I recently tested out my Vader Onager build against 3 of my friends' Wave 8 builds.
FYI: We agreed beforehand that we had to include at least one Wave 8 ship in our fleet builds, because we wanted to gain experience with them, so I knew I'd be dealing with a Starhawk or Onager when I designed this list.
Vader ISD2-Devastator & OnagerSD-Cataclysm-SCBT 2x Gozanti
Imperial II (120)
• Darth Vader (36)
• Reeva Demesne (4)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams (6)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Ion Cannon Batteries (5)
• Heavy Fire Zone (4)
• Devastator (10)
= 199 Points
Onager Star Destroyer (110)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Gunnery Chief Varnillian (6)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Superheavy Composite Beam Turbolasers (7)
• Cataclysm (5)
= 139 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Slicer Tools (7)
= 30 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23)
• Comms Net (2)
= 25 Points
Squadrons:
= 0 Points
Total Points: 393
Assault:
Rift Assault
Defense:
Rift Ambush
Navigation:
Infested Fields
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My build's strategy is that Vader provides rerolls, the ISD2 tanks with ECM and deals extra damage with Devastator, the Onager uses Cataclysm to aim and fire SCBT every Round, and the two Gozanti's provide support and activation advantage.
With 5 activations and a competitive initiative bid (for a Wave 8 build), I have a good chance of being 1st player and to last-first with my Onager or flagship. This should allow me to move at least 1 ship away from an opposing Onager's Ignition token. If Concord freezes one of my ships, I can use a Nav token to speed up to 1 either on my 5th activation or 1st activation of the next round. The combination of ICB and Slicer Tools can trap the Concord or Rakehell at speed 0.
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Bat Rep 1: Agate Amity Yavaris Bombers build.
Starhawk Battleship Mark I (140)
• Kyrsta Agate (20)
• Walex Blissex (5)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Caitken and Shollan (6)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
• Spinal Armament (9)
• Amity (6)
= 199 Points
Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (57)
• Wedge Antilles (4)
• Auxiliary Shields Team (3)
• Heavy Fire Zone (4)
• Yavaris (5)
= 73 Points
GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Toryn Farr (7)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Bright Hope (2)
= 35 Points
Squadrons:
• Luke Skywalker (20)
• Jan Ors (19)
• 2 x B-wing Squadron (28)
• 2 x X-wing Squadron (26)
= 93 Points
Total Points: 400
Assault:
Precision Strike
Defense:
Fighter Ambush
Navigation:
Superior Positions
I was 1st player and chose Precision Strike. I used Onager to bombard Starhawk Round 1, then switched targets to Yavaris and destroyed it in Round 3. I used my flagship's Phylon Q7 Tractor Beam to slow Amity, but only delayed its ram until Round 4. I originally tried to turn my flagship to evade Amity but realized it would be rammed on side and I also couldn't use Devastator, so I chose to turn back and took it head-on. Devastator and Cataclysm destroyed Amity at the beginning of Round 5. GR-75 didn't matter because Opponent was tabled before bombers could inflict significant damage. VICTORY.
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Bat Rep 2: Romodi Rakehell Interdictor build.
Onager Testbed (96)
• General Romodi (20)
• Director Krennic (8)
• Gunnery Chief Varnillian (6)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Orbital Bombardment Particle Cannons (5)
• Rakehell (4)
= 143 Points
Interdictor Suppression Refit (90)
• Reeva Demesne (4)
• Disposable Capacitors (3)
• G-8 Experimental Projector (8)
• G7-X Grav Well Projector (2)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
• Interdictor (3)
= 119 Points
Arquitens Light Cruiser (54)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 68 Points
Arquitens Light Cruiser (54)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 68 Points
Squadrons:
= 0 Points
Total Points: 398
Assault:
Advanced Gunnery
Defense:
Asteroid Tactics
Navigation:
Infested Fields
I was 1st player and chose Advanced Gunnery rather than an Objective that would've given Romodi an obvious advantage -- which was Opponent's plan to get Advanced Gunnery as 2nd player. Opp placed grav well token on left side of DZ, opposite of where Rakehell would be deployed. Opp deployed Arqs on right side. I deployed flagship on right side at speed 3 and had just enough room to deploy Cataclysm on rear-left of DZ by angling ship left to avoid the grav well token. Opp deployed Onager TB last, speed 0, and aimed at my Onager SD.
