Super Star Destroyer - Winners and Losers

Something big is coming... Soon...  No, I don't know when.

Anyways, instead of just sitting around being bored talking about nothing, let's make wild predictions about how the game is going to change when the SSD shows up!

Armada Meta Deep Dive: Imperial Two Ship

No, you're not reading anything wrong. It's really just two ships: an ISD and a Quasar. This build is the latest hotness sweeping Vassal.

Armada Meta Deep Dive: Raddus Bomb

Part one of six of our Armada Regionals deep dive!

Pre-Regionals Armada Meta Review

We're only a few weeks out from the start of Regionals season. While we're still waiting on FFG to publish a full list, your FLGS should already know if they got one. The community has been putting together a list, so head over to the forums for the latest and greatest. It also wouldn't be Regionals season if I didn't take a look at the meta and make some crazy predictions!

Massing the Fleet

Store Championship season is in full swing and some major tournaments are on the horizon in the United States. North American Championships at GENCON are just around the corner as of this writing and US Nationals at the NOVA Open are just a month after that. The last errata updates for Star Wars Armada was a pretty substantial change for the competitive scene. There are new considerations to keep in mind along with some old ones coming back into play. If you've been following Shmitty and I's Sato escapades, you'll know that it's worth taking a look at some disfavored commanders once more. They may have quietly become a good deal better with the changes. Some smaller changes, such as those to Gallant Haven and Yavaris, have caused some minor changes in tactics. While significant in rebalancing some of the most dominant fleet builds, they didn't cause any major changes in the overall makeup of the game’s meta. For the largest impact on the meta, you have to look to the changes to flotillas in the tournament regulations. Despite their diminutive stature, Gr-75 Transport and Gozanti Cruisers had an outsized impact on the game, leading to a pair of significant changes. With that all that in mind, it's time for a nice hard look at what that has meant for the meta.

Predicting the Armada World's Meta

We're a little less than a month out from Worlds. Of the three of us, only Biggs is able to go. So as a dispassionate observer (fine, peanut gallery), I thought I'd take a look at what we might expect in this post-errata meta.

200 Articles Posted!

Another impressive milestone for those of us who understand math from a base 10 system, we've published 200 articles on Steel Squadron HQ!  Well, we did just now, with this article, because it is #200!  That's 200 articles of the best strategy and tactical advance you could ever ask for!  And that doesn't include the pages that we've put up to make finding old articles and understand the game better.

Let's take a look at what got us here.

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.

Commander's Guide - Raider Class Corvette

It's time to dig more into the Wave 2 ships with a new Commander's Guide, specifically the Imperial's Raider Class Corvette, the first thing without "Star Destroyer" somewhere in the name that the Imperials can put down on the table.  Not that this "Personal Pan" pizza slice doesn't look similar to literally everything the Imperials have.  It does get the honor of filling some roles that the previous Star Destroyers couldn't or were not the ideal choice for, specifically anti-squadron support and as an weapon upgrade platform.

Let's take a look at the Raider, and see what's under the hood of the new Imperial support ship.

The Raider Class Corvette, covering the far Left flank with a GSD

Commander's Guide - MC80 Mon Cal Cruiser - 50th Article Bonanza!

We've reached a milestone here at the Steel Squadron - this is our 50th article that we've put up!  Admittedly, a couple of those articles were about X-Wing Miniatures (and left us with the ironic web address) and one of them was just proof that I did, in fact, have a mustache and thus was Biggs in Real Life.

But, 50 total!  And to do something special for the big Five-Oh, we're going to go back to what put us on the map - the Commander's Guides!  Still one of our most popular articles months after we put them out.  And today we're going to talk about our first Wave 2 ship, the MC80 Mon Cal Cruiser, being released in the Home One expansion sometime soon (or already in your hands if you won one at Sullust)

The MC80 Mon Cal Cruiser Variants

Commander's Guide - Assault Frigate Mark II

This article is part of the Commander's Guide series.

After our last discussion on the Victory Class Star Destroyer, there is only one ship left to discuss - the Assault Frigate Mark II (AFII).  The AFII is a Medium ship, and the biggest ship currently available on the Rebel side of the board.  However, even as a medium ship, it flies much differently than the Imperial's VSD and boasts a much different armament.

The Assault Frigate Mark II

Overall:

The AFII comes standard with  Command value of 3, putting it equal to the VSD as the least responsive ships on the board.  However, due to its Command value it is capable of stocking tokens for later use.  It also comes standard with a Engineering value of 4, putting it even with the VSD in staying power, recovering 2 shields per turn with a command dial, or 1 with a token.  With the help of the Redemption, it can even us tokens to repair hull damage at 3 total.

For defense, the AFII is equipped with the strongest single shield arc currently in the game at 4 for its fore shields, with 3 on each side arc, and 2 rear.  With that, it also currently has the distinction of the largest amount of shields currently in the game - 12 to the VSD's 10.  It doesn't quite have the VSD's hull though, as the standard numbers there are 8 to the AFII's 6.  Also unlike the VSD, it is less able to take advantage of it's shielding, losing one of the VSD's redundant Redirect tokens for an Evade, but retaining the other Redirect and Brace.

