Some of you might have visited my blog in the past and some of you haven't. I also write content for BoLS and other TT blogs around the net, and you'll see hundreds of posts on the blog (40K, WHFB , Warmahordes).

A quick intro: I've been a competitive table-top gamer for over 14 years. I started off with GW games, but branched out into Warmahordes and eventually into X-Wing. Now I'm full blown into Armada and having played some Wave1 games, I'm knee-deep into covering Wave2. FFG simply makes the best table-top games right now IMO and I've had the pleasure to play in many competitive X-Wing events.

On this blog you will find a lot of strategy and tactics based on competitive play. While it might not be for everyone, I think the information is pretty valuable for players looking to up their game.

Here is the content for this month so far. I'm pretty set on writing every day and even more when I can pile in Wave2 games. The area that I live in have a good amount of tournaments, so expect me to be at most of those. Enjoy!

Great work Hero...I enjoyed reading them. keep em coming.it's nice to see different views on stuff..

Great work Hero...I enjoyed reading them. keep em coming.it's nice to see different views on stuff..

Thanks man.

I wrote another one today, I think it'll kick some spinning gears for sure.

Armada: Getting value from your upgrades

Bumping to ask - What kind of articles would you guys like to see in the future?

I could watch battle reports all day long.

I wish more people would video their games.

Bumping to ask - What kind of articles would you guys like to see in the future?

From what I've read so far, I don't think you'll have trouble coming up with more goodies to write about...the future is wide open with this game...the force is strong in you...use it.....

No matter what other claims you make in all those articles, you absolutely nailed it when you said FFG is completely killing it with new games. They have a lien on my house now, I'm pretty sure.

Talk about Objectives and obstacle placement.

I've been reading your blog and it's been a pleasure. Thank you

Always good to see more blogs going up! I added you to the links on my blog.

Talk about Objectives and obstacle placement.

Sure, sounds like a good 2-parter.

No matter what other claims you make in all those articles, you absolutely nailed it when you said FFG is completely killing it with new games. They have a lien on my house now, I'm pretty sure.

What other claims? What do you disagree with? :>

Have anyone tried 2-ship with mass squadrons at 400 points yet?

Brainstorming right now..

Haven't tried it yet, but I had the idea to have a swarm of B-Wings combined with two Mon Cals with Tractor Beams. Use Ackbar for the admiral for the hilarity.

Haven't tried it yet, but I had the idea to have a swarm of B-Wings combined with two Mon Cals with Tractor Beams. Use Ackbar for the admiral for the hilarity.

Not sure if Independence title is worth it. 8 points is definitely expensive but you're essentially doubling the B-Wing's speed. It's basically "on the double" so no attacking, and strictly used to re-position fighters, but only when you have squadron commands queued up.

What do the rest of you guys think?

I have seen double Mon Cals wreck shop against ISD's. Admittedly, early days for all and folks were really learning to drive their ships.

Independence + B-wings is sooooo worth it. They're in position a turn sooner, and an extra round of Bwing fire is not to be underestimated.

If you've only got 2 ships, and squadron heavy, better make it really heavy! 134 max squadrons.

In my game the other night, Howrunner and Tie advanced chewed through my fighter screen pretty quickly! And the B's didn't last long after that

If you've only got 2 ships, and squadron heavy, better make it really heavy! 134 max squadrons.

In my game the other night, Howrunner and Tie advanced chewed through my fighter screen pretty quickly! And the B's didn't last long after that

What was he running? I'm thinking Howl, Soontir, 2-3 TIE Advanced, and the rest TIE Fighters? (maybe an Interceptor?)

My current Imperial escort for my double ISD list runs Soontir, Howl, 2x TIE Advanced, a single fighter and int for 77 points.

I ran an MC80 w/ Independence, Boosted Comms and B's on Wednesday. Independence was the only thing that kept B-Wings up with a Speed 3 Yavaris that flew across the length of the board to finish off an ISD.

