i am very new to the game and would like to buy some ships to start my imperial fleet however my current idea uses lots of upgrades and hence lots of ships,

for those curious this is my planned list and the kits needed

Adv. Gunnery (Core)

Hyperspace Assault (Core)

Solar Cornea (CC)

Admiral Konstantine (interdictor)

VSD I (Core)

+ Dominator (Core)

+ Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

VSD II (VSD)

+ Flight Controller (VSD)

+ Expanded Hanger (Core)

+ Overload Pulse (Core)

+ Spinal Armament (Liberty)

Interdictor Suppression Refit (Interdictor)

+ Minister Tua (Arquitens)

+ Redundant Shields (Home One)

+ Projection Experts (Home One)

+ G8 Experimental Projector (Interdictor)

+ Target Scrambler (Interdictor)

Soontir Fel (Imp Fighter I)

Saber Squadron (CC)

Black Squadron (CC)

TIE Fighter Squadron (Core)

however from going through the forums ive noticed that most lists seem to have very few upgrades per ship, and spending far more on squadrons and tiny ships and i was wondering why, are starfighters so good that any viable fleet needs 6+ squadrons? if that's the case then im just going to wait for the Venator to come out

Mainly because squadrons with Bomber can eat you alive if left unchecked. You don't need to win the squadron battle, but you need to be able to hold back the bombers from doing their thing for a little while. Numbers are a good way to do that since they can spread out more.

i am very new to the game and would like to buy some ships to start my imperial fleet however my current idea uses lots of upgrades and hence lots of ships,

for those curious this is my planned list and the kits needed

Adv. Gunnery (Core)

Hyperspace Assault (Core)

Solar Cornea (CC)

Admiral Konstantine (interdictor)

VSD I (Core)

+ Dominator (Core)

+ Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

VSD II (VSD)

+ Flight Controller (VSD)

+ Expanded Hanger (Core)

+ Overload Pulse (Core)

+ Spinal Armament (Liberty)

Interdictor Suppression Refit (Interdictor)

+ Minister Tua (Arquitens)

+ Redundant Shields (Home One)

+ Projection Experts (Home One)

+ G8 Experimental Projector (Interdictor)

+ Target Scrambler (Interdictor)

Soontir Fel (Imp Fighter I)

Saber Squadron (CC)

Black Squadron (CC)

TIE Fighter Squadron (Core)

however from going through the forums ive noticed that most lists seem to have very few upgrades per ship, and spending far more on squadrons and tiny ships and i was wondering why, are starfighters so good that any viable fleet needs 6+ squadrons? if that's the case then im just going to wait for the Venator to come out

I wonder the same thing. Why are squadrons so good that any viable fleet needs 6+.

And before those people come in here, the ones that are less than 6 are highly dedicated in how they deal with squadrons, in a stastical minority as evidenced by the Regionals threads, and require very specific understanding of how to play at an expert level.

(No I'm not giving it up.)

Put a minimum of 6 squadrons in every single list.

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You have a cute list, but you should cull upgrades immediately and go up to 8 squadrons, especially if you're using a lot of Tie Fighters.

All in all though, a very fun looking list.

Get these upgrades though: Electronic Countermeasures or Advanced Projectors instead of Redundant Shields. ECM good vs big ships, but AP may save you from being bombed to death.

I recommend the Interdictor title. Let's you use Targeting Scrambler twice, saving your ships from both ship or squadron attacks!

Drop:

Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

Overload Pulse (Core)

+ Spinal Armament (Liberty)

I would highly consider getting Boosted Comms and I'd use Dual Turbolaser Turrets (Arquitens) x 2 on the VSDs, they do more reliable damage and accuracy fishing.

I would also consider Moff Jerjerrod or Screed, as Konstantine for me was utterly disappointing.

But cool list! wow.

Starfighters are good for a few reasons, I'll point out the big two.

First, they are hard for capital ships to hit. The best a capital ship can do against a squadron is a Raider-I armed with Ordnance experts to help control their rolling, getting a good chance for 2 damage at close range. However, Raiders explode like popcorn when they have any kind of serious attention. Even 2 blue dice AA throwers can be disappointing at medium range, and they don't have the re-roll control that Ordnance Experts provide. The best way to stop them is with other fighters, which is why Blail is advising you to take more of them.

