...but not having much success.

I've got 2 copies of the core set and I'm only interested in playing rebels. I've yet to have anything resembling a close game. Granted, I've only played 4 games, so take alp my whining with a grain of salt but here's been my experience so far:

-Rebel ships get one-shotted more often than not. It's not as if I'm just running headlong at VSDs and hoping for the best, but when it comes time to exchange dice, I lose a ship. It's gotten to the point when I'm blown away if my ship isn't!

-6 Turns greatly favors imperials. If I spend 3 turns trying to outmaneuver a VSD, then I've got 3 turns to try to get some work done. If I'm losing a ship a turn, my firepower is dwindling, and by the time I'm close to killing an arrowhead, the game is over.

-Objectives are paramount. Since I've discovered that I CANNOT win a shooting match, it seems the only reasonable course is to outbid my opponent for initiative and make them choose an objective that favors me. That's all well and good, but a game that is mostly won or lost based on what objective card is selected makes playing the game out less interesting. Choose my card and I've got a shot, play one of yours, I don't.

-Nebulon Bs are garbage. They're slower than Corvettes, have the same total number of shields, but a worse distribution, no redirect, and a giant side arc, with only one hull point more. Their guns are a bit more powerful, but in practical terms, their not. They really only want their front arc facing the enemy, so they'll have 3 red dice. Corvettes have no problem facing 2 arcs at the enemy and will often be rolling 3 reds and 2 blues total.

Now I know I've got a lot to learn with this game and I've been paying very careful attention to all of the little mistakes I've made, and I have made many, but none so critical that I think my fundamental concerns are flawed.

I know that this game is in its infancy and it may balance out as future waves crash on our shores, but then again, maybe not.

I enjoy the mechanics of the game but just haven't really been grabbed by how the game is played.

I've had the opposite result. In four games played, the Imperials have been overwhelmed every time. Playing a two core set scenario gives the Rebels a serious advantage in numbers, especially when added to the better maneuverability they have and the better reactivity (== lower command ratings) they have.

A few pointers that may help:

Do everything you can to stay at long range. Your Evade Tokens are worth gold there.

Don't forget your X-Wings. Keep them close to your Escort Frigates. Supported by these they make short work of any tie fighters and are then free to pour some fire onto the Victories who have close to no chance of taking them out.

Use your maneuverability and objectives to your advantage but don't underbid. There will always be one of the three objectives that is at least not too bad for you. Initiative is huge to you since most of the time you will have only one ship directly threatened in a big way and getting to move that out of harms way first helps a lot.

You are playing, even with two Core sets, a demo game.

Most of the things you are taking issue with are because you are trying to get more from a demo game then you should be.

I can understand the frustration but you have to apply some more perspective to it. Core sets for anything aren't meant to be balanced, they don't have to be. That just isn't what they are for. The fact that we have this delay between the Core and Wave 1 is highlighting that.

You are trying to put a square peg in to a round hole, and that is bound to be frustrating for sure.

If you want a closer demo game have the Imperials take the Vic 1 instead of the Vic 2. If you are getting your ships arbitrarily killed against that version then yes I feel comfortable saying you are just throwing your ships to thier death.

I actually like the nebulon b, at least as a support roll. Keep it back and facing forward and take your 3 red dice shots. A couple of them focusing fire can be a real problem, even for the VsD.

The game plays well without the 6 turn limit, use the Unlimited Rounds rules, but then add your own mission objectives.

I think Scottie really said it all in regards to frustrations over the demo game feel of Armada in its core-only state. I would like his post a few more times if I could.

I'm still playing because I love the look and feel, but this game is absolutely not "there" yet without the first wave.

"-Rebel ships get one-shotted more often than not."

This only happened to me in my first game, where I parked my corvette in the front arc of a VSD I "Dominator" at close range. Keep in mind that you may pre-measure your maneouvers, which helped me at lot since to avoid that scary arc.

" -6 Turns greatly favors imperials. If I spend 3 turns trying to outmaneuver a VSD, then I've got 3 turns to try to get some work done. If I'm losing a ship a turn, my firepower is dwindling, and by the time I'm close to killing an arrowhead, the game is over."

I would argue that you need the 6 turns if you plan on crippling/destroying that VSD. It often takes me till turn 3 or 4 to position my ships, depending on the objectives played of cause.

"-Objectives are paramount. Since I've discovered that I CANNOT win a shooting match, it seems the only reasonable course is to outbid my opponent for initiative and make them choose an objective that favors me. That's all well and good, but a game that is mostly won or lost based on what objective card is selected makes playing the game out less interesting. Choose my card and I've got a shot, play one of yours, I don't."

Fully agreed, but this is a core-set only issue in my opinion. There simply is only one fleet setup available, at least if you dont own a multitude of core sets.

