How to abuse the swarm...

By Gottmituns205, in Star Wars: Armada

So I see Sloane and the Quasar's are on warlords and it's got me wondering how I can really abuse the fighter swarm...I mean 16 ties (with howlrunner) is huge...you can basically destroy ships out right.

Yet that leaves me open to blitz lists...get into your face and pop the carriers.

SO! Is 3 quasars too much? Should A victory be the focal point of the list? I'm seeing possibilities here, and I was curious what other people had in mind.

The Swarm

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 398/400

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Fighter Ambush
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Stronghold ( 5 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 74 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Squall ( 3 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 72 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Gozanti-class Assault Carriers (28 points)
- Admiral Sloane ( 24 points)
= 52 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 64 total ship cost

15 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 120 points)
1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)

1 minute ago, Gottmituns205 said:

15 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 120 points)
1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)

120+16=136

lose a squad and you're good.

3 minutes ago, Darth Sanguis said:

120+16=136

lose a squad and you're good.

Or do Howl, 10 TIE's and 3 Jumpmasters.

I thought the official card text was "squads without Rogue" and that the "squads with Swarm" was old. If so you don't need the swarm, although you might still use the same squads anyway. Either way that's some serious firepower you're putting out there. It would be awesome to double tap something like that with Ten Numb and Yavaris (tricky working that out without getting killed before you can shoot) and then flaking the whole thing.. you might decimate the majority of the swarm in one turn!

Its more like this:

In your Opening Turn Salvo, you have 16 TIE Fighters.

(VERY)Rough-Mathing-it 16 TIE Fighters under sloan, will do 10 Points of Damage and 5 ACC results to turn defense tokens. ( 8 / 4 / 4, which becomes 10 / 5/ 1 with rerolls)

That's a big assumption that your first turn is TIE fighters fighting nothing but Enemy Ships. Now, if all of those hits are concentrated onto one ship - and its a small ship, like a Corvette, it could be in trouble... It could also be in trouble if all of those ACC results hits before your HIT results do - but if HIT results come out thick and fast at the start, its more likely to survive (just be stripped of defenses).

At which point, there's a cloud of 3-hull TIEs that's probably in the middle of the enemy formation... Hopefully, they live long enough to survive a second turn in what is probably going to amount to overlapping fields of Flak and an enemy Fighter Contingent...

In the end, I think you'll do a bunch of damage at the start... But that's going to dimish returns VERY quickly as your 3 Hull TIES Pop, and driving "Stronghold" close enough is, well, its going to be borderline Suicide for Stronghold - because your own ships are going to fold very quickly, due to their own lack of redundant tokens, average shields, and midline hull...

I think the 3rd Quasar needs to be a Ship-Killer... Demolisher or something... And I think you really need to consider how you Wave-Attack with teh TIEs, because throwing everything you have is going to get them killed - definitely split them into waves for their own survivability...

I came up with this:

Sloane's Quasar-heavy Fleet Test I - Experimental
Faction:
Galactic Empire
Points: 397/400
Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Close-Range Intel Scan
Defense Objective: Planetary Ion Cannon
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

[ flagship ] Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer (110 points)
- Admiral Sloane ( 24 points)
- Avenger ( 5 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- XX-9 Turbolasers ( 5 points)
= 151 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
= 65 total ship cost

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
= 65 total ship cost
1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)
10 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 80 points)
1 JumpMaster 5000 ( 12 points)

'Test I' had Relentless and Spinals on the ISD-I.
'Test III' has Avenger and SW-7s on an ISD-II.

Dunno how they'll be, be hey, that's why they're tests.

4 minutes ago, Drasnighta said:

At which point, there's a cloud of 3-hull TIEs that's probably in the middle of the enemy formation... Hopefully, they live long enough to survive a second turn in what is probably going to amount to overlapping fields of Flak and an enemy Fighter Contingent...

In the end, I think you'll do a bunch of damage at the start... But that's going to dimish returns VERY quickly as your 3 Hull TIES Pop...

Yup! What I tried to say but more eloquent and with fancy math and things.

For me Sloan allows me to take a larger air superiority fighter Force did still have strong utility after the other players fighters are killed. You're not getting the same consistency as bombers so I don't know if I would use them as your main source of damage I do feel like they could pair very well with an Avenger ISD. I don't think running 16 tie Fighters will be viable even with stronghold as they are too fragile, and Mithel and ten will ruin your day. The Quasar expansion has got me super hungry for five hundred point games.

