Stele Open AAR

Congrats again to Dan!

Stele Open is probably the most fun I've had at an Armada tournament to date. Our community continues to amaze me with just how enjoyable an experience they make these large tournaments. The level of play is continuing to rise. Considering I went 2-2 on the day, fifth place was far better than I expected. It helps that my losses were fairly close at 4-7 and 5-6, and my wins were pretty solid at 8-3 and 10-1. However, I think it mainly shows just how close many of the games were. Pete Hodgkins should have the final standing up soon, but the points were pretty tight. Now that I've had some time to reflect, let's go over what went wrong and what went right.

**Edit** For those that didn't catch my list in the Stele Open live updates, here's my list from the day:

Team Ramrod 

Author: Truthiness
Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 390/400   

Commander: General Madine

CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

-  Turbolaser Reroute Circuits  ( 7  points)
= 51 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

= 18 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

= 18 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette B (39 points)

-  Engine Techs  ( 8  points)
-  Reinforced Blast Doors  ( 5  points)
= 52 total ship cost

CR90 Corvette B (39 points)

-  Engine Techs  ( 8  points)
-  Reinforced Blast Doors  ( 5  points)
= 52 total ship cost

[ flagship ] MC80 Star Cruiser (96 points)

-  General Madine  ( 30  points)
-  Engine Techs  ( 8  points)
-  X17 Turbolasers  ( 6  points)
-  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
= 144 total ship cost

1 Tycho Celchu ( 16 points) 

1 Shara Bey ( 17 points)
2 A-Wing Squadrons ( 22 points) 

What Went Wrong

Damn you Demolisher!!!

Liberty was my biggest failure of the day. I could not seem to get it in the right position to save my life. The first game I got it mostly right. I just mistimed my squadrons, so it got hung out to dry in the middle of Yavaris squadrons. I was lucky as hell that it hung on as long as it did, because otherwise I wouldn't have gotten the tabling. Game two was much the same story, except I didn't even get it into the fight when I needed it. I was trying to use the CR90s to block the Arquitens' path and follow in with the Liberty, but I would have been better off doing the opposite. Finally, in the third game, I intentionally set it out there to keep Demolisher occupied, knowing it could deal with a couple salvos, but then I turned it back into the fight. This ended up giving Demolisher another shot at it, all the while it didn't really contribute to the fight in any meaningful way. It would have been better off disengaging and using Madine's maneuverability to stay behind Demolisher the rest of the way.

My squadron use was also questionable for the first two games. In the first game, I jumped out too early, allowing Treb's squadrons to clean mine out just in time for the main ship engagement. Somehow, despite recognizing the mistake going into the second game, I did it again against Mike. I jumped out even earlier, engaging some of his squadrons during the first turn. That gave his eclectic mix of Aces plenty of time to bomb the crap out of Liberty. Side note: Morna Kee fucking hurts.


What Went Right

I still can't get over this roll

I finally learned the right lesson with my squadrons in the third game. I made sure to keep the A-Wings tight to the GR-75s. The combination of anti-squadron batteries and A-Wing counter mauled the hell out of his squadrons, punching well above their level. I managed it again in the fourth game. If I get the timing right, it is a very effective grouping of squadrons. I'm considering swapping out one A-Wing for a VCX to get strategic in play, but I'm not sure I'm willing to disrupt the ball I have now.

The All-Stars were hands down the CRambo90s. They worked exactly as envisioned all day. I understandably got some odd looks and some questions on the forums. After all, I don't have Rieekan, so how effective can they be without being able to abuse the Zombie Lord? The answer is extremely effective if you know what to target. I'm not charging headlong into large ships. I mainly use them has flotilla and small ship hunters. Of the eight flotillas I faced on the day, only one survived. They are effectively speed 5, making them perfect for hunting down the ubiquitous lifeboat flotilla.

What is often overlooked is their armament is actually pretty darn good. A double arc is very easy to line up using Madine, and 5 blues is nothing to sneeze at. Once I was done ramming flotillas into paste, I could use my high activation count and high maneuverability to get them into side or rear arcs of larger targets. From there, I could use the blue dice to add punishment and rely on the Reinforced Blast Doors to ram if needed. The RBDs also make them more durable for working in at that medium range. Since I've started playing this list, I've been using RBDs to discard regular damage just about as often as I'm using them to discard ram damage.

Speaking of Madine, he's the part of the puzzle that makes these CRambo90s so good working as just a pair. They are capable of utterly ludicrous turns, which you really have to see to understand. He's pricey, but I think I've finally found a list where he works well.


Going Forward

Fear the CRambo

After playing this list and many variations of the list I took to Regionals, I think I'm just burned out on the Liberty. It feels much more fragile than the double braces would indicate and the firepower was often not all that impressive. Madine did a lot to make it better, but it still felt like there wasn't much it could do that other ships could do better. The large base keeps it difficult to squeeze into certain spots and an easy target for bombers.

Still, this list was an awful lot of fun to fly. The CRambos and Madine are an excellent match. I'm even finding him useful for bobbing and weaving with the TRC90 and helping the GR-75s adjust their approach with tokens. The squadrons, once I got the right timing, were also an excellent little ball. The key was getting them working in tandem with the GR-75 anti-squadron batteries. Once I did that, the cumulative damage from the black anti-squadron and counter really started to stack up.

As annoyingly ubiquitous as Admonition is both locally and on Vassal, I think it's the obvious replacement for the Liberty. With the right tools, it can hit just as hard if not harder than the Liberty. Its nav chart usually limits it to a single pass or lower speeds. With Madine, I'm hoping to change that tune a bit. The MC30's speed 4 chart suddenly isn't that limited once you add Madine clicks.

