When you looked at Fighter Ambush the first time, you realized that it gives you a deployment advantage and a VP rule which benefit bringing squadrons and you smile cause you are happy about it.
When you looked at Fighter Ambush a second time, you noticed that it can go as bad as Fleet Ambush. After that you probably burnt the card, right? You don’t smile anymore.
Guys remembering the first time they played Fleet Ambush as second player.
But we all are brave players (do not?) and if I want to win this challenge I should keep myself on track and become this objective a hell for first players or, at least, encourage you to give it a try so let’s go.
I would start for the beginning, fleet building, but I think we have to look at Fighter Ambush closer to get an idea about what we could need.
- Obstacles placement.
Indirectly, this objective determines the obstacles placement, because the obstacles placement determines the squadron deployment.
If you are thinking on take advantage of your squadron deployment and, in order to achieve that, you push your obstacles to the opponent’s face, you are thinking wrong. Look! You have a limitation. You must deploy squadrons beyond distance 5 of the first player’s edge. So let’s see: if you place your obstacles at distance 3 of the first player’s edge, you reduce your own deployment area. Distance 3 + obstacle’s length can be enough but clearly you lose around 75% of deployment area and, more important, you lose the chance of deploying on that obstacle. So placing obstacles at distance 5+1 of the first player’s edge is a better idea. If you want to take advantage of the obstruction, place it at distance 5 and it will be done.
"Don't focus on your anxieties. Keep your concentration here and now where it belongs."
What about your opponent’s obstacles? Well, he will probably place them wrong, close to you, at distance 3 of your edge for sure. Fine! He is giving to you a deployment plan “b” and the “b” is for better than deploying normally (within distance 1-2 from your ships). Why? Cause, as you saw, this objective has some similarities with Fleet Ambush and you don’t want to take an enemy alpha strike. Placing his obstacles at distance 3 of your edge, you can deploy now beyond distance 2 of your ships or at least at distance 2. This means you get your advantage and a safe position, far away of the enemy alpha strike. As the worst you always can deploy your squadrons normally (your deployment plan “c” of caca de la vaca).
Greedo deployed too close and he payed for that.
If your opponent is smarter than that he maybe want to avoid you from using his obstacles and placed them at distance 3 of his own edge. Don’t worry! Place yours a bit closer to you, in the middle of the table and you get the best deployment area you could dream beside all obstacles placed around the middle, something I think is hard to get unless your opponent is the dumbest one.
- Victory Points
With Fighter Ambush, as happens with other squadron-friendly objectives, you can get some VP. There are some good things and some bad things between the differences those objectives have. Superior Positions works with everything, ships and squadrons. Precision Strike works with ships and some squadrons (bombers). Fighter Ambush works just with squadrons making it worse than Superior Position but works with every squadron so it balances the thing with Precision Strike. On the other hand it has a good thing. I would say pretty good cause, even between those objectives is the less likely to maximize in VP, it fits greatly with your ongoing situation, no matter what it was, during the match. What I am talking about? I am talking about VP’s conditions. Superior Positions require you to shoot the rear hull, what is not always the best thing cause your ships probably hits other hull zones maximizing the enemy shields. Precision Strike require you from spending damage what means you deal less damage at the end. What Fighter Ambush require? Just shooting. Ok, ok, and deal a damage card but you just need to do what you are actually doing: shooting non-shielded hulls and breaking plates. Kill or VP is not a dilemma anymore. Just do both things. Finally you can get the same benefits from enemy Riekan’s zombies (if your opponent allow you that) but you can now troll Motti and RBD too.
Motti's ISDs with RBD relentlessly taken by a bomber wing.
- Deployment.
Here we have the main thing. There is no doubt that this objective screws any deployment advantage you had. Even with a MSU you will have a hard time during the deployment. You must deploy your ships and cannot deploy any squadron while your opponent can use a pair of deployment tokens to force your big things. I played this objective twice and I have not felt so bad deploying ever but, obviously, being first with Superior Positions/Solar Corona. There was a bright spark when deploying my squadrons but I was so dived into a deployment advantage mind setting I couldn’t realize what was that... until some days later. Swimming countercurrent has no sense so go ahead; there is life beyond deployment advantage through numbers. Use @Ardaedhel's Deployment Curve, use the force (I don’t care about which side).
As I said, I played it twice with a full squadron fleet. I didn’t like the deployment setup but I won. Of course my fleet is solid but at the end I realized that the deployment took a main role in my victories and I couldn't understand why cause I felt myself in a big disadvantage during the deployment. Then I discovered the Deployment Curve. I am not going to deepen in the subject, I will say that the main power of my fleet comes from my squadron wing (all bombers with 2 BCC) and I was able to hold it and deploy after my opponent showed his hand. Yes I deployed my ships first but with 2 Gozantis and 2 VSD-I with JJ I was not committing too much of my fleet there and the bigger deployment zone, the speed 4/5 of my bombers and the range of Rhymer gave me a great advantage I was not noticing at the moment I played but I do now.
Millenary Falcon ambushing Starkiller. It was an effective deployment rather than graceful.
Let’s move on to fleet building.
As I said, you need a way to counter the deployment disadvantage. Two ways: work on your ships maneuverability or/and work on your squadron wing. The first one directly counters being “out-deployed”. The second one balances the power threats as your main force barely can be in a better place to strike the enemy.
Boosted Coms, Relay and Flight Commander should be main upgrades on your fleet. You are going to deploy your squadrons far away from your ships so Boosted Coms are obvious. Flight Commander allows you to move into activation range and then activate. They are cheaper than Boosted Coms and have an additional point allowing you to tear down some shields before your squadron started to hit the hull. I think Relay is a trap. It allow you to deploy further away than Boosted Coms or Flight Commander but encourage an enemy alpha strike on your relay source so, be careful!
Spend 134 points on squadrons and overwhelm your enemy with bomber fire the first round. A lot of combinations, all pretty dangerous: Flight Commander+BCC+Rhymer; Yavari’s “VCXed” B-wings waiting on the enemy way; did your opponent place obstacles at distance 3 of his edge? Throw them to him with Grav Shift Reroute after deploying your squadrons or go harder: Rhymer and decimators, firesprays or even phantoms. Place obstacles. Move them building a barrier with some obstacles together (touching) at distance 5 from first player's edge. Deploy on the obstacles. Take advantage from the station + rogue/cloak and get fun shooting at medium range, obstructed but permanently disengaged and with hard hull recovery.
But there is a completely opposite use of Fighter Ambush. The objective is not Bomber Ambush so let’s try a new point of view. What about deploying a tiny but lethal wing to alpha strike his bombers? You can bring, of course, interceptors+Dengar+Howl. They can stand the enemy alpha strike (maybe not stand but you got it) and make their own deadly alpha wherever they hide. What about a couple of decimators to chase a fleeing lifeboat? Rogue is a rising value as the game progresses, why not exploit it since the beginning?
You could think that you won’t take advantage from the VP rule this way but did you thought about Sato’s fighters placed inside those obstacles? Did you notice (SPOILER WARNING) how great could be alpha strike the enemy bombers and discard some defense tokens before the battle even begins… with Sloane?
Bored about defending stations nobody wants? Tired about your opponent teasing your perfect plan with strategic? Give it a try. Be creative, be fun but…don’t…be…ambushed.
Copy-pasting from word is the worst!
