While having a Scum faction might end up being cool, it just seems to me like it would be the publishers pandering to the popularity vote. Like when the Pirates of the Carribean movies went from being about Will and Elizabeth to being about Jack Sparrow just because people liked him way more. Like way way more. Sometimes what is the popular choice, is not always the right one, nor the one that makes the most sense for the medium.

In the case of Armada, the medium is the stately yet high stakes combat between opposing capitol ships set in the Galactic Civil War. Adding a Scum faction full of ships which in this games rough scale would be comprised of probably 80% flotilla sized craft and under does not seem to fit that medium particularly well.

Not saying it won't happen, because money and popularity, just as in Pirates of the Carribean, will still ultimately win the day. I just don't know if I'll be that happy about it if I see it.

I think that there's plenty of capacity to have a "scum and villainy"-esque faction in the game, without compromising on ship size and quality. The Zann Consortium were a faction in Empire at War, and have a well established fleet of different sized ships that are both unique to them and stolen from both Imperials and Rebels. They have unique examples of ship sizes already in the game (large capital ships, medium-sized frigates, small corvettes, transports and squadrons), all of which could be produced into a fleet. Plus, given that we have the Raider, there is nothing to prevent FFG producing their own.

The idea behind the Zann Consortium was that it was a crime syndicate that eventually incorporated other groups (such as the Hutts), and was therefore a group of power and influence sufficient to rival both Empire and Rebels. I have no doubt that their setup and tactics would be different from those of the Rebels and Imperials, but currently there is little in the game that would prohibit their being involved; none of the missions are faction-specific, and it's easy to see why a large crime organisation might participate in an intel sweep or the taking of a space station.

In X-wing, they already have Starvipers, Kihrax Fighters, M3-As, plus Y-wings and Z-95s. There are your squadrons. Could use existing Villains, possibly with alternate cards. Add to that a Crusader-class corvette, a Vengeance-class frigate, an Interceptor IV frigate, and a Keldabe-class capital ship, and you've got yourself a distinctive, credible and interesting wave. Plenty of commanders already, and could bring in some fun ones from Star Wars Rebels (I'm thinking Hondo).

You could even build in a mercenary system - let's say the Consortium ships tend to be cheaper than their Rebel or Imperial counterparts, you could have it so that they can be incorporated into a Rebel or Imperial fleet as mercenaries, adding a point cost. If they had certain abilities or qualities that neither faction has, this could make them an attractive addition, and not necessarily require you to build an entirely new fleet to use them.

For more details on the Zann Consortium, the Star Wars wiki has loads of information. As I said earlier in the thread, I don't think this would be Wave 4 - more likely wave 5 or 7, one that comes between two film releases. But I think it would be an interesting addition, and a lot of fun.

Yes! That's what I like to hear. For the mercenaries, there could be a new keyword (Mercenary) that would allow them in any faction. And as far as the different playing style and strategy for the new faction, that was something else I thought about. One of the main points of this thread was how the new fleet support would be incorporated or affect the next wave, so I started thinking about what the next new mechanic they introduced would be (subsequent to wave 4). A new faction with a different playing style would certainly meet that and spice up the game.

Star vipers with their buzz droids could completely screw up a Rhymer ball if placed strategically enough (I'm thinking "drop a token on the field," and any squadrons within a certain distance suffer some crippling effect.

An interesting point on the objectives. I think that a scum expansion could also introduce new objectives to the game. Not the the current selection doesn't present its own symphony of strategic decisions, but rather that adding new objectives would offer new mechanics to the game and keep players entertained even longer. They added "take the station," so it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.

With the potential prospect of U-wings and Lambdas, I can see wave 4 as being the first in which we see the introduction of boarding actions. I think we could see a "Carrier" keyword added to those squadrons, in which critical hits against a ship allow them to place a boarding action token. This token might mean that, at the start of each round, after command dials have been set, the player may roll a blue dice that resolves certain effects. An accuracy could allow you to exhaust a defence token on that ship; a hit could allow you to do one damage to a shield of your choice; and a crit could do one face down damage card. In their defence, your opponent could possibly also roll a blue dice, on which an accuracy would prevent you from resolving that effect. With only six rounds, I think that this would not be too overpowered (bearing in mind the carrier has to get to the ship before it can carry out boarding actions), and would add a fun and interesting added dynamic.

Wouldn't mercenaries and scum totally be in line with a function like this? Space pirates aren't really a major component of the Star Wars universe I'm familiar with (as opposed to bounty hunters/rogues), but it sounds like a fun, albeit complicated, mechanic to add in.

I really hope the developers are reading this thread and pick up something from it. Pander to the popular opinion! (I'd really be happy to see pretty much any of the many wonderful suggestions that have been made thus far, but especially a third faction by wave 6-ish).

With the potential prospect of U-wings and Lambdas, I can see wave 4 as being the first in which we see the introduction of boarding actions. I think we could see a "Carrier" keyword added to those squadrons, in which critical hits against a ship allow them to place a boarding action token. This token might mean that, at the start of each round, after command dials have been set, the player may roll a blue dice that resolves certain effects. An accuracy could allow you to exhaust a defence token on that ship; a hit could allow you to do one damage to a shield of your choice; and a crit could do one face down damage card. In their defence, your opponent could possibly also roll a blue dice, on which an accuracy would prevent you from resolving that effect. With only six rounds, I think that this would not be too overpowered (bearing in mind the carrier has to get to the ship before it can carry out boarding actions), and would add a fun and interesting added dynamic.

Wouldn't mercenaries and scum totally be in line with a function like this? Space pirates aren't really a major component of the Star Wars universe I'm familiar with (as opposed to bounty hunters/rogues), but it sounds like a fun, albeit complicated, mechanic to add in.

I really hope the developers are reading this thread and pick up something from it. Pander to the popular opinion! (I'd really be happy to see pretty much any of the many wonderful suggestions that have been made thus far, but especially a third faction by wave 6-ish).

If you watch Star Wars Rebels (and indeed Star Wars: The Clone Wars), you meet Hondo Ohnaka is a recurring figure, who is a pirate and often works alongside or against the protagonists. He's fun and interesting, but also brings this piracy element into the franchise.

So yes, I think this dynamic would definitely work with a potential Scum and Villainy style wave.

I didn't say that Pirates such as the Zann or Hutt's didn't have capitol sized ship, but that they were just a much smaller percent of the fleet. Hell you could throw Errant Venture into the mix too for a large base. I think they could do it, I just personally would rather them focus on giving us a larger range of options for the 2 factions they currently have rather than creating a third which would force them to first catch that faction up in terms of ships before moving forward with the overall ship diversity.

I know popular opinion loves the Scum faction, and I am in the minority who don't see them having much of a place in this game. I guess I would just like to see some dreadnoughts and cruisers pop up giving us more than 1-2 options for medium based ships, and preferably at least one more large ship to give some diversity there before we see a third faction based mainly on small and flotilla based ships crop up.

so the interdictor is a medium base ship (originally a Vindicator class hull).

the imperial light cruisers should be a small base.

the imperial light carrier should be a medium base hull.

the hammerheads and CR 70's would be flotilla's.

of course the ghost is a squadron base.

i would be happy to buy a phoenix squadron box.

whatever the reason for the small waves does not matter to me.

to me what matters is that they keep on making more waves..

so the interdictor is a medium base ship (originally a Vindicator class hull).

The Show Notes from Rebels says the new Interdictor is much larger than the Original.