and repair tools to stay ahead in the trade.

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600 Alt: Defense token shredding (Imperator + Intel)

If you want to lean into the “delete the thing” plan even harder, here’s the Imperator + Intel Officer variant:

Name: KAM All-Ship 600 Alt
Faction: Republic
Gamemode: Sector Fleet
Commander: Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy]

Assault: Opening Salvo
Defense: Abandoned Mining Facility
Navigation: Volatile Deposits

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy] (30)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
= 129 Points

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
• Implacable (4)
= 103 Points

Venator Star Destroyer Imperator Refit [ARC] (100)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
• External Racks (4)
• Tranquility (7)
= 131 Points

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser [ARC] (52)
• Clone Captain Zak (5)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Clone Gunners (4)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thunder Wasp [Legacy] (3)
= 70 Points

Arquitens-class Assault Cruiser [Legacy] (48)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• External Racks (4)
• Stellar Rise [Legacy] (2)
= 59 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Munitions Resupply (3)
= 54 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Parts Resupply (3)
= 54 Points

Squadrons:
= 0 Points

Total Points: 600

This one is very much the “no, really, you don’t get to spend tokens” direction. If the base list is focused, this is the sharpened knife.

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600 Not-Quite-All-Ship: add a real ace screen

I’m including one “softer” variant as well, because I’m personally uneasy about going completely squadless—especially as points go up and the matchup spread gets wider.

Name: KAM Not-Quite-All-Ship 600
Faction: Republic
Gamemode: Sector Fleet
Commander: Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy]

Assault: Opening Salvo
Defense: Abandoned Mining Facility
Navigation: Volatile Deposits

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Ki-Adi-Mundi [Legacy] (30)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
= 129 Points

Acclamator II-class Assault Ship (71)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Swivel-Mount Batteries (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (4)
• Implacable (4)
= 103 Points

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser [ARC] (52)
• Clone Captain Zak (5)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Clone Gunners (4)
• Thunder Wasp [Legacy] (3)
= 70 Points

Arquitens-class Assault Cruiser [Legacy] (48)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• External Racks (4)
• Stellar Rise [Legacy] (2)
= 59 Points

Pelta-class Medical Frigate (49)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Munitions Resupply (3)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• FB-88 (4)
= 69 Points

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Parts Resupply (3)
= 56 Points

Consular-class Armed Cruiser (37)
• Radiant VII (1)
• Comms Net (2)
= 40 Points

Squadrons:
• Anakin Skywalker - Delta-7 (24)
• Axe - V-19 (17)
• Kickback - V-19 (16)
• R2-D2 - Twilight [Legacy] (17)
= 74 Points

Total Points: 600

This keeps the core ship plan, but it stops you from auto-losing the “air war” in matchups where that matters. It’s also just… more thematic, at least to me.

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Closing thoughts (and questions)

So where does that leave Ki-Adi-Mundi?

On paper, adding dice is always good, and GAR in particular could use such a commander. But Ki-Adi sits in an awkward spot: he’s 30 points, he self-harms by handing out raid tokens, and those raids can be more than a minor annoyance—they can actively eat into your token economy. On top of that, he’s not just “soft countered” by certain enemy tech—he can be pretty hard countered by a couple of CIS admirals in particular, which is not where you want to be if you’re paying 30 points for your commander.

My current feeling is that he’s still decent, but a lot less flexible than I originally gave him credit for. He pushes you toward being an MSU-style commander, especially something like Arquitens with TRC, where you’re taking lots of attacks and converting small edges into real damage. And in that exact archetype, he’s competing directly with Anakin… and I’m not convinced he wins that contest.

But that’s my impression before I’ve put enough reps into him (and before I even play him correctly).

So I’ll throw it back to you:

• Is Ki-Adi-Mundi actually worth 30 points in practice?

• How often do the raid tokens feel like a manageable tax, and how often do they feel like the commander punching you in the face?

• Does he have a real home outside of MSU/TRC Arquitens, or is that basically where he belongs?

• And if you’re building that kind of fleet anyway… why choose Ki-Adi over Anakin?

Up next: The final part of the Ship Files.

The Ship Files, Part 5: Galactic Republic (GAR)

Welcome back to The Ship Files!

We’re almost at the end now. Parts 1 and 2 covered the Empire, Parts 3 and 4 the Rebels, and today we move on to the Galactic Republic. After this, only the Separatists remain — and then we’ll zoom out and look at the big picture.

I’ll start with a small confession: I love the Clone Wars factions. Both of them. Maybe with a slight bias toward the Clankers, but Jedi and clones absolutely have their charm. That said, neither CW faction ever really got the chance to be fully fleshed out before Armada was cancelled. They’re functional, interesting, and in places very clever — but also clearly incomplete.

In terms of experience, I’ve played quite a few competitive games with CIS, fewer with GAR, and probably more games against CIS than GAR. Campaign play is a different story; I’ve logged a ton of games with both factions on smaller maps. That context matters, because it shapes some of my biases — for example, I think the Munificent looks fantastic, and having played it extensively on 3×3 maps, I’m much more forgiving of speed-2 ships that can actually turn as opposed to those that can't. Which, as we’ll see, is a recurring theme.

Alright. Let’s get into it.

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Acclamator-class Assault Ship

The Acclamator looks great. It should be the GAR workhorse: a reasonably priced medium base that forms the backbone of the fleet. In practice, it sits in an awkward middle ground that plagues many medium ships.

It’s not especially tanky, and it can be deleted surprisingly quickly. Yet to function properly, it wants many of the same upgrades a large ship does, which makes the total package expensive. As a result, most Acclamators are run lean, often stripped down to a single purpose.

