Hey folks,

I'm interested in updating my Ozzel list for the new wave 7 stuff. But I'm not all that sure on what to change! We've got a few new toys to play with, and they'll definitely be shaping the meta! For reference, my wave 6 list was a super tricked out ISD2 with Ozzel, demolisher, 2 raider1s, a single gozanti, and 2 TIEs.

I've played in one tournament since wave 7 came out and I noticed the following:

• ISDs everywhere. I think we averaged 2 per imperial player.
• Lots of Strategic Adviser
• HUGE bids or no bids. (Several 20+ point bids)
• Not a lot of bomber-heavy lists

Now these definitely might not be the norm everywhere. This was just my observations from a local tourney (and people possibly just wanted to play the new stuff.) Actual regionals might still involve a lot of the same. I'd love to hear people's experience from competitive tourneys on average bids, prevalence of bombers, number of activations, etc.

Other things I need to keep in mind in wave 7:

• Cymoons are definitely a thing now, and little ships that rely on evades are very vulnerable now, even at long range. Especially with Vader. A Vader Cymoon can absolutely 1shot a raider at long range.
• Bail/Pryce are a thing now
• Raddus can absolutely change the deployment game

So my original list functions by using the ISD as a massive threat/tank, and using the other ships to hit super hard at anything that tries to get close or dodge the ISD. It contrasts the huge threat zone of the ISD's front arc at range with the short range black dice fiesta of Exrax raiders and Demolisher. Keeping with this theme, moving Ozzy to a Cymoon seems like the natural evolution of the list. Even bigger long-range threat to combine with the little ships. This was my first thought, but I am worried about the overall damage output without leading shots, and the reduced durability. The nice thing about the ISD2 was that it hits like a truck up close too. The Cymoon doesn't actually get much stronger in medium/close range. Then also, my ISD was the only ship in the fleet that could take a hit. I'm worried about a Cymoon living up to that.

My next idea was to go the opposite direction. Switch out the roles of the ISD and raiders. Put Ozzy on a Kuat tricked out for brawling, and swap to Raider2s with Dcaps and either ICBs or HIEs. The raiders get to stay a little safer, and the ISD is perfectly happy at close range. My fear here is not having enough long range damage to scare off harassment from little ships. I'd also be completely unable to threaten flotillas, allowing them to be fielded aggressively as blockers. This list would need to fly a little more cautiously. If I'm relying on HIEs to strip shields before closing in, and only the Demo/ISD are really threats to large ships, I'd need to be a lot more careful. With the raider1s even large ships can't just casually take a CF+ER hit up close.

Or maybe I just keep the ISD2. I could drop the Gozanti and pick up Strategic Adviser, and try to keep activation parity that way. Would save me some points for some upgrades. But then not having the Flotilla puts some stress on my objective selection. I'm also not making use of the squadron value of 4 on the ISD2. I'm considering just going all in on the close-range murder. Kuat, Glad, Raider1s. All in on black dice mayhem up close. But so much of what makes this fleet work is the unpredictability of it. Ozzy letting me jump from speed 0 to speed 3, or 2 to 4, or 4 to 1, etc. The long range threat of the ISD2 allowing to make that an option. With the Kuat it's pretty obviously I'm going straight for the throat and need to close the distance quickly. At which point I might be better off with Jerry or Motti.

Anyway, I'm torn on how to rework my list. There's some fun new upgrades I want to try, (Brunson, Reinforced Hull), but I'm not sure how to go about it. I'd love to hear people's ideas and opinions! If you think of any neat tricks I might not have thought of, please share!

Thanks!

If you go Cymoon you're also giving a defensive retrofit as well as no rerolls. I don't think it works well for what you want.

And as you noted, you can't swing a stick without hitting a Vadermoon lately, so I don't think you want to run 2 Raider 2s. 2 of them are also the price of an ISD2 after dcaps and HIE.

Here's a version I'm playing with. Might take it or something similar to a tourney over the weekend, if I feel up for the drive.

Name: Ozzy goes HAM
Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Ozzel

Assault: Advanced Gunnery
Defense: Hyperspace Assault
Navigation: Dangerous Territory

ISD Kuat Refit (112)
• Admiral Ozzel (20)
• Captain Brunson (5)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Early Warning System (7)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• Relentless (3)
= 156 Points

Gladiator I (56)
• Agent Kallus (3)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Engine Techs (8)
• Assault Proton Torpedoes (5)
• Demolisher (10)
= 86 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Flechette Torpedoes (3)
• Impetuous (4)
= 55 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• External Racks (3)
= 51 Points

Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Comms Net (2)
= 25 Points

Squadrons:
• 2 x TIE Fighter Squadron (16)
= 16 Points

Total Points: 389

Thoughts? Will I miss the range of the ISD2 too much? Is an 11 point bid almost wasted? It feels like the bids I'm seeing lately are either HUGE or tiny.

Any input is much appreciated. Thanks!

I fear DT will let you down in a high bid environment. 11 is enough to beat anyone that doesn't really want first, but anything with pryce will outdo that, and bail will get it when it counts. So it's really important in the current state of the game to have objectives you can lean heavily into. The first 2 are great, as both demo hyperspace and kuat AG are scary. But DT isn't really that big of an issue. It's probably a net gain of 15-30 points and a moderately useful ability. One that, ironically, becomes less useful because with DT the obstacles are typically out of the way so you don't have much chance to use them as cover. If you are fearing acc generation and big arcs, then perhaps Solar Corona would be better.

Given the size of your bid I think you could take Instigator as well.

I do think that you'll miss the longer range of the 2. What about upping one Raider to the dcap HIE 2? That gives you a but if longer range punch and weakens targets before they hit black range of your Kuat.