Just been thinking around what wave three and four combined will mean for the humble ryhmer ball. Now we know he's good, but I think ryhmer and the tie bomber boys are going to get very good.

Just look at a basic carrier list with corruptor ( expanded hangers), interdictor (flight commander, expanded hangers and flight coordination team),gozy with vector (expanded hangers, bomber command), with Tarkin commanding or other token shenanigans this group could propel ryhmer, eight tie bombers and four escorts a full five across the board (more in the cases of interdictor 1 +4). So you can get 9 black bomber dice with rerolls on any ship round one.... That's the likely death ( or near death) of any small base ship even a AF2 will be shredded....

Well, Vector won't do Squat for Rhymer... Only the Escorts. So it has to acivate the Escorts....

You have to be able to get all of those dice on a single target ship in range, and hope that your Intel covers all of them, because otherwise, you'll be stopped with the simplest of small screens....

Honestly, its not that different from what you can do right now with 3x Vics if you're frugal with your other points.... It is effective, it is easy... But it has its lacks...

And that lack is anyone who is going to return fire with a few Red Dice and an Accuracy Result or Two..... Because you'll either have to aggressively move to keep activating those TIE Bombers... Or your TIE Bombers will be restricted to Move-Or-Shoot... And thats when the enemy closes and pushes hard on your Carriers, to a Wipeout Victory...

Well, Vector won't do Squat for Rhymer... Only the Escorts. So it has to acivate the Escorts....

You have to be able to get all of those dice on a single target ship in range, and hope that your Intel covers all of them, because otherwise, you'll be stopped with the simplest of small screens....

Honestly, its not that different from what you can do right now with 3x Vics if you're frugal with your other points.... It is effective, it is easy... But it has its lacks...

And that lack is anyone who is going to return fire with a few Red Dice and an Accuracy Result or Two..... Because you'll either have to aggressively move to keep activating those TIE Bombers... Or your TIE Bombers will be restricted to Move-Or-Shoot... And thats when the enemy closes and pushes hard on your Carriers, to a Wipeout Victory...

Dras I think the the key difference is that before you could not reliably get more that five naked black bomber dice hitting round one, now you can hit a ship pretty much on the table edge with 9 bombers rerolling black dice that's a completely different level of round one hurt.

The other factor is the control play that now comes in with a well equipped interdictor..... Smash one fast ship in round one and pin down a second..ready for the bombers to roll. Your opponent is starting to lose options very early in the game.The list would seem to have far more edge and plays that a standard three vic set up ( lovely though they are). Can't wait to get it on the board and start to play.

Cheap activations will allow more people to double down on Tie Bombers instead of going Rogue. We're not only getting tools that help bombers, but also unique officers that fight squadrons. The reward is greater for bombers, but the risk is now greater, too. And there's still the old standby of "wipe out the carriers before the bombers kill you."

"wipe out the carriers before the bombers kill you."

Just slicer tool them, no need to kill fast anymore

"wipe out the carriers before the bombers kill you."

Just slicer tool them, no need to kill fast anymore

And along comes the Executive officer to sort it all out.........

But I do think post wave three we may even see a use for vic twos, ( and..... Gasp...... Sensor teams) as let's be honest some sod parking a slicer tooled Goz or RT in from of your Vic one could be frustrating as hell ( wow you've rolled 10 damage, that's amazing...... Shame there's no accuracy....Nooooooooooo)

Dras I think the the key difference is that before you could not reliably get more that five naked black bomber dice hitting round one, now you can hit a ship pretty much on the table edge with 9 bombers rerolling black dice that's a completely different level of round one hurt.

Well, I've been playing in a Meta that has subjected me to 10 Bombers (Rhymer +9) on the first Turn anyway... So this is very little new to me anyway.

Dras I think the the key difference is that before you could not reliably get more that five naked black bomber dice hitting round one, now you can hit a ship pretty much on the table edge with 9 bombers rerolling black dice that's a completely different level of round one hurt.

Well, I've been playing in a Meta that has subjected me to 10 Bombers (Rhymer +9) on the first Turn anyway... So this is very little new to me anyway.

Nasty........

Dras I think the the key difference is that before you could not reliably get more that five naked black bomber dice hitting round one, now you can hit a ship pretty much on the table edge with 9 bombers rerolling black dice that's a completely different level of round one hurt.

Well, I've been playing in a Meta that has subjected me to 10 Bombers (Rhymer +9) on the first Turn anyway... So this is very little new to me anyway.

You'd think people would've learned to take A-wings to intercept the bomber ball, combat the 36 points (max) of primary anti-squadron they can afford after all that, and then shut down the bombers...

Nasty........

You'd think people would've learned to take A-wings to intercept the bomber ball, combat the 36 points (max) of primary anti-squadron they can afford after all that, and then shut down the bombers...

This is what happens when people don't give up on the Victory, after all...