Stat-wise, this ship is very clearly derived from the Victory. If you compare the firing arcs in VASSAL, the resemblance is uncanny. Similar dice pools, similar forward focus, better flak, but also very similar turning problems. Yes, it goes speed 3 — and that’s huge — but the yaw feels like a legacy tax inherited directly from the Victory. The weight of old design decisions pressing down on new ships.

The Acclamator-I almost never sees play as a carrier anymore; it’s primarily a Boarding Troopers delivery system. And in that role, it’s genuinely excellent. Its value comes from that one explosive moment, after which it can soak fire or disengage.

The Acclamator-II can be made tankier, but turning it into a credible damage platform requires heavy investment — on a ship that struggles to stay on target beyond the first engagement. Forward-centric firepower without turn performance is far harder to leverage than what an AFII or Munificent brings.

What if: Give it I-I yaw at speed 2. That alone would make the ship dramatically more interesting.

Verdict: Neither variant is really “fine” in a holistic sense, but I also can’t justify price cuts. Although at 64, the Acclamator-I feels awkward when the Munificent Comms sits at 65.

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Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (GAR, ARC version)

We’re only talking about the ARC version here. The Legacy versions were covered earlier.

Chassis-wise, this is the same Light Cruiser as the Imperial version, and all my issues with the nav chart still apply. Admiral Coburn helps turn. Ki-Adi-Mundi provides enough firepower to make it worthwhile. But overall, I’m still not a fan.

Now, here’s where things get weird.

The GAR Light Cruiser is not unique, which makes sense thematically. Unfortunately, ARC then gave it perhaps the strangest upgrade bar in the game: two Officer slots and two Weapons Team slots. In practice, this strongly incentivizes running exactly one Arquitens. Zak + Clone Gunners alone almost justify the ship — but that means multiple Arqs step on each other’s toes.

There’s no Turbolaser slot because the dice output would be absurd. The ship has double Evade instead of Redirects (hello, Luminara), which also means any attempt to “fix” it by adding said turbolaser risks stapling TRC onto it — something ARC clearly wanted to avoid. The end result is a ship boxed in by its own design constraints.

Legacy has since released two far more flexible versions, which only highlights how narrow this one feels.

What if: ARC didn’t voluntarily paint themselves into a corner by over-restricting design space? This isn’t the last time this problem shows up.

Verdict: Very niche. At 52 points, it doesn’t look outrageous on paper, but compared to the flak and Salvo offered by the Legacy variants (48/54), it feels expensive. ARC wanted to give GAR a generic long-range option and ended up with a ship that’s technically usable, but deeply constrained.

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Consular-class Cruiser

The Consular is what happens when you cross a CR90 with a Hammerhead, keep the downsides of both, and then add some new problems.

Both variants have individual strengths — but also glaring flaws. The biggest shared issue is the lack of double Evades, which became painfully obvious once the GARquitens entered the picture.

The Charger was clearly designed around Linked Turbolaser Towers, and nothing else. Black flak (to restrict reach), mostly red dice. Once LTT was changed, the ship lost its identity. Yes, it’s cheaper now. Yes, you can try TRC or Dual Turbos. No, it’s not the same.

The one place it still shows up reliably? Anakin lists. Being cheap and getting dice mods from your commander goes a long way. Outside that bubble, the Charger struggles.

The Armed Cruiser is similar. Short-range focus, no dice mods unless Anakin is involved, and excellent flak — but that’s not a reason to take the ship. The Defensive Retrofit slot is largely wasted; there just aren’t many good options for a hull like this.

What if: No Contain. Double Evade. Or maybe the Charger not being built around a single card that was later changed with a sledgehammer. Lots of “what ifs” here.

Verdict: I honestly don’t know. Making them cheaper mostly benefits Anakin, who already loves them. Maybe the answer is to accept that they’re niche and move on.

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Pelta-class Transport / Medical Frigate

Everyone’s favorite GAR support ship — and for good reason.

The Pelta proves that mediocre firepower and low speed can be acceptable, even good, if the cost and upgrade bar are right. Speed 2 is offset by solid Engineering, a great defense token suite, and excellent support options.

Both variants are distinct and viable. The question is mostly one of efficiency.

The Transport is extremely good for what it does. The Medical Frigate has slightly better battery reach and +1 squadron, but once the ship is actually in the fight, black dice are often better than blue. Flak is significantly worse on the Medical, which matters for a ship that wants to be near squads.

In practice, you’re often paying nine points (with Expanded Hangars) to go from 1 to 3 squadrons — and then stacking Fleet Support, Support Team, and maybe a title on top. At that point, the Medical starts to feel a bit overpriced compared to the Transport.

What if: Don’t. Touch. My. Peltas.

Verdict: Reduce the gap between the variants by 1 (maybe 2) points. Otherwise, Peltas are perfect.

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Venator-class Star Destroyer

The GAR’s only large ship, now with three variants: Venator-I, Venator-II, and the ARC Imperator Refit.

Conceptually, it’s to the Acclamator what the ISD is to the Victory — bigger, tougher, better. But the comparison breaks down quickly. The Venator lacks the ISD’s brutal forward arc and struggles badly at range, never throwing more than four red dice at long range with a double arc. For a 100+ point ship, that’s almost comical.

This is not a generalist. It’s a specialist. And yes, it can take Tranquility.

The Venator-I looks appealing at first: cheaper, Fleet Command access, SPHA-T. Unfortunately, it lacks a Defensive Retrofit slot, which kills its ability to brawl — the very thing it looks like it wants to do. It’s also not a Bombard, so LTT says “no”.

