That's just contemporary business "philosophy", which is about as moral as a gold-digging widow. If FFG wasn't owned Asmodee, which in turn wasn't owned by an investment group, FFG could be sustainable as long as it made at least $1 profit every year. And we all know that FFG makes A LOT more profit than just $1 a year. This is almost certainly a case of FFG's annual profits being in the modest millions, but Asmodee's investors want it to be tens or hundreds of millions. No amount of money will ever satisfy "people" like that. And the vain attempt only costs good people's jobs. But who really cares about the people responsible for making the games that we all enjoy and discuss on this forum, right?

Based on the squadron bases visible in the promotion images, the Separatist squadrons don't have Strategic either -- unless an unrevealed Separatist Ace has Strategic... which is possible, because the Republic squadrons didn't appear to have Intel until Kit Fisto was revealed today. Regardless, we do know from the Sep squadron bases that the Belbullab-12 has the Relay keyword, whereas none of the Republic squadrons has Relay. It's unusual for one faction to receive a keyword like Relay but not the other faction. Perhaps the Separatists won't get an Intel squadron to balance it out? If I had to guess, the Twilight will be Anakin's unique ship in a Clone Wars version of the Rogues & Villain pack. I suppose the Twilight and/or the generic version could have Strategic, but I predict the Republic's Strategic squadron will be a shuttle/transport, similar to the Lambda or VCX-100. There are several Strategic options for the Republic: Nu-class attack shuttle, Eta-class shuttle, Theta-class shuttle, or possibly even the LAAT/i gunship. I predict that one of those will be in Republic Fighter Squadrons II and will have Strategic. Speaking only for my local META, players rarely choose token-based Objectives so the Republic and Separatists' lack of Strategic squadrons isn't a serious concern -- but it could be in competitive play... whenever that resumes.

I seriously doubt that Asmodee's decisions are because FFG was "un-profitable" considering how successful X-Wing, Legion, and Keyforge have been. I suspect that FFG just wasn't profitable enough to satisfy Asmodee's parent investors. IMO if a business generates enough revenue to cover all of its expenses, including employee salaries and benefits, and makes $1 extra, that business is profitable and therefore successful. As long as that business continues to make quality products that the majority of its customers like and buy, it shouldn't be meddled with just to maximize profits, because that only benefits the faceless wealthy people at the top. The employees and customers never benefit from the higher-ups' greed. On the contrary, the customers are taken for granted and exploited, and the employees become casualties of that greed -- as appears to be case with the FFG layoffs. If I had the choice, I'd never give a penny to Asmodee and gleefully watch as their empire crumbled and went bankrupt. I whole-heartedly support FFG's games and all the people who make them. But this subject is best left to the "FFG Layoffs" thread. I'm much rather talk about a happier subject like the Republic Fight Squadrons pack Preview...

ARC-170s and Hyperspace Rings should be a great pairing that compensates for it being speed 2 (like the B-Wing). The only problem with Hyperspace Rings is that, logically, any starfighter equipped with a hyperdrive should have the Scout keyword. I don't expect FFG or AMG to revise the GCW squadrons and give all the starfighters with hyperdrives (according to canon) the Scout keyword -- but there is that logical inconsistency with the introduction of Hyperspace Rings. But I think we can live with it. 😉

I've pre-ordered one of each Clone Wars expansion (except the dial pack) and have been waiting for these previews to decide if I will buy more. I'd really like to know more about the Consular Corvette and Hardcell too, but based on what has been previewed so far, yes, I think I will pre-order a second Separatist Fleet Starter so I can fly two Munificents together.

