I think a passive mechanic that manipulates the victory conditions is probably the best representation of the Interdictor.

Something like "The Opposing player cannot complete their objective (maybe restrict this to a navigate objective) whilst the Interdictor has at least half its hull points remaining".

I say this as that represents either the fragile grav well generators being damaged or the Captain diverting power to shields/weapons/engines so as not to be destroyed

I still like the redeployment idea, that it can be used as a positive or negative. So that once all ships have been placed, a player with an interdictor can choose to redeploy either his own forces, or his enemies forces within range 3 of their original position, as long as they maintain their original heading/direction

When you think of how important deployment can be in X-wing, this is a huge thing

I think a passive mechanic that manipulates the victory conditions is probably the best representation of the Interdictor.

Something like "The Opposing player cannot complete their objective (maybe restrict this to a navigate objective) whilst the Interdictor has at least half its hull points remaining".

I say this as that represents either the fragile grav well generators being damaged or the Captain diverting power to shields/weapons/engines so as not to be destroyed

I also like this idea on the face of it. There's still a lot for us to learn about the objectives system, so it's hard to speculate.

Loving this thread guys! Agreed, the Interdictor is totally iconic and I would personally love to field one in my fleet.

I think a passive mechanic that manipulates the victory conditions is probably the best representation of the Interdictor.

Something like "The Opposing player cannot complete their objective (maybe restrict this to a navigate objective) whilst the Interdictor has at least half its hull points remaining".

I say this as that represents either the fragile grav well generators being damaged or the Captain diverting power to shields/weapons/engines so as not to be destroyed

I also like this idea on the face of it. There's still a lot for us to learn about the objectives system, so it's hard to speculate.

Sounds like Funk Fu is very close to the mark on the 50% hull points remaining. I'm re-playing through the old TIE Fighter game at the moment -just pulled the INT Harpax out of a rebel & imperial traitor trap.

IIRC, Interdictors need to at least have their shields active in order to project their grav-well cones. Will play on further to confirm.

Edited to include:

Okay, here's the thing. I've never read an account of an Interdictor's gravity well generators being used to manipulate movements outside of hyperspace. Imperials used them to suck in Rebel or pirate ships and attack with their own fleet waiting in ambush, neither the target nor their own fleets were hampered by the in-system generator. It was only for hyperspace.

The only time an Interdictor affected a ship in system with its gravity well generators I can recall was in X-wing: Wraith Squadron. An Interdictor escapes being rammed by inverting the gravity well generators, causing it to push itself away from the oncoming ship and, in conjunction with its own power, speed away from the oncoming ship. Even there though Rebel commanders note that it is an unorthodox move that must've strained the ship's systems since it wasn't designed for that.

Tractor beams could manipulate ships in-system. In X-wing: The Bacta War they even use several dozen tractor beams to trap a Super Star Destroyer in place and keep it from moving.

--

So I hope tractor beams become viable at some point. It's a simple mechanic, strategic, and totally fluffy.

Heck just remembered something! In Timothy Zhan's novels, Thrawn was using his INTs to pull in imperial ships from hyperspace -placing them exactly where he wanted to his full tactical advantage. ...then again Disney threw all of that out didn't they? Bummer.

FFG just better cook up something cool and release this mini because it is one of my favorite Star Destroyers.

Heck just remembered something! In Timothy Zhan's novels, Thrawn was using his INTs to pull in imperial ships from hyperspace -placing them exactly where he wanted to his full tactical advantage. ...then again Disney threw all of that out didn't they? Bummer.

Thats where I think being able to re-deploy either allied ships or enemy ships a certain distance from their placed location at the start would be an awesome reflection of this

Heck just remembered something! In Timothy Zhan's novels, Thrawn was using his INTs to pull in imperial ships from hyperspace -placing them exactly where he wanted to his full tactical advantage. ...then again Disney threw all of that out didn't they? Bummer.

Thats where I think being able to re-deploy either allied ships or enemy ships a certain distance from their placed location at the start would be an awesome reflection of this

Hehehe. + 1 to this, my friend.

Please listen to your fans FFG! Interdictor for Wave 3! You've got guaranteed buys here!

Maybe even release it as part of an Interdictor + Cargo Transports expansion pack. Then we could probably see some "Save the convoy -as rebels or annihilate the contraband smugglers -as imperials" scenarios.

Please listen to your fans FFG! Interdictor for Wave 3! You've got guaranteed buys here!

