So I'm a novice, I'll gladly admit it. I'm enjoying learning the amazing complexities of this new foray into the Star Wars universe; I think I'll even be able to perform attacks before maneuvers as habit at sometime in the not to distant future without having to consult the 'cheat sheet'.....maybe, or perhaps never, haha.

Anyway, as I go through the starter game over and over with friends (who are really enjoying it too), I have the issue of: whoever is playing the Victory commander is having a time flying her. She's easy to flank. If you do flank her, you're doing great, if you don't, she'll rip you. But......it's a bit frustrating to us newbies....Any advice?

How many starter games have you played?

The answer is to compensate by choosing decent objectives and have rhymer covering the flank.... but that doesnt apply to the starter game.

Spam nav commands and hard yaw at speed 1, no need to rush.

Buy the Arquitens and get Jerjerrod. Then fly at speed 2 and bank left or right when you know your opponent will fly past you to keep it in your front arc.

Otherwise use Nav commands to get the extra yaw.

You also might try Tarkin with a Defense Liaison. Tarkin Spams token's, Stack Concentrated fire in the Command Dials, use Tarkin's Token's to Maneuver or Repair when needed.

the starter game is basicaly a tutorial meant to demonstrate exactly that:

one player to learn how to maneuver out of powerful firing arcs

one player to learn to maneuver to keep those firing arcs pointed towards the enemy (which is, indeed, harder).

thus, if the rebel players isnt good at maneuvering, the imperial player usualy wins and makes it look easy.

but if the rebel player is good, then the Imperial player must be much better or else the rebels just run circles around the slow ship.

this is the reason why most people consider the VSD one of the weakest ships in the game, even though it has its place in tons of highly competitive lists.

in the actual full game ofcourse, things get completely different when we are talking lists/fleets. there, you have the option of overlapping different ship firing arcs and/or covering weak flanks with other units.

on to how to maneuver victories.

imho it is different regarding the VSD1 and VSD2.

VSD 2: slow roll; speed 1, spam navigates to increase yaw and fire from a distance.

VSD 1: this is where things get tricky.

a) first and foremost, it is suprising but the VSD 1 requires MUCH more in the way of turbolaser upgrades and investments than the VSD 2. the VSD 2 shines in mid-range; the VSD 1 , however, plays by taking "pot-shots" from red range, and IF able, finish an opponent via black dice.

keep understanding that your front arc will use its black dice really just once per game. the opponent will never let it happen more than once. and even that you have to earn. maneuver carefuly, from the sides of the enemy fleet(!!!), slowly "herding them" to stay together via their fear of your black dice. then, spend a navigate token to go speed 2 and threaten 2 ships with your black dice. next turn, the opponent will have time to only get one ship out of the way-the other one is now dead or dying.

b) some upgrades for your black dice can be good if you have the points-but they are really NOT necesary for this particular ship. really just treat your black range as area denial, not as an actual threat range. this is also the reason why i dont recommend the VSD 1 for the starter, "area denial" doesnt mean much when its your only ship. for a fleet though, i actualy think its better than the VSD2 due to points cost.

How many starter games have you played?The answer is to compensate by choosing decent objectives and have rhymer covering the flank.... but that doesnt apply to the starter game.Spam nav commands and hard yaw at speed 1, no need to rush.

I have played a few times, feeling it out; learning when things happen has been difficult to say the least; the other parts of the game are starting to be cemented.....I think. Nav Commands and Hard Yaw....OK.

Buy the Arquitens and get Jerjerrod. Then fly at speed 2 and bank left or right when you know your opponent will fly past you to keep it in your front arc. Otherwise use Nav commands to get the extra yaw.

I thought there would have to be an upgrade down the line to assist. Isn't the Arquitens in the latest Wave?

the starter game is basicaly a tutorial meant to demonstrate exactly that:

one player to learn how to maneuver out of powerful firing arcs

one player to learn to maneuver to keep those firing arcs pointed towards the enemy (which is, indeed, harder).

thus, if the rebel players isnt good at maneuvering, the imperial player usualy wins and makes it look easy.

but if the rebel player is good, then the Imperial player must be much better or else the rebels just run circles around the slow ship.

this is the reason why most people consider the VSD one of the weakest ships in the game, even though it has its place in tons of highly competitive lists.

in the actual full game ofcourse, things get completely different when we are talking lists/fleets. there, you have the option of overlapping different ship firing arcs and/or covering weak flanks with other units.

on to how to maneuver victories.

imho it is different regarding the VSD1 and VSD2.

VSD 2: slow roll; speed 1, spam navigates to increase yaw and fire from a distance.

VSD 1: this is where things get tricky.

a) first and foremost, it is suprising but the VSD 1 requires MUCH more in the way of turbolaser upgrades and investments than the VSD 2. the VSD 2 shines in mid-range; the VSD 1 , however, plays by taking "pot-shots" from red range, and IF able, finish an opponent via black dice.

Upgrades on the ships I'm sure will come into play to assist this "weakness." So Turbolasers do what exactly?

You guys are very helpful. I appreciate this info a bunch! I bet you tell all the green commanders this stuff, but it is so very much more helpful than the information supplied with the game. They did a great job, but somehow it is so hard to understand some of the details of the game. Plus, its just related to the Starter itself.

Keep it coming.......I'm listening.

Turbolasers is an upgrade slot that usually effects red dice in one way or another. Depending on the upgrade.

Example: h9 turbolasers and warlord title. (I think both these come in core set.) H9 will let you change a hit or crit to an accuracy. Then warlord lets you change that acc to a hit. Which can be a double hit on the red.

So as long as you dont roll blanks you can get an extra damage out of your dice.

Yes, the Arq is in wave 5. If you pick it up, you can run it with the VSD, which pair nicely IMO. The titles for the Arq are great as well. Activating squads through it or readying your brace on the Vic is something you might want to look into.

jerjerrod is an admiral that vastly upgrades victories' ability to turn. (well, all ships, but it is particularly effective for victories). he is found in the imperial light cruiser expansion.

regarding turbolaser upgrades:

they upgrade your ability to causedamage. it is a category of upgrade. for example, in the core set enhanced armament is a turbolaser upgrade. it turns your side arc from 2 red/1 black to 3 red/1 black. with a concentrate fire command, thats 4 red dice to an opponent that has "escaped".

this isnt even an ideal upgrade, for example i use veteran gunners and spinal armament; with a concentrate fire command, that is 5 red dice at range, rerollable. dual turbolasers from the imperial light cruiser also work. generally, help your red dice. your black dice wont do much, they'll only shoot once usualy, so help your red dice.

another solution is the title "Dominator" for the core set; you get to add some blue dice to your shot-even if its not your "good" arc. in a game vs a very good player here, he completely avoided my front arc black dice, only to be killed by my rear and right side (total 10+ dice rolled, 4 due to dominator's ability)

EDIT: this doesnt mean black dice suck, they are AWESOME; just, in the VSD its really just a secondary weapon unlike for other, faster ships.

Turbolasers is an upgrade slot that usually effects red dice in one way or another. Depending on the upgrade.

Example: h9 turbolasers and warlord title. (I think both these come in core set.) H9 will let you change a hit or crit to an accuracy. Then warlord lets you change that acc to a hit. Which can be a double hit on the red.

So as long as you dont roll blanks you can get an extra damage out of your dice.

this combo is AWESOME, but its not in the core set but in the victory class expansion.

A lone victory is easy to outmanuver. Yes, spam nav commands to get the extra yaw for sure. Victories work better as part of a larger fleet. There are several upgrades down the road which will make your victory better.

Jerjerrod

Tractor beams

are 2 that come to mind. also, If you buy some imperial fighters, you can let them hang close to you and pounce on anyone who tries to flank. Flying victories well is hard, the thing is a brick, and nav command are your friend

In the Core Set games, try and use your fighters to aid your weaker side arcs. Tarkin issuing a concentrate fire token and selecting a concentrate fire command on your dial will considerably upgrade your firepower from your side and rear arc. As stated earlier, the core set is all about learning to combine all the aspects of the game to make things work.

Once you reach into the bigger game, with expansions, you'll see that, IMHO, the VSD, is, point for point, one of the best ships in the game. It pairs well with the faster light cruisers as they can be used to harass the faster rebel ships like the CR90.

VSD really shouldnt have been in the starter box, well atleast in the form its in right now. They probably should have cut a die out the front and given it a speed 1 click at speed2 so it can actually be self-sufficient.

Right now its easily the worst ship to move. It has a lot of guns for the price, but unless you use a pincer-strat (which the starter campaign wont let you do considering its the only Imp ship) to herd enemy ships into the VSD it usually never gets a front arc shot off. Theres a reason the ISD actually can move pretty well despite being a larger ship (thus making no sense lol)

A lone victory is easy to outmanuver. Yes, spam nav commands to get the extra yaw for sure. Victories work better as part of a larger fleet. There are several upgrades down the road which will make your victory better; Jerjerrod and Tractor beams are 2 that come to mind. also, If you buy some imperial fighters, you can let them hang close to you and pounce on anyone who tries to flank. Flying victories well is hard, the thing is a brick, and nav command are your friend

Cool...so I guess the commander Jerjerrod comes in the Wave IV Imp ship and Tractor Beams come in? Tractor beams seem cool on these Capital ships; I was thinking of trying them in X-Wing on the TIE/D at some point, but that seems less thematic. I have the Imperial Fighters Expansion Pack with the TIE Advanced and Interceptors; which are best?

