>Konstantine The much-anticipated rework seems pretty good, but good lord is that messy to read. Considering you can't zero-speed (understandably), you'll still need to find a way to leverage speed changes into winning. >Ozzel Pretty good buff, IMO the only thing he was really good with was Raiders and sometimes Arquitens and Gozantis since most ships want to stay at speed 2 and cap out at 3. And with nav commands you basically still get his old effect. >Iblis/Tagge Getting to pick your rounds instead of two arbitrary rounds makes them more flexible. Garm will be helpful with all the token-refresh commands, though I still feel like Tagge is too situational. >Tarkin Much needed points reduction, I still wouldn't really run him without Sovereign >Mothma Points reduction, straight buff, and improvement to base Evades. My Mothma MC30 fleet is really happy with this, even with Admonition getting nerfed >Demolisher I don't think the nerf on its own is too bad, now you're just forced to actually use the ability it comes with. Coupled with the Engine Techs nerf, its much less cheesy. >Avenger This makes me feel... eh. Boarding Troopers/Sloane/Overload Pulse is basically mandatory to get any use out of this now. >Admonition RIP. I guess with the Evade buffs, Foresight's gonna be the new default MC30 title. >Mon Karren While I don't think the change itself is too bad, I really, really don't like them messing with the one actually-good LMC80 title. >Yavaris Can't say I'm too surprised about this one. No more instagibbing Star Destroyers with B-Wings. I think this might push Rebel Bomber lists more towards Y-Wings since they still effectively double their damage (no second BCC reroll though), but its probably not an auto-include anymore. >Slicer Tools Did Slicer Tools really need a nerf? I guess a Minister Tua ECM Gozanti with them can be annoying, but I doubt they get used that much otherwise. >ACM/APT The black crits are far and away the best crit effects in the game, so no surprise they got reined in. Coupled with the nerfs to Ordnance Experts, ExRax, and Demo/Admo, small shotgun brawlers really got hit hard. >ExRax And given those nerfs, also not surprising External Racks got its cost doubled, otherwise it'd probably be the new 'default ordnance.' I think this'll be a lot more rare though- it was most best on the likes of Hammerheads or Raiders that really only get one good close-range shot per game so you didn't want the 5-7 points for the crits, but now that its the same cost as APTs you're probably better off aiming for the face-up card. >ECM Again, no surprise, hopefully this'll make taking other Defensive Retrofits feel like less of a handicap. >Dual Turbolaser Turrets Just a wording change, but seriously, there is literally no reason to use these over LTTs unless you haven't spent your Modification slot and don't have the 2 points. >H9 Turbolasers Are a modification now. I can't think of too many other modifications you'd take with this one, maybe HCIT, or Quad Battery Turrets for long-range HIEs. A bit sad to see my favorite Turbolaser upgrade nerfed a bit though. >Quad Turbolaser Cannons Also a modification, but it almost feels like this was done specifically to nerf H9/QTCs granting 2 accuracies (or an accuracy after a Weapons Battery Tech crit). Given these were already 10 points for an effect that has a 1/8 chance per die of proccing, I think these will start seeing even less play. >XI7s Probably the most fair nerf of the bunch. On its own its pretty much the same, but it no longer completely hoses Foresight and Advanced Projectors, which in turn still aren't a hard counter to XI7s. >Engine Techs No more double ramming, RIP. >Brunson She was pretty strong already, so no surprise she was priced up. I feel like 9 points is a lot though. >Grint Wording change >Gunnery Team No more triple attacks from an SSD. It'll still be a large/huge staple, but maybe a bit less of a default weapons team if you don't have the token economy to constantly use it. >Ordnance Experts 2 free rerolls (no exhaust or command required!) for 4 points is still good, it just no longer guarantees to fix your whiffed shots or lets you fish for crits haphazardly. I've only played with these a couple times, but I rarely even need to reroll more than 2 dice at a time. Overall, I'm honestly a bit disappointed in the changes. The absolute top-tier upgrades were reined in as expected, and a few underwhelming commanders got a buff, but other than them they didn't do anything to bring up any underwhelming upgrades. Yavaris got the nerf bat, and Independence remains one of the worst titles in the game. DTTs are still worthless next to LTTs. Most slot-defining upgrades are still slot-defining, they're just somewhat less effective and usually need a way to be fed tokens, but its not like Flotillas are expensive (plus they now have the resupply upgrades so they don't need to burn their own commands for Comms Net)

Aethersprites have 4 hull and Dodge only affects attacks from other squadrons. A round or two of sustained flak and all your generics will go down fast, even faster if your opponent has direct damage like Ruthless Strategists or Mauler Mithel. At 17 points each, those generics will end up ceding a lot of points, even if the Jedi survive. Also, for that much points in squadrons, you have no bombers. Even if they don't get flakked down, your only option with them is occasionally plink with single blue dice, maybe getting a few extra rerolls from Nevoota Bee. So if your opponent doesn't bring more than a small token fighter screen, they probably won't make back their points.

