I have been running the AF MarkB version with Raymus, flight controllers, boosted coms, and ECM. Throw a fighter screen of Jan and 3 X-wings out front with Cracken as your Admiral and you have a very durable carrier that hits like a truck in the initial squadron fight. 5 dice X-wings with TF close by on a flotilla....yes please!

Af cannot take fighter coordination teams.

Oops! You're right! Just Flight Commander then.

And flotillas only do so much. You can ignore them and pour damage into other targets, or with a pair of AFs and Gunnery teams you can burn through scatters quickly. Or an AF and some squadrons can one round it without too bad of odds. Unless you're playing Ackbar without squadrons, and who does that anymore?

Flight Controllers is the only thing a AFMK carrier does better than any other option. The only other rebel ship that can combine FControllers with a decent squad command is the liberty with title/token.

I am interested in seeing how the interplay of Rapid Launch andnGallant Heaven works oit.

If you want damage take the mc30.

If you want squad activations then flotillas.

If you want durability take the mc80.

The AF? Hollow it out and it makes terrible token storage.

My question is, if the AFMkii is getting Victoried, then what the hell do rebels take in its place? The AF is a solid, dependable, adaptable workhorse. It's damage, squadron command, and durability are all unparalleled for its price point. It's hard to imagine the Rebel fleet as a faction without it.

We will see the AF make a come back, and I believe that because FFG is currently addressing the Victory problem with their new commander. So what if the AF is not the meta due to wave 3/4. It's fairly common for people to play with the new stuff, and incorporate the "best" of the older waves. At the very least, the upgrades they release cause the meta to rotate around different ships. For example, Cracken is making the MC30 a viable option to sprint across the board. Konstantine made it possible to field Victorys because you can slow things down. I'm sure Sato will bring back the AF because you get those new Rapid Launchers to throw your squads at the enemy. Now you can roll blacks instead of reds for decent damage.

If you're looking to get in there and bang, I've found this to be an interesting use for AF2s. As the name says, it's all about getting the double arcs, hence Madine.

All About That Double Arc, Homie

Author: Spartanfury80

Faction: Rebel Alliance

Points: 399/400

Commander: General Madine

Assault Objective: Most Wanted

Defense Objective: Hyperspace Assault

Navigation Objective: Dangerous Territory

Assault Frigate Mark II A (81 points)

- Paragon ( 5 points)

- Intel Officer ( 7 points)

- Veteran Gunners ( 5 points)

- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)

- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)

= 114 total ship cost

Assault Frigate Mark II A (81 points)

- Intel Officer ( 7 points)

- Veteran Gunners ( 5 points)

- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)

- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)

= 109 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)

- Bright Hope ( 2 points)

- Leia Organa ( 3 points)

- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)

= 30 total ship cost

[ flagship ] CR90 Corvette A (44 points)

- General Madine ( 30 points)

- Tantive IV ( 3 points)

- Raymus Antilles ( 7 points)

- Turbolaser Reroute Circuits ( 7 points)

= 91 total ship cost

5 A-Wing Squadrons ( 55 points)

Sure. And the Interdictor can do horrific damage to that same Trc90 and still heal back the majority of its damage in a single activation. The Inty is a BRUTUS. But just because a Raider can't kill an Imperial doesn't mean the Raider sucks. The AF has activation efficiency going for it: solid maneuverability, decent defenses, good damage output at range and excellent Squadron activation all in one go. With the wave 4 upgrades, things like flight commanders and flight coordination teams allow the AF to soften up a side for its fighter escort and not vice versa. If Ackbar is your commander, well forget it: there is no more point efficient broadsider. I do agree that because it does many things well it can be a point sink if you let it. That continues to be the biggest trap in armada. Only one ship so far excels with only one upgrade regardless of commander, and that is the CR90.

Never said it sucks, just said that it seems lost in wave four, cause for it to do anything well it becomes a point sink.

The AF lost its favor when Ackbar went out of the scene. The Return of Ackbar may be near, but flotillas aren't helping him along. They are almost immune to Acklbar long range attacks, at least ones without red accuracy selection upgrades.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many flotillas Ackbar has killed of late...funny how H1 + AF or MC30s w/TRCs make flotillas consistently go "pop"

I'm working on a Star Cruiser/AF/AF list. The plan is to keep the SC in the center and use the tougher Assault Frigates to cover the sides. Pending the introduction of E-Wings, I'm running six A-Wings to take advantage of the higher likelihood of getting my own alpha strike in. Right now I have Veteran Gunners in the slot, but I could be convinced to try out Flight Controllers to make those A-Wings initially hit with four dice and then be able to Counter.

The Assault Frigates have three major functions here:

1) Provide blocking/protection for the sides of the Star Cruiser.

2) Push the fighters around.

3) Provide supporting firepower to the Star Cruiser. If you can force the usage of some defense tokens before the SC fires, that can make a big difference.

