Arquitens article updated and Imperial maintenance ahead

Since I finished up Poppa Palpatine, I wanted to start working on article updates in light of the SSD and RitR releases. First priority was the Arquitens article, as they've improved pretty remarkably with access to Krennic, Linked Turbolaser Towers, and Expert Shield Tech, making them easier to slot into fleets than prior to those releases where they were "fine but you need Vader or Jerry to fix some part of them that sucks."

Now with less awful!

Speaking of Imperial commanders, they'll be getting reviewed and updated again once I'm done with Imperial ships. I want to make both types of article's layout more consistent with one another and to that end I'm shortening many of the earlier Imperial ship articles by removing the "commanders that work well with this ship" section from the bottom and will probably be adding a "ships that work well with this commander" section to the commander articles instead. Given the ship articles tend to be some of our longest articles overall and the commander articles are relatively short, this seemed to be the best way to present that information while lessening the burden of getting through those long ship articles.

On a side note, we recently hit 1.5 million pageviews! Thanks for reading!

Reminder: Chicagoland Armada Charity tournament on Saturday November 9th

We mentioned this earlier, but a brief reminder to go sign up if you were interested but hadn't signed up yet!

Website is:
https://www.homebasegames.com/armada?fbclid=IwAR2kc9nAWcQLAdTPhs3oMBlmXd68oL91NV8kWg4B2cGpXGExhCBSuxHPNHw

This will be good practice for the upcoming Primes and it's a fun laid back event.

NOVA Winner Guest Post 2/2!

Matt's still writing, and John will just let him talk below the jump.

See, it's a Chevy Nova, so.....

More Guest Posts! NOVA Winning Guest Post 1/2!

Brief John note here before I dump it off: We got Matt Ansley, fresh off his NOVA win to do his writeup.  Matt, one of the few people who can rival me for wordiness, ended up writing over 14,000 words.  This post is then split into two; this is the "List Genesis and Setup" bit, and next post will be the actual GAMES one.  Everything below the picture of him in blue is his, see you all next time!

Matt is my friend, and that is why I'm allowed to post semi-embarassing pictures of him

John's Finished!

Take Evasive Action! Holy crud this card is really good!

PIVOT!!!

Take Evasive is more interesting about what fleets it SHOULDN'T be with.  CR90 spam is out, as are Arquiten spam lists.  But it helps the Navigational ability intensely of a lot of early wave ships.  Assault Frigates, Nebulons, Victories, speed 2 or 4 MC30s, EVERY LARGE BASE SHIP in the game.  It's a Madine effect without Madine, and it's very much worth building around.  I can VERY much see this on a Cymoon/Chimaera led Imperial fleet doing some handbrake turns to get around the battlefield in a LOT scarier way than you ever thought possible.  Because a more maneuverable Demolisher isn't ALREADY terrifying....  Of super special fun note: Jerjerrod and a Super Star Destroyer's navigate command and this DOES let you do a full 90 degree turn with it.  So.... that's my new nightmare.

As for the Rebels, I like the idea of it on a Pelta, helping out an Assault Frigate and Nebulon, maybe a Hammerhead or two? Maybe a large base? I'm not specifically NOT using a CR90 with it, but it's a very interesting concept, freeing me from automatically stapling a CR90 into things.  LMC80s getting more turning ability have never complained, that's for sure.

Fun fact: this combines super great with Engine Techs, as you're making a speed 1 move there.  It triggers on that speed 1 movement AND your regular movement as well.  Have fun with THAT!

John's making his way through!

Lando and Kanan! I also updated Malee and Mart with a few new sentences (I like them more now!) but I'd suggest clicking on the articles linked in their names as it's not a whole lot different from before.

Gotham City's Best D.A.

Lando is the newest entrant from Rebellion in the Rim, and designed by (again!) Chicago's own Nathan Coda.  If you bring Lando, no bringing Han, as there's only one Falcon in existence.  This ALSO means no putting Lando protecting your flagship.  I know, I'm scared too!

Lando's abilities are super nice, first being able to discard a defense token to set a dice to any side.  That double hit on the red is my personal favorite, but maybe you need a hit elsewhere to finish things off.  Fun notes about this part!

