https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2015/4/6/here-they-come/
Enjoy!
8 dice on the front arc of that ISD!!!!!
Crabbok...what have you done?
I visited the forums at around lunch time today while I was at work.
Needless to say...I felt so unproductive for the rest of the day...
Now I fear for my wallet and my life.
We'll need to see the wording on the card before we get too excited, but Corvette swarm could be nasty. They'd degrade in firepower extremely fast though.
Also, dont forget that this will actually NOT increase firepower against a single target....people are looking at it wrong. At present you can combine side/front....that wont be possible using Ackbars bonus, so you'll have to fly between enemy ships to use both side attacks. Definitely a truly terrible idea with Corvettes, but very fitting for the heavy ships. The Ackbar Slash is real!
Even though he just stole the idea from Horatio Nelson (kind of....not really, but i do like the idea that Nelson was a fish).
Sure it will increase single target. Plenty of my games have situations where you only have ONE shot. If that one shot happens to be out of yoru side arc then it still adds to your single target firepower.
Ok, fair enough in that situation. I've honestly not had issues getting 2 arcs from Rebel ships onto VSDs as yet. it will likely be a lot more of a big deal on the bigger, slower Rebels.
I'll rephrase to "doesn't increase damage under ideal circustances, buts makes it easier to apply it".
Sure. Either way it's a great option to have. Also, any commander who gives passive buffs to EVERY ship seems wonderful for the rebels considering their ability to field a bunch of cheap fast ships.
Oh it's excellent. I think Ackbar will quite rightly be a very good and popular Commander. Still need to see the wording of course, as he may not provide full effect on small or medium ships, similar to Motti.
Ackbars ability is explained in the article. He adds 2 dice to attacks if the ship only uses side arc attacks that turn. Basically, MASSIVE broadsides on almost anything.
Corvette swarm anyone?
I think Reikeen (or however its spelled) is the better swarm Commander. Even if your fragile CR-90 dies, you'll still get the benefit of using it that turn. Very powerful when you are fielding 5-6 ships. 6 Corvettes with a bunch of hero pilots sprinkled in might be a decent fleet.
Where is the line I have to wait in to get a star destroyer?
Where is the line I have to wait in to get a star destroyer?
Just behind me.
Super. That really makes the Rebel broadside squadron a powerful list then. MC80 + 1-2 AF2's? Thats terrifying.
This really excited me. In my games so far, I have noticed that I end up doing a lot of my work with the broadside firing arcs. This could simply be me still feeling out the maneuvers and not being quite practiced enough to get the more powerful front arc shots that make up the core set. Anyway, my experience so far has been enough to make me reconsider my preferred style of Rebel list and I added a second AFMkII to my preorder because of this.
My thoughts reading the article mirrored yours - if the points allow, the MC80 + 2 Mark IIs would be my ideal list based solely on current core set experience. Of course, the MC30 also has the potential for incredibly powerful broadsides fire if the points dictate that 2 AFMkIIs are not feasible. The fragility concerns me - but still, list building is going to go to a whole new level soon, and it's exciting.
Pikciwok pointed out the other huge potential synergy - heavy use of Gunnery Teams on these powerful broadside monsters could also really make this style of list hum. Especially with that super wide MC80 broadside arc... It looks like it would be more difficult to not have two ships in it at any given time.
After playing the core set so far, I was beginning to worry that if I didn't enjoy the Mark II, perhaps Rebel lists didn't suit my style. I'm now much more excited to get some playtime in with the whole of Wave 1 and with the possibilities in Wave 2.
Pikciwok pointed out the other huge potential synergy - heavy use of Gunnery Teams on these powerful broadside monsters could also really make this style of list hum. Especially with that super wide MC80 broadside arc... It looks like it would be more difficult to not have two ships in it at any given time.
Remeber that the two targets have to be in DIFFERENT side arcs. This may have been what you meant to say, but very important nonetheless.
It effectively means to get full firepower you need to go right up the middle, though i expect it'd be wise to whittle away at long range initially!
So the ISD says:
the Contain token can cancel the standard critical effect of a shot that passes through your shields to your hull
Does that mean that critical effects ignore shields? I always assumed that no critical effect happened if there was still shielding up?
Well, we haven't seen the actual card text, so who knows... but the preview did not lead me to believe that each attack needs to come from opposite side arcs.
