Rebel Tactics - too passive?

By GammonLord, in Star Wars: Armada

Played a 450 points game on friday, rolling with 3 guppies and 2 corvettes complimented by Ackbar against 2 VSDs, 2 Glads and a host of fighter/ bomber support (i regretted leaving the fighters at home).

As the game played out, it became apparent that a broadside focussed Rebel fleet seems quite passive, 2 of my guppies gently gliding from left to right like a couple of whales, engaging in a very savage and decisive engagement with the 2 VSDs towards the end of the game (Motti flagship and 1 space guppie immolated). Reading the best use of the MC80 thread seems to back up this passive "sit back and wait for the Imperials to power into a cloud of red dice and B wings" trend.

For an alternative, Im thinking (with the advent of wave 2) a more direct oblique, multi layered charge across the Imperial front, Ackbar red dice going all over the show with Corvettes/ Mc30s wriggling around the flanks.

Anyone else have any ideas? Any different ways of taking the initiative and bringing those red dice that bit sooner to the fight?

Nebs and Bwings, man

Beat imperials at their own game

Will need Independence to stand a chance v Akbar though (bloody impossible to catch guppies with Bs otherwise)

One boosted comms, ecm independce with 3 escorts (one yavaris) 3 Bs, Keyan + Jan and all under Garm fit in 400 points

If I remember correctly

Edited by ficklegreendice

You want a hyper-aggressive list? Shrimp frigates with Rieekan. Get in their face ASAP and watch ships evaporate (on both sides).

You can get aggressive with that MC80 and B-Wings by using Independence. Part of being aggressive is accepting risk. Jump the B-Wings out early and send Independence aggressively toward the middle of the Imperial line. Yeah, your MC80 might get a little hammered, but you're also unleashing B-Wings early along with two nasty broadsides. I've also found it takes pressure off of Yavaris.

I've been running 400 point lists with my limited access to wave 2, and I feel the Rebels can build a very flexible, multi-role fleet. It can be dodgy, it can get aggressive, it's robust for the most part.

Imperial fleets really need to play the objective. Yeah, tons of hull and tons of dice, but without the maneuverability, it's easy for a Rebel fleet to just be too slippery to succeed. If you go all in for the opponent, they will tear you down and walk right behind you.

Granted, this is wave 1 with access to the Raider and the MC30. And a Red vs Blue assumed. YMMV.

Broadly speaking: choose objectives that force then to go somewhere, and then be there waiting for them.

I had a game last night that was pretty exemplary of this idea. Played a 400-point Wave 1 tourney last night with three carrier whales and an A/B pile. My last game was a near mirror match against three XI7/GT/ECM whales with a cloud of X's, and the game was anything but passive.

We played his Fire Lanes objective, which he set up on his side of the board, forcing us to charge our augmented conga lines (2-ship line +1 offset) directly at each other trying to cross each other's T's. Once I got there I parked the B-wings on the (stacked) objective tokens, orbited with the carriers, and said "come at me bro." Worked well for both of us, and ended up a very aggressive game.

Oh, also, your MC30-augmented gunline idea works beautifully. The gunline softens them up a little, then that little rat bastard charges in at 3 or 4, ***** all over everything, then charges out the other side.

Game for an Ackbar slash.... but a qualified one with guppies and a sneaky MC30.

Ackbar is very much key for a bit of rebel aggression. Im not sure Garm and co lend themselves to a little "in your face" blasting

Ardaedhel - ya, the mc30 i reckon is going to add some serious dynamism, hanging back and waiting to catch out Demolisher and friends.

Edited by GammonLord

TM - with the list you posted, i reckon tantive/ Leia is little wasted. She just ends up being an admin ***** rather than exploiting her huge speed advantage. Personal view of course, but i reckon Corvettes are peacocks Captain - you gotta let me fly!

Ha! Silly passive Rebels never bringing the fight to me!

Wait... what the... where did... TAKE EVASIVE ACTION!

This little shrimp dropped my full strength ISD to 0 shields 1 hull in a single round. Didn't *feel* passive.

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Did the shrimp survive the return?

ISD went first, so yes, he did. Barely. Then we called it after that shot cause the game was... Not over, exactly, but it was over. The Home One that you don't see behind the shrimp wasn't activated yet, and he was running IRR+Rhymer ball.

It's interesting, with Wave 2 both sides got a you-must-kill-this-first-or-you-will-lose: you pimp out either a shrimp or a Raider right and they will deal ridiculously disproportionate damage.

Edited by Ardaedhel

Even with Wave 2, im gonna bet a triple Guppie/ Ackar drifting along, with Bs/ As (A wings seem to be the golden boy at the mo - personally Bs all the way) and maybe an MC30/ upgunned CR90a will prove an irresistible lure to a bunch of ISD/VSDs to lurch at.

Id go so far as to say Rebel ships (AFs/ MC80s) are designed to fight in a crescent around the field with heavy imperial ships battering down the middle (Corvettes, Raiders, MC30s aside, being a class in themselves).

Admittedly im not factoring Nebulons...