Ha ha, my only concern here, if I were FFG, is that these forums are made up of mostly the diehards and the impatients. I would have had little desire for an Interdictor were it not for the conversation on the forums, which means there are at least, say, 40 of us who would for sure buy one Maybe we need a poll of some sorts that would appeal to those souls who are interested enough to read the forums, but not go through ALL that effort required to create an account and contribute to it?

An interesting idea with the Interdictor is the possiblity of unique objective cards for it.

So it might say "available to select as one of a players 3 cards only if the fleet includes an interdictor cruiser"

Then if the player did not get initiative, the 1st player might end up drawing one of these new scenario cards which will make particular use of the second players unique ship. If the player did get initiative, well then they would have to make use of the ship with whatever gameplay mechanics it comes with within the context of the original scenarios.

Please listen to your fans FFG! Interdictor for Wave 3! You've got guaranteed buys here!

Ha ha, my only concern here, if I were FFG, is that these forums are made up of mostly the diehards and the impatients. I would have had little desire for an Interdictor were it not for the conversation on the forums, which means there are at least, say, 40 of us who would for sure buy one Maybe we need a poll of some sorts that would appeal to those souls who are interested enough to read the forums, but not go through ALL that effort required to create an account and contribute to it?

Hehe "impatient die hards". I nominate Krass! Seeing that s/he started this awesome thread!

An interesting idea with the Interdictor is the possiblity of unique objective cards for it.

So it might say "available to select as one of a players 3 cards only if the fleet includes an interdictor cruiser"

Then if the player did not get initiative, the 1st player might end up drawing one of these new scenario cards which will make particular use of the second players unique ship. If the player did get initiative, well then they would have to make use of the ship with whatever gameplay mechanics it comes with within the context of the original scenarios.

Either way, sounds like the Interdictor will need some very specific scenarios and objective cards for it.

Unless of course you'd like to field it just for looks!!! (I would!) My experience with INTs come primarily from TIE Fighter, etc. Would any one know if they were particularly good at anti-starfighter duties? IIRC they were equipped with double-turbolasers...

Hold on a sec -much to my embarassment it has JUST occured to me that you guys might not be referring to the 600m Interdictor 418 Cruiser but the Interdictor Star Destroyer:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Interdictor-class_Star_Destroyer

Holy heck, that looks SWEET.

Either would be fine!

Yeah, but going back to the Interdictor 418 Cruiser, she'd double as an excellent anti-starfighter platform as well?

Hehe "impatient die hards". I nominate Krass! Seeing that s/he started this awesome thread!

Lol =)

Ha ha, my only concern here, if I were FFG, is that these forums are made up of mostly the diehards and the impatients. I would have had little desire for an Interdictor were it not for the conversation on the forums, which means there are at least, say, 40 of us who would for sure buy one Maybe we need a poll of some sorts that would appeal to those souls who are interested enough to read the forums, but not go through ALL that effort required to create an account and contribute to it?

Actually, my first reason to join FFG forums was to promote Intredictors for the game. I really hope FFG would steal some ideas from this topic and make it even better.

One day I would create topic with Allegiance Star Destroyer ;-)

The only real mechanic I could see for the Interdictor without breaking lore is either effecting initial deployment, or reinforcements.

First, reinforcements is severely unlikely. It fits in games like 40k where you have 10 units, so having 2 or 3 of them off board at the start of the game isn't a crippling disadvantage. In Armada you get maybe 3 capital ships (4 or 5 if you go with wimpy Corvettes), so having a single one off the board is actually quite a big hit, and having semi-randomly determined reinforcements is something I haven't seen in an Armada game.

So the more practical effect is going to be initial deployment. This can either be done by favorably effecting your deployment or negatively effecting the enemy deployment. So first we have determine what is a negative and positive effect on deployment. Deploying second is clearly more favorable as it allows you to react to the enemies set up. Reducing the size of the deployment area is a negative effect on deployment, as it reduces the options an admiral has.

So we have two possible mechanics for an interdictor:

1) All you ships may be deployed after the enemy has deployed all his ships and squadrons.

2) The enemy's deployment area is changed to an area equal to Range 3 to either side of the center of the enemy's board side and Range 5 forward.

To me option 1 seems worthwhile, unless an Interdictor is more expensive than a corvette. Option 2 can useful if you have a fleet that benefits from splitting and surrounding the enemy, but is very situational and probably not worth the points.

