About to start a campaign, quite a casual player. Wondering what peoples experience has been so far?

It might be my lack of imagination but I’m struggling to see how an ISD supported by a flotilla and a couple of good aces is not going to dominate. Especially if the commander has the navigate skill for the extra click. Presumably there’s more to it than that so I’d be interested to hear ideas or experiences on what I’ve missed...

Remember that you are playing with the full set of obstacles on only a 3' x 3' play area. 'Large' base ships are going to have a lot of collisions. And the smaller play area makes it much harder to escape the cloud of black dice ranges more common to smaller craft - an ISD trying to run around the enemy fleet at high speed, as they might in the larger play formats, are going to find themselves flying off the table.

Additionally, there is also no real way to get more *ships* over the course of the campaign, so taking one large + one flotilla is going to seriously handicap your ability to fit it out for later-game battles...a more multi-ship focused opponent at 250 pts will likely have a handful of upgrades perfectly suited to each ship, while an ISD trying to max itself out will be either taking sub-optimal upgrades or just passing on the ability to use points entirely.

(Still, I think I'd generally agree that they feel one of the stronger options - but don't imagine it's all sunshine and roses, they definitely have some disadvantages in this format.)

My buddy is really good and he lost his first two games with his ISD II.

Hyperspace Assualt a Neb-b with LTT into his rear and the other game an Engine Tech'd Lib came rigut at him, went pew pew pew and ran away, then some TRC HHs stayed at long to finish.

The dense nature of RitR games does lead to a fair number of collisions for large based ships. The "sideboard" potential of upgrades also means it's easier for some people to hide anti-large ship tech in their list. You can also have counters in your "sideboard," but I'd expect ISDs, especially ones that want to command squadrons, to face a lot of slicer tools flotillas.

We're running 3 separate campaigns at Red Castle Games with a total of 14 different players. We only have a single ISD in the mix and that player lost their opening game. While powerful, it's not a surefire win. Even an ISD-I is such a huge chunk of your fleet total that it's difficult not to get out-activated, and if you're taking 3 ships you have almost no fighter cover (or none at all). That can be dangerous against a swarm of Y-Wings or Lancers (which have been a very popular choice so far as you can add squadrons, but you can't really add ships to push them so Rogue bombers are extremely helpful).

The RitR Task Force fleet building rules, 3x3 play area and campaign upgrade system change the game dramatically, which is why it's been so much fun for me to watch these matches unfold. Neb-Bs, Gladiators, the Pelta and Assault Frigate all shine in this format, as does the LMC80 Star Cruiser. I would wager the Arquitens is also a good option, but surprisingly no one has taken one in my campaigns so I haven't personally seen it in action.

As a wise Jedi master once said, you must unlearn what you have learned.

EDIT: If you want to see some games in action and get a feel for how a variety of ships operate, I've typed up battle reports of one of my campaigns here:

[Portland, OR] Red Castle's RitR Campaign 1: A New Hope

And Karneck streamed 2 rounds of another campaign from the weekend, this one I was playing in:

Streamed Red Castle's RitR Rogue One Campaign

I'm also really enjoying the role play aspect and that's driven my fleet choices. It's the Rim and ISDs are the new hotness so they're going to be more prevalent closer to the inner worlds. That leaves VSDs, Gladiators, and other clone wars tech to defend against terrorists.

I’m contemplating putting together a VSD list. I have some suspicions that they may work better than expected. ISDs are big and take a while to take down, however they will need several rounds to become powerful though.

In the middle of the second round of our campaign and only 1 imperial decided to bring and ISD, the others have a VIC and an Inderictor. 1 thing we are noticing is just how hard it is to get unique upgrades into your list.

I haven't started Rebellion in the Rim yet, but I did play a Taskforce Format game this past weekend using the "Harrow" title for the first time. It was a ton of fun on a 3x3 at 200 points. And the Victory is transformed with that title! With Engine Techs, you have Speed 3 available, and with your speed dial set to Speed 1, you can practically chase your own tail. I loved it.

I fielded a near-fully kitted out VSD-II with Soontir, Ciena, Boba Fett and Bossk and found it to be a great combo. (No commander as the format doesn't require one.)

23 hours ago, Red Castle Games said:

As a wise Jedi master once said, you must unlearn what you have learned.

