They could... but will they? 🤔

I agree. I think we'll get the Separatist Squadrons preview on Friday and the Hardcell preview on Monday. The question is will there be time for previews of the Upgrade Card Collection, Dial Pack, and Armada 1.5 Rules Updates before the CWA expansions are released on Friday December 4th?

I like the change to Evade, but that kinda diminishes Mon Mothma's ability. Sure, she still allows Evade to cancel 1 die at medium range, which is still helpful, but MM's close range/distance 1 rerolls were super helpful at protecting ships from squadrons, especially flotillas, and now all ships, flotillas, and squadrons can do that with Evade. I wonder if this means that Mon Mothma will get a points reduction? Or if her ability will be updated and enhanced?

I read the "While attacking..." sentence as specifying that squadrons with the AI keyword gain +1 attack die, like they do when activated by a Squadron command. However, HSB doesn't say that only squadrons with AI can be activated. If you choose non-AI squadrons, are they activated as if by a Squadron command or like normal Squadron Phase activations? The card doesn't specify that. I suppose we have to assume it follows Squadron Phase activation rules because the HSB card doesn't say otherwise. That's why I think it would be helpful if FFG clarifies it.

Yes, HSB does require a Repair or Squadron token to refresh, but it provides greater value for spending a Squadron token to activate 3 squadrons (for the Comms Frigate) during the Squadron Phase than activating only 1 squadron during the ship's activation. The ship can bank a Squadron and Repair token in Rounds 1 & 2 (or be given those tokens by other means) so it can be used 3 times, in the Rounds that really matter. The wording of the card is kinda ambiguous whether squadrons get a "full activation" or not, because the card just says "activate each of those squadrons." Then the next sentence specifies that AI squadrons activated by HSB gain an extra attack die when attacking the AI-specified target, as if activated by a Squadron dial. Because those are separate sentences, it probably means the squadrons can't Attack & Move or Move & Attack... but I think FFG needs to clarify that point. Regardless, the main purpose of HSB is to give AI squadrons their Squadron command attack bonus during the Squadron Phase. HSB can also activate squadrons at long range. So it kinda acts like Flight Controllers and Boosted Comms, limited to the Squadron Phase, for only 3 points. I think HSB is definitely worth trying, and it could turn out to be a significant advantage for the Separatists faction.

Is that a fact? Because it looks like it's a product glamor shot against a green screen, which would've allowed them to pull out a clean image in post. The box isn't wrapped it plastic in the promo photo, but if you look close at rear-left of the Acclamator, there's a kind of shimmer against the starfield, which is presumably from the plastic that holds the ship miniatures in place. I doubt they would include visual flaws like those in a digital render. Also, the other promo photos look real to me, like this pic of the miniatures: Again, I believe the mini's were shot against a green screen table and backdrop to capture clean images. I know that FFG must have created 3D digital models for concept and manufacturing purposes, but applying 3D textures or digitally painting them to make them appear so realistic would be expensive and unnecessary. I'm fairly certain these are just digital photographs of the actual products. Another possibility is that they are high quality artist proofs in the promo pics, and the production miniatures don't look as good. I hope that's not the case.

If the Munificent Star Frigate had an Offensive Retrofit slot, it would make sense to equip Hyperwave Boost on that ship since it's not worth using Squadron dials to activate 2 squadrons. But it doesn't -- it has Defensive Retrofit instead. The dilemma comes with the Munificent Comms Frigate whether to equip EHB or Hyperwave Boost. A Separatist squadron-heavy build could have a dozen or more Droid squadrons and I don't think it's possible to activate them all, so Hyperwave Boost will allow a Comms Frigate to activate 6 squadrons per round -- that's better than 4. And in the latter half of matches, Sep players will probably issue Repair commands to the Munificents, so equipping Hyperwave Boost will allow them to still activate any Droid squadrons that survive that long. I'm inclined to try the new upgrade cards and determine how well they perform. There's not much point in just using the same ol' upgrade cards IMO. Mix it up a little, try new stuff, and have some fun! ☺️

I sincerely hope that the plastic wrap and light source are washing out the colour and details of the Acclamator, because it looks very different in that photo than the promo pic: Both the Acclamator and Consular Corvettes in the promo pic look like they have a darkish wash applied, which makes the greebles pop and gives it the "lived-in universe" look that most Star Wars ships have. If the Acclamator appears like it does in the OP's photo, I think I'll apply a dark wash to the miniature myself and try to get it looking right.

I don't think I've ever used Demolisher to double-arc with with ACMs or APTs. The only way to use Demolisher's ability and double-arc with Ordnance would be at Speed 1 (or 2) -- otherwise Demo's first shot couldn't be in close range -- and it's rare and risky to fly a Gladiator that slowly. The whole idea is to speed in, attack, and get out of range again. And normally, Demo last-firsts and only uses ACM for one attack per activation anyway, which is sufficient to kill even large Republic ships. That's why the updated ACM being exhaustible is fine with me! 😁

That decision will fall to AMG now, but they'll probably follow the Clone Wars Armada trend of having expansions exclusive to one faction. But I plan on buying both CW factions anyway so I wouldn't complain if they do a combo pack. 😛 I don't know if either the Republic or Separatists have 8 unique Rogue/Villain characters/squadrons, so maybe they'll do 4 squadron types with 2 mini's each, an Ace and a generic, similar to the squadron packs. If the squadrons are good, players will want more than one of each anyway.

I don't think the LAAT/i gunship belongs in Clone Wars Armada, but it's so popular and iconic that I wouldn't be surprised if it appears in Republic Fighter Squadrons II -- similar to how the LAAT/i ended up in X-Wing 2E. If the LAAT/i does appear in CWA, it will certainly have Assault -- I can't imagine what else it would be used for. The Nu-class attack shuttle or Eta-class shuttle are other options for the Assault keyword, but those two should have Relay and/or Strategic instead (akin to the Lambda and VCX-100). I agree that Rex will probably be a Boarding Team -- although it should be Anakin commanding the boarding team and Rex commanding the Clonetroopers. But if it is Rex's BT, that would free up Anakin. I predict Rex will be the first Republic boarding team, and maybe later Anakin will be a BT with a stronger ability and cost more points.

In the Clone Wars, Republic warships usually fired blue turbolasers, which were ionized to be more effective against droids. It was like a turbolaser-ion cannon hybrid. That's probably why we aren't seeing the Ion Cannon slot on Republic ships... But we've only seen 2 Republic ships thus far, so it's premature to assume the Republic can't use Ion Cannons. It's possible the Venator could have an Ion Cannon slot -- although the canon Venator was not equipped with Ion Cannons. I wonder if an "Ionized Turbolaser" Turbolaser upgrade card, with a weaker Ion Cannon-type special crit effect, will be introduced at some point -- probably Republic-only (or Republic and Separatists only).

I'll happily take ACMs being exhaustible for the 2 points reduction. Double-arcing with ACM was OP'd and would've been game-breaking if it wasn't so rare. This welcome change to ACM fixes that problem and makes ACMs more affordable. 👍👍

I believe that "Rogues and Villains" referred to the characters of the Aces, not the Rogue keyword. None of the squadrons had a "Villain" keyword. Rex was committed to the Republic so I doubt he'll appear as an Ace in a Clone Wars equivalent of the Rogues and Villains pack. It's possible Rex will be the Ace for a Nu-class attack shuttle or a LAAT/i gunship squadron, probably with the Assault keyword because he participated in numerous boarding actions.

I hope so, because I've been toying around with the Warlords fleet builder but I'm reluctant to finalize my build until I know the ship titles for the Consular Corvette and Hardcell.

The Twilight will most likely be a squadron in a Clone Wars "Rogues and Villains" pack, rather than Republic Fighter Squadrons II, but Rex isn't a Rogue or a Villain. Whereas Anakin -- or Ahsoka -- could loosely be called a Rogue while flying the Twilight. I'm certain that Anakin will be the Ace for the Twilight. But if AMG emulates what FFG has done with Armada campaign expansions, the Twilight could get a second batch of Aces and Uniques, similar to how Rebellion in the Rim added new Rogues and Villains Aces. TBH I hope AMG changes things up and just releases a "Squadrons Upgrade Expansion" rather than include new squadrons in a Clone Wars campaign expansion.

I think Implacable will be used more often to protect another ship, or Republic Aces from enemy ships' flak, especially the Munificent's red die. Luminara and V-19 escorts seem like the best protection for Aces, because as long as there are some V-19s around, Luminara and other Aces are safe from enemy squadrons. Implacable could be one of those ship titles that seems good at first, but when the Acclamator receives more ship titles in the future, it might become a dud. At least it's only 4 points, instead of 8 points for Redemption or 12 points for Dominator.

The logic behind Hyperwave Boost is brilliant, because it competes with Expanded Hangar Bay for the Munificent Comm Frigate's single Offensive Retrofit slot, forcing the player to choose between activating one additional squadron during the Ship Phase, or waiting until the Squadron Phase to activate 3 squadrons. But... waiting until the Squadron Phase might allow the enemy to destroy some Separatist squadrons, so there aren't 3 un-activated Droid squadrons left -- maybe only 1 will be left, squandering Hyperwave Boost. And maybe that 1 extra squadron activation would've been enough to kill a wounded enemy Ace; instead, it activated, attacked, and moved away to safety, and the Sep player missed out on scoring 20+ points. That dilemma will make competitive play very interesting!

