Armada News (Aktuell: Vorschau zur MC30c Fregatte - "Race into Battle")

[Diuns]

Ankündigung zur Welle 2 bei FFG: "Here They Come"

"Only the fighters are attacking… I wonder what those Star Destroyers are waiting for."
–Lando Calrissian


Those Imperial-class Star Destroyers aren't waiting any longer… They're coming in the second wave of expansion packs for Star Wars™: Armada!


Imperial-class Star Destroyers, MC80 Mon Calamari cruisers, Raider-class corvettes,Slave I, the Millennium Falcon, and more! They're all coming in Armada Wave II, and the shots these ships will fire are bound to shape the course of the Galactic Civil War.

• Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack
• MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack
• Home One Expansion Pack
• Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack
• Imperial Raider Expansion Pack

In Wave II, you'll find the game's first large ships and Rogue squadrons that can both move and fire during the squadron phase. You'll benefit from a wealth of new firepower matched only by the myriad layers of new tactical possibilities. Wave II also marks the introduction of a host of commanders, officers, crew, upgrades and ace pilots, and you'll find such renowned heroes and villains as Han Solo, Boba Fett, and Admiral Ackbar, alongside a new commander version of Darth Vader.

Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack

At the height of the Galactic Civil War, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer was the commanding cornerstone of the Imperial Navy. Measuring 1,600 meters in length, a single Imperial-class Star Destroyer would boast a crew of more than 37,000 and carried a standard complement of four TIE fighter squadrons, one TIE interceptor squadron, and one squadron of TIE bombers. It could also carry an entire legion of stormtroopers, along with AT-ATs, AT-STs, and other landing craft. Most importantly, each Imperial-class Star Destroyer sported armament powerful enough to bring wayward systems to heel under Imperial control.


The Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack brings this behemoth battleship to your games of Armada with one pre-painted miniature, two ship cards, three command dials, eighteen upgrades, and all requisite tokens.


Moreover, even as it affords you the opportunities to snare your foes with a tractor beam and fly your fleet to battle under the command of Darth Vader, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack introduces a new type of defense token to your Imperial fleet: the Contain defense token. Featured on both the Imperial I-class and Imperial II-class Star Destroyers, the Contain token can cancel the standard critical effect of a shot that passes through your shields to your hull. Given the devastating nature of many of the critical effects in the Armada damage deck, the Contain token is a valuable tool that you'll want to spend wisely as you use your Star Destroyers to spread fear throughout the galaxy.

MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack

One of the most powerful mid-level ships in the Galactic Civil War, the MC30c frigate was of Mon Calamari design and presented a lethal combination of speed, high-powered armament, and advanced deflector shields. The trade-off, however, was that the ship was relatively light on hull plating. This trade-off becomes evident, as well, in the MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack, which offers this ship to the Rebel Alliance as a fast, nimble, small-size vessel that can fire as many as five attack dice from its left and right hull zones. However, to do so, it must get within close range of enemy ships where its shields won't long protect it from taking damage against its four hull points.


In addition to its pre-painted MC30c frigate miniature, this expansion pack contains two command dials and ten upgrade cards, along with all the tokens you need to bring this Rebel ship to battle. Of course, as with other Armada expansion packs, the MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack also comes with two ship cards that let you field your MC30c as either the MC30c Scout Frigate or MC30c Torpedo Frigate. Though they share many of the same design elements, the different costs and battery armaments of these two different configurations ensure a wide range of tactical flexibility for your MC30c.

Home One Expansion Pack

"All craft, prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark."
–Admiral Ackbar


Admiral Ackbar and his flagship star cruiser, Home One, arrive to Armada in the Home One Expansion Pack. Featuring one large-size, pre-painted miniature MC80 star cruiser, two ship cards, three command dials, and fourteen upgrades, the Home One Expansion Pack gives the Rebel Alliance a ship that can trade blow for blow with nearly any Imperial vessel.


Boasting battery armaments of six dice from both its left and right hull zones, the MC80 star cruiser is as hard-hitting as a Victory-class Star Destroyer and the Rebellion's best answer to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Better yet, this Mon Calamari starship is even more powerful when flown under the command of Admiral Ackbar, who can add two red attack dice to any attack made by a starship that fires only from its left and right hull zones during its activation.


Will you race your star cruiser boldly down the middle of the Imperial fleet, firing at enemy ships on both sides? Will you dare your opponent to allow you the use of the Advanced Gunnery objective? Or will you circle the Imperial fleet at a distance, taking shots from a battery armament enhanced by Admiral Ackbar, Slaved Turrets, and the Defiance title? No matter how you bring it to battle, the MC80 star cruiser gives you the muscle to employ a whole new set of tactics in your battles for galactic freedom.

Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack

Han Solo, Boba Fett, and a handful of the galaxy's most notorious rogues and villains race to the battlefield in the Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack for Armada!


Featuring some of the Star Wars galaxy's best known freighters, patrol craft, and bombers, the Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack introduces eight new irregular squadrons to Armada, each of which can be represented by either a non-unique squadron card or flown by an ace. Like the squadrons from the Core Set and the first wave of expansions, these come unpainted, but are presented in colors that complement their fleets.


Meanwhile, since these squadrons include the signature starships of some of the galaxy's most individualistic pilots, each is represented by a single miniature, and several of them allow you to take advantage of the new Rogue keyword, which grants a squadron the ability to both move and attack when it's activated during the squadron phase. Still, that's not the only new keyword introduced in this collection; both the Grit and Intel keywords appear on a number of its squadrons and introduce new tactical abilities that can help you steer the course of your Armada conflicts.

