I'm still working on mastering the basics and flying Vic's, CR90s, 1 Raider, and Nebulons; then I'll move to my MC80 and fall into, "it's a trap" mode. I do have an Imperial SD too, Vader one day, yay!...but I don't know if I'll get one of the new ones. If I did put back a pint or two and legally spring one from the LGS, which one?

Which Wave 6 expansion, or which expansion that you currently don't have? I'll assume the latter.

The most basic advice you'll hear is 'get what you like'. There are dozens of different opinions and lists answering your question. Do you intend to fly competitively? Then you'll likely be wanting at least 1 flotilla, as they are useful for activation advantage. You'll want Fighter packs if you don't already have them, to give yourself bombers, escorts, etc. You'll wand R&V for Intel, and probably a Gladiator for the imps. For the Rebels I'd recommend an MC30, and if you don't have them already, the Neb titles. After that, Assault Frigates are good for squadron pushers and Ackbar.

So something like*:

• Fighter I packs (both sides)
• Flotillas (both sides)
• GSD/MC30
• GSD (or Vic if you like them)/AF
• R&V (if you like the squadron game) or Arquitens/MC30 (again! Multiples are nice )
• Fighter II packs (both sides), or Wave 4
• Wave 5 ships, if not already acquired
• Wave 6
• CC

If you're playing casually, then yeah, get what catches your interest, prioritizing it in order of 'coolness'. If you're fielding both sides, then try to keep it balanced. Getting an ISD? Get an MC80. Getting a Glad? Get an MC30c. You said you already have Corvettes, a Raider, Nebs, Victories, an MC80, and an ISD. I'd suggest next getting Glads and MC30cs, then Squadron I packs if you haven't already, then the assault frigate for the rebs, with either another Glad or another Vic for the Imps. From there, you can add Fighter II packs, Flotillas, CC (for the squads if nothing else), Waves 4 & 5 etc as you see fit. If you really like the squadron game, get the Squadron I packs first instead of the GSD/MC30 pair, as you already have the basics for 2 decent fleets. Then, because Neb's don't go well with Ackbar**, get MC30s or Assault Frigates for the rebels to use his ability alongside the MC80, and if you don't like Victories, get Gladiators for the Imps.

I can't give you a list here, as it's all personal preference.

*I have never played competitively, so somebody else is probably gonna give you a better list.
**Barring certain circumstances, see Crabbok's post about 'em.

I would say neither expansion is a great buy for a new-player. If you really want to run multiple small ships with Rebels, hammerheads are a good choice. If you are intent on flying an imperial fighter swarm the quasar is a good buy

I suggest either fighter pack or Rogues and Villains if you have not added those yet.

I would actually recommend whatever faction you want to focus on and getting the first wave of squadron packs and then CC. You get a ton of cool aces out of CC and objective cards. After that, I'd say either MC30 or Glad cause learning to fly black dice ships is fun. If you are going Rebels, can't go wrong with an AFMKII.

You will need the squadron packs ASAP, but the other expansions depend on your faction interests and playstyle.

Bot squadron packs are auto-inculde. They add so much more to the game than maybe no other expansion does. I mean, they open up whole new strategies while ship expansions "only" allow you to use different aspects of ships. R&V aren't necessary at all, I only bought one to have a full collection but barely use them, and I can still be competitive. If you have the money, then definitely add an MC30 and Gladiator too. Or if you have even more money, an ISD and one of the MC80s are great addition. It's awesome to drive such huge ships around

Is this game too squadron-heavy? If I want to fly Soontir, Vader (in a tie), Tycho, etc, I play X-wing. When Armada came out I thought it would be about the capital ships. So far, especially after the flotillas came out, Armada seems to be extremely small-ship oriented.

35 minutes ago, Sixter said:

Is this game too squadron-heavy? If I want to fly Soontir, Vader (in a tie), Tycho, etc, I play X-wing. When Armada came out I thought it would be about the capital ships. So far, especially after the flotillas came out, Armada seems to be extremely small-ship oriented.

Squadrons are an important part of combat, but by no means are they the entire game. Think of it as combined arms warfare. The aces are important parts of squadron combat but they are by no means necessary. Capital ships still dominate a lot of the combat, and large numbers of squadrons far and away do not guarantee victory. I've had remarkable success running no and few squadron fleets, and several Wave 6 upgrades promise to enhance their power further. If you get hung up on the squadron game that can become an issue for you and your playstyle, but if you open your eyes to the entire game, you'll see by no means are they the entire thing.

You can be a fleet that is built around sqadrons. The World Cup was won with such fleet. But that doesn't mean thst there won't be a fleet that rips you apart in 3-4 rounds. That's what is so great in Armada. You can build any fleet, it may be great, but any time you may encounter an opponent you can't beat with that fleet