Also unlike the VSD, the AFII can actually make speed 3, though it isn't particularly maneuverable there.  At top speed, the ship has a yaw value of 1 at the 2nd and 3rd pips, giving it a 45 degree turning radius without a navigation command dial.  At speed 2 it retains the yaw, getting a value of 1 at both pips, and at speed 1 it only gets a yaw of 1.  Still that gives the ship twice the turning radius of a VSD at speed 2, and the chance to outdistance the much slower Imperial counterpart.

All ships have the strongest long range side arc currently in the game, with a total of 3 Red / 1 Blue.

Upgrades for the ship are also standard, with Commanders, 2 Titles, Officer, Weapons Team, Offensive Modification, Defensive Modification, and Turbolasers.

Assault Frigate Mark II A:

The Assault Frigate Mark II A (AFII-A) comes in at 81 points, just 4 points short of the VSD2 for most expensive ship in the game.  For this, you get a Squadron value of 2, equal to the NebB-E as an escort carrier.

You also get a 2 Red / 1 Blue fore arc, and 2 Red / 1 Blue rear arc, putting them even with the CR90's front arc / VSD's side arc for damage.  In addition to this, you also have 2 Blue for anti-squadron armament, putting the ship equal to a GSD2 or a NebB-E for anti-squadron combat.

Assault Frigate Mark II B:

The Assault Frigate Mark II B (AFII-B) is the cheaper of the two, coming in 9 points lower at 72 total, or just one point shy of a VSD1.  For getting back those 9 points, you lose the 1 Blue on the fore and aft, giving you only 2 Red in both fore / aft arcs.  You also lose one of the Blue anti-squadron dice, leaving the ship with only 1 Blue for its anti-squadron attacks.

However, the ship does gain a point in Squadron Value, putting it even with the VSD at 3 Squadron value total, making it an excellent ship for a true carrier roll.

AFII denies a flank to the GSD against the Nebulon B

Upgrades:

Just about any commander works well with the AFII.  Mon Mothma improves the ship's Evasion token to Medium Range for discarding a dice and Close Range for rerolls.  Dodonna lets you make the best out of your criticals, and with 3 Red / 1 Blue out of your side arc, you can push some damage through their shields.  Finally, Garm Bel Iblis gives you 3 command tokens at the start of R1 and R5, not a bad stock for your high command value ship.

For titles, there are only two.  "Paragon", for a mere 5 points, lets you maximize damage against a target dumb enough to park in the middle of two of your arcs, with an extra 1 Black at any range on your second attack.  This does stack with a concentrate fire command, so not only do you get to be the only Rebel ship to roll a black die, you can roll two!  That'll put the hurt onto a VSD.

"Gallant Haven" (8 points) goes the other way, being a defensive upgrade for your squadrons, reducing the damage they take from an attack by 1.  Note that this is after any unique squadrons have used their defense tokens.  Suddenly Luke and Wedge have effective "Scatter" against 2 successful hits from a TIE Fighter.  This can really tilt the squadron battle in your favor if you can keep it within distance 1 of the Gallant Haven.

For Officers, Leia is practically worthless.  With a command of 3, changing another ship's command isn't very useful.  She is, however, an excellent addition on another ship in a fleet with an AFII.  Adar Tallon lets you select one squadron to activate a second time when you utilize a Squadron command.  Excellent for maximizing a named pilot like Wedge or Dutch, or getting a B-Wing into position for a bombing run.  Finally, Raymus Antilles gives the ability to maximize your command token activation, and due to a Command value of 3, banking the tokens you don't need.

Much like the VSD, the Liaisons work well with a Command 3 ship, as do Veteran Captains, giving you the command that you need when you need it.  Intel Officers are also an excellent addition to the AFII, due to it's large Red dice arcs and chance to get multiple hits on a single target over several turns.

Flight Controllers improves your AFII-B's squadron activations, giving the squadrons an extra 1 Blue anti-squadron armament.  Gunnery Team allows you to take advantage of your large side arcs for long range shots on multiple targets, or to shoot at both a ship and squadrons, though it doesn't work well with the Paragon title.  Sensor Team lets you make the most of your Red dice, by dropping a missed die to gain an Accuracy icon.  The more dice you get to shoot, the more effective Accuracy results are, and the more likely you are to have some blank dice results.

Offensive Upgrades give the option of Expanded Hanger bay, a good upgrade for the AFII-B, to increase your Squadron value to 4.  Point-Defense Re-route works better with the AFII-A, giving you a reroll for each of your Crit results when performing anti-squadron attacks at close range.

Defensive Upgrades give two options as well.  Advanced Projectors let you utilize all of your shields with the Redirect action, moving them to whichever shield arc is needed, even if it is on the other side of the ship.  Electronic Countermeasures let you utilize the most important defense token, even if your opponent has enough accuracy results.