Imperial Raider Expansion Pack

First introduced to the world as a huge starship designed for Epic games of X-Wing™, the Raider-class corvette is the Empire's response to the need for a designated anti-fighter vessel. Its six dual heavy laser cannons are more accurate against snubfighters than the turbolaser batteries of its Star Destroyer cousins, and the disruptive effects of its ion cannon emplacements, along with the efficiency of its localized command, make it a powerful addition to small strike forces.


This potent anti-fighter starship enters Armada in the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack. The second small ship for the Imperial Navy, the Raider is a quick and nimble ship that excels at dealing with pesky starfighter squadrons, but it can just as easily dart across the battlefield to pour concentrated fire into the broadside of a Rebel cruiser. Whether you field your pre-painted miniature as a Raider I-class Corvette or Raider II-class Corvette, the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack offers you plenty of ways to customize it for battle with either squadrons or capital ships. Among its eight upgrade cards, you'll find Ordnance Experts, a new commander, Quad Laser Turrets, two unique titles, and more.


Of course, as always, the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack comes with a command dial, speed dial, and all the tokens you need to enter the fray.
The Heat of Battle

"General, there’s a fleet of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in sector four."
–The Empire Strikes Back


Across the world, players have recently begun to explore Armada and its battles. Rebel and Imperial forces clash in heated contests for the fate of the galaxy. Rebel corvettes and frigates do their best to resist Imperial Star Destroyers, even as their ace starfighter pilots seek desperately for some means to cripple larger ships. Now, as their conflicts continue to intensify, Armada players can rest assured that the game's biggest battles are still ahead!


This is the promise of Armada Wave II. Your Star Wars fleet battles are nowhere near finished. They're only heating up. The five expansion packs in Wave II will soon flood the battlefield with even more iconic starships, advanced technology, and daring pilots. Field the first large ships and the first small ship for the Imperial Navy, trust your Rogue squadrons to harass your foes, and pour overwhelming firepower into the flanks of your enemy's ships.


The five expansion packs of Armada Wave II are scheduled to arrive in the third quarter of 2015!

 

[Diuns]

Ankündigung zum Welle 2 Pre-release Event bei FFG: "The Massing at Sullust"

"What of the reports of the Rebel fleet massing near Sullust?"
–Darth Vader


Attention, Star Wars™: Armada Fleet Admirals!

This October, The Massing at Sullust is your chance to get your hands on preview copies of the game's second wave of expansions and its first large-base ships, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer and MC80 Mon Calamari Star Cruiser!




From left to right: Imperial Raider, Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Rogue and Villain squadrons, MC80 Star Cruiser, MC30c frigate

Are You a Retailer?

Apply today to participate in The Massing at Sullust!

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What Is The Massing at Sullust?

FFG's The Massing at Sullust is a special preview event, showcasing the second wave of Armada starships and squadrons at exclusive preview tournaments taking place the weekend of October 2nd – 4th.

Only a limited number of kits are available, so retailers should apply today. This exclusive event will provide players their first opportunity to see some of the Star Wars galaxy's most powerful and iconic starships launched into action for the very first time!

How Does It Work?

Each retailer participating in The Massing at Sullust preview event will run an Armada tournament during the weekend of October 2nd – 4th. Players will bring standard 300-point fleets and compete through three Swiss-style rounds, following all the standard rules described in the official Armada Tournament Rules document (pdf, 5.4 MB).

Then after the Swiss rounds, the top two players will confront each other in a final match of epic proportions!

Both players will set aside the fleets that they played throughout the Swiss rounds and will build new, 400-point fleets that utilize the Wave II starships and squadrons. One player will construct an Imperial fleet that includes the Imperial-class Star Destroyer and Raider-class corvette, as well as at least one of the Imperial squadrons from the Rogues and Villains Squadron Pack. The other player will construct a Rebel fleet that includes the MC80 star cruiser and MC30c frigate, as well as one or more of the Rebel squadrons from the Rogues and Villains Squadron Pack. Both players will then be able to complete their 400-point fleets by adding starships, squadrons, upgrades, and objectives drawn from their existing collections, plus those from the Wave II expansions under their command.

Using these newly upgraded fleets, the players will battle for the fate of the galaxy… and the right to take home the Armada Wave II expansion of their choice!


Prizes:

• 1st Place – First choice of one The Massing at Sullust preview expansion
• 2nd Place – Second choice of one The Massing at Sullust preview expansion
• 3rd Place – Third choice of one The Massing at Sullust preview expansion
• 4th Place – Fourth choice of one The Massing at Sullust preview expansion
• Top 16 – One commemorative Imperial II-class Star Destroyer ship card with extended art

NOTE: The Tournament Organizer will receive the fifth, unclaimed The Massing at Sullust preview expansion. Retailers will find the full details on hosting a The Massing at Sullust tournament in the kit's instructional letter.

How Do You Get Involved?

Retailers within the United States should contact your sales rep.



International retailers should apply through our list of participating distributors.


All applications are due by September 8th at 5:00 PM CST, though we strongly encourage interested retailers to apply as soon as possible. Our number of The Massing at Sullust kits are limited.
If you are approved to host a The Massing at Sullust event, we will send instructions for ordering your event kit.

What Can Players Do?

If you're a fan of Star Wars: Armada, be sure to contact your favorite local gaming store about this exciting preview event.

In the meantime, start building your fleets and getting in your practice games. This is your chance to be among the first in the world to claim the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Raider-class corvette, MC80 star cruiser, MC30c frigate, or the powerful and iconic squadrons from the Rogues and Villains Squadron Pack!

You'll find more information about these Armada starships in upcoming previews, so keep checking our site for updates.

