Word on the street is that Santa may be delivering one of these to me on Christmas Eve.

I have never played Armada, and none of my group have either, although I have read quite a bit and watched a few videos as I have been interested in the game for a while. I also really like the ISD and LMC80 models, but if I was to purchase them it would be a shame to leave them on a shelf.

As I would be the only player in our group I would be supplying all models for any Armada games played on game night (unless it is such a success that everyone buys in).

So if the game proves to be enjoyable enough that we will play enough to justify expanding to 400 pts per side (with some choices to be made) what is worth getting to keep the game as varied as possible? I'll most likely be starting with:

Core set

LMC80

ISD

Other things I am considering:

1 Rebel small/medium ship (to add choices)

1 Imperial small/medium ship (to add choices)

1 flotilla pack for each side (as they introduce a different game type)

1 fighter pack each side (to allow more fighter heavy fleets)

I'm not looking to create uber conpetitive lists, but as I already said just have enough ships to vary the playing styles, and ideally allow me to create two reasonably level fleets for casual play.

Get the Home One MC80 instead of the Liberty. This is a big issue.

Gonna recommend MC30.

Gladiator

Get the flots.

And yes, get the squadron 1 packs.

Play the Task Force format for 200 pts. You'll have tons of options that way.

@Blail Blerg gives very sage advice. I agree. (Aside from the MC80 stuff. As an exclusively Imperial player, I really don't know their comparable virtues. The Liberty strikes me as more fun, but that's entirely subjective.)

Also, consider reaching out to other Armada players in your environs. If your own group doesn't want to play, don't let that hamper you.

MC80 Liberty should be fine

I think you're on a good track for starting purchases, for your small/medium ships I would recommend :

Imperial light Cruiser (aka Arquittens)

Nebulon B

And start with the original fighter packs.

Welcome!

38 minutes ago, Alzer said:

MC80 Liberty should be fine

I think you're on a good track for starting purchases, for your small/medium ships I would recommend :

Imperial light Cruiser (aka Arquittens)

Nebulon B

And start with the original fighter packs.

Welcome!

Liberty has some issues pertaining to a surprisingly delicate shield and hull balance if you can get past that front arc. The Home One can be incredibly tanky by comparison, and hits like a truck.

For Rebels i particular, that Squadron Pack 1 is critical to getting the most out of several ships. Rebels love their carrier builds.

For Imperials, I would also suggest a single Gozanti cruiser. The access to small support ships is something that really changes how Imperial Command 3 ships can be flown. It would also ensure that both sides have an equal number of

Home One is much more competitive and easy to use. Liberty hasn't found its niche. Oh hey, there's yet another un-loved underused Rebel ship.

Someone brew up a cool Liberty list? Extra points if its competitive and it has two Liberties. =)

I'm still fairly new myself, but would thoroughly recommend MC30. It was one of the first purchases I made. It's great fun to unload black dice into the hull of a Star Destroyer, plus the Turbolaser Reroute Circuits card is great to use on your Corvette.

The Arquitens is also pretty enjoyable for a small Imperial ship. Moff Jerry fixes the manoeuvrability of your Vic from the core set.

50 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Home One is much more competitive and easy to use. Liberty hasn't found its niche. Oh hey, there's yet another un-loved underused Rebel ship.

Someone brew up a cool Liberty list? Extra points if its competitive and it has two Liberties. =)

Know that ive flown many such lists with dual liberties, though competiveness cannot be guaranteed, however.......

.....i cant be bothered going through 300 odd fleets trying to find the list.

2 minutes ago, DrakonLord said:

54 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Home One is much more competitive and easy to use. Liberty hasn't found its niche. Oh hey, there's yet another un-loved underused Rebel ship.

Someone brew up a cool Liberty list? Extra points if its competitive and it has two Liberties. =)

Know that ive flown many such lists with dual liberties, though competiveness cannot be guaranteed, however.......

.....i cant be bothered going through 300 odd fleets trying to find the list.

Ammendment: ive got a single liberty fleet i want to try, if i can decide on what squadrons or objectives i want to take lmao.

