Corvette Swarm (400 List)

[Arratain 0]

Hey all,

 

Crazy idea, looking for feedback.  400 point fleets, rebel Corvette swarm.

 

Objectives: 

Red: Opening Salvo (for massive dice advantage)

Yellow: Hyperspace Assault? (to force them to split forces and get in range of the swarm sooner)

Blue: Minefields? (I just like the idea of pacing mines all up in the way of ISD placement, plus with a fleet of small ships in theory I'm more maneuverable)

 

Ships:

6x CR90a Corvette, Turbolaser Reroute Circuit (TRC)

1x CR90a Corvette (flagship), Jaina's Light, TRC, General Rieekan

 

Total points: 389 (reasonable bid?)

 

Strategies: Try to go second, make other player choose objective (any of the above work well).  Get their ships within range, then start pelting them with at least 14 damage a turn.  I'd probably start every ship at speed 4 and plan on doing strafing runs.  

- Against slower imperial fleet, focus and destroy low hull ships (looking at you Gladiator), then bring remaining forces to bear against bigger ships (looking at you ISD).  Rieeken will allow for as much survivability as can be hoped, and the overlapping arcs of anti-squadron fire can hopefully stop a Rhymerball from being effective (on top of the high speed helping to get away).  

- Against a rebel fleet, if they're doing the Ackbar conga line, probably just try to target the backside and work up to the front?  

 

Main feedback I'm looking for:

1. How do we feel about the survivability of the Covette swarm with a 400 cap compared the previous 300 cap?

2. With the addition of high power close-range ships like the Gladiator and Torpedo Frigate, will the Corvette swarm no longer be effective?

3. Is 7 activations too many?  Or...not enough???

4. Is Rieekan really that useful in this build?  Or would tossing on Dodonna and maybe a defensive squadron or two (A-wings?) be a better use of resources?

5. Is going second a good life choice?  I thought it'd be helpful in bringing the enemy in so that I can safely zoom past them, but I'm open to suggestions on this one.

 

Feedback appreciated!

 

- Arratain

[Green Knight 9,746]

Why do you want to go second? You have 7 ships, enough to force most to come to you.

Rieekan is incredibly useful. Try it. You'll see.

[Arratain 0]

Theory behind going 2nd: I think the objectives the opponent is forced to choose between are pretty advantageous to the second player, and by forcing the opponent to go first I would get more chances to react to their positioning.  

 

Open to further discussion on this point.  Looking forward to trying Rieekan sometime, he seems interesting...

[Ardaedhel 10,844]

Theory behind going 2nd: I think the objectives the opponent is forced to choose between are pretty advantageous to the second player, and by forcing the opponent to go first I would get more chances to react to their positioning.  

 

Open to further discussion on this point.  Looking forward to trying Rieekan sometime, he seems interesting...

But it doesn't even look like you have very clear objectives in mind for the list...? Much Lee's a clear strategy for leveraging them in such a way as to overcome the advantage of going first.

I'm a big fan of the Rieekan CR90 swarm though. My suggestion: try it with CR90B's and SW-7's. More efficient--your goal is multiple simultaneous double arcs with CF.

[Arratain 0]

Fair point on the objectives, I just find that most objectives generally benefit the 2nd player more than the 1st.  Not sure what you mean by "Much Lee's"?

 

The CR90B is an ambitious idea, you could add an entire ship (bringing you to 7 CR90B's with SW7s and then the flagship with Jaina) and still have a 16 point bid.  With Rieekan, they could last long enough to cause some serious damage potentially...

 

How well do you think the list would work overall?  Would it hold up against the current metas out there, or get crushed by ISDs/Rhymerballs/Conga Lines?

[jawarollerdisco 1]

I dig it bro - kiting those imps to death is a nice idea, just gotta hope they bring big ships and not raider spam dude.

[Jondavies72 575]

Raiders do not mix well with LTRC CR90s, which I found out to my cost.

[Ardaedhel 10,844]

Fair point on the objectives, I just find that most objectives generally benefit the 2nd player more than the 1st. Not sure what you mean by "Much Lee's"?

The CR90B is an ambitious idea, you could add an entire ship (bringing you to 7 CR90B's with SW7s and then the flagship with Jaina) and still have a 16 point bid. With Rieekan, they could last long enough to cause some serious damage potentially...

How well do you think the list would work overall? Would it hold up against the current metas out there, or get crushed by ISDs/Rhymerballs/Conga Lines?

It eats big ships for breakfast. Nothing can hold up to the defense token pressure of 4 or 5 double-arcing SW90's.

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

3 damage

The build has different problems though, which is why I don't run it all the time. It's exhausting and time consuming to play 8 ships, particularly with the low tolerance for error that these have. Coordinating all those ships will really take it out of you after four tourney games.

It's also very frustrating to play against. The extremely relentless damage output, coupled with the Rieekan zombie mechanic, makes it feel like a troll list to opponents. I found that I was often making people legitimately angry when I plopped the fleet down on the table, which is part of why I stopped playing it.

Is it good though? Yes. It's hugely adaptable, quick, aggressive, and there's not much it can't handle. There are a few things it struggles against (MC30's are rough for it), but overall it's a lot of fun to play and pretty competitive.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Ardaedhel