You blew up Babylon 5!!! D: I can see it behind the other ship!

Ah crap, I was really hoping no one would notice

This was the original pic . Maybe I'll try with this one instead.

When making custom cards similar to this (for the RPG actually) I go hunting for images and save them to an image repository. Even browsing Wookiepedia can bring up a few interesting images, and I'm pretty sure this is what FFG does. They must have access to a searchable image database from LFL.

Then whenever you need something you can peruse the archive for an image that at least kind-of conveys what you are talking about in the design. Not a few of the card artwork examples in X-W/Armada have a tenuous connection to what's going on, after all.

As for FFG, I'm pretty sure they commission new art for their cards - much of it is reposted by the authors on Deviantart, sometimes with a mention of the design brief, e.g. "a female Jedi dealing with a group of stormtroopers".

You blew up Babylon 5!!! D: I can see it behind the other ship!

Ah crap, I was really hoping no one would notice

This was the original pic . Maybe I'll try with this one instead.

These may be of use.

http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130118053310/starwars/images/9/9c/DCS_Destruction.png

http://cdn.vrworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Star-Wars-Concept-Art-Jedi5.jpg

http://cmnhospitals.typepad.com/.a/6a0133f5030223970b019b01239a94970b-800wi

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2d/e4/18/2de418527b95f813b8e5ece751a1327f.jpg

http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/swg/images/3/3e/Space_Battle.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110814182848

Thanks! I'd seen all of those already, and the first (from one of the prequels?) was on my "maybe" list in case the image I linked earlier didn't work. But I think it does:

Next up are Advanced Med Bay, Vital Supplies and Starfighter Parts. I think I have images for all of those, just need to work on the wording. There's a couple of other ideas that GilmoreDK suggested that I might also flesh out some more. Watch this space

Here we go:

Jammer Array
I'm having difficulty deciding between two different effects for this card. The first is similar to X-Wing's EM Emitter, the second is more specific to Armada mechanics and I guess I like it somewhat better. The fact that it stops things like ACM, Overload Pulse and Advanced Proton Torpedoes makes it more useful and interesting than simple die reduction. But I'd be happy to hear your opinions - also about the artwork.

Advanced Med Bay

Here I'm also torn between two different mechanics. The first one (friendly ships ignore the effects of Crew damage cards) is more useful, while the second (removing Crew damage cards is cheaper) feels more thematic. Perhaps I could keep the first one, and make another one worded just like the second but for Ship damage cards. Again, feedback appreciated.

Vital Cargo

Two more options, though in this case almost identical to each other. They both trigger when you start your activation near the opponent's edge, and let you remove your ship from play to score victory points. The first one gives you a victory token, while the second awards you 20 points flat. I kinda like the first one because it directly affects your choice of objective cards, and has some risk built into it, but the second is perhaps clearer and more straightforward.

Repair Bay
This one I feel is both thematic and useful (even if it may feel weird with some of the one-man squadrons in the R&V pack):

Speaking for myself, I like all of those cards and could use each and every one of them.

For Jamming Arrays, I would keep both and rename one, probably the second, to something along the lines of Emergency Countermeasures but keep the wording as is. Both would also be incredibly useful as non-Cargo upgrades, increase the cost and make them Defensive Retrofits maybe?

For Med Bay, I would use the first one, at least as costed, to prevent GR-75s from making crew damage cards completely moot by spamming Engineering commands. I don't know how you could rework the other one, perhaps Spare Munitions, with a similar effect for damage cards affecting weaponry.

For Vital Cargo, I prefer the latter for its directness, but as someone who rarely plays games with objectives with tokens worth points, I wouldn't mind the other one if such play is more prevalent across the community. Both make excellent pieces for blockade-running type scenarios.

On a tangent note, I have some ideas for GAR commander cards I wanted more eyes/minds on. Since we have custom ships dating back to the Clone Wars, it seemed unfair they were forced to play with commanders from a later era. For Wulff Yularen (yes that Yularen, he was Skywalker's flag captain), the current idea is the following: "Once per round, one ship may replace its top command dial with the dial beneath it and reveal that dial instead." I was trying to play off his current ability with tokens and went with dials instead. I'm not sure if this is too weak, but I'm wary of making him too strong either. I haven't had a chance to playtest any of these yet. Since this is useless to Command 1 ships, Yularen would mostly find use in heavier battle fleets, probably costing in the high 20's low thirties.