Interesting to note that, unless this is an error on the person posting these, Demolisher doesn't specify 'your first maneuver' (ie, no Engine Techs) like its current errata.

Only one evade makes them less efficient with TRCs, since they'll have to discard that token once they start taking shots back and can't use them anymore. Though 2 red in the sides does give them a little more damage.

This was known for awhile. I'm sure the CW ace rosters are designed around this restriction. Separatists aces in particular seem more like straight upgrades on their base models, rather than fundamental buildarounds, so they shouldn't have a problem building a decent squad roster with the 4-ace limit.

I like doing these side-by-side comparisons, so (the forums don't like wiki image embeds) : https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars-armada/images/d/d8/Tie-bomber-squadron.png/revision/latest?cb=20150223202626 https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars-armada/images/c/ca/Ywingsquadron.png/revision/latest?cb=20150223211220 The Hyena does have the least hull for the most points. 11 isn't exactly expensive for a generic though. 2 blue dice puts it on par with the Rebel Y-Wing (slightly less consistent than the Republic Y-Wing), and not quite as hopeless as a TIE Bomber if it does have to shoot at other squadrons. Speed 4 is pretty good and will get it in and hitting fast if you can sneak it around the Republic's slower squad screens. Hull 4 is definitely a knock against it (though still tougher than Vultures and Trifighters), and coupled with its higher cost, ATN/spam lists aren't going to be very efficient. The Hyena's main advantage over the other two is its anti-ship damage. Yes, red dice are swingy- occasionally you hit the two damage, more often you miss- but with AI, you basically have a built-in BCC with the second die. The odds of rolling 2 blanks are about the same as BCC rerolling a blank into another blank with an X- or E-Wing. A Hyena with AI rolls an average of 1.5 damage, compared to 1 for any given black-die bomber. Its the same average as a Firespray, Decimator, or ARC-170, but on a speed 4 squadron for 11 points and with the potential to swing into 3-4 damage if you're lucky. Throw in an actual BCC and you're now looking at an average 1.78 damage, compared to 1.25 for a single black die or 1.69 for two blues. Your average damage-per-points for the basic bombers without and with BCC is: Y-Wing: 0.1/.13 TIE: .11/.14 Hyena (with AI): .14/.16 The running theme for Separtist squadrons is that they're fast, cheap, expendable, and specialized like Imperial squadrons. They need support and commands for AI, but they pay back dividends in the amount of value you get per unit. Republic flak is somewhat better for the cost, but mostly pretty bog-standard. Acclamator's better than a VSD, Consular Armed Cruiser is Nebulon Escort for much cheaper, Charger is as meh as it gets. Definitely not going to be single-handedly holding back enemy bomber swarms. The Separatists lack escorts, but its not like the TIE Advanced is a staple Imperial squadron. (I tried uploading the bomber cards but couldn't and now I can't get rid of this picture)

This is probably a dumb question, but AI provides a bonus to DIS-T81's Snipe, right? Being able to pick out Jedi through V19 swarms and jet away at speed 5 ought to make it pretty good for 17 points.

Good point. Still, itll be fun, and with Bomber, a bit more consistent than Phantoms even if you dont hit 4.

The Hyena may be my new favorite generic bomber. Add a second red (not black, I can't read) with AI and some nearby rerolls and it can potentially spike into 4 damage.

Well, the Rebels already have a Grit-Rogue-Bomber in the Lancer, and hardly anyone uses it. If you were to take that, add 1-2 hull, Counter 1, and anti-ship with higher average damage, and its only real tradeoff is one less speed and anti-squad die (but again, Counter 1), it'd definitely need to be costed up, possibly in the 20s if you now compare this hypothetical ARC-170 to an 18-point Firespray. Basically, if you're loading it up with that many keywords you have to pay the cost on them, and this kinda exacerbates the issue with Lancers: If you have a Bomber, you want support for it (BCC, Nevoota Bee), and if you have that support, you want to Command them in the ship phase, so why pay the Rogue tax? All things considered, I'm fine with the ARC-170 being a B-Wing parallel.

Plo Koon only grants Counter 1 to (non-unique) squadrons that don't have Counter, he doesn't increase Counter values like Dengar.