The second is the reason why multiple small unit lists work so well in Armada now, and that's rapidly overloading defense tokens with small amounts of damage. Ships usually have three to four defense tokens and they have to use them in response to attacks. If you have a large amount of 1-2 point damage sources coming in, that can overwhelm redirect tokens as the ship tries to protect the hull. Once those tokens are exhausted, other sources of damage threaten to remove them from the game entirely, making the owner have the hard choice of where they want to spend them.

Some players wait until the capital ships attack and if they do, you've delivered a few points of damage on that shield that the target didn't respond to. Keep it up and you'll get into the hull and start doing some face-up damage cards.

So those floating free-attacking gun turrets are an advantage in several ways. You can combine these with other bonuses within the Empire, particularly Major Rhymer, who allows all fighter attacks against capital ships to happen at medium range. It's big, because you can project the multiple attacks I mentioned above at more targets and from further out (even hitting Raiders outside of their range to respond). That's significant.

From your list, you can choose to dump many of the turbolaser upgrades and focus your combat power on your fighters. I would suggest looking at Wave 5's new fighters. While they are more expensive, they offer a lot more potential out of fewer fighters than what's available in Wave 1 and 2. TIE Defenders are particularly powerful and fast. VT decimators are also great sources of damage, but slow.

A couple of your upgrades, like Redundant shields and XX-9s, are usually passed up for other cards in the meta. If you want an entire list, try experimenting with a listbuilder and use some proxies. If you want to experiment with how well things can work mechanically, try putting out some note cards with drawn arcs and roll some dice to watch things unfold in a faux game of just shooting, instead of maneuvering. Some of my best insights come from pushing plastic on the table, even though I do a lot of armchair theorizing.

Mad, I have run a similar list to yours in the past (pre wave 5).

Whilst Blail and Norsehound have a valid point that running without 8+ squads can be hard, with this list its not possible. There is a very simple concept here, to get the most out of navigational control on the board. This means Konstantine, Tractor beams and slicer tools. Maybe G8's as well, though I prioritise Targetting Scamblers to keep your ships healthy after you forced the enemy into close range.

Upgrades need to have merit, and often it makes sense to keep your ships focused. In your list you have a VIC with both squadron command upgrades, flight controllers and expanded hangers, and attack support upgrades, spinals and overload pulse. It makes for a very confused ship which wont know what it is doing half the time. Hence, it generally makes sense to tool your ships to a specific purpose, and only have the upgrades required for this.

Squadrons are either another attack unit, or they are your defence against enemy bombers. With this list they fall firmly into the latter as you dont have the points to spare. That said, if you are able to make a decent Rhymer ball with 80-100pts in squadrons then it will really control your flanks. The victory lacks mobility, a rhymer ball does not. It makes them a synergy combo.

In other lists, where I have high speed rebel ships, I run with very few squadrons as I rely on speed and positioning to keep my ships clear of bomber damage.

My version is below:

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 394/400

Commander: Admiral Konstantine

Assault Objective:
Defense Objective: Jamming Barrier
Navigation Objective: Navigational Hazards

[ flagship ] Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points)
- Admiral Konstantine ( 23 points)
- Interdictor ( 3 points)
- Fighter Coordination Team ( 3 points)
- Grav Shift Reroute ( 2 points)
- Targeting Scrambler ( 5 points)
= 126 total ship cost

Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (73 points)
- Veteran Gunners ( 5 points)
- Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams ( 6 points)
= 84 total ship cost

Victory I-Class Star Destroyer (73 points)
- Veteran Gunners ( 5 points)
- Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams ( 6 points)
= 84 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 30 total ship cost

2 TIE Advanced Squadrons ( 24 points)
2 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 16 points)
2 YV-666s ( 30 points)

Card view link

Being new to the game, I'd recommend playing with as few upgrades as possible (0-2 per ship) until you've mastered ship navigation, combat tactics, and squadron commanding.