• "That die cannot be modified again." No, you CAN'T scatter the damage away.  You can brace it or redirect it (as brace is for the total number, not the individual die), but you can't Scatter or Evade it.  Lando hates flotillas and will put them in the GROUND.  This ALSO means, however you don't get to spend any accuracy you change it to.  Spending an accuracy removes it from the pool of available dice, which means it's modified.  So no rolling a double on the red and then changing a blue to an accuracy.  Sadly doesn't happen.
• "While attacking." Roll your pool first, man.  Maybe you'll luck into the double you need anyways!  This is for both anti squad and anti-ship, but man, 4-6 damage guaranteed is mighty nice alright.  Toryn Farr still affects those blues, even if he isn't a bomber.
• You want Asteroid Tactics as your yellow objective.  You're welcome.  Build with that in mind.  Keep in mind that he's Rogue, so you move in, spend a token to shoot and get that double red against their ship.  You can then shoot next turn, get that double, and then move to an asteroid for a Brace back.

His second ability lets you spend a Brace to reroll as many dice as you choose.  So when you get targeted by Wedge and here comes 6 dice? Reroll ALL them hits please.  It gives you a chance of removing 1-2 damage shots and may potentially remove way more.  Notes on this!

• No double spending Brace tokens.  So after you have your opponent reroll, you don't get to then Brace that damage again.
• "Spend 1 of your defense tokens." You aren't Admonition; if it's accuracied away you don't get to spend it, and Sloane still is a jerk alright.

Nathan has said that he wanted Lando to bring back SFC and MFC groups, and that's where I'd start with him.  He's going to take out more than his share of points in opposing squadrons, and if you're lucky (slash once you kill all the opposing squadrons) you can then use him to start taking out ships as well.  You CAN put him in a full 134, but.... I wouldn't? Just like, personally? But I need to build and play with him more and probably edit that statement some.... Lando looks like a LOT of fun to play, and I'm VERY excited to get him to the table.

He's all that.  I'm VERY proud of that joke.

Kanan, debuting in Rebellion in the Rim, is my favorite card in the box.  Straight up, no lie, most fun.  Giving me/the Rebels good Raid abilities is ACTUALLY fun and thematic and good.  I've hit ISDs before and gotten them MOSTLY dead in one turn, but that's also SLIGHTLY alive.  The worst thing is when that ISD either does a leave and navigates away, forcing me to chase it, or engineers and repairs away a bunch of that damage I wanted still on there.  Kanan basically says "No" to that plan.  With his ability and dice complement, I can almost guarantee you a minimum of 1 Raid token a turn (don't roll 2 accuracies).  Sometimes you luck into 2 of them with a Hit and a Crit (the Jyn Erso special!) and sometimes you just use one as Raid and the other as pure damage.  Sometimes you just need 2 damage.  In any case, he's shutting down one ship's ability to do a command or dial+token it every turn.  He's REAL fun against Thrawn, that's for sure.

Add in Cloak and Rogue and he can keep hopping on the station to heal up (twice a turn if he wants!).  He's squishy, but able to sneak out.  And he's REALLY FLIPPING ANNOYING.  If you ignore him, I'm just going to keep raiding that ship of yours and preventing you from using it fully (that Arquittens doesn't want to Nav or Concentrate Fire, right? Like, ever?).  If you try to kill him, you're likely going to need to invest way more than 19 points to do it, and I'm going to Cloak out as much as I can.  Raid is good, finally.  Combine him with Rex and go to town.

Try not to have him squadron fight, as he's not great at it, and he'd rather be Raiding ships.  Bring other friends who can fight for them to fight in his stead.

John Half Updates

More Updates, for the YT2400 Ace and Scurrg Ace below.  Expect Kanan and Lando soon. I like them more (NOT sorry) so they get to be my reward for later typing, haha.

I'm sure he's a nice guy, but that is the LAZIEST Star Wars name I've seen.