Finally Turbolasers.  Enhanced Armament improves the already best long range side arc by an additional 1 Red.  XX-9 Turbolasers help you maximize Dodonna's ability, more face up damage cards if a crit effect sneaks through onto the hull.  H9 Turbolasers let you turn a hit result into an accuracy, getting better long range hits with your one accuracy result on your Red dice.  Finally XI-7 Turbolasers let you neutralize the VSD's greatest asset, the Redirect token redundancy, but making only 1 damage able to be redirected at a time.

The AFII integrated into the Rebel Fleet

Roles:

Centerpiece - Because of the natural stats and defensive options available, the AFII makes for an excellent centerpiece to build around for your fleet.

Broadside - The ship works its best when it can bring its powerful side arc to bear on the target, even more if it can get a single target in its sweet spot, the line between the front and side arcs.  With the Paragon title, Enhanced Armaments, and a Concentrate Fire command, an AFII can put out a total of 6 Red / 2 Black over two attacks at long range, for an average damage of 6.5, and maximum of 16!

Carrier - The biggest Rebel carrier, an AFII-B with Expanded Hanger Bay can activate up to 4 ships in a single activation.  With Tallon and Flight Controllers, as well as Gallant Haven, the AFII-B can dominate local space superiority.  Even the AFII-A can fill in as an escort carrier, with 2 squadrons activated.

Escort - A bit high on points, but while filling another role, the AFII-A can support with anti-squadron barrages.

Shield - Due to its larger base, and good shields, the AFII can cover a side to keep another heavy hitter, like a Neb-B, covered from GSD flankers.

**Wave 2 Updates**

Well that's it for ships in the Commander's Guide.  As usual, please let me know what, if anything, I am missing.  And anything I got wrong.  Or anything you'd like to see me cover in the future.  Until next time, folks!

Commander's Guide - Victory Class Star Destroyer

This article is part of the Commander's Guide series.

Hello again everyone.  After discussing all three of the small base ships, today we are finally going to start discussing the two Medium ships of wave 1, currently the largest base ships in the game, and we are going to start with the Victory Class Star Destroyer (VSD).  This ship represents a major departure in terms of stats, strategy, and roles within your fleet from any of the small ships.

Victory Star Destroyers Enter the Battle

Overall Statistics:

The VSD comes standard with a Command of 3, the highest currently in the game, shared only with the other Medium ship, the Assault Frigate.  This requires that you plan several turns ahead what sort of command you will need for that turn.  It also has the highest native Squadron value, also at 3.  The ship excels in a Carrier type role, and can do a passable job even if it isn't specifically upgraded for the role.  The ships also have a baseline 4 Engineering value, making the ship easily able to repair a few minor scratches with an engineering command (2 shields recovered)

For defense, the ship comes with 8 total hull (10 with Motti) making it the heartiest ship on the field.  For shields, it boasts a total of 3 on it's fore and side arcs, and 1 shield on it's rear arc.  For defensive tokens, the VSD has one Brace token and 2 Redirects, giving it impressive staying power, and the chance to utilize all of it's shields.

The drawback to this is speed.  The ship is slow, and not easy to maneuver, having a max speed of 2.  For that matter, the VSD only has a Yaw of 1 at either speed.

The VSD also has a standard anti-squadron armament of 1 Blue die.

For upgrades, all VSD come with Officers, Weapons Team, Offensive Retrofit, and Turbolasers, in addition to Titles and Commanders.

Victory I-Class Star Destroyer

The Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (VSD1) comes in at 73 points, and comes with a bevy of long range and short range dice.  3 Red / 3 Black in the front arc, 2 Red / 1 Black on the sides, and 2 Red on the rear.  It also comes with ordinance upgrade.  Of all the ships, the VSD1 has the arc with the highest expected damage (5.25 average / 12 points maximum).  The caveat to this is that the arc only has that output at short range.  Long range the ship has the expected damage of the Nebulon B, with nothing in between.

It also gains the ordinance upgrade, letting it maximize the black dice that it has out of the front arc.

Victory II-Class Star Destroyer

The Victory II-Class Star Destroyer (VSD2) is 12 points more expensive (85 points total).  For those extra points, you get your black dice upgraded to medium range Blue dice - 3 Red / 3 Blue in the front Arc and 2 Red / 1 Blue on each side Arc.  In addition, the Ordinance upgrade is swapped out for Ion Cannons.

Upgrades

Because of it's large hull, defense tokens and shields, the VSD makes an excellent flagship for your fleet.  For commanders, Motti will increase your hull value by 2 points, from 8 to 10, making an already difficult to bring down ship that much more rugged.  Screed works well in conjunction with either the Black dice of the VSD1, or with Crit related upgrades of Ion Cannons with the VSDII.  Meanwhile Tarkin's tokens work well when you can bank the tokens with your 3 command.

The VSD also has 3 different titles that improve different aspects of the ship.  The "Corrupter" (5 points) increases your BOMBER keyword squadrons speed by 1 when you activate them, making the ship an excellent carrier platform.  The "Dominator" (12 points) lets you spend your shields (up to 2) to add Blue dice (up to 2) to attack at close-medium range, giving you the chance to sacrifice your staying power for a more powerful attack.  The "Warlord" on the other hand lets you change Accuracy icons to a face with a Hit icon.  This title works very well with H9 turbolasers, especially for anti-squadron fire, but can also be used to increase your damage if you roll too many Accuracy tokens out of your front arc with a VSD2.

Officers for the VSD start with Admiral Chirneau (10 points) who improves a squadron activation to let you move engaged units at a speed of 2.  This can let you disengage bombers for a strike, or disengage wounded squadrons from a fighter scrum.  Combined with the 3 Squadron value, it lets you make the most of Admiral Chirpy.  Director Isard (3 points) lets you investigate command dials from an enemy ship every time you activate yours.  And Wulff Yularen (7 points) lets you make the most of the VSD's command value by preserving command tokens that you use for a later round.

For non-unique officers - Defense Liaisons and Weapons Liaisons are more useful with the large command value - being able to switch instantly to the appropriate command dial is helpful, especially with the ability bank tokens with your 3 Command Value.  For that matter, you might need to change your commands more often, especially with the 3 Command Value.  Intel Officer continues to be exceptionally useful for creating chances to disrupt enemy's defense tokens.  Meanwhile Veteran Captain is also useful for the same reason as the Liaisons, being able to get a necessary token at a moments notice.

Weapons Teams let you build your VSD for it's role.  Flight Controllers give you an anti-squadron boost to your activated squadrons.  Gunnery Team lets you make the most out of your large front arc, by firing at multiple ships that wind up inside it.  Sensor Team lets you guarantee an accuracy, and you'll likely have a blank die or two you spend with your attack.

For Offensive upgrades, Expanded Hanger Bay increases your Squadron Value up to 4, making for an even better Carrier.  Point-Defense Reroute lets you re-roll Crit rolls at close range.  Not very useful if you are already running Warlord / H9, but less expensive than that combo and can be used on multiple ships.

Ordinance upgrades can only go on the VSD1.  Assault Concussion Missiles give you an extra 2 damage for your critical effect, though on adjacent hull zones.  Excellent for a knock out punch or to limit the amount an opponent can redirect.  Expanded Launchers adds two more Black Dice for a possible 4 extra damage from your front arc at close range.

Ion Cannons can only go on the VSD2.  Leading shots let you spend a blue dice to fix a particularly egregious roll, and has excellent synergy with "Dominator"  Ion Cannon Batteries let you strip command tokens, or extra shields for a critical effect.  And Overload Pulse lets you exhaust all defense tokens - good if your ship is opening the attack.

Finally Turbolaser upgrades can work on any VSD.  Enhanced Armament lets you utilize your side arcs for long range combat - putting them at 3 Red dice and the same as your front arc.  H9 turbolasers, let you maximize your accuracies, by sacrificing a hit or critical effect.  Again, H9 and Warlord work quite well together, letting you turn a Crit to an Accuracy, and than an Accuracy to a Hit for anti-squadron fire, or a Hit > Accuracy > Double Hit for Red dice.  XI-7 turbolasers can help your knock out blows really count.  XX-9 Turbolasers let your big dice add multiple face up damage cards. 

Making the most of a Squadron Command

Roles

Area Denial - The big front arc with 6 dice is a wonderful deterrent.  The VSD is very, very good at picking a spot on the map and saying "Don't Go Here".

Carrier - The VSD with Expanded Hangar Bay can activate 4 squadrons per turn.  Flight Controllers and Admiral Chirpy make it even better.

Tank - The VSD is incredibly hard to bring down.  Though it is slow, it won't go down quickly.

Centerpiece - Because of how large and tanky it is, the VSD can become the centerpiece for your fleet.  It can handle a large number of points in upgrades and survive through to the end of the 6th round.

The Victory isn't a subtle ship.  It's big, it has a huge angry front arc, and it is very slow.  But it is a terror on the battlefield that moves slowly toward a point, and destroys everything that gets in its way.

Let me know what you think - did I miss anything?  Get anything wrong?  Next time we will be discussion the Assault Frigate Mk II!

Commander's Guide - Nebulon B Frigate

This article is part of the Commander's Guide series.

Hello again, Commander!  Previously we discussed the CR90 Corvette and the Gladiator Class Star Destroyer, and today we will be wrapping up our discussion on the smaller ships from Wave 1 with the Nebulon B Frigate (NebB).  As before, we will be going over the stat lines for the ship, differences between the two variants, upgrades that the ship can equip, and roles that the ship can fill within your list.  So without further ado...

Nebulon B at it's preferred distance from a Gladiator.

Overall Statistics

The Nebulon B Frigate comes standard with a Command of 2, giving them the eqivalent responsiveness of a Gladiator Class.  They also come with an Engineering value of 3, giving them the chance to remove damage with a dial, or a shield with a token.