Yes, that's what I meant by FFG choosing not to give the Weapons Team slot to the Munificent so it couldn't equip Flight Controllers. Droid squadrons already get an extra attack die by being activated by a Squadron command, which is basically a free Flight Controllers upgrade. If the Flight Controllers upgrade card was stacked on top of that, Vulture Droids would be OP'd. And I bet Droid Tri-fighters would be even worse! With that in mind, I predict that few Separatist ships will have the Weapons Team slot, and the ones that do will probably have small Squadron values (1-2) to keep Droid Fighters+Flight Controllers under control. For example, I predict that there will be a Carrier version and a Destroyer version of the Providence-class. The Providence Carrier will probably have a Squadron value of 4 or 5 and 2 Offensive Retrofits, similar to the Acclamator-I. But only the Providence Destroyer will have Weapons Team, 0 or 1 Offensive Retrofits, and a Squadron value of 2. Speaking of which, hopefully FFG will reveal the Providence and other Wave 10 ships soon -- maybe next week!

I agree. It would've been thematic if FFG had made the Vic-2 speed 3 and more maneuverable -- which also would've justified the 12 point price jump from the Vic-1. If they did that, they could also change the Harrow title to be Vic-1 only. If AMG follows through on FFG's hint of releasing a Ship Card Collection in the future, it would be great if they revised the Vic-2 to reflect its Legends source material and show the progression of Republic Clone Wars warships into the Imperial era.

The ISD was designed to assert control over the Empire's territory and chase down pirates, criminals, and rebels that used small, fast ships, so the ISD was designed to be fast. That was one of the ISD's improvements over the Victory SD. An ISD could even keep up with the Millennium Falcon at sublight, so we know from canon sources that the ISD is relatively fast. So I understand why the ISD is speed 3 and not 2. The MC80 Liberty, MC75, and Onager are also speed 3, so the ISD isn't the only speed 3 large ship in Armada.

Good point. I didn't consider Kickback's synergy with Ahsoka. They could be a very potent pair. However, they can be shut down if Ahsoka is engaged by two or more enemy squadrons. Grit is useful, but it's no old-school Intel. And I don't think new Intel's Grit stacks.

... Getting back on topic, I think Anakin's Y-Wing squadron will be an auto-include for all of my Republic builds, and I'll probably pair him with Ahsoka. Another great combo should be Plo Koon, Luminara Unduli, and a bunch of V-19s (and Y-Wings). Enemy squadrons will be forced to attack the V-19s, which will gain Counter 1 (with a Swarm reroll) and be obstructed. That means that an un-activated Vulture Droid can only inflict 1 damage per attack (75% chance with a black die) and there's a 50% chance it will suffer 1 damage in return, so odds are that those 3 hull Vulture Droids are going to die before the V-19s do. I'm surprised that Kit Fisto costs so much, but I suppose that Intel and his ability are worth it. (But it makes me wonder if Jan Ors and Dengar will be increased in points down the road.) If Intel is important to you, Kit Fisto is the only option for the Republic. Perhaps Republic Fighter Squadrons II will add a cheaper generic Intel squadron, someday. I'm struggling to justify the 15 point ARC-170 when the 10 point Republic Y-Wing can also inflict 2 damage with a crit, is speed 3, only 1 less hull, and can gain Counter 1 from Plo Koon. I know that Plo Koon costs 24 points, but if you also have some V-19s, his ability benefits all the generic squadrons; whereas Plo Koon cannot benefit the ARC-170 at all. And un-escorted ARC-170s will be sitting ducks -- that can soak up a lot of damage. I don't think Oddball is worth 23 points because his movement requirement means that he probably can't use his reroll ability until the later rounds, if the Republic can destroy the enemy's squadrons. Then he should inflict plenty of damage to ships. If Odd Ball had Grit, he'd definitely be worth 23 points. Kickback seems worthwhile at 16 points just for his 2 Braces; his mediocre ability is hardly relevant. If I'm spending points on a V-19, why wouldn't I spend an extra 4 points for an Escort that should be able to survive twice as long? The only reason I wouldn't include Kickback is if I already had 4 Aces. Overall, Republic Fighter Squadrons I is very impressive and I applaud FFG's decision to include 4 Delta-7 Aces instead of the traditional 1 Ace per squadron type. I think it's definitely worth buying 2 packs to be able to use 3 or 4 Delta-7 Aces.

You're deliberately misrepresenting that I wrote "at least $1 profit" to try to discredit my argument. If a business always ended up making at least $1 profit at the end of each fiscal year, regardless of unpredictable market fluctuations or unforeseeable crises, i.e. a pandemic, then they would still be sustainable. The reality of modern business is that just because a business makes high profits every year, doesn't mean they keep millions of dollars in a war chest for rainy days. The reality is that the lion's share of those profits are paid out as dividends to shareholders every year, leaving little in reserve to see the business through economic downturns. But when a recession inevitably happens and the business' profits dry up, do the shareholders ever use the money they made from years past to re-invest and prop-up the business? NO! They either cut and run at the first sign of trouble, leaving the business to die; or they lay off most of the employees to protect next year's profits. Those are the business practices that are truly unsustainable. It's the modern Robber Baron economy.

I know. I doubt I'll ever use 4 Consulars or 4 Hardcells. (Previews for those small ships would certainly help!) I'd prefer to buy individual ship expansions instead, if that was an option. Unfortunately, it's not... at this time anyway. 😞