Mart Mattin, from Rebellion in the Rim, is yet another way of getting Proximity Mines to go off.  What he loses in Dash's ability to take out squadrons, he gains in the ability to throw mines at ships.  Is that worth the points on its own? No.  In combination with a minefield strategy, however....

He hits squadrons as well as a regular YT2400, which is both good and bad, especially as you'd rather be mining things for a chance at 2 damage straight to the hull.  Put mines down for the slower ships, by the way.  Fast ones that can just jump your placed mine aren't a great plan.  He survives long, and would love to live in an obstacle to just stick around as long as possible, and there's nothing preventing him from toggling his slider even if he's about to get shot by a bunch of TIEs during the squadron phase.

For both Dash and Mart, they combine great with Adar Tallon, either giving Dash another crazy bananas attack or launching Mart to where you need him to drop that mine later.

A shiny space penny to whoever can identify who she is in canon for me!

Malee Hurra is the new ace from Rebellion in the Rim.  She is one of the more pricey squadrons, tied with Han and only behind Hera/Morna Kee for most cost in any faction.  She's basically Screed on a stick.  If she's at distance 1 of a ship and only engaged by 1 or 0 squadrons, you can smoosh 2 dice together to make a critical appear.  This is kinda cool on 2 blank reds, but just like Screed it's REALLY good on making (blank) black dice turn into Hit/Crits.  She only works once per activation, and you can't be engaged, and she has to be at distance 1, and the moon has to be in the 7th house, and you have to had sacrificed a FRESH goat (not store-bought) to the crossroads demon, and if you give a mouse a cookie.....

Yeah, it's a fair amount of setup to get the engine working.  The obvious answer is to put her into your Sato fleet, where she can help your ships get that critical off (and I'm DEFINITELY saying get a fancy Ordnance critical off; you're spending all sorts of points for a combo that had BETTER be worth the setup you're investing in it).  I'm not suggesting scrimping on your reroll mechanics, because removing Ordnance Experts/Task Force Organa is an easy way to watching Malee get focused down and shot repeatedly by everything your opponent can throw at her.  But it's a way to potentially remove a few of them and use those points on other things.  Try to keep her on an obstacle to both protect her and prevent her from getting engaged by multiple squadrons.  She does NOT want to fight her way out of those (a blue and a red? Oof, pass), but she CAN Grit move her way out, and the 2 blue dice anti-ship are pretty solid as well.

Other fun things you can do with her!

• Guarantee that you're getting Heavy Ion Emplacements to proc off that CR90B that she's near.  She shows him exactly where to fire the fancy ion lasers and get that crit off.
• Help out an MC30 (or other ship) with Fire Control Teams (yes, THAT upgrade) get off something like Assault Concussion Missiles and XX-9? (And oh, yes, that does work the way you want it to).  Fire Control Teams is an exhaust, mind you, but that can rip some ships apart if you can keep her close enough to get it to trigger.
• If you put Malee inside a Hammerhead (with Rapid Launch Bays) and then put THAT inside Profundity, you can potentially get a critical by aggressively rerolling your Hammerhead con-fire dial out the side (feed the Hammerhead a squadron token, likely with Hondo, to ensure you can kick Malee out).  If you get it out the side, you can then trigger Malee's ability on the front shot of the Hammerhead for 2 potential APT/ACM criticals from your Hammerhead.  (The reason I said to con-fire out the side first is that if you con-fire out the front and don't get the critical, you can't smush 2 dice together out the side since you'd only be rolling 1).  And if you place her right, your Profundity can ALSO benefit from her ability too!  This is a very huge wombo combo, but it's very hard to counter, as she can just jump out of the Hammerhead unengaged.  And then your opponent has to either let the Profundity shoot or find a way to kill her FAST before she can trigger and help it again.  I'm not saying it makes Rapid Launch Bays good, but it's definitely interesting at least?

I haven't fully explored everything Malee can do yet, but she's definitely a very interesting character to build a list around.

LTTs (yeah you know me!)

Turbolaser Update! Alphabetical! Updated a few of them (HTT: not great, Bront!) but mainly added this little beauty.

Where have you been all my Nebulon based life?

Linked Turbolaser Towers (Towers, not turrets!) is the replacement/good version of DTTs (above).  Instead of being a modification and an exhaust effect, it's 2 points more for a reroll on any red dice you attack with.  ANY.  Strap it on an SSD and reroll that red flak! Reroll from BOTH your Nebulon/Arquitens/Assault Frigate attacks! This turbolaser puts DTTs in the dustbin, and that's BEFORE we even get to the flak bit that really hates one particular squadron! If you're a primarily 2-4 Red dice throwing ship and don't have the tokens for TRCs, this is the turbolaser for you.  Anything that's throwing 5+ red dice (Ackbar HMC80s and Cymoons) may want more than just this as their dice corrections.

Main people I expect to see using this are Nebulons, Assault Frigates, Arquitens, and potentially SSDs, ISDs, and Victories with a specific plan for using it.  I wouldn't really put it on an HMC80 but some weird Liberty plan isn't out of the question?  Really, I'm just happy these 3 ships are getting turbolasers that make them worth putting on the table and don't require half the hoops I have to jump through for some of these other upgrades.  If you're bringing one of those 3 ships I linked to at the start of this paragraph, I'd strongly suggest starting with those turbolasers on them.

New Neb Next!

Added the Vanguard, minor updates on the Neb article as well.  I need to hit the turbolasers next....

No, no, it's van Guard.  It's Dutch.

The Vanguard is the newest Neb to join the party, and what a Neb we GOT.  Getting a redirect token and a Weapons Team slot, this "fixes" most people's issues with the Nebulon.

The first question, of course, is what do we replace, the Evade or a Brace token? It's up to you if being a Fake Assault Frigate with an Evade-Redirect-Brace is better/worse than 2 Braces and a Redirect; it'll depend on how you fly it and how you plan on moving into and out of danger.  Easy answer is if heavy squadrons against you, replace the Evade.  If mostly light squadrons, use a Brace.  But it's situational and lets YOU decide.

Now then, what Weapons Team? So MANY good options here, really.  There's a Ruthless Strategists Escort Neb with 2 dice of flak and a 3rd potential point of damage into whatever squadron you're attacking, there's a Gunnery Team version if you just want to double tap out the front at long range, there's a Flight Controllers version if you want a carrier, etc.  The way I look at the Vanguard is that it's the vanguard of my forces; leading them in and letting something else deliver the killing blow.  So if I want a carrier, have Yavaris coming in behind it pushing some squadrons after Vanguard clears the others out with Ruthless flak or Flight Controllers (it's also a great spot for Rex!).  If I want an initial punch for my forces, have Salvation or several hammerheads following up as well.

Sample build that I will need more games with:
Neb Escort (57)
Captain Rex (5)
Auxiliary Shields Team (3)
Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
Vanguard (4)
Ruthless Strategists (4)

That's an 80 point build for basically a fully upgraded Assault Frigate.  Is that better or worse than an Assault Frigate? No idea, but it's CHEAPER, alright.  You can do similar with Gunnery Teams or something like that as well.  The ability to create 2/3 of an Assault Frigate (health and firepower wise) for the cost of a basic Assault Frigate is mighty nice and definitely worth exploring.

CR90 updates whaaaaa

Updated the CR90 with the Liberator title, pasted below.

I'm liberating you from needing a Pelta.  Obvious joke is obvious.

The newest entry in the CR90 title options, Liberator is a PHENOMENAL inclusion.  It's a one-use Fleet Command, and there's some wonderful options that are worth including in your fleet.  The easiest answer is All Fighters Follow Me, zooming in at +1 speed after your CR90 fires into the large ship.  I love the idea of slipping it onto a CR90B with HIE, following a bunch of shield damage up with massive fighter strikes.  You can also put on Entrapment Formation, able to change speeds DRASTICALLY if needed with your whole fleet.  There's arguments for the new Take Evasive Action, Intensify Firepower, or Shields to Maximum, but TEA doesn't actually help the CR90 it's on (if it's helping the rest of your fleet, though....), and IF and StM generally are those you want to be using on multiple turns.  However, don't let me stop you from trying those out.  I just know I'm excited to play that fighter swarm plan.