Both models also come with 5 hull, again equivalent to a GSD.  Shields are a bit different, with 3 shields fore, 2 aft, and only 1 on either side.  Also of note is that the ship doesn't have a redirect, instead having 2 Brace tokens and 1 Evade token for defense.

The weaponry on the ship is mostly Red, with 3 Red on the fore, 1 Red / 1 Blue on the sides, and 2 Red in the Aft.  

The other big thing to note, and isn't apparent on the card itself, is how large the side arcs are for the ship - they are each twice the angle of the fore arc.  Between the weaponry favoring the Fore, and shields heavily favoring the Fore, this ship requires careful maneuvering to avoid getting slammed by the bigger guns of the Imperials.

With that in mind, the ship has a maximum speed of 3, with it's turning speed directly related to how fast it is moving.  At speed 1, it has a yaw of 1, at speed 2 a yaw of 1 at both 2 and 1, and at speed 3 a yaw of 2 at 3, and 1 at 2.  Because of its need for careful maneuvering, and low yaw values, especially at the low speeds you want during an approach, consider maneuver commands to keep your options open.

Speaking of maneuvering, the Nebulon B all come with a Support Team upgrade, in addition to Commanders, Titles, Officers, and Turbolasers.

Nebulon B Support Refit

The cheaper of the two options at 51 points, the Support Refit (NebB-S) comes with a Squadron value of 1, making it ineffective with a role as a carrier.  It also comes with 1 Blue anti-squadron armament.

The role for this ship offensively is a pure sniper.  With the 3 Red / 3 Shield front, and an evade token, the ship wants to engage from it's front arc at long range, avoiding close range confrontation at all possible.

Nebulon B Escort Frigate

The more expensive option at 6 points more (57 total), the Escort Frigate (NebB-E) variant has a Squadron value of 2, giving it a better role as a potential carrier build, as well as 2 Blue for anti-squadron armament.

With the large side arcs, the ship makes an excellent anti-fighter support platform, for assisting your squadrons in taking down enemy fighters and bombers.  And with the right upgrades can be an effective Escort Carrier build.

Upgrades

The ship comes with 3 options for titles.  The Redemption (8 points) is the first - giving your ships within Range 5 a bonus engineering point whenever it resolves an engineering command.  This is a fairly substantial defensive buff - for example with a 3 Engineering value the bonus point would give you 4 points (2 shields restored) for a dial, or 3 points (damage card discarded) for a token.  With Corvettes and their 2 engineering, you'd have 3 points on a dial, or 2 points on a token.  Assault Frigates go to 5 (damage card discarded and a shield restored!) for a dial and 3 for a token.  Combine with Engineering Teams on your ships for even more ridiculous repairs.  Just note that it doesn't improve both your dial and your token if you spend both on one engineering command.

The Salvation (7 points) takes the sniper aspect of the NebB's front arc, and dials it up.  Now all critical results on the red die (2 / 8 faces) count as double hits.  This bumps up the expected damage return for the red dice from .75 / die to 1.00 / die - a 33% increase in your expected damage from the front arc.

The Yavaris (5 points) improves the NebB-E's role as an escort carrier, by giving squadrons activated by the ship the chance to double attack if they don't move.  This can turn the tide in anti-squadron combat or let you get a double B-Wing strike on an unguarded ship.

For Commanders, Dodonna is kind of the baseline - crit fishing isn't exactly what a NebB is doing, though it is welcome when it does happen.  Mon Mothma gives your NebB more defensive options if a Gladiator gets in close, and a Gladiator will really, really want to get in close.  Brace can only do so much against a Screed Gladiator.  Bel Iblis is more useful here than a Corvette, as you have 2 tokens that you can bank instead of just one.

For Officers, Leia really isn't as effective as when she was in a Corvette, though she could work in a support role with a NebB-S / Redemption always taking Engineering Commands.  Raymus Antilles works well on a Nebulon B going for either a sniper build (Extra dice / reroll) or escort carrier (3 squadrons to double attack!)  Adar Tallon can work, though you'll likely want him on a different ship than the Yavaris, so that the squadron he deactivates can move / shoot, then shoot / shoot.

For non-unique officers, Intel Agent works well, especially combined on a sniper style build with XI-7 Turbolasers - can't Redirect much damage, and now they are running out of Brace tokens.  Veteran Captain can help be an emergency engineering token / maneuver token as needed.  The Liaisons probably aren't terribly effective for this build - unless you are taking Iblis or Antilles, you won't have that many tokens, and with Command 2, you shouldn't be too surprised by what will happen in the round.

For Support Teams - Nav Team gives you a big buff to your yaw while you are doing Speed 1 turns, especially combined with Veteran Captain / Antilles / Iblis, or even banking a Maneuver command on Turn 1.  Engineering Team gives you the same boost above for the Redemption, but just for your ship (and stacks with a Redemption buff) - not enough to turn a NebB into a true tank, but enough to repair a few long distance pot shots each round.  Finally, Engine Tech is just not as useful on a NebB as it was on a GSD or CR90 - due to not having a 2 Yaw Speed 1 maneuver - you'd have better maneuver options at Speeds 1 and 2 with Nav Team for half the cost (8 points vs 4 points).