The AFM2 is overall just really solid. For Damage I think it shines best when used with Ackbar fleets. Enhanced Armament, Ackbar, and Concentrate Fire give it 7 red dice, and it can take gunnery teams as well. Toss in Home One and you've got a fancy ship that doesn't mind if they roll a blank red.

Or you can toss Quad Turbolaser Canons on there to pair with Home One and get you some tough, maneuverable, 7 red dice (2 of them confirmed accuracy) monsters.

The AF lost its favor when Ackbar went out of the scene. The Return of Ackbar may be near, but flotillas aren't helping him along. They are almost immune to Acklbar long range attacks, at least ones without red accuracy selection upgrades.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many flotillas Ackbar has killed of late...funny how H1 + AF or MC30s w/TRCs make flotillas consistently go "pop"

I doubt it, considering you are using home one and he specifically qualified ackbar fleets tbat dont guarantee accuracy.

The AFM2 is overall just really solid. For Damage I think it shines best when used with Ackbar fleets. Enhanced Armament, Ackbar, and Concentrate Fire give it 7 red dice, and it can take gunnery teams as well. Toss in Home One and you've got a fancy ship that doesn't mind if they roll a blank red.

Or you can toss Quad Turbolaser Canons on there to pair with Home One and get you some tough, maneuverable, 7 red dice (2 of them confirmed accuracy) monsters.

I'm going to make a fleet like this as soon as I can get another Liberty pack. This sounds incredibly fun to play.

If you want damage take the mc30.

If you want squad activations then flotillas.

If you want durability take the mc80.

The AF? Hollow it out and it makes terrible token storage.

It's true. All of it.

For instance, even at long range a TRC MC30 is a bigger damage dealer than an AF. And more consistent.

It's also not very agile, requiring plenty of navigates if you don't want to get too predictable.

The AF is relatively cheap, however. If you need something that can soak a reasonable amount of damage, have a semi-decent speed chart, then maybe the AF is for you.

I still keep 1 in my Ackbar fleet. With just a gunnery team. It's not bad, but I've also tried replacing it with a 2nd MC30, and haven't really missed it.

That's part of my issue with this ship I think. I think ackbar is garbage so I almost never play him.

The AF lost its favor when Ackbar went out of the scene. The Return of Ackbar may be near, but flotillas aren't helping him along. They are almost immune to Acklbar long range attacks, at least ones without red accuracy selection upgrades.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many flotillas Ackbar has killed of late...funny how H1 + AF or MC30s w/TRCs make flotillas consistently go "pop"

I doubt it, considering you are using home one and he specifically qualified ackbar fleets tbat dont guarantee accuracy.

He said Ackbar might return, but that flotillas weren't helping him along...which is bull IMO. Ackbar H1 is one solution. Sensor Team MC30s another (an Ackbar MC30 is one of the few ships that has dice to waste on ST IMO).

So if you've about had your fill of flotillas, take Ackbar and go kill some!

The AFM2 is overall just really solid. For Damage I think it shines best when used with Ackbar fleets. Enhanced Armament, Ackbar, and Concentrate Fire give it 7 red dice, and it can take gunnery teams as well. Toss in Home One and you've got a fancy ship that doesn't mind if they roll a blank red.

Or you can toss Quad Turbolaser Canons on there to pair with Home One and get you some tough, maneuverable, 7 red dice (2 of them confirmed accuracy) monsters.

I've tried a H1 2xAF QTL fleet. It was fun. Killed a lot of flotillas. It also screwed over anything with a double evade. Still, a bit too niche IMO.

The AF lost its favor when Ackbar went out of the scene. The Return of Ackbar may be near, but flotillas aren't helping him along. They are almost immune to Acklbar long range attacks, at least ones without red accuracy selection upgrades.

Oh, you'd be surprised how many flotillas Ackbar has killed of late...funny how H1 + AF or MC30s w/TRCs make flotillas consistently go "pop"

I doubt it, considering you are using home one and he specifically qualified ackbar fleets tbat dont guarantee accuracy.

He said Ackbar might return, but that flotillas weren't helping him along...which is bull IMO. Ackbar H1 is one solution. Sensor Team MC30s another (an Ackbar MC30 is one of the few ships that has dice to waste on ST IMO).

So if you've about had your fill of flotillas, take Ackbar and go kill some!

I mean maybe. But your counter was look how good ackbar'd ships are with home one at killing flotillas, and he has already conceded that ackbar and a guaranteed accuracy does that well. For what its worth though, I also love throwing tons of red dice with guaranteed accuracy at flotillas. Its hilarious.

That said, the rebel flotillas have no inherent synergy with ackbar, and his expense and the cost of bringing the ships he most wants to command makes bringing a significant squadron complement difficult. And he already wasn't that good. I don't know that Thraug is wrong just because you can kill flotillas with ackbar. I'm not ready to hang up old fishyface, but I don't think its unfair to say that he was stronger in wave 2 than in 3/4.

