After placing pretty well at Gen Con 2016 my girlfriend and I decided to start our own Imperial Assault Skirmish Strategy Podcast.

It's called New Orders and we've recorded 2 episodes so far talking about Gen Con and then a local tournament + the metagame (we're 100% focused on Skirmish).

You can search for 'New Orders' to find us in the iTunes podcast directory (used by many other apps on iOS and Android too), via this RSS feed , or via the links below:

You can also find us on Twitter at @IANewOrders or NewOrders.xyz !

Thanks for listening and let me know if you have any questions or suggestions!

-Nick

Update: Episode 14 is up!

Cool! You should post this on the front page if you havent already

Listened to them both now.

First off, way to go jumping out there to put out a podcast! I'm sure that's. Huge step to take and thank you two for putting yourselves out there.

A couple thoughts -

It's hard to judge the podcast from the gencon report. Seeing as you didn't really know you were going to make a podcast back when you were at gencon the general back and forth of "how did things go down" makes sense. Obviously taking more notes to help clarify the report will help.

On that note, I'm curious how you go into recording an episode? Do you sit down and write up an outline with topics, subtopics, etc? Or just deal with whatever comes up at the moment? There were times when I felt some editing could help. This was probably more in the gencon episode than the second one.

I feel like the podcast needs some kind of intro music. It doesn't have to be long. But it makes it feel more welcoming/gets people into it.

Really, these are very minor things. I enjoyed hearing how you guys look at strategies on maps. I loved hearing about your game with Paul Heaver. Looking forward to hearing more of your discussions on skirmish stuff. Always more room for talking about strategy. Good stuff!

Thanks Masterchiefspiff!

I made some notes before starting about lists that we play and the matches at Gen Con, but the podcast is more of a guided conversation. I unfortunately don't have time to heavily edit it down, but I try to keep things moving. I haven't done podcasting before so I'm learning as I go.

I hear what you're saying about intro music, I'm not a musical person but when I have some more free time I can work on putting that together. It will be super short (like 5 seconds or less) because I dislike and skip over longer intros when I listen to other podcasts.

Jennifer and I played in 2 small store-kit tournaments this weekend so we've got another episode to talk about those. Plus we've got some thoughts on all the skirmish cards that have been spoiled so far including the recent Merc uniques. We've done some testing on those as well as New Luke and Terro and will have some thoughts. Hope to record something later this week.

Thanks again for listening!

-Nick

I totally understand the learning as you go

5-10 seconds is definitely plenty. As much as I love the intro music for vaders finest I do fast forward quite often to get to the discussion

And yeah I'm sure editing is a huge time investment. So it's all good if it helps get more episodes to the table and they aren't too long/filled with fluff.

I'm definitely interested in hearing the new unit thoughts before the next tourney updates I'll be looking forward to it.

Yay more IA Podcasts!

Hey all, thanks for all the great feedback. Just posted a new episode which you can hear on SoundCloud or via your Podcast client.

In this episode:

First up is a quick discussion of 2 recent tournaments.

Second, we discuss when to roll a white or black die with Cross-Trained Stormtroopers. This is the Damage Probability Calculator we use in this section.

(This starts at 5m28s)

Finally, for the bulk of the episode, we discuss spoilers for Jabba's Realm! We assume you've seen all the spoilers posted by FFG at the links below (please review them if you haven't yet because we didn't want to waste time re-reading entire cards):

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/8/5/jabbas-realm/

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/8/5/the-battle-for-tatooine/

https://www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2016/9/16/a-step-above-scum/

(This starts at 12m50s)

Thanks for listening!

Look forward to it! Been enjoying them so far!

-ryanjamal

Just subscribed! As a fellow podcaster (though for a different game - X-Wing), please know that I appreciate all the extra work and effort that goes into providing good content and supporting the community. Can't wait to give it a listen!

Finally had a chance to hear your podcast - and to catch all three episodes while at it - and just wanted to say that I enjoyed the content. Always great to hear more takes on the skirmish game.

Finally had a chance to hear your podcast - and to catch all three episodes while at it - and just wanted to say that I enjoyed the content. Always great to hear more takes on the skirmish game.

Going to have a listen now, looking forward to it. Thanks Nick

New episode is up, you can hear on SoundCloud or via your Podcast client.