I used by 1st activation to move Cataclysm left at speed 3 but wasn't able to get out of OTB's Special Arc. Fortunately, Rakehell couldn't fire on Round 1 and banked a CF token. Instead of rushing through the obstacles to face the Interdictor head-on, I turned my flagship right on Round 1 and then made a wide left turn Rounds 2-3 to avoid obstacles and approached Rakehell through Opp's DZ. I used Phylon Q7 to slow down one Arq and destroyed it on 1st activation of Round 3. Opp's second Arq depleted my flagship's right and rear shields, but it couldn't turn around to pursue ISD2 because of poor maneuverability. Opp's Interdictor used G-8 to slow my flagship and attacked with Disposable Capacitors and HIE during Round 3. Interdictor nearly one-shotted my Goz-ST using DC, but Goz Evaded 1 blue Crit and survived. Goz-ST activated and changed Rakehell's next top dial (for Round 4) to Squadron Command to prevent speed-0 turn or increasing to speed 1. Opp's OTB bombarded my OSD Rounds 2-3 and depleted its front shields and inflicted 2 damage; suffered Injured Crew and discarded Redirect token. The OTB was a stationary target so I didn't need to use CF token to re-position Ignition token during Round 3; bombarded OTB at long range and reduced its front shields to 2. Start of Round 4, Cataclysm used CF token to bombard OTB at medium range, depleted its front shields, and dealt 3 face-down damage cards. My OSD turned at speed 2 to escape the OTB's Special Battery arc and aimed at Interdictor. My flagship used tractor beam to slow Int to speed 1, exchanged long range fire, and was slowed again by G-8. Opp's Arq was out-of-range of my flagship, collided with asteroid field while turning, and suffered face-up damage: Ruptured Engine. Rakehell attacked Goz-ST with 2 red dice from side arc, but Scattered; Rakehell couldn't move. Goz-ST changed OTB's next dial to SC again; I didn't dare attack the OTB because of its Salvo so I the moved Goz-ST into its rear arc. In Round 5, Rakehell rolled a blue Accuracy (twice!) to block Scatter and destroyed Goz-ST with a red Hit. During Rounds 5 & 6, my OSD bombarded Interdictor and destroyed it, and my flagship attacked Rakehell and destroyed it. Opp's Arq suffered 1 damage per Round from Ruptured Engine and ended with 2 hull remaining. VICTORY.
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Battle Rep 3 : Dodonna Concord Squadrons build.
Starhawk Battleship Mark I (140)
• General Dodonna (20)
• Kyrsta Agate (5)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Caitken and Shollan (6)
• Heavy Ion Emplacements (9)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Magnite Crystal Tractor Beam Array (10)
• Concord (12)
= 213 Points
MC30c Torpedo Frigate (63)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Assault Concussion Missiles (7)
• XI7 Turbolasers (6)
• Foresight (8)
= 95 Points
GR-75 Medium Transports (18)
• Toryn Farr (7)
• Bomber Command Center (8)
• Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
• Bright Hope (2)
= 40 Points
Squadrons:
• Luke Skywalker (20)
• Norra Wexley (17)
• Gold Squadron (12)
= 49 Points
Total Points: 397
Assault:
Surprise Attack
Defense:
Fleet Ambush
Navigation:
Superior Positions
I chose 1st player and selected Fleet Ambush. I deployed my Gozanti's in the Ambush Zone, my flagship slightly right of middle, and Onager on right side flagship, aimed diagonally left toward middle of enemy's DZ. My opponent deployed GR-75 middle, Starhawk opposite my flagship, and MC30 far left.
During my first two activations, I got both Gozanti's out of harm's way and Scattered a long range shot from the Starhawk. I used a CF token from Goz-CN to fire Cataclysm's SCBT at long range of Starhawk: Vader's rerolls only provided a red Accuracy and a red Hit; since blocking Brace was pointless, I chose to swap the Accuracy for Varnillian's red Blank. At the end of Cataclysm's activation, I placed the Ignition token near the Starhawk's front-left.
