So far, in my very limited experience of Armada, I have generally had better results using ISD, VSDs, with a support Gozanti and some Ties. Admiral Motti has been my 'go to' man, as it saves me from having to remember too much (memory's not what it once was!)

I want to try to expand my play style and am trying to come up with a list or two to use more manouverable ships in an MSU type list. My restriction at the moment is that I don't have any Arquitens, and in the following lists would need to borrow a couple of ships (A GSD and Raider in each, but could do so from friends). I am also limited to only Tie fighters & Howlrunner at the moment when it cmes to squadrons.

I'd appreciate constructive comments on the following two very similar lists:

List 1 List 2

Gladiator 1 Captain Needa Ordnance Experts

Ordnance Experts Assault Proton Torps

Engine Techs

Assault Proton Torps

Demolisher

Gladiator 1 Ord Exps Ord Exps

Engine Techs APTs

APTs

Gladiator 1 Ord Exps Ord Exps

Engine Techs APTs

APTs

Raider 1 Captain Brunson RAIDER 2 - Disposable Capacitors

Ord Exps Heavy Ion Emplacements

APTs

Raider 2 Admiral Ozzel Admiral Ozzel

Disposable Capacitors Disposable Capacitors

Heavy Ion Emplacements

GOZANTI - Repair Crews

Squadrons Howlrunner Howlrunner

3 x Ties 2 x Ties

I hope the above format is clear. (List 1 has 5 ships, List 2 has 6)

There are a few things I'm not sure of:

Are HIEs worth it on a fragile ship like a Raider? It's a big points investment.

Are Repair Crews worth it, or should I go with Comms Net to chuck tokens around?

Is Captain Needa a good choice for Demolisher? I know I need to get close and I figure Needa might help it survive long enough to do so.

5 or 6 activations?

Are these just stupid and down to me being an utter noob?

All comments welcome.

Thanks.

HIEs are worth it, but you want to get them to fire. Consider Screed as your commander. He has great synergy with HIE Raiders as well as Gladiators.

Needa is not a good choice for a Gladiator. Both of your other tokens are necessary.

Six activations will help immensely.

Repair crews will not be worth it. You want to get in and then out, not stick around for a slug match.

Consider a pair of Gladiators (Always bring Demo), a pair of HIE Raiders, and a pair of Gozantis. Slicer tools are always nice. With Screed, definitely consider ACMs on the Gladiators. They’re great with HIE Raiders.

2 hours ago, RedDogReb said:

Are HIEs worth it on a fragile ship like a Raider? It's a big points investment.

Are Repair Crews worth it, or should I go with Comms Net to chuck tokens around?

Is Captain Needa a good choice for Demolisher? I know I need to get close and I figure Needa might help it survive long enough to do so.

5 or 6 activations?

Are these just stupid and down to me being an utter noob?

HIEs can absolutely be worth it on a ship like a Raider... But I would probably suggest Screed if you want multiple ones.

I would argue both of those are better with larger ships. Your GSDs and Raiders will often die in a single round (or shot) from a big ship, so being able to drop a card isn't that useful. Meanwhile, a token on a Command 1 ship is kinda useless, though I suppose it could be useful on the GSDs... but in either case, the Gozantis aren't fast enough to really keep up, and probably don't want to be in the fight.

Needa is not a good choice for the Demo. You have to replace a token to get the evade. So either you're replacing a brace or a redirect in order to double up on evades. Don't do it.

Depends on what you want, but in a list like this, you probably want 6 or 7 activations.

