If you could pick only one which would it be and why? I'm looking to pick one of them up but can't decide which.

I picked up IA, I already have X-Wing, so Im kinda done with starships. Having such diversity with figures too is great for IA. AND it is two games in one, campaign for 2-5 players and a 1v1 skirmish mode. If you like painting minis, this is ace.

They are both different games. Ive been enjoying Imperial Assault more then Armada. I play a a lot of X Wing and played quite a bit of Armada since its been out.

I have recently switch to Imperial Assault and dont see myself playing much Armada in the futre as my time will be slpit between IA and X Wing

Armada is to x-wing what IA is to descent.

If you like x-wing then you'll love armada, but do you really need 2 games so similar.

Both games are very different but are related to existing ffg games, the type of games you like and the games already in your collection should inform your decision.

I chose IA, the main selling point being the two games in one (campaign & skirmish).

I am also worried about the long term viability of armada, from release it dug into obscure EU ships. How many recognizable capital ships can there be and will I even recognize it as star wars in a couple of years? IA has a very large pool of star wars characters to choose from, it will only get better with time.

Well, your going to get seriously biased answers posting here, but IA is the better game.

Armada is to x-wing what IA is to descent.

If you like x-wing then you'll love armada, but do you really need 2 games so similar.

I couldn't disagree more - I don't think X-Wing and Armada are very similar at all.

I haven't had nearly as much time as I'd like to play Armada or Imperial Assault, but in the time I have had I've found IA more enjoyable, though it did take a few rounds to get in to it, and I have played it a little more, and the last game of a Armada I had I really enjoyed... Wow, aren't I helpful! Heh, best listening to people who've had time to play a decent amount of both!

Imperial Assault has the advantage of the two modes, one of which is great for a whole group of people, and the skirmish mode is awfully fun (and way more tactical than I expected it to be). It also plays a lot faster.

Both games have awesome minis.

Everything still points to Imperial Assault for me, but I still say both need playing more!

I prefer both over X-wing. I might drop X-wing but it does have more players here.

You can't make an apples to apples comparison of IA and Armada. I've got them both, and all the expansions to date. If I could only choose 1, it would be IA for several reasons. IA allows up to 5 players through campaign mode. IA has two different game play modes, campaign and skirmish. The story mode in the campaign is cohesive, and has a nice "team building" aspect to it. The Rebels and Imperials get experience (among other things) that they can use to make their character/team more powerful. No 2 campaigns are the same as each mission offers a different outcome for win and loss, plus there are side missions that may or may not be played. As for skirmish, the skirmish matches are quicker than a game of Armada. The core box for IA offers a wider variety of units than Armada does a well.

Now that I've talked up IA, let's talk about the advantages of Armada. There aren't many games that have the same game mechanic as Armada, I know they exist, but I've never played them. The miniatures in Armada look fantastic out of the box, pre-painted and ready to rock. The IA minis look great, but if you want that pop, you've got to paint them. There is nothing that compares to commanding a fleet of ships in space while they hurl a volley of lasers at the enemy. The movement of the ships really has that "big" feel. There's a ton of different combinations you can field in Armada on the same ships. There's plenty of upgrades that allow for a unique experience even with just the core ships.

I think you have to ask yourself a few questions to gauge which game you want to get into. Do you like Descent type games? If you do, IA is the best rendition I've played to date. Do you like X-Wing? Then Armada may be more for you, it's not the same, but one can see the similarities. Do you want to play your new game with a group, or just 1v1? Either game is good for 2 players, only IA is good for more than that. How much money are you willing to spend? You can get either core for about $70 online. If that's your budget, get IA. If you have money to burn, then it's up to you what you want. Both games have a bunch of expansions, I've priced IA + all current and announced expansions at $306.59, while I've priced the same for Armada at $292.52 (both prices from http://cardhaus.com/).The difference is price is negligible, but Armada expansions are generally more expensive, while IA expansions are higher in quantity but cheaper on a per item basis.

Ultimately I don't think one can be said better than the other. Armada has huge scale battles with tons of ships. IA (campaign) really makes you feel like you're there, playing as one of the heroes. But both are great games. (Frankly I don't feel the same about X-wing; but that's me.)

Thanks for your input guys I really appreciate it. I'm thinking IA is probably the way I'm going to go.

Armada has huge scale battles with tons of ships.

That's part of my problem, it doesn't. It has large scale battles with a few ships.

When they first announced armada I immediately envisioned the fleet I wanted to play in it. It was two or three ISDs with a couple of victories flanking them, supported by a half dozen corvette/frigate size ships and an appropriate size cloud of fighters. I'd need at least 1000 points to play that fleet in armada. Instead, the typical 400 point game is going to be not even half that.

Armada has huge scale battles with tons of ships.

That's part of my problem, it doesn't. It has large scale battles with a few ships.

