I did a list a while back called “Aces High” with my two ISD’s in and lots of aces. It was recommended by most that just having the two ISD’s on their own was a little bit lonely, so I have amended it slightly. This time, no aces, just basic Ties.

Name: Aces Low

Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault: Advanced Gunnery
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Solar Corona

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Admiral Screed (26)
• Strategic Advisor (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (6)
• Spinal Armament (9)
= 175 Points

Imperial I (110)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Avenger (5)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 139 Points

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

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

Squadrons:
• 4 x TIE Fighter Squadron (32)
= 32 Points

Total Points: 396

The upgrades I chose are to try to give me an advantage if going up against big ships I don’t have like SSD or Star Hawk. Might put Screed on the BTA rather than the Cymoon, as I originally had a Kuat with Kallus, but changed it to a I and put Tua and ECM on there. I have considered dropping the Ties and QLT’s plus something else to fit a basic Corvus lifeboat in for Screed.

1 hour ago, Herr Style said:

I did a list a while back called “Aces High” with my two ISD’s in and lots of aces. It was recommended by most that just having the two ISD’s on their own was a little bit lonely, so I have amended it slightly. This time, no aces, just basic Ties.

Name: Aces Low

Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault: Advanced Gunnery
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Solar Corona

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Admiral Screed (26)
• Strategic Advisor (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (6)
• Spinal Armament (9)
= 175 Points

Imperial I (110)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Avenger (5)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 139 Points

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

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

Squadrons:
• 4 x TIE Fighter Squadron (32)
= 32 Points

Total Points: 396

The upgrades I chose are to try to give me an advantage if going up against big ships I don’t have like SSD or Star Hawk. Might put Screed on the BTA rather than the Cymoon, as I originally had a Kuat with Kallus, but changed it to a I and put Tua and ECM on there. I have considered dropping the Ties and QLT’s plus something else to fit a basic Corvus lifeboat in for Screed.

Heavy Turbolaser Turrets are not great. They have a strange way of interacting with your accuracies to make you feel like you spent 6 points for nothing (spoiler: you probably did). Drop those.

QLTs, if you ask me, are the sort of defenses you use in two situations: Either you’re an SSD, or you’re going squadless. In a list like this, drop them.

I would personally consider going back to the Kuat Destroyer over the ISD-I. To me, the ISD-I is only useful when you need a carrier that’s more durable and multifunctional than a Quasar Fire. You don’t need that; you have 4 TIEs and ample squadron command capability with your flotillas and the other ISD. Just being able to equip ECMs and not eat up your Officer slot is good with the Kuat, but the Ordnance slot is great as well.

You might not need Strategic Advisor. Try him out, see how it goes. If you don’t use him often, cut him.

19 hours ago, Cpt ObVus said:

Heavy Turbolaser Turrets are not great. They have a strange way of interacting with your accuracies to make you feel like you spent 6 points for nothing (spoiler: you probably did). Drop those.

QLTs, if you ask me, are the sort of defenses you use in two situations: Either you’re an SSD, or you’re going squadless. In a list like this, drop them.

I would personally consider going back to the Kuat Destroyer over the ISD-I.

Point taken. Kuat is my favourite ISD, so back to “stick to what you know best lad!”. And I like to run squadless hence why I still grip onto those QLT’s like a support rail. (And Agent Kallus!).

I had a think and came up with this change for the ISD’s, Gozanti and Ties stay the same: -

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Spinal Armament (9)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
= 145 Points

ISD Kuat Refit (112)
• Admiral Screed (26)
• Agent Kallus (3)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Assault Concussion Missiles (7)
• Avenger (5)
= 164 Points

This puts me at 391. The choices I think I have for the Cymoon are either swap LTT’s for XI7’s (or H9’s?), or to consider Expanded Launchers for ACM’s on the Kuat? The Kuat will have no trouble dealing with small ships, but I’m wondering about DCO’s limiting my ACM’s? That’s a lot of front end damage for any big ship to deal with.

20 hours ago, Cpt ObVus said:

Heavy Turbolaser Turrets are not great. They have a strange way of interacting with your accuracies to make you feel like you spent 6 points for nothing (spoiler: you probably did). Drop those.

QLTs, if you ask me, are the sort of defenses you use in two situations: Either you’re an SSD, or you’re going squadless. In a list like this, drop them.

I would personally consider going back to the Kuat Destroyer over the ISD-I. To me, the ISD-I is only useful when you need a carrier that’s more durable and multifunctional than a Quasar Fire. You don’t need that; you have 4 TIEs and ample squadron command capability with your flotillas and the other ISD. Just being able to equip ECMs and not eat up your Officer slot is good with the Kuat, but the Ordnance slot is great as well.

You might not need Strategic Advisor. Try him out, see how it goes. If you don’t use him often, cut him.