A Note About the Release of Wave II and The Massing at Sullust

When we first announced the upcoming release of Armada Wave II, we anticipated that its expansions would be available to retailers by the third quarter of 2015. However, due to an unavoidable manufacturing delay, we have had to push back the wave's release. We are now on schedule to see Wave II released in the fourth quarter of 2015.

In the meantime, we have been delighted by the tremendous momentum Armada has been gaining with its fans and in Organized Play as its massive battles have begun to reshape the galaxy. We are also aware of the fan community's anticipation of the game's second wave, and we have decided to air freight some of the first ships off the run. We're truly excited by all that Wave II promises to bring to the game, and we want you to share our excitement for these ships and squadrons as soon as possible. These are the starships and squadrons players will have the chance to fly and win at The Massing at Sullust.

Execute Your Battle Plan

Retailers, remember that we have a limited number of The Massing at Sullust kits, and registration for this exclusive preview event closes on September 8th. Submit your application today to host one of these exciting, world premiere events!

 

[Diuns]

Vorschau zum Sternenzerstörer der Imperium Klasse bei FFG: "Rule Through Fear"

"We won’t last long against those Star Destroyers."
–Admiral Ackbar

The best way to win a military confrontation is to cower your foe into submission before any shots are even fired. But it takes a weapon of incredible power to convince your enemies that it would prove utterly suicidal to act against you. You can find one such weapon in the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack for Star Wars™: Armada.

The pre-painted Imperial-class Star Destroyer enters the game as the largest, most resilient, hardest hitting ship to-date. Whether you field it in battle as an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer or an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer , your Imperial-class Star Destroyer features no fewer than eight attack dice from its forward arc, and four dice from both its left and right arcs.

Line up the right shot, and that's twelve dice that you can blast into a single ship in just one round—before you even look into adding upgrades.

Forcing Your Opponent's Hand

While the sort of firepower that your Star Destroyer can unleash against enemy ships may very easily discourage your opponents from going anywhere near your ship, they might not have a choice. The Imperial-class Star Destroyer is surprisingly quick, able to fly as fast as speed "3," and once it closes on an enemy ship, your Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams can trap it within range of your full attack.


The Imperial-class Star Destroyer

On the other hand, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer is also well-equipped to deal with any foes foolish enough to attack it directly. Featuring a hull value of eleven and shield values of four, three, and two on its front, side, and rear hull zones, respectively, the Imperial-class is more than capable of withstanding a few enemy volleys. Moreover, should any of those hits find their way to your Star Destroyer's hull, past its two redirect tokens, its brace token, and its shields, you can still exhaust your contain token to prevent your opponent from assigning you a faceup damage card per the standard critical effect.



Contain: A ship can spend this defense token to prevent the attacker from resolving the standard critical effect. The attacker can still resolve a non-standard critical effect, such as one granted by an upgrade card.

Then, if you've planned appropriately, you can reveal your repair command on the next turn to gain four engineering points, enough to repair one shield and move two more to your damaged hull zone from the zones your opponent might not be able to target.

In the end, your repaired Star Destroyer might be ready to withstand the same attack all over again, but it's highly unlikely that your opponent's ship can withstand two rounds of your Star Destroyer's concentrated fire. Instead, your opponent is likely to recognize the futility of a direct assault and make every effort to play around it, and you gain a key strategic advantage—the ability to limit your opponent's options before your fleets even come within firing range.

The Power of the Dark Side

Of course, your tactical options increase greatly with the different upgrades in the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack. In addition to the Phylon Q7 Tractor Beams, you'll find another seventeen upgrades, including offensive retrofits, defensive retrofits, turbolasers, ion cannons, three titles, seven officers, and a commander version of Darth Vader.

For thirty-six of your fleet points, Darth Vader is a truly aggressive commander who allows each of your ships to spend a defense token to reroll as many of its attack dice as you wish. Did you roll some blanks? Do you need another accuracy result to strip your opponent of any defensive options? Darth Vader's mastery of the Force allows him to bend the combat to your favor, taking advantage of the fact that you'll be able to see the results of your roll before you decide whether or not to use his reroll.

Meanwhile, even though you have to deny yourself a defense token in order to benefit from Vader's reroll, you benefit from a bit of redundancy in your Imperial-class Star Destroyer's defense tokens.

This is especially true early on when it's extremely unlikely your opponent will be able to punch through your shields to land a critical hit that you'd need to contain. Darth Vader's also good in a fleet with Imperial-class Star Destroyers because their larger dice pools are likely to yield results you'll be happy to modify.

For example, consider his ability compared to that of Admiral Screed . While Admiral Screed could sacrifice a die from your attack by an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer to guarantee the blue

result you need to activate your Overload Pulse , he can't guarantee you any accuracy results. Thus, while you might have hoped your damage would punch through your opponent's ship's shields to batter against its hull, your opponent might halve it, then redirect the majority to other hull zones. Darth Vader, on the other hand, can't guarantee you the blue

result, but he does let you reroll all four of your forward-facing blue dice, if you so desire.

The Best Defense Is a Strong Offense

While the Darth Vader command upgrade presents some important considerations about your defense tokens and their use in your strategy, it's not the only upgrade in the expansion in the set that plays to this theme. The Devastator title also explores the trade-in value of your defense tokens; for each defense token you discard, the Devastator title grants you an extra blue attack die while you're attacking from your front hull zone. Altogether, an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer equipped with the Devastator title could burn through its defense tokens early to fire as many as twelve dice from your front arc, eight of which would be blue. With a dice pool of that sort, you'd almost certainly be able to generate the accuracy you need to shut down your opponent's defense tokens, and Darth Vader could help you convert any extra accuracy results into hits or crits.

