Has it been stated what the expected army size (points) will be for normal play? Do we anticipate being able to field an army with one Core Set?

The expected army size for normal play is 800 points. A core set has about 400 points worth for each side.

I think there will be a 'test game' style section of the Core set, showing how to set up a battle for 400 vs 400 on a 3x3 table.

I’m planning on playing a lot of half scale games until my fun money recoups. I can work on building terrain next and slowly adding expansions.

Are these 800pt games intended for 3x3 maps as well, or it is suggested that it bumps up to 3x6?

800 point games are intended for a 3x6 play area.

Judging by the force org chart I'm gonna assume it'll get bumped up to 1000 at some point. Six troop slots is quite a lot if the game's gonna be permanently restricted to 800 points.

1 hour ago, GreatMazinkaiser said:

Judging by the force org chart I'm gonna assume it'll get bumped up to 1000 at some point. Six troop slots is quite a lot if the game's gonna be permanently restricted to 800 points.

I don't think they will as they are currently balancing for 800.

I think they did a similar thing for Armada at 300 to 400 points, but I could be remembering things wrong. Some stuff does seem like it was balanced for 300 in wave 1 though.

I enjoy list building to a restrictive number, because army building then isn't about taking everything you have. It makes list building as much about what you take as what you don't. So if 800 or 1,000 points achieves that I am happy enough.

That 400 points of Armada and even the 100 of X-Wing hits the sweet spot nicely.

6 hours ago, GreatMazinkaiser said:

Judging by the force org chart I'm gonna assume it'll get bumped up to 1000 at some point. Six troop slots is quite a lot if the game's gonna be permanently restricted to 800 points.

Why? With the current corps options, 40 and 44 points for both armies respectfully, you can EASILY fill all 6 slots and have anywhere from 560-200 points free. A Stormtrooper squad with HH-12, Extra trooper, Scopes, and Grenades works out to 100 points exactly. I rarely fill ALL the troop slots in other games, and this one seems like even if you do, you still have a fair amount of points left over.

The troop slots are not telling you what your army should contain (other than the minimum of 1 Commander and 3 corps units) they are there to provide limits. If you max out a troop slot then that is going to end up being the core of your force with a few other units for backup. Right now I am thinking that running a rebel force with Leia, 4 corps units, 2 at-rts and a t-47 sounds pretty good. Sure I am not maxing out my heavy or corps slots and who even knows what the special forces will bring to the table but I think it will work well. 800 points is surprisingly forgiving. It's tight enough to make you think but doesn't leave you feeling stranded.

Don't personally feel 800 is enough. Use luke/vader, 3 troops and a support and theres not a huge amount left over for different scope. Looking at list building like 1000 points more. Its enough to add in some special forces to a solid little army.

6 hours ago, Caimheul1313 said:

Why? With the current corps options, 40 and 44 points for both armies respectfully, you can EASILY fill all 6 slots and have anywhere from 560-200 points free. A Stormtrooper squad with HH-12, Extra trooper, Scopes, and Grenades works out to 100 points exactly. I rarely fill ALL the troop slots in other games, and this one seems like even if you do, you still have a fair amount of points left over.

One shouldn't expect to fill all the slots necessarily, but given how much things cost (Trooper squads cap out at around 100, saber swingers and heavies are around 200, etc) your main choice is whether or not to min-max troop slots just to squeeze in more than one or two specialist units.

If you field two heavies and a saber swinger you basically have no bodies on the field at all. Again, no way of knowing whether or not it's true, but assuming the number of slots is meaningful in that it's intended to give you flexibility in how you build your army you'll need more points. If you want one heavy, one support, and one special forces unit in a platoon with a saber swinger you'll probably be stuck with three skeleton squads if you're stuck at 800 points.

1 hour ago, GreatMazinkaiser said:

One shouldn't expect to fill all the slots necessarily, but given how much things cost (Trooper squads cap out at around 100, saber swingers and heavies are around 200, etc) your main choice is whether or not to min-max troop slots just to squeeze in more than one or two specialist units.

If you field two heavies and a saber swinger you basically have no bodies on the field at all. Again, no way of knowing whether or not it's true, but assuming the number of slots is meaningful in that it's intended to give you flexibility in how you build your army you'll need more points. If you want one heavy, one support, and one special forces unit in a platoon with a saber swinger you'll probably be stuck with three skeleton squads if you're stuck at 800 points.

Which is a tactical decision faced in many other games. With Bolt Action you can field a large number of kitted out infantry squads or a tank, support units, and less infantry.

The decision of what to field is part of the strategy of the game.

I like 800pts more than the idea of increasing to 1000 personally. I prefer being forced to make compromises and choices when list building, rather than being able to take everything i would want.

Personal taste really.

It'll be interesting to see how things scale up to increased points. If it's all balanced at 800 points and 6 turns then it could be a very different game.

Would be a great format for extended leagues or Narrative formats. Just big battles that take the day and contribute to some sort of community effort.