Just a goofy picture from the World Cup. |
First off, many of the principles of building your Rebel lists still apply here - you aren't going to be able to reasonably bring in anything to huge after the initial round of building, so if you want a Medium base ship or an ISD, now is your chance to make sure it is in the cut. Always a chance you get to become HUGE (see Vassal CC#2 on the forums for the Empire doing just that) but you shouldn't be counting on it.
No, if you're going to be adding ships after the first turn, it'll be smaller things like Gozantis, Raiders, Arquitens, and maybe a Gladiator. Which is what we are going to talk about today in terms of initial builds and setting them up for success.
Best Imperial First Upgrades:
Gozanti-Class - This is going to look very familiar to anyone who read the Rebel version.
General Upgrades:
Expanded Hangers - 3 squadron activations for relatively cheap.
Comms Net - Feed tokens with your activations to "better" ships.
Bomber Command Center - Improve your bombers.
Assault Upgrades:
None! Just take Vader along with GR-75 Assault Carriers!
Defensive Upgrades:
Jamming Field - Cheap and keeps your squadrons alive.
Repair Teams - An actual option with the Empire thanks to more hull than shields.
Assassin Upgrade:
Slicer Tools - Shut down that Engineering Command!
Raider - The cheapest "true combat" ship. Can go into the fight with no upgrades in a pinch, but there are some cheap things that help it stand out.
General Upgrades:
Quad Laser Turrets - Anti-squadron defense for the Raider keeps your opponent from swarming it... or at least punishing them if they do. Give it a look.
Raider I & Ordnance Expert - Blow up fighters, blow up ships. Ordnance Experts lets you do both better.
Assault Upgrades:
Raider I & APT / ACM - Guess you've picked Vader or Screed then.
Defensive Upgrades:
Raider I & Flichette Torpedoes - Even better with Ordnance Experts, but 2 Black dice is a good starting point for Flichettes, and can't be dismissed out of hand. Great for a screening ship.
Raider II & Kallus - Reach out and touch somebody that wants Veteran.
Assassin Upgrades:
Raider I & Expanded Launchers - Remember when Clontroper did this? Sure you lose out on Ordnance Expert, but the little guy hits like a sack of bricks and has a "dead zone" almost as nasty as a VSDI for faster and cheaper. And very cheap (22 points) to unscar.
Raider II & Overload Pulse - Avenger fun times! (or even without Avenger, it's a good time). Set up a shot and plow through with something else nasty. Tricky to set up if the opponent sees it coming, so be sneaky.
Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser - This one is pretty easy, all things considered:
General Upgrades:
Turbolaser Reroute Circuit - For all offense and no defense!
Dual Turbolaser Turrets - For some offense with no loss of defense!
Centicore Title - What's like taking 15 points of shuttle for 3 points?
Defensive Upgrades:
Advanced Projectors - Probably the best defensive retrofit you can put onto the thing - double redirects and not a lot of XI7s on the initial field.
Defensive Upgrades:
Advanced Projectors - Probably the best defensive retrofit you can put onto the thing - double redirects and not a lot of XI7s on the initial field.
Gladiator-Class Star Destroyer - Demolisher
General Upgrades:
Demolisher
Assault Upgrades:
Demolisher
Defensive Upgrades:
Demolisher
Assassination Upgrades:
Demolisher
I mean, you can't just have Demolisher on every list, but just imagine if you could. Other upgrades could be Ordnance Experts for pretty much anything not named Demolisher, or maybe Insidious for a decent flanker. Jonus should probably tag along if you're going for a flanker with a GSD-II an actual viable option these days. Engine Techs work well too, though you'll probably miss Ordnance Experts if you don't have Screed or Vader.
Clonisher5 says from out in the Unknown Regions: "Although I think there is something to be be said for not putting demo out there right away in order to protect it until you can make a super ship in the late game. otherwise you risk demo scarring before he does to much".
Clonisher5 says from out in the Unknown Regions: "Although I think there is something to be be said for not putting demo out there right away in order to protect it until you can make a super ship in the late game. otherwise you risk demo scarring before he does to much".
Next we'll talk about Medium and Large ships! Probably Rebels first! Stay tuned!
There is no reason not to take Demo ASAP. Just be careful with it in the first match. And even if it's destroyed, it's cheap to unscar. I don't see any downside. Game 2 and you'll likely have all the key upgrades, barring an exceptionally bad first round.
ReplyDeleteCan't say I disagree with your post here. Maybe a better plan if you're going to hold Demo in reserve is to see which fleet needs it the most after the first round?
DeleteAre. Arquitens I think Blast Doors are worth considering. Those double redirects will do the trick on their own, without recourse to AP. Well, that's the idea anyway; haven't actually tested it, since I couldn't afford to :D
ReplyDeleteI just worry about anything with 5 (or 6) hull popping apart before they can use the blast doors, Rieekan Zombie - shot after they activated - style.
DeleteFrom what I've seen, an Arquitens can generally hold out long enough to pop the blast doors unless you do something brain dead like park it in front of Mon Karren (which I did).
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