Seriously. I'd have been taken out behind the space shed and gotten a blaster bolt retirement package right between the eyes.

Not looking for buttpats or anything, just hoping for some advice from other Rebel commanders out there.

I just don't seem to be able to play the smaller ships (you know, the backbone of the Rebellion) worth a ****. Tonight I lost my Corvette on turn 1 because I moved it first and the Demolisher cruised up and unloaded nine damage at short range into one side. Obviously slowing down my first turn launch is a good idea, but this is sort of a running theme in my games. My little ships just either get totally mauled in short order, or I'm so paranoid about said mauling I play ring around the rosie and they never get a shot off. I don't want to just give up and shell out another $52 Canadian for a second AF2, so I need to improve.

Any helpful hints you guys can give me? Little habits you get into that help make better decisions? Advice on what those decisions should be? Anything is appreciated.

There's a lot of variables, but generally try and keep your small ships away from Demolisher. Use the AF2 to protect them (by forcing them to enter the AF2s threat range if they want to engage your smaller ships) and choose your activations wisely.

What type of lists are you playing? Knowing more may help us offer better advice.

In general though, the first thing to do is understand the movement and firepower capabilities of your opponents. Then you must think a half turn in advance, and look at what likely moves your opponent will be able to make.

Only then can you decide what is, or is not, a prudent move for your ships. Once you know what your foe is capable of, you can then execute your strategy in a manner that won't result in disaster.

What strategy is that? That part is up to you - long range sniping, focusing firepower, scattering and playing the objectives....executing any and all of them well depends on a thorough understanding of the capabilities of all ships on the table.

Don't worry though, you'll get all this with enough games under your belt. Keep it up and have fun!

*buttpat*

Don't worry. It took me like 10 games to even get my first win. . . I have been on a good roll since then though.

If you're outnumbering the enemy, try saving those extremely maneuverable ships for last. They'll be able to see where everyone else is and then use their great speed to best advantage. With some experience/luck, you'll also put them in a good position to activate first next turn to make an attack and then dash out of range. Assuming you have initiative that is.

Do you play with a regular group or opponent? If they know you like to come out at speed 4 with your 'vettes switch it up once or twice and come out at speed 1 and bank a navigate token first turn. Second turn plan a navigate order and you can combine that with the token to jump from speed 1 to speed 3 and still get the bonus yaw from the order dial.

If your opponent likes cruising up to your 'vettes then place them at the extreme edge of the deployment zone, pointing directly at the opponent's edge. At speed four you can do a wicked sideslip (straight, click left, click right, double click as you need) or even something more drastic. The idea here is to tempt his ship away from the rest of your fleet. If you're pulling a Demolisher out of the scrum to deal with a Corvette, you're doing pretty well. You could even set your Corvette up pointing directly left or right — at speed 4 you can make a 90 degree turn and be right back in the fight.

The Corvettes take a lot of practice to get right. Their high speed is almost as dangerous to you (flying off the board) as it is to the enemy. Often the threat of a 'vette (or two) getting in behind the battle line can be enough to force an opponent to do something foolish. If you present your opponent with an array of unpleasant options you will be doing well. They should be looking at the field and thinking, "I can see Paragon coming right at me and maneuvering, but if those 'vettes get behind my Star Destroyer then I will never shake them. Which do I have to deal with?"

The simple advice is to play a fleet like a fleet, not individual ships.

Then look at your opponents list and have an idea as to what you expect him to do.

Attack his weaknesses and protect your own, flying in front of a ships whose sole purpose right now is to kill of Corvettes is more like flying your weakness right at his strength.

For Rebels I think you have to play the mission far more than the Imperials (the caveat here being at this time) look at missions that will have you earn points for anything but killing ships.

Playing Rebels has a bit of a learning curve to it. You'll definitely get better after more games.

Pay very close attention to your speed. Rebels want to flank but must also stay away from a VSD's front arc and a GSD's black dice. At the early rounds, get a Nav token and cautiously work your way to within long-medium range. Once you get within medium range, speed up via Nav command and/or token and work your way to their rear.