Well I mention it like 3 other times in that post so... yes. I should've specified built in reroll, I tried to do the initial analysis side-by-side in a vacuum before taking other upgrades into account.

I like what I'm seeing here. The general sentiment was that Republic is 'Empire ships with Rebel squadrons.' I think that mostly holds up when you look at them alongside the Rebel I squadrons: V-19 vs X-Wing: Both are cheap(ish), speed 3 hull 5 Escorts, with some decent secondary anti-ship capability. Both have a damage cap of 4 on Squadrons. The V-19 needs to roll a double hit off its red. Swarm helps, but you still have a 5/8 chance of coming up blank. In any case, its at least less likely to have a total blank roll than an X-Wing. One more point to the X-Wing: 4 blues has a better chance of turning up an accuracy when fighting token aces. Once you have a clear path to capital ships, both are good (but not great) at targetting them. X-Wings can dish out crits and potentially hit the 2 damage side, but have a 3/8 chance of missing. If they're escorting a bomber fleet, odds are you have BCC nearby (maybe even Torynn for anti-squadron) to mitigate this. V-19s only deal 1 damage and no crits, but have a 3/4 chance of doing so, and Nevoota Bee can provide them with rerolls (albeit a unique title that requires a command from a Command 3 ship, and there are likely to be much better targets for its effect). There's been a bit of back and forth on which one's better, and I say: It depends. V-19s are more purpose-built for escorting and fighting against Squadrons, X-Wings can (with proper support) do better against ships while still being good at fighting other squadrons. If you're building a fleet around Bombers and support for them, X-Wings will probably give you more mileage than a V-19 in a similar fleet. That's just my evaluation, obviously there are going to be more Republic upgrades that might even that out. Y-Wing vs Y-Wing: Not much to say on the Y-Wings, other than 'Its strictly, albeit only slightly, better.' Identical in almost every way, but trades one blue anti-squadron die for a black, which will hit more often. But how often are you losing games because one of your bomber's two anti-squadron dice came up crit instead of hit? ARC-170 vs B-Wing: So the ARC has a lower damage cap against ships and costs 1 point more. It trades a blue for a red die, giving it a higher anti-squadron damage cap, but without a reroll like the Torrent has its more likely to miss. 7 hull though, is absolutely nuts, alongside counter 1. It has the same hull/speed/Counter combo as a YT-1300 (though no Escort means you're not obliged to shoot it), and only the Decimator and VCX have more hull. With access to Hyperspace Rings, getting these straight into the fight and staring down enemy ships will be much easier, even moreso once they get access to Fleet Commands for AFFM. B-Wings will still have to be pushed repeatedly by FCT/Wedge/AFFM (or Independence if you're desperate), and now that Intel is nerfed they run a chance of being bogged down, though again, Wedge helps. If you can get them into range alongside Torynn and BCC though, B-Wings will have a much better time hitting that sweet 3 damage+crit. Overall though, as much as I like Best-Wing, I feel like the ARC-170 comes out ahead here, trading a little bit of its anti-ship capability to be somewhat better against Squadrons. Side note, I almost feel like the Republic Y-Wing should've been more in-line with how the ARC-170 was built. Republic Y-Wings were armored and had a gunner, so being tougher-but-slower with Counter 1 would fit while differentiating them from the stripped-down Rebel version. No ideas on how to build the ARC to be different from that, though. Delta-7 vs A-Wing: Probably the least apt comparison here, so I won't attempt to make a passing judgement between these two. Both are fast, low-hull Counter 2 interceptors. The short of it is: Delta-7s are expensive. At 17 points- 6 points more than an A-Wing- they're the fourth most expensive generic squadron in the game (behind Decimators, Gauntlet Fighters, and Firesprays- funny how all 3 of those are Empire. EDIT: They're also all Rogues, so the Delta-7 is also the most expensive non-Rogue generic). And for that, they're still slower than A-Wings and TIE Interceptors with the same 4 hull. A Munificent with LTTs and a bit of luck can knock one out in one hit from long range. Dodge will definitely make them harder for Squadrons to take down, especially with Counter 2. If you disregard its cost (unless someone wants to do the damage-per-point math), I don't think any individual squadron in the game has the same raw squadron killiness as the Delta-7. Overall, the Republic squadrons feel like they have the toughness and firepower that Rebels are known for, with the associated higher cost and lower speed. That said, it also feels like they trade a bit of the Rebels' versatility for being a bit more slanted towards anti-squadron combat. I think this is a great start, and I'm excited to see where the Republic's squadron game goes once it gets some more toys in its sandbox to play with.

I'd bet money (not a lot of money, but money) that the Q1 expansions will still be released on time (worst case scenario they get pushed to the last week of March). The new factions need these expansions to be competitive with the old ones, or even playable outside 200 point starter pack demo games (or shelling out an extra 300 dollars for Acc/Muni spam, but very few people are going to do that). If they delay the first wave, they risk losing the momentum of Clone Wars launch when people get bored of 2 ships per faction, and that can hurt potential sales and new playerbase growth in the long run. I think its a bit more likely that there could be a content drought following the first wave of releases while the new teams get settled in, unless FFG has unannounced expansions well underway they can easily pass on to AMG. In this case, I could see individual releases of the starter ships being released with new titles/upgrades to fill the void without a ton of investment. I'm no economic analyst though.

Well, think of it this way: It has a similar offensive configuration to a Hammerhead, but it doesn't have to close in to contribute. The Transport can stick by a capital ship and make use of its Fleet Support, the Battle Refit has no reason to close past red range. 3 shields in the front should give it more head-on durability than the Hammerhead. If we're comparing it to the Nebulon, the Hardcell Battle Refit costs 1 point more than the Support Refit, has 1 more black flak die, Command 1, and trades Support Teams for Offensive and Defensive Retrofits (also may have Squadron 2 but it could be a downgrade from the Transport). Defensive Retrofit should give it some more durability, depending on its token suite, and even if it has Squadron 1, it can slot in Reserve Hangar Decks as an easy way to replenish your Vulture Droids. So you sort of get a 'best of both worlds' between the Escort and Support Nebulons, having a good mix of durability, firepower, and support for its cost. I'd hazard the Transport to be 44-46 points, though that depends on what exactly its giving up for the Fleet Support slot. Both Defensive Refit and Turbolasers make sense on a 'battle refit' of a transport vessel, though at twice the cost of a Gozanti and presumably no Scatter I'd hope for more than just the standard Flotilla upgrade bar. Though it does have more shields, hull, and dice. Assuming it keeps its Offensive Retrofit, this'll make a good carrier with BCC, able to push AI-boosted Hyenas with rerolls.

On another note: I think Auxiliary Shield Teams will be great on a Munificent, giving it 4 shields in the sides. Might actually make Advanced Projectors worthwhile, since your opponent will have to burn through 14 shields before you start taking hull damage. Accuracies are a thing of course, but even with the occasional lost redirect 4 shields is a lot for a ship that wants to stay at long range. Once the Providence is released, Projection Experts+Wat Tambor will make a pretty good shield battery. Put Wat on the Providence and he can hoover a shield from the Muni, then the Muni feeds it 2 more while buying back one for itself (spends 2 to return 3, or spends 1 with a dial+token). Conversely, put Wat on the Muni, he hoovers one shield off the Providence to feed back 2 from the Muni, Muni buys back the 2 for itself (spend none to return 1, both gain 1 with dial+token). Depends on whether you want faster or more efficient recovery, and how safe you can keep the Muni.

Meant to update that. What I assume to be the support variant has the same dice as a Hammerhead, but one more shield in the front and rear. The Battle Refit is all reds. With one less die in the sides and none in the rear, its not quite as good at double arcing and running away as the Nebulon, so IMO its a bit closer to a Hammerhead, though with Squadron 2 and an Offensive Retrofit it does inherit a bit of the carrier capabilities of the Escort Frigate or a flotilla. No word on its defense tokens or mobility AFAIK.

IIRC they've mentioned rereleasing the GCW ship cards with the new formatting and keywords, so I think a '1.5 conversion kit' could be a thing after a few waves of CW releases (as of now there are no upgrades that specify any keywords but Clone and Droid). I doubt we'll see a full ship rework for anything, since they'd also need to print new cardboard bases if they changed hull/dice, but points adjustments would make sense. I don't know if the upgrade card pack is coming with ship titles, but if not, it could be their chance to rework some of the lackluster titles as well. I love my MC80 Carrier, but Independence is the hottest of garbage compared to Nevoota Bee. Dominator is tied with Concord for most expensive ship title and second most expensive upgrade (after Expanded Launchers). With the recent announcement of Armada development going to a new studio, I can see the new team prioritizing a conversion kit like that as a near-future update.

True, but lets not act like the VSD and AssFrig were widely regarded as stellar ships to begin with, and were already kinda curved out by later releases (even with no other combat-focused mediums). To me, the Muni and Acc are FFG's attempts to 'fix' the issues with mediums. Mainly, they're costed far more efficiently, and there's more differentiation between the two variants (though they're clearly meant to be built one of two ways- cheaper variant as a carrier, more expensive as a range-specific brawler). IMO the power difference between the Muni and AssFrig is far less than the Vic and Acc, and just reducing the MkII A down to 75 or so points would make it more competitive. Compare the smalls and its much closer. The Charger C70 is nearly identical to a CR90A, the Hardcell looks like a Hammerhead Scout with one more shield in the rear.