Finally, for Turbolasers, I've already gone over the XI-7 Turbolaser upgrade, and how well it matches with Intel Agent (and Salvation).  XX-9 Turbolasers also work well with Salvation - a better chance that you'll punch through with enough damage to deal 2 faceup cards.  H9 Turbolasers also can help with long range shots - changing a lone hit to an accuracy to protect a double hit from reroll or straight up removal by an evade.  Finally, Expanded Armaments (10 points) takes your biggest weakness (side arcs) and turn them into something resembling (but not quite) an asset. Although 2 Red / 1 Blue isn't an amazing arc, it does give you a little bit better attack if an enemy does outflank you.

Roles

So, with all this in mind, what is a Nebulon B good for?

Sniper - The Nebulon B wants to hang back, out of the brawl, and shoot things long range where it's defensive tokens can do the most good.  It can get even better at this role with the inclusion of the Salvation Title, Intel Officer, and XI-7 Turbolasers, and keep it's facing in the right direction better with Nav Team.

Flanker - What better way to keep your opponent in front of you than to be behind them?  Going hand in hand with the Sniper role, the Neb-B has the speed to reliably outflank VSDs, and at least put an effort at outflanking Assault Frigates.  That being said, against another flanker, the NebB isn't going to win a steight up engagement - best case scenario, it gets around the opponent intact.

Support - Again a role that works complimentary to the Sniper.  Redemption makes all your other ships, especially Assault Frigates, that much harder to kill.

Escort Carrier - Between a NebB-E, Yavaris, and Antilles, that is 6 fighter attacks from 3 ships per squadron command dialed in.  Plus anti-squadron support at 2 Blue dice.  With 3 B-Wings it is a potent anti-Gladiator deterrent.  With Wedge / Dutch it is an amazing anti-squadron shredder.  Without Antilles or Yavaris, it is still anti-squadron support and 2 activations, making it a possible B-Wing carrier or A-Wing interceptor platform.

Objective Ship? - A Salvation NebB might make a good recipient for Advanced Gunnery.  A Yavaris or Salvation would work well for Hyperspace Assault (Player 2 ONLY).  Redemption makes Player 1 on Dangerous Territory not hurt as much.  An excellent ship to hold back from a Fleet Ambush (Player 1).

All around, the Nebulon B Frigate can find a role that in can play in your Rebel list.  In a world filled with blunt instruments, it is the scalpel - the ship where careful positioning and proper support lead it to punching well above it's weight class, without being flashy about it.

Follow these links to excellent sources of additional information and discussion on the Nebulon B on the FFG forums.

Nebulon B - Rebel's Best Ship - by Killionaire
Making the Neb-B more Agile - by Kuthawolf

**Wave 2 Updates**

Post Script

What should we discuss next time?  Do we want to go to the Medium class ships next (the VSD and AFII?) or go over the squadrons?  See anything I missed, or got incorrect - or a role for the ship that I missed?  Comment and let me know!

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Armada Objectives - Part 1/3 (Assault)

Armada's Objective system is the most defining feature of the game, coming from the world of "100pt build, 75 minute rounds" X-Wing Tournaments.  It makes the game more than just an increase in the scope of combat, from small snubfighters nimbly dogfighting, to large capital ships engaging one another across vast distances of space.  It changes the fundamental building of the game from; "Will I be able to destroy the enemy's ships with this build?" into "Will I be able to do enough damage to the enemy and meet my objective."

But with that said, it just isn't being talked about enough.  There is a lot of discussion on how certain builds will do certain things (blow up other ships) well, but very little being discussed about the other aspect - objectives and how to play around them.  Furthermore, objectives have two sides - on one hand you have the "Second Player", who knows one of three objectives that they selected will be used, usually giving them a significant advantage for going second.  On the other hand, the "First Player" who must chose from his opponents objective, playing their game effectively, and suffers a disadvantage in order to act first.  I'm going to cover a few topics related to these objectives, from the point of view of both sides.  For this, the first installment, I am going to cover the Assault Objectives.

Opening Salvo:

This objective has two key features.  The first, allowing each player to roll 2 extra dice to open up the first exchange of shots (2 Red for first player; 2 of any color, at any rage for the second player).  The second is a direct change to the way scores are tallied, adding half fleet cost of each damaged ship (has a damage card).  This gives an advantage to players that are able to damage, but not destroy outright, their opponents.  Note that this does not affect squadrons, just ships.