For Anakin Skywalker, as a commander I am torn between two ideas. The first is, "All unique squadrons on the field add one damage to the current count per (critical hit icon here)." This effect is perpetual, giving aces Vader's ace ability and double damage crits to bombers, but only ace squadrons. The other idea is, "For all fighters activated by Squadron Command, for that activation, add one damage per (critical hit icon here) to the damage total." Same effect on damage as the first one, but a different approach to how it is used. I lean on the former, to use point cost to limit its effective effect (say that five times fast), but both could easily be overpowered. I expect Skywalker to be low to mid 30's in cost.

The last idea was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi would enhance defense tokens, with the wording, "When a ship spends two defense tokens in defense, if neither is discarded, the defender may choose one token to unexhaust at the end of the attack." In this way Kenobi helps many ships, both FFG and custom that pack multiple of one token and only one of another. With Kenobi, for ex., a Victory could spend its brace in two different attacks, if it also spent a redirect in the first attack, three times if it spent the other redirect in the second attack. This is an extremely powerful ability that probably costs Kenobi in the high 30's but I think it could provide a very interesting dynamic, a defensive mindset not found in many Armada ships or cards.

Just some off the cuff ideas I wanted community feedback on, thanks guys. PS If anyone has access to 3D models of any very large Star Wars starships, eg Executor, Bellator or Allegiance from FractalSponge, the Recusant-class CW destroyer, since it had a large version, please please please message me. I am very interested in acquiring one of those models for a personal project I can elaborate on if anyone is curious.

I'm curious now! What have you got in mind?

Also, you may want to try to contact some of the EaW modders, as the most extensive collection of 3d images I have see was on a modding forum.

Jammer Array:I love both, but if I had to pick I would go with the second one. The image on the second is my favorite of the two.

Advanced Med Bay: I prefer the wording on the first, but the second could be repurposed as a defensive retrofit, something like Redundant Life support. The image on the first on better reflects a in action trauma center.

Vital Cargo: I prefer the second, as I avoid the victory token objectives, due to my preferred style of play.

Repair Bay: Looks good, but seems cheap for distance 5. May seem silly, but I would point it based on the distance it can affect. 3pts for distance 3, 4 for distanc 4, 5 for distance 5. Just my two credits.

All look good though.

Repair Bay: Looks good, but seems cheap for distance 5. May seem silly, but I would point it based on the distance it can affect. 3pts for distance 3, 4 for distanc 4, 5 for distance 5. Just my two credits.

Seconded. Maybe not a one-to-one distance-cost ration (1 pt out to distance two, then one point for each distance after that?), but a scaling cost per distance. Make commanders work to use it.

To the modders idea, I may poke around in there, but I am completely unfamiliar with anything to do with modding. I have no idea if any of their model types could be useful to me. I need something that SolidWorks or an equivalent program can accept and transform into an .stl format. That is so I can hand it off to a 3D printer and have a model created. I have access to the programs and the printers, of a sufficiently large size to be useful to me, but not the time or the skill to develop the models I'm interested in.

My endgame is finally end the debate about the viability of very large ships in Armada. In other words, I'm going to build a dreadnought, and then play it in a custom match with a regular opponent who is more than willing to deal with this experiment and the 750+pt fleet we estimate will be required to place such ships in viable modified Star Wars: Armada mechanics. I insist on having a model for these experiments (partially because I am a collector of such odds and ends), thus my search. Once I have a model and print it, I plan to start a new thread detailing my discoveries. I can link the older thread where I detailed how the rules for such a ship might work if you are interested. Please clue me in if you find anything useful. In the meantime custom cards for Armada are their own kind of fun and I'll stick with them.

On a tangent note, I have some ideas for GAR commander cards I wanted more eyes/minds on. Since we have custom ships dating back to the Clone Wars, it seemed unfair they were forced to play with commanders from a later era.

