SW Armada: New Rebel Aces & Tactics
The new unique squadrons of the Corellian Conflict are on track to bring a host of new tactics to Star Wars Armada.
With Fantasy Flight showing off some of the amazing new squadrons for the Corellian Conflict I’ve been thinking about just how they are going to change up the game. These are some really amazing new squadrons that are without a doubt going to effect how games are played. Today I want to take a deeper look at them.
Now in the past I’ve not been the biggest fan of squadrons. Most of my favorite fleets haven’t run any, and while I’ve thought they could be used well, I’ve never felt that having squadrons was a necessity. That’s not to say I didn’t want them to be good. Star Wars has always been a setting that focused a lot on fighter and squadron combat and I have always wanted Armada to reflect that. With the new squadrons in the Corellian Conflict and those coming in Wave 5 I finally think the game is getting there. The power of some of the newer squadrons, combined with flotillas, is really ushering in a new age of squadrons and fleet builds dedicated to them. That being said, lets talk about some ways we might see the new squadrons used in Armada fleets.
Rogue Squadron
“I’m with Rogue Squadron. Impossible is our stock in trade, and success is what we deliver.“―Corran Horn
Rogue Squadron is hands down the most famous Squadron in Star Wars, both in cannon and in real life. It also might be my favorite of the new units. Sure, it’s ability is pretty basic, trading escort for rogue.(Of course it get’s rogue, how stupid would it be if Rogue Squadron didn’t get rogue?) But it’s also cheap, only going a point from the basic X-Wing. Now in my mind the X-Wing was already one of the best squadrons around, being a good mix of fighter and bomber and rