Well mirror might not be the best description so how about Blue on Blue matches. With only two factions you can expect blue on blue matches to be around 50% of the time on a tournament. so lets start a discussion on it.

So do you like them or hate them. Do you love to see your Imperial fleet face up against another Imperial but hate the Rebel on Rebel matches? Or are blue on blue matches so bad you desperately want a 3rd or 4th faction to break apart the monotony of half the tournament matches? So what is your stance:

1. Blue on Blue is fine
2. Love Imperial vs Imperial but hate Rebel vs Rebel
3. Rebel vs Rebel is okay but Imperial vs Imperial is not.
4. I'd prefer Rebel against Imperial but will go Rebel vs Rebel or Imperial vs Imperial
5. Armada needs a 3rd faction to stop all the Blue on Blue.

and any opinion why would be helpful.

You forgot the option !!!

Rebel against Empire only.

I am not a fan of 3rd faction or the same faction playing against each other.

In my community we play only Rebel against Empire. Something else is unthinkable and will kill the Star Wars feeling.

But I have to accept that there are players out there who like to play the same faction against each other.

And it is no rule that say that is not allowed.

I guess we all play how we want to. It is an awesome game however you play it.

The most important is that we all have fun :-)

But for me and my players Star Wars is not the same if not Rebels fighting the Empire.

Firmly and solidly 1.)

Imps vs. Imps is all well and good for me: TIE fighter made sure of that. Zaarin-esque separatists, warlordism, Imperial misunderstandings between governors vying for power, the ever present 'training' procedures, and the constant threat of Imperial defectors all make Imperial Blue on Blue matches completely sensible and enjoyable as the dynamic is simply different compared to playing against Rebels. That means more options, more experiences, and more challenges brought along by a greater diversity.

Rebs vs. Rebs is, likewise, all well and good for me: a healthy cynical dose of reality made sure of that. Local Imperialist militia/garrisons using outdated equipment, warlordism, Rebel cells with varying ideals, the ever present 'training' procedures, and the threat of Imperials anti-partisan 'plants' make Rebel Blue on Blue matches -ctrl+C, ctrl+V-

I'd eventually like a third faction as it means more options, like before. But Blue on Blue matches are uniquely different from Reb vs. Imp matches. One of the weird thing I notice from commentators is how many espouse how good certain ships/squadrons/combos are, and that they need to be taken based on the assumption they're fighting the opposite faction, but there's little regard into how it plays against their own. But then again, I'm the heretic who thinks having a 4 player 2 Imp, vs. an Imp and a Reb match is loads of fun.

You forgot the option !!!

Rebel against Empire only.

...

Okay I included an option but the 3rd faction was supposed to be for those that will never play Blue on Blue. It was more of a joke but yeah there you go, Rebels vs Imperials only.

Number one for me please. However i'm one of the lucky ones i guess. Never had a mirror match.

Option 2) Imps v Imps is just fine. It can be imagined as a training exercise. But with Rebels it makes no sense to imagine that they organize wargames simply because it cannot be done secretly enough.

Actually, seeing how Rebel forces liked to hide out in the outer rim and wild space, training exercises could be done. What would prevent them more is the fact that their supplies of fuel, tibanna gas, etc are far more limited than Imperial forces. However that's probably a different topic

More than anything, I dread the mass squadrons vs mass squadrons matchup in tourneys. First, it's a VERY difficult matchup to get anything more than a 6-5 most of the time when playing good players. Second, it takes a long time to play and can't always be completed in the available tourney time.

I brought my mass squadron build to two big tourneys lately and eventually faced off against another mass squadron build commanded by very good players. In the first I played it as I normally do and we knocked each other out of the tourney with a 5-5 (pre-new table) and in the other tourney I went for a super kill, to avoid what happened in the first tourney as it was quickly developing into another 6-5, and I lost big for my aggressive play. Very hard to figure out what to when you play these situations. I'm finding making tourney builds that can consistently do well in the current tourney structure VERY hard, with the results almost always coming down to matchups (player skill and build matchup). Face another good player and you either 6-5 or go for the gusto and get owned usually. Armada tourneys are rough.