In this episode we discuss the newest spoilers from Jabba's Realm after doing a bit of testing on the Rancor, Weequays, Gamorreans, and Jet Troopers over the weekend.

Please review the new cards (we don't spell out every detail on the episode) and join the skirmish discussion .

There is also a short discussion about the Sorin list that starts at 13m38s in to the episode (timestamped link) .

be interested in hearing your thoughts on Sorin, I'll have to check that out on lunch

*edit*

Listened to that bit briefly, I get that the Sorin list might take a bit of a hit but for me the list is definitely legit even on maps that don't have doors and regularly performs well for me on the other Nelvaanian map, and Lair of the Dianoga where you don't have those doors to focus up on.

Elite Probe Droids and HK's are fantastic even without Sorin, the regular probes benefit from it for sure, so they'll definitely take a hit. Having said that I'll probably be dropping the 4 regular droids and 2 of my officers in my Sorin list for Elite Jet Troopers with Vader's Finest, so I'll get the Focus that way instead.

I guess in short, "We'll see", but I think if anything it'll increase in strength over map rotation and Jabba's Realm release

*edit*

Just discovered these and gave a listen. I'm really enjoying them. thanks!

be interested in hearing your thoughts on Sorin, I'll have to check that out on lunch

*edit*

Listened to that bit briefly, I get that the Sorin list might take a bit of a hit but for me the list is definitely legit even on maps that don't have doors and regularly performs well for me on the other Nelvaanian map, and Lair of the Dianoga where you don't have those doors to focus up on.

Elite Probe Droids and HK's are fantastic even without Sorin, the regular probes benefit from it for sure, so they'll definitely take a hit. Having said that I'll probably be dropping the 4 regular droids and 2 of my officers in my Sorin list for Elite Jet Troopers with Vader's Finest, so I'll get the Focus that way instead.

I guess in short, "We'll see", but I think if anything it'll increase in strength over map rotation and Jabba's Realm release

*edit*

Maybe Nick, I like the value of keeping that focus rolling though and the option for stun is priceless in my experience.

Will have to see how it goes. With the eJets And Vader's Finest I've 4 focused attacks turn 2 anyway, if there's a door that'll definitely be 6 as the eProbes can't fail really, without one they still hit really hard and will likely get the focus first time they attack due to 2 yellow dice and targeting computer.

Just listened to the first 3 episodes this evening while doing some painting and they were great mate, keep it up

Hi all! We've got a new episode up just in time for worlds. It should show up in your podcast feed automatically or you can listen on SoundCloud .

In this episode we discuss the new ISB Headquarters map . We also talk about the upcoming World Championship for Imperial Assault, specifically covering the metagame, lists we would play, and general tournament advice.

Please leave any suggestions/questions/feedback/thoughts here or on Twitter .

Thanks for listening!

Hi all! We've got a new episode up just in time for worlds. It should show up in your podcast feed automatically or you can listen on SoundCloud .

In this episode we discuss the new ISB Headquarters map . We also talk about the upcoming World Championship for Imperial Assault, specifically covering the metagame, lists we would play, and general tournament advice.

Please leave any suggestions/questions/feedback/thoughts here or on Twitter .

Thanks for listening!

Listening now. Looking forward to seeing what people are bringing to worlds.

Good episodes. I like how the two of you share details on strategies and a mindset. Keep them coming.

I have been playing against someone for a while now and I have been unable to come up with a strategy to beat my opponent. He is running

I have been playing against someone for a while now and I have been unable to come up with a strategy to beat my opponent. He is running

- Luke

- Leia

- C-3PO

- Gideon

- Rebel Troopers

- eEcho Troopers

He uses Gideon and C-3PO to focus Luke and Leia, which then go on to shred my troopers list to pieces. Their +2 recover also give me a hard time taking down Luke or Leia.

I am playing:

- Elite Stormtrooper

- Elite Stormtrooper

- Heavy Stormtrooper

- Elite Probe Droid

- Elite Probe Droid

- Officer

Any tips?

Speaking of key command cards running 2x Reinforcements and 1x Grenadier is a must in any trooper list.