For Wulff Yularen (yes that Yularen, he was Skywalker's flag captain), the current idea is the following: "Once per round, one ship may replace its top command dial with the dial beneath it and reveal that dial instead." I was trying to play off his current ability with tokens and went with dials instead. I'm not sure if this is too weak, but I'm wary of making him too strong either. I haven't had a chance to playtest any of these yet. Since this is useless to Command 1 ships, Yularen would mostly find use in heavier battle fleets, probably costing in the high 20's low thirties.

He lets you fly tight formations (even conga lines) and yet be essentially unconstrained by activation order. But it's just an idea

For Anakin Skywalker, as a commander I am torn between two ideas. The first is, "All unique squadrons on the field add one damage to the current count per (critical hit icon here)." This effect is perpetual, giving aces Vader's ace ability and double damage crits to bombers, but only ace squadrons. The other idea is, "For all fighters activated by Squadron Command, for that activation, add one damage per (critical hit icon here) to the damage total." Same effect on damage as he first one, but a different approach to how it is used. I lean on the former, to use point cost to limit its effective effect (say that five times fast), but both could easily be overpowered. I expect Skywalker to be low to mid 30's in cost.

The last idea was Obi-Wan Kenobi. Kenobi would enhance defense tokens, with the wording, "When a ship spends two defense tokens in defense, if neither is discarded, the defender may choose one token to unexhaust at the end of the attack." In this way Kenobi helps many ships, both FFG and custom that pack multiple of one token and only one of another. With Kenobi, for ex., a Victory could spend its brace in two different attacks, if it also spent a redirect in the first attack, three times if it spent the other redirect in the second attack. This is an extremely powerful ability that probably costs Kenobi in the high 30's but I think it could provide a very intersting dynamic, a defensive mindset not found in many Armada ships or cards.

I like Wulff moddining the move, that actually sounds pretty cool, especially with Star Destroyer formations.

Yeah - he's going to love Venators, Acclamators and Victories.

So here's the full set of Cargo upgrade cards, chosen by popular demand*:

And here are two versions of your Obi-Wan proposal. One as you suggested, the other somewhat toned down but also significantly cheaper:

*: You both preferred the 20VP version of the vital cargo card, because you don't usually play with points objectives. I chose the token version to give you an incentive to do so

And again, two versions:

Imagine the look on your opponent's face when he sees that last one

And again, two versions: Imagine the look on your opponent's face when he sees that last one

The second one is sick, maybe too sick. Even for 38 points.

The Anakin starfighter could have the same effect for friendly fighters within medium range.

Agreed. Too Sick. Because I would never take anything else Ever .

I like them all. Once I get a good Monday off, I'll play a couple games with these to see how they shake out. For comments on the existing:

I would rephrase Yularen to "...The ship that moved reduces speed by 1 like normal." to enforce that you may not have overlapping ships. This Yularen will be very good for preventing tight formations from being thrown into disarray when radical manuevers are required. He, like all of his colleagues here, appeals to a very particular play style.

Of course you picked the token version. I expected nothing less.

Kenobi is very good, and I appreciate the cheaper version. If I have the points I would always take the more expensive version, but I think the cost difference is great enough to make them both viable. EDIT: I would also be careful about Kenobi's wording, that one of the unexhausted tokens must be spent that turn. As it stands, that will happen most of the time by default, this is just something to consider going forward.

For Skywalker 1, I would be careful to add the word "additional" such that it reads "...adds 1 additional damage" to make it clear this is on top of, say, Bomber. I would also still lean on a phrasing around unique or named squadrons, because otherwise that will really only affect Jedi squadrons or any more aces we return and add. Skywalker 2, flat out, is the most powerful commander I've ever seen for a fighter-heavy build. I'm not sure the cost is high enough, since without needing to take Rogues for the Rogue keyword, fighter-heavy builds can run even more fighters since Rogues are no longer there to eat points like foxes in a henhouse.

Heh. I knew that would provoke a reaction

He may be somewhat undercosted, but I'm not sure it's as broken as you guys think it is. First, because the GAR squadrons aren't all that powerful (and the cool Jedi ones will already have Rogue). Second, because they can still get wiped out (or at least pinned down) by ship fire and/or activated enemy squadrons before they get a chance to act - and every squadron command you are forced to issue in order to avoid that further diminishes Anakin's value. Third, because you're throwing away the Venator's best feature, again wasting points. Fourth, because in order for him to be cost-effective you need to basically go all-out on squadrons, so even if he's great, it's only within a narrow type of build. Fifth, because he leaves your ships high and dry, with no bonus to speak of other than a proactive fighter screen.And sixth, because who plays Tarkin?