Captain Needa offers yet another use for your defense tokens. For two fleet points, he allows you to switch one of your defense tokens for an evade token. Do you plan to avoid allowing damage to go through your shields? Perhaps you can afford to trade away your contain token. Want a more balanced set of defensive options? You can trade out your second redirect for the evade. Either way, with Captain Needa aboard your ship, you can ignore some of the damage you might suffer at long range in order to close on your foes.

Develop Your Strategy

Naturally, since there's more to Armada than winning your exchanges of ship-to-ship fire, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack also allows you to customize your Star Destroyer to your overall strategy by drawing upon the support of a whole cast of lower-ranked officers, weapons teams, and titles, as well as other defensive and offensive upgrades:

• Fleet admirals may appreciate the flexibility provided by a Support Officer , whom you can discard to reset your command dials in the case of an emergency.
• Should you ever find yourself resigned to firing at starfighter squadrons instead of an enemy ship, you may appreciate the talents of a team of Ruthless Strategists . It may hurt you a little to damage your own fighters, but every attack you squander against starfighters instead of enemy ships endangers the lives of thousands of crew. Besides, acceptable losses have long been part of the Imperial doctrine.
• Tired of rolling piles of damage, only to see your opponent halve the damage and then redirect it to adjacent hulls? If you're not running Vader to help you find accuracy, you might consider outfitting your ship with Heavy Turbolaser Turrets as an alternate means of forcing your opponent to take damage to the hull you've targeted.

Finally, each of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer's three unique titles offers an alternative approach to your battles for control of the galaxy:

• We've already seen the Devastator, but it's worth noting that on an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, the Devastator title can go a long way toward providing the accuracy results you need to get all of your damage on target, not halved or redirected by your opponent's defense tokens.

• On the other hand, if you really want to get rid of your opponent's defensive options, you can run the Avenger with Admiral Screed and an Overload Pulse. Admiral Screed guarantees that you'll be able to trigger your Overload Pulse, and it, in turn, exhausts all of your opponent's defense tokens. The Avenger title, then, is the nail in the coffin; once your opponent's defense tokens are exhausted, the Avenger prevents your opponent from spending any of them. At a total of 149 fleet points, this is a flagship that's capable of making short work of any opponent.
• However, if you're more concerned with your strategy's adaptability, the Relentless title allows you to shorten your command stack by one dial, thereby increasing your ship's responsiveness. Still, it doesn't actually reduce your command value, so you can still assign the ship as many as three command tokens, making it an excellent vessel to partner with the command of Grand Moff Tarkin . Together, the Relentless title and Grand Moff Tarkin allow you to plan your commands for maximum effect, with minimal delay.

Fear Will Keep the Local Systems in Line

With countless systems to govern, the Empire needs a sure way to keep its citizens in line, and that way is fear. With its awesome armament and aggressive, dagger-shaped design, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer is an integral part of the Empire's designs to rule through fear, and though, in Armada, it won't turn your opponents away from combat, its mere presence may very well lead them to alter their tactics simply to avoid the inevitable destruction that follows upon engagement. In fact, few things in Armada are as terrifying as the prospect of facing three Imperial-class Star Destroyers flying together in tight formation, flanked by their TIE squadrons.



Few things embody the overwhelming might of the Empire so fully as the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. Be sure to bring this massive starship to your Armada battles as soon as it's released. Head to your local retailer to pre-order your copy today!

 

[Diuns]

Vorschau zur MC80 "Heimat Eins" bei FFG: "Rebel Command"

"Proceed with the countdown. All groups assume attack coordinates."
–Admiral Ackbar


In our first preview of the second wave of expansions for Star Wars™: Armada, we looked at the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack and the many tactics its miniature Imperial-class Star Destroyer and upgrades make available to the Imperial Navy and its fans. Today, we press deeper into Wave II with a look at the Rebellion's first large-base starship, the MC80 Mon Calamari star cruiser from the Home One Expansion Pack.


The miniature MC80 Mon Calamari star cruiser from the Home One Expansion Pack

[h=2]The MC80 Mon Calamari Star Cruiser[/h] The largest, best shielded, and hardest hitting of all Rebel ships to-date, the MC80 Mon Calamari star cruiser can be added to your fleet as either the MC80 Assault Cruiser or the MC80 Command Cruiser .

The MC80 star cruiser is the Rebellion's best answer to the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, but they are in no way equivalent. There are numerous differences between them, and the wise admiral will be certain to study them, understand them, and adapt his tactics to account for them.


The first thing you're likely to notice is that whereas the commander of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer wants to engage the enemy head-on to fire from the ship's forward hull zone, the MC80 star cruiser attacks best from its left and right hull zones. This is an important distinction, especially when you consider that the Star Destroyer can equip a weapons team upgrade like the Gunnery Team while the MC80 star cruiser cannot.


For starters, it means that you won't want to approach your enemy head-on. You want to move into position alongside your foe and fire from your broadside, or if you're inclined toward a truly aggressive strategy, you can run your MC80 straight through the middle of your opponent's fleet, firing six attack dice from each side of your ship. If you do this, your MC80 can actually fire as many dice per round as the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, which can fire eight from its front hull zone and four from its left or right hull zone for a total of twelve attack dice. However, if you perform this slashing maneuver, you'll be forced to split your attack dice between two separate targets, and you'll leave your star cruiser exposed to attacks from both sides.


Alternatively, the MC80 can easily be incorporated into a strategy in which you hope to circle your foes and fire at your opponent's side or rear hull zones. If you have the initiative, you can fly two star cruisers in a line so that the first can fire and then fly forward, leaving room for the second to fire and fly forward after your opponent activates a ship. By concentrating your fire in this way, you're likely to make short work of any enemy ship you prioritize.


