Jump to content

Seriaph

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content Count

    46

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Seriaph

  1. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Hmm, interesting suggestions, thanks Mad Cat. I think you're spot on a few points.

     

    Dropped the NK7's and Interceptor for Vader, putting me back at 400 points. 

     

    I decided to take Vader + Soontir rather than 4 interceptors for two main reasons:

    • When facing off against bomber squadrons, Soontir discourages aiming for the ships as they will incur a 1 damage penalty for each shot.
    • Vader protects Soontir from any enemy squadrons. With his two braces, a special ability for extra damage, 5 health and 4 anti-squadron, I feel he's the best choice for both defence and offence.

    Placing those two bad boys near the raiders will definitely leave any bomber list thinking twice about engaging. (hopefully. theoretically.)

  2. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Hey lads, I've been out of the scene for a while. I made this fleet to conquer my fear of not having squadrons. I've run it through a playtest once and seemed to do pretty well.

     

    Commander: Admiral Screed

    Assault Objective: Precision Strike 
    Defense Objective: Fleet Ambush 
    Navigation Objective: Dangerous Territory 

    [ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points)
    -  Admiral Screed  ( 26  points) 
    -  Intel Officer  ( 7  points) 
    -  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points) 
    -  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points) 
    -  XI7 Turbolasers  ( 6  points) 
    -  NK-7 Ion Cannons  ( 10  points) 

    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Demolisher  ( 10  points) 
    -  Intel Officer  ( 7  points) 
    -  Engine Techs  ( 8  points) 
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
    -  Impetuous  ( 4  points) 
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    1 Soontir Fel ( 18 points) 
    1 TIE Interceptor Squadron ( 11 points) 

     

     

    what do you guys think, anything I missed?

     

    Are there any weaknesses, untapped strengths/combos you can see?

     

    or am i completely bonkers and should immediately put more **** squadrons in?!

  3. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    not much value I can bring to this topic. I do think the value of clons list is being blown slightly out of proportion though. it sounds as though people aren't utilising their objectives correctly or choosing ones which don't benefit them optimally.

    Deployment and maneuvering also serves a vital function when considering the tactics used by a demolished operator (or against any fleet really)

  5. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    How much of the damage was done by the Firesprays?

    I've a mate who uses a pair of them as "escorts" for one of his raiders (without Rhymer) - they work very well for him.

     

    Firesprays really put the pressure on. In a turn they annihilated the shields of the MC30 and did 3 damage cards. The demolisher cleaned up in 3 shots and two rams.

     

    Then they straight away put the pressure on the AFII's where my raiders and other glad were.

     

    Interesting that he didn't have Rhymer. I'll have to try out a build without him. Get rid of the training wheels!

  6. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    I understand that in Store Champs you have to make your own way (even pay the entry fee), but hows it go for Regionals, Nationals, Worlds? I assume at least they (FFG, or whoever is hosting) pay for your travel/accommodation in Nationals/Worlds? Anybody with experience able to fill in the blanks on what actually happens?

     

    Also does anybody know how selection works for regionals onwards? I know that Store Champs you can just rock up and pay the fee and play, however how are participants decided onwards from there?

  7. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Pepper them with small attacks and make them all salty!

     

    I played this list against an Ackbar MC80 + AFII x2 list and absolutely floored them 10/0 by the third turn (they didn't have gunnery teams mind you. could have changed everything). Only issue is I had to play proxy because APT's only come in MC30 packs.  -_- Good luck to me trying to find all the cards i need before a serious tournament.

     

    Reasons i love this build:

    • 4 Activations is pretty decent for an imp fleet. sure you could do better but then I'd be sacrificing my squadrons.
    • Squadrons are so flexible. they don't need a carrier since over half have rogue.
    • Raiders are so flexible. They really come into their element when you have a lot of activations. Great anti-squad capabilities, flanking capabilities, and that APT tears a hole in anything.
    • Gladiators with engine techs is the most unpredictable ship movement ever.
    • Lots of small amounts of damage means brace is left a lot less effective than if i were hitting it with an ISD II. Defense tokens in general start to become less effective.
    • Taking tonnes of damage isn't too bad. an ISD II can take a heck of a lot of damage from a single volley. Multiple ships help break up big damage dealers and essentially the lower their damage.

    Reasons not to love this build:

    • Bunch of small ships means its pretty fragile and low margin of error in terms of handling. One wrong move is the difference between winning and losing.
    • Very fragile vs. enemy bomber squadrons. little ships tend to die.. very quickly, which means you'll start to lose momentum and battle presence.