Second Player:  

The second player would chose this to give them an advantage if they have several ships with a high squadron to ship ratio or with a large number of inexpensive ships.  It also has synergy for them with ships that have critical effect upgrades - since they can add whatever dice they want at whatever range, they can add the correct colors to ensure that their salvo has a chance to inflict the correct critical effect.  Consider an opening salvo with Admiral Screed and a Gladiator with Assault Concussion Missiles - Screed can guarantee a Black Critical Effect, which adds 2 extra damage... and all at Red range.  It even works without these abilities.  Go Blue and have a better chance of preventing key defense tokens from being used on the initial attack, or go Black for better damage outcome.

First Player:

Aside from the obvious reason to pick the objective (everything else is far, far worse) why would you give that advantage to the second player?  Your best bet for picking this objective is if your build is high in shields, and high Engineering Values on your ships.  The extra points at the end of the game mean that you can get away with damaging an enemy even if you don't finish it off, so structure your engagements in that fashion.  Like second player, your build is benefited most if you have a lot of inexpensive ships, and a high squadron to ship ratio.  Unlike the second player, you don't have the benefit of any critical effect synergy, or the ability to use anything but Red dice (5/8 chance to hit, 3/4 average damage), though Salvation gets a murderous first shot.  You do get first activation so you can choose which ship would most benefit from the very first opening salvo.

Both Players:

Squadron superiority and Engineering commands are key for this game.  BOMBERS or even just a spare squadron can keep ships honest, hitting unshielded arcs and claiming 1/2 points for the end game.  Ships that are capable of repairing hull damage (engineering 3 or better) are also key, being able to deny opponents their points even after they score a blow or two past your shields and fly away.  Throttle up - hit the opponent hard enough to draw blood and get away before they can crack through your shields and tokens.  Don't be afraid to ram an enemy medium or large ship with a smaller ship, or an already damaged ship on late turns to get some free points at the end game.

Advanced Gunnery:

This objective has two key features as well.  First is the ability for players to fire out of the same hull zone more than once in a single turn, with the second player being able to target the same target both times.  The second is the fleet cost of the objective ships destroyed being doubled (just the ship, not upgrade cards).  This gives advantage to upgrade heavy ships, high hull / defensive ships, and ships capable of taking advantage of the double arc shot.

Second Player:

The obvious option for this is Admiral Motti and Victory Star Destoryers (II), but the Rebel faction can make use of the Assault Frigates broadside capabilities as well.  With Wave 2, the MC80 and ISD become the new prime recipients of this objective.  The key is to bring a force that will be able to focus down your opponents ships, while providing enough defense for your own to keep your objective ship alive.  You don't want to even let a Nebulon B near this objective, much less a Corvette, as they just don't have the staying power - no matter how tempting Salvation is.  Squadrons are also good here - they are still worth their base points and not doubled, so utilize them to soften up a target before double-shooting it.  The key here is you don't want to make an objective ship of anything that can be destroyed easily.

First Player:

Any medium or large ship without Gunnery Team is upgraded by this objective - even ships with Gunnery Team can benefit, as they can now double shoot the same ship if they can hit two different arcs.  Again, anything that helps with survivability of the objective ship is key (Motti / Defensive Retrofits).  Maneuvering defensively with your first activation may be necessary, especially if the last maneuver of an enemy put you dead-to-rights in the "good" arcs.  Squadrons or rather anti-squadron dice could be a benefit with this setup, since you can try to get your point advantage tanking with your ships and stripping the enemies fighter screen out of the sky, though this is a common objective choice for Squadron-less builds.

Both Players:

The two main ways to approach this objective are a close range slugfest or long range duel, based on the objective ships.  Make sure you can identify which the opponent is going for, and react accordingly.

Most Wanted:

In this objective, the second player chooses, after deployment, one ship from each side.  This ship gets an extra dice thrown at it whenever it is attacked attacked by ships.  (Late Edit Note:  Squadrons do nothing per FAQ errata).  Also, just that ship has it's ship cost doubled at the end of the game, but not any upgrade cards equipped.

Second Player:

If you are playing this objective, you should have an objective ship already built in mind specifically for this run, and there is really only one effective way to approach it.  Make something cheep and fast, and try to keep it away from the fight (Corvette B at 39 points naked), or make something that can take a few hits, but will be hanging way back at the outskirts of the battle (Assault Frigate set up with boosted comms).  Consider making the ship in question your flagship, since upgrades don't matter for bonus points.  Also select the biggest, nastiest thing your opponent has, that you'll actually be able to shoot at.

First Player:

Much as with Advanced Gunnery, pick this if you think you will be able to tank / evade no matter what your opponent chooses as your objective ship.  You cannot chose which of your ships the objective will be, so you cannot have an obvious target.  Because your opponent likely built their list around keeping their Wanted Ship safe, only go for it if you are certain it is a viable option.  Either your opponent has ceded local superiority to you (they went the corvette evade route) or they are going to try and mix things up.  If the former, focus on keeping your objective ship safe with screens and defenses, and work on picking up other points as the opponent presents them.  If the later, engage their ship if practical, but don't be afraid to pick up easier points elsewhere.  Because you go first, you have an advantage with moving your objective ship out of enemy arcs, or hitting their objective ship first if they drop it somewhere it has no business being.  Having last activation is especially good here, as you can drop a ship by their objective ship, and shoot it before it can run away.