Having won inititative, the Rebel player is able to activate an MC80 star cruiser before the Imperial player can activate the Victory-class Star Destroyer. The MC80 fires, then moves out of the Star Destroyer's forward firing arc.



Next, the Imperial player activates the Star Destroyer. Forced to split its attacks between the two MC80s and to take its attack against the unactivated MC80 from long range, it fails to land any damage to either ship's hull.

Finally, after the Imperial player is forced to maneuver the Star Destroyer into range of the second MC80s blue dice, the Rebel player launches an attack of six dice against the Star Destroyer, then flies to set up another broadside shot. If the Rebel player activates this second MC80 first in the next round, it can attack with all the dice from its right firing arc before flying away and denying the Imperial player a shot from the Star Destroyer's devastating forward firing arc.

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After you explore the differences between their attack dice, you're likely to notice that the MC80 star cruiser costs you several fewer fleet points than the Imperial-class Star Destroyer costs the Empire. The MC80 Command Cruiser weighs in at 106 fleet points, compared to the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer's 110, and at 114 fleet points the MC80 Assault Cruiser costs six less than the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer, which requires 120 of the Empire's 400 available points. Despite this, however, you get the same overall number of hull points and shields, although more of those points are invested in shields than in hull points. This makes the MC80 cruiser slightly more tactical; you need to make good use of your commands and defense tokens to get maximum value from your shields. This fact only adds to the value of Walex Blissex , who allows you to recover one of the defense tokens you've previously spent.

Additionally, you'll note that the MC80 star cruiser's defensive tactics are built into even its upgrade bar. Both versions of the ship feature at least one defensive retrofit upgrade slot, while the MC80 Assault Cruiser actually features two. This means you can equip the Core Set's Electronic Countermeasures to ensure that you always have at least one of your defense tokens available for use, and with all the shields you have spread across your hull zones, you can get tremendous value from the Advanced Projectors included in the Assault Frigate Mark II Expansion Pack. On top of these options, the Home One Expansion Pack adds another, the Cluster Bombs defensive retrofit, which you can discard to help your squadrons make short work of a TIE Bomber Squadron , or any other squadron that you can't allow to keep blasting at your ship.


Finally, the MC80 star cruiser is slower than the Imperial-class Star Destroyer. The Star Destroyer has a maximum speed of three, but the MC80 has only a maximum speed of two. However, you can easily turn this disadvantage into a strength by equipping the Engine Techs support team. With a team of Engine Techs aboard your MC80, you can fly just as fast as the Imperial-class Star Destroyer anytime you reveal the navigation command, and you can do so with better maneuverability.


After revealing a Navigate command, the Rebel player maneuvers an MC80 around an asteroid field, but fails to set up a broadside attack against the Star Destroyer.



Accordingly, the Rebel player decides to exhaust the MC80's Engine Techs to execute another speed "1" maneuver. The MC80 guarantees itself a broadside shot against the Victory-class Star Destroyer, or if the Rebel player activates it first in the next round, it can concentrate fire against the Star Destroyer from both its forward and right firing arcs.


More than that, since you don't actually have to lock your speed at "3," you won't have to slow down to go back to speed "2," meaning that you'll be able to stay within close range again on the next round.
[h=2]Admiral Ackbar and the Home One[/h] "We’ve got to give those fighters more time. Concentrate all fire on that Super Star Destroyer."
–Admiral Ackbar


The Rebel Alliance didn't defeat the Empire with superior military strength. In fact, despite the great strength and resilience of their MC80 star cruisers, the Rebellion was greatly outmatched. Instead, it won the Galactic Civil War because its heroes worked together to accomplish tremendous feats and because they fought according to the designs of some of the galaxy's shrewdest tactical minds, including that of Admiral Gial Ackbar, the Rebellion's chief military commander and the individual responsible for commanding the Rebel fleet during the decisive Battle of Endor.

Admiral Ackbar arrives to Armada as a commander perfectly suited to the MC80 star cruiser and the Rebellion's other broadside ships, such as the MC30c frigate, which we'll explore in more detail in an upcoming preview. His ability reads:


"Before a friendly ship’s Attack Step, it may choose to attack from only its left and right hull zones this round. If it does, it may add 2 red dice to its attack pool while attacking a ship."


At thirty-eight fleet points, Admiral Ackbar isn't a cheap addition to your fleet, so you'll want to make sure you're going to take frequent advantage of his ability. However, if you can exploit his ability to its fullest, Admiral Ackbar can inspire your fleet to some truly devastating rounds of fire.


With both Admiral Ackbar and Enhanced Armament , an MC80 Assault Cruiser can fire as many as seven red attack dice. That's easily enough to get the better of most exchanges fired at long range. You can even add yet another red attack die if you're attacking from the Defiance against a ship that has already activated.

With all those red dice, though, and with all their potential damage, you'll want to be certain to negate your opponent's brace command as often as possible to avoid seeing your damage halved. That's where the Home One title comes into play. The personal flagship of Admiral Ackbar, the Home One is one of the most important and iconic of all the Rebel starships presented in the original Star Wars trilogy, and it brings an appropriately powerful ability to your Armada battles:


"While another friendly ship at distance 1–5 is attacking, it may change 1 die to a face with an

icon."


The thing to remember about red dice is that while they have the longest range, they are the game's least accurate dice. Two of their faces are blank, and only one features an accuracy result. Thus, while Admiral Ackbar can increase your ability to concentrate your fire from long range, you're likely going to need to modify your dice in order to get the most out of your results, and the Home One offers one of the best possible modifications to all friendly ships within range.