I believe the Munificent is intended to behave like it was depicted in TCW CG animated series: The ubiquitous Separatist warship, deployed in numbers, flying in line formation, lumbering straight at its target while outputting a lot of firepower. I think Munificents are designed to be deployed in a firing line, based on their firing arcs, attack pools, shields, and lack of speed. Also, as I previously mentioned, Kraken and Separatist upgrade cards enable ships to support each other and mitigate damage, so Munificents want to stick together. When two or more Munificents fly together, I think they qualify as #2: The big bad boy tanks that roll in, taking and delivering hits. And it makes sense that the Separatists need 2 ships to fulfill the heavy combat role that one Star Destroyer or Mon Cal cruiser traditionally performed. The Munificent's maneuvers will be fairly predictable, but if 2 or more Munificents are formed in a wide firing line and deployed opposite of the enemy's primary ship(s), it won't really matter. The "big" ships are going to engage in battle, one way or another. Even if a Speed 3 medium or large ship tried to speed past or around the Munificents, the frigates have the range, firing arcs, and maneuverability to counter that tactic. Munificents aren't designed to be tricky, like a MC30 or Demolisher; they're designed to be omni-present and frustrating to deal with. I think that smart Separatist players will queue Repair commands for Rounds 4-6, which will allow Munificents to continually restore shields and repair damage, keeping them in the fight while they grind down enemy ships. The Munificent is a slogging "tank" as long as there at least 2 of them (equipped with the appropriate upgrades). That interdependency and strength-in-numbers philosophy is emblematic of the Separatist faction identity. That's why you can't use them same ol' tactics, META, and "rules" from the GCW factions and apply them to the Separatists, because their faction is fundamentally different from the Rebels, Empire, and Republic. The Separatists don't operate like other factions. A single Munificent doesn't need to be both a good carrier and a good combat ship, because a Munificent Comms Frigate can be paired with a Munificent Star Frigate, fulfill both roles, and support each other. "Over-heating" defense tokens won't be as effective against the Separatists because their ships aren't dependent on having a second Brace, Redirect, or Evade to tank or cancel damage. The Separatists' resiliency stems from their ability to mitigate incoming damage and then repair damage more efficiently than the other factions. Then the Munificent gets to attack and inflict damage that will be more difficult for the enemy to deal with. Also, the Munificent has a built-in Salvo def. token and an impressive 2 red dice rear arc, so it will be dishing out damage when it is attacked. Its potent Salvo arc will probably deter most enemy small ships from attacking it, especially at long range, which means the Munificent is less vulnerable to small ships, like Rebel players favour. That gives the Munificent a significant advantage over the AFMk2 as a pure combat ship.

FFG chose not to give the Munificent the Weapons Team slot for a reason, and I suspect it was to deny it Gunnery Team, Flight Controllers, and Ruthless Strategists, and any Boarding Teams. I don't think the Munificent needs Gunnery Team anyway because its unusually narrow front arc seems to be intended for double-arcing, and the Munificent has the maneuverability at Speed 2 to pull that off. I'd much rather use a ship that can attack the same enemy ship with two firing arcs than a ship that can use the same firing arc to attack two different enemy ships, if it spends 7 extra points. Players equip Gunnery Team on Star Destroyers and Mon Cal ships (* and the Starhawk) because they have firing arcs with 6+ dice so it's worth those 7 points to be able to use their most powerful firing arc twice per round, if possible. Whereas Gunnery Team is a bad investment on a AFMk2 and it would be for the Munificent too, even if it had a Weapons Team slot. FFG didn't give the Acclamator-I a Defensive Retrofit slot either; it seems like they do that deliberately for carriers (after Wave 2) so they aren't too tough to kill. I believe that the Separatists' Commanders and upgrade cards tilt the scale in the Munificent's favor compared to the AFMk2. Kraken provides a weaker TRC without having to spend a def. token, boosting the effectiveness of red dice; Wat Tambor boosts Repair commands; Tide of Progress and Battle Droid Reserves mitigate damage; and Sa Nalaor gives Evade at Speed 2. I think a Munificent will be able to kill enemy ships faster and survive longer than an AFMk2 with Gunnery Team and ECM. Finally, the Separatists can support and synergize their ships in ways that none of the other factions can match (as far as we know ATM), which is why I believe their ships are more effective and efficient than their base stats indicate.

Yes, I'm sure they will poop their Pampers by the mere thought of having to wait 6+ months for a new release. 😭

I'm not at all concerned that Armada moving to AMG will disrupt Clone Wars Armada's scheduled releases, because this wasn't a rash decision; Asmodee has obviously been planning this for a while. That explains why there haven't been any new expansions announced for Armada, X-Wing, or Legion to be released after January 2021. The expansions that have already been announced will have the FFG label, and any new expansions announced will presumably have the AMG label. Asmodee has deliberately created a gap in their release schedule to facilitate the Star Wars games' transition to AMG. That's probably why the second wave of Clone Wars Armada ships is being releasing so soon after the launch wave. Asmodee wants to get those last FFG Armada ships out ASAP and then have AMG take over for subsequent waves. I suspect that will mean there will be a substantial gap in new Star Wars miniatures products after January 2021. There might not be anything new for Armada, X-Wing, or Legion until GenCon 2021 -- and by nothing, I mean nothing even announced. I think GenCon 2021 could be used as the grand unveiling of AMG's Star Wars games line-up, and those new expansions will be released in the latter half of 2021.