People have an inexplicable dislike of HTT which I can't understand. They're a perfect Salvo counter. Yes, you CAN brace all this damage if you want, but you can't salvo. OR you can salvo and redirect but you ARE going to take 8 of the 9 damage I've just dealt you.

I am using HTT and rerolling my accuracies for extra damage which works well for me.

23 hours ago, flatpackhamster said:

People have an inexplicable dislike of HTT which I can't understand. They're a perfect Salvo counter. Yes, you CAN brace all this damage if you want, but you can't salvo. OR you can salvo and redirect but you ARE going to take 8 of the 9 damage I've just dealt you.

I am using HTT and rerolling my accuracies for extra damage which works well for me.

Interesting take. I guess they’re better against Salvo than I’d considered, but I guess I’m just not that horribly afraid of Salvo. Only two ships in the game have it natively, and very few can gain if profitably. And I think against the big scary Salvo brick that is the Starhawk, I feel like there are just better options than Heavy Turbolaser Turrets. XI7s, for one.

On 4/9/2020 at 9:31 AM, Herr Style said:

Point taken. Kuat is my favourite ISD, so back to “stick to what you know best lad!”. And I like to run squadless hence why I still grip onto those QLT’s like a support rail. (And Agent Kallus!).

I had a think and came up with this change for the ISD’s, Gozanti and Ties stay the same: -

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Strategic Adviser (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Spinal Armament (9)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
= 145 Points

ISD Kuat Refit (112)
• Admiral Screed (26)
• Agent Kallus (3)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Assault Concussion Missiles (7)
• Avenger (5)
= 164 Points

This puts me at 391. The choices I think I have for the Cymoon are either swap LTT’s for XI7’s (or H9’s?), or to consider Expanded Launchers for ACM’s on the Kuat? The Kuat will have no trouble dealing with small ships, but I’m wondering about DCO’s limiting my ACM’s? That’s a lot of front end damage for any big ship to deal with.

I just dunno if you need Kallus. What you do need is to shake some points free. Drop him.

I dunno how married you are to Screed, but there are cheaper Admirals who would probably do very well here; even Ozzel would be fine. Romodi, Jerjerrod... I guess I just don’t love Screed unless I’m going with lots of Heavy Ion Emplacements- and Advanced Concussion Missiles- type cards. What I’m trying to get to is a place where you can take Expanded Launchers and also get a better bid than you have right now, because black dice love bids, and you could turn that Kuat into a murderess.

4 hours ago, Cpt ObVus said:

Interesting take. I guess they’re better against Salvo than I’d considered, but I guess I’m just not that horribly afraid of Salvo. Only two ships in the game have it natively, and very few can gain if profitably. And I think against the big scary Salvo brick that is the Starhawk, I feel like there are just better options than Heavy Turbolaser Turrets. XI7s, for one.

I haven't played loads of games against a Starhawk, but I have lost an ISD and an Onager to salvo, and both those times Salvo cost me the game, too. That probably gives me a specific perspective that a more capable player doesn't have!

2 hours ago, flatpackhamster said:

I haven't played loads of games against a Starhawk, but I have lost an ISD and an Onager to salvo, and both those times Salvo cost me the game, too. That probably gives me a specific perspective that a more capable player doesn't have!

Heh, that’s just bad luck! Salvo’s good, don’t get me wrong. I just tend to mitigate it through accuracy, at least so far. The last few times I’ve flown against Starhawks, I think I got Salvoed about once a game... though spending those accuracy results on Salvo does make the opponent’s other defense tokens go farther. I’ve also been using a lot of Onagers at extreme range lately, so there is that.

On 4/9/2020 at 10:40 AM, flatpackhamster said:

People have an inexplicable dislike of HTT which I can't understand. They're a perfect Salvo counter. Yes, you CAN brace all this damage if you want, but you can't salvo. OR you can salvo and redirect but you ARE going to take 8 of the 9 damage I've just dealt you.

I am using HTT and rerolling my accuracies for extra damage which works well for me.

I'm not a HTT hater, but how exactly can you reroll your Accuracy's? I don't see any equipped upgrade cards that grant rerolls. Your Cymoon doesn't have an Ion Cannon slot for adding Leading Shots. Ordnance Experts would be pointless. And you don't have Veteran Gunners equipped or Vader as your Commander or Officer.

That leaves you with just Concentrate Fire tokens for rerolling a single die. So you might be able to reroll one extra Accuracy for an extra Hit or Crit. Is that what you meant?

Not that it matters because the Cymoon rolls mostly red dice anyway and the odds of getting Red Accuracy's are very low. You're more likely to use whatever rerolls you have for Blanks, not Accuracy's.