The Venator-II fixes most of that. Thermals, strong squad support, or SPHA-T flexibility — it’s simply the better ship.

The Imperator Refit turns the Ven-I into a Kuat-style brawler. Effective, yes. Creative? Not at all. Ordnance Experts, Thermals, ordnance upgrades, Tranquility, done. Compare that to some of the playtest variants (double Weapons Team!) and imagine the possibilities. Overpowered? I don’t think so — but ARC clearly didn’t want to go there.

What if: Never design a ship around a single card. SPHA-T is the textbook example of why.

Verdict: Ven-I could come down a bit. If the Munificent Comms can drop 5, this can drop 3-5 points. Ven-II and Imperator are fine where they are.

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Victory-class Star Destroyer (GAR)

I don’t like the Victory.

This one I hate less than the Imperial Vic-I — it has Salvo, at least — but it still suffers from the same fundamental issues. No LTT. No Ion slot. Designed to brawl with Ordnance Experts and SPHA-T… on a hull that’s slow, awkward, and expensive once fully kitted.

You can make it work. You can also take a Venator and be happier.

What if: The Victory didn’t suck to begin with.

Verdict: Leave it alone. I have no desire to see this ship spammed.

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Closing Thoughts

Looking at GAR ships in isolation, a few themes stand out:

1. Maneuverability is a problem. Speed is usually fine; yaw often isn’t.

2. Firepower, especially at range, is underwhelming, particularly on larger platforms.

None of this is unworkable, but it demands careful planning and acceptance of constraints. GAR fleets tend to win by synergy, not raw numbers.

GAR also lacks a flotilla option, but that discussion is outside of scope in this post.

Next up: Separatists, the sixth and final part of The Ship Files. After that, we’ll zoom out, take stock of everything, and then zoom back in for my personal “most wanted” changes.

Almost there.

The Ship Files, Part 4: Rebels — “M(a)C Starhawk”

Welcome back to The Ship Files!

This is the second half of the Rebel roster, continuing directly from Part 3: Potatoes and Shrimps. If you haven’t read that one — or the two Imperial entries before it — I’d strongly recommend starting there, especially with the intro to Part 1, where I lay out what this whole exercise is actually about.

One quick bit of housekeeping before we dive in: since the last entry in this series, Legacy Wave 1 has dropped. That release added a handful of new titles for existing ships, including two ships covered in this article. I’m not going to do a deep dive on those titles here — check out my Legacy wave 1 review for more — but where relevant, I’ll mention how they affect the ships in question.

Alright. Deep breath. Let’s talk about Rebel capital ships.

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MC80 “Home One”

The original MC80 has… not aged gracefully.

It’s slow, so 90% of the time it wants Engine Techs. It lacks a Weapons Team slot, which means you’re strongly incentivized to take Leading Shots — and that immediately locks you out of PDIC. LS + ET usually pushes you toward Quad Battery Turrets just to get some reliable blue dice in there. And of course you want ECM, because of course you do.

That’s a lot of upgrades just to make the ship feel “okay”.

Firepower is middling for a large base at this price point. You can make it hit hard — especially under Ackbar — but red dice without strong modification support are fickle, and you end up paying a premium for consistency. The end result is a ship that’s better than an AFII in most respects… but costs significantly more, and still doesn’t really excel at anything.

The Assault Cruiser variant is much more interesting. Double Defensive Retrofit is rare and potentially very powerful, and the longer-range emphasis fits the Rebel game plan nicely. Unfortunately, it starts at 110 points before upgrades, which is a steep buy-in.

What if: The Command Cruiser should have had a Fleet Command slot from day one. Thankfully, Legacy Wave 1 gave us Nautilian, which at least patches that hole. Both variants also feel like ships that should have had Salvo, but we all know that conversation is going nowhere.

Verdict: The price drops helped, but I still don’t see many Home Ones on the table. I’m not sure whether they need another cut or just more time at their current price, but right now, they still feel like too much effort for too little payoff.

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MC80 “Liberty”

This is my favorite Rebel ship in this article, hands down.

A large-base ship that can hit speed 4 (with Engine Techs), delete anything smaller than itself in one activation, seriously maul anything its own size, and then leave? That’s fantastic —  unless you're on the receiving end. When the Liberty works, it really works.

But — and it’s a big but — it has some glaring dependencies. It almost always wants Engine Techs. It really wants Agate or Raddus. Madine can also work, making the whole “hit and run” plan somewhat more flexible, but it loses the toughness Agate brings. Those dependencies inflate the real cost of the ship far beyond its printed price.

What if: A Recusant-style defense suite — no double brace, but Evade and Salvo — would at least make the ship feel more dynamic. It wouldn’t solve the Engine Techs tax, though, and fixing the boring dice pools and upgrade bars would require a total redesign anyway.

Verdict: Slightly overpriced. I’d be happy with 93 for the Star Cruiser and 98 for the Battle Cruiser. If you do that, though, Agate (and maybe Raddus, but not Madine) probably need to go up as well, since they benefit disproportionately.

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Modified Pelta-class

Ever played GAR? Ever run Peltas? Yeah. Me too. Love them.

So where are the Rebel Peltas?

On paper, they’re arguably better than the GAR versions — more front firepower, similar cost, Fleet Command access on a small hull. And yet… they’re rare sights, even after ARC dropped the Assault Pelta all the way to 52 points.

That’s because firepower alone doesn’t make a ship good. Speed, defense, upgrade bars, and opportunity cost all matter — and the Rebel Peltas struggle there.

The Assault Pelta is fine now. Cheap enough to justify bringing, capable of running Intensify Firepower!, and with the right support (Leia, CF tokens), it can punch above its weight. It’s limited, but at least it has a role.