I would suggest that having an Immobilizer in your squadron would change the objective cards - perhaps even for both sides.

Maybe it would mean that the Immobilizer has to be destroyed in X turns or else the Empire wins (ie. reinforcements show up, and the rebels can't escape.)

Was thinking this. Basically, you must destroy this ship before you are allowed points from the ACTUAL objective.

Also, IF retreats are in the game, and they are based on being a certain distance away from enemy ships, the Interdictor would either increase it, or make such escape impossible.

Unless you destroy/cripple the Interdictor

Hmm... remind me to NEVER crew on an Immobilizer. Too dangerous, even for Imperial duty.

Question:

I posted this somewhere else but can't seem to find it. The Rebels tend to have the more mid size ships, giving them weaker but more flexible list options capital ship wise. The Imps have the larger, slower, more powerful ships but that results in fewer ships.

What if the Interdictor just offered the Imperials something out of their wheelhouse, a smaller ship that gives them some more flexability? Vics, Gladiators, and eventual ISDs will likely result in lists with an awkward amount of points left over: too few for another ship, too many to just toss. So what if the Interdictor was just a smaller ship that made use of those points? It would give the Imperial list more ships, following off the X-wing POV that more ships is usually better than a few loaded ships. It would be iconic, look great on the table, and provide something of a pocket SD for those awkward points. If it could do all that and had no huperdrive function simply because the game isn't set up for it, would that be so bad?

Question:

I posted this somewhere else but can't seem to find it. The Rebels tend to have the more mid size ships, giving them weaker but more flexible list options capital ship wise. The Imps have the larger, slower, more powerful ships but that results in fewer ships.

What if the Interdictor just offered the Imperials something out of their wheelhouse, a smaller ship that gives them some more flexability? Vics, Gladiators, and eventual ISDs will likely result in lists with an awkward amount of points left over: too few for another ship, too many to just toss. So what if the Interdictor was just a smaller ship that made use of those points? It would give the Imperial list more ships, following off the X-wing POV that more ships is usually better than a few loaded ships. It would be iconic, look great on the table, and provide something of a pocket SD for those awkward points. If it could do all that and had no huperdrive function simply because the game isn't set up for it, would that be so bad?

Intredictor cruiser (Immobilizer 418) possibly, Intredictor class Star Destroyer is too big to be 40-50 points cost miniature for it's real price, most likely it would be expensive as ISD and with BIG special features and less firepower.

Immobiliseer 418 is 600 meters long, and it is bigger then Gladiator 500 meters (it should be at least little bigger on the table). Gladiator costs 56-62 points. So for the 30$ we definitely would get something around 50-65 points in the game.

And Empire I think would get at least some small ships before Intredictors. Carracks, Lancers are to well known to be missed, and ISD really need their support.

Wait wait wait. Were all talking about the Interdictor having some kind of debuff effect on the enemy, but what if we used it for one of the canon maneouvers that it was actually used for in the books?

What if the Gravwell Generator could be used to have Imperial ships held in reserve appear on the board out of hyperspace?

For example, ships can be held in reserve, and if they do so, they must still prepare their order stack as normal. In order to enter from reserve, a ship must spend a number of [maneouver] tokens equal to it's command value. Place the ship in any facing exactly the length of the shooting ruler away from the base of the Gravwell equipped vessel.

A ship spends these tokens and appears instead of it's movement phase. A ship with the required amount of Command Tokens does not have to deploy from reserve, but if it is still in reserve when all ships with Gravwell generators are lost, then it is lost as well.

It'd be a great way to jump ships in exactly where you need them, but still risky, what if there's a crit that would disable the generator? What if you lose all your Interdictors?

Wait wait wait. Were all talking about the Interdictor having some kind of debuff effect on the enemy, but what if we used it for one of the canon maneouvers that it was actually used for in the books?

What if the Gravwell Generator could be used to have Imperial ships held in reserve appear on the board out of hyperspace?

For example, ships can be held in reserve, and if they do so, they must still prepare their order stack as normal. In order to enter from reserve, a ship must spend a number of [maneouver] tokens equal to it's command value. Place the ship in any facing exactly the length of the shooting ruler away from the base of the Gravwell equipped vessel.

A ship spends these tokens and appears instead of it's movement phase. A ship with the required amount of Command Tokens does not have to deploy from reserve, but if it is still in reserve when all ships with Gravwell generators are lost, then it is lost as well.

It'd be a great way to jump ships in exactly where you need them, but still risky, what if there's a crit that would disable the generator? What if you lose all your Interdictors?

Bah! You lured me out from lurking again! Hehe.

Yeah, I mentioned this earlier, in Timothy's Zhan's novels, Thrawn used the Interdictor to great effect. Zhan/Thrawn's a genius! Although I'm wondering if accurate deployment of reinforcements was attributed more to Joruus C'baoth's 'Force co-ordination' or precise placement of Interdictors at the edge of any given battle or even both!

I reckon the most successful way to introduce mechanics for an interdictor type vessel would be through a 'scenario' of some sort, either to capture contraband as the Imperials or save the convoy as Rebels.

We'd have to take a closer look at 'reinforcement' mechanics simultaneously though -of which we touched on in R22's Surprise & Asymmetrical Matches thread.

FFG! FFG! FFG! FFG! Make Interdictors happen! (And Assault Gunboats!)

Edit:

Ahh, we also discussed ideas about Reinforcement mechanis here in MaverickNZ's thread: Armada as a RPG experience .

While I love Mward's idea, perhaps a simpler mechanic would be in order as this might slow play even more than I predict it will be. Perhaps the gravity well upgrade could guarantee you go first. It's a type of tactic that someone could actually build a list around. Only problem would be point efficiency.

Also, a thought to ship cards... A Support class with minimum standard armaments but with 3-4 blue aa dice. After all, the I-418 did come stock with 20 quad laser cannons much like the lancer. As for an Escort, sacrifice 1-2 aa dice gaining 1-2 blue and a black for standard armaments signifying the ion cannon additions and the change from quad lasers to light quad turbolasers(ie Black Asp/Corusca Rainbow)

How about something real subtle, like "-5 fleet points when calculating for initiative"

While I love Mward's idea, perhaps a simpler mechanic would be in order as this might slow play even more than I predict it will be. Perhaps the gravity well upgrade could guarantee you go first. It's a type of tactic that someone could actually build a list around. Only problem would be point efficiency.

Also, a thought to ship cards... A Support class with minimum standard armaments but with 3-4 blue aa dice. After all, the I-418 did come stock with 20 quad laser cannons much like the lancer. As for an Escort, sacrifice 1-2 aa dice gaining 1-2 blue and a black for standard armaments signifying the ion cannon additions and the change from quad lasers to light quad turbolasers(ie Black Asp/Corusca Rainbow)

+ 1. Those quad lasers should definitely account for something VS Starfighters!

How about forcing the rebel player to start without fighter wings on the board. Capital ships need to use a Squardon command to deploy that ships squadron rating of wings in base contact, or a token for one wing.

How about forcing the rebel player to start without fighter wings on the board. Capital ships need to use a Squardon command to deploy that ships squadron rating of wings in base contact, or a token for one wing.

Generally a rebel fleet on the move will have all the fighters using their own hyper drives. While on a routine movement they would be on board, since there is no uniformity I'd think your idea wouldn't work.

Now for the imperials... It could as only the advanced has a hyperdrive.

How about forcing the rebel player to start without fighter wings on the board. Capital ships need to use a Squardon command to deploy that ships squadron rating of wings in base contact, or a token for one wing.

Generally a rebel fleet on the move will have all the fighters using their own hyper drives. While on a routine movement they would be on board, since there is no uniformity I'd think your idea wouldn't work.

Now for the imperials... It could as only the advanced has a hyperdrive.

Ah, you're right. I keep forgetting the rebels have hyperdrives built into the fighters. And of course the advanced and the defender.

Guys, guys!

This was the FIRST thing I thought about today after reading about the Hyperspace Navigation Objective!

We now have a more convincing basis for introducing the Interdictor into Armada!

Maybe -if they do release either the Mobiliser 418 or Interdictor Star Destroyer they could release more specific Hyperspace Navigation Objectives!

Regardless, this is an excellent opportunity for us to examine this idea further!

Please discuss!

For the Hyperspace Assault, the Interdictor cruiser could prevent the reinforcements from jumping in or cause them to jump in inside their own deployment zone, thus preventing a flanking maneuver. However, if you are the 1st player with the interdictor cruiser, you would just have to hope your opponent brought the HA objective. Really you need some more objectives that benefit the player that brings the interdiction cruiser.