If you were using a different ISD, like the ISD2, you'd have the Ion Cannon slot and it would be a different story. Then you could equip Leading Shots for rerolls; or, one of my favourites: SW-7 Ion Batteries. I like SW-7 because it takes the element of chance out of the equation so you aren't relying on rerolls to change unneeded Accuracy's into damage; the card does it for you, and only costs 1 point more than Leading Shots. The only value of rerolling blue dice is if you want Blue Crits, but that would't apply if you equipped Leading Shots or SW-7.

I think the combination of the Cymoon, HTT, Spinal Armament, and Gunnery Team is solid. I just don't agree with your reroll statement.

Also, I don't understand the point of Screed as your Commander. None of your upgrade cards use Crits, so what's the point of Screed spending a die to convert another die to a Crit?

There are cheaper Imperial Commanders whose abilities you could actually use, including: Motti, Sloane, Romodi, Konstantine, Jerjerrod, Tagge, or even Ozzel.

As commanders go, I’m done with Ozzel for now, as he’s been my main guy for a while. Motti or perhaps JJ, but Screed does offer a guaranteed crit (or hit/crit on the Kuat). I was thinking that if I completely wiff my Cymoon dice, then IF gives me a hit, Screed gives me a crit, and LTT gives me a Reroll.

12 hours ago, Herr Style said:

As commanders go, I’m done with Ozzel for now, as he’s been my main guy for a while. Motti or perhaps JJ, but Screed does offer a guaranteed crit (or hit/crit on the Kuat). I was thinking that if I completely wiff my Cymoon dice, then IF gives me a hit, Screed gives me a crit, and LTT gives me a Reroll.

Yeah, if it’s me, though, I’m dropping HTT & Strategic Advisor or IF or something, and dumping Screed for Vader.

Screed specializes in getting special crit cards to work. Vader is generally better, but obviously more expensive.

I think I will look at loading up with something Screed can work with or drop him for someone else. Just not Ozzel, as I’m looking for a change from my normal.

2 hours ago, Herr Style said:

I think I will look at loading up with something Screed can work with or drop him for someone else. Just not Ozzel, as I’m looking for a change from my normal.

Branching out is good! Screed is great with ACMs, APTs, and HIEs, in particular, because the damage potential you lose is made up for by the bonus damage your special critical effects generate. Like, a Raider-II with Disposable Capacitors and HIEs is a 60-point ship (officers and other bells and whistles optional). So at long range, it throws four (we’re assuming you Concentrate Fire) front arc blues at the enemy. Against most opponents, what’s this going to accomplish? It’s a pretty wide range, and depends on the enemy’s defense token suite and all, but maybe you put in 1-2 damage when the smoke clears, unless you got lucky and hit a natural critical that *didn’t* get Evaded. With Screed, you lose a die, yes, but that probably equates to losing one damage, and the Heavy Ion Emplacements give you an automatic extra 3 damage (assuming the enemy has shields on the defending and adjacent zones). Which means you probably just put 4-5 damage in. That’s pretty good for an opening salvo from a 60-point ship.

Advanced Concussion Missiles and Advanced Proton Torpedoes give similar benefits, and it’s usually worth it to drop a die with Screed to make these effects happen.

In a typical fleet, with none of these cards (or maybe just one), there’s typically another, more impactful commander you might try. Sure, if you have lots of blank-prone reds, Screed can smush two blanks together and make a crit, but check out Romodi and some reroll options; he’s dirt cheap, and I find he’s great with longer-ranged obstruction-prone ships. Or the aforementioned Vader (though he’s super expensive).

On 4/8/2020 at 11:57 PM, Herr Style said:

I did a list a while back called “Aces High” with my two ISD’s in and lots of aces. It was recommended by most that just having the two ISD’s on their own was a little bit lonely, so I have amended it slightly. This time, no aces, just basic Ties.

Name: Aces Low

Faction: Imperial
Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault: Advanced Gunnery
Defense: Contested Outpost
Navigation: Solar Corona

ISD Cymoon 1 Refit (112)
• Admiral Screed (26)
• Strategic Advisor (4)
• Intensify Firepower! (6)
• Gunnery Team (7)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (6)
• Spinal Armament (9)
= 175 Points

Imperial I (110)
• Minister Tua (2)
• Boarding Troopers (3)
• Quad Laser Turrets (5)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Avenger (5)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 139 Points

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

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

Squadrons:
• 4 x TIE Fighter Squadron (32)
= 32 Points

Total Points: 396

The upgrades I chose are to try to give me an advantage if going up against big ships I don’t have like SSD or Star Hawk. Might put Screed on the BTA rather than the Cymoon, as I originally had a Kuat with Kallus, but changed it to a I and put Tua and ECM on there. I have considered dropping the Ties and QLT’s plus something else to fit a basic Corvus lifeboat in for Screed.

Haven't seen it mentioned, but you might like to replace your QLT and such with Reserve Hangar Bays. That might help your ties to respawn and continue to tie-up enemy squads over more turns