Hey everyone. Just looking for any tips on improvements to this fleet. Basically I would fly the 30s in to drop shields and then an ackbar 80 broadside to finish off.

MC80 Assault Cruiser (114)184

Admiral Ackbar (38)

Raymus Antilles (7)

Electronic Countermeasures (7)

Leading Shots (4)

Engine Techs (8)

XI7 Turbolasers (6)

MC30c Scout Frigate (69)85

Ordnance Experts (4)

Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)

Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

MC30c Scout Frigate (69)85

Ordnance Experts (4)

Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)

Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

YT-1300 (13)13

A-wing Squadron (11)11

A-wing Squadron (11)11

A-wing Squadron (11)11

Precision Strike (0)0

Fleet Ambush (0)0

Intel Sweep (0)0

Let's use this one, since I like the extra <return> you've got between the list and the objectives.

Yeah I accidentally hit post twice

I like it a lot.

If it were me, I'd drop the XI7, swap the Scouts for Torpedoes, and drop that YT-2400 for another A-wing. Raymus means you'll still have the squadron activations you need, and that will open up points for some defensive options on your MC30's--I'd go with Lando on one, Admonition on the other, but that's just personal preference.

Ardaedhel, the Torpedo monger

Experiment! The only way to improve a list is to keep playing it and tweaking it. Gain more and more experience with it and you will be fine.

Yeah i played an 80, 30 and 2 Trc90 list the other day and loved how facewrecking the 30 is so just looking at this.

And my local meta loves their squad lists (grumble grumble) so unfortunately I'll need at least 4 Awings

Only because they're better, Lyr.

Oh, I'd swap the APTs for ACM too. I know that's heresy around these boards, but with TRC instead of H9 or XI7 on your MC30's, you're going for maximizing damage, not surgical strikes. So kick it up that extra notch with ACM. After a pair of ACM procs, even an ISD's redirects are on the ropes , and it forces him to consider that eventuality when spending them.

And my local meta loves their squad lists (grumble grumble) so unfortunately I'll need at least 4 Awings

Man, don't knock those A-wings before you've tried them! They're amazing to fling out to knock off those last few shields right before the 80 opens up a can of whoop-ass.

And that's why I recommend Admonition , btw: it is a bear for squadrons to deal with. Outright cancel the worst four dice they throw at you? Don't mind if I do.

Only because they're better, Lyr.

Oh, I'd swap the APTs for ACM too. I know that's heresy around these boards, but with TRC instead of H9 or XI7 on your MC30's, you're going for maximizing damage, not surgical strikes. So kick it up that extra notch with ACM. After a pair of ACM procs, even an ISD's redirects are on the ropes , and it forces him to consider that eventuality when spending them.

I have yet to see that they are better. Cheaper sure but they have yet to be shown as "better" to me. Their lack of range is just so exploitable.

APTs are nice and ACMs are nice bit ACMs are more expensive. APTs push a free damage into the hull.

I like XI7's but TRC's are just so consistent!

I'd echo both of our expert MC30 operator's sentiments:

First, definitely experiment. My first thought was to run Torpedo frigates all time. The Scout, on the surface, wants to be a long range slinger and a close range brawler, whereas the Torpedo is a straight up Brawler. In practice, getting even a few extra dice at long range over the course of the game seems to make a noticeable difference. This is just the result of experimentation.

Second, I'd agree with Ard in really looking for ways to increase your efficiency. That may mean cuts in some places in order to make room elsewhere. I'm in the A-wings are the best rebel fighter camp, and I think you definitely need a fourth A-wing.

Here's some of my own experimentation:

1. One way to get the Torpedo Frigate into an Ackbar list efficiently is to take Enhanced Armaments. A Torpedo frigate with Enhanced Armaments, plus OE/APT as you've got above, costs 82 points, or 3 points cheaper than what you've got. Your TRC Ackbar Broadside is going to average 8 damage plus APT. The EA Torpedo version hits 7.5 plus APT. You're bit more swingy on the Torp version, and although the overall damage is lower at range-1, you've expanded your utility at medium range.