Something weird I just noticed about the Sa Nalaor title: It specifies speed 2 or higher on a ship that caps out at speed 2. Makes me curious if they have something planned that let's ships go above their maximum speed. I'm sure they don't (no idea how that would work) and they're just safeguarding against a thing like that happening in the future, but its interesting to think about.

I'm familiar with some of their board games like Catan and Ticket To Ride. Sounds like most of the main leads behind the development of Armada/X-Wing/Legion are sticking with them under the new studio. However, I am a bit wary of license/development transfers in general, especially since Armada is kind of the red-headed stepchild of X-Wing and Legion. And we're at a bit of a critical juncture with Clone Wars about to release.

If the Acclamator is basically 'VSD but good,' i think the Munificent is comparable to an Assault Frigate: -Same hull and shield configuration -Cheaper variant has one more squadron value -3 red on the side arcs makes them a good long-ranged broadsider, and 2 red out the front/rear is good for salvo Munificent has: -One less blue in the sides for 2 blue in the front. Its double arc is stronger than MkII B, identical to the A -Same yaw at speed 1, 1 more click at speed 2 for 3 total -Support teams slot, so Engine Techs for fake speed 3 and potentially 5 yaw makes it crazy maneuverable, or FCTs for further squadron movement -Native Salvo instead of Evade (though it can still resolve Evade with the title) -Ion Cannons slot (but blue dice in only one arc) -Red flak on both variants, pairs well with LTTs -Command 2 makes it more responsive (but harder to bank tokens to refresh all those new upgrades) -Significantly lower cost, a full 8 points less between the more expensive variants Assault Frigate has: -Both Offensive and Defensive retrofits on both variants -Weapons Teams slot, so it can take Gunnery Teams, Flight Controllers, or Local Fire Control -Mk II A has stronger Salvo potential, and can take Reactive Gunnery to interchangeably use its Evade and the Salvo effect instead of just swapping it with LFC -Native speed 3 -Blue flak, which is shorter ranged and has a lower damage ceiling than reds, but more consistent than reds, and 2 blue is easier to get full use out of than red+black Not gonna get into faction-specific upgrades, though IMO the Munificent's titles are better, being cheaper and less finnicky to get off. Side note: If you spend the 8 points and Modification slot, the Star Frigate with High-Capacity Ion Turbines is the same cost as a Mk II A, with identical side arcs and a stronger front arc. Tbh, barring some new ion upgrade we haven't seen yet, i can't think of much else to add of you're not taking a different modification. It doesn't have enough blue dice to rely on the crits (barring Kraken) or SW-7s, and doesn't have enough dice in general to warrant Leading Shots, especially if you're taking LTTs.

"I sent you a dix ship, please respond."

Out of fairness (since you'll still outnumber and out-points your opponent), I wouldn't go too ham on upgrades. Just some basic reroll/defense upgrades to make your Hawks a bit more consistent. I like Expert Shield Tech with Unity's extra redirect. Accuracies are the bane of Starhawks with their lack of ECMs and reliance on piles of tokens, and Ravager throws enough dice that it can almost guarantee accuracies. Major Derlin, Lando, and Commander Agate help here, especially if you plan on zero-speeding with Concord. Both effective and flavorful! Especially if it gets blown to **** in the process! For more offensive upgrades: Just the bog-standard LTTs and Leading Shots should be good enough here. Nothing too crazy, but it makes your shots/Salvos hit more consistently. Amity can get away with TRCs (as can Agate's ship if she gives it Evade). You dont necessarily have to take a weapons team here, but Veteran Gunners for rerolling flubbed shots or Local Fire Control to replace your Contain could be useful (Gunnery Teams won't be great against a single ship). If you wanna go for broke, H9/Battery Techs with HIEs can burn through the SSD's mountain of shields. Or just stick in an extra die modification. One other thing I'd recommend: With no Leia/Comms Net flotillas, your Hawks may struggle with commands, so you might get some use out of dial/token officers if you feel okay spending the points.

I tried something similar with my entire Rebel collection (which wasn't complete at the time so no Starhawk) versus a single fully-built Executor-II. It was swatting down MC80s like they were CR90s. The Starhawks might fair slightly better, but with no way of correcting its attacks, adding extra damage, or protecting its defense tokens (except maybe Agate on one), it's gonna come entirely down to getting lucky on dice rolls.