The Command Pelta, on the other hand, is not fine at 60. As a carrier, it’s bad. The AFII-B outclasses it so completely that cost and Fleet Command access can’t compensate. Once upon a time, old Yavaris + Command Pelta + un-nerfed Rieekan was a real archetype. That entire ecosystem is gone, and the ship was never redesigned to survive without it.

What if: Personally, I don’t love Fleet Commands on small ships at all — they feel like they should belong on larger command platforms, with better internal balance between them. But that’s a much bigger discussion.

Verdict: Assault Pelta is fine. Command Pelta should drop to 56 — but if that happens, the Nebulon-B (below) also needs help.

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Nebulon-B Frigate

I have a complicated relationship with this ship.

I’ve been playing Armada since May 2015. I’ve flown Nebs badly into Victory front arcs. I’ve both abused and suffered under un-nerfed Yavaris. I love how weird it looks and plays — strange arcs, strange defenses, strange everything.

But that weirdness is also why it’s so hard to just slot one into a list. Nebulons tend to appear either as title carriers (Salvation now, Yavaris once upon a time) or as part of a full-on Neb spam list. There’s very little middle ground.

Both variants also suffer from extremely dated design: bland dice pools, near-identical upgrade bars, and exaggeratedly weak side arcs. It works, but it feels ancient.

What if: The Escort having an Offensive Retrofit would do wonders. The Support as a Fleet Support / combat hybrid would be genuinely interesting. But neither is happening without a redesign.

Verdict: Both variants are overpriced. The Support should come down a couple of points, and the Escort’s +6 premium is far too steep for +1 flak and +1 squadron. 49 / 53 feels reasonable; 48 / 52 might even be fine.

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Providence-class (Rebel)

This ship is a fascinating mess.

Yes, it uses the same model and arcs as the CIS Providence — but everything else is different. Speed 2 instead of 3. Less yaw. An Evade instead of a Contain. Lower squadron value. No Defensive Retrofit slot. No Invincible-style title.

At 95 points, it looks like a bargain compared to the CIS version at 103.

It is not.

Without a Defensive Retrofit, Agate is basically stapled to this ship. You also need Engine Techs because speed 2. If you want it to be a carrier, you need Expanded Hangars. And suddenly you’re pouring points into just making the chassis functional.

Here’s a fairly typical carrier build:

Providence Carrier (95)
• Kyrsta Agate (25)
• Ray Antilles (7)
• Walex Blissex (5)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Caitken and Shollan (6)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Fighter Coordination Team (3)
= 164 points

That’s a lot of investment for something that’s merely “okay+”.

Legacy Wave 1’s Rebel One title helps with survivability and gives you alternatives to Agate, which is good — but it’s also more points, and the fundamental problem remains.

What if: Honestly? Too many to count. This ship is what happens when design constraints start to suffocate a system.

Verdict: Drop it to 90 points. At least then it’s easier to afford everything it needs to do its job. But again, this suggests Agate needs to come up if we want to increase variety.

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Starhawk-class Battleship

What a waste of plastic.

Rebels finally get something that can stand toe-to-toe with an ISD… and it’s speed 2, has no Defensive Retrofit, and practically screams AGATE + COME AT ME BRO.

You can make it work. It’s legal. It’s effective. But it relies on fortressing, objective play, and your opponent being forced to engage you. That’s a deeply passive, reactive way to play Armada — and frankly, a boring one.

The design intent is clear: enormous hull and shields balanced by poor mobility and limited upgrade access. The problem is that Agate bypasses a big chunk of that intended weakness, while the lack of speed means the ship can’t play proactively.

And don’t get me started on the titles — two-thirds of them only working on one variant is just bad design.

What if: I genuinely think FFG tried to balance this ship. It’s just that the end result isn’t particularly fun. Fixing it properly would require fundamental changes that are well outside ARC’s scope.

Verdict: Leave the ship alone, but Agate probably needs to be more expensive. I say that a lot, don't I?

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Final Thoughts

Well… that was a lot of negativity.

The common thread in this second batch of Rebel ships is age — and design constraints caused by older designs. Many of them are victims of early-wave design: conservative upgrade bars, awkward dice pools, and defensive assumptions that don’t hold up in the modern game. ARC has done what it can with points, but some hulls are simply carrying too much historical baggage.

That said, you need to take what I write with a grain of salt; you should know by now this is my style of evaluating something. In reality, I'm quite fond of the Neb, for example, but I don't think it's a particularly good design — or correctly priced. And I do actually dust off my Starhawk from time to time, but never for anything below 600 points.

Next up: Republic (one post), and finally Separatists (one post). Then we’ll see how all of this looks when viewed side-by-side.

Until then — fly casual, but not too casual.

Armada Warlords: Legacy wave 1 update

 

Armada Warlords has been updated with Legacy w1 content: https://armadawarlords.twilightpeaks.net/

PM me on Discord if you find any bugs/errors.

Fleet Dossier: Leia Nautilian Hammerheads

  

Today’s Fleet Dossier is a Rebel list.

It’s inspired by an exchange with Peter Saber on Facebook. He really likes Nautilian. I wasn’t entirely convinced… so here’s my attempt at becoming convinced.

The core concept is ARC Leia + Nautilian + Hammerhead swarm—if you can call three Hammerheads a swarm. Normally, three isn’t quite enough to really get the title value flowing, but Nautilian effectively gives you another “copy” of the effect, and that might be just enough.

And yes: this is very much an ARC Leia list. It doesn’t work if your flagship can’t spend tokens and still repair. It also highlights how much less flexible old Leia was.