Commander's Guide - Corellian Conflict A-Wings

Continuing onward with Corellian Conflict so we can get to the Wave 5 goodness ahead.  Just got to talk about the A-Wings and B-Wings!  Today it will be the A-Wings.

After Action Report - Wave 2 Tournament - Round 1 vs Zanos

With Wave 2 out on Vassal, the best way to do things was to hold a new tournament.  Somehow, not learning my lesson, I found myself organizing the thing.  First round of the new Wave 2 Tournament had me matching up against a strong 3 ship Imperial fleet.  I've never played Zanos before, nor do I remember seeing him play, so he should be a new experience to play.

Interview With Worlds Champion Jonathan Reining

I managed to track down Armada World Champion Jonathan Reining and ask him a few questions about Worlds, his championship list, and what his thoughts were going forward.  Before anything else, I wanted to congratulate him for winning Worlds and becoming our first ever World Champion, and thank him for taking the time to answer the questions that I asked him.

The Sky Isn't Falling: Reaction to Worlds

Worlds is over, and with it Jonathan Reinig has taken first overall with his list of Garm Bel Iblis, 2 AFII-Bs, a CR90B, and 8 A-Wings.  Congratulations to him, especially for being our first World Champion for the game, but also for proving something we've really known all along:  Squadrons aren't bad or worthless, just requiring practice and skill to use effectively.

And Jonathan did use them effectively in two games streamed live on FFG's Twitch TV, using them to great effect to destroy his enemy's ships with nothing in the way of upgrades on his stock Assault Frigates and only a Token distributing Garm on his CR90B.  Using the A-Wings, the rebel fighter that is not only the most point-effective Interceptor in the game, but also a viable anti-ship platform and space superiority fighter (see Squadron Composition) he was able to go the distance, ending the tournament with 42 points to his nearest opponent's 37.

After Action Report - Massing at Sullust

Hello everyone!  I had the chance to officiate for, and run in the Massing at Sullust event today at my local game store, Drawbridge Games.  First off, a big shout out to the store owner, Enrico, for letting a group of Armada enthusiasts basically take over his store for essentially the entire day.  We had 6 total attendees, which is actually a fairly large turnout for the area - we are still growing by word of mouth.  Drawbridge did manage to grab the only Massing at Sullust event for the area - Morgantown had one the previous day that I don't believe anyone that came to this one made it to, and Dublin, OH had the next closest one.  We had room for 10 players, and 5 had pre-registered, so an all-around good number.

Also a big shout-out to my Co-Officiant Chris - he had been a huge help getting the whole thing off the group, brainstorming with me and Enrico on logistics for the event (how to turn 3 tables, only two of which were big enough for Armada) into room enough for 10 players.

Because we had less than 8 participants, we decided to follow FFG's suggested round change that they had in the rule insert for the kit - 2 rounds and a cut to the top 2.

Commander's Guide - A-Wing

Well, we last talked about TIE Interceptor, so it's time to chat about the Rebel's interceptor, the A-Wing!

A-Wings keeping a TIE Bomber away from the Corvette.

A-Wing Squadron

The generic A-Wing, like the Imperial's TIE Interceptor, is an 11 point squadron, with the keyword COUNTER 2 and a speed of 5.  Unlike the TIE Interceptor squadron, the A-Wing doesn't have the SWARM keyword - and so does not benefit from rerolls when around other allied squadrons.

However, it does have one extra hull, and at 4 hull can maximize the number of COUNTER attacks it can make before it goes down.  For that extra hull though, it loses out on 1 Blue dice on its regular anti-squadron attack, giving it a total of 3 Blue dice.  With that and without SWARM, the A-Wing has less pure anti-squadron firepower on its activation compared to the TIE Interceptor.

The A-Wing is a better all around squadron though, as it boasts 1 Black die on anti-ship armament.  While it lacks the BOMBER keyword, it does still have 6/8 chance to do one damage per attack.  With the extra hull, it isn't as likely to drop against anti-squadron fire from enemy ships.  It is still the weakest of the Rebel squadrons for anti-ship attacks.

The A-Wing's best talent is engaging enemy bombers, which it can overwhelm with it's COUNTER attacks.  The A-Wing really shines with Gallant Haven and its COUNTER ability - because it takes less damage and its natural 4 hull, the A-Wing becomes the single most point efficient squadron in the game for anti-squadron power.

Tycho Celchu

Tycho maximizes the potential of the A-Wing as an interceptor, being able to move or attack ships, even when he is engaged.  Because he is impossible to lock down himself and with the A-Wing's natural speed of 5, Tycho's A-Wing can engage the most dangerous enemy squadron every turn.  And with both a Brace and a Scatter token - the only Rebel ship to have Scatter, he maximizes his COUNTER ability against any enemy that is engaged with him.

In this way, Tycho works best on his own, dividing your foes while your other squadrons engage a separate group.  If done right, you can have local superiority over the enemy, mop them up, and then turn to engage the group Tycho was already softening up.

Overall, the A-Wing is a balanced ship that relies on its speed and its COUNTER to engage enemy bombers and can participate in anti-ship fire when all opposing bombers are destroyed.  Not as good at anti-squadron attacks, or improved by non-A-Wing fighters working with it, the A-Wing functions best either as a homogeneous group, or as a small group of independent interceptors.

Well that is it for this round of the Commander's Guide.  Join us next time as we talk about the two red headed step children of the squadron families - the TIE Advanced and the B-Wing.