So assuming you have those covered, what's left? Well a huge part of playing the game is positioning. Your goal, in general, should be to deny him good easy shots on your figures. This is even more important for the Rebel Troopers who want to shoot first, then move. Try to place your figures out of their line of site such that you bait them, Luke, and Leia into having to move towards you. Once that happens focus fire on taking out the best target you can. You can easily take out a Leia with 3 good eStorm attacks (2 if you're lucky). Luke takes more but again you can do it in one round of concentrated fire. If you can get a shot at 3P0 or Gideon try to clear them too.

It can be a bit scary since all his figures are focused at the end of Round 1 but your list also gets better once you loose a few Stormtroopers too since their deaths focus their buddies. You should be digging for Reinforcements to bring them back and do everything you can to avoid loosing 3 from the same squad so that you give up those points.

Your re-rolls are another huge factor in putting out consistent damage, so don't let him have the same benefit from Luke if you can help it: split up forces so Luke can't give re-rolls to the whole Rebel force.

Sometimes your opponent might just get lucky and roll lots of Dodges (X) and get Son of Skywalker, but I think if you stick to the long and draw out the battle longer, rather than charging straight in, you'll have the edge.

Alternatively, replacing those Probe Droids with Blaise and use his ability to help Hide your Heavies and get Blast Damage. That's basically the list I would take to Worlds.

Thanks for the really informative and enjoyable podcast. You both are already great and have the knowledge and love of this game to keep growing. Thanks for the podcast.

One thing I am interested in hearing about is the Command Deck. The choices are overwhelming for a new player and having these explained and ranked would be helpful.

Last thing. I own one copy of everything available currently, including expansions. Which packs are worth getting a second if I want to practice the current meta? For instance a second ISB for the Cross Training cards in a ST list.

Thanks again and keep up the great work!

One thing I am interested in hearing about is the Command Deck. The choices are overwhelming for a new player and having these explained and ranked would be helpful.

Last thing. I own one copy of everything available currently, including expansions. Which packs are worth getting a second if I want to practice the current meta? For instance a second ISB for the Cross Training cards in a ST list.

Thanks for your kind words!

Talking about the command deck is a great idea I'll cover in a future show. We have quickly enumerated on our choices in the past but should go into more detail in the future.

I avoided talking about it in this episode because I wanted to leave a little mystery for my fellow players going to worlds, but also because there's not a lot of differentiation right now. Top-tier Troopers will always run Reinforcements and Grenadier, Spies will have Com Disruption and Intel Leak, Luke will always have Son of Skywalker, Bantha Crush & Jundland etc. Once you account for those cards a good portion of the deck is accounted for.

The game is about to have a lot of big changes with the introduction of Jabba's Realm and a big part of that is all the new command cards. Some have been revealed so far but many have not. Once we know all the cards we plan to have a review of all the new stuff. But we should also have an episode after that that talks about the command cards decks as a whole (new and old cards).

As for getting 2nd packs, it really depends on what you want to play. The most popular options are Sabs for Rebels, HKs (in the Hoth box) for Scum, and ISBs (which you mentioned have Cross Training) for Imperials. Again this is likely to shake up after Jabba but I'll make a note to have a quick discussion of this. Also, I'm pretty sure that for Command Cards , if you can play 2 in a deck, they give you 2 together (eg Jundland terror) so 1x of every product should get you all the Command Cards 1 player would possibly need. This is not true for deployment cards obviously.

Thanks again!

Friendly advice: Might be worth re-listening to the podcast and equalizing the volume in some parts, especially when Jennifer answers questions in some parts. Her "ums" can go from 2-10 in terms of loudness when she replies sometimes. Not sure if she leans in on the mic or something.

Friendly advice: Might be worth re-listening to the podcast and equalizing the volume in some parts, especially when Jennifer answers questions in some parts. Her "ums" can go from 2-10 in terms of loudness when she replies sometimes. Not sure if she leans in on the mic or something.

I do spend a long time editing the podcast including a long re-listen where I try to weed out long pause and volume spikes along with extraneous "ums," but in a long recording it's easy to miss 1 or 2. We are sharing a mic so hitting the right distance/volume is a bit tricky. Learning as I go, but if you have other editing suggestions, or if you can point to specific timestamps that are jarring, let me know.

Thanks for listening and the comment!

-Nick