Calling all forum Obi-Wons, can you help me?

We just kicked off our Corellian Conflict campaign here in Portland, and after turn 1 it looks like the strongest Rebel player is gunning for me next round!

He successfully assaulted our base at Nubia vs a DeMSU Screed list with Planetary Ion Cannons and didn't lose a single ship (while destroying a VSDI and Demolisher in the process). He used the standard Assault Frigate conga line/toilet bowl tactic which I don't have any experience playing against. It looks like a lot of red dice coming my way.

Four things to note:

1. We are all new to Armada

2. We started our campaign at 300 points.

3. Ships are restricted to 2 upgrades on turn 2.

4. Fleet lists are secret between turns.

Here's his list at the beginning of turn 1:

It's a Trap!
Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 298/300

Commander: Admiral Ackbar

[ flagship ] Assault Frigate Mark II A (81 points)
- Admiral Ackbar ( 38 points)
- Enhanced Armament ( 10 points)
= 129 total ship cost

Assault Frigate Mark II A (81 points)
= 81 total ship cost

Assault Frigate Mark II B (72 points)
= 72 total ship cost

1 YT-2400 ( 16 points)

I believe he has 27 points to spend on his fleet for turn 2 (assuming the Rebels built a base on Nubia). He prefers big ships with big dice pools and doesn't like squadrons at all. Therefore, I expect him to purchase 2 more Enhanced Armaments or 1 EA, 1 ECM and a mid-cost squadron (such as an X-Wing) to offer some level of anti-fighter protection as we do have a dedicated Rhymer fleet.

Here's my list:

A Show of Force
Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 300/300

Commander: Darth Vader

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
- Darth Vader ( 36 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
= 163 total ship cost

Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points)
- Grav Shift Reroute ( 2 points)
= 92 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 25 total ship cost

1 TIE Fighter Squadron ( 8 points)
1 TIE Advanced Squadron ( 12 points)

My fleet is designed to win the Show of Force special assault using the Grav Shift Reroute. On turn 1 I was able to earn the full 120 points. After building a base and unscarring, I have 71 points remaining to spend.

What should I buy? How do I fight 3 hard-hitting long-range ships? The Rebels do have a Sato MC80 fleet with 2 flotilla and 7 squadrons, so I need to be mindful of being paired up against it as well, but I'm definitely worried about getting trounced by Ackbar.

Help me embrace my fear and channel the power of the Dark Side to victory!

71 points would make a solid Rhymer Ball. Probably a solid direction with where your fleet sits at the moment, assuming you are going up to 500pts. It would definitely help against his non-existent squadron coverage, and force him to make tough decisions. Park your bombers in his front/rear arc, and force him to either allow you to blow him up unopposed, or sacrifice Ackbar dice to attack your squads with his AS out the front.

Rhymer and 6 bombers is 70 pts. Next round, throw in a generic jumpmaster. You already got the advanced. Then you build a BCC flotilla, kit out the ISD, put expanded hanger, flight commanders, fighter coordination team on the 'dictor and you have a dangerous setup.

I think I was thinking an end fleet somewhere along these lines.

Suggested fleet

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 500/500

Commander: Darth Vader

Assault Objective: Custom Objective
Defense Objective: Custom Objective
Navigation Objective: Custom Objective

Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points)
- Flight Commander ( 3 points)
- Fighter Coordination Team ( 3 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
- Ion Cannon Batteries ( 5 points)
- Grav Shift Reroute ( 2 points)
- Targeting Scrambler ( 5 points)
= 113 total ship cost

Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 144 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Darth Vader ( 36 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 61 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Suppressor ( 4 points)
- Minister Tua ( 2 points)
- Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points)
- Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
= 44 total ship cost

1 Major Rhymer ( 16 points)
7 TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 63 points)
2 TIE Advanced Squadrons ( 24 points)
1 TIE Fighter Squadron ( 8 points)
1 JumpMaster 5000 ( 12 points)
1 Lamda-class Shuttle ( 15 points)

Thank you for the detailed reply!

We are going up to 500 points (cap at the start of turn 2 is 400, start of turn 3 is 500).

Unfortunately, I can't take Major Rhymer as he's in another Imperial Fleet already. Is there a way to build an effective bomber list without him, perhaps with Captain Jonus? The only named pilots that are taken so far are Major Rhymer and Maarek Stele, the rest are available to me.

Get in front of the conga line with your ISD or your Gozanti and it will fall apart. You currently out activate him and if you go with more fighters then you'll be able to place one of your ship in a good position to stop his Nascar run.

