Hi. I usually stick with X-Wing and Imperial Assault, as the wallet can't handle more than that, but I've managed to borrow some stuff from a friend and will be attending a store championship TOMORROW.

I've gotten one game in with the list I'll be using, which was my first real game of Armada.

Are there just any general tips you can throw my way? I'm not intending to do good, or even win any games, but any helpful first timer hints and tricks would be welcome.

What's your list?

That way we can give more specific and helpful tips

Tips:

1) Put models on the table

2) Shoot first, then move

3) When shooting, Roll lots of hits and a few accuracy.

4) ??

5) PROFIT!

Hi Rogue! When I first started playing Armada I found the best way was to jump straight into the game, which is clearly what you have done .

Great that your playing a tournament game so early, will definitely be a good experience.

What list are you playing? It would be kinda helpful if we knew what it is, especially as Rebels and Imps are very different.

My general tips would be...

1) Read the rulebook (If you haven't already).

2) Plan ahead, although you probably aren't at that stage yet as you've just started. I like to have a general fleet/tactics plan before I start, with plans b and c just in case stuff doesn't go to plan.

3) Use fighters/ squadrons effectively. Whether to engage and destroy bomber wings or take out squadrons that are harrying your ships, you must have them in position to be called into action at any time, but out of reach of any AA fire from enemy ships or fast enemy squadrons.

4) Beware Bombers. They may look small and fairly insignificant but they can pack a serious punch when in a pack that can severly cripple a ship, so be prepared with fighter screens

5) Beware flanking attacks. If you have a slow ship such as a VSD remember to keep a close eye out for Cr90s or another fast ship speeding around behind you.

6) Beware the edge of the table. It is common for a beginner to sail fast ships/ unmaneuverable ships straight off the board so make sure in advance that this isn't going to happen.

7) Beware the front hull zone of a SD. Very dangerous place to be for a rebel ship. Try to avoid being there.

8) Plan your commands in advance. Don't do something like set all 3 dials on a VSD at the start of the game to engineer.

9) Squadron commands are useful

10) Enjoy the game.

edit. Oh yeah. I forgot to say try to roll well when attacking. Remember to use Critical hit cards or rerolls effectively.

don't remember the specifics of my list, but it's something like this:

ISD with Avenger and Screed

Victory with enhanced comms

Gladiator with Devastator, the thing that lets you do a one speed move, and some missile thing.

3x Tie Bombers

Major Rhymer

Boba Fett.

Don't recal which ships were Is and which were IIs.

That's about it if I remember. In the one game I played with it I think I lost by around 40 points or something like that.

This will sounds VERY cruel but trust me I am not trying to be so.

Expect to lose. Armada is a skill intensive games that has far more depth to it than both Imperial Assault and X-Wing combined.

The list does not matter so as much as the skill of the player. This is one reason that Net Listing is not such a huge thing so far.

This is your second time with your list so keep your plan of action simple.

Don't rush out and try to get into range immediately. A lot of X-Wing players do that when they move over to Armada. Instead watch what your opponent is going towards and try to head them off.

Ships don't die super easily so I am going to refer you to clontrooper5's Threat Analysis Range thread. Just follow the pictures and you will get a general idea of the danger areas of each ship.

Like I said, expect to lose. This game has a LOT going for it and so it will not be easy. Have fun, enjoy flying around an Imperial Star Destroyer (I know I do) and watch come battle reports (follow my Armada Tactics News link in my signature to some such videos)

Scores in this game can be very swingy so be careful.

That's about it if I remember. In the one game I played with it I think I lost by around 40 points or something like that.

firstly Nice!

that's pretty good for your first game

this is what ascertain to be your list, except i modified it to have a more effective bomber wing:

RogueLieutenant's first fleet

Faction: Galactic Empire

Points: 398/400

Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault Objective: Advanced Gunnery

Defense Objective: Contested Outpost

Navigation Objective: Minefields

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)

- Admiral Screed ( 26 points)

- Avenger ( 5 points)

- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)

- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)

- Demolisher ( 10 points)

- Engine Techs ( 8 points)

- Assault Concussion Missiles ( 7 points)

Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (73 points)

- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)

1 Major Rhymer ( 16 points)

1 Dengar ( 20 points)

1 Firespray-31 ( 18 points)

1 TIE Advanced Squadron ( 12 points)

1 TIE Bomber Squadron ( 9 points)

this is a solid list and if you use the objectives i have put here you should be set to do well.

I modified the fighter wing because the one you had was easily tied down, Instead I switch Boba for a generic firespray and upgraded 2 tie bombers to Dengar (which will allow you to ignore the enemy squads, and keep bombing) and a tie advanced (which has escort to allow him to protect the more valuable squadrons of Dengar and Rhymer)

general tips with this list:

-keep Demolisher close to Avenger. this will allow you to use Demolisher to jump forward and hit Avengers target (thanks to his title that lets him shoot after moving) which will allow Avenger to cause alot of damage, this 1, 2, punch will kill most ships in a single turn (barring horrible rolls)

-take alot of nav commands, especially with Demolisher (so you can sue engine techs) this will allow you to position well.