2. I'm a bit more skeptical about taking ordinance in an Ackbar list, because what Ackbar wants is to shoot out the side arcs, whereas an ordinance-bearing MC30 really wants to double arc. Sometimes against very large ships, you can get a double-arc off of both side arcs, but the front/side is the more usual combination. At that point, you're forgoing Ackbar. Basically, I'd put APTs and any other ordinance upgrade in the "nice to have" category. It is expendable if you can find something you absolutely need more. On the whole, I'd still rather have APTs than not have APTs, but I'm going to build with my commander in mind.

3. If you're going to take Ackbar Scouts or Ackbar EA Torpedo Frigates, then Sensor teams is strongly worth considering. The key here is that after you reach a certain level of damage, you're better off protecting that with accuracies, or at least forcing the opponent to ECM against the shot. After all, if that 8 damage becomes 4, you've lost some utility. Your red dice won't pull many accuracies naturally, so that's likely in your TRC Scout set-up above. On the other hand, that EA-Torpedo variant stands to roll a lot more accuracies naturally, even without boosts, which means that 7.5 average damage at close range will stick more often. Its hard to put a price on a well-timed accuracy. Your two options are Sensor Teams and H9 Turbolasers. H9 cost more, but occupy the turbolaser slot that you don't need for anything else. They require you to spend damage though. Sensor teams are great when you're throwing a lot of reds and blacks, because you're bound to pull some blanks. You just spend one black to flip a red blank to an accuracy. Now you've put your blanks to use and you have an accuracy to cover your damage. But wait a minute! Doesn't Sensor Teams replace Ordinance Experts in the same slot? Yes. OE is great when you're crit fishing for APTs. OE is also great if you're looking to boost your damage by a point, but when your opponent's brace can cut your damage by 2 or more, adding a point of damage is less efficient than having that accuracy. That may be a bit controversial. We've got several big players that all play MC30s in different styles. Experiment. Play around with the unit. Sensor teams thrive when you've got a lot of red and black dice. You're going to get that to a greater extent in an Ackbar build.

4. I've looked at running a lead Torpedo Frigate and a trailing Scout Frigate. The idea is to run them up against a target in a sequence while allowing the trailing MC30 to put out some damage.

Take what you will, leave the rest. Always happy to offer and receive feedback

[2. I'm a bit more skeptical about taking ordinance in an Ackbar list, because what Ackbar wants is to shoot out the side arcs, whereas an ordinance-bearing MC30 really wants to double arc. Sometimes against very large ships, you can get a double-arc off of both side arcs, but the front/side is the more usual combination. At that point, you're forgoing Ackbar. Basically, I'd put APTs and any other ordinance upgrade in the "nice to have" category. It is expendable if you can find something you absolutely need more. On the whole, I'd still rather have APTs than not have APTs, but I'm going to build with my commander in mind.

Actually, I've toyed around with the idea of getting ordnance into Ackbar lists for the precise reason of security. I've not found a list I like because of how limited and expensive the options are, but 1 each of scout (with gunnery team instead of OE) and EA torp supporting something else is what I'm circling around.

The natural counter to Ackbar is getting in to the front arc to really limit Ackbar's options. This is especially true if your opponent is running a ton of ordnance themselves. By running the frigates as a screen for the main ship, your opponent is greatly discouraged from trying those shenanigans precisely because the frigates can double arc so easily from that setup. So you have slightly less firepower than running Assault frigates at range, but you are so much more deadly when your opponent tries to close the gap.

Sadly, all lists I've come up with suck at the squadron game. With so few activations and chances to get off flak shots, these really do need a squadron screen. With that in mind, I don't know if precision strike is really the right choice for this setup as you have no bombers, thereby limiting your own chances of taking a token to the 3 ship activations you have. Maybe advanced gunnery would be better here. And with your strong representation of ordnance, fleet ambush may sound great at first, but you have very limited defense options for surviving a first activation by an opponent's ISD II front arc. Contested outpost or fire lanes would let you predict your opponent's movements without putting your own ships in danger. And Intel Sweep is fine. With ETs, your MC80 could easily be the objective ship, but it'll probably be an MC30.

And last comment about the flagship. You may as well downgrade it to the command variant since you aren't using both defensive retrofits. You trade 1 red for 1 blue dice, but you can equip Defiance, which will allow you to add a blue dice at long range so that you can use leading shots with 5 reds. So you get to roll the same amount of dice, and I think that would be much more consistent with damage output.