In the campaign, I would go with Fighter/Bombers not pure bombers, as they'll get shredded by AA, and the empire conveniently has the best fighter/bomber in the game in the Defender. Lamdas and Defenders are amazing in the campaign.

I will look into Defenders. Our Rhymerball player had success with them turn 1.

Sorry for my ignorance - I'm still new at this game - but I'm trying to figure out how best to get in front of the conga line. I will likely be first player, but the Rebels opted for 3 planets with Spy Nets so he should be able to reposition his Frigates to counter my ISD placement.

Are there any tips or tricks for getting in front of the line?

If he's not bringing fighters you can just bring firesprays.

17 minutes ago, Yipe said:

I will look into Defenders. Our Rhymerball player had success with them turn 1.

Sorry for my ignorance - I'm still new at this game - but I'm trying to figure out how best to get in front of the conga line. I will likely be first player, but the Rebels opted for 3 planets with Spy Nets so he should be able to reposition his Frigates to counter my ISD placement.

Are there any tips or tricks for getting in front of the line?

Getting in front of a conga line just takes practice and planning. You need to predict where they will be turn 2-4 then put a ship in front of it. ISDs are great at this as the large base and speed 3 means they can get where they need to be and then stop ships from getting away. Flotillas are also good blockers, scatter means they will likely have to ram to kill you(3 turns) or break up the line to avoid the block.

Learn to love the navigate command. It's the most powerful command in the game when used properly, an extra click is huge at speed 3 for an ISD/flotilla.

Defenders will solve pretty much any issue you have in the campaign, just take a lambda or two speed 5 means they frequently outpace the carriers and strategic is a requirement if you want to assault a base in the campaign.

This is an interesting thread....I am learning a lot from you guys, just wanted to say thanks!

Hey yipe. Sounds like your opponent has a few weaknesses you can exploit.

First, the way to stop an Ackbar conga in general is to get in front of it - literally make it run into you. If you can do this as the attacker, even better.

The second obvious flaw is that he currently had no major squadron support. I would suggest, since you can't take Rhymer, taking some TIE Defenders and a few Rogues. Boba Fett is expensive but he is a great Rogue bomber. Even the generic Firespray is a great squadron. The Decimator isn't a bomber exactly, but 3 attack dice vs ships will help immensely. Also toss in a Lambda shuttle so you can move any loose objective tokens around to get points, clear safe paths, or catch ships with mines and Ion Cannons.

These are all excellent suggestions. Many thanks!

If don't go heavy on squadrons, what are my ship options? Would taking a GSD1 + APTs or Arquitens + Reinforced Blast Doors (or Targeting Scramblers) and then adding a Spinal Armament to the ISD help me maximize Vader's re-roll ability?

We have the initiative next turn so I will likely be first player. That means I will be facing either the Triple Ackbar (probably) or the Rebel Team's dedicated bomber fleet using Commander Sato:

Missile Command
Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 298/300

Commander: Commander Sato

[ flagship ] MC80 Command Cruiser (106 points)
- Commander Sato ( 32 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 142 total ship cost

GR-75 Combat Retrofits (24 points)
- Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
= 32 total ship cost

GR-75 Combat Retrofits (24 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 26 total ship cost

3 Y-Wing Squadrons ( 30 points)
2 X-Wing Squadrons ( 26 points)
1 Hera Syndulla ( 28 points)
1 Rogue Squadron ( 14 points)

Something small and nippy to block the congaline as they drive into each other.

A raider can go speed 4 and sit in their path. If they truly are congaring they wont be able to avoid other, and getting your isd into position will be a piece of cake after that.

Naked raider 44pts

Tie Bomber and a firespray 27pts

The raider will help against squads too.

Yeah, you have to speedbump/roadblock that line. I've faced my roommates Ackbar/AFMKII style lists twice and gotten beaten each time for failing to get in front of the procession. Best advice I can recommend for it.

Using your ISD's full speed, and smart deployment positioning are key to this.

I've been using my Tua/ECM Gozanti as a blocker and it can really cause issues for opponents as long as you have a secondary purpose for it. Such as BCC for the squads bombing the blocked target or slicer tools to prevent it from doing what it wants to do.

Firesprays are good, but you have two natural carriers in your fleet, so it seems a little superflous to spend pts on rogues.

You don't need Rhymer, and Defenders are never a bad choice. They are more reliable X-Wing equivelants. They also can't get that important hit/crit of black die bombers.

If you go Defenders, don't bother with BCC because it isn't going to give you the improved damage like it will with black or red dice.