The ability to convert any one die face to an accuracy result can't be overvalued. It can steer your shots to the hull zone you really want to hit, it can prevent your damage from being halved, or it can ensure that your critical hit against an Imperial-class Star Destroyer results in a faceup damage card. The fact that the Home One title can convert your other ship's blank result to this accuracy result only makes it better, especially if you pair it with Leading Shots , so that you can reroll as many dice as you wish before choosing which to convert to an accuracy result.


Outnumbered and outgunned, the Rebel Alliance cannot hope to overpower the Empire. It must, instead, coordinate shrewd, tactical strikes, and there are few individuals better suited to lead such initiatives than Admiral Ackbar. Likewise, there are few better ships to support his command than the Home One, and you'll be able to bring both Ackbar and the Home One to your battles when the Home One Expansion Pack arrives.
[h=2]Make the Jump to Hyperspace[/h] When Armada Wave II arrives, the game's battles grow even larger, incorporating the first large-base ships for both the Empire and the Rebellion and increasing in scope to 400 fleet points. This means you'll have even more space for exploring unique fleet designs. Will Admiral Ackbar, the Home One, and the Home One Expansion Pack play a part in your favorite Rebel fleet?

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Head to our forums to discuss how you might make use of the MC80 star cruiser and its myriad possible upgrades. Then head to your local retailer to pre-order your copy today!

 

[Diuns]

Vorschau zur Imperialen Sturm Korvette bei FFG: "Fast and Aggressive"

The Massing at Sullust preview event for Star Wars™: Armada is now only a couple of weeks away. That means you'll soon be able to take your shot at the exciting new starships from Armada Wave II. Prove your worth as fleet admiral, and you might walk away with an early copy of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack, Home One Expansion Pack, MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack, Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack, or Imperial Raider Expansion Pack.

Of course, to win any of these expansion packs, you'll need to make your plans to attend a The Massing at Sullust event. You'll also need to assemble your fleet and refine your strategy, and if you hope to claim first place and your first choice of expansion, you'll want to keep up to date with our Wave II previews.

Our first two previews offered closer looks at the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack and the Home One Expansion Pack. We looked at the different ship cards these expansions offer, as we as some of their new upgrades, including the new commanders, Darth Vader and Admiral Ackbar. Today, we continue our previews with a look at the Imperial Raider Expansion pack and what it might offer your Imperial fleet.



A Dedicated Anti-Fighter Warship

Conceived by Lira Wessex, the designer of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, as a small and aggressive assault vessel that could reinforce the TIE fighter squadrons deployed by its larger Star Destroyer cousins, the Raider-class corvette is a durable, 150m vessel that features multiple hardpoints and excels at suppressing Rebel fighter attacks.

Fighter squadrons can play one of two primary roles in Armada, which developer Max Brooke noted in his strategy article about squadrons, "Bomber Wings and Fighter Screens." Bomber wings can quickly rip through enemy ships, while fighter screens are designed to engage bombers and keep them from your larger ships. Because bomber wings can be so brutally effective unless they run into screens of TIE fighters, TIE interceptors, or A-wings, and because those fighter screens are not terribly effective in combats when there are no fighters for them to engage, your investment in fighter squadrons is always something of a calculated gamble.

As a dedicated anti-fighter warship, the Raider-class corvette offers Imperial fleet admirals a chance to hedge their bets. Whether you use it to support a bomber wing, to reduce your investment in your fighter screen, or to replace your fighter screen altogether, the Raider is extremely fast, accurate, and well-suited to fighter suppression in ways that the Empire's other capital ships are not.

For starters, both versions of the Raider-class corvette – the Raider I-class Corvette and the Raider II-class Corvette – come with anti-squadron armaments of two dice, a lethality matched only by the anti-squadron armament of the Gladiator II-class Star Destroyer . Still, the Raider's two anti-squadron dice come at a discount of at least fourteen fleet points from the Gladiator's sixty-two points. Of the two Raider designs, the Raider II-class Corvette is the more expensive at forty-eight fleet points, while the Raider I-class Corvette weighs in at a mere forty-four fleet points.

Equally important to the Raider's role as an anti-fighter warship are a pair of upgrade cards that the Gladiator can't access – the two Raider titles, the Impetuous and the Instigator .

• The Impetuous title reads, "At the end of your Attack Step, choose 1 of your hull zones. You may perform an attack against 1 enemy squadron from that hull zone, even if you have already attacked from that zone this round."
• The Instigator title reads, "Enemy squadrons at distance 1 are treated as if they are engaged by 2 additional squadrons, even if they are not currently engaged."

Between them, these titles allow you to transform your Raider into either a powerful anti-fighter escort for your bomber wing or a resilient counter to your opponent's starfighters.

Outfitted with the Impetuous title, your Raider excels at cutting quickly through whichever squadron it prioritizes. While this ability doesn't offer it any extra defense against an enemy bomber wing, it comes in truly handy as you use your Raider to escort your bombers past an enemy fighter screen. Since admirals investing in fighter screens typically want to spend as little as possible on their fighter squadrons, they aren't likely to deploy more than a few squadrons to keep your bombers from their ships. That means that if your Impetuous can quickly punch through one or more squadrons in a round, your bombers are far more likely to be free to rain devastation upon a capital ship in the next round.

Meanwhile, the Instigator serves as a shield between your opponent's fighters and the rest of your fleet. In fact, because it can engage enemy squadrons, it can, in most ways, replace the need for a fighter screen, especially when it's further outfitted with Quad Laser Turrets and Ordnance Experts . These upgrades enhance the threat the ship poses to enemy squadrons by granting it both counter 1 and the ability to reroll any number of its black attack dice; the Raider I-class Corvette has two black dice in its anti-squadron armament.

Finally, because the Raider is relatively inexpensive, it's not inconceivable that you'd run both the Impetuous and the Instigator in the same fleet, using them to pincer your opponent's squadrons, locking them into position by engaging them with the Instigator, and blasting through them with multiple shots from the Impetuous.