    Thoughts:

    • There's no advanced's in the squadron list. Makes it a lot easier to tie up the firesprays. I'm considering removing Mauler for either an advanced or a Jumpmaster 5000. What do you guys think?
    • I'm not sure about Rhymer either. He's cool and all, and definitely gives the firesprays a bit more reach since they only move speed 3, BUT.. considering they have rogue, maybe i should just take him out? would free up 16 points.
    • I'm always trying to learn more about this game so if you have any cool suggestions i'd LOVE to hear them. What could go into this list?

     

     

    Glad x2, Raider x2   
    Author: Seriaph

    Faction: Galactic Empire 
    Points: 400/400 

    Commander: Admiral Screed

    Assault Objective: Precision Strike 
    Defense Objective: Hyperspace Assault 
    Navigation Objective: Minefields 

    Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    Raider-I Class Corvette (44 points)
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Demolisher  ( 10  points) 
    -  Engine Techs  ( 8  points) 
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    [ flagship ] Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Admiral Screed  ( 26  points) 
    -  Admiral Montferrat  ( 5  points) 
    -  Engine Techs  ( 8  points) 
    -  Assault Proton Torpedoes  ( 5  points) 

    1 Major Rhymer ( 16 points) 
    1 Dengar ( 20 points) 
    4 Firespray-31s ( 72 points) 
    1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points) 

  8. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Want:

    ISD Alternate Art

    Assault Proton Torpedos x4

    Engine Techs x1

    Firespray/Boba Fett x1

     

    Have:

    Imperial Bombers/Major Rhymer

    Imperial Interceptors/Soontir Fel

    Imperial Advanced/Darth Vader

    Imperial TIE Fighters/Mauler Mithil

    Han Solo

    Jan Ors

    Nym

    Misc upgrade cards (won't trade ones i need or want. Have many duplicates though.)

  10. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Very nice build! I can definitely see this being competitive.

     

    I agree with Spaceman on the removal of Ordnance Experts. On a raider, you only have two black dice. Screed will be more than enough to guarantee plenty of damage. with a gladiator, you'll have to be insanely unlucky to roll 4 blanks. With screed you'll average 4+ damage (plus a face up).

     

    Your main weakness is the lack of squadrons. 4 TIE Advanced is a good token shield and should be able to hold up a fireball for a turn or two, it'll all come down to precise positioning and eliminating enemy ships as fast as possible.

     

    Would love to see how this fleet pans out.

  11. Posted

    As a rule of thumb, you're going to be taking damage a lot faster than you'll recover it. You can only have one of a particular type of token at a time (you can't have 3 engineering tokens) so i'm not sure how useful Grand Moff Tarkin will be.

     

    I've yet to see a defensive build anywhere near as successful as an offensive build. With no squadrons to speak of, a bomber wing could easily wipe out an ISD in 2-3 turns on its own.

     

    That said, I would love to see this playtested and what kind of pros/cons you found it to have. Good luck!

    MoffZen reacted to this

  12. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    Placement is vital with a tie swarm. Wrong placement gets you:

    • Killed. They die easy.
    • Outside of Howlrunner/Dengar's influence. Make sure you keep them together or they'll lose effectiveness.
    • Wasted turns. with 11 - 16 squadrons on the board, you're likely not going to be able to throw enough squadron activations around to move AND shoot. So pick your positions carefully because you'll only want to be shooting the next turn.

    I recommend running a Rhymer to make placement vs. ships a lot easier, especially corvettes/mc30's/raiders/glads with engine tech's who can run away at speed 4.

     

    An advanced helps protect your named squadrons (howlrunner/dengar/rhymer) however, good placement can make up for it too. you've got a lot of squadrons to use, get creative.

     

    Be aware of squadrons that will rip you a new one, such as Mithil. 12 squadrons = possible 12 damage a turn. They only have 3 structure. Then an anti-squad from an ISD could spell the end of 50% of your squadron fleet.

     

    In terms of bomber ability, throwing 11 - 16 blue dice is nothing to laugh at. with a 50% chance of a damage icon, that's an average of 5 - 8 unbraceable damage.

  13. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    List combos and how to counter them! It would be great to have a debate about all things we know about Star Wars Armada.

     

    Please try to not get too heated and controversial in your debates (Ackbar + gunnery teams = OP and uncounterable?!)

     

    The combo

    I'll start off with my favourite squadron combo right now: Dengar + "Mauler" Mithil. Mithil is the ultimate anti-squadron fighter, with his effectiveness increasing with the more enemy squadrons on the board. 7 enemy squadrons? 7 damage a turn, plus whatever he throws out with his anti-squadron if a squadron command is used. Gets around escort, counter, defense tokens.