A lot of your squadrons have Bomber ability and you need them to supplement your firepower against Imperial ships. This means you need to get them out engagements by wiping out enemy squadrons as fast as possible. Spam Activate Squadron commands and use ships with good anti-squadron dice to do this fast.

Consider ramming their limping ships to finish them off. Losing a small ship to take down one of their big ones will almost always work to your advantage. You're in a better position to do this since you generally operate at higher speeds and have better mobility.

Good luck!

If you want, you can check out our stream: http://www.twitchtv.com/roadtowarwe have saved Armada games with some very good players under "Past Broadcasts". The CR-90 spam list in one of the games would be a good watch.

In a 300 point game, I ran my AF2, neb-b and my corvette. Used my corvette to draw out the GSD, which cost me the ship, but also cost the imp player his GSD. Then run the AF2 and neb-B against the VSD. My set up for the AF2 is gen dodonna, and raymus antilles, with the adv projectors and xx-9 turbolaser.

My plan is to get the AF2 to unload and get a crit, then pick the crit card that most screw the imp player. Usually fly the AF2 at speed 3, then once it pulls up along the side of the VSD, i slow down. With the advance projectors you can handle a one or two shots from the VSD.

I traded shots with the VSD his front and side to my AF2, i survived, then unloaded on him, got the crits, and he was stuck with no being able to turn, taking dmg from using his command dials, not being able to use crits and so on. It really knock the VSD down in size.

Well there is just so many variables that honestly there is not a correct answer to your problem.

I play nothing but rebels because I live in a area that heavy with imperial players and I wanted to play the underdogs for once so I'm hell bent on understanding how to play rebels.

I only have two games under my belt and my first game was the worst thrashing ever...my second game I still didn't win but I did play extremely better than my last game. If you keep playing a certain list and you keep getting your butt kicked,then don't be afraid to switch up upgrades or ships, experiment with everything you have.... I noticed in my second game that at a 300/point game that having a fleet with just two ships in it is a little too fragile for my taste so I have been creating lists that have three or four capital ships in it...yes we have squishy ships, and we have the AF markII. Each have their strengths and weakness. I know its all a lot to take in at once because I think what screws up a lot of new played is that some come from being used to the play style of X-Wing and are used to being able to create builds based off of meta... Well in this game there is no such meta as of yet and it would be great if there never will be.

As a rebel player there may be someone who like to run dual assault frigates, and there may be some who like to spam CR90's but I guarantee that their lists favor their play style.

You will catch on eventually after a few games when you notice what works when you are playing... What you use most on your upgrades, are there upgrades that you have on your ships that you are not using at all during a game? If so you may want to take the extra baggage out of your builds...

What fighters are working best for you?

Are you watching your opponent?

are you learning how he moves his fleet?

Are you observing his tactics... Use this knowledge against him.

For now if anything try not going into a game with the focus of winning the game, instead focus on your ships, relax and just learn the game, learn how your ships move and perform in combat. Keep upgrades simple as in don't bog down your ships with so many upgrades its not nessesary. Keep what you know is effective and that you know you will use most of.

If you don't win, so what. Ask yourself at the end of the game did I improve my game play? What could I have done different? Were the upgrades I'm using working for my ships?.. Just take a moment to reflect on the game and learn from it.

In time you will become a better player with rebels..

Don't get frustrated and give up on playing rebels. Keep in mind wave 2 is coming up and more options for rebel players will be open.

Until then good luck , and most of all have fun.

What type of lists are you playing? Knowing more may help us offer better advice.

The lists I prefer tend to center around my AF2 acting as a sort of anchor for the rest of the fleet. For a while I was running an AF2A as a shooter with two corvettes acting as supporting fire from the flanks and...I think three or four X-wings just to have at least a nod to the fighter game, and having reasonable success. I've twice tried to run two Nebs and either two Corvettes with small fighter escort or one corvette with more fighters and upgrades with absolutely zero success. I find that I can place a Corvette away from the main engagement to pull a GSD out to hunt it down, but then I'm basically gifting my opponent free points.

