I just like the idea of a full complement of fighters. I've been around the edges of the Star Wars Aramda scene for a while, but not really played the game all that much -- 2-3 times or so. I've built lists, but never get to play them.

Enter Adepticon 2018. I get to go this year, and I was able to get into both Star Wars Armada tournaments. Yay! I know that I will get my butt kicked. But it's gonna be a fun time playing a game I really enjoy.

Anyway - feedback on this list is desired. I'm not looking for advice on how to win the tournament or have a tournament-level list. I gonna lose the tournament. I will likely perform very poorly. But I would love advice on, "Okay, you want to run a squadron-bomber list? Here's some changes I'd consider."

I've screwed around with the list a LOT the past couple of days, and I'm at a point where I'm happy.

Changes I'm still considering/want feedback on:

(1) Anything you guys have to say on this forum - some smart people on here.

(2) Swap out Sloane for Motti? Reason: Motti is easier for newbs and would add a little bit of survivability to my ships.

(3) Shuffle the squadrons a bit? Reason: I'm not sure I need 4 TIE escorts, but I'm at my max points. I feel there might be room to improve the squadron list but I don't know how. The squadrons need to have enough bombers to carry the fight into the enemy fleet, but enough fighters to take out almost all-comers' squadron complements. I thought Fel and Mithel would be good enemy squadron clearers and Rhymer would be good for getting bombs onto enemy fleets -- the squadrons have to accomplish both. Which is why I took Sloane: all the fighters I have can have a good chance of hurting an enemy ship that way. But at the price of reduced hull from Motti.

(4) Should I add any other upgrades to the ships? With 12 points left, I do have some room to shuffle things around, but I think I just need to take the fleet for a test-drive.

(5) Am I way too low on ship count? Is activation going to be an issue with this fleet? I wanted to get to 4 ships, but I think this fleet will pretty easy for me to fly without forgetting too many special rules.

(6) What should I do with the remaining points? Leave it low and pick the initiative?

For those wondering about the Objectives, I chose Precision Strike because, well, I'll have bombers, so a chance for some additional VPs. Fleet Ambush seemed the most-harmless; it gets my opponent to the center of the map, so possibly a turn-1 attack (even if I do second). Superior positions, again - I'll have bombers for those rear hull zones and more VPs.

Any and all comments welcome. Thanks for looking!

Imperial - Sloane - Chiraneau Bomber List
Author: Chris Montgomery

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 389/400

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Precision Strike
Defense Objective: Fleet Ambush
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

[FLAGSHIP] Quasar Fire II-class Cruiser-Carrier (61 points)

• Admiral Sloane ( 24 points)
• Admiral Chiraneau ( 10 points)
• Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
• Boosted Comms ( 4 points)

= 105 total ship cost

Gladiator II-Class Star Destroyer (62 points)

• Demolisher ( 10 points)
• Fire-Control Team ( 2 points)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes ( 5 points)

= 79 total ship cost

Quasar Fire II-class Cruiser-Carrier (61 points)

• Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
• Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)

= 72 total ship cost

4 x TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 36 points)
1 x Soontir Fel ( 18 points)
1 x Major Rhymer ( 16 points)
1 x "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
4 x TIE Advanced Squadrons ( 48 points)

Card view link

Fleet created with Armada Warlords

Fire control team won't work with APT & standard crit. The FAQ I believe says no. ACMs would work but I would go for Ordnance Experts and drop to a GSD1.

If you drop to a Quasar1 you could swap the other for a VSD1 for a bit of ship punch with Ext Racks and maybe QBTs.

With sloane you can drop the bombers for fighters or interceptors and still kill ships not to mention being self escorting. Then look at tempest squadron and Zertek with his escort&braces. With the speed of imperial fighters even Rhymer can be replaced for Howlrunner for example.

Mad Cat, thanks so much for the feedback. I've read that FAQ twice and still can't remember it all. I'll just have to check each card that I use against the FAQ, I guess. Much appreciated.

*sigh* Well, here's a huge post to read. Sorry. The first paragraph explains why I recommend the changes in the second paragraph.