"-Nebulon Bs are garbage. They're slower than Corvettes, have the same total number of shields, but a worse distribution, no redirect, and a giant side arc, with only one hull point more. Their guns are a bit more powerful, but in practical terms, their not. They really only want their front arc facing the enemy, so they'll have 3 red dice. Corvettes have no problem facing 2 arcs at the enemy and will often be rolling 3 reds and 2 blues total. "

Depends. Escort Nebs are a bane to TIEs and help tremendeously to free your X-wings for bombing runs. Soon-to-arrive Nebulon expansion pack brings some more useful titles, which btw could be proxied already in a friendly environment. A support Nebulon with salvation and xx-9 turbolasers could well be a painful thing to encounter..

Sekac, what you are really saying is that you don't like Armada because you keep losing. Try some of the suggestions mentioned above to improve your game.

I did a Rebel/Imp swap with a friend so I have rebel stuff from 2 core sets. We've had quite a lot of games and I'm loving it so far. We are actually finding our fleets fairly balanced, but the objectives are important.

Upgrades can make a big difference too (the Neb B is fantastic when outfitted with the right upgrades). Until Wave 1 comes out, use print outs of the spoiled cards (see the various FFG Wave 1 articles to get these). A great combo I use is Yavaris + Raymus with a decent amount of X-Wings. I started a thread about this a while back that you can find here: https://community.fantasyflightgames.com/index.php?/topic/168322-yavaris-raymus-awesome

The game is highly slanted to whomever wins initiative, and it seems like the Imps typically do because they have a very effective 175 point build. Until Wave 1 comes out this game will continue to be a bid for initiative type of game because there isn't enough variety. Once Wave 1 comes out I imagine there will be MANY different lists. Lists that use squadrons, lists that aim low to win initiative, lists that go all 300 points and don't care about winning the big because they are balanced. But right now it's Imps want to destroy, Rebels want to run.

Wave 1.... you're our only hope.

I play imperial exclusively, and admittedly (in my opinion) we have an inherent advantage. I feel bad for anyone wanting to play rebels exclusively and I think FFG REALLY needs to step in and do something.

I get it, wave 1 is delayed due to outside factors. However, it is also completely within reason that they could step in and introduce some form of balancing within the core set and what it comes with. Or better yet, sanction and post on the main page new versions of the core set ships, a form of the victory stolen by the rebels, imperial corvettes and frigates before they were stolen. Just something!

Once again, I understand that the strike is an outside factor and not FFGs fault at all. But FFG needs to support its game and consumers, and right now it is not.

I found that the Imperials have been losing most games here. Aggressive Rebel players are not waiting to flank a Victory vs coming straight at one with 4 ships and a lot of concentrate fire commands. 3 games in a row last weekend the Rebels sank a Victory in 2 turns of shooting.

I'd vastly prefer FFG put effort towards creating content as opposed to creating stop gap measures to balance demo games.

They shouldn't have even released event rules for 180pt level.

Sekac, even though you're more interested in playing as Rebels, maybe try swapping sides with your gaming partner for a few matches? You may see your friend use some Rebel tactics you didn't think of, and you may find more downsides to the Imperial ships as you try to use them yourself.

and I think FFG REALLY needs to step in and do something.

You'd have to prove that there's an inherent imbalance in the core set before FFG would need to do anything. Since a number of people keep commenting on how they win as Rebel's that's pretty good evidence that the core is mostly balanced.

I echo the points of OP. I have a single Core Set and I feel that the problems are doubled there.

* I got once a Victory to 3HP, but a Command + Token engineering took that to 5 for the last round.

* I can't kill Ties. The lists we play use all 6 squadrons in the Core with Howlrunner. The imperial will never engage in range of the nebulon, he will wait for the X-wings near the Victory. Getting into medium range of those with the Nebulon means risking getting in medium range of the Victory, that's a big no-no. The nebulon with 3 blue dice is a force to be reckoned among Ties, unless you roll poorly.

edit: I also HATE that there isn't much room for rerolls in this game. In X-wing, you have multiple ways of modifying dice. If you have 4 dice with TL + F, you can expect 3+ damage easily. Here, it's sometimes all, sometimes nothing. You kill Tie Fighters on 1HP with 4 hits, you whiff all rolls on undamaged Ties. It's crazy! I would have preferred less dice with more rerolls, but I get why they went with this.

You could prove it, and FFG still shouldn't do anything about it. Core Sets do not strive to be or need to be balanced. It be a waste to address something that will be a non-issue in the coming weeks. It isn't as if there are Regionals for Armada.

You could prove it, and FFG still shouldn't do anything about it. Core Sets do not strive to be or need to be balanced. It be a waste to address something that will be a non-issue in the coming weeks. It isn't as if there are Regionals for Armada.

I don't get your point, why shouldn't they be balanced? I think the appeal for X-wing started because the Core set was incredibly fun and somewhat balanced, at least a lot more than this.

You could prove it, and FFG still shouldn't do anything about it.

