Traveller724
-
Content Count
25 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Traveller724
-
-
ARMADA 2015 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK
ARMADA 300pt TOURNAMENT, Wave 1, 5 GAMES.
After Action Report by Patrick Doyle.
5th Place at the 2015 Armada World Championship.
With the help of Greg Whitaker, we came in First Place at the Armada Team Championship. I hope to have an AAR for that tournament soon. It was great time and highly recommend going.
MY LIST:
AFIIB
• Paragon
• Enhanced Armaments
• Advanced Projectors
• Weapons Liaison
AFIIB
• Enhanced Armaments
• Advanced Projectors
• Weapons Liaison
CR90
• Jaina’s Light
• Garm Bel Iblis
Fighter Support
• 3 A-Wing Squadrons
Here is my battle report from the Armada Tournament at Worlds 2015.
My general plan was to run the Assault Frigates in an offset column while keeping the CR-90A on the non-engaged side of the Assault Frigates. Since Garm gives me a full load of tokens to start off with, I used Navigate as my default command to maneuver myself into the best possible position for the engagement. The weapons liaison gave me the flexibility to give a Concentrate Fire command when needed. I do not think I used a single Squadron command dial the entire tournament. I also tried to estimate which ship would get the brunt of enemy fire and made sure to toss in the occasional Engineering Command.
Using Navigate commands would give me the best chance of attacking a target with 2 arcs, or in the worst case, allow me to maneuver to avoid trouble. When it turned out that I didn’t need a Navigate command, I could spend a token to Concentrate Fire. One of my assault frigates was Paragon, but the ability didn’t activate very often. However, in some cases my opponent consciously tried to avoid Paragon. By affecting their maneuvers, Paragon still had value.
I only brought 3 A-wing squadrons. I grudgingly got rid of Tycho, but against the opponents I fought, it turned out to be the right decision. Against a superior fighter force, my A-wings were simply there to buy my ships a round or maybe 2 without enemy fighter attacks. If my opponent didn’t have fighters, they represented supplemental damage against their ships.
Finally, my point cost was only 291. I had made the conscious decision that I wanted to control the missions that we flew. Shooting first is a big advantage, but I like seeing where my opponent moves to help me set up for the next round and I like the advantages conveyed by being the second player. I chose Most Wanted, Fire Lanes and Dangerous Territory for my missions. I played Dangerous Territory in the first and last games, while the other 3 games used the Most Wanted objective.
I won 4 out of 5 games, but it got off to a rocky start...
Game 1: Josiah Burkhardsmeier, Rebel. Player 1.
Dangerous Territory
AFIIB: General Dadonna, Gunnery Teams, X17 Turbolasers, Electronic Counter Measures
Nebulon-B Escort: Yavaris, Veteran Captain (“Destroyed” during exercise)
Nebulon-B Support: Salvation, Veteran Captain, X17
x3 B-Wing Squadrons
x1 A-Wing Squadrons (“Desroyed” during the exercise)
299 Points
Admiral’s Log, Minntooine:
Before departing Minntooine for strikes against the Imperial controlled system of Dellalt we first engaged in a training exercise against General Dadonna’s task force. This would be my first engagement controlling my task force from a Corellian Corvette. Paragon’s command and control suite has not been working reliably since we took damage a few weeks ago, and the techs can’t seem to find the problem. I’ve known the captain of Jaina’s Light, Captain Vok, for many years and he assures me that fighting from the non-engaged side of the Assault frigates will have advantages. We can maintain more reliable communications if we encounter heavy jamming and that Jaina’s Light is less likely to be targeted by the enemy than an assault frigate. I decided to go with his recommendations.
Admiral Akbar had arrived from Mon Calamari to observe the exercises. As it turns out the engagement went very badly and there were even questions as to whether our force was ready for the mission. Fortunately, I managed to convince Admiral Akbar, against his better judgement, to allow us to proceed with our campaign plans since other elements of the plan had already been set in motion. (Reference, see page 108 of the Star Wars Atlas).
SETUP: My obstacle set up was all wrong in this fight and I flew it even worse. Later, I repeated the set up mistakes in my final game. I had a decent formation planned before worlds and for some reason I chose not to use the formation as planned. As the second player, I got the first obstacle placement and put the Space station near the center of his edge of the map without thinking about how bad of an idea that was. The flawed thinking started with the notion that I could get my enemy to fly through obstacles to inflict damage on himself, thereby making it easier for me to destroy his force. About all that happens when a ship intensionally runs over an obstacle early in the game is that it costs him a command dial using the engineering command. It’s not significant and you allow the enemy to gain additional points. This mistake cost me quite a few points.
His Nebulon-Bs were set up in the center near the obstacles with his AFIIB set up a little to the left of his Nebulon-B Frigates. My ships were set across from his force, angled a little to my right, on an intercept angle with the Dadonna’s flagship.
THE FIGHT and LESSONS LEARNED: His Nebulon-Bs came straight in while his AFIIB set up to attack my corvette flagship which I stupidly allowed to get ahead of the assault frigates. I put several broadsides into the front of the approaching Nebulon-Bs. Furthermore, I allowed my corvette and assault frigates to get too close to the B-Wings and he took advantage of the opportunity to get double attacks on the Paragon by using Yavaris.
The fighter battle went poorly as well. His A-wing squadron intercepted and engaged 2 of my A-wings and managed to take out both squadrons, though it died in the process. My remaining A-wing engaged his B-wings as they were making their attack runs on the Paragon. With the tactical support of Yavaris, his B-wings made quick work of my A-wing squadron, flagship and the Paragon. My other Assault Frigate was able to finish off Yavaris, but it was too little too late.
Late in the game, I had 1 remaining assault frigate. I had the choice of trying to disengage or turning hard left to get a broadside shot on Salvation, and to possible get an objective token. The hard left turn was a bad idea and my last ship was killed. The final lesson from this is that you should look at your situation realistically, and if necessary, make the decision to save what you can from destruction. The ship was worth 91 points, and while there was no guarantee that it would have survived had I ran, it had to be a better bet than doubling down on an already bad situation.
Next, my opponent had 2 ships equipped with X17 turbolasers. They proved very good on an assault frigate or a Nebulon-B. I have decide that the way to deal with X17s is to use engineering commands to transfer shields back to the damaged shields. Any remaining engineering points can be used to add additional shields, but the focus should be to move shield points to the engaged side. Furthermore, you can maneuver to present a difference shield to the opponent. The trouble comes when there is more than 1 ship firing X17s at the same shield.
Finally, I had entered the tournament with a plan for a formation, and at the last minute, I decided to scrap the plan during the set-up. If you have a decent plan, stick with it until you have good reason to change it.
Result: 1-9 Loss
Game 2: Troy Perry, Imperial. Player 1.
Most Wanted
Victory II (Destroyed)
• Grand Moff Tarkin Commanding
• Weapons Liaison
• Gunnery Team
Victory II (Destroyed)
• Weapons Liaison
• Gunnery Team
X4 TIE Advanced (3 Destroyed)
Major Rymer
292 Points
Admiral’s Log:
The training exercise exposed many flaws. We used the travel time to run many combat simulations and to conduct as much training as possible and I felt confident that we would do better. We have reports of 2 of the new Victory II-class Star Destroyers conducting terror operations in the Dellalt system. We intend to go in to put an end to their depredations against the people of that star system.
SETUP and Battle: The picture shows the setup I had intended at the start of the tournament. The CR-90A would generally move first while the assault frigates fly roughly in a column formation but offset so that either assault frigate could move. The frigate on the right moves at speed 3 to get ahead of the left frigate, while also acting as a screen for the corvette. Since the corvette is Jaina’s Light, she can make unobstructed attacks from behind Paragon. If the enemy does fire at Jaina’s Light, it at least cost the enemy a die from being obstructed, and the shot will most likely be from long range, allowing her to use an evade to remove another die. If she does take damage, she can always pour on the speed and disengage. The fact that Garm gives free command tokens allows me to focus on maneuvering into formation. My ships continued on course until reaching the edge of the map. They proceeded to hook sharply to the right while the VSDs and their fighters tried to pin me in the corner.
My A-Wings pinned his fighters while my ships focussed on one VSD at a time. In the confines of the corner I made sure to use as Navigate as the primary command to prevent leaving the map.
Lessons Learned: What I did right in this battle was to keep my fighters spread out so that only one at a time could be engaged by the TIE-Advanced fighters. I was able to engage first with my fighters and prevented them from making attacks against my ships while destroying 3 TIE-Advanced squadrons to the loss of only 1. No rebel ships or fighters were destroyed.
Overall this battle went well.
Result: 10-0 Win
Game 3: Pablo Gamboa, Imperial. Player 1. Most Wanted.
Victory II
• Grand Moff Tarkin Commanding
• Defense Liaison
Victory II (Objective ship, Destroyed)
Victory II
296 Points
Admiral’s Log:
We remained in the Dellalt system to provide humanitarian aid while we awaited replacement fighters and repaired battle damage. We are nearly ready to move on to our next target. I remain concerned about the the Imperial shuttles that made it into hyperspace after the destruction of the Victory II in the last battle. Sensors had identified the Victory II as Grand Moff Tarkin’s flagship. While I am hopeful that we put an end to that criminal, something tells me that he is the sort that would have gotten away.
