Boba Fett? Boba Fett?! Where?!?!

I think a few of us figured that Boba Fett might be the counterpoint to Han Solo, though how he would fit in to the game mechanics, not really being a "Commander" seemed to suggest it would be someone else.

Well, now we have our answer.

Using Objectives to Your Advantage - Part 2: Defensive

Last Monday we talked about the Offensive Objectives, and how play with each has changed going into wave 2.  Today, we are going to go into the yellow:  Defensive Objectives.  Navigation is still to come, probably next week.

Wave 2 - Turbolaser Upgrades

This is it - the last group of upgrades we need to cover before Wave 2 is complete.  Let's get right to it.

Using Objectives to Your Advantage: Part 1 - Assault

The first thing I discussed on this blog relating to Armada was the objective system, and for good reason.  At the time, no one was really talking about one of the core components of list building.  So much attention had been made about each individual ship, how it fit into the grand design of the game, and not one article had come out about using your objectives strategically, either as the Second Player and choosing ones to force your opponent to play your game, or as First Player, and taking advantage of your opponent's choices.

Since then a lot has changed.  The GenCon special revealed a preference for going second, and dictating the objective choices while being terrifying at first player.  Meanwhile most players continued to push for first player, seeing the concrete advantage of the first activation of a turn.  Nationals showed us the value in strategic objective play, with Superior Positions and Intel Sweep being live streamed - and the objectives themselves being used to secure wins for the second player, and first player respectively.  Wave 2 came out, giving us a large number of new commanders, ships, squadrons and upgrades to play with.

Wave 2 - Ion Cannon Upgrades

Down to the last 2 upgrades to talk about - Ion Cannons are going to be the topic today.  We've gotten three new Ion Cannon capable ships - the Imperial Star Destroy, the MC80, and the Raider II-Class - to go with the previous two (CR90B and VSDII) with two new upgrade cards available between them.

Let's see how those cards work with the ships.

Building a Fleet - Squadron Composition in Wave 2

In our previous Squadron Composition article, we discussed how to build our lists with squadrons in Wave 1.  Well, Wave 2 brings us new toys, and new strategies necessary to work with and counter against those new squadrons.  Let's jump right in.

Ordinance - Wave 2

Onward with Wave 2 upgrades, and it's time to talk about ordinance.  We have two new ships that can take ordinance and they are both small base ships.  The MC30c and the Raider1 also give us two new ordinance upgrade cards to go along with them.  They join the VSD1 and GSD as the ordinance platforms in the game.

Let's take a look at the upgrades in question, and see how they can fit onto our lists going forward.

FAQ and Tournament Update - Wave 2, Imperial Bogaloo

Wave 2 has been out a while now and cards are getting FAQ'd away.  Let's take a look at the highlighted changes, and what that can mean for our games going forward.  Also, we'll delve into the Tournament changes, including the major overhaul to tournament points.

Commander's Guide - YV-666

Here's an odd one.  What is the point of an anti-fighter squadron that is hilariously slow and Heavy?  This is a question asked by the YV-666.  Let's see if we can find the answers, together.

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.

Commander's Guide - Scurrg H-6

Coming down to the end of the squadrons, finally.  Time to talk about the final rebel squadron added in Wave 2, the Scurrg H-6, which has been lovingly nicknamed the "Silly Bomber" on the FFG forums.

Well, let's dive in.

Commander's Guide - Jumpmaster 5000

Continuing our discussion of Intel squadrons, it's the Jumpmaster 5000.   Not much to say, let's just jump right into it.

Commander's Guide - HWK-290

Having discussed the Big Names of the Rogues and Villains, and talking about the Rogue Generics, it's time to talk about the next set of fighters, with a new ability - Intel.  That's right, the next two articles for the Commander's Guide are going to be about the Rebel's HWK-290 and the Imperial's Jumpmaster 5000.

Today, we're talking about the Rebel's squadron.

Commander's Guide - Aggressor

Last time we talked about a 16 point rebel squadron with Rogue that has a role of hunting down enemy squadrons.  Well, much like with Wave 1, Wave 2 squadrons typically have an alternative squadron on the other faction.  So let's talk about the YT-2400's direct Imperial analogue, the Aggressor, and the named pilot for the squadron, IG-88.

Commander's Guide - YT-2400

Last time we talked about Squadrons for Rebels in Wave 2, we talked about the YT-1300 and Han Solo.  This time, we're going to talk about the "Han Solo Wannabe Hack" Dash Rendar and the YT-2400, the Rebel's first Rogue generic squadron.  Well, let's get to it.

Offensive Retrofits - Wave 2

Wave 2 actually gave us three new Offensive Retrofits, more than doubling the initial numbers.  Continuing with the theme of the Offensive Retrofits of before, we got one that dealt with activating squadrons, one that dealt with getting rid of enemy squadrons, but we got one more that didn't deal with squadrons at all.  In addition, we got three new ships that could take an offensive retrofit - the MC80 (Command variant), the ISD, and the Raider - to go with the previous two.

Let's go over them, shall we?

Commander's Guide - MC30c Frigate

Finally it is time to chat about the final new ship of Wave 2, and one that I am very excited about, the MC30c Frigate.  The first Rebel ship to pack on natural Black dice, it plays and handles much differently than the traditional rebel long range standoff craft.  Let's look today at what makes the MC30c into the the ship that it is, how it fits into the Rebel fleet, and how it differs from its closest Imperial counterpart, the Gladiator.

The MC30c Frigate.

Commander's Guides - YT-1300

With Wave 2 hitting store shelves this week, it's time to start talking about Squadrons.  Yes, I know we haven't covered the MC30c yet, but frankly I want to actually spend some time playing with it and against it before I write about what it can do.

So today we'll start with the Rogues and Villains squadron pack, the first blister to contain both Rebel and Imperial parts, and talk about the iconic YT-1300 and it's named pilot Han Solo.

Wave 2 Support Teams - Projection Experts Appreciation Station

Well, this is excitement.  Wave 2 brings us from 3 Support Teams total, to a whopping 4.  And the ships that can take a Support Team from 3, to a whipping... 4.  It's time to talk about the only new Support Team - Projection Experts!

Wave 2 Weapons Teams

Previously we've covered Wave 2's new officers, but today we are going to talk about the Weapons Teams that come with the new Wave 2 ships.  What ships do they work with?  What roles do they improve?

Well, let's take a look at the two new Weapons Teams.  We've got 3 ships that can utilize them in the new expansion - the Raider, the MC30c and the ISD, plus the three ships from the previous wave: the AFII, the GSD, and the VSD.