VSD I (Core)

+ Dominator (Core)

+ Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

Take into account that the combination of XX9 and Fire Control Team won't work with only that, as the XX9 and the standard critical effect doesn't stack:

"Fire Control Team

If a ship with this card equipped resolves both the XX-9 Turbolasers critical effect and the standard critical effect, only the first 2 damage cards are dealt faceup."

Lots of good points in this thread.

The one thing I'd add is that it is probably better not to lock yourself into a list early on. Instead, pick expansions that look like they'd be fun to play and build some lists based on the expansions that you have. Get a few people to play the game casually with you (a number of us have our regional lists and a couple of others that look like they'd be fun to play but with which we either lack the practice or the synergy between units).

In your list above, squadrons would definitely make a huge difference in what kind of damage you're able to output. I agree with Gink that a Rhymerball would be extremely useful in that list.

Depends on the exact goal you are going for with your fleet

VSD I (Core)

+ Dominator (Core)

+ Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

Take into account that the combination of XX9 and Fire Control Team won't work with only that, as the XX9 and the standard critical effect doesn't stack:

"Fire Control Team

If a ship with this card equipped resolves both the XX-9 Turbolasers critical effect and the standard critical effect, only the first 2 damage cards are dealt faceup."

would the fire controll team be better suited to the VSD II?

Lots of good points in this thread.

The one thing I'd add is that it is probably better not to lock yourself into a list early on. Instead, pick expansions that look like they'd be fun to play and build some lists based on the expansions that you have. Get a few people to play the game casually with you (a number of us have our regional lists and a couple of others that look like they'd be fun to play but with which we either lack the practice or the synergy between units).

In your list above, squadrons would definitely make a huge difference in what kind of damage you're able to output. I agree with Gink that a Rhymerball would be extremely useful in that list.

personaly i like the Interdicter and raider and like the 'SD hammer, so how many points should i be spending on fighters if i want to use my ships for actualy killing things

XX9s and fire control team does not stack with standard critical

Lots of good points in this thread.

The one thing I'd add is that it is probably better not to lock yourself into a list early on. Instead, pick expansions that look like they'd be fun to play and build some lists based on the expansions that you have. Get a few people to play the game casually with you (a number of us have our regional lists and a couple of others that look like they'd be fun to play but with which we either lack the practice or the synergy between units).

In your list above, squadrons would definitely make a huge difference in what kind of damage you're able to output. I agree with Gink that a Rhymerball would be extremely useful in that list.

personaly i like the Interdicter and raider and like the 'SD hammer, so how many points should i be spending on fighters if i want to use my ships for actualy killing things

88-100.

:3

Or so said the people who kept railing on me when I said I wanted to kill from my ships and NOT from my squadrons.

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In all honest advice, I actually do recommend literally 88-100. 70 points nowadays doesn't even cut it vs 134 mass bomber lists.

Of course, if your local opponents don't bring squadron lists, you'll simply feel like you wasted 100 points to avoid something you didn't encounter, which sucks, but supposedly is supposed to be fun.

And then you'll start skimping on squadrons, and get wiped out by a mass bomber list.

I'll go with 88-100 points of squadrons and for now, go with "all-purpose" style squadrons plus AA. Ex. Tie Defenders are good vs fighters and .... kinda okay vs ships.

VSD I (Core)

+ Dominator (Core)

+ Q7 Tractor Beam (Home One)

+ XX9 Turbolaser (VSD)

+ Fire Control Team (Liberty)

Take into account that the combination of XX9 and Fire Control Team won't work with only that, as the XX9 and the standard critical effect doesn't stack:

"Fire Control Team

If a ship with this card equipped resolves both the XX-9 Turbolasers critical effect and the standard critical effect, only the first 2 damage cards are dealt faceup."

would the fire controll team be better suited to the VSD II?

In the VSD I you can use it also with Assault Proton Torpedoes for example. In the VSD II could be with Ion Cannon Batteries maybe.

The thing is that XX-9 doesn't add to the standard critical effect, but you can combine it with any other using Fire Control Team