I agree, I'm just saying there isn't even proof that something needs to fixed in the first place. If someone could prove it, then we could discuss if it's worth trying to fix it or not. I don't think it is, but unless there's proof something is broken there's no reason to even consider it.

There are plenty of ways to add to the game already. I know many people can't seem to bridge that gap because they are not usable in tourneys. For the sake of fun and sanity however I suggest checking out some of it to keep things interesting until the core game is enhanced by additional waves.

Are you using objectives? Also important and a very game changing experience.

You could prove it, and FFG still shouldn't do anything about it. Core Sets do not strive to be or need to be balanced. It be a waste to address something that will be a non-issue in the coming weeks. It isn't as if there are Regionals for Armada.

I don't get your point, why shouldn't they be balanced? I think the appeal for X-wing started because the Core set was incredibly fun and somewhat balanced, at least a lot more than this.

But that wasn't an issue because the Core Set and Wave 1 were released at the same time, even if Wave 1 didn't add much but numbers. You had no need or reason to just keep playing a limited demo game until you broke the thing of all fun and balance. Compared to X-wing Wave 1 for Armada looks to add alot more to the game.

Trying to do to much with a product that's intention is to offer an introduction to the game and a starting point to expand into the real game is going to be less then fruitful. If X-wing had come out Core Set early as Armada has, people would have been bored to tears trying to actually play that game as opposed to just using it for demos.

The use case for Nebulon Bs are for escorting dedicated bombers. However the Xwings are not dedicated bombers. Therefore, yes the Neb B feels out of place with just the core set.

Aa for getting one shotted with a neb b, without the dominator title or double arc shot, the opponent would need to roll 6 damage on The red dice and 2 damage and one accuracy (to block brace) on the blues for 8 damage. This is a highly unlikely scenario, and begs the question of why te first round of fire happened at medium, as opposed to long range, as well as why the Neb B was unable to activate prior to the vic and move out of arc.

Also, the BEST combination in the core set is CR90b with Dodonna's pride. You will usually get one to maybe 2 crits through your opponents shields before they have an opportunity to shoot at the CR90b. With Dodonna as the general, you get to choose amusing crits such as not long range shots, no command tokens, drop speed by one (can't use defense tokens), insta lose defense token, halve ability to repair, lose shields, and so forth before your opponent gets to shot at your Neb B.

I find the rebels are MUCH more fun to play than the Imps, as there are way more options in terms of ship loadout.

Also, don't pay for upgrada on cheap ships (eg absurd enhanced arms on a corvette)

...but not having much success.

I've got 2 copies of the core set and I'm only interested in playing rebels. I've yet to have anything resembling a close game. Granted, I've only played 4 games, so take alp my whining with a grain of salt but here's been my experience so far:

-Rebel ships get one-shotted more often than not. It's not as if I'm just running headlong at VSDs and hoping for the best, but when it comes time to exchange dice, I lose a ship. It's gotten to the point when I'm blown away if my ship isn't!

-6 Turns greatly favors imperials. If I spend 3 turns trying to outmaneuver a VSD, then I've got 3 turns to try to get some work done. If I'm losing a ship a turn, my firepower is dwindling, and by the time I'm close to killing an arrowhead, the game is over.

-Objectives are paramount. Since I've discovered that I CANNOT win a shooting match, it seems the only reasonable course is to outbid my opponent for initiative and make them choose an objective that favors me. That's all well and good, but a game that is mostly won or lost based on what objective card is selected makes playing the game out less interesting. Choose my card and I've got a shot, play one of yours, I don't.

-Nebulon Bs are garbage. They're slower than Corvettes, have the same total number of shields, but a worse distribution, no redirect, and a giant side arc, with only one hull point more. Their guns are a bit more powerful, but in practical terms, their not. They really only want their front arc facing the enemy, so they'll have 3 red dice. Corvettes have no problem facing 2 arcs at the enemy and will often be rolling 3 reds and 2 blues total.

Now I know I've got a lot to learn with this game and I've been paying very careful attention to all of the little mistakes I've made, and I have made many, but none so critical that I think my fundamental concerns are flawed.

I know that this game is in its infancy and it may balance out as future waves crash on our shores, but then again, maybe not.

I enjoy the mechanics of the game but just haven't really been grabbed by how the game is played.

Are you playing at 180 or 300? I find it makes a big difference. Admittedly I only have a few games under my belt as well, but I have had a far superior experience list building and playing 300 compared to the 180.

really guys? two pages in and nothing?

sigh

guess I gotta do it

anyway, I personally prefer this game to X-wing

if your ship is getting one-shot, it's your fault and not the green dice

The rebel playstyle takes quite a bit of coming to grips with, especially if you're an X-wing veteran, because running right into a star destroyer is basically the worst thing you can do unless you're an X-wing squadron. You're going to have to familiarize yourself with the alien navigation tool and how to use it to face your Neb, while the Star Destroyer doesn't really care as much.