Imperial vs Imperial with all giant space triangles (ISD, VSD, Interdictor) for ships is the absolute dullest thing to play. Everyone just flies straight at each other until someone blows up.

For me, the game is very visual and so I am creating a Mandalorian fleet with Shapeways models. I will use Imperial stats and bases etc, but it will look different on the table and therefore, for me, feel different.

Mirror matches are still fun though as most of the time people fly differing lists in differing styles, unlike the stagnancy in X-wing right now.

At days end, capital ships battling it out is what I like, so any match is a good match :-)

While mirror matches are canonical, I dislike them. They're a necessary evil of the current tourney format. When I was active in Flames of War, locally the TO took pains to never have a mirror match, actually arranging sign ups so that it was evenly split between allies and axis. With Armada that's impossible....so yeah.

Doubles the potential for fun. Just Imp vs Reb would be too limited.

Just make sure all your cards are sleeved or have duplicates then draw goatee's on all the characters for one side. You'll be good to go.

On a serious note I prefer Rebs Vs. Imps and will always play that way when playing casually. I always show up to game night with a list for each side. I ask my opponent for the match which faction they want to play, then I play the other.

I enjoy Reb vs. Imp only. I have never played a mirror match, but suppose I would if it ever came to a tourney. I play both factions just so I can always play my opponent without mirror match.

I enjoy playing the game.

If you refuse to play me purely on the grounds that I have the same faction as you, then you do not enjoy playing the game anywhere near as much as I do.

Just make sure all your cards are sleeved or have duplicates then draw goatee's on all the characters for one side. You'll be good to go.

Cutter9999 has an Evil Ackbar AA with goatee and Sharpie-black uniform...

Definitely number 1 for me , mirror match adds a lot of diversity to the game.

But quite frankly I would love to see additional factions ( CSI and republic ).

I'm OK with mirror matches. Since I mostly play against myself, and I don't have an infinite number of ships, I have to play Reb on Imp.

Good learning experiences.

I would always rather play opposites. If I'm at home and I'm playing just for the fun of it, that's what I do. I'll happily play the opposing faction to my friend's first-choice in order to have it that way. I'll even try to suss out the less represented faction at store events and bring a list to go with that, if I can. For big tournaments, I know we're playing to win, so I ease up on the aesthetics.

I prefer playing opposing sides but civil war matches don't bother me much. The more releases the game gets, the less likely you'll be playing against a fleet extremely similar to your own, even if you're both using the same faction.

I prefer playing opposing sides but civil war matches don't bother me much. The more releases the game gets, the less likely you'll be playing against a fleet extremely similar to your own, even if you're both using the same faction.

As in Galactic Civil War _{​so rebels vs imperials only.}

I prefer playing opposing sides but civil war matches don't bother me much. The more releases the game gets, the less likely you'll be playing against a fleet extremely similar to your own, even if you're both using the same faction.

As in Galactic Civil War _{​so rebels vs imperials only.}

Well aren't you adorable.

Hate it. Rebels versus Imps is the only way to fly.

I prefer playing opposing sides but civil war matches don't bother me much. The more releases the game gets, the less likely you'll be playing against a fleet extremely similar to your own, even if you're both using the same faction.

As long as armada does not turn into Xwing:D

It happens rarely - Usually everyone plays with my collection. Nowadays I have enough stuff to have 2 games running simultaneously, both Imp vs Reb, although when we play winner vs winner and loser vs loser for the second game, there are sometimes mirror matches.

I have a relatively small collection, so that leads to some rather wacky lists being played, but cuts down on the power gaming. Having X17 turbolaser cards so readily available nowadays has injected a sizeable amount of raw cheddar into proceedings, though.