Admiral’s Log, Supplemental: Three additional Victory II-class Star Destroyers have jumped into this system and have made a direct course for us. Just as I feared, that shuttle must have warned a nearby garrison. They are are probably expecting us to run, however, if we do, the civilian population in this system will suffer. This will be a tough fight. They are launching fighters, but they are on course to attack other targets in the system. Probably a ploy to get us to split our forces. Unfortunately, the local defenses will have to deal with the fighters while we attack the Star Destroyers.
Admiral’s Log, Supplemental: They approached in a line-abreast formation. We cut across their longitudinal axis from their port to starboard side. I gave orders to focus fire at the Star Destroyer on the starboard side of their formation. They had clearly identified the corvette as the ship that I was on, so the little corvette would have to keep its distance. We engaged and after the destruction of the target Star Destroyer, the Imperials retreated, leaving their fighters behind, alone and out of fuel.
I am happy to report that we took no losses despite some damage to one of the assault frigates. Additionally, communications intercepted radio traffic indicating that Grand Moff Tarkin was in fact commanding this force. There must be a base nearby if he was able to rally a second force in such a short time.
Lessons Learned: I was able to destroy the objective ship without losing any ships of my own. One of the assault frigates sustained 3 damage points. Despite those positive items I made 2 big mistakes: (1) I forgot to fire one of my ships from point blank range. I allowed myself to rush without thoughtfully going through my checklist. (2) I forgot to collect command tokens on round 5 for Garm Bel Iblis’ ability. This was the third game of the first day of the tournament. I had also played all 8 rounds of the X-Wing Tournament the day before, so I’m going with “brain fried” as my excuse, but that is why having a fleet specific checklist is useful…as long as you use it.
The Most Wanted scenario worked well with my force. When firing at the objective ship, I could get as many as three additional dice, 1 from Enhanced Armaments, 1 from firing at the objective ship and the other from the Concentrate fire token.
Result: 9-1 Win
Game 4: Nate Collins, Imperial. Player 1. Most Wanted (he came in 14th)
Victory I
• Admiral Screed
Victory I
Gladiator I (Objective Ship, Destroyed)
• Demolisher
Gladiator I (Destroyed)
294 Points
Admiral's Log:
After repairing battle damage to one of our assault frigates, we set out to scout the Refnar system. Based on the fact that Grand Moff Tarkin was able to counter attack so quickly, intelligence believes that the Imperials are using it as a base since it is off the normal hyperspace routes.
Once we arrived in Refnar, we detected a small base and what appeared to be a larger battle station under construction. As we approach a force of 4 ships came at us from the other side of the planet. They approached slowly at first…
After setting up the obstacles, I set the objective ships as the Demolisher and Jaina’s Light. If he kept Demolisher safely out of the fight, I’d consider that a good thing, if not, my chances of killing it were higher. Either was good with me. I knew my assault frigates could survive at least 1 pass from Demolisher since they had advanced projectors but it starts getting dicey after the second volley.
The Imperial ships approached cautiously in a line abreast formation at speed one. I set up in my standard formation and cut across their front accelerating to speed 3 and passing from their starboard to port side. This allowed me time to get to the far side of his formation. I sent my fighters at Demolisher to soften it up before it sped up to come around behind my ships.
The port side Gladiator approached my lead assault frigate, Paragon, allowing it to fire from 2 arcs and utilize black dice. The other 2 ships were in position to add fire and destroy it. Demolisher fell to my guns after that. On round 6 there was no chance of the Victory Star Destroyers turning around so the game ended.
Fighter were useful in softening up Demolisher, though I did lose a squadron.
Result: 9-1 Win
Game 5: Ryan Voigt, Imperial. Player 1. Dangerous Territory, Table #3. (he came in 10th)
Victory II
• Admiral Motti
• Gunnery Teams
Victory II
• Gunnery Teams
Victory II (Destroyed)
• Gunnery Teams
Admiral’s Log: After the 2 remaining VSDs jumped out of the system, the base surrendered without a shot fired. They were local people pressed into service by the Empire so they were more than happy to resupply and repair our ships. We were able to gather valuable information on Imperial plans in this system. Apparently, Admiral Screed had not been kind to the locals and they were more than happy to help us. They also indicated that another squadron of Star Destroyers led by Admiral Motti were already enroute. Clearly, with so many prominent Imperial leaders in the area, we had stumbled upon a major Imperial operation. Time to set a trap for their reinforcements.
I have to admit to being a bit worried when I saw this fleet. At this point, 3 Victory-class star destroyers without fighter protection doesn’t worry me too much, but I had not seen this particular combination before. I did not know how I was going to survive against 3 of them with gunnery teams.
I normally pride myself on my ability to learn from my mistakes, but once again, I placed obstacles on his side of the map, giving him free points. He was able to take 5 of the 6 objective tokens, while I managed to get only 1, giving him a 60 point advantage. What I don’t know, is whether the placement of the obstacles meant that he spent more time maneuvering for the objective tokens rather than focusing on outmaneuvering me. You would have to ask Ryan how that affected his thinking.
He set his ships in the usual line abreast formation that seems so popular with the Imperials. He made his initial maneuvers to capture some of the objectives while generally taking engineering commands to repair damage. I moved to approach his starboard side. Since I was up against Motti, I would be fortunate to take out 1, maybe 2 of his star destroyers.
His flagship on the port side, accelerated to speed 2 to make the wide turn to the left, while the starboard star destroyer did something you don’t very often, it stopped and acted as a pivot point for the other 2 star destroyers. Additionally, by carefully timing his orders and changing his speed, he was able to avoid flying into my weapon range for a turn, depriving me firing opportunities.
By stopping his starboard VSD,, he allowed more of his ships to get into firing range at the same time. I pressed my attack against the starboard ship and was able to destroy it, but chewing through 10 hull points really took a lot of effort. I was fortunate that fire was spread out among my ships. Each of my ships were badly damaged and each only had 2 hull remaining. A few dice rolling differently is all it would have taken for this to have ended differently. It was a good thing the battle ended when it did. This was a tough fight and a close battle. Ryan was the most skilled at maneuvering Victory Star Destroyers of anyone I have played against.
RESULT: The final score was 107 to 75. A 32-point difference gave me a 6-4 win.
TOURNAMENT CONCLUSION:
While I was tabled by my fellow Rebel player in the first game, my force did much better against Imperials. Against the Imperials, my task force only lost 2 A-Wing fighter squadrons while destroying x4 Victory II-class Star Destroyers, x2 Gladiator I-class Star Destroyers and 3 squadrons of advanced TIE Fighters.
On Saturday, my friend Greg and I played in the 600 point team tournament and took first place. We played Imperials and brought 2 Victory-IIs and 3 Gladiators (including Demolisher and Insidious). We fought 2 Rebel fleets, and 1 Imperial force of Rebel sympathizers.
I think I doubled my number of Armada games this week and learned a lot. I had a great time and enjoyed playing with all my talented opponents. I think we have a good community of players based on what I saw at Worlds and I hope everyone continues to make the games fun and entertaining. Thank you Fantasy Flight for putting on such a great event and for making such a fine game. Thanks to everyone for making it great week!
-
Also, there was a 600 Pt team tournament at worlds as well. I played in that as well. To my shock, we won that tournament. It had 9 teams, so it was much smaller than the main tournament. Each player chose 300 points and had their own Commander. As a team you chose an objective and used the combined point total to determine initiative. Your commander only affected the individuals forces. Exception to that was Dadonna since his ability causes adjusts all criticals to be adjusted, not just those caused by his ships. Also, for deployment, since there were so many ships, you could set up out to the right and left edges of the map.
Worlds was run very well by their staff and lots of fun. I highly recommend it. I am sure the world championship will be even larger for Armada next year.
Oh, Our list was...
3 GSD...299 pts
1. Screed
2. Demolished, ACM, Engine Techs
3. Insidious, ACM, Intel Officer, Engine Techs
4. Howlrunner and 4 TIE Int
X2 VSD, 300 Pts
1. Tarkin, X17, Intel Officer
2. Admiral Chiraneau, Expanded Hangar Bays, X17
3. Mauler, Major R, 3 Bombers
Most Wanted, Dangerous Territory, Hyperspace Assault (?, only the 1st two got played)
Game 1: Draw. We played a rebel force, no fighters, 3 guppies and 6 CR90As. Another turn and stuff would have started dying. Guppies all had x17s and Gunnery Teams, so we hit the brakes and let them fly a circle around us without them being able to get too much in range. The GSDs got in behind the gups. The Corvettes did a wide sweeping maneuver and got in behind the VSDs.
Game 2: 600 pts Victory minus our losses. Imperial force of 4 VSDs and somewhere around 15 or 16 squadrons, mostly TIES. Knocked out Mottis VSDs an last turn.
Game 3: Rebels, 2 Guppies, 3 Nebs, and tons of fighters.
SomeKittens reacted to this -
Hi,
I'm Pat Doyle, and came in 5th. Here is my list to fill in the blank on the first post:
I' m curious about the top 16 lists.
#5 Pat Doyle ( My List)
Cost 291
AFIIB
• Paragon
• Enhanced Armaments
• Advanced Projectors
• Weapons Liaison
AFIIB
• Enhanced Armaments
• Advanced Projectors
• Weapons Liaison
CR90
• Jaina’s Light
• Garm Bel Iblis
Fighter Support
• 3 A-Wing Squadrons
OBJECTIVES:
Most Wanted, played 3 times, won all of them.
Fire Lanes: Not played.
Dangerous Territory: First and last games. Lost first game.
I am working on an AAR for my games and will post when I can. I played 5 games. Lost to a rebel list in the first game (1-9), then won the other 4 games against the Empire scoring 35 points with a 612 margin of victory.
-
Ah, you mean those large bold letters on the card. ...didn't see them!
Thanks!
-
When does the determination for control take place? , ie at what point in the sequence of play do we determine who has control?
-
Great idea. Scenario based games alone or as part of a larger campaign are lots of fun. I think you may have sparked some ideas.
-
I'd like to echo the comments from ficklegreendice. The Rebels are currrently (with the core set) the light fast maneuverable ships. They are the Rebels, hit and run! In most games I have seen and played, when the rebels try to go toe-to-toe with the empire, they lose. When the Rebels focus on objectives and killing TIE squadrons, they win.
Killing a VSD requires a concentrated effort. Its hard to effectively dispate a VSD's defense tokens with only 2 smalll rebel ships.
One other key to winning, Empire or Rebel, is to make the enemy the First player. This way the enemy has to choose from your objectives that, if you've done your homework, are taylored to your force. This requires giving up some points, but its well worth it.
As new ships are added, both rebels and imperals will have maneuverable ships and heavy ships and fighter with different capabilities. Capabilities will balance over time.
-
Some Early Thoughts
I've got 6 or 7 180 and 300 point games under my belt now. We've been playing by the book and using Objectives once we had the game figured out.
1. Pre-Game: This game can be won or lost in the pre-game. Your choice of objectives, how many point you bring, and how you set up are all crucial to winning. We have found that very often (maybe always, I need to keep better records), whoever brings the least fleet points seem to win the game if they do the pre-game stuff right. Fewer points means that you force the other player to be the First Player. Then, the first player has to choose from your Objective cards. (Hopefully you chose well). Next as the Second player, you start off setting up the Obstacles. And finally, the First Player must place the first ship.
2. Combat: Admiral Akbar wasn't kidding when he said, "we can't repel firepower of that magnitude." In the 180 point matches we have done, the Rebels small ships have generally not been able to kill Victory-class star Destroyers. I'm not saying its an absolute, but it does seem difficult and unlikely, especially when the VSDs are constantly taking the engineering action and replenishing 2-3 shields per round.
It wasn't until we played a 300-point game that the Rebels were able to take down a VSD. What we have focussed on more when playing the Rebels (i.e., small, fast ships vs Large slow ships) is picking mission objectives that allow the rebels to win the game without having to kill a VSD. Basically, they concentrate on using their speed to avoid a head on clash. Since there are no points for damaging a ship, you can take some hits, accomplish your mission and minimize your exposure to Heavy fire from large and medium sized ships.
-
-
Since there is not a specific threat for Tactics I am placing it here. I do believe there should be a "Tactics" Subject.
I realize, tactics in a game like this is closely tied to your build, but I would like to use this section for discussions on dirty tricks, starship maneuvering, Fighter Tactics, Choosing initiative (or not), Mission Objectives and how those choices affect the outcome of the battle, and any other topic of tactical discussion.
So, while having a specific upgrade or ship may enable a tactic, I would like to submit to the group that we use this particular thread be used more for Tactics than fleet builds. I am working on a couple Tactics Articles and I'll post them when they are done to get the discussions going.
-
I had the "discussion" with a friend last night about firing arcs. It's challenging to find the answer in the rules but this puts it all in one place. Thanks.
-
The paragraph below is from the Fleet Building section of the Tournament rules. Thanks Ghost Dancer and Frimmel.
I believe this indicates FFGs intent. I think this supports #2 as the answer, because to argue in favor of #1 based on the info below would be a real stretch. As someone said above, if the answer were #1, FFG would need more examples to clarify how the system worked. It would be more complex and messy if the answer were #1 and thats not usually what they go for.
"A fleet consists of ships and squadrons with their corresponding ship and
squadron cards, command dials, objective cards, a commander, and any
other upgrade cards. Each players fleet cannot exceed 180 points, though
it may contain fewer than 180 points. A players fleet cannot contain
more than 60 points worth of squadrons. A fleet must include a single
commander and one objective card from each category."