The Hardcell is nearly identical to a Nebulon in terms of its shields and hull: 3 front, 1 sides, 2 rear, and 5 hull. But we don't know yet what its defense tokens are or its speed and maneuverability. So it remains to be seen how fragile the Hardcell is compared to other small ships. Kraken only requires another friendly ship to be at close-medium range of the target ship, which shouldn't be that difficult to achieve. I get the impression that most players believe that Kraken should be used by rushing Hardcells at enemy ships to get them within close/medium range, while the slower Munificents remain at long range. If players are using Kraken, I believe it should work the opposite way: The Hardcell Battle Refit should attack at long range with the 3 red dice in its front arc -- ideally, boosted to 4 using Swivel-Mount Batteries or Slaved Turrets -- and the Munificent should move within medium range of the target, because it has stronger shields and hull, and more balanced front and side attack pools. Kraken's ability should boost red dice performance the most, changing a blank and providing a needed accuracy or crit; but he can't generate double hits, so he's balanced. Rerolls and dice modification will be difficult for the Hardcell because the Battle Refit doesn't have Weapons Team or Ion Cannon slots for equipping Veteran Gunners, Weapons Battery Techs, or Leading Shots. However, Kraken should provide red dice modification that the Hardcell will need to be an effective long-range threat. This could mean that Hardcells will be more relevant than many players seem to think they'll be.

It's good to see the Separatist Alliance preview. I was gravitating more to the Separatists because I always liked the Munificent more than the Acclamator in terms of their depictions in the movies and animated series, but that was before the Munificents were revealed as speed 2. The Acclamator isn't very maneuverable but that 1 extra speed can be very important. Whereas the Munificent is maneuverable but handicapped by speed 2. The fact that it has the Support Team slot enables it to take Engine Techs and move the equivalent of speed 3 using Nav commands, which makes it similar to a Victory SD with Harrow, but not limited to one ship. But placing Engine Techs on every Munificent will hog a lot of points and give a points advantage to the Republic. Also, the requirement of Nav commands would prevent Munificent Comms Frigates from using Squadron commands -- although the Sa Nalaor ship title helps with that. I think what I'll do is put Engine Techs on the Munificent Star Frigate but not the Comm Frigate, so the latter can focus on Squadron commands. Unfortunately, this preview didn't provide any insight for the Hardcells -- similar to last week's Republic preview omitted any details about Consular Corvettes. I'm pleased that Count Dooku is the second Commander in the Separatist Starter. I suspected it would be Dooku because the Starter's description mentioned him. Dooku's ability is incredible. It's like a combination of Surprise Attack and Emperor Palpatine -- but better than Palpatine because there's no (apparent) way for the enemy to avoid the Raid tokens; they just have to deal with them. Dooku's primary target will probably be Squadron commands, which he'll probably use in 2 rounds between rounds 2 and 4. That means that Republic squadrons will get whittled down by Separatist squadrons and the Munificent's long-range anti-squadron attacks early in the match, and only be able to move or attack during the Squadron Phase. That means that V-19 Torrents will be essential for their 5 hull and Escort keyword, and Delta-7's Counter 2 and Dodge 1 will allow them to give as good as they get from Droid squadrons. Bail Organa's ability could counter Dooku's ability, but only if Dooku uses Raid against Nav or Repair commands. Thrawn will be much more effective at countering Dooku. The Separatists get one of the best squadrons I've seen: Hadr Chall Prototypes. If I'm reading the card correctly, it should be able to attack twice per round if an enemy ship or squadron is at distance 1 makes a move. It even ignores its AI: Anti-Squadron keyword if its ability is triggered by an enemy ship. It's not as versatile as Jendon's ability, but it's cheaper and isn't reliant on a second squadron solely for support. I think the Hadr Chall Prototypes squadron will be an auto-include for any Separatist build that uses squadrons.