     

    Of course, that only works if he can move. Dengar applies heavy to all ships distance 1 around him (intel), making him the perfect escort for Mithil. There are other upgrade cards that work well with this, but I think it's a neat trick to use Intel.

     

    The counter

    A few ways to handle this combo.

    • If there's no TIE Advanced, just wipe mithil off the board and be done with it. he's a pretty fragile creature. Even with 1 or 2 tie advanced, it is still possible to position your squadrons to be only in range of Mithil and not the advanceds. Fire at will!
    • For some reason if you can't target Mithil, get around Dengar. Most fleets will only run one intel squadron, and his intel's area of influence is only 1. that means it's possible to position a squadron to tie Mithil down. Put some squadrons at the edges of Mithil so Dengar can't affect both with his intel.
    • Spread your squadrons out a bit. Mithil is best when thrown into an enemy squadron ball. This counter works especially well when only running some token squadrons (6 A-wing for example).

     

    Anybody else out there have some cool combos to share? (and how to counter them!)

    meekor reacted to this

  15. Posted

    You guys seem to be very stuck on the whole size issue. I know many before me have said, but the sizing of ships aren't all in scale. It's likely a sliding scale using a complex mathematical formula (similar to the graphic below)

     

    This graphic was created by another user on a different forum. It's not accurate, it's just an approximation, however it does illustrate the possibility of introducing an SSD. Its doubtful they'll use this sizing chart, FFG will probably decide on whatever size they see fit for the game. However I feel they're not going to want to protrude any further out from a large base than the SSD does for logistical reasons (who knows, there might be an "epic" sized base, or "huge".)

     

    687474703a2f2f63662e6765656b646f2d696d61

  17. Posted

     

    5 red, 5 blue front arc.

    3 red, 3 blue side arcs.

    2 red, 2 blue rear arc.

    5 shields front

    3 shields side and rear

    13 hull

    4 command

    4 squadron

    4 engineering

    1 brace

    2 redirect

    1 contain

    Cost: 140 - 150

    I understand people want a steamroller. Essentially I think the stats of an SSD will be slightly superior to an ISD. The way FFG will make it "feel big" will be in the title cards, and potentially the amount of upgrade slots. It'll be on a large base but the ship model will probably be the same size as an imperial.

    This would be a close to the new First Order SD. Lose one command, up the Hull, squadron and engineering, up by 1 each. Give it 2 or 3 anti squadron and same speed/clicks as the ISD. 150 pts at least I would guess.

     

    I agree with your assessment. But, now that you mention the First Order SD, I imagine they're going to be leaving the SSD to a much later wave. If they release it early (wave 3/4), it'll put a "roof" on what future imperial big ships will be able to have (it'd just be silly for something to have more firepower than an SSD except a Deathstar or Star Killer or whatever.)

  18. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

     

     

     

    To clarify even further on my previous post; just because it doesn't take immense amount of skill to run Ackbar doesn't mean he's this OP crazy Admiral. 

     

    U dont say? Requiring a superior tactic or skill to beat a basic approach is practically one of the indications for something that has been oddly balanced (to avoid the OP term, I really dont see him as OP or broken).. 

     

     

    I don't understand the logical conclusion there. Beginners might not know the ins and outs but they're not stupid. Ackbar lends himself to a very simple strategy; broadside attacks whilst keeping your opponent at a distance. Something a beginner could understand. As an advanced player who understands tactics and strategies and the minute details of the game, the onus is on you to show them how to finesse the game. If you're playing into his hands, fighting in situations that aren't beneficial for you or making good trades, then that's not Ackbar's fault! It just suggests that tactics you thought would work, didn't, or need to be modified.

     

    Also there seems to be some weird cognitive dissonance with how wave 1 panned out. Rebels won Worlds. It's not about the list. Sure, Imperials had the simpler, easier to understand strategy which dominated local metas, however the fact that Rebels won worlds shows that if you think outside the box, even "OPness!" can be defeated (and pretty **** soundly. Pretty sure he went 10 - 0).

     

    The conclusion is quite simple, if you need a complex tactic to beat an easy one then the balance is at odds. That does of cause not mean that there are no ways to beat ackbar. About the onus that is on me or any other "advanced player"sure that might be a point if playing against beginners. But balancing should be valued in matches of more or less equal experienced players. Same goes with the argument of who won worlds, as for me it is my own gaming experience and local meta that matters. 

     

    This may be where our difference of opinion lies. A strategy doesn't need to be complex to be powerful or effective. "complex" strategies as you put it, tend to evolve from considering the variables involved and finding a solution. In any war simulation you're going to need to account for what other people do. Ackbar, while powerful, if you don't consider how I might counter it can easily be defeated. Learning to adapt is a vital skill in Star wars Armada.