Its fair to say that. Neither the Liberty nor Transport really work with Ackbar. Then again, Rebel commanders didn't really gain a lot wave 3-4 from the ships.

Dodonna: He didnt gain, but he is sort of the lowest denominator for Rebels. He also cares less about the ship and more about the upgrades.

Garm: sort of gained. Another command 3 ship. He is still usually not a great choice.

Ackbar: Didn't gain. Neither new ship likes him.

Mothma: Gained a little. She likes the flotillas. She also picked up a major competitor in Cracken though.

Veteran Gunners

This has already started to pay off for me, with my AF-Ackbar fleets.

And the Assault Frigate is still unique for the Rebels, in that it is geared to fight offensively at Long Range by itself, and still be able to command Fighter Squadrons at long Range while providing them with the benefit of Flight Controllers.

Only the Mc30 can do that, and it sacrifices hull, ranged firepower, and squadron command (as well as the boosting ability), for more speed and close range punch.

Its unique.

It does not suffer from the ISD->Victory malignment, which is best summed up as "Everything you can do, I can do better." On the side of the Imperial. The Assault Frigate is a Unique Jack-of-All-Trades for the Rebels.

Of course, it Masters None. So don't expect it to.

How does it go?

Speed.

Durability.

Offensive Power

Low Cost.

Pick any 3.

I pick all four

Admonition

I pick all four

Admonition

Offensive Squadron Power is Low. As is that Ranged Ability.

I mean, short range, yeah.

But that's the whole point of the comparison.

You can't just take an MC30, Slap on Admonition, and then directly compare it to a Barebones Assault Frigate, in anything but Cost.

They do cost about the same at that point.

But they are accomplishing two completely different jobs.

I pick all four

Admonition

Offensive Squadron Power is Low. As is that Ranged Ability.

I mean, short range, yeah.

But that's the whole point of the comparison.

You can't just take an MC30, Slap on Admonition, and then directly compare it to a Barebones Assault Frigate, in anything but Cost.

They do cost about the same at that point.

But they are accomplishing two completely different jobs.

Same job. Killing enemy ships.

I am biased, I hate the assault frigate. Whats the use of squadron activations on a ship that needs nav commands to avoid being rammed/blockaded to death?

I pick all four

Admonition

Offensive Squadron Power is Low. As is that Ranged Ability.

I mean, short range, yeah.

But that's the whole point of the comparison.

You can't just take an MC30, Slap on Admonition, and then directly compare it to a Barebones Assault Frigate, in anything but Cost.

They do cost about the same at that point.

But they are accomplishing two completely different jobs.

Same job. Killing enemy ships.

I am biased, I hate the assault frigate. Whats the use of squadron activations on a ship that needs nav commands to avoid being rammed/blockaded to death?

I can't argue your bias.

I've never had my Assault Frigates Rammed and/or blockaded to Death...

... Mc30s, plenty of times, being hit by TRCs and then having their 4 Hull rammed away... And MC80s, definitely.

But not Assault Frigates.

But I mean, sure, assume every ship has to kill ships to be worth a ****. Why are we playing with Objectives, anyway?

But, you have given me food for thought.

I've always liked it as an all-rounder, so perhaps my bias is the problem.

My biggest issue with rebel commanders compared to imp commanders is that the rebel commanders are for the most part extremely serialized as far as fleet comp. Whereas the imp commanders are great almost across the board for any ship.

Dodonna the only ten commander that affects every ship, added bonus of being the cheapest and works with squadrons.

Garm also works with every ship even though he is significantly better with medium to high command ships. Which is everything except the gr75 and the cr90. Never really understood the hate here. Don't get me wrong I wish it was 3 and 5 round.

Crackin straight up doesn't work with almost 30% of the rebel ships. But he is amazing. For the other 70%.

Mon Mothma also does not work with almost 30% of rebel options. Great on another 30% and solid on the remaining 40%.

Rieekan works with every ship no matter what sold choice for virtually all fleets. Also works on some squadrons

Madine works with everyone but takes some work to get going.

Trashbar don't get me started on how this piece of garbage is a terrible choice for almost 70% of fleets and a bad choice mathematically for 100% of ships. Unless your just dieing to so a slash then I can get behind it.

Its fair to say that. Neither the Liberty nor Transport really work with Ackbar. Then again, Rebel commanders didn't really gain a lot wave 3-4 from the ships.

Dodonna: He didnt gain, but he is sort of the lowest denominator for Rebels. He also cares less about the ship and more about the upgrades.

Garm: sort of gained. Another command 3 ship. He is still usually not a great choice.

Ackbar: Didn't gain. Neither new ship likes him.

Mothma: Gained a little. She likes the flotillas. She also picked up a major competitor in Cracken though.

Dodonna gained a ton from both waves. The Liberty is strong enough to punch into the hull of any ship in one attack, if you build it correctly. 2 turbolaser slots is massive. And you can run bombers with BCC, which synergizes with Dodanna when you get those crits.

I agree about the others.