I agree. I think a lot of us assumed that the "Armada Blitz" meant a week-long event with a new Armada article dropping Monday to Friday. Now it seems like it's once a week on Mondays, with a teaser on social media the previous Thursday or Friday. Hardly a blitz, but more love than FFG usually gives Armada, so I guess we can't complain.

After a second look, I realize the upgrade slot partially hidden by the Hardcell card is the Support Team slot, not Fleet Support. I recognized "Support" and jumped to the wrong conclusion. FFG revealed the Separatists-only Munitions Resupply Fleet Support card, which strongly suggests that one of the Separatist ships in the Starter will have the Fleet Support slot. I assumed it was the Munificent because the the Support slot mistake. So I might be wrong, but it will be really interesting if one of the versions of the Munificent does have the Fleet Support slot, rather than the Hardcell Transport.

Me too, I want to know about the Munificent most of all because it has a Fleet Support Team* slot. Fleet Support being on a 60-75 point medium ship is going to be a big change compared to 18-28 point flotillas, so I'm curious what FFG has in mind for how to use the Munificent.

It's getting kinda late in the day, so there might not be an Armada post today for the "Blitz". I'd like to learn more about the Consular Corvette, but I predict the next article will be about the Separatists Fleet Starter and focus on the Munificent. And they'll alternate back and forth between the factions' content, concluding Friday with the Rules Update and possibly more about the Upgrade Card Collection and Dial Pack. What I really want to see is the official reveal of the Venator, Providence, Recusant, and Pelta expansions. Because when they're revealed, we should be able to pre-order them!

Based on what's been revealed so far, Separatist ships have mostly red dice in their attack pools, the largest of which are 3 red dice; the odds of rolling a single red accuracy aren't good, and a single accuracy is more likely to be used to target Brace, Scatter, or Evade than Redirect. Even if you include the few Blue dice that Separatist ships have, the odds of rolling 2 accuracies are low. Therefore, I think Obi-Wan's ability will get plenty of use. Also, FFG presumably only gave the Acclamator and Consular a single Redirect because Obi-Wan would be OP'd if they had two. FFG apparently wants to limit Obi-Wan's ability to one-use per ship per round (unless the Republic has some way of readying exhausted defense tokens mid-round). Exactly. It's too early to write-off Obi-Wan as over-priced. FFG has been play-testing Clone Wars Armada for a long time, so they know better than we do how often Obi-Wan's ability comes into play, and they've priced him accordingly. The fact that a main character like Obi-Wan is only 28 points, instead of 30+, is a good indicator that his ability is neither over-powered nor rarely usable. We know nothing about the Venator or Pelta yet, except that they're being released in the 2nd wave of Clone Wars. The Venator is basically a proto-Star Destroyer, and both the Victory and Imperial SD have 2 Redirects; therefore, it's possible the Venator will also have two Redirects.

Yes, that would make sense. ARC-170s, Delta-7s, and Y-Wings activated by Nevoota Bee would gain Swarm, and because they have Swarm and were activated by Nevoota Bee, they would also gain a reroll when attacking ships. So that's even better! The article's reference to Axe gaining an anti-ship reroll made me think that squadrons had to have Swarm to start, but I think that you're right it works for all non-unique squadrons. And Axe still gets the anti-ship reroll because the non-unique specification is only for the first part of the card. Both ARC-170s and Y-Wings have the Bomber keyword, so Nevoota Bee is essentially Bomber Command Centre for 3 points less! That's incredible! An Acclamator-I with Nevoota Bee seems like an auto-include for any Republic squadron-heavy build. And the Acclamator-I isn't significantly more expensive than Empire's Quasar Fire-II. For just 5 more points, it has nearly twice the firepower, +3 shields, +2 hull, a Salvo token, and Ordnance and Turbolaser slots! The Acc-I will probably be the best carrier in Armada. I can't wait to try it out!

The Nevoota Bee ship title for the Acclamator is a great title. It gives Swarm to activated generic ARC-170s, Y-Wings, and Delta-7s -- in addition to the Delta-7's built-in Adept 1 reroll -- and it grants a reroll to V-19 Torrents when attacking ships. This might be the best squadron-enhancing upgrade card in Armada -- arguably better than Flight Controllers since it boosts anti-ship attacks too. It's a good thing that it is Acclamator-only because this ship title could be very OP'd if the Separatists or Empire could use it.