Fleet 3030 (394/400)
===================
MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 + 57)
+ General Dodonna (20)
+ Intel Officer (7)
+ Gunnery Team (7)
+ Spinal Armament (9)
+ XI7 Turbolasers (6)
+ Mon Karren (8)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Shara Bey (17)
YT-2400 (16)
3 x A-wing Squadron (11)

11 minutes ago, DrakonLord said:

Ammendment: ive got a single liberty fleet i want to try, if i can decide on what squadrons or objectives i want to take lmao.

Fleet 3030 (394/400)
===================
MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 + 57)
+ General Dodonna (20)
+ Intel Officer (7)
+ Gunnery Team (7)
+ Spinal Armament (9)
+ XI7 Turbolasers (6)
+ Mon Karren (8)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 + 6)
+ External Racks (3)
+ Task Force Antilles (3)
Shara Bey (17)
YT-2400 (16)
3 x A-wing Squadron (11)

Have you considered dropping 1 hh for a transport and tycho?

I'd also remove the yt2400 for a VCX = relay and strategic. Also, then you get 6 squadrons.

Also, the transport can take flight commander or boosted comms and be actually completely in charge of moving strategic and AA defense.

I'd also consider dropping Mon Karren, but that's only my personal opinion that I didn't find it that impactful.

3 minutes ago, Blail Blerg said:

Have you considered dropping 1 hh for a transport and tycho?

I'd also remove the yt2400 for a VCX = relay and strategic. Also, then you get 6 squadrons.

Also, the transport can take flight commander or boosted comms and be actually completely in charge of moving strategic and AA defense.

I'd also consider dropping Mon Karren, but that's only my personal opinion that I didn't find it that impactful.

1) the whole idea of this fleet is to try running 4HH with mon karren lol, for a competitive play i probably would follow that idea but i dont want to if i can help it with this fleet

2) yt-2400 for VCX? Done

3) n/a

4) i like that specific liberty build, against most ships its a case of "you brace/evade/scatter u lose it, you can only redirect 1damage, and u may only use 1 defense token"

Love the mon karren title, apart from a couple other titles it is *warning personal opinion* the best offensive title the rebels have. =D

Just now, DrakonLord said:

1) the whole idea of this fleet is to try running 4HH with mon karren lol, for a competitive play i probably would follow that idea but i dont want to if i can help it with this fleet

2) yt-2400 for VCX? Done

3) n/a

4) i like that specific liberty build, against most ships its a case of "you brace/evade/scatter u lose it, you can only redirect 1damage, and u may only use 1 defense token"

Love the mon karren title, apart from a couple other titles it is *warning personal opinion* the best offensive title the rebels have. =D

In bold: as in i intel officer the most dangerous token, depending on what tokens the ship has, shooting range, total damage rolled, etc

I understand. But I feel like getting 4 hh on target is pretty hard lol. And you have nothing to really move squadrons with except your Liberty itself.... Which is not ideal, it wants to be nav or conc fire or repairing, not bossing around the minis.

@DrakonLord I know the feeling lol. I had Gladiators bossing around squadrons at one point, who were bossed around by Tarkin. It was.... silly and fun.

1 minute ago, Blail Blerg said:

I understand. But I feel like getting 4 hh on target is pretty hard lol. And you have nothing to really move squadrons with except your Liberty itself.... Which is not ideal, it wants to be nav or conc fire or repairing, not bossing around the minis.

Ive never found a need to squadron command after round 2, and the few times i did need it, its only for a squadron or two which a HH or other 1 dial ship can handle.

Also found a dual lib fleet i ran a while ago now, cant remeber what objectives i used but:

Fleet 2400 (395/400)
===================
MC80 Star Cruiser (96 + 43)
+ General Dodonna (20)
+ Intel Officer (7)
+ Gunnery Team (7)
+ Spinal Armament (9)
MC80 Star Cruiser (96 + 37)
+ Intel Officer (7)
+ Gunnery Team (7)
+ XI7 Turbolasers (6)
+ Spinal Armament (9)
+ Mon Karren (8)
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 + 4)
+ Repair Crews (4)
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 + 2)
+ Comms Net (2)
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 + 2)
+ Comms Net (2)
Shara Bey (17)
4 x A-wing Squadron (11)

I believe the objectives were most wanted and contested outpost which we played, cannot recall blue objective

@GiledPallaeon has a lovely dual liberty list that would be a blast to fly.