During Round 2, after I activated Goz-CN and passed CF token to Cataclysm, my Opp made a critical mistake by activating his MC30 and continued its wide flanking right turn. I activated Cataclysm, moved the Ignition token, and took an opportunistic Special Battery shot on the GR-75 at medium range. With Vader and LTT rerolls and Varnillian's red Accuracy, I blocked both defense tokens and inflicted 5 damage to one-shot the GR-75. (My opponent admitted that my ploy of placing the Ignition Token next to the Starhawk worked: He assumed I would continue targeting his Starhawk.) After that, the big ships exchanged fire each round until the Starhawk was destroyed in Round 4 by a close range Ignition attack from Cataclysm. Opp's MC30 flanked my flagship and broadsided its rear arc in Round 4; IO'd my Brace and ACM took 3 shields. I chose to Brace anyway to reduce to 3 Hits, Redirected 1, and suffered 2 face-down damage cards. My Goz-CN Scattered the MC30's front arc attack. Opp's squadrons were minimally effective without the GR-75 to activate them. Rounds 3-5, I used my flagship's Heavy Fire Zone and OSD's Linked Turbolaser Towers to kill Gold Squadron and nearly killed Luke and Norra Wexley. The MC30 was travelling too fast to turn and attacked my OSD's rear arc at medium range; IO’d Brace, Redirected 1, rear shield depleted, no hull damage. I Salvo-ed but inflicted little damage because of Foresight. At the end of Round 5, we called the game because his MC30 was speeding out of range of my ships and his squadrons would probably die during Round 6. VICTORY.
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In conclusion, I was very pleased with my Vader Onager fleet build's performance. The Onager Star Destroyer with Superheavy Composite Beam Turbolasers was incredibly powerful at close-med range and Cataclysm was a must for "shooting from the hip". Vader was the MVP thanks to his rerolls, and Varnillian was runner-up with superb dice swaps during pivotal attacks. Reeva Demesne helped against bomber spam, but she didn't "save the day" like I hoped she would. My flagship was rarely attacked by a ship more than once per Round and needed to Brace twice. I believe adding the Phylon Q7 Tractor Beam to my ISD2 was a wise choice because it disrupted my opponents' ship speeds, especially when the Starhawks tried to charge in at speed 2. (I had a mini-debate with my friends about how the ISD2 shouldn't be able to use Tractor Beam against a Starhawk because the battleship is larger than an ISD -- but they're both large ships, so the ISD can.) If Amity had attacked at close range and rammed ISD2 in Round 3, instead 4, it might've destroyed my flagship.
I realized that my 0-squadron build was vulnerable to squadron spam, but the Onager's Special Battery attacks were deadly to squadron-pushing small ships, like the GR-75 and Yavaris, which stranded the squadrons without Squadron Commands. With an Onager on the table, I believe that squadron-heavy builds need a large ship to serve as a squadron-activating heavy carrier. The Starhawk looks intimidating, but its non-combat "super weapon" is ineffective and the battleship can be double-teamed by two large ships, especially if one is an Onager.
My only regret is that I didn't get to trap the Concord at speed 0 like I had planned.
Since I wasn't defeated, I plan on using the same build next week. My friends are designing new builds to counter my Vader Onager build, and they aren't obligated to bring a Wave 8 ship next time we battle.
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PS: In case anyone is interested, the other battles went as follows:
- Romodi Rakehell Interdictor defeated Dodonna Concord Squadrons: Interdictor slowed Concord but was destroyed; Arqs double-teamed MC30; Rakehell and Arqs wore down Concord; squadrons moderately damaged Rakehell before Dodonna Rebels were tabled.
- Romodi Rakehell Interdictor defeated Agate Amity Yavaris Bombers: Interdictor slowed Amity but was rammed, then destroyed by Yavaris' bombers; Rakehell destroyed Amity; Yavaris was destroyed by Arqs before B-Wings reached Rakehell.
- Dodonna Concord Squadrons defeated Agate Amity Yavaris Bombers: MC30 double-arced Yavaris' side arc and destroyed it; Amity tried to ram Concord but was frozen by Concord's MCTBA; Concord's squadrons couldn't stop Amity's bombers; Amity and bombers nearly destroyed Concord; but MC30 broadsided Amity and tabled Agate's Rebels.
Revised build names with Commanders