John's Dropping Articles Like Taylor Swift Albums!

MORE UPDATES - Support Teams are updated and alphabetized!

Listen, I know it's on fire, but the datapad says the first step is checking in with your team to make sure everyone is engaged.

Auxiliary Shields Team is from Rebellion in the Rim, and it's super nice on several ships.  You can increase the shields in their side zone by 1 when you recover them or move them.  Generally, this is on any ship with a Support team slot that doesn't want Engine Techs, or has a plan that doesn't involve Engine Techs or FCT (those are 2 different things).  Realistically, I expect to see this in the wild on Nebulons, Libertys, Interdictors, specific Pelta/Glad builds, Vics named Harrow that don't want Engine Techs for some reason, and specific Command Arquitens builds.  Mainly, Nebs and Libs.  Engineering on turn 1 takes a Neb from a 3-1-2 spread to a 3-2-1 spread (which is a Pelta/Glad shield zone spread).  Leia and Garm can let you get a 3-2-2 spread, which.... ain't bad, actually.  You CAN'T take this on anything that already has Shields 4 (well, you CAN, but it's pointless), so no HMC80s for you.  For everyone who's ever complained about a ship being too squishy on the sides, this is the upgrade you've always wanted.

John did MORE updates????

What is this, crazy town, John doing 2 updates in a day? Rebel uniques below, and those were alphabetized as well for future uses.

I fought on Endor, you know

Captain Rex is one of the new Rebellion in the Rim officers, and a great character on Rebels.  I'm happy he got a great card to go with that.  If you're commanding squadrons and are at close range of a ship, here, have a Raid token to go with the damage I just poured into you! And even more fun, you can't get rid of multiple tokens until I'm not at distance 1-3 of you! He combines great with Kanan, but he's also just really solid on any carrier that's going to end up in the thick of things (and wants to push several squadrons, but I DID say carrier already).  Carrier GR75s, Vanguard (not Yavaris, it doesn't need a SECOND target on it), Assault Frigates, Peltas (provided you can get into the thick of things and then OUT of the thick of things quickly), Large ship carriers, he's great anywhere you plan on commanding squadrons multiple times a game.  Fun note: the ability to remove those Raid tokens ISN'T tied to him commanding squadrons, just existing near the ship.  Fun note 2: even if he dies this turn, no getting rid of those tokens until NEXT turn.  Make Raid count for you.  Rex is GOLD in the right situations, you just gotta leverage him and make sure you keep throwing squadrons with him.  Last fun note: pushing zero squadrons but still spending the dial/token counts as commanding squadrons.  RAID THAT SHIP!

What, you think you some kinda Jedi or something?

Ezra Bridger, protagonist of the Rebels TV series, and friend to space whales everywhere is SUPER fun.  Let's go over movement of obstacles! (Anything I quote is verbatim from RitR, so, take it as gospel.)

• Obstacle movement says you place one end of the middle of the range ruler on the edge of the obstacle you want to move.  Then you move it up to the specified distance (here, 1-2).  It can't end on anything or under anything (squads, ships, other obstacles, any tokens).
• "The obstacle can be rotated as long as no part of that obstacle is beyond the specified maximum distance of its move from that object's original position."  So you can swing one end around, but the other end of the obstacle can't go more than the Distance 2 from it's start.
• "If an obstacle with a token placed on it due to an objective card or other effect is moved, that token remains on the obstacle."  Mines and VIPs get to move with the obstacle.
• "If an obestacle that is overlapped by a ship or squadron is moved, that ship or squadron remains in its current position after the obstacle is moved."  That X-wing does NOT get to move with it.