18 hours ago, Porkchop Express said:

So if the game proves to be enjoyable enough that we will play enough to justify expanding to 400 pts per side (with some choices to be made) what is worth getting to keep the game as varied as possible? I'll most likely be starting with:

Core set

LMC80

ISD

Other things I am considering:

1 Rebel small/medium ship (to add choices)

1 Imperial small/medium ship (to add choices)

1 flotilla pack for each side (as they introduce a different game type)

1 fighter pack each side (to allow more fighter heavy fleets)

I'm not looking to create uber conpetitive lists, but as I already said just have enough ships to vary the playing styles, and ideally allow me to create two reasonably level fleets for casual play.

I'm fairly new as well.

ISD is a good choice. It's iconic and helps you easily get to 400 points.

LMC80 is, I think, also a good choice. The HMC80 may show up in more competitive lists, but the top speed of two means that its initial deployment and subsequent maneuvering is unforgiving - not what I'd recommend for new players.

Definitely both flotillas and both fighter 1 packs add a lot of variety, as does Rogues and Villains.

The Rebels have a couple of commanders that specifically do well with small/medium ships, so a couple extra of those will allow you to run more varied lists. For Empire lists, I'm usually happy with a couple of big ships, maybe a flotilla, and some fighters. That feels more Imperial to me.

I'd get hammerheads for the rebs, and raider for the imps. I think both of those opern you some nice fleet and playstyle options. In particular the HH will play nicely with what you have Leah makes a solid if costly addition to your fleet flexibility. Her ability is solid on the liberty and great for all the other ships you'll have also HH are nice to deliver some high one time damage. As for the imps I think raider because it's small, but unlike the glad it introduces no inherently rule breaking mechanics (not saying their broken as in bad, just saying it freaked standard ship action order format. Wich is bad for learning a game and can easily confused new players on a core concept) plus the it's cheap.

7 hours ago, Viktor Tanek said:

@GiledPallaeon has a lovely dual liberty list that would be a blast to fly.

I was summoned? Yes, my dual Libs have been doing alright. Very much boom or bust. Almost every game with them ends in a tabling or a near tabling, the question is just who is the victim. There are twoish versions of the list, two I use, and one subtle rearrangement on the Libs that is still theory in the works by a friend of mine in the Atlanta area. I'm not sure I'd recommend them (the lists definitely not, but I mean the ship) to a newbie offhand, because as @thecactusman17 pointed out they have a weird shield/defensive arrangement that makes them very positioning sensitive when it comes to either being super tanky, or very shatter-prone. The H1MC80 may be superior in that regard, because while it is more punishing of deployment mistakes, it also teaches you to not be sloppy in deployment and is durable enough to survive moderate tactical errors while still showing you what you need to avoid.

Repulse and Renown Mark 4
Author: GiledPallaeon

Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 388/400

Commander: General Madine

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

[ flagship ] MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 points)
- General Madine ( 30 points)
- Veteran Captain ( 3 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 170 total ship cost

MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 points)
- Veteran Captain ( 3 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 140 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Bright Hope ( 2 points)
- Leia Organa ( 3 points)
- Comms Net ( 2 points)
= 25 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 25 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Quantum Storm ( 1 points)
- Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 28 total ship cost

Repulse and Renown Mark 5
Author: GiledPallaeon

Faction: Rebel Alliance
Points: 389/400

Commander: General Madine

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

[ flagship ] MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 points)
- General Madine ( 30 points)
- Veteran Captain ( 3 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 170 total ship cost

MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 points)
- Veteran Captain ( 3 points)
- Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points)
- Spinal Armament ( 9 points)
- Leading Shots ( 4 points)
= 140 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 25 total ship cost

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
- Quantum Storm ( 1 points)
- Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 28 total ship cost

1 Han Solo ( 26 points)

The other Liberty build is similar, just swap Vet Captains for the navigation officers, and Spinals for H9s. It's a build that tries to work in more flexibility instead of raw power, which I can't say I oppose, but since the current versions have been doing well enough for me I think I'll leave them as is.