-the victory should probably only take Squadron commands after the first turn, so Turn 1 you probably want to take a nav token, just in case (generally you will use it to slow down on turn 3 or so) and the rest of the time use it to command you bombers, so that your other 2 ships can focus on Nav commands with some engineering commands on the ISD.

-protect Dengar. If Dengar dies your fighters will become useless place your tie/adv in front of him to protect him.

-people will probably be picking Minefields or contested outpost from your objectives, have a gameplan on how to use those. A good setup for minefields is to create a "funnel" that will direct your opponent into your front arcs:

I would add that if you are a new player going into competitive play, take the time to read the Objectives VERY CAREFULLY. It is often overlooked but a solid understanding of objectives can make a HUGE difference!

A lot of people are really hung up on going first but I love going second because of objectives. Going first has some serious advantages but FFG have deliberately countered these advantages by rigging the game in the second players benefit if he is clever with objectives.

If you are out initiative bid by someone and he chooses to go second, watch OUT cause that dude has a PLAN!

I was gonna offer some suggestions, but Clon's hit everything I was going to say (and more). I'll just suggest that if your list didn't have an ISD II, or Gunnery Teams, or ECMs, you probably want those (as Clon's suggested). Makes your ISD more tanky (and mistakes more forgiveable). Hope it goes well tomorrow!

Edit: Oh, and read those objectives like Hast suggests. And if you get Precision Strike, don't forget to spend hit dice from ships to flip damage cards up. Can really gut your opponent's ship (while scoring you some free points), and is almost always better than just leaving the hit in your damage pool (unless it's the difference between killing the target, of course).

Oh I have no illusions about winning. This is mostly an educational venture lol. Since we have a podcast about star wars games and none of us own armada, I figured I should dive in and learn more about it. Thanks for the advice guys. Tournament is in a couple hours.

Oh I have no illusions about winning. This is mostly an educational venture lol. Since we have a podcast about star wars games and none of us own armada, I figured I should dive in and learn more about it. Thanks for the advice guys. Tournament is in a couple hours.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on. :-)

http://xwingtactics.blogspot.com/p/new-players-guide.html

Good starting point if you've played at least once or twice, but are still new.

Also, one big piece of advice that I found very useful and that leads to pretty intense battles is a twofold piece of advice (will detail each) :

1) Play your ships to their strengths rather than what you expect them to do, they'll thank you for it.

2) Pace yourself, and play for the full 6 turns : don't rush in to expect the game to end up quickly because like others have said you need to have time to set up your battle into something that favours you.

To go into more details :

1) Some ships are centerpieces, some ships are flankers. Example : Broadside ships, even short range ones like the MC30 or Glad, generally prefer to be in the center of the table because they don't really care about "overshooting" their targets since even if they passed it they can still shoot it due to how wide the side arcs are. On the other hand, ships with a dominant fire arc (CR90s, Nebs, ISDs, VSDs and Raiders) are flankers and the higher their top speed the further out you can place them on the deployment zone. The reason for this is that you can burn at an angle towards the middle of the table and still cover most of the central area with your dominant arc. If you deploy them in the center, your main arc is going to be easier to avoid and to prevent going out of the board, you'll either have to slow down and make yourself predictable or pick half of the board and not threaten the other half with your dominant arc, both of which are bad options.

Some ships are shooting platforms, some ships are carriers, but you'll always gain something out of a fighter escort. This is especially true the larger the ship, you absolutely need squadrons.

Finally, when it comes to dice, the shorter the range, the more damage, so black dice are prime assets to target medium or large ships with a big footprint and low maneuvrability. Don't expect to catch a small nimble ship with Black dice. Against small ships, what you want is more range, ideally red even if they have Evades (Evade only cancels one dice, so throwing lots of dice at long range is a viable tactic). Field at least blue dice to target smaller nimble vessels.

2) It's frustrating to be out of range but it's okay. It means that the enemy s probably out of range too. It's okay if you don't start shooting by Turn 3, it means you'll have ample time to store tokens, reposition and mitigate deployment mistakes, or set up a decisive squadron activation. It also means the opponent is more frustrated and also prone to mistakes !

Considering that you shoot before moving, Armada really emphasizes a cautious playstyle that favours the defender (because after moving, the first activation has good chances to be in range/in better range of the next activation than the opposite).

A lot of good tips about strategy have already been stated. All I have to say is take your time with your purchases. Play your ships and your upgrades until you know how to play them well then ease slowly into expansions.

If you eventually plan to compete at a higher level, it's better to have a tight collection you know very well than to have a sprawling collection of unused ships and cards.