Lots of great advice in this thread so if you take the flying advice, the fleet I listed, the pearls of wisdom littered hither and yon, and add a healthy dash of whatever makes you smile you will end up with a solid fleet.

Do you think an Imperial Light Cruiser + Enhanced Armament + Vader can go toe-to-toe with an AFMK II + Enhanced Armament + Ackbar? Or is that a losing battle?

4 hours ago, Yipe said:

These are all excellent suggestions. Many thanks!

If don't go heavy on squadrons, what are my ship options? Would taking a GSD1 + APTs or Arquitens + Reinforced Blast Doors (or Targeting Scramblers) and then adding a Spinal Armament to the ISD help me maximize Vader's re-roll ability?

We have the initiative next turn so I will likely be first player. That means I will be facing either the Triple Ackbar (probably) or the Rebel Team's dedicated bomber fleet using Commander Sato

snip

My thoughts on your conundrum: I would spend the 71 points on four Defenders, exactly as many as the Imperial can activate without help, and spend five of the remaining on Avenger (two extra for SFOs or Titus). The Defenders will be able to dominate the skies in either scenario, they're absolutely devastating superfighters (and priced like it), and can put out some reliable damage on the ships once they clean up their victims in the fighters. Avenger comes into play if you can have the Star Destroyer fire after the Defenders and the Interdictor swing, creating all sorts of interesting conundrums for your opponent. Alternate Navigate and Squadron to get the Star Destroyer and Interdictor bow on against the front of the conga line and getting the Defenders into firing position/through their target practice (I'm serious, they're that lethal). Remember that breaking his formation up and blasting the AFs one at a time is just as nice as a nominally perfect conga line pile-up.

If you're going to run ships, any Gladiator not perfectly in front of the conga line will do better as either Demolisher or Insidious wrapping behind the line to clean up the trailers. I'd need some serious thoughts about Ordnance Experts versus ordnance upgrades, but offhand I'd lean OE for damage output. An Arquitens is an impressive long-range fire support ship, but it will need to be played delicately to make sure the concentrated fire doesn't wear it down. Dual Turbolaser Turrets do wonders for improving fickle red dice, but be sure to use both Engineering to survive and Navigate to hold the range just where you want it. If you take a Raider (my suggestion), I would split the difference and take the Raider with Ordnance Experts and either Assault Proton Torpedoes or Flechette Torpedoes, depending on how much you bulk up the fighter wing. Other upgrades to consider are SW-7 on the Imperial, and *semi-joking, kinda not cuz Vader* NK-7s on the Interdictor, and Vector (Gozanti title) long term if you foresee it hurling about non-Speed 5 squdrons (i.e. not Interceptors, Defenders, or anything with Heavy like TIE Bombers). Hope this helps, best of luck Admiral. Keep the Empire strong.

1 hour ago, Yipe said:

Do you think an Imperial Light Cruiser + Enhanced Armament + Vader can go toe-to-toe with an AFMK II + Enhanced Armament + Ackbar? Or is that a losing battle?

After Ackbar, better shields, more hull, and Brace, no. See suggestions above. Two of them probably could, but you don't have quite that many points. Although since you have Vader, you can plausibly replace DTTs I mention above with EA or Slaved Turrets, depending on your flying.

There is definitely some great advice in this thread. I wasn't sure I would get a single reply, let alone several detailed answers. You guys are really helping me out here!

I'm both the Grand Admiral of my team and the most experienced player on the Imperial side (though that's not saying much), so I don't want to let my fellow Commanders down with a poor showing. Plus I'm playing the Dark Lord of the Sith here - not some bureaucrat! I've got to do well because The Emperor demands nothing less than perfection of his apprentice... or else the force lightning. Again.

My first game was "all too easy." I gained Veteran Status for Vader's Flagship and brought the local populace on Xyquine II inline through a Show of Force, destroying a pair of hydroponics research stations that were suspected of feeding traitors to the Empire. Let it be known that Darth Vader does not tolerate Rebel veggies.

Now I'm hoping to follow-up that success with... another win? Perhaps a base assault to recapture Nubia, or trying to establish a new base on a planet with Skilled Spacers as Team Empire doesn't have any of those yet?

GiledPallaeon, thank you for your detailed reply. I hadn't considered the NK-7s on the Interdictor because they're so expensive. How do you feel they pair with the Avenger title? Forcing opponents to discard unspent defense tokens and then not being able to spend any exhausted ones sounds good, but it also seems like a lot of moving parts is costs 15 points.