Someone in the forum had estimated the value of Rogue at about 3-4 points, and given that even at 400 points you're unlikely to field more than 10-12 squadrons (unless they're crappy Z-95s), I figured the cost should probably be high 30s to mid 40s. But it's really hard to know for sure without playtesting... and the CIS is nowhere in sight Anyway, if it makes you happier I'll revise it to 45 points for now.

And again, two versions:

Imagine the look on your opponent's face when he sees that last one

I like it. Make it 45 points or limit it to 4-5 squadrons.

I would rephrase Yularen to "...The ship that moved reduces speed by 1 like normal." to enforce that you may not have overlapping ships.

Of course you picked the token version. I expected nothing less.

Kenobi is very good, and I appreciate the cheaper version. If I have the points I would always take the more expensive version, but I think the cost difference is great enough to make them both viable. EDIT: I would also be careful about Kenobi's wording, that one of the unexhausted tokens must be spent that turn. As it stands, that will happen most of the time by default, this is just something to consider going forward.

Having said that, Kenobi's ability can be extremely powerful (up until he gets neutered by NK-7s and Overload Pulses) and I'm not sure I grasp all the implications. Be sure to let me know if there's something I overlooked!

For Skywalker 1, I would be careful to add the word "additional" such that it reads "...adds 1 additional damage" to make it clear this is on top of, say, Bomber.

As an alternative, he could add the Bomber keyword to all friendly squadrons: out of the existing squadrons, this would only affect the V-19, V-wing and Z-95 (all of which roll a single blue die) so it's good but not a huge deal. On the other hand, it would have a greater effect on Jedi Starfighters, whether unique or not, as I intended to give them a black die and Rogue. The only downside of this option is that it doesn't improve your anti-squadron capabilities.

I have to think some more about it.

Skywalker 2, flat out, is the most powerful commander I've ever seen for a fighter-heavy build. I'm not sure the cost is high enough, since without needing to take Rogues for the Rogue keyword, fighter-heavy builds can run even more fighters since Rogues are no longer there to eat points like foxes in a henhouse.

45 is probably a better cost. But it needs playtesting.

Agreed, Im thinking as close to 100 pts of y-wings as I can get. That should test it!

I would rephrase Yularen to "...The ship that moved reduces speed by 1 like normal." to enforce that you may not have overlapping ships.

There's method behind the madness: the normal result of an overlap is that the moving ship's speed is temporarily reduced during the maneuver (the speed dial is not changed) until a valid end position is established. What Yularen's last sentence does, however, is let the ship change its speed dial afterwards, for free. It won't affect the current maneuver, but it lets you untangle yourself next turn if needed. This makes overlapping your own ships not only less problematic, but actually desirable.

So if I understand you correctly, Yularen is intended to allow a ship to reaccelerate, as far as the official speed dial, the true speed measure, is concerned, allowing friendly starships to play bumper cars all game long in tight formation for no real loss, either in speed or damage?

Kenobi is very good, and I appreciate the cheaper version. If I have the points I would always take the more expensive version, but I think the cost difference is great enough to make them both viable. EDIT: I would also be careful about Kenobi's wording, that one of the unexhausted tokens must be spent that turn. As it stands, that will happen most of the time by default, this is just something to consider going forward.

That was something I considered initially (specifically, using the wording "you may refresh 1 of those tokens"), but then I figured, why limit it? Say you're in a Pelta class, which has the best defense setup in the GAR with Brace, Brace, Evade, Redirect. You get attacked and spend a Brace and Evade, then refresh the Evade. You get attacked again, spend Evade and Redirect, then for some unfathomable reason refresh the Brace (which your wording would not allow). Now you're left with two Braces, no flexibility, and no way to trigger Obi-Wan's ability again. This is just an example, but I can't really think of a situation in which choosing to refresh a token other than one of the ones you just spents gives you any appreciable advantage... and if you can, then more power to you I say!

Having said that, Kenobi's ability can be extremely powerful (up until he gets neutered by NK-7s and Overload Pulses) and I'm not sure I grasp all the implications. Be sure to let me know if there's something I overlooked!