They definitely could be improved, and it's hard to recommend any imperial list without an ISD these days, but that doesn't mean that they won't be fun and effective. If I can offer some suggestions on how to change it though:

Gladiator I
Minister Tua
Ordnance Experts
Engine Techs
Assault Proton Torpedoes
Demolisher
Electronic Countermeasures

Gladiator I
Ordnance Experts
Engine Techs
Assault Proton Torpedoes
Insidious

Gladiator I
Ordnance Experts
Assault Proton Torpedos

Raider I
Ordnance Experts
External Racks

Raider I
Moff Jerjerrod
Captain Brunson
Ordnance Experts
External Racks

Gozanti
Comms Net

388pts

I'm sure there's a well established "best objectives" for MSU lists... I would think something like Superior Positions, Planetary Ion Cannon, and maybe Close Range Intel Scan... I think CRIS could be really good, but require the most amount of work to maximize.

Logic for the changes:
Demo is absolutely necessary. It's awesome, especially with the triple tap. Unfortunately due to the errata to the card, it's a bit harder to line up the actual triple tap, but it shouldn't be that difficult with 6 activations. He'll also be target #1 for your opponent. Thus Tua and ECMs, they should help him make good use of that brace. Insidious is well worth 3 points, allowing you to use those deadly black dice at medium range. And it works well with Superior Positions. Engine Techs are also pretty neccessary to help line up those Insidious shots. The third Gladiator (though I might consider changing it to something else) is a bit lite to make up some points... But OE and APTs are the two most important upgrades. The same can be said about that first Raider I. The second Raider I gave Brunson since he's carrying Jerry around. That combined with the double evades means that you should be pretty good at minimizing long range damage. You'll want to set him up to be the round 5/6 finisher on whatever ship is hurting. The Gozanti is just there for an activation and probably should only get a few turns of comms net, but can toss out extra nav tokens to the two ET GSDs. And I went with Jerry to help make sure you can always get in and get those black dice working hard for you. If you wanted to go with Screed, you could drop all of the OEs, and probably upgrade the Raiders to Raider II HIEs.

Here’s another list if you like it concrete:

Points: 379/400

Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Planetary Ion Cannon
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
- Demolisher ( 10 points)
- Captain Brunson ( 5 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- Assault Concussion Missiles ( 7 points)
= 90 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
- Admiral Screed ( 26 points)
- Insidious ( 3 points)
- Admiral Montferrat ( 5 points)
- Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
- Engine Techs ( 8 points)
- Assault Concussion Missiles ( 7 points)
= 109 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 30 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
- Slicer Tools ( 7 points)
= 30 total ship cost

Raider II-Class Corvette (48 points)
- Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points)
- Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points)
= 60 total ship cost

Raider II-Class Corvette (48 points)
- Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points)
- Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points)
= 60 total ship cost

= 0 total squadron cost

@CommanderDave @Khyros thank you for your comments and suggestions. I’ll certainly remove Needa, and have a rethink on one or two other aspects.

12 hours ago, RedDogReb said:

@CommanderDave @Khyros thank you for your comments and suggestions. I’ll certainly remove Needa, and have a rethink on one or two other aspects.

I know you don't have Arquitens (and they are slightly hard to get hold of until the reprint brings them back in stock) but I have been enjoying this list recently.

388/400, Most Wanted, Hyperspace Assault, Solar Corona
Arquitens CL, DTT, SFO, Moff Jerjerrod, 83
Arquitens CL, DTT, SFO, 60
Arquitens CL, Needa, TRC, 63
GSD1, Demolisher, ACMs, Brunson, OE, 82
Gozanti, Comms Net, 25
Gozanti, 23
Cienna Ree, Valen Rudor, 2 TIE-Int, 52

It has a chunky 12 point bid with 6 activations. Demolisher can last/first and punish things that get close. Three Arquitens can soften up targets for the GSD or to finish off Demolisher's victims. The commander gives fantastic navigational options particularly at high speed. Arquitens can yaw twice left at the first turning opportunity then another double yaw to the right at the speed 3 point letting you maintain the range from approaching enemies. Fighters are an effective screen that should die expensively due to the counter and swarm rerolls and the obscured scatters.

@Mad Cat Thanks. As soon as I get my hands on some Arquitens, I'll try this. If I haven't got a second Gozanti by then, I know I can borrow this and the fighters.