Paired together, the Instigator and Impetuous can lock down enemy starfighters and eliminate them, all while directing a bomber wing against enemy ships.

The Raider and Ship-to-Ship Combat

While the Raider was designed specifically to suppress enemy fighters, it is still a capital ship and, therefore, benefits from all the mechanics associated with capital ships in Armada. It activates every round. It reveals commands. It is able to attack as many as two times before moving, and it has defense tokens, as well as upgrade slots.

These facts give the Raider some advantages over squadrons in certain Imperial fleets. For example, if you swap out three or four fighter squadrons from your fighter screen for the Instigator, then run against a Rebel fleet that doesn't use any squadrons at all, your Instigator will be able to switch from anti-fighter mode to anti-ship mode much more effectively than your TIE Fighter Squadrons or TIE Interceptor Squadrons would.

To start, your Raider offers a forward attack of four dice, of which either two or three can be launched from medium range. Then, if you want, you can equip it with Overload Pulse so that it can deactivate your opponent's ship's defense tokens, leaving that ship exposed to a later attack from your Imperial-class Star Destroyer or other ship. Alternatively, if you're not trying to set up future shots so much as you're trying to boost your Raider's shots, you could use your SW-7 Ion Batteries to convert the extra accuracy from your blue dice to damage.

The Raider's speed and maneuverability also help define its role in ship-to-ship combat. At speed "1" or "2," the Raider-class corvette can adjust its yaw by as many as two clicks at each joint of the maneuver tool, and while it loses some of this maneuverability at higher speeds, the fact that it can race about the battlefield as fast as speed "4" means that it can introduce a new measure of flanking tactics to your Imperial fleet, especially if you give it an Expanded Hangar Bay and use it to harry your foes along with a couple of TIE Bomber Squadrons .


In the right fleet, your Raider can replace a number of fighter squadrons without sacrificing your fleet's anti-ship or anti-fighter capabilities.

Finally, the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack introduces two more upgrades that play to the Raider's speed and maneuverability. Because the Raider doesn't feature any red dice in its battery armaments, it needs to race into close or medium range in order to attack other ships. This would leave it vulnerable at distance, but it can rely upon its two evade tokens to avoid most damage as it makes its approach. Furthermore, when it's in a fleet led by Admiral Ozzel , the Raider can either fly into combat at an astonishing speed before slowing down to take its shots, or it can accelerate quickly to get back to distance after firing. And if it's flying off to long range at a speed of "3" or higher, Admiral Montferrat allows you to treat enemy ships' attacks as though they're obstructed, thereby reducing their available attack dice by one, meaning there's a better chance your evade tokens can cancel out the rest of the damage you might otherwise take.



While Admiral Ozzel is your commander and Admiral Montferrat is aboard your Raider, it becomes a truly slippery target, able to accelerate quickly to high speeds, meaning that it's more likely to be able to get to long range, where its two evade tokens nearly guarantee its safety from your enemy's obstructed attacks.

Swift and Merciless

With its speed, maneuverability, anti-fighter capabilities, and versatility in ship-to-ship combat, the Raider-class corvette is well-suited to a wide variety of quick assault tactics. It has enough attack and defense to stand up to a wide range of threats, and it can easily race across the battlefield, launch a quick assault, and then sprint away. This makes the Raider ideal for use in a number of select Imperial strategies, many of which you're certain to see players explore during The Massing at Sullust.

In the meantime, head to your local retailer to pre-order your copy of the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack, and keep your eyes open for more Armada previews, including a look at the MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack!

 

[Diuns]

Vorschau zur MC30c Fregatte bei FFG: "Race into Battle"

Star Wars™: Armada Wave II is on its way!

With its iconic large-base ships and Rogue squadrons, Wave II adds new measures of Imperial might and Rebel daring to your Star Wars space battles. In our recent previews, we've explored the likely impact of the massive, new starships from the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Expansion Pack and Home One Expansion Pack, and we've looked at some of the ways that that the Raider-class corvette from the Imperial Raider Expansion Pack provides Imperials with an excellent counter to the Rebellion's favorite squadron-based strategies.

Now, as players everywhere are looking forward to their first glimpses of these new starships and squadrons during next weekend's The Massing at Sullust preview event, we continue our series of previews with a look at the Rebellion's MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack.




The MC30c Scout Frigate

Because the two different models of MC30c frigate feature different attack dice, they encourage significantly varied tactics.

While both models share the same speed chart, the same upgrade bar, the same four hull points, the same eleven total shields divided between their hull zones, and the same total number of attack dice, the MC30c Scout Frigate pairs its black attack dice with red while the MC30c Torpedo Frigate substitutes the red for blue. Accordingly, the MC30c Scout Frigate suggests long-range, hit-and-run tactics that take maximum advantage of the ship's red dice as well as its tremendous speed and versatility.

The fact that the MC30c frigate fires most effectively from its left and right hull zones plays right into one of the Rebellion's better strategies. Rather than flying directly at enemy Star Destroyers, you can skirt the edges of the battlefield with your frigate, circling around your opponent's ships, and with the MC30c Scout Frigate's red attack dice, you'll be able to exchange shots the entire time.

Your frigate's ability to exchange long-range shots is further supported by its two evade tokens, and you can reinforce it by selecting Mon Mothma as your commander, allowing you to get the maximum utility from your evade tokens even if your enemy manages to trap you at medium range for a round. You can also bolster your attack and defense with several different, impactful upgrades.

