I'm curious if anyone could point me in the right direction with this. Namely: a guide that explains how the different factions behave.

I come from X-Wing (and a couple other games) so I'm kinda expecting each faction to have different general tactics advantages and things they like to do. Given this is FFG, that's their bread and butter.

So ...

If anyone has a suggestion on where to look with regards to picking factions: please let me know!

@Crabbok has a ton of videos on youtube. He is a great resource, and one of if not the strongest advocate we have for this game.

There’s also http://cannotgetyourshipout.blogspot.com/2017/02/armada-101-faction-breakdown.html?m=1

CGYSO is an amazing resource, highly recommended for every aspect of the game

If you want to choose a faction for SW: Armada there are three questions you should ask yourself:

1) Do you like a side or character in films or comics best? If you like imitating the sound of a TIE fighter or you're a fan of mean Darth Vader killing dozens of rebels in Rogue One, why taking rebels? If you fell instantly in love with princess Leia, because of her hair style and have to sing the rebel theme as soon as you see an X-wing, then don't stick with the slaves of the Emperor.

2) What's your playstyle: Force or finesse? It's hard to give a just description for both factions, because they vary widly within factions. Both sides have 20* (rebels) to 22** (imps) different ship cards and 10 (rebels) to 12 (imps) Commanders. All Commanders provide a unique playstyle for their fleets. The possibilities in list building are nearly infinite. But if I dare to simplify, I would say: The Empire is more of a direct and overwhelming type and rebels try to outfly their opponents.

3) Do you have a buddy who'll play the "other" faction? In my gaming group we like to play rebels vs. imps in casual games. We sometimes do mirror-matches but prefer to play good vs bad guys***. If you have a friend who will play/prefer faction A, take B.

The best advice I could give: try to find some Armada gamers and lend some stuff for a few games. Then buy what was more fun to play.

* +2 when the Starhawk arrives
** not counting the Executor-class variants of SSD; +2 when Onager SD arrives
*** we never agree which factions are the good guys though

I'll also throw in a plug for Steel strategy here.

Back in the day it used to be:

Rebels favored:

-shields

-broadsides

-small ships

-red dice

-expensive generalist squadrons with high hull points.

-good maneuver charts.

-cheaper ships.

Imperials favored:

-hull points

-forward firepower

-black dice

-cheaper specialist squadrons with high speed.

-ships with relatively high squadron values.

-superior firepower

Of course, this was all a long time ago.

cool, thanks for the tips with this one. 😃

Think of how x-wing 1.0 plays for Empire and Rebels. Now reverse that in Armada. X-wing Imps are fragile but highly maneuverable and fast while rebels are tanky and powerful but not as agile as Imps. Armada works the opposite. Rebels are usually lots of smaller fast ships with Imps being the tanks. It is a generalization, of course, but that gives you a feel for the differences between them. Yes, there are exceptions to both games and factions but this should be close enough for starters.

I will be (and am) very, very curious to see how the Republic and Separatists make their own mark in the game. I have to assume the Republic is going to lean heavily on Jedi upgrade cards, since most of their ships and squadrons should be comparatively under-powered (at least when naked) compared to the Empire. That can't be taken strictly as a rule, of course... an ARC-170 and a TIE Fighter are nothing alike. But speaking in generalizations...

One thing I feel is worth mentioning is that the Empire squadrons are cheaper and more specialized than their Republic counterparts.

6 hours ago, Rmcarrier1 said:

I will be (and am) very, very curious to see how the Republic and Separatists make their own mark in the game. I have to assume the Republic is going to lean heavily on Jedi upgrade cards, since most of their ships and squadrons should be comparatively under-powered (at least when naked) compared to the Empire. That can't be taken strictly as a rule, of course... an ARC-170 and a TIE Fighter are nothing alike. But speaking in generalizations...

And CIS would maybe be cheap spammy and disposable with strong key commanders/upgrades that boost those things around them