It really is kind of amazing how much changes with lower fleet counts, and difficulty picking up unique upgrades and pilots. (Hint: you can start with two unique squadrons. BUY THEM. It's entirely possible those will be the only uniques you manage to pull the entire campaign)

Example: Everyone running Gladiators always runs them as Demo, and Demo wants to be a Glad-I, and that's that. But, at lower point values, the Glad-II is actually a pretty amazing ship! It has solid AA (as good as an Imperial-II), can push a pair of squadrons (Stele + Jendon, anyone? Although the Empire does have a number of other really strong pairings), and gets the possible Fighter Coordination Team + Flight Controllers + Flight Commander combo to really scoot the little buggers across the board and land them with a punch when needed. Would you ever build that combo in a 400-pt tournament with unlimited upgrades? GOOD GODS, NO! But it can get built out organically over the course of a couple missions in RitR, and here can be... surprisingly effective .

1 hour ago, xanderf said:

It really is kind of amazing how much changes with lower fleet counts, and difficulty picking up unique upgrades and pilots. (Hint: you can start with two unique squadrons. BUY THEM. It's entirely possible those will be the only uniques you manage to pull the entire campaign)

Example: Everyone running Gladiators always runs them as Demo, and Demo wants to be a Glad-I, and that's that. But, at lower point values, the Glad-II is actually a pretty amazing ship! It has solid AA (as good as an Imperial-II), can push a pair of squadrons (Stele + Jendon, anyone? Although the Empire does have a number of other really strong pairings), and gets the possible Fighter Coordination Team + Flight Controllers + Flight Commander combo to really scoot the little buggers across the board and land them with a punch when needed. Would you ever build that combo in a 400-pt tournament with unlimited upgrades? GOOD GODS, NO! But it can get built out organically over the course of a couple missions in RitR, and here can be... surprisingly effective .

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I was actually considering going squadless in round 1 with as many hulls as possible and then add some generic squads through the campaign.

14 hours ago, lunitic501 said:

In the middle of the second round of our campaign and only 1 imperial decided to bring and ISD, the others have a VIC and an Inderictor. 1 thing we are noticing is just how hard it is to get unique upgrades into your list.

That's funny, this is exactly the same compliment of Imperial ships in 1 of the campaigns I'm running.

As far as access to unique upgrades goes, I've found it's totally campaign dependent. Out of 3 campaigns at my store, 1 has no uniques, in another there are a few uniques per team and in the last the majority of players have a unique upgrade.

My only real issue with no unique upgrades are titles. There are a limited number of locations you can go to get a unique title. I've been wondering if you could get a unique upgrade if you spend a token or something during the reward step.

Reverse engineering RitR to work within CC might provide some answers to how best to do this?

4 hours ago, Fraggle_Rock said:

My only real issue with no unique upgrades are titles. There are a limited number of locations you can go to get a unique title. I've been wondering if you could get a unique upgrade if you spend a token or something during the reward step.

Reverse engineering RitR to work within CC might provide some answers to how best to do this?

How my team handles this: Build a base on a system with a Title reward slot. If I'm playing it right, one player each round can choose his reward from one of your base locations instead of from the system where he battled. Then try very hard to stack the deck in your favor on a 'plot' (green) mission, once per turn.

5 hours ago, Fraggle_Rock said:

My only real issue with no unique upgrades are titles. There are a limited number of locations you can go to get a unique title. I've been wondering if you could get a unique upgrade if you spend a token or something during the reward step.

Reverse engineering RitR to work within CC might provide some answers to how best to do this?

Honestly, I find the lack of unique titles to be refreshing. No Demolisher, Yavaris, Avenger, etc... it has reinvented how the game plays on the table, and how various ships that always have X title stapled to them are flown and upgraded. The fleet-building constraints and 3x3 map put a big emphasis on raw piloting, obstacle placement and leveraging objectives, and has some of my players reevaluating their 400-point game tactics which in turn is making them better players.

I feel the (somewhat) harder task of acquiring unique titles was entirely intentional by the designers. RitR is about telling your own stories, with your own commander that you name and build, and your own ships that you christen and create a history for, rather than with the commanders and ships we've all used many times over. Before you alter the rules for RitR, might I suggest playing it as written at least once? You may be surprised at how enjoyable it is to break away from the established ways of playing the game.

2 hours ago, Red Castle Games said:

Honestly, I find the lack of unique titles to be refreshing. No Demolisher, Yavaris, Avenger, etc... it has reinvented how the game plays on the table, and how various ships that always have X title stapled to them are flown and upgraded. The fleet-building constraints and 3x3 map put a big emphasis on raw piloting, obstacle placement and leveraging objectives, and has some of my players reevaluating their 400-point game tactics which in turn is making them better players.