Honestly I think I'm going to head back to the AF2A as my center piece and sort of build around it. The current list looks like this:

The lists I prefer tend to center around my AF2 acting as a sort of anchor for the rest of the fleet. For a while I was running an AF2A as a shooter with two corvettes acting as supporting fire from the flanks and...I think three or four X-wings just to have at least a nod to the fighter game, and having reasonable success. I've twice tried to run two Nebs and either two Corvettes with small fighter escort or one corvette with more fighters and upgrades with absolutely zero success. I find that I can place a Corvette away from the main engagement to pull a GSD out to hunt it down, but then I'm basically gifting my opponent free points.

Honestly I think I'm going to head back to the AF2A as my center piece and sort of build around it. The current list looks like this:

Assault Frigate Mark II A + General Dodonna, Intel Officer 7, Electronic Countermeasures, Enhanced Armament and Paragon

Nebulon-B Support Refit + Raymus Antilles + XX-9 Turbolasers and Salvation

CR90 Corellian Corvette B + Engine Techs, Advanced Projectors and Dodonna's Pride

X-Wing x 3

Objectives: Advanced Gunnery, Fleet Ambush, Superior Positions

I'm thinking about dropping Raymus and the Advanced projectors to add another X-Wing. Also considering swapping out the Neb for a second Corvette, this one with Leia Organa to act as a sort of emergency command ship for the Assault Fatty.

Ahhh, young padawan, we identify your first problem - you lack focus!

(and we're not talking tokens here)

So, you're starting with a halfway decent list, focused on two ships with heavy hitting firepower and a fast ship to flank. Then you suggest significantly degrading the abilities of your ships (Antilles is ++ contribution to firepower, and AP really increases CR90 survivability) in order to.....add a single X-wing?

Why? What ship is commanding your X-wings? What is their purpose? Why is that extra X-wing worth the degradation to your ships' capabilities? (It's probably not).

Looking at your three ship build, flight strategy wise, I would echo what was said earlier. Don't be in too big a rush with your Vette. Let your slower and tougher ships lead, allowing the enemy to react to them, and then begin moving out your CR90 as a reaction to their movement. Paragon is your big hammer, with Salvation adding in some extra damage at Long range, while the CR90 is the more about flanking and getting in Medium range.

Also, looking at your enemy fleet's composition is huge in this variable.

Is it a V & G list supported by fighters? If the Glad runs away from the Vicky, then your three ships can have fun mauling him, and that means possibly slowing down a little at start and letting the a Glad come to you, and then accelerating into the VSD once Glad is dead.

A twin or triple Glad list? His entire fleet can mov pretty quickly, and only your Space Guppy can exchange fire with the Glad on a 1v1 basis. So, you need to stick together, concentrate fire on one ship at a time until it goes boom, and then move to the next.

Actually, sticking together is usually a good idea anyway for us Rebels.

To your question about dropping the beautiful NebB for a second support oriented CR90, not a big fan of that idea. Paragon is a shooting ship, Salvation is a shooting ship (although, I do prefer the X17 over the XX9 turbo laser myself, it works nicely with the Sal title), you've already got two ships that can do some good damage at range, and they both can take a bit of punishment at this long range on top of it, so why downgrade Sal to Tantive with Leia?

Honestly for me, anytime I go with the Medium ranged CR90, that's more of my support ship, because it usually takes a little bit longer getting into range with those Blue dice, and I'm not a fan of bum rushing the stage with a little Vette. I do try and keep my approaches coordinated, letting the CR90 speed off in its hooking arc, and trying to let it swing into a flank at the same time my bigger guns are ready to exchange fire. Basically, I don't want to sacrifice a ship, unless the rest of my fleet is there and ready to unload all at once.

funny thing, I always have a hard time making an Afmk2 a "centerpiece" because the bugger doesn't plow through things like a VSD. I can understand a squadron orientated carrier running around in front of yavaris, being scary as all hell, but the armaments of the whale are more conducive to the fattie strafing and kiting while the neb and corv are more focused on the front.

So, I've been playing mostly spam lists

Two Afmkiis with a title apiece have been having a lovely time strafing around imperials

Three Nebs with salvation and yavaris mixed in with a health amount of A and B-wings just plow on straight through the front.

I've been trying to work on how to take my MK2 Gallant and both run it up the center (for fighter positioning) but then accelerate to allow it to circle and strafe.