When they first announced armada I immediately envisioned the fleet I wanted to play in it. It was two or three ISDs with a couple of victories flanking them, supported by a half dozen corvette/frigate size ships and an appropriate size cloud of fighters. I'd need at least 1000 points to play that fleet in armada. Instead, the typical 400 point game is going to be not even half that.

I think that this is the reason I haven't quite picked it up yet.

Back when I was playing Leviathan in the 80s, (Lord, what was that, the 1580s?...) we would just pretend it was Star Wars (since it was so obviously meant to be). Running two Battleships, four Cruisers, a Carrier, handfuls of Frigates, and so many Fighters they would blot out the stars... yes it was a record keeping nightmare, but they were glorious battles.

The Armada battles I've both watched were 300 point games, but still, those seemed like something akin to border skirmishes. Though I hear they've upped it to 400. How many Imperial Star Destroyers can you put on the table with that??

Though I hear they've upped it to 400. How many Imperial Star Destroyers can you put on the table with that??

I believe you can just barely fit 3 in at that point level and have enough points left for your commander and a few upgrade cards or a couple of fighters. No other ships though. You could swap out 1 ISD for 2 smaller ships, but again, your getting very few upgrades for them.

If you want to play 1000 points, why not play 1000 points?

If you want to play 1000 points, why not play 1000 points?

I agree. I've got 2 of everything right now, and I can field 700 points on each side. I did that once with us playing 2v2, it was a blast. We used my 4'x8' pool table as the play space. While the current rules are at 300, the tournament rules state that once wave 2 is available the size will increase to 400. It shouldn't be hard to extrapolate that to 500, 600, 1000, etc. All you really need is a larger playing space.

This is a little like "should I get a Hummer or Mustang Cobra?"

Depends on what most motivates you. Either way, you get a good product.

Armada has huge scale battles with tons of ships.

That's part of my problem, it doesn't. It has large scale battles with a few ships.

When they first announced armada I immediately envisioned the fleet I wanted to play in it. It was two or three ISDs with a couple of victories flanking them, supported by a half dozen corvette/frigate size ships and an appropriate size cloud of fighters. I'd need at least 1000 points to play that fleet in armada. Instead, the typical 400 point game is going to be not even half that.

I think that this is the reason I haven't quite picked it up yet.

I went with imperial assault pretty much for the reasons above but I have a friend who is collecting armada. Basically we decided id collect the imperial assault stuff and he would get the armada.

Oh how I loved Leviathan.

All you really need is a larger playing space.

And an extra couple hours to play it, and another person willing to play at such a level.

I collect both but if you were going to only choose 1 I would go with Imperial Assault. The base IA box comes with so, so much stuff compared to the Armada starter box. You get a ton of really good quality minis, a campaign that has a ton or replayability, and rules for skirmish mode. Essentially its 2 games in 1. Even if you never buy single expansion for IA, you have a lot of stuff play with.

Armada, on the other hand, for the same price as IA, you get 2 rebel ships, 1 Imperial ship, and some fighters. If you and your friends only play using the contents of the single starter box that you buy, games will get real repetitive real quick. To really enjoy Armada, you are pretty much required to buy additional ships, which are quite expensive (even at discounted online prices). The cheapest Ive seen for all Wave 1 packs is around $130, and Wave 2 is just around the corner. So, assuming you want to collect 1 of each ship available in the game, you are looking at a minimum $320 (assuming that you find the base game for 60, and assuming that the wave 2 collection will cost the same as the wave 1 collection, which I have not checked).

Don't get me wrong, I love Armada, but if you only choose 1, I'd recommend IA because you get so much more bang out of your bucks by choosing IA.

IA because you get a bigger bang for your buck.

Armada looks amazing though, but you simply don't get as much components/content for the same dollar amount.

What an odd place to ask. You will of course get the answer "Armada" on the Armada forum!

I play both, and tbh they are such wildly different games it's an impossible question without knowing what games you like, and what kind of game you're looking for. Other than "Star Wars" they have nothing at all in common.

What an odd place to ask. You will of course get the answer "Armada" on the Armada forum!

I play both, and tbh they are such wildly different games it's an impossible question without knowing what games you like, and what kind of game you're looking for. Other than "Star Wars" they have nothing at all in common.

I play all 3 Star Wars minis based games FFG puts out, and will be picking up Rebellion when its released, no doubt. If I found this question posted in the Armada forum, I'd still say IA, only because you get way more content in the IA base box than you do in the Armada base box for the same price.

I actually meant to post this in the X-Wing section (because that's what I play) but posted here by mistake. The answers I received were not as one sided as I expected. Thank you guys for your honest responses.

I actually meant to post this in the X-Wing section (because that's what I play) but posted here by mistake. The answers I received were not as one sided as I expected. Thank you guys for your honest responses.

That makes more sense now.

I would be curious to see the results of posting it in the armada section.