VSD really shouldnt have been in the starter box, well atleast in the form its in right now. They probably should have cut a die out the front and given it a speed 1 click at speed2 so it can actually be self-sufficient. Right now its easily the worst ship to move. It has a lot of guns for the price, but unless you use a pincer-strat (which the starter campaign wont let you do considering its the only Imp ship) to herd enemy ships into the VSD it usually never gets a front arc shot off. Theres a reason the ISD actually can move pretty well despite being a larger ship (thus making no sense lol)

I think you and I are in the same boat as X-Wing players entering into the realm of Armada; although it seems you have quite the jump on me as far as time and experience. I'm going to look into these movement buffs for the VSD so I can continue edging slowly into the game mentally and financially. I have quite a few Expansions to the Starter Set that I haven't breached the packaging of as I am trying to get a solid handle on the starter game so I master the basics before diving into the deep water. I guess mentally, I'll do what I have to to strengthen the VSD with crew, weapons and mods before attempting to fly any other Imperial Capital ship. I think the Rebels are far more forgiving and usable.

Rebels in the starter box were actually more punishing than the Imps because a bad turn would send you right into 6 or more dice, often doublearced. However their difficulty comes from learning how to move, while the Imperials' difficult came from learning how to trap. Trapping is much harder than moving, so initially i thought Rebels were terrible -> learned to move, thought imps were bad -> learned to trap, thought Rebels were bad -> delved into the expansions, feel pretty close but Rebels sliiiightly better due to CR90 just being insanely point efficient and MC30s are nuts.

Technically i played Armada before Xwing, but i stopped playing Armada right after getting my hands on the Rogues and Villains pack since i literally only had 1 opponent at the time. We got sick of facing each other lol.

edit: oh and dont fall into the same trap i did with the VSD lol. The black dice variant may be cheaper and black dice are nastier, but i dont think i EVER got those black dice on that ship. Always juuuuust out of range.

I think the game wouldn't have sold nearly as well without the VSD in the box, glorious presence that it has!

It's a pain to manoeuvre and that isn't helped by the default deployment in the starter scenario; you're almost pondered straight away. Vary where your placing the ships and see how things changed.

First stranger game I played I was pondered hard by the rebels and I think the CR90 hit me in the rear because as I struggled to do much except go forwards it managed to sneak around the back. All the while the fighters just ran to a far corner of the board and dukes it out without the benefit of commands to help them. Good times.

Elaborate on trapping with the Imperials, please.

What's better for a Vic 2, enhanced armament for an extra dice on the flank guns (useful for when you get outflanked?) or xx-9 turbo lasers to deal double damage cards when you do hit? (I'm also pretty newb)

Well, since you can only effectively upgrade one Vic to have E.C.M. with that new crew card One is doable and likely in lists again. Anymore than one and you should just maneuver the rest straight into a reclamation station.

I find in most of the times i'm learning and trying new lists and ships, spamming nav commands lets me make up a LOT for figuring out both how to pilot and where i need it to be. (The exception being squadron commands, of course). Try navigating a LOT (like, it potentially should be the default with the VSD) to get it where you need to be. Of course, you need to get those fighters engaged somehow, too....

But to answer your initial question, nav commands. Use them, love them.

So. any point in playing multi Vic fleets?

Anyone tested Moffy JJ? How's he?

To echo numerous earlier responses:

Nav commands. Lots of them. Stay at speed 1 unless you need to be speed 2 for some reason. Try to estimate where your targets are going to be when you will get to shoot next turn and point yourself to "catch" them there. A lot of newer players point the VSD straight at unactivated enemies who then activate and leave the front arc before the VSD's next turn. This is understandably very frustrating for newer players, but it takes a while to learn the altered rhythm that comes with Armada putting attacking before moving (unless just about every other minis game).

So. any point in playing multi Vic fleets?

Yes. They're a solid chunk of hull for the cost but they become extremely cost-ineffective if they're over-upgraded. This is true of just about every ship in the game but particularly true of VSDs.

Anyone tested Moffy JJ? How's he?

Amazing. Speed 2 VSDs perform like entirely different ships. It needs to be seen to be believed. Minister Tua also helps a lot with a defensive retrofit available to one VSD (usually the flagship if you're going without an ISD).