So far it's been successful in that I win, but not successful in the sense that I never get out of the pocket with the MK2. Still trading a MK2 for the W is certainly fine.

from my experiences so far the one ship i dont leave home without is a neb B(i prefer escort class) with yarvis title and a pair of B wings for it. Imperials want to close the gap but the sheer firepower double tap'd B wings and a front hit from a neb do atrocious things to star destroyers that it gives them alot to think about, especially gladiators. i use this setup as my support element for controlling their fleet and protecting my flanks.

otherwise i like the AFM2 as my tanky ship, toss my admiral on it to make it a tempting target. best upgrades for killing star destroyers is intel officer with XI7 turbolasers, intel the brace and you will push alot of damage through over 2 rounds.

the 3rd ship in the fleet is upto taste. sometimes i roll a command corvette, sometimes a flanking corvette. last game i ran salvation but left me very low on squadrons so wasnt sure how i felt it went.

I find Rebels vs Imperials a very tough matchup. If the Imp player has any skill + gladiator, you're in trouble. I've only ever managed a few victories with Rebels and its been based on victory points. I've only ever won a single straight up fight against the Empire and that was because my opponent foolishly dropped to speed 0 on the space station. he thought he could heal indefinitely, not realizing he can't spend defense tokens while stopped.

I gave not had any trouble in that match-up even with multiple Gladiators involved.

I gave not had any trouble in that match-up even with multiple Gladiators involved.

funny thing, I always have a hard time making an Afmk2 a "centerpiece" because the bugger doesn't plow through things like a VSD. I can understand a squadron orientated carrier running around in front of yavaris, being scary as all hell, but the armaments of the whale are more conducive to the fattie strafing and kiting while the neb and corv are more focused on the front.

So, I've been playing mostly spam lists

Two Afmkiis with a title apiece have been having a lovely time strafing around imperials

Three Nebs with salvation and yavaris mixed in with a health amount of A and B-wings just plow on straight through the front.

I like it but it sounds a bit fragile, A-Wings and B-Wings are beasts . How do you avoid being taken out from your side arcs? I like Neb B's but I find them hard to keep in game because of their sides.

you don't avoid being taken out from your side arcs, apart from just going face-first towards the enemy (works better than you'd imagine with this set-up)

at long range, your defense tokens will eat damage just fine unless you get pegged by paragon or multiple shots ala cr-90 spam

at close range, you're just going to die. Embrace the inevitable

and by 'embrace' I mean, position your B-wings where you predict close combat will occur. Their slow speed means they won't be alpha striking anything faster than a VSD (so anything other than a VSD), they're there for retaliation and repellent purposes. You may think imperial ships have scary attacks, but you haven't seen scary until a few angry B-wings start retaliating. Yavarsis especially makes them disgusting and basically fatal to everything including motti VSDs. The neb will probably die, but odds are its cheaper than every other ship in the game (apart from Cr-90s)

My strategy with the fleet has been described as "suicidally aggressive"

engaging squadrons are how opponents would counter this, while A-wings and double-dice anti-squadron fire would be your counter-counter etc.

Note I'm not adovcating an 100% winrate or a failsafe tactic (or else the game would not be worth playing) but B-wings are bloody terrifying and exactly what Nebs need to counter their actual weakness: close combat. I just want to state that nebs are not squishy. If they get blown apart by something like a Demolisher bombardment or a VSD front arc, you have to recognize that those are exceptional offensive outputs and that just about every ship in existence is not going to be looking pretty after taking that kind of fire to the face.

basically, it's all going to come down to the players (as it should); all the fleet does is give you all the tools needed to approach most foes regardless of the reputation the Nebs have gotten

just wouldn't want to run against a CR-90 swarm, but given that I'm basically the only rebel player in my area ...

I would recommend XI7's and Intel Officer over XX9's and Raymus on Salvation, IMO.

(and we're not talking tokens here)

So, you're starting with a halfway decent list, focused on two ships with heavy hitting firepower and a fast ship to flank. Then you suggest significantly degrading the abilities of your ships (Antilles is ++ contribution to firepower, and AP really increases CR90 survivability) in order to.....add a single X-wing?