Thanks for the discussion everyone. I believe I have my answer now.
ransburger reacted to this -
The rules say that you can only spend one third of your fleet points, (rounded up) on squadrons (Pg 6 RRG).
So how is one third defined?
(1) One third of the FINAL cost of your fleet....
In a 300 point game, the final cost of my fleet is 291, does that mean that I can only spend 97 points on squadrons? This means that the points you are allowed to spend shifts every time you add or remove a card from your fleet, possibly making fleet building more complex.
or
(2) One third of the points allowed for the game.
So if playing a 300 point game, I can spend 100 points on squadrons, even if the final cost of my fleet is 291. (Perhaps the additional 9 points are considered an initiative bid)
MY OPINION: I think the answer is #2. The rule says "A fleet cannot spend more than one third of ITS FLEET POINTS, rounded up, on squadrons."
I would submit that if you are playing a 300 pt game that the fleet has 300 fleet points regardless of how many actually get spent.
Any opinions or thoughts?
-
I'll just toss this idea out there. Based on page 8 of the RRG: Overlapping, first paragraph...
..."Then the player who is not moving the ship places the overlapped squadrons, regardless of who owns them, in any position around that ship so that **they touch the ship** that moved."
If they get placed off the map, the squadrons would no longer touch the ship and therefore the placement would not be in compliance with the rule. Anyhow, just a thought, but my preference would be that the squadron stays on the map.
I guess the next question would be this....
I have a badly damaged ship that will probably die soon and decide to try to take some fighters with me. There is a horde of enemy fighters near the edge that I could overlap while also having part of my ship finish movement off the map. Do I take those fighters off the map with me?
Commander Kahlain and Ghost Dancer reacted to this -
I do think the wording is misleading. I do believe when you use a Concentrate Fire Dial against fighters that you should only get 1 additional die to add to 1 of the strikes against one of the squadrons, and that's how we play.
I think the clarification is needed because the way the game is worded is that firing at a group of fighters thru a single arc is ONE of the ship's 2 Attacks allowed in a round. Based on that (incorrect) logic, the way the rules are worded, the additional die goes in your attack pool against every fighter squadron because all of those attacks against the squadrons are only 1 Attack as defined in the game.
Basically, I'd like to see a clarification to avoid arguments with people who want to fire 3 Blue dice against each of my TIE squadrons. : )
-
Abilities Resolve Once
A game effect can only resolve once per opportunity. For example, Luke
Skywalkers pilot ability applies when defending, so he can only use his ability
once against each enemy attack.
This is from the FAQ. So yes, it seems legal. The opportunity to use his ability comes from getting the stress, so he can use his ability to remove a stress each time he receives one.
-
Hans Solo (46)
Expert Handling (2)
Gunner (5)
C-3PO (3)
Millenium Falcon (1)
Engine Upgrade (4)
I like this Han build, but what if you took navigator to offer some flexibility in your planned move? I haven't used Han much before so I'm wondering if anyone has some experience with it. I like the idea of being able to avoid getting shot at by out maneuvering everyone.
-
HONORCON CONVENTION:
There will be an X-Wing Tournament at the first Honor Harrington Convention in Greenville , SC on NOV 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency. We will follow standard FFG X-Wing tournament rules and there will a $5 entry fee.
Come for the convention and the gaming!
Main
Gaming Link
http://honorcon.com/registration/gaming
Come Join us for a weekend of starship combat: from the Honor Harrington Universe, to Star Wars and Star Trek. Check back for more details on planned Official Tournament events and Game Demonstrations for:
- Star Wars X-Wing Miniatures Tournament
- Star Trek Attack Wing Tournament
- Federation Commander Tournament
- Saganami Island Tactical Combat Simulator
- Playtest and Demo the Honor Harrington Fleet Combat System
- ... Plus Much More
In addition to registering for the convention please contact Patrick Doyle to register for the tournament. There will be a $5 fee to enter the tournament: commodoredoyle@gmail.com
-
I'll plan to be there.
Pat
-
I too am looking to play on Vassal. I'll be on vacation for a couple weeks in the middle of January (6th-19th) so I hope yo get a game or two in.
My skype handle is doyle.patrick, feel free to drop me a note on skype or e-mail me at commodoredoyle@gmail.com
have a Happy New Year everyone.
-
In addition to the ships you mentioned, there are plenty of other potential products, including:
Scenario books, Campaign Rules, New pilots. Rules for attacking bases, and outposts. Atmospheric combat, ground attacks and attacks against capital ships. Frieghters to be escorted (or attacked).