For this build, I’ve chosen Task Force Antilles for a bit of durability. A Leia Hammerhead that pivots into Repair can regenerate/move shields (and even hull) surprisingly well—in Hammerhead terms, anyway. Don’t expect miracles. If you want to go fully on offense, you can swap to Task Force Organa instead and save six points. (Also: TFO at 1 and TFA at 3 has always felt a little… lopsided. But that’s neither here nor there.)

The squad screen is small but nasty. This exact four-A-wing package has done work for me even into squad-heavy lists. They will die, but used correctly, they can derail your opponent’s carefully laid squadron plan. Into light-to-medium squads, they can delay and disrupt for ages. Into squadless fleets, they chip in meaningful damage over the game.

This also shouldn’t be a particularly difficult fleet to run. Your flagship needs to draw fire so the Hammerheads don’t evaporate immediately—but obviously, “getting your flagship shot” is not exactly a free win condition, so you’re juggling how much aggro it takes. Between PDIC, ET, and Leia-fueled Repairs, you should be fine… as long as you coordinate that with the Hammerhead strike and manage the squad screen. Bread-and-butter Armada, really. 🙂

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400 points

I see no reason to bid with this list. I’m not much of a bidder to begin with, and this fleet doesn’t meaningfully benefit from it.

Name: Leia Nautilian TFA 400
Faction: Rebel
Commander: Leia Organa [ARC]

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Asteroid Tactics
Navigation: Infested Fields

MC80 Command Cruiser (102)
• Leia Organa [ARC] (28)
• Raymus Antilles (7)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Point Defense Ion Cannons (6)
• Quad Battery Turrets (5)
• Nautilian [Legacy] (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
= 173 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 50 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 50 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 50 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Ahsoka Tano (2)
• Comms Net (2)
= 22 Points

Squadrons:
• Shara Bey (17)
• Tycho Celchu (16)
• 2 x A-wing Squadron (22)
= 55 Points

Total Points: 400

Variations and flex

There isn’t much I’d change here.

• PDIC → Leading Shots is the obvious “more damage” swap, and QBT + LS plays nicely. But you already have IF!, and the Hammerheads are the real spike damage anyway. PDIC also matters because… you’re flying an MC80 that must stay alive.

• TFA → TFO is the other big lever. You gain offense and free up 6 points, but your entire fleet becomes noticeably more brittle. You can spend the points on things like Chart Officer on Hammerheads (if you’re worried about formation), Bright Hope on the GR-75, Hardened Bulkheads on the MC80, or just keep a small bid if that’s your thing. Personally, for this concept, I want the durability, so I’m staying with TFA.

Objectives

These are debatable, and that’s fine.

• Most Wanted is here to maximize the payoff: three Slaved Hammerheads doing Leia-enabled CF into a Most Wanted target can be absolutely horrific.

• Opening Salvo is tempting but I think it’s a trap. Hammerheads don’t love return fire for “+1 die once,” and any serious damage on the MC80 can cost you a lot of points.

• Abandoned Mining Facility and Volatile Deposits are both solid alternatives for Yellow/Blue, but I’m deliberately using the “slug” objectives to discourage squad-centric fleets. Ideally they pick MW… or they get to struggle through the A-wing screen plan.

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600 points

At 600, you need another “center of gravity.” The MC80 can’t take all the aggro, and the Hammerheads still won’t survive being the only thing in range.

So I add:

• one more Hammerhead, and DCaps on all four for a stronger opening punch,

• an Assault Frigate as a second serious ship (tankier profile, credible at all ranges with the addition of Boarding Troopers) threat.

• a second GR-75 and more token support so the MC80 stays fed. Leia + ET + IF! makes the flagship… thirsty.

• two more A-wings (it's Sector Fleet, so max 150 squadron points for my opponent, so I HOPE this is enough).

Name: Leia Nautilian TFA 600
Faction: Rebel
Gamemode: Sector Fleet
Commander: Leia Organa [ARC]

Assault: Most Wanted
Defense: Asteroid Tactics
Navigation: Infested Fields

MC80 Command Cruiser (102)
• Leia Organa [ARC] (28)
• Raymus Antilles (7)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Point Defense Ion Cannons (6)
• Quad Battery Turrets (5)
• Nautilian [Legacy] (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
= 173 Points

Assault Frigate Mark II B (72)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Dual Turbolaser Turrets (4)
• Paragon (5)
= 91 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 53 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 53 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 53 Points

Hammerhead Scout Corvette (41)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• Slaved Turrets (6)
• Task Force Antilles (3)
= 53 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Ahsoka Tano (2)
• Comms Net (2)
• Bright Hope (2)
= 24 Points

GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Hondo Ohnaka (2)
• Comms Net (2)
• Quantum Storm (1)
= 23 Points

Squadrons:
• Shara Bey (17)
• Tycho Celchu (16)
• 4 x A-wing Squadron (44)
= 77 Points

Total Points: 600

600-point tweaks

Same levers as at 400, plus a couple more:

• Paragon → Hardened Bulkheads if you want less “fun” and more “this ship must live.”

• Swap transport titles if you want Ahsoka moving faster, but speed 3 is usually fine.

• If you love Slicers, you can do it by trimming Paragon and retooling the GR-75… but again: the MC80 wants tokens all game, so it might not be worth the effort.

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I think both versions come together nicely, and I think both TFA and TFO are viable—I just chose TFA here because this archetype really wants to keep the Hammerheads on the table for as long as possible.

And it’s genuinely cool to see how one ARC card (Leia) and one Legacy card (Nautilian) can enable a fleet type that wouldn’t really exist otherwise—without pushing into OP or NPE territory.