When you sit across the table from 3 Vics with Flight controllers, shepherding a 134pt Rhymer Ball.... You start to question if anything you're likely to do will make a difference... It will slowly, but reliably, chew its way through you, for fewer losses than you will sustain, even with copious counter... It will dodge with the majority to try to launch attacks at you anyway...

So yes, I've struggled with Rhymer in the past... I still struggle with Rhymer now... But there's nothing that Rhymer gets that I don't get now, either.... So his advance is my advance too... So I'm not concerned about Rhymer getting better... I've already seen him at his best and worst.

Dras I think the the key difference is that before you could not reliably get more that five naked black bomber dice hitting round one, now you can hit a ship pretty much on the table edge with 9 bombers rerolling black dice that's a completely different level of round one hurt.

Well, I've been playing in a Meta that has subjected me to 10 Bombers (Rhymer +9) on the first Turn anyway... So this is very little new to me anyway.

You'd think people would've learned to take A-wings to intercept the bomber ball, combat the 36 points (max) of primary anti-squadron they can afford after all that, and then shut down the bombers...

I've started to enjoy having Tycho, 3 A-Wings and a Slicer Tooled GR-75 in my swarm lists for this very reason. Mon Mothma is also an overlooked soft counter to Rhymer. Since evades only ever affect a single die, they don't really lose any potency when they're used to defend against bombers. Mon Mothma makes those beautiful evades effective at Rhymer's preferred range. I was originally gunning for a 4x CR-90 1x MC-30 Cracken list for the start of wave 3, but I'm leaning back toward 2x MC-30, 2x CR-90, 1x GR-75 Mon Mothma because of the prevalence of Rhymer. I also have no problem dismantling Rhymer with my own squadron centric builds, but that's all I've been playing for a while now, so I want a break.

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

Crit fishing for bombers....... Ohhh errrrr

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

Crit fishing for bombers....... Ohhh errrrr

Go right ahead. I have seen people do so and get blanks. As much as you are increasing the odds of getting that crit, you are increasing the odds of getting that blank.

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

Crit fishing for bombers....... Ohhh errrrr

Go right ahead. I have seen people do so and get blanks. As much as you are increasing the odds of getting that crit, you are increasing the odds of getting that blank.

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

Crit fishing for bombers....... Ohhh errrrr

Go right ahead. I have seen people do so and get blanks. As much as you are increasing the odds of getting that crit, you are increasing the odds of getting that blank.

Win big or lose big...... It's all for fun so why not......

One way to look at it.

I am so use to other systems where the dominating builds are those that strive for consistency, yet I see all these bomber builds winning so it makes me happy that armada is not regulated to the same issues.

So bombers with Bomber Command Center are good but not spectacular. If we find that BCC stacks they could get better but we shall see.

Crit fishing for bombers....... Ohhh errrrr

Go right ahead. I have seen people do so and get blanks. As much as you are increasing the odds of getting that crit, you are increasing the odds of getting that blank.

Win big or lose big...... It's all for fun so why not......

One way to look at it.

I am so use to other systems where the dominating builds are those that strive for consistency, yet I see all these bomber builds winning so it makes me happy that armada is not regulated to the same issues.

It's one of the reasons I love armada, it's not predictable in build or play style ( so many ways to win and lose).To an extent I think the tourneyment scoring in armada encourages a high level of risk taking, if your aim is to get into the top half of the list a consistent build and safe play will serve you well. If you want a shot at first you need those 8-10 wins and to get these you tend to need to use more risky lists and tactics. It does mean you may also lose big, but that's the game

On the topic of rerolls and crit-fishing, I'm just going to leave this here.

Random + selection != random. Yay maths!

On another note, I'm glad Rhymer is present: it makes no squadrons a pretty big gambit and ensures there are plenty of targets for my x-wings to pew pew pew pew at (as opposed to simply going up against ships and going pew.)

Random + selection != random. Yay maths!

On another note, I'm glad Rhymer is present: it makes no squadrons a pretty big gambit and ensures there are plenty of targets for my x-wings to pew pew pew pew at (as opposed to simply going up against ships and going pew.)

Don't forget yavaris for a slightly less pathetic pew pew.

rhymer?

what about fighter coordination Mauler?

rhymer?

what about fighter coordination Mauler?

Omg, enough of these Rhymer posts. Let it die already. He is good but he can be easily taken out and beaten by smart players. Sigh!!!

rhymer?

what about fighter coordination Mauler?

Not super effective. He has to be placed perfectly where moving Distance One will get an effective splash, but he can't already be engaged. So I suppose if you have him wait until the end of the squadron phase, move him up close and activate your FCT ship first it could work.

easy to not be engaged, just apply Intel

rhymer?

what about fighter coordination Mauler?

Not super effective. He has to be placed perfectly where moving Distance One will get an effective splash, but he can't already be engaged. So I suppose if you have him wait until the end of the squadron phase, move him up close and activate your FCT ship first it could work.

easy to not be engaged, just apply Intel

Intel doesnt prevent engagement.