A note on Sloane: she needs three things to function. 1. A fighter force that will kill your opponent's fighter force. TIE Advanced function as more of a sponge; they don't hit as hard as a normal TIE fighter, and they don't benefit from Sloane or do antiship damage as well as your bombers can. They could in theory protect those bombers, but without intel everything will still be engaged, and will likely die against a conventional maxed-out Sloane ace force. Chiraneau helps, but speed five interceptors will still, well, intercept your speed two bombers. 2. Big ships that hit hard. Demolisher is intimidating, but it's also the only real source of ship to ship damage. 2 damage braced from a bomber isn't the same as 6-8 damage braced from a VSD, which means brace simply doesn't matter as much vs bombers, which means the swarm fighters Sloane loves wouldn't be doing much against ships even if they were in the list. 3. Carriers. Usually, this means the aforementioned big ships, because there isn't room for other stuff. I'd say your carrier ability in this fleet is well-covered, though.

So, with that in mind, I'd switch to Motti. He allows you to focus on bombers and the Quasars, using seriously enhanced flak to deal with fighters. I'd drop the Advanced and Soontir for as many bombers as you can fit (12-14ish and maybe Rhymer + Mithel.) Flak boosting upgrades include Kallus and Ruthless strategists (bombers have plenty of hull to sacrifice.) These also work on a Gladiator-II, because it has great flak. Demolisher helps flak too. For bombers, a BCC is essential; if you own one, it's well worth bringing a flotilla. If not, I'd ask a friend if you can borrow a Gozanti and BCC. Squall is amazing for bombers, too, letting you hit from as early as turn one (just mind your comms range.) Lastly, I highly recommend the blog Cannot Get Your Ship Out; it's a treasure trove of great advice on every card and ship, and most strategies, in the game. This is just one direction you could take the fleet; if your main goal is to have fun, you'll probably have a good time one way or another. Hope this helps, and good luck!

Jabbawookie, thanks so much for the comments. It has really made me rethink the list and I appreciate it. List-building alone is pretty intriguing, but the experience has really also shown me that I need to just fly some ships and see what happens.

I agree with you about Motti - if I am running a fleet with no large ships, he will add some staying power (hopefully).

I also scrapped the fighter line-up. Switching to Motti really devalues the non-bombers. I kept Mithel and 10 bombers instead. Mithel will die quickly, but I think Mithel, with two ships with red squadron attacks, flight controllers and ruthless strategists will be enough to handle a full-squadron opponent. The real problem will be dealing with a zero squadron opponent.

I also stripped the Glad down to a straight Glad + Demolisher and added a Gozanti with Bomber Control Center. This 4-ship list will hopefully make sure I don't lose the activation game. Motti will let my ships stick around for a while. Titus just let's me maybe screw with an opponent's plans and slow down one of their heavy hitters. For 2 points and a weak list line mine, it could be really useful.

I also shuffled some of the upgrades, but not much. The fighter coordination team on the Glad might be used to get some bombers into the rear hull zones of the enemy - it just provides some bomber-shifting options in the mid-game, either to get some of them out of engagement, or to get them into the rear hull zones of some weaker ships.

Strategy will be to fly the flagship Quasar (with Boosted Comms) to draft the second Quasar (with Expanded Hangar Bays). the first Quasar will essentially help to clear out any enemy squadrons along with Mithel and the bombers. It will also hopefully shield the flag ship from too many shots/bombers. The Gozanti will hug the flag ship and stay in range of the bombers to provide it's assistance when the bombers can (hopefully) close. The Gladiator - along the lines of Mad Cat's advice - will be a threat that the other player needs to deal with and might be able to provide the finishing blow on a larger ship that is on the ropes . . . or more likely and hopefully it will be a ship that will occupy my opponent for a turn or two while I deal with any enemy squadron screens.

Time to fly it against an opponent in the next couple weeks here and see if it's viable. Thanks again so much for taking the time to give me some feedback. Excited to try all this out.

Final list:

Imperial - Motti - Bomber List
Author: Chris Montgomery

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 394/400

Commander: Admiral Motti

Assault Objective: Precision Strike
Defense Objective: Fleet Ambush
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions

[ flagship ] Quasar Fire II-class Cruiser-Carrier (61 points)
- Admiral Motti ( 24 points)
- Admiral Titus ( 2 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Ruthless Strategists ( 4 points)
- Boosted Comms ( 4 points)
= 101 total ship cost

Quasar Fire II-class Cruiser-Carrier (61 points)
- Agent Kallus ( 3 points)
- Flight Controllers ( 6 points)
- Ruthless Strategists ( 4 points)
- Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
= 79 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
= 31 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
- Demolisher ( 10 points)
- Fighter Coordination Team ( 3 points)
= 69 total ship cost

1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points)
11 TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 99 points)

Card view link

Fleet created with Armada Warlords