For Kenobi, your option is more flexible certainly. I posted my comment for reference, as the original line of thinking was allowing Kenobi to enhance the use of defense tokens. I then stuck with the plural, thus the rule he has. Part of my idea is just that it is the original idea, part is that this way he has a modicum of balance no matter what the field situation is. And he is neutered by new cards, but so is Ozzel by the crit damage card affecting speed change, so I don't feel too sorry for him. I'm not going to object to the current rule, but it is more open to both use and abuse than the original, another concern I had when letting him affect defense tokens.

So if I understand you correctly, Yularen is intended to allow a ship to reaccelerate, as far as the official speed dial, the true speed measure, is concerned, allowing friendly starships to play bumper cars all game long in tight formation for no real loss, either in speed or damage?

Yes - but do note that under normal rules ships do not lose speed when overlapping. They just retry their planned maneuver at successively slower speeds until a valid end position is found. But their speed dial (for next turn) is unchanged. From your comments I suspect you may have been playing this wrong (if not, my apologies, just trying to make sure we're on the same page!).

As worded, Yularen lets your Acclamator (dial set at speed 2) overlap a friendly Venator, not receiving any damage but staying behind it (i.e. moving at speed 1 this turn). Immediately after the maneuver, it can change the dial down to 1 (to stay in formation behind the Venator next turn) or up to 3 (to leap ahead of it instead). In practice, it's almost as if it received a Navigate token and had to spend it immediately. I suppose I could reword the card to simply give the ship(s) the token, which can be very slightly better or worse depending on the situation - but basically achieves the same result while being much clearer for the reader.

As for Kenobi, I don't much mind either way, as the practical implications of the change appear minimal (by contrast, a much more radical limitation would be to say "you may refresh 1 of your other exhausted defense tokens"). But you're be right that it's better to be on the safe side. I'll mull it over, and probably revert to your original version, though I suppose it's the sort of issue that is best solved by playtesting.

I think I saw that Utar had a Victory-II class frigate. Could you make a card for it. It could have shields 2/2/2/1 attack with 2blue 2black - fore 2blue 1black - side and blue - rear 1 blue as. evade contain redirect.1 command 1 squadron 3 engineering. and sp1 1click sp2 0,1 sp3 0,1,1. upgrades officer, defensive retrofit ( with homing missile upgrade that adds 1 black die to as pool and point defense turrets that adds 1 blue to the as pool), and homing missiles.

Hmmm, well, I have no particular interest in that ship, so it won't form part of my main collection, but here you go:

I can't believe you don't consider that to be a ship you shouldn't put in your main collection, although that's probably because of your reasons. It looks and feels pretty good (I like sword-like ships...)!

On the issue of cards: Are you planning on doing cards apart from cargo and characters (Weapons, defensive/offensive retrofits, etc)?

Think I like the second iteration of Obi-wan better. Don't really know why, but I just feel it more Obi-wan-ish.

I love your work, keep it up!

PS: How do you do or find the outlines for the ships? And the cards in general hahaha

I can't believe you don't consider that to be a ship you shouldn't put in your main collection, although that's probably because of your reasons. It looks and feels pretty good (I like sword-like ships...)!

On the issue of cards: Are you planning on doing cards apart from cargo and characters (Weapons, defensive/offensive retrofits, etc)?

Think I like the second iteration of Obi-wan better. Don't really know why, but I just feel it more Obi-wan-ish.

PS: How do you do or find the outlines for the ships? And the cards in general hahaha

So, like this, then?

As for Anakin, after much thought and some attempts at making the ace-only damage-boosting ability fit nicely on the card, I found it a bit clunky, especially considering it only applies to a small subset of your squadrons (which already account for a small subset of your fleet). All other commanders so far affect all ships, and don't necessarily lock you into a specific, narrow build. So a universal -but weaker- version of the bonus you proposed seemed more appropriate:

It seems radical at a glance, but most Republic squadrons (all but the weak Z-95) already have one of those keywords, so gains are marginal - especially since all the squadrons that gain Bomber roll a measly 1 blue die. The upcoming Jedi Starfighters (with Rogue and black anti-ship dice) will benefit the most by far, which fits your original intent.