But what do you think? Is Nautilian a good title in general—and is it specifically a good title for ARC Leia? And if you’ve flown Hammerhead packages lately, are you team TFA or team TFO?

Fleet Dossier: Trench Insatiable Hyenas

 

The idea here is to revisit a fleet I played against at Scottish Not-A-Regional—but updated with the new Insatiable [Legacy] title. We talked about Insatiable in a recent post, and this is exactly the kind of shell where I think it shines.

The ceiling is straightforward and disgusting: between Trench and San Hill, you can push four Hyenas with Insatiable in a single window. That’s potentially all your shields stripped. But if that sequence lets you delete a key ship, you happily pay the price.

Running the list is both simple and not.

Simple, because the core plan is: concentrate Hyenas into one problem at a time, while Patriot Fist shapes the fight—finishing wounded ships, bullying small fry, and generally making sure the opponent can’t just ignore the ship part of your fleet.

Not simple, because CIS squad lists like this live and die on token management, aura ranges, and activation timing. Also: generic Hyenas and Vultures are absurdly efficient and absurdly fragile. They reward reps and punish sloppy positioning. But Fleet Dossier isn’t the place for a tactics clinic, so let’s get to the list.

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Trench Insatiable Hyenas (391)

Name: Trench Insatiable Hyenas
Faction: Separatist
Commander: Admiral Trench

Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions

Recusant-class Support Destroyer (90)
• Admiral Trench (32)
• Rune Haako (4)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Patriot Fist (6)
= 147 Points

Hardcell-class Transport (47)
• Tikkes (2)
• Auxiliary Shields Team (3)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Foreman’s Labor (5)
= 65 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• San Hill (3)
= 27 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• Insatiable [Legacy] (3)
= 27 Points

Squadrons (125)
• Jango Fett - Slave I (22)
• Wat Tambor - Belbullab-22 (18)
• DBS-404 - Hyena (17)
• 4 x Hyena (44)
• 3 x Vulture (24)
= 125 Points

Total Points: 391

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9 points is a lot — what to do with it?

A 9-point bid is… chunky. This list does benefit from some initiative control, but if you’re not playing the full “bid chess” game, you might as well go to 400 and buy more power.

Those 9 points can go in three directions:

1) More squadrons (up to 134).
You’re at 125, so you have room. You could push from 10 squads (5 drops) to 12 squads (6 drops) if you’re willing to go more generic. I’d keep Jango regardless—he’s doing real work against enemy aces. DBS-404 also feels “right” if you’re leaning into Insatiable.

If you want one neat upgrade: swapping a Vulture into DIS-T81 gives you a long-range control piece. Just don’t pretend it magically solves the anti-squad problem by itself.

2) Upgrade polish.
Patriot Fist can absolutely roll cold; it doesn’t have built-in dice fixing. Dual Turbolaser Turrets are a cheap consistency nudge. TRC is stronger but starts asking uncomfortable questions about points density on a ship that is still, at heart, a carrier Recusant.

3) Move Trench.
Putting Trench on the Hardcell spreads your points and reduces the “shoot the Recusant and the fleet falls apart” pressure. If you do that, Expert Shield Tech is a clean add—Trench likes being able to leverage that extra bit of shield discipline.

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My casual 400-point version

If I were running this at 400 into friends / casual online games, I’d do this:

Name: Trench Insatiable Hyenas 400
Faction: Separatist
Commander: Admiral Trench

Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions

Hardcell-class Transport (47)
• Admiral Trench (32)
• Tikkes (2)
• Expert Shield Tech (5)
• Auxiliary Shields Team (3)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Foreman’s Labor (5)
= 102 Points

Recusant-class Support Destroyer (90)
• Rune Haako (4)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Dual Turbolaser Turrets (4)
• Patriot Fist (6)
= 119 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• San Hill (3)
= 27 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• Insatiable [Legacy] (3)
= 27 Points

Squadrons (125)
• Jango Fett - Slave I (22)
• Wat Tambor - Belbullab-22 (18)
• DBS-404 - Hyena (17)
• 4 x Hyena (44)
• 3 x Vulture (24)
= 125 Points

Total Points: 400

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600-point version

This is a Sector Fleet build, so it’s 25% squadrons max (150). Locally, you might also enforce something like 1 ace per 150 to keep it grounded—feel free to ignore that if your group doesn’t care.

We’re also not chasing “competitive” at 600. That format isn’t really where bid/initiative theory lives. But we can still build efficiently and keep the archetype intact.

Name: Trench Insatiable Hyenas 600
Faction: Separatist
Gamemode: Sector Fleet
Commander: Admiral Trench

Assault: Precision Strike
Defense: Fighter Ambush
Navigation: Superior Positions

Hardcell-class Transport (47)
• Admiral Trench (32)
• Tikkes (2)
• Expert Shield Tech (5)
• Auxiliary Shields Team (3)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Foreman’s Labor (5)
= 102 Points

Recusant-class Support Destroyer (90)
• Rune Haako (4)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
• Patriot Fist (6)
= 122 Points

Munificent-class Star Frigate (73)
• Veteran Captain (2)
• Projection Experts (6)
• Thermal Shields (5)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Point Defense Ion Cannons (6)
• Sa Nalaor (5)
= 104 Points

Pinnace-class Corvette [Legacy] (43)
• Shu Mai (4)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
• Heavy Fire Zone (2)
• Koklivex [Legacy] (3)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
= 64 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• TI-99 (4)
= 28 Points

C-ROC Gozanti-class Cruisers {CIS} (24)
• San Hill (3)
• Insatiable [Legacy] (3)
= 30 Points

Squadrons (150)
• Jango Fett - Slave I (22)
• Wat Tambor - Belbullab-22 (18)
• DIS-T81 - Droid Tri-Fighter (17)
• DBS-404 - Hyena (17)
• 4 x Hyena (44)
• 4 x Vulture (32)
= 150 Points

Total Points: 600

Added: a Star Frigate, a Pinnace, plus the Tri-fighter ace and another generic Vulture.
Patriot Fist gets TRC. You could go LTT if you think flak matters more, but between red flak coverage and the LTT nerf, I’m not excited about paying for it here.

