Has anyone won with rebels in armada?

I got crushed with Rebels at Sullust, but inexperience was a big part of that. The tournament itself was won by a Rebel list (2x AFIIs, IIRC).Worlds was just won by Rebels, and not a traditional list. Common discussion has it that fighter squadrons suck in Armada, but the worlds winning list had 8x A-wing squadrons!(I do find the fighter squadron mechanics disappointing ... fighters can't keep up with slow moving capital ships since they only move/attack unless you use a lot of squadron commands. They're more like minefields than fighters.)

I didn't really care much for Armada but I did find A-Wings to be surprisingly effective. Their counter ability lets them tear cheap enemy screening units and unlike a lot of the other lighter fighters they actually have a decent chance of pushing some damage through on ships. Putting them in front of an enemy ship so that they get bumped allows you to place them in front of the ship allowing you to keep moving with it and attacking.

I play both and love both (see my current top 10 game list). I have heard people say the games "aren't different enough" which I find a very curious statement. I mean they are both Star Wars Miniatures games and I think that puts them in the same genre, but Armada is a slow, methodical, thinky strategy game where you have to work out where you are going to be in round 6 during round 1. X-Wing is very dynamic.. tactical, responsive game where you are constantly in a state of adjustments from round to round, action to action. Two very different games in my opinion.

I personally find X-Wing to be the better game, but that is mostly because I think its far more approachable and far easier to become a competitive or at least a competent player. I can teach a person to play and a game or two later they can potentially, legitimately beat me. The learning curve is very small, the rules overhead is light and the game is much easier to grasp. Not to say it doesn't have complexity when you really get into the competitive scene but in general its like a board game where if you teach someone to play, there is a good chance they will figure out how to beat you shortly afterwards and I love that about X-Wing.

Armada on the other hand. Well lets just say that experience and becoming even mildly competent in the game takes dozens of plays. Its a very complex, very deep game and its insanely unforgiving. Most people will lose their first dozen games before round 1, during initiative against even barely competent players. Its a really tough game, though I don't think most people experience its complexity since its typically amateurs teaching amateurs. In my gaming group a few people took to the game while the rest play it casually ... lets just say the experienced players crush everyone relentlessly with ZERO hope of ever being beat. You have to really study the game to get competent at it.

I watched a bit of the Armada twitch feed after worlds this year. Most boring board game I think I've seen in years. Even the color commentary were having trouble trying to say anything about the game. Didn't draw me at all.

I watched some of those as well. Alex Davy was one of the commentators and provided a lot of insight into the mechanics, strategy and objectives. I haven't played, but I think that I could get into it, hoping to do so when the budget allows. I did notice that it takes A LOT LONGER to play than X-Wing and found myself drifting to other things while the two players spent many minutes premeasuring their moves, shots, etc. I'm a big fan of not allowing for that but the only way I could see that happening is to have time limits for planning phases. But, overall, from what I've seen and read, FFG has done an excellent job of capturing the essence of what would be capital ship space combat without making it another X-wing.

I think the objectives would breath new life into x-wing for players who tire of deathmatch. Just look at video games for example. Any FPS game is dominated by straight up deathmatch players, it's far and away the most popular. For me though I rarely ever play deathmatch. It has zero appeal because there is only one way to win and little tactics are ever needed. I play objective mode games almost exclusively because there is more thought required and tactics are rewarded. X-Wing deathmatch still has appeal because there still is tactical thought required and it has remained enjoyable this far along. The big thing for me post my first armada games is that X-Wing could incorporate the same objective style gameplay and really elevate the fun factor for players like me. I just don't know why there is not the support for it when it was out of the box for a similar style game in Armada.

Boarding actions would be awesome!

As a player of X-Wing, Armada, and Imperial Assault... each of the games has something wildly different about it.

It's virtually impossible to compare X-Wing to Armada. They're entirely different engines, with different concepts of how to fleet build. Heck, Armada doesn't even have Wave 2 ships released yet. The entire shoot then move each turn for the capital ships makes for an interesting challenge on how to plan your moves, for where you'll end up next turn. The fighter squadrons make for very different builds too. I've won with just ship builds, and won with mixed ships and squadrons.

There's far more strategic planning in Armada too. It's not the run & gun approach that X-Wing has. You really need to plan your moves in advance, and have a solid strategy going in to capture the objectives.

The other issue I have the greater commitment the game needs just in setup

I like the variance of green dice.

you are beyond salvation

cast yourself into the fire

those green blanks won't save you

After you Mr. Sunshine.

I am prepared with guaranteed defense tokens!

What I didn't know was that Armada had a built in objective based game style that is incorporated right into regular gameplay. I have to say it was such a breath of fresh air. I am really wishing that FFG would add some official support to this type of gameplay for X-Wing! I lost both games mostly due to noobishness but it was still such a blast! The objectives make such a difference in how you plan 2-3 turns ahead hoping to guess what actions you are going to need that far down the road. I really think FFG nailed Capital ship gameplay.

THE BEST EXPERIENCE in X-wing

so far

was the three-side scenario that comes with IG-2000

never before have I seen more fun. Especially with the tokens that change the order of things and possibilites like green koigran!