Hello Friends!

Yes, I avoided using the word "meta" in the subject...But that is what I am talking about!

I have been gone for almost a year, traveling to the Dagobah system to complete my training, and missed everything that happened in this great game since the "Home One" box came out. I am a Rebel player (with no desire to fly for the Imperium) who is trying to get back on the horse (bridge?)... I have been catching up on the forums and some articles, but I am still having a hard time figuring out what is the current state of the game, what is good, what not soo good, are people favoring brute face-to-face engagements (now that the big Rebel ships are out), or are we using more of the old hit-and-run tactics still... (Torpedo Frigate I am looking at you)?

Any words of wisdom will be highly appreciated, even if those are a link to some online articles, or other threads on this forum.

FYI - I never had any "preferred" way of playing Armada, liked the MC30s since they came out, but I was not very big on fighters, so perhaps this is something that I should look into again? Could be fun... Using one of the larger ships could be interesting as well... I am open to all the suggestions

Best it's ever been

I feel the game has picked up a lot, loads more options with the last waves and the upcoming ships/fighters as well as the campaign - which includes new objectives and fighters - looks like a right winner

The Liberty is a beast but very vulnerable if it gets hit in the flanks/rear - give it engine techs and its possibly one of the fastest things in the game and can easily outmanauver most things (just have to watch out for the Interdictors slowing it down)

Loving the Flotillas for messing around with things like dials, boosting your fighters and repairing ships - great addition to the game

Still a very balanced game compared to X-Wing say (which im falling out of love with and heading to Armada more)

Itw worth looking around on Youtube as well as on Twitch to see a few battle reports with the new ships and see what they are like and what people are using

Awesome!!!

It takes a full 3 waves for a miniature game like Armada to mature into a decent customizable game state (I didn't get into X-wing until just before Imadar Alpha pre-release for Wave 4). After Wave "Thour" Armada is now a full table top miniatures game with decent options to build your own fleet. The meta hasn't changed that much as some of the archtypes are still Rhymer Ball and centerpiece Flag ship but the flotillas and different squadron packs have given players enough options to play around with their fleet builds. Still not as big as X-wing in Wave 4 and still not as good 3rd Party support (the big C&D strike from Disney that has bitten lots of X-wing apps has still left many fan developers shy on the mobile scene).

But now is the best time as ever to start or get back into Armada.

One year is not enough.......It is still awesome but ships kind a come slow in this game.

It is easy to jump right inn and by the ship that accidently got lost in this universe...:-)

But for every year that pass it gets better :-)

Its like the tv serie Babylon 5 where you waited and waited for the big battle that had to come.

In this case.....where the f... is the super star destroyer. I know it will come and make the rebels players hate that day forever......

Think about these cards with BWings!

The MC30s come with great titles that make them really hard to kill. So yes hit and run tactics are well and truly alive. Plus trcs arent bad.

We got 2 new commanders that make MC-30cs much better. Cracken and Madine.

The great thing about these new waves and the ones announced to come—Wave 1 ships and upgrades are still just as attractive as they were in Wave 1, if not more. The same cannot be said for certain other games (even Sensor Teams has been somewhat rejuvenated, SENSOR TEAMS!!!). And while you are looking for Rebel advice, it is just as important to know what new stuff the imperials are fielding so that you can know how to deal with it.

But the best thing—even with all these new options and such powerhouse combinations, no single fleet combination is so good that you'll show up to a big* (8+) tournament and see half the fleets with it. I mean, Demo or Rhymer will certainly make their way onto most imperial stages, and the Empire will still be bleh, but the total fleet makeup is anyone's guess, and the outcome depends mostly on your skill. The upgrades help, but it's more how you use your fleet and how you can move to intercept your opponents strategy.

And second best would probably be the Correllian Conflict Expansion, once it comes out. New objectives. New fighters. New people interested resulting in a larger community. X-wing players are finally openly jealous.

The Empire is not "bleh" IMO

Ginkapo- thanks for the cards - not familiar with some of those, but I will be browsing the expansion packs released to date.

Two quick questions - are any of the new releases a "must buy"? The last item I purchased (before switching to X-wing for a while) was Home One. I was looking at the Rebel Transports but I am not sure if those would benefit my collection more than the above mentioned Liberty?

So far I have two MC30s, two CR90s, One Nebulon, single Home One, one Assault Frigate and all the fighter boxes I believe...

Second question - is Armada mixing upgrade cards between factions (like X Wing does), virtually forcing you to buy most boxes to get upgrade cards?

Thank you

Ginkapo- thanks for the cards - not familiar with some of those, but I will be browsing the expansion packs released to date.

Two quick questions - are any of the new releases a "must buy"? The last item I purchased (before switching to X-wing for a while) was Home One. I was looking at the Rebel Transports but I am not sure if those would benefit my collection more than the above mentioned Liberty?

So far I have two MC30s, two CR90s, One Nebulon, single Home One, one Assault Frigate and all the fighter boxes I believe...

Second question - is Armada mixing upgrade cards between factions (like X Wing does), virtually forcing you to buy most boxes to get upgrade cards?

Thank you

They are definitely doing that as most rebel players will want the Interdictor just for its cards.

Also I do think the Flotillas are must buys. Just one gives you a tremendous amount of flexibility in your lists. Also they have their own upgrade cards (Fleet Support) that only they can use.

Second question - is Armada mixing upgrade cards between factions (like X Wing does), virtually forcing you to buy most boxes to get upgrade cards?

To a degree. XI7 and the new fighter teams in the Interdictor box are the best example...but XI7 is currently a tournament prize (and given the low tournament population I get like three or four per tournament) and one of the Interdictor's two desirable fighter upgrades (probably the one you're most likely to want multiple copes of, but YMMV) is being packaged in a Rebel ship next wave.

So for the moment there's sort of an autothrusters situation with the Interdictor, but it will be partially ameliorated next wave. And, sure, if you miss the boat there's an autothruster situation with the Nebulon and XI7s, but given how many Leading Shots I ended up with (I think I have like 12 alt art versions) chances are you'll be able to bum an alt art XI7 or two off somebody in the tournament scene.

This game has come along way. Upgrade cards and new waves of ships make new dynamics to the game but also seem to balance out the fractions. This is a young game for only being 2 years old. It was nice to get two waves this year but like others said the waves seem to take time to reach the playing field. I play regularly about once a week and it never gets old. This game is by far amazing and can't wait to see more waves in the future.

Thanks again.

And the last question I have - are there any solid lists that would include multiple X Wing fighters as a support for some larger ships? Lots of lists that I have seen focus on B-wings I am afraid...

3-4 X-wings with Jan can be an excellent option, especially now that we have Bomber Command Center.

Yeah the xwings and ywings really benefit from bomber command center and are very competitive. The bwings are fun, but slightly harder to use, but can of course give better mileage with the blue black anti ship and one or two bomber command centers.

Oh, and do remember the Intel squadrons, and especially Jan Ors. They are what makes squadrons truly viable.