Why? What ship is commanding your X-wings? What is their purpose? Why is that extra X-wing worth the degradation to your ships' capabilities? (It's probably not).

Heh, I'm getting the idea that the answer is no, it's not worth the degradation I might still be stuck on the idea that fielding a minimum of fighters to protect against things like the Rhymer death ball is a good idea.

you don't avoid being taken out from your side arcs, apart from just going face-first towards the enemy (works better than you'd imagine with this set-up)

at long range, your defense tokens will eat damage just fine unless you get pegged by paragon or multiple shots ala cr-90 spam

at close range, you're just going to die. Embrace the inevitable

and by 'embrace' I mean, position your B-wings where you predict close combat will occur. Their slow speed means they won't be alpha striking anything faster than a VSD (so anything other than a VSD), they're there for retaliation and repellent purposes. You may think imperial ships have scary attacks, but you haven't seen scary until a few angry B-wings start retaliating. Yavarsis especially makes them disgusting and basically fatal to everything including motti VSDs. The neb will probably die, but odds are its cheaper than every other ship in the game (apart from Cr-90s)

My strategy with the fleet has been described as "suicidally aggressive"

engaging squadrons are how opponents would counter this, while A-wings and double-dice anti-squadron fire would be your counter-counter etc.

Note I'm not adovcating an 100% winrate or a failsafe tactic (or else the game would not be worth playing) but B-wings are bloody terrifying and exactly what Nebs need to counter their actual weakness: close combat. I just want to state that nebs are not squishy. If they get blown apart by something like a Demolisher bombardment or a VSD front arc, you have to recognize that those are exceptional offensive outputs and that just about every ship in existence is not going to be looking pretty after taking that kind of fire to the face.

basically, it's all going to come down to the players (as it should); all the fleet does is give you all the tools needed to approach most foes regardless of the reputation the Nebs have gotten

just wouldn't want to run against a CR-90 swarm, but given that I'm basically the only rebel player in my area ...

I can attest to the B-Wings being unholy terrors. My opponent I usually play against hates them so much its funny to watch. I love the B-Wings... And I like Nebulon B's if I ever get a third Nebulon I'm going to have to give it a try. Sounds fun

you don't avoid being taken out from your side arcs, apart from just going face-first towards the enemy (works better than you'd imagine with this set-up)

at long range, your defense tokens will eat damage just fine unless you get pegged by paragon or multiple shots ala cr-90 spam

at close range, you're just going to die. Embrace the inevitable

and by 'embrace' I mean, position your B-wings where you predict close combat will occur. Their slow speed means they won't be alpha striking anything faster than a VSD (so anything other than a VSD), they're there for retaliation and repellent purposes. You may think imperial ships have scary attacks, but you haven't seen scary until a few angry B-wings start retaliating. Yavarsis especially makes them disgusting and basically fatal to everything including motti VSDs. The neb will probably die, but odds are its cheaper than every other ship in the game (apart from Cr-90s)

My strategy with the fleet has been described as "suicidally aggressive"

engaging squadrons are how opponents would counter this, while A-wings and double-dice anti-squadron fire would be your counter-counter etc.

Note I'm not adovcating an 100% winrate or a failsafe tactic (or else the game would not be worth playing) but B-wings are bloody terrifying and exactly what Nebs need to counter their actual weakness: close combat. I just want to state that nebs are not squishy. If they get blown apart by something like a Demolisher bombardment or a VSD front arc, you have to recognize that those are exceptional offensive outputs and that just about every ship in existence is not going to be looking pretty after taking that kind of fire to the face.

basically, it's all going to come down to the players (as it should); all the fleet does is give you all the tools needed to approach most foes regardless of the reputation the Nebs have gotten

just wouldn't want to run against a CR-90 swarm, but given that I'm basically the only rebel player in my area ...

I can attest to the B-Wings being unholy terrors. My opponent I usually play against hates them so much its funny to watch. I love the B-Wings... And I like Nebulon B's if I ever get a third Nebulon I'm going to have to give it a try. Sounds fun.

Also what version of the Neb B's are you using? Escort or support?