An Imperial Star Destroyer reportedly has 60 Ion Cannons and 60 Turbo lasers. The X-Wing game is too small in scope to really deal with players attacking and destroying an entire Star Destroyer. An ISD carries 72 fighters (36 TIEs, 24 TIE-Int and 12 TIE Bombers). Even without the fighters, it would probably take a force of 40-80 X and Y-wings to take out an ISD. Using that many fighters isn't practical (or affordable).
I think that scenarios involving ISDs would involve 4-8 rebel fighter attacking a portion of the ISD. Their mission could be to destroy some turrets so the strike fighters can attack safely, or to destroy the shield generators on top of the command section. The point is, if its a big objective/target, the X-Wing game is scaled such that the scenario involves the play just playing out a piece of the operation with limited objectives.
-
OK, so let me explain….no, there is too much, let me sum up.
Ejection and experience rules would be used for campaigns between players. This is all homebrew, use it, don't use it, or modify it, whichever suites your style of play and campaigns. My proposal is based on a complete system, of squadron building, playing multi-mission campaigns, and pilots gaining experience…and yes, that there is a chance that they are recovered after an ejection. In Star Wars, Episode IV, Porkins was told to eject…he politely declined just before his ship exploded, there is canon material to support the idea.
I personally prefer playing campaigns because players (me included) operate differently when they you will need that ship or pilot in upcoming games…as opposed to playing single games where people are generally a little more bloody minded.
This is basically a modified version of the system used in a game published a long long time ago….Squadron Commander 3600.
SQUADRON BUILDING
Fighter squadrons will have a mix of experience. You'll have a mix of talented pilots (either experienced or natural pilots) and newbies (ie cannon fodder). Histoically in fighter combat, a small percentage of pilots (I think about 10%) get a disproportionate amount of kills (like around 80%).
Part of campaign involves building a squadron first. I think an X-Wing squadron would be about 300 pts (maybe a little more) and have 12 Fighters, if it was at full strength. TIE squadrons might be about 150, also with 12 fighters. Per Star Wars canon, Imperial doctrine says that TIE squadrons, should out number X-Wings 3-1 at a minimum, to give them an advantage. Generally speaking, a balanced fight is about 2 TIEs for every X-Wing. Anyhow, assuming an even fight, it would be 1 X-Wing squadron against 2 TIE Squadrons. Obviously you could ad variations for other types of ships.
These points would be used to buy pilots, skills, ordinance, ship mods. If your squadron was intended to be an attack squadron, you might invest in more proton torps. The squadron could also have maintenance crews that repair your battledamage. Bring too many ships home with damage and ships may have to sit out for a fight.
CAMPAIGN BASICS
The campaign would be played in multiple rounds. There are 3 missions per rounds. Each player assigns fighters to the missions each round. You either win or lose each mission,, pilots either die or survive and gain experience. Anyone who flew on the previous round also becomes fatigued. Fly a pilot too many missions without a rest, he is penalized in some way (temporary reduction in skill, loss of special ability etc). Also, real squadrons usually have more pilots than they do fighters for this very reason.
Missions would consist of Space superiority, Escort, Scouting, and Strike missions against starships, bases, or ground targets.
You could of course adjust the number of points for each opposing force and increase or reduce the number of missions flying during each round.
PILOT EXPERIENCE
Pilots gain experience from participating in a mission and from scoring kills. Again, historically, if fighter pilots survive their first 5 missions, they tended to have a good life expectancy, but they were vulnerable those first 5 missions. I haven't worked out the details yet here is the rough idea I am working with: the pilot that scores the killing blow gets experience, equal to the point cost of the target. From thier, there would be a chart explaining how many experiece points are required to move up to the next pilot skill level. Perhaps when someone becomes an ace, they get the "Medal", meaning they can choose pilot skill card.
FINALLY….EJECTIONS
When a pilot's fighter is shot down, he is out of the battle,, but may return to the squadron . When a pilot is shot down, he either returns to his squadron in time to participate in the campaign, or he doesn't. So whether the pilot didn't get out of his exploding ship in time, suffocated in space while waiting for rescue, or was captured, the result is the same, he's gone. The empire isn't going to give him back if he is captured either.
The way I see it, pilots have 3 damage points. PILOT Critical hits count against the pilot's damage points (This make the Determination pilot skill card valuable). A wounded pilot is less likely to survive in space than a health pilot with an undamaged cockpit/escape pod. When a pilot ejects, roll 4 red damage dice. On HIT or CRITICAL HIT results, apply one point of damage to the pilot. If the pilot takes 3 damage points, then he is killed/captured or lost. The number of dice rolled could be modified by the outcome of the battle or its location: EJECT IN ENEMY TERRITORY: +1 Die: WINNER OF THE BATTLE: -1 DIE
I made the a 1 step process because the question is this, "Will the pilot live to fight another day, yes or no. You could easily make seperate rolls for EJECTION, then another to decide your FATE (choices being Lost, Captured, or Rescued, then another to determine how long before the pilot is ready to get back to flying.