Lotta words there.  But! What it means for you is a lot easier to explain! Ezra gets to move obstacles around.  Where they're the MOST destructive for your opponent, as it doesn't happen on deployment like Grav Shift Reroute.  You can put Proximity Mines on any of the obstacles and then have Ezra shove them directly in something's path (like a Purgill!), you can slip a Gravity Rift right in front of that Super Star Destroyer, you can push a Dust Cloud JUSSSSST in front of your ship, guess you can't attack me this turn huh sad.  There's a LOT of jerk maneuvers you can do with this, but any list that wants maximum efficacy with Ezra wants some horrid new obstacles to throw in the way.  Dust Clouds, Grav Rifts, Purgills, mines, anything that makes your opponent think he's going one way but actually resulting in bad times for him.  If you're playing Con O, I mean, I guess, but.... there's a LOT better options.  Your WORST case scenario should be throwing an asteroid under their ship for 2 turns, or obstructing your ship from their attack, and there's DEFINITELY better in a lot of the objectives (I cannot stress dust clouds enough, especially if you can lurk on one side and wait them out and force them to cross the cloud and get shot by you.  And again, anyone who selects Rift Ambush from you is ASKING for a bad time.).  It's hard for people to predict in-game when you move an obstacle, and I am very happy to mess with minds in-game.

EXPLOSIONS!!!! - Mr. Torgue

Sabine Wren is relatively easy to understand.  She drops a Proximity Mine (which must be distance 1 away from any OTHER Proximity Mine - RitR book says so).  Any ship that lands on her Prox Mine takes the same potentially 2 damage as any other mine, but! It's placed whatever round you want to.  When you see your opponent coming in at speed 3 and you know he's going to be pushing squadrons this turn? Time for a mine in his landing zone.  It's also an opportunity for ONE more mine token on the board, at the cost of the officer slot (YMMV there).  I like the mines a lot; they're great deployment help, especially for some of the MSU fleets I like to run.  And getting to drop one more just to try to throw under your opponent? Mmmm, delicious! Obvious combo with Ezra is obvious, but hey, worth mentioning.  Don't necessarily throw it out turn 1, but if it REALLY helps your plans, go for it.

Generic Officer Updates!

John got off his lazy butt after running 20 miles today and wrote a thing!

You can tell he's an expert cause he's got that fancy hat

Expert Shield Techs! The new Rebellion in the Rim hotness! Our only generic officer addition! He's pretty phenomenal, especially on anything with a double redirect.  Your MC30s, your HMC80s, potentially the SSD, ISD, or even a VSD.  Goes great on Arquitens too, making them JUSSSST that much tankier, and combining great with the other new turbolaser, Linked Turbolaser Towers.  You CAN put him on a ship with a single redirect, but it's at the mercy of anything with an accuracy.  I'm not saying "Don't do it" just... be aware of the limitations there is all.

He's realllllly good at neutering individual squadron damage shots, and he's even OK when you run out of shields (as he can still reduce the damage by 1 there, too!).  You may want to engineer some with that ship, and that keeps him even more annoying as there's just that much more shields to take out.  He's a great "Lando replacement" on your MC30 cruise missile, if you're using Lando squadron.  He should keep the ship survivable on the way in, and he should hopefully let you get that one shot off before speeding away.  Larger ships may need other people in the officer's chair, but I can definitely see using him there and not be disappointed.

I ALSO alphabetized the Generic Officer Section, so that'll be helpful going forwards.

GenCon Data Updated!

Thanks to Truthiness for fixing the data to grab things correctly. Luckily, there wasn't too much that actually needed fixing.  No idea why some of it was running weird, but it's all updated in the article (Toryn and MC75 Ordnances showed up more than I initially thought.  No real changes to the article were made).

If anyone wants to SEE the data, here's the link to it all.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1v-Pl_S7CwnUGaImSWViRXSieAMn1CdhJ4vBdJiom9CM/edit?usp=sharing

Now, onwards to some Rebellion in the Rim articles....

First up....

Quick John Post!

I've been informed that the GenCon data needs to be updated as formulae weren't reading right.  I'll have an update by the end of the weekend, AND I'll get everyone who wants to see it a link to the data itself.  It's late though, and I just got back from a run, but I'll do everything in my power to get it fixed before Monday morning, so.... check back then!

Also I'll get to a Rebellion in the Rim article soon, too.  SOMEONE is making me look like a lazy loaf.

(eats more ice cream, turns on Hilda on Netflix)

I just started, no spoilers please! But I'm working on stuff I swear!