     

    I disagree that balancing should come to mean that the win rate is 50% for players of equal experience (or roughly). Different players of equal skill levels will have entirely different types of games. Two beginners will not understand the game as two experienced players would, and so to consider balancing for the two beginners isn't logical, or effective method of balancing.

     

    Starwars Armada is inherently asymmetrical in design (it's not chess). Rebels have different tools at their disposal which lend themselves to different tactics and strategies than Imperials. The main balancing factor is in ensuring that there are still many viable strategies for playing against Ackbar, which there is. He naturally is good against certain strategies, as is Mothma, Screed, Vader, Motti, etc. 

  19. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

     

    To clarify even further on my previous post; just because it doesn't take immense amount of skill to run Ackbar doesn't mean he's this OP crazy Admiral. 

     

    U dont say? Requiring a superior tactic or skill to beat a basic approach is practically one of the indications for something that has been oddly balanced (to avoid the OP term, I really dont see him as OP or broken).. 

     

     

    I don't understand the logical conclusion there. Beginners might not know the ins and outs but they're not stupid. Ackbar lends himself to a very simple strategy; broadside attacks whilst keeping your opponent at a distance. Something a beginner could understand. As an advanced player who understands tactics and strategies and the minute details of the game, the onus is on you to show them how to finesse the game. If you're playing into his hands, fighting in situations that aren't beneficial for you or making good trades, then that's not Ackbar's fault! It just suggests that tactics you thought would work, didn't, or need to be modified.

     

    Also there seems to be some weird cognitive dissonance with how wave 1 panned out. Rebels won Worlds. It's not about the list. Sure, Imperials had the simpler, easier to understand strategy which dominated local metas, however the fact that Rebels won worlds shows that if you think outside the box, even "OPness!" can be defeated (and pretty **** soundly. Pretty sure he went 10 - 0).

     

    I admit there's not going to be many top tier lists. With only two waves released, there's bound to be a few lists that fare a lot better than others regardless of the person playing it (on average). We'll just have to wait for more waves to be released for variation to increase. I think the spotlight is just on Ackbar right now because he's involved in some of the more popular tier 1 lists out there.

  20. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    To clarify even further on my previous post; just because it doesn't take immense amount of skill to run Ackbar doesn't mean he's this OP crazy Admiral. It's a fallacious argument to say that "because it was his first time and still kicked my ass it must be OP".

     

    Tactics vs. Ackbar

    • Aim to be in front/back arcs of ships. completely nullifies the commander.
    • Try to be obstructed vs. long range ships like corvettes. They only sport 1 red dice in some arcs so their attack gets cancelled completely if they are obstructed.
    • Construct your fleet to have objectives that will affect their movement. Contested outpost, minefields, fleet ambush, dangerous territory, etc. give them hard decisions, and capitalize on it.
    • Focus your efforts on the flagship (not always best strategy, but a good thing to keep an eye out for). Once that's down, the other ships will be running with their tail between their legs.
    • Use bombers/fighters effectively. They're unaffected by the bonuses of Ackbar. Force a situation that benefits you.
    • Place obstacles effectively.
    • Placement (of ships, squadrons) at the beginning of the game matters. Use deception. 

    That's just a short list. Armada is all about understanding your opponent and outwitting them. Obviously they'll try and stop you from doing any of these, that's where skill comes in. In some ways yes, Ackbar is easy mode. It's easier to understand than other rebel commanders. But it's not "god mode".

     

    The thing I love most about this game is that decisions are what affects it most, not lists. Ackbar just asks that you get a little bit more creative and meticulous in your approach.

     

    Honestly when I build lists i'm more worried about that double ISD. those are lethal!

    Tirion, nathanaelsmith88 and Viper Jr. reacted to this

  21. Posted

    Commander

    Screed with Guarantee the activation of ACM (Assault Concussion Missiles) and APT (Assault Proton Torpedoes). I tend to prefer Screed over Darth Vader just because of consistency and points.

     

    Raiders / Anti Squadron

    I wish Raiders were good at Anti-squadron. Technically, they are if they're in range. Raiders move along a fixed path, you have a set speed and you can only click so many times in any direction. Squadrons can move in any direction. Most people you play against will know what you're trying to do with your raider and avoid it. If they for some reason don't avoid it, you will only get a few shots off with your raider before it zooms away. Black dice is a 75% chance to hit, so you're looking at roughly 1.5 damage per turn, per squadron. Keep in mind there are other difficulties, such as obstructions which will remove a die from your anti-squadron.