WIN the squadron fight with the quasar. Then you have two raiders and a glad flying around with no fear of bombers.

Winning the squad fight and then having three quasars wont win you the game. Which ships reallly really hate bombers? Use those.

Author: Ginkapo

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 400/400

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Hyperspace Assault
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

[ flagship ] Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
- Admiral Sloane ( 24 points)
- Squall ( 3 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 96 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
- Demolisher ( 10 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
= 78 total ship cost

Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
= 48 total ship cost

Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
= 48 total ship cost

1 "Howlrunner" ( 16 points)
1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
1 Dengar ( 20 points)
1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points)
1 Soontir Fel ( 18 points)
6 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 48 points)

Card view link

Nobody considering 12 TIE, Howl, and Rhymer?

5 minutes ago, Church14 said:

Nobody considering 12 TIE, Howl, and Rhymer?

And after Rhymer dies?

One thing I did note already is that none of these lists have Flotillas :D

2 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

And after Rhymer dies?

That's what Black Squadron is for...

Wow I just had Southpark flashback as I totally did not realize the TIE fighter that gets shot for all the other ones is Black Squadron

2 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

And after Rhymer dies?

The lists posted seemed to be base around the idea of an Alpha strike. Rhymer adds flexibility through extended range. He is there to give that one (possible) turn of range before the TIEs are bogged down

And if he dies, then my TIEs shoot at whatever killed him

Why not a wing of 5 interceptors, 5 generic ties, howlrunner, then rhymer? Two q1's with hangars, comms, flight controllers, and and a VSD 2 with GT, Dis cap, tau, ecm, and h9...could be a solid choice.

20 minutes ago, Gottmituns205 said:

Why not a wing of 5 interceptors, 5 generic ties, howlrunner, then rhymer? Two q1's with hangars, comms, flight controllers, and and a VSD 2 with GT, Dis cap, tau, ecm, and h9...could be a solid choice.

That's 401 points. . . otherwise, sounds good! :D

Can figure something out, but the general idea.

I'm seeing lots of these test fleets with way too many TIE Fighters and carriers with no real combat ships that have some kind of Underpants Gnomes logic behind them of:

Phase 1: Destroy all the defense tokens

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: Win the game!

I'm much preferring the builds where there are some serious hammer ships in there too, as those can exploit bad defense tokens much better than squadrons can.

3 minutes ago, Snipafist said:

I'm seeing lots of these test fleets with way too many TIE Fighters and carriers with no real combat ships that have some kind of Underpants Gnomes logic behind them of:

Phase 1: Destroy all the defense tokens

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: Win the game!

I'm much preferring the builds where there are some serious hammer ships in there too, as those can exploit bad defense tokens much better than squadrons can.

Clearly the Rebel answer is to build ships that survive without needing defense tokens.

Wait, where are those? Is that the Hammerhead preview I'm about to get?

6 minutes ago, geek19 said:

Clearly the Rebel answer is to build ships that survive without needing defense tokens.

Wait, where are those? Is that the Hammerhead preview I'm about to get?

Yup.. upgrade to trade in all defense tokens for +10 hull

1 minute ago, durandal343 said:

Yup.. upgrade to trade in all defense tokens for +10 hull

You'd be surprised, I'd take that on some ships, haha.

1 minute ago, geek19 said:

You'd be surprised, I'd take that on some ships, haha.

oh.. i was serious :)

I thought about saying 20 as a joke but 5 or 10 might make me think.. or a certain number of hull points per token sacrificed

But rebel ships stripped of tokens is disconcerting.. they just don't have the hull to be dealing with straight damage.

Just now, durandal343 said:

oh.. i was serious :)

I thought about saying 20 as a joke but 5 or 10 might make me think.. or a certain number of hull points per token sacrificed

But rebel ships stripped of tokens is disconcerting.. they just don't have the hull to be dealing with straight damage.

Save me, Walex Blissex! Or proper usage of your own anti-fighter screen, whatever.

Just now, geek19 said:

Save me, Walex Blissex! Or proper usage of your own anti-fighter screen, whatever.

I have improperly used many a fighter screen :)

I do think it will add a new wrinkle to the game though and give the Imperials some tools to use against my fighters.. which I don't like because I've so enjoyed being invincible.. winning and losing!