The Star Frigate is slow but reasonably tanky with Thermals + PDIC + Sa Nalaor. And honestly, any shot into that ship is a shot not going into something more important, so I’ll take it. Projection Experts helps the whole fleet, but I was specifically thinking about how this list wants to “buy time” for Insatiable turns.

Koklivex doing Heavy Ions + Heavy Fire Zone (two blue dice on a 43-point ship!) is probably too many eggs in one tiny basket… but come on. That combo is just cool.

San Hill moving onto Insatiable also frees room for TI-99, and we land at 600 on the dot. Works for me.

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My take: Is the 391/400 competitively viable?

Yes, with caveats. The core engine is real: Trench + San Hill + big Hyena package + BCC is absolutely capable of deleting ships, and Insatiable adds a nasty “burst” lever.

The caveats:

• You’re very squad-centric and your squads are fragile, so you’re punished hard by strong opposing anti-squad plans and by mistakes.

• Your ship plan is basically “support the squad plan,” and if you lose the carrier posture too early, the list can feel like it collapses.

• Your objectives are aggressive and can pay off big, but also invite counterplay if the opponent knows how to deny your scoring while still trading efficiently.

So: viable, but it’s a list that rewards reps more than it rewards clever listbuilding.

And the 600 version? Looks extremely fun, and it does what a good sector-fleet “scaled archetype” should do: keep the core identity, add staying power, add side threats, and not pretend it’s a totally different list.

And that’s Trench Insatiable Hyenas—a list that’s brutally simple in concept, but rewards you hard for getting the timing and positioning right.

What would you do with the flex points at 400: tighten the ships, add more bodies, or keep a smaller bid? And if you’ve put Insatiable [Legacy] on the table already, I’d love to hear what you paired it with—and whether it overperformed, underperformed, or landed exactly where you expected.

Got a fleet concept you want to see in a future Fleet Dossier? Drop it in the comments.

Armada Legacy Wave 1 Review (Part 3): Confederacy of Independent Systems

 

In Part 1 we looked at the Empire and Rebel additions: a fun set of “generiques” squadrons and a handful of titles, with Empire coming out a bit ahead.

In Part 2 we dug into the Republic, where the real meat of the wave begins: Admiral Coburn, two new Arquitens variants, and some titles that (depending on your tolerance for Salvo on smalls…) are either exciting or slightly alarming.

Now we wrap up Wave 1 with CIS: a new commander, a brand-new hull (yes, an actual new hull), three Pinnace titles that might be the cleanest title set I’ve seen in a long time, and a tasty Gozanti title for bomber enjoyers.

Let’s go.

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COMMANDER

Poggle the Lesser

Like Coburn, this guy went through a lot of iterations during playtesting. And I’m happy to say the version that made it isn’t the mechanically strongest one—it’s the one that fits Armada the best.

His ability to expand the “command token capacity” of CIS small ships is significant. Gaining a Repair token on deployment is, on its own, only moderately useful (smalls usually have low Engineering, so Repair tokens aren’t exactly premium)… but it ties directly into Poggle’s main trick: spend a command token to make attacks obstructed.

Making attacks obstructed is powerful. Requiring token spending as the limiter is top-tier game design. And by letting you start with a bonus token, you don’t have to spend the early game setting up the condition. Elegant, limited, and functional from turn one.

Let me go off on a tangent: compare this to mechanics like Bomber Command Center (huge auto-aura) or PDIC (infinite uses), and you can probably see why I’m so pleased. Poggle is elegant and constrained. BBC is a band-aid aura. PDIC is just… lame. Legacy 1 – FFG 0.

Back to Poggle.

He works on you (the flagship) and on non-flotilla small ships (your flagship can be any size). That wording matters. You can run him as pure CIS MSU, but you can also run him as “big flagship + small support.” Poggle on Patriot Fist wouldn’t be horrible. Poggle on a Providence won’t be horrible. You get the picture.

Another tangent: this is also great design. Imagine if Ackbar had said “non-flotilla.” Then the GR-75 Combat Refit might have been less silly. Legacy 2 – FFG 0.

And he only costs 20 points—Grievous-level cheap, but in many ways more flexible. Really like this guy.

Oh, and yes: he obviously works very well with the new dirt-cheap small ship released in this wave—the Pinnace.

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SHIP

Pinnace-class

This is a fully new hull—the first truly new ship we’ve seen since Wave 10 (Venator, Pelta, Recusants, Providence).

It’s CIS’s first speed 4 ship. It has 4 hull and no Brace. A true corvette. A true “squishy.”

Both variants share the classic corvette statline we know and love:

• Command 1

• Squadron 1

• Engineering 2

The nav chart is… something. It’ll take getting used to, but it also lets you go places other ships can’t, which means it can surprise people who plan their defense around “normal” turning behavior.

It only has a single Evade, which makes it more like a Consular than a CR90—but where the Consular has the sad little Contain, this thing gets a Salvo.