     

    And lastly but not least, if its your raider vs a fireball/rhymer ball, your raider isn't going to be the one that's going to win. Depending on who has initiative, and the order of ship activations, your raider could be toast before it fires a shot.

     

    Upgrades

    Weighing the differences between Heavy Turbolaser Turrets (HTT) and XI7 Turbolasers (XI7's) , I find XI7's come out in front. HTT's don't stop the opponent from bracing or redirecting. They can only do one at a time effectively. However XI7's stop the opponent from effectively redirecting, period, essentially cancelling out those defense tokens.

     

    Gladiators tend to greatly increase their life-span and offensiveness by having engine techs. That extra maneuverability helps them get out of danger, and into useful positions.

     

    SW-7 Ion Batteries could be useful, but for their point cost personally i would probably invest it in something else.

     

     

    You've got some cool ideas, and definitely don't take my word as law! I'd love to see how these actually playtest. Good luck in your games.

  22. Posted · Edited by Seriaph

    I'm an imperial player. Ackbar is always fun to play against. Not OP at all. Two extra reds isn't the end of the world. Ackbar tends to have predictable strategies since their limitations are well known. Definitely not that hard to out manoeuvre. If you're getting creamed, it's probably less about your/their list and more about how you attempted to solve the issues given to you.

    I find mothma generally a harder admiral to play against as the tactics involved are much more flexible.

    nathanaelsmith88 and Viper Jr. reacted to this

  23. Posted

    5 red, 5 blue front arc.

    3 red, 3 blue side arcs.

    2 red, 2 blue rear arc.

    5 shields front

    3 shields side and rear

    13 hull

    4 command

    4 squadron

    4 engineering

    1 brace

    2 redirect

    1 contain

    Cost: 140 - 150

    I understand people want a steamroller. Essentially I think the stats of an SSD will be slightly superior to an ISD. The way FFG will make it "feel big" will be in the title cards, and potentially the amount of upgrade slots. It'll be on a large base but the ship model will probably be the same size as an imperial.

  24. Posted

    I recently tried out a fleet running 1 ISD and 1 VSD (plenty of squads) vs Ackbar / MC80 / 2 Corvettes / Nebulon (few squads).

     

    Unfortunately the rumours are true. the VSD doesn't really stand up in todays meta. Some short comings include:

    • If you want to navigate properly, you'll need to get that extra yaw from the navigate command dial
    • ...however if you want it to be a carrier you'll be more inclined to run the squadron command dial.
    • ...of course, since its defense tokens can easily be negated and it can't run ECM, you'll need that engineering command dial to keep it alive to do something useful!
    • With three command dials, that'll be some impressive forward planning.

    Unsurprisingly, VSD ended up getting popped without even needing to be hit by the MC80.

     

    ISD however took two full volleys from a decked out MC80 and didn't take any damage cards, surviving til the end of the game. For the extra 35 points, an ISD II is far superior than a VSD II, gaining:

    • an extra defense token (contain)
    • extra yaw
    • extra speed
    • 3 extra hull
    • better upgrade slots
    • superior firepower
    • more shields
    • and able to command more squadrons.

    If there is a use for a VSD in todays meta, I doubt it will be included in a straightforward, obvious strategy.

    badgerclaw171 reacted to this

  25. Posted

    Hey chaps! Another fleet I wanted to get some feedback on. This is a little out of my comfort zone, I'm not naturally someone who runs fragile fleets with little margin of error required. I understand it's low on squadrons, but I figure that they'll be enough to tie up enemy fighters or demolish unprotected/lightly protected bomber squadrons.

     

    Let me know what you lads think, what kind of strategies might be good for a fleet like this (keeping out of harms way or dealing optimal damage), and if you have any criticisms / thoughts for improvement.

     

    Gladiator Punch  
    Author: Seriaph

    Faction: Galactic Empire 
    Points: 397/400 

    Commander: Admiral Screed

    Assault Objective: Opening Salvo 
    Defense Objective: Fleet Ambush 
    Navigation Objective: Superior Positions 

     [flagship] Raider I-Class Corvette (44 points)

    -  Admiral Screed  ( 26  points) 

    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Engine Techs  ( 8 points) 
    -  Assault Concussion Missiles  ( 7 points)
    -  Demolisher ( 10 points) 

    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Assault Concussion Missiles  ( 7 points)
    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Assault Concussion Missiles  ( 7 points)
    Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points)
    -  Assault Concussion Missiles  ( 7 points)

    1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points) 
    1 Jumpmaster 5000 ( 12 points) 
    1 TIE Advanced Squadron ( 12 points) 
    1 Soontir Fel ( 18 points) 

     

     

×
×
  • Create New...