Hello,

I'm looking to expand my gaming hobby in the direction of Armada.

What would you recommend for a newbie to focus on, Rebels or Empire?

Also, what would be the main strengths/weaknesses of both?

Thanks!

Both factions have their advantages and disadvantages, neither necessarily more newbie friendly.

The Rebels have lighter, faster ships with greater maneuverability and lighter armaments. Imperial ships are slower and heavier, requiring less skill to move around the battlefield; most of them just want to be pointed in a direction and unleashed. However, their larger command stacks ask you to plan your game more turns in advance, which takes practice.

With Wave 2 coming out, however, it seems that most ships will have a cross-faction counterpart, making it possible for Imperials to have fast, light fleets and giving Rebels slow moving heavy hitters. So there's a lot of room for personal preference. In terms of basic design philosophy, however, most Imperial ships have their heavy guns facing forward, and want to plow into the enemy lines head on. They tend to be slower, but more capable of taking punishment. Rebel ships have their guns mostly on their broadsides, encouraging a style of play that skirts the battlefield and fires on the enemy while out-flying them.

In comparison, most Imperial fighters are fast and light, and Rebel fighter squadrons are much heavier, slower and more powerful.

So for a first timer, fast Rebel ships might be a little trickier to get the hang of; new players tend to set their speed too high and fly off the battlefield, while Star Destroyers barely go anywhere, making them hard to screw up. But the slower ships ask you to plan further ahead, which is a different skill. In the end, there's enough options that I'd say you should go with whichever faction you prefer, either aesthetically, lore wise, or whichever one has the best support for whatever style of play you think would suit you.

I say play both. Many ships from the opposite faction will come with cards that are exclusive to its expansion which of course is usable by both. Plus it helps keep things fresh when you can swap sides in the conflict. I agree that there isn't a newbie faction, both require time to leanr and use with skill.

The Assault Frigate is probably the most newbie-friendly ship of Wave 1, as it combines reasonable speed and maneuverability with respectable durability. Unlike a Victory, it is not instantly outflanked when driven by an inexperienced player.

The Rebels have lighter, faster ships with greater maneuverability and lighter armaments. Imperial ships are slower and heavier, requiring less skill to move around the battlefield; most of them just want to be pointed in a direction and unleashed. However, their larger command stacks ask you to plan your game more turns in advance, which takes practice.

You appear to be comparing the VSD to the CR90 and the Nebulon while disregarding the GSD and AFII. Currently, half of the Imperial ships are lumbering behemoths and half of the Imperial ships are fast, maneuverable knife fighters. The balance will favor maneuverability more heavily in wave 2, as the ISD has the same maneuverability as the AFII.

The Assault Frigate is probably the most newbie-friendly ship of Wave 1, as it combines reasonable speed and maneuverability with respectable durability. Unlike a Victory, it is not instantly outflanked when driven by an inexperienced player.

The Rebels have lighter, faster ships with greater maneuverability and lighter armaments. Imperial ships are slower and heavier, requiring less skill to move around the battlefield; most of them just want to be pointed in a direction and unleashed. However, their larger command stacks ask you to plan your game more turns in advance, which takes practice.

You appear to be comparing the VSD to the CR90 and the Nebulon while disregarding the GSD and AFII. Currently, half of the Imperial ships are lumbering behemoths and half of the Imperial ships are fast, maneuverable knife fighters. The balance will favor maneuverability more heavily in wave 2, as the ISD has the same maneuverability as the AFII.

I agree with mxlm. The AFII, especially with the advanced projectors or electronic countermeasure upgrades, can take a beating and speed away. Additionally, most of the Rebel ships are broadside ships (Wave I and Wave II combined), which makes it easier to engage in combat without worrying about colliding into enemy ships. Unless colliding is your jam, kiting is a less frustrating way to learn about the maneuverability of the different ships. Finally, the Rebel fighters, while more expensive, are generally more resilient and multi-purposed than the imperial fighters (Wave I), so if you want to become more familiar with the way that squadrons operate, you'll get more keywords per card on Rebel squadrons, generally.

That said, I play almost exclusively Empire, and it's amazingly fun. A Gladiator with the Demolisher title is scary good, their fighter squadrons--while not particularly good at engaging ships at present--synergize extremely well against other squadrons, and they're getting ISDs in a couple of months. Screed (Wave I) as a commander is top-notch, Motti (Wave I) is terrifying when paired with VSDs (10 hull) or the upcoming ISDs (14 hull... 14!!!), Ozzel (Wave II) looks like a blast, and their high-end commanders--Tarkin (Wave I) and Vader (Wave II)--should be extremely good once the Raider + 400 point limit allows fleets of 4+ ships and squadrons.

Plus you get to fight for law, order, and all that great stuff.

Assuming I get another one of my friends aboard: does getting 2 core sets and then each taking the Imperial and Rebel sude respectively ftom both sets give us a good starting point?

Very good starting point. You're both set up with your own dice, movement tool and damage deck - and the stuff isn't bad...

You will duplicate some cards that you won't care about (Admirals, etc). But you're certainly set for larger games... Only one or two more expansions and you'll be travelling at the full 400 that the game was designed for.

Well that would give you a great deal of starting gear, but remember the actual expansions outside of the core box, including the starter ships have different cards.

I say play both. Many ships from the opposite faction will come with cards that are exclusive to its expansion which of course is usable by both. Plus it helps keep things fresh when you can swap sides in the conflict. I agree that there isn't a newbie faction, both require time to leanr and use with skill.

Play both, try everything out, find what you like and have fun. This game has such depth that it is almost impossible to get bored. I say this after 50+ games under my belt.

So is 2x Victory Star Destroyers and 2x CR90 and 2x Nebulon something you'd use in a decent list, or should I expect to move on from core ships once I get more expansions?

They're valid choices all the time. It just depends on wether you want to expand out in other directions or not.

A lot of imperial lists do contain a pair of Victories - VVG-R for example.

2 Nebulons are a cornerstone of many current Builds.

Wave 2 however, is going to completely change current builds, and I advocate taht having those as options will be useful.

Both you and your friend would be best to each buy their own core set, and expand from there. If you inted to play together a lot, Get one core for now and then buy one Assault Frigate MkII, 1 Gladiator Star Destroyer and a fighter pack for each side. That should give you at least one of everything in terms of ships, and provide a great mix for the two of you to experiment with the game.

So is 2x Victory Star Destroyers and 2x CR90 and 2x Nebulon something you'd use in a decent list, or should I expect to move on from core ships once I get more expansions?

The beauty of this game is those can be a VERY valid list, you just have to learn how to use them to your style.

For instance I am not that great at using the CR90 but give me Assault Frigates. . . oh baby!