• You can increase the battery armament of your left and right hull zones by one red die each with Enhanced Armament .
• Alternatively, for three fleet points fewer, you can outfit your MC30c Scout Frigate with Turbolaser Reroute Circuits . Though you won't gain the extra attack dice, you'll get more damage out of each die you roll.
• The Foresight title allows you to cancel two dice with your evade token, instead of one, and it allows you to redirect damage to more than one adjacent hull zone, a fact that is particularly useful when you consider how often you're likely to show the same broadside to your enemy.
• If your MC30c frigate features Redundant Shields , you will be able, each round, to regenerate some of the shields you lost.

Finally, you can trade away a little bit of your defensive abilities for offensive power by taking the command from Mon Mothma and assigning it to Admiral Ackbar . Over the course of time, the two red dice he grants you, partnered with your evade tokens, Foresight title, and other upgrades, can very easily prove the difference in your long-range exchanges of fire.


With the Foresight title and the guidance of Admiral Ackbar, your MC30c Scout Frigate might even be able to get the better of long-range exchanges with an Imperial-class Star Destroyer!

The MC30c Torpedo Frigate

While there are certainly times that your long-range tactics will play to your favor, there are also times you'll want to race headlong into the thick of combat, firing critical volleys of fire to finish off a badly damaged Star Destroyer or seizing key objectives. At these times, you'll be thankful for the MC30c Torpedo Frigate.

Of the two MC30c designs, it is the MC30c Torpedo Frigate that better embodies the ship's paradoxical, sometimes maddening combination of powerful close-range attacks and fragile hull. This is because the MC30c Torpedo Frigate has no long-range attack dice and, therefore, forces you to explore the tactical possibilities afforded by a fleet built around flying a four-hull ship straight into your enemy's guns.

Like the MC30c Scout Frigate, the MC30c Torpedo Frigate boasts a healthy supply of black attack dice in its battery armaments: three for its left and right hull zones, two for its front hull zone, and one for its rear hull zone. Unlike the Scout Frigate, however, the Torpedo Frigate pairs these volatile black dice with a complement of extremely accurate blue dice. This means that the Torpedo Frigate cannot attack from long range, but it also means that, at close range, it stands better odds of rolling accuracy results to negate your opponent's brace tokens and force all its damage through to its target's shields and hull.

Of course, to line up these shots, you need to fly your MC30c Torpedo Frigate into a position where even its hefty shields are unlikely to hold up for long. Then, since the ship has only four hull points, there's a good chance you may lose your Torpedo Frigate to any measure of sustained fire.

For this reason, players running MC30c Torpedo Frigates in their fleet are unlikely to adorn them with too many fleet points worth of upgrades. Nonetheless, at a mere four fleet points, your Ordnance Experts are still a sound investment as the ability to reroll any number of black dice can easily translate to two or more points of damage in an activation. Likewise, any critical damage you force onto your opponent with a volley of Assault Proton Torpedoes is more than likely to be worth the five fleet points you'd invest in the upgrade.

The key to running the MC30c Torpedo Frigate is to maintain your focus on the big picture: in the end, you need to score more victory points than your opponent. To do so, you may need to be willing to make sacrifices, but you certainly won't want to make them cheaply or at the wrong times.

If you're a gambler, you might crew your frigate with Lando Calrissian . At just four fleet points, he doesn't take up too much design space, and his ability could very well spare you the one or two points of damage that would prove the difference between exploding and living long enough to fire your guns and obliterate an enemy ship.

For those looking for more of a sure thing, the Admonition title allows you to discard your defense tokens in order to cancel your opponent's attack dice. After all, your evade tokens aren't generally worth too much once you get into close range. With the Admonition, they're worth nothing less than a hull point—possibly even two hull points—each.

Perhaps the upgrade card from the MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack that deserves the most consideration as a component of any Rebel fleet headed into a truly desperate battle is the new commander card, General Rieekan . No stranger to difficult and unpopular decisions, it was General Rieekan who ordered the evacuation of Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth, and he arrives to Armada as a commander fully aware that the Galactic Civil War is larger than any single battle or ship.

As a Rebel fleet admiral, you may not like the idea of sacrificing your ships and their crews. However, there are times in warfare when you must be willing to accept those sacrifices, lest you otherwise fail to meet your objectives and progress toward an ultimate victory. With General Rieekan as your commander, at least, your sacrifices are bound to be far nobler and far less often in vain; whenever any of your ships are destroyed, they remain in play until the end of the round. This means that your opponent can't avoid the damage your damaged MC30c Torpedo Frigate is about to deal his ship by blowing it up. You'll still have your chance to fire. And if that frigate's sacrifice allows you to destroy your opponent's flagship – such as an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer – it's the sort of trade the Rebellion needs to make to win its war.


The crew of an MC30c Torpedo Frigate is never going to escape unscathed from a close-range engagement with an Imperial I-class Star Destroyer, but their sacrifices may lead to a crucial turning point in the larger war.

Rieekan's difficult decision to evacuate Echo Base won many Rebel lives and kept the Rebellion in the war, despite its loss. Likewise, in Armada, General Rieekan may help you with your most difficult decisions, as you weigh your position against your opponent's and consider the possible gains from one or more key sacrifices.

The Rebel Fleet Is Massing

Whether you field your MC30c frigate as a Scout Frigate or a Torpedo Frigate, you'll find it a powerful addition to your Rebel fleet. In fact, you'll find that the MC30c Frigate Expansion Pack, along with the Home One Expansion Pack, allows you to fly a Rebel fleet with enough muscle to stand even against a fleet of Imperial Star Destroyers.

How would you use these ships? Head to our community forums to share your thoughts as we gear up for The Massing at Sullust. Then, keep your eyes open for our final Wave II preview, with a look at the new squadrons from the Rogues and Villains Expansion Pack!