For the Interdictor, I was leaning toward the cheaper Ion Cannon Batteries. Initially I wanted to take take Avenger + Overload Pulse on the Dictor, but gave up hope that I could pull of that combo with my novice piloting skills. Is it worth looking into?

If I can take only 1 of the following upgrades for the ISD, what do you think of SW-7 vs Spinal Armament vs XI7 Turbolasers?

I'm a fan of the Raider + OE combo as that's a lot of dice manipulation with Vader, and decent AA to guard my ISD (though Instigator has been taken by another player). It's also easier to fit into my list than the Arquitens point-wise. Thanks for the suggestion!

4 hours ago, Yipe said:

go toe-to-toe

NEVER EVER GO TOE TO TOE with your opponent. Beat them at what they cannot do, not what they can.

The rebel weakness in this list are squadrons. 4-6 Bombers will ruin his plan and take down one of the Mark II on their own. In worst case you keep the ships completly out and just use the bombers. A shuttle may help to keep the squardons activated, but you might need your points in this round for squadrons only. So no room for playing around.

If you are the first player, you can as well bring a ship in the back of the line, and always attack in the rear of the last one without any problems.

But it is way more usefull to put one ship in the front (as many suggested already), and let him bump into each other. And again, if you are first player, you might be able to surprisse him with it. Using the last ship in one round to move your ship forward, and in the next round to move it into the front as first ship.

But you will not be able to make a broadside fight against these 3 Mark II with these many red dice. He will shot down all of your ships way to fast.

I'm sure you will smoke those Rebel scum. You won two out of the three battles and it was Ackbar's second full game. Honestly, they are expecting Lord Vader to come at Nubia. They are trying to force your hand to send your fleet directly at him. Don't fall into their mind games, stick with your strategy.

7 hours ago, Victarion said:

I'm sure you will smoke those Rebel scum. You won two out of the three battles and it was Ackbar's second full game. Honestly, they are expecting Lord Vader to come at Nubia. They are trying to force your hand to send your fleet directly at him. Don't fall into their mind games, stick with your strategy.

Okay, I've gotta ask - who is this? Have we met? I see you're from Portland as well. Were you, by chance, at Red Castle Games when we launched our campaign this weekend? As for playing into their hands, Vader seeks vengeance against that fish-face! Nubia shall be ours once more.

Right now, I'm leaning toward the Raider with OE (for better AA in case I get paired up against the Sato list) to get in front of the conga line. Then I could take another Gozanti for activation and deployment advantage, or a few TIE Interceptors to help out with my anti-fighter defense when playing the other Rebel Commanders (who both have a good-sized squadron presence). I'm not a big fan of squadrons personally, so if I can use a ship to help win against Ackbar that would be my preferred method. I'll practice with the Raider and see if I can improve my piloting.

If you can get your hands on a spynet token it could aid you greatly in cutting off the conga line. After deploying, redeploy your ISD directly in the path of the lead Frigate and step on the gas.

7 minutes ago, SmogLord said:

If you can get your hands on a spynet token it could aid you greatly in cutting off the conga line. After deploying, redeploy your ISD directly in the path of the lead Frigate and step on the gas.

I won my latest battle against the rebs at Centerpoint specifically to accomplish that exact thing.

13 minutes ago, SmogLord said:

If you can get your hands on a spynet token it could aid you greatly in cutting off the conga line. After deploying, redeploy your ISD directly in the path of the lead Frigate and step on the gas.

The Rebels took all 3 Spynet planets as part of their starting locations. This does mean it will be more difficult to break up the conga line as he can reposition his AFKM IIs. Oh well, Vader likes a challenge! Oh wait, I thought the Dark Side was supposed to be easier?

We would have to brave a base assault to get one of the Spynet planets for the Imperials. It's likely that at least 1 of those Spynet locations is an outpost and not a base, but which one? I gave the Rebel Grand Admiral two options for selecting planets, either x1 Imperial and then x2 Rebel, or x4 Rebel at the end. He opted for x4 Rebel at the end to keep his base locations secret.

Current Rebel planets:

Centerpoint, Forvano, New Plympto, Nubia (established turn 1), Raider's Point, Sileria and Truuzdann.

We control:

Corellia, Saberhing Asteroid Belt, Selonia and Xyquine II. We lost Nubia and gained Xyquine.

I was there! I think you will be out pointing his fleet by 73 points. Whatever you have should secure the victory for the day and from there it will be a landslide win for the Imperials. Final campaign score 12-3.