I feel the (somewhat) harder task of acquiring unique titles was entirely intentional by the designers. RitR is about telling your own stories, with your own commander that you name and build, and your own ships that you christen and create a history for, rather than with the commanders and ships we've all used many times over. Before you alter the rules for RitR, might I suggest playing it as written at least once? You may be surprised at how enjoyable it is to break away from the established ways of playing the game.

I'm with you on this. I have really been enjoying this campaign and Armada in general more so then I have in a long time.

OP here. We played our first game and I agree with the sentiments above. There was an ISD which risked hitting a lot of obstacles and charging off the board. I definitely agree about the lack of unique cards being a good thing. Everyone enjoyed the format and the challenges of list building at this size

Unrelated thought. I wonder if on the 3x3 table it could be the B-Wing’s time to shine?

1 hour ago, Plessiez said:

OP here. We played our first game and I agree with the sentiments above. There was an ISD which risked hitting a lot of obstacles and charging off the board. I definitely agree about the lack of unique cards being a good thing. Everyone enjoyed the format and the challenges of list building at this size

Unrelated thought. I wonder if on the 3x3 table it could be the B-Wing’s time to shine?

Something like this at the start:

Name: Untitled Fleet
Faction: Rebel
Commander:

Assault:
Defense:
Navigation:

Assault Frigate Mk2 B (72)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 79 Points

CR90 Corvette A (44)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 51 Points

Squadrons:
• Ten Numb (19)
• Keyan Farlander (20)
• 2 x YT-1300 (26)
= 65 Points

Total Points: 195

With the Commander Skill of Independent Raider to start?

And this at the end:

Name: Untitled Fleet
Faction: Rebel
Commander:

Assault:
Defense:
Navigation:

Assault Frigate Mk2 B (72)
• Ray Antilles (7)
• Flight Controllers (6)
• Boosted Comms (4)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)

• All fighters, Follow Me! (5)
= 108 Points

CR90 Corvette A (44)
• Advanced Projectors (6)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 57 Points

Squadrons:
• Ten Numb (19)
• Keyan Farlander (20)
• 2 x YT-1300 (26)
• Jan Ors (19)
= 84 Points

Total Points: 249

With the Commander skills of Fighter Group Leader, and Command Bridge (for AFFM!) -Needs a Unique Squadron, Officer, and Fleet Command! - but that might be feasible.

Or this alternative:

Name: Untitled Fleet
Faction: Rebel
Commander:

Assault:
Defense:
Navigation:

Pelta Command Ship (60)
• Fighter Coordination Team (3)
= 63 Points

MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63)
• Assault Concussion Missiles (7)
= 70 Points

Squadrons:
• Ten Numb (19)
• Keyan Farlander (20)
• 2 x YT-1300 (26)
= 65 Points

Total Points: 198

Growing to:

Name: Untitled Fleet
Faction: Rebel
Commander:

Assault:
Defense:
Navigation:

Pelta Command Ship (60)
• Flight Commander (3)
• Fighter Coordination Team (3)
• Boosted Comms (4)
= 70 Points

MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63)
• Ezra Bridger (3)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Assault Concussion Missiles (7)
• H9 Turbolasers (8)
• Foresight (8)
= 93 Points

Squadrons:
• Ten Numb (19)
• Keyan Farlander (20)
• 2 x YT-1300 (26)
• Jan Ors (19)
= 84 Points

Total Points: 247

With Fighter Group Leader and maybe Concealment II?

The second list won't work. Two activations would need more raw firepower. And you have only the Pelta to activate squads, making it unable to navigate.

I’m playing against a dual Pelta list with B-wings and Fighter coordination teams. Shudders. Very effective moving those B-wings.

I should have been more clear. What I meant, with only two B-Wings it's dubious that it would work. If they can be engaged, or if they can't destroy the enemy ships before they destroy the Pelta, they become a liability rather than an asset. I think thiat list wants to be a bit of everything. Fast, high punching ship and heavy bombing, but at 200 or 250 points I don't think this thing would work out. Maybe with 2 GR-75 instead the Pelta it would.

The one I'm testing actually uses an H1 MC80 Command Cruiser and a Torp Hammerhead instead of the random ship pieces I threw in there

I want to try a Mando Gauntlet Fighter.

The B wing idea got me thinking about a transport or two loaded up with Rapid Launch Bays full of bees. I think you’d want to start with Bomber Command Center on the transport, though, and add RLB later. Might make for a nice tactical changeup once the other side is used to your non-RLB list.

I am having fun in my RitR playing a Victory and Quasar (w/bombers) list. We are a few rounds into it, and I have Master Navigator II as an ability, and the maneuverability of my Victory is crazy. It is giving me a "wrong" impression on what they are able to do.