I'll admit that my list building strategy is a bit different than yours though - I've always been someone that likes building my list to give me options, even if those options are ones that I won't actually use over the course of the game. If I can force my opponent to make sub optimal moves to avoid something I am going to be doing, then I have earned the points from that upgrade.

Really, Independence is an upgrade that you're expecting to use once per game - to get your fighters in position for the initial attack. After that, you're either going to stick to the front arc and ride the enemy ship, or use Boosted Comms to keep pace. That being said, having Independence to hustle the B-Wings to the other side of the board when the fighting is already past them let me use them against 2 different ships over the course of a single game, and getting 8 BOMBER dice on two targets feels worth the 8 points in upgrade cost.

Sorry - it was holrunner with tie interceptors- I can't rember how many 3 or 4 interceptors against my 4 Awings

Sorry - it was holrunner with tie interceptors- I can't rember how many 3 or 4 interceptors against my 4 Awings

I faced this exact same fight the other day with my 4x Flight Controller'd A-wings. I think that particular matchup is one of the most frustrating fights in the game, because it's 100% about whether you roll that accuracy at the right time.

Anyway, the way I approached it was, I went all-in for the alpha strike on Howlrunner. I went to great lengths to make sure the attacking A-wings were engaged only with her and one other Interceptor each (trying to lock them down while denying them swarm, if I could get her down). I did manage to take her down with the fourth and last A-wing, which left the Interceptors with almost entirely 1-to-1 shots on my A-wings, but no swarm rerolls or Howlrunner bonus die. Denying the enhancements really goes a long way toward taking out an Interceptor swarm.

The other thing is, don't be afraid to commit your B-wings to the furball to back up the A-wings if it's the difference between wiping the other guy's fighters or losing your A-wings. You're paying for all those anti-fighter dice on the B-wing--use them! The fighter game is all about gathering momentum with the alpha strike: the bigger margin you can get over the other guy's fighters without taking concentrated return fire back, the better you're setting yourself up for. Draw them into striking range by playing your fighters defensively, pin them down where you want them with the A-wings, then clean up with B-wings.

One thing to keep in mind is, don't underestimate the value of going first if you expect a major fighter engagement. A-wings and TIE Interceptors have an effective threat radius of distance ELEVEN if you can move them last in the fighter phase and then activate them first with your first ship. Even B-wings have a threat radius of over five with this setup. That's enough to buy you first shot on anything on the board.

B-Wings cannot attack but can lock down units within speed-5. If this ability allowed me to move 4 and attack, it would be an auto-include with B-Wings for sure.

B-Wings cannot attack but can lock down units within speed-5. If this ability allowed me to move 4 and attack, it would be an auto-include with B-Wings for sure.

Sorry, I think maybe I wasn't clear: when I referred to B-wings having a threat radius of 5, I was referring back to the description of moving them last in the fighter phase and then activating them with the first ship activation of the next round. I wasn't really talking about Independence at all in that post. But you are right, if you use Indy to move them, they can't attack.

B-Wings cannot attack but can lock down units within speed-5. If this ability allowed me to move 4 and attack, it would be an auto-include with B-Wings for sure.

Independence's main benefit does not occur on the round you issue a squadron command with it.

The payoff is in the future turns where you have Bwings in the thick of the action, whether that's anti-ship or anti-squadron, rather than struggling to get into action.

Armada is all about planning for the next turn.

B-Wings cannot attack but can lock down units within speed-5. If this ability allowed me to move 4 and attack, it would be an auto-include with B-Wings for sure.

Independence's main benefit does not occur on the round you issue a squadron command with it.

The payoff is in the future turns where you have Bwings in the thick of the action, whether that's anti-ship or anti-squadron, rather than struggling to get into action.

Armada is all about planning for the next turn.

Yes, yes, the figurative "on the double" is very nice getting B-Wings into places your opponent wouldn't expect. It definitely allows them to reach out and cause a lot of problems for ships that can only throw 1 blue dice for AA or lack enough squadrons to fight off 3 attack, 5 health B-Wings with A-Wing cover.