Both Players:

Be ready to bug out with your objective ship if you need to do so.  A saved maneuver token or timely command can get your the sudden speed or yaw you need to get out of harms way, or even present a better arc (with full shields).  Engineering will only do so good when facing an extra dice of damage every attack thrown your way, but every little bit helps.

Precision Strike:

Finally we get to an objective that involves victory tokens, and not just extra points for destroyed ships.  The key points of this objective is that Second Player gets a free Concentrate Fire token for all of their ships, and all ships and BOMBER squadrons can spend a dice with a hit symbol on it to flip a facedown damage card faceup (once per attack).  Finally, after a ship or squadron performs an attack, the attacker gains 1 victory token for each damage card dealt faceup or flipped faceup during that attack.  This is the "obviously Rebel" objective, as they have more fighters with the BOMBER keyword, and make less use out of alternative critical effects.

Second Player:

This hinges on getting past shields and doing critical damage.  Dodonna's Pride is an obvious option, but you need more punch than just that.  Wave 2's new Assault Proton Torpedoes do much the same thing, and will always go through.  Maximize squadrons with BOMBER ability, like X-Wings, and B-Wings.  Focus on a single target at a time to strip shields, do damage (preferably with Critical Results), and flip that damage for bonus objective points.  Ensure your own ships have enough shields and defense tokens to weather a crit or two without suffering a faceup card.

First Player:

You have shields, you have the ability to do critical damage, and you have BOMBERS.  And more importantly you are very sure that you can deal with a large enemy squadron cluster that will be bearing down on your ships.  A smaller, greater numbers of ships will also be helpful, as there will be less hull, and more chances to flip cards with more attacks.

Both Players:

Be ready to pounce on any ship that finds itself without shields or with damage cards already dealt. Getting one damage dice across onto an enemy in that scenario is a solid 15 points at the end of the game, even if it is a sub-optimal shot.  Don't be afraid to hold some bombers in reserve to take advantage of a sudden breakthrough.  Major Rhymer and Admiral Chirpy both allow for extra flexibility in this.  Building at least one ship for squadron command is likely a good idea.  Don't be afraid to ram a larger ship if you'll have more activations and playing from behind - you will get more chances to flip the face down card especially if it is one that flips face down again.

Wrap up:

That's it for this article.  Feel free to discuss strategies and list building ideas in the comments.  Next time I will discuss Defense Objectives; Fleet Ambush; Fire Lanes; Hyperspace Assault; and Contested Outpost.

Edit:  Part 2 - Defense Objectives is up HERE.

Pilot Skill and the Meta

In the early days of X-Wing, there was a bit of a meta game involved with bidding for pilot skill.  The general rule of thumb was either you wanted to win the bid, or go as low as you could.  The top PS pilots would win out against the mid tier, the mid tier would win out against a low PS swarm, and the swarm would overwhelm the higher PS ships due to sheer numbers.  Then wave 4 dropped, and the Phantom came.

Now, high PS ships that could arc dodge were not exactly a new thing to X-Wing.  TIE Interceptors and to a certain extent A-Wings were already part of the meta since Wave 2 as being ships that got much better the higher their PS vs their opponent, due to the option of moving with their action.  Even TIE Fighters and Advanced (and any X-Wing with evasive maneuvers) could do that with barrel roll in wave 1.  The Phantom though took it to a whole new level for one main reason - advanced cloaking device.  Now, combined with Veteran Instinct and Whisper for a total of PS9, you had a ship that became incredibly slippery when moving (and moved more or less last), and if you did get a shot on it, it was at 4 defense dice (since it cloaked before anything else).

So that brings up a bit of an issue in the meta.  PS 11 and 10 ships became the hottest thing.  PS9 became effective, but not amazing - either shooting first before the cloak, and lost the chance to maneuver, or shooting after the cloak, but with a chance to get into position.  PS 2-8 ships might as well be PS1 against any list running a Phantom.  You can run a swarm and try to pin down a phantom - which you can do with varying degree of success, but your PS 5 & 6 ships detract from the goal of putting as many ships on the board as possible in that case.  You can pimp someone to PS 10, but they you lose out on another elite pilot skill that would make them better.

Wave 5 added a new wrinkle in the 58 special - a very effective arc dodging Dash that clocks in at PS7.  Not as effective against a phantom - as a good Phantom player could still either sit beyond range 3, or fall into the donut hole - but still a decent chance of landing a 4 damage HLC shot against 4 defense dice.  With an arc dodging big ship that ignored rocks (when moving), PS 8 and higher becomes somewhat viable, but still falls prey to the same issue regarding Whisper.

Right now, the meta has become a bit of a rock / paper / scissors in two rounds.  You can either take a "Fat" ship (high PS large ship with 360 arc), a Phantom (usually Whisper) or a swarm.  Pick two of three.  You may actually chose two of the same (double phantom or two large ships).