And once again: I’m a bit skeptical about putting Salvo on small ships, both mechanically and thematically. It’s just so much better than Contain. I get why it’s tempting, but it’s a trend I’m not thrilled about. Or rather, as a CIS player, it makes me very happy that the Pinnace has Salvo, but when I put on my "designer" glasses, I'm mildly uneasy.

That said, the rear battery is either blue/black or double blue, so it’s not like you’re salvoing people at long range. One variant can take DBY, but probably won’t, and neither variant can take Flak Guns, so… fine. Probably.

Arc layout is like an extreme Munificent: very narrow front, exaggerated sides. Combined with the nav chart, it’s awkward at first. But once you internalize it, it works. I will say this: side arcs that are meant for “kiting” usually want long-range dice. These short-range sides might feel clumsy until you get reps in.

Corsair

Corsair is the shorter-range version.

Blue/black battery only—very Raider-I/Consular-ish—but it’s closer to the Consular in that it lacks a Weapons Team to pair with the Ordnance slot. It does have Defensive Retrofit, which might get overlooked (partly because we have so few defensive upgrades that feel good on a ship like this).

Flak is a single black: fine, not exciting.

Cost is 40 points. That’s a tad high in isolation, but compared to other lightweight ships (especially ones that don’t come with Salvo), it reads as moderately priced. It also doesn’t need much upgrading to be useful, which helps keep the total cost reasonable.

Corvette

Corvette is the pricier version at 43 points.

For that, you get an almost uniformly blue battery, with a single red out the front. You also upgrade to two blue flak, which is genuinely excellent for a 43-point ship. The Legacy team really likes their flak, apparently.

It also gets a very spicy upgrade bar: in addition to the customary Officer slot, it can take Ion Cannon and Turbolaser.

That’s very strong… but you have to be careful not to overload such a brittle platform with too many points. The Pinnace will absolutely punish you for getting greedy.

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TITLES (Pinnace)

Koklivex

For 3 points you gain an Offensive Retrofit.

That’s amazing, and it works on both variants.

Disposable Capacitors is the obvious choice, letting you open early and hit before your opponent wants you in range. Corvette benefits the most. If you also take High-Capacity Ion Turbines, you can set up some very nasty early double arcs (which is easier than it looks with these arcs): strong long-range output before you even add your Concentrate Fire die.

But I’m also going to run Flak Guns + DBY at least once, purely for the “I can’t believe this is legal/I will make it legal” energy.

Petranaki

A clean defensive option: for 2 points, obstruction becomes “cancel 1 die” instead of “remove 1 die.”

That’s basically turning obstruction into an Evade-like effect that works at any range… but it gets much better if you can reliably create obstruction.

Hint: Poggle.

Equally useful on both variants. If Koklivex is the default offensive title, Petranaki is the defensive pick.

Visgura

A cheap little utility title that basically lets you use a Flag Bridge Fleet Command twice.

Example: Poggle on Patriot Fist. Add Flag Bridge + Intensify Firepower!. The first time you would discard IF!, you discard Visgura instead. Then you get to do it again later.

Neat for 2 points. Downside: you’re giving up Koklivex or Petranaki, so there’s a real opportunity cost.

Overall: these three titles might be the best-designed title set for any ship in the game. Varied, appropriately costed for the hull’s staying power, and useful without being oppressive.

If you want to be overly critical, you could ask: “Why would you even run a Pinnace without a title?” And that’s fair. But honestly, that’s true for plenty of ships. Armada titles often function as “this ship’s real identity.” Sometimes that’s healthy. Sometimes it just means the base ship is undercooked. Either way: I’ll take good titles over bad ones.

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FINAL CIS TITLE

Insatiable (CIS Gozanti)

This one is interesting.

It basically lets you turn a blue or red die into a black die, which can be significant in a world of Evades and PDICs.

Hyenas throwing 1 red + 1 black is a lot better than 2 reds, for example. It also plays nicely with HMP Droid Gunships if you’re into Raid nonsense.

But DBS-404 is the real star here: turn a red into a black, then add another black. That’s genuinely scary.

The catch is what keeps it fair: you have to actually command those squads, and you take 1 damage every time you use the effect. Unless you’ve got Projection Experts support lurking nearby, you can’t do this many times—unless you’re happy paying hull for damage output.

So this is a title that’s hard to judge in isolation. Yes, it’s costly. Yes, it has moving parts. But if you evaluate it as part of a Hyena-centric list (as you should), it starts to look like a deadly addition—not just for raw damage, but for adding much-needed consistency to those big bomber strikes.

Used correctly, in the right fleet? Easy A. Tossed in casually? It will feel awful.

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Closing thoughts on Wave 1

That concludes my three-part review of Legacy Wave 1.

There’s so much goodness here. The winners are obviously GAR and CIS—but that was the stated intent from the start. I really connected with Coburn’s design, and the Pinnace titles are an absolute masterclass in making upgrades feel exciting without being stupid.

Empire and Rebels also got something, and I’m grateful for that, even if I didn’t immediately connect with most of the Rebel stuff. Not because it’s bad—more because it’s niche. Empire’s additions feel more broadly useful, if you know what I mean.

In a broader sense, I'm extremely pleased with what Legacy wave 0+1 has added to the game. And that's coming from someone who is not traditionally very easy to please. Do I have some criticisms? Sure? Will some of them prove unfounded? Probably. Will some things end up needing cost tweaks or errata? Could happen, but if so, Legacy will fix it. They already did with a couple of wave 0 items!

Next time, I’ll go into some sample builds using the new toys. I’ll also try to finish the general ship review series—we’re only missing the Clone Wars ships now.

After that… we’ll see. Special Modifications will return, and I have some ideas. But what about you, dear reader? What would you like me to cover?