For every damage point sustained, the pilot must sit out an equal number of campaign rounds. This can represent the time it takes to find the pilot, or the medical recovery time required after rescue.
The number of dice rolled rolled and the number of pilot hit points can be adjusted to suite your taste. 3 Hit points and 4 dice give the pilot a good chance of recovery if he isn't wounded, though he is likely to be out of the fight for a couple rounds.
I have not worked out details for this game yet, and testing will be required. I did spend about 4 years using this very system in another starfighter combat game, so the principle works well. Specifics still need some tweeking for this game. The bottom line is that, for me, it is more fun to see which of my pilots survive the campaign. The challenge is also trying to win while not being so reckless that you sacrifice your best pilots. Its also a challenge to rotate your pilots to keep themm from getting too fatigued. Thus every lost pilot and lost fighter makes it harder and harder to complete your missions.
-
Oh, a couple more points.
This was my first Swiss style game. I'm not sure how the "Strength of Schedule" point modifications work, but I'd be curious to find out. I don't know what kind of force the winner ran. Basically, If you win a game by at least 33 points, you get 5 Tournament points. If you win by less than 33 points, you get 3 tournament points. A Tie is worth 1 point and a loss is not worth anything.
Four people made it into the finals and they player elimination rounds to determine the winner.
-
I was at the World Championship event. It was fun. They ran a great event. Well organized. When I arrived they had my name tag, a t-shirt, and a copy of the Star Wars Card game (for pre-registering).
I was not in the finals or anything, but I still had a good time. The people were fun and I think most people were having a good time. In the premininary rounds, we played 3 Swiss style rounds.
I had a rebel force of the following: Garvin Dreis (26), Biggs (R2-F2, 28 pts), Red Squadron Pilot (23), Y-Wing Gold Sqdn with Ion Cannon (23 Pts).
Game 1: Fought 3 y_wings with Ion Cannons, all gold sqdn. One was equipped with Proton Torps. and 1 X-Wing Rookie Pilot with Proton Torps.
The bottom line was that my force spent a lot of time at speed 1 moving in a straight line without getting to fire. I shot down an enemy Y-wingthat had Proton Torps while she shot down my Y-wing and Biggs by the time the time limit ran out, so it was a loss for me.
My conclusion from this one battle is that lots of Y-wings are tough to deal with if you are a rebel player because the ion cannons can keep most of your ships tied up.
GAME 2: I fought 1 TIE Adv and 4 TIES. Darth Vade w/ Marksman, Cluster Missile. TIEs: Mauler Mithel, Backstabber, Darkcurse, and Night beast. At the opening pass, Biggs was killed by Darth and Mauler. Fortunately, all my ships were able to fire at Darth and we took him out,. After that it was a staright dogfight. I lost my Y-wing but took out the other TIEs for a Victory.
GAME 3: I fought another rebel force consisting of Biggs/R2D2, and and 3 Rookie X-Wings with various droids. I lost 3 fighters but took out all his fighters for a modified victory (3 tournament points)
Overall it was fun. If I had a suggestion it would be that when I play I want to to play rebels vs Imperials. Rebels vs rebels and Empire vs Empire is not nearly as desirable, but that is just ust my personal preference. I'm not sure how many would agree. I assume most people play rebels vs imperials in their at home games. I would be willing to have both and Imperial force and a Rebel force ready at a tournament. If players had to use both, the tournament winner would presumably be a good all around player, not just good at one faction or the other.
There would be some disadvantages to this because some players might only want to play one faction, or it would possibly cost players a little more to own extra fighters.
The other option would be to pair up opposing factions to the maximum extent possible and accept some fratricide games. You could possibly be allowed to have some players who accept a willingness to switch between Rebels and Imperials. Again, not sure how popular that would be, but it wouldn't bother me.
Anyway, thank you FFG for a great event. I'm looking forward to the Kessel Run event next at my local game store.
Introducing Armada Warlords: database and fleet builder
in Star Wars: Armada
Posted
Hi,
First, thanks for putting this together, it's a great app!
My screen name is Traveller724 on the Warlords app as well. I currently have only one list, Rebel Worlds 2015 Fifth Place.
I wanted to send you a bug report.
Looking at the list, the Enhanced Armaments upgrade on each of my AFIIBs was replaced by a MC80 Command Cruiser card. It would make for a cool upgrade to an assault frigate : )
Thanks,
Pat