Given the pace of updates (we're still aiming for a minimum of 2 per week but more likely 4 total per week, sometimes more), I'd like to get them into weekly posts that can generate some discussion perhaps and then drift off to a natural death on page 2.
http://cannotgetyourshipout.blogspot.com/2017/03/squadrons-encyclopedia-2-imperial.html
The first update of March is an addendum to John's second article focusing on a smaller Imperial investment in squadrons.
New article is up with all sorts of things:
Medium Sized fighter coverage!
Imperial and Rebel advice!
Pictures of star wars stuff I googled!
Awful puns!
Give it a look!
http://cannotgetyourshipout.blogspot.com/2017/03/squadrons-encyclopedia-3-medium-fighter.html?m=1
It's a good article. Very good. Talks about general principles, then gets down to the gritty details with excellent and varied examples.
However, I find one thing lacking: you talk only about squadrons, as if they exist in isolation. I realize you are focusing on squads, and a single article can't cover everything, but not mentioning stuff like 2 die AS, Kallus, Instigator, Flechettes etc. means you miss the whole synergy between ships and squads thing.
Perhaps, in a later article, you could cover the importance of using squads and ship-based AS in conjunction?
Anyway, good work:
27 minutes ago, Green Knight said:It's a good article. Very good. Talks about general principles, then gets down to the gritty details with excellent and varied examples.
However, I find one thing lacking: you talk only about squadrons, as if they exist in isolation. I realize you are focusing on squads, and a single article can't cover everything, but not mentioning stuff like 2 die AS, Kallus, Instigator, Flechettes etc. means you miss the whole synergy between ships and squads thing.
Perhaps, in a later article, you could cover the importance of using squads and ship-based AS in conjunction?
Thanks, and that's not a bad idea. I was going to cover a little bit of that when I get to actually using these squads, but a fair amount of it seems to be "Use your AA to hit enemy squads when you can." Part of it is that a good amount of my articles have been written in a vacuum. I talk about how to run a Nebulon, but getting a whole fleet to work together is something that I'll need to consider how to write an article on.
Definitely interested in getting that one out there, though. Give me some time, haha? Thanks for the suggestion!
35 minutes ago, Green Knight said:It's a good article. Very good. Talks about general principles, then gets down to the gritty details with excellent and varied examples.
However, I find one thing lacking: you talk only about squadrons, as if they exist in isolation. I realize you are focusing on squads, and a single article can't cover everything, but not mentioning stuff like 2 die AS, Kallus, Instigator, Flechettes etc. means you miss the whole synergy between ships and squads thing.
Perhaps, in a later article, you could cover the importance of using squads and ship-based AS in conjunction?
I believe when we get to fleet-building principles (or perhaps later in John's squadron articles?) we'll get to that. Overall fleet composition is an extremely complex thing to cover when fleet-building just comes intuitively to many people.
I personally love Raiders and when I cover them I will for sure be covering utilizing them with squadrons, but it is a bigger topic for sure.
Hey I just wanted to say thanks! Your articles are thorough and entertaining. CGYSO is my favorite Armada strategy source. My fighter-fu is already much improved.
Love the articles gentleman! Very well done and just the right amount of humor.
I'd hire you guys at FFG in a heartbeat.
(FYI they don't let me make any of the hiring decisions anymore.)
17 minutes ago, CaribbeanNinja said:I'd hire you guys at FFG in a heartbeat.
(FYI they don't let me make any of the hiring decisions anymore.)
I've actually spent a fair amount of my youth (Joe pesci voice: the youtes! The youtes!) in Minnesota, so I certainly wouldn't be opposed to it. I'm not sure my current job would be happy about that though...
Thank you both for these articles. I've been enjoying them and learning a great deal. Still very new to the game and waiting for time to free up between me and my friends who I've gotten the few games in with.
I agree with others that a little more about ship and squadron synergy would be appreciated. For instance while a SFC would have a fleet that is focused entirely on its own thing and more or less leaving the fighters to be an important speed bump, with a MFC are you trying to fit in and keep nearby a Toryn Farr or Flight Controllers (assuming you are running a ship that doesn't really need gunnery teams or other weapons teams like an Assault Frigate MkIIb)? Or are such things really just for HFCs. I know it is near impossible to write such an inclusive article but curious minds want to know! (And as GI Joe taught me, Knowing is half the battle!)
I've been playing around with a small fighter group of Zertik (double brace escort), Howlrunner, Valen, and Saber. Howlrunner gives Valen and Saber an extra blue (snipe 5 with a swarm reroll!), and Zertik keeps them all alive. Saber and Valen are also very nice to defeat Counter since Valen can't be countered if Zertik or Howlrunner are engaged with the counterer, and Saber can avoid counter by being at distance 2. Heck, Saber can get after the intel squads with snipe 4+1 while the rest whittle away the escorts.
And they weigh in at 56 points.
Edited by RobertK7 hours ago, RobertK said:I've been playing around with a small fighter group of Zertik (double brace escort), Howlrunner, Valen, and Saber. Howlrunner gives Valen and Saber an extra blue (snipe 5 with a swarm reroll!), and Zertik keeps them all alive. Saber and Valen are also very nice to defeat Counter since Valen can't be countered if Zertik or Howlrunner are engaged with the counterer, and Saber can avoid counter by being at distance 2. Heck, Saber can get after the intel squads with snipe 4+1 while the rest whittle away the escorts.
And they weigh in at 56 points.
Certainly has some pros, but for me there is a certain minimum bonus Howlrunner needs to provide before she is worth running, and its more than two dice.
I'd rather take Ciena or Mauler.
7 minutes ago, TheCallum said:Certainly has some pros, but for me there is a certain minimum bonus Howlrunner needs to provide before she is worth running, and its more than two dice.
I'd rather take Ciena or Mauler.
That is my feeling as well. I'd like Howlrunner to benefit at least 4 squadrons or so before I think she's worth including.
17 minutes ago, Snipafist said:That is my feeling as well. I'd like Howlrunner to benefit at least 4 squadrons or so before I think she's worth including.
I'm willing to go 3 if I also have fc and those squads are aces likely to hang around for a while. Say Dengar, Mithel, Fel, for example.
Good points. Mauler is a better pick for me!
2 hours ago, Green Knight said:I'm willing to go 3 if I also have fc and those squads are aces likely to hang around for a while. Say Dengar, Mithel, Fel, for example.
Also a good point. Basically I want her to provide at least as many extra dice (3) as I would have received by just turning her into two TIE Fighters and preferably more.