Since Armada was released there is a lot of discussion about fighter squadrons and how they are just ok, since they require a capitol ship to shepherd them. Based off this discussion I have a new house rule that I will probably test out.

Squadron Commander (X) - Each named fighter squadron, like Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader gains the equivalent of a level 1 squadron command stat on a capitol ship. During the Command Phase, the squadron commander can direct a number of squadrons equal to this squadron commander level like a capitol ship. So Luke Skywalker with a Squadron Commander (1), can direct 1 additional squadron to move and attack during the ship phase.

Some individuals like Wedge would probably have a higher squadron commander rating than others.

This would at least give the squadrons a small ability to oversee themselves, but ships would still be more effective at pushing larger numbers of squadrons. Not really sure how it would affect squadron point cost though.

Thoughts.

Salcor

This would destabilize the game.

Look even in the X-Wing books where Wedge is in command you never see him controlling squadrons around him, sure he tells them to assist or to back him up bit full squadrons, no. The reason for this is because he can't focus on that while in combat.

Giving this rule to aces also makes them the most wanted thing around. You will see more aces than normal fighters. On top of that, Imperials would have an overwhelming advantage in this because they have cheaper squadrons.

I've suggested something similar a while back, but I would be limiting it to support type craft (such as shuttles), and certainly wouldn't be adding it to existing units that have already been costed without it.

My reasoning for such an ability is that it would act as an activation multiplier (effectively allowing the shuttle to be activated as a freebie - you use an activation to activate the shuttle, then the shuttle activates the main fighter squadron). Depending on the exact wording of such a rule, it may also be possible to activate the shuttle in the squadrons phase (move or fire), then use it to fully activate (move and fire) another squadron despite it being the squadrons phase. Either of these abilities could potentially be powerful however, and so they need to be taken into account whilst the squadron is being designed. You can't just tack them on as an afterthought.

My major gripe is that the RANGE of the squadron command severely limits its (offensive) usefulness. I'd like it to se unlimited or at least long range squadron commands maybe by paying for a "squadron control" upgrade to increase comms, etc on the commanding ships. Make it expensive.

The range represents dozens if not hundreds of kilometers,maybe as much as a thousand. That is a lot. It also represents realistic jamming capabilities

...Piggy...

I think this is unnecessary. Fighters are more important then people give them credit for. In a game that only last 6 rounds and where not ever game will see ships destroyed, it will come down to squadrons destroyed.

Plus wave 2 is going to have new squadron abilities where they will be able to move and attack in the same turn instead of just one or the other.

this houserule will become obsolete once we have Rogue allowing for more variety (

the interaction between cap ships and squadrons is essential to maintaining cap ship focus in this game while giving squadrons such amazing stats for their cost (13 points of X-wing has the base hull as 51/57 points of Neb) and it works perfectly as is, forcing the player to care very much about the positioning of their fleet and the squadrons supporting it'

I also honestly can't believe people think squadrons are just "okay." **** things rip ships apart if left uncontested. A VSD is a tanky terror to face with an capital ship, but throw them against squadrons and they're laughably helpless. Currently, no ship can even get close to the damage potential of a few B-wings (add Yavaris in and you have the highest damage potential in the game). Squadrons are a significant part of the game and their relationship with allied capital ships make them an involving one as well.

Hell, even Rogue is so well designed with this in mind because it kicks in during the Squadron Phase, which means the likes of Han Solo will be hung out to dry if a bunch of interceptors get Squadroned into him before he can even activate.

granted, getting the two to work together is a mite more complicated than just rolling forward with ships, but the difficulty associated makes sense given the power that squadrons pack