Phoenix Squadron is similar to Green Squadron, so Phoenix Squadron should cost 12 points, maintaining the tradition of non-Ace unique squadrons being +1 point to generics. I disagree that Phoenix Squadron should be 13 or 14 points because an A-Wing squadron with Escort and without defense tokens isn't going to last very long. Phoenix Squadron is designed to die first, so players might be reluctant to choose it if it costs 2 or 3 points extra. If Phoenix kept the A-Wing's Counter 2, then it might warrant being 13 or 14 points.

I agree. The Acc's Def. Retrofit means it can equip ECM and protect its Brace or Redirect (depending on the situation), so it should absorb less damage compared to a VSD. Also, the Acc can move at Speed 3, which should help it get out danger after its shields are depleted. If small, fast ships try to pursue the Acc, they'll have to deal with its Salvo. So I think the Acclamator will have a greater chance at surviving a battle than the Victory.

I think you might be under the impression that the Hardcells are comparable to Rebel CR90s, but I think they are more similar to Nebulon-Bs. The Hardcell Battle Refit is the ship pictured on the right and is 52 points, not 55. If you check its attack pools, shields, and hull strength, they are similar to a Nebulon-B, except it has no rear attack pool. The Neb-B is 51 points for the Support Refit and 57 points for the Escort Refit. The other version of the Hardcell on the left swaps out 3 red dice for 3 blue, so it's the cheaper version; I'm guessing around 45 points. So I don't think the Hardcell is over-priced. As for FFG reducing the points cost of the Victory, I think the Vic-II will definitely be reduced, but the Vic-I might stay at 73 points or only be reduced by a few points, like 70 or 71 points. If the Vic-II's cost is reduced from 85, I agree that the AFMk2A also should be reduced. I'm ok with FFG adjusting the points of the GCW ships because I think it's long overdue for certain ships.

I agree, the Acclamator seems like it will outshine the old VSD. However, I predict the Victory will be updated with points reductions in the near-future, whenever FFG releases the Ship Card pack that they alluded to in one of the videos released around GenCon.

That's true for Amazon.com... but not necessarily for Amazon's international sites. For example, Amazon Canada's prices for all of FFG's Star Wars games are about 20% higher than my local board game shops' listed prices, which is why I buy and pre-order games from my LGS instead of Amazon Canada. I think a quick Google search would easily determine the cheapest source of Armada expansions. If the OP is just getting into Armada, the Clone Wars factions are probably the best way to go because the launch wave is in December and the 2nd Clone Wars wave is supposed to be in January, and it should be possible to to build a 400-point fleet with one Fleet Starter and one of each ship expansion and squadron pack.

I agree, I always thought the "Refit" designations were confusing, because the Interdictor was designed around its gravity well projectors and intended for the "suppression" of hyperspace propulsion, so why was a Suppression Refit even necessary? Shouldn't that simply be the original version of the Interdictor? At least the Combat Refit sorta makes sense because that version of the Interdictor was enhanced for greater combat performance. I prefer FFG's naming scheme for the Onager because the two versions of the Onager made perfect sense: The Onager Testbed was (presumably) the prototype version used to test the experimental superweapon(s); and the Onager Star Destroyer was the finished production version intended for combat. The Interdictor versions should've been named similar to the Onager; perhaps "Interdictor Testbed" or "Prototype" and "Interdictor Star Destroyer". FFG has alluded to future plans of releasing a Ship Card pack in the new standard-size card format. Presumably FFG will use that opportunity to update the ship cards, including the Interdictor versions. My suggestion for FFG is to replace the Interdictor Suppression Refit with an "Interdictor Prototype" with only 1 Experimental Retrofit slot and reduce its cost to 85-88 points; and replace the Interdictor Combat Refit with an "Interdictor Star Destroyer" with 2 Exp Retrofit slots, increase its cost to 95-100 points, and perhaps swap its Ion Cannon slot for a Turbolaser slot, since it has more red dice than blue. And the Interdictor needs at least one more Ship Title; ideally, 2 more titles.

December 4th? That's a week sooner than I think the leaked release date was -- but I'm not complaining! This is great news!