This line:
"Or will you circle the Imperial fleet at a distance, taking shots from a battery armament enhanced by Admiral Ackbar, Slaved Turrets, and the Defiance title?"
is what has me believing that as long as you only use the sides, you can Gunnery Team it up and fire twice at different ships only using one broadside arc.
Ah sorry, i wasn't accounting for Gunnery team, my mistake. That would indeed work extremely well in that case!
No worries! I think we were talking about the same thing only slightly differently. 
I am all about that Gunnery Team!
Where is the line I have to wait in to get a star destroyer?
Likely at Gencon =)
Most of this looks amazing, but I do have two complaints. 1. How does the MC80 not have 6 shields on every arc? and 2. How is Thrawn not on the ISD?!?!
EDIT: Also, is that a Scurrg H-6?
I agree with the no Thrawn part. Boooo with no Grand Admiral Thrawn and no Chimera title card!
Well, we haven't seen the actual card text, so who knows... but the preview did not lead me to believe that each attack needs to come from opposite side arcs.
This line:
"Or will you circle the Imperial fleet at a distance, taking shots from a battery armament enhanced by Admiral Ackbar, Slaved Turrets, and the Defiance title?"
is what has me believing that as long as you only use the sides, you can Gunnery Team it up and fire twice at different ships only using one broadside arc.
Requirement is that you cant fire forward and rear arcs during the shooting phase if you want to use Akcbars effect. I think that Moncal and Assfirgate with some smaller support ships (liek corvette with leia to help with commands and grab objectives etc) can be great.
So the ISD says:
the Contain token can cancel the standard critical effect of a shot that passes through your shields to your hull
Does that mean that critical effects ignore shields? I always assumed that no critical effect happened if there was still shielding up?
Nobody on this one? Did I read it wrong? It seems that they are saying critical hits pass through shields?
So the ISD says:
the Contain token can cancel the standard critical effect of a shot that passes through your shields to your hull
Does that mean that critical effects ignore shields? I always assumed that no critical effect happened if there was still shielding up?
Nobody on this one? Did I read it wrong? It seems that they are saying critical hits pass through shields?
Jeez, its only been an hour... No I think they were saying that if you take a hit that knocks through your shield by either destroying that shielding or bypassing like Luke's ability, that you can cancel the critical effect altogether with the Contain token. I still believe you likely take the damage, but no longer flip that card faceup. Pretty awesome defense token as crits are downright terrible in Armada.
Is Ackbar a fleet commander, or just a ship officer? That is, does he work for the ship he's on or for the whole fleet?
Forgive me if the terms are off, I haven't played much yet.
So the ISD says:
the Contain token can cancel the standard critical effect of a shot that passes through your shields to your hull
Does that mean that critical effects ignore shields? I always assumed that no critical effect happened if there was still shielding up?
Nobody on this one? Did I read it wrong? It seems that they are saying critical hits pass through shields?
Jeez, its only been an hour... No I think they were saying that if you take a hit that knocks through your shield by either destroying that shielding or bypassing like Luke's ability, that you can cancel the critical effect altogether with the Contain token. I still believe you likely take the damage, but no longer flip that card faceup. Pretty awesome defense token as crits are downright terrible in Armada.
Haha... sorry! I have a game starting in about 10 minutes and I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something completely wrong!
Thanks!
Is Ackbar a fleet commander, or just a ship officer? That is, does he work for the ship he's on or for the whole fleet?
Forgive me if the terms are off, I haven't played much yet.
according to the article, he gives you two additional red dice provided you only attack out of the left or right firing arcs
ergo, you're getting +2 dice but it's physically impossible to concentrate the additional damage on the same ship
getting a 5-6 dice broadside out of an MK2 sounds more than worth it, however. It's all going to come down to his cost to see whether or not this particular commander is worth it or just a trap
according to the article, he gives you two additional red dice provided you only attack out of the left or right firing arcs
ergo, you're getting +2 dice but it's physically impossible to concentrate the additional damage on the same ship
getting a 5-6 dice broadside out of an MK2 sounds more than worth it, however. It's all going to come down to his cost to see whether or not this particular commander is worth it or just a trap
Dunno his cost either, it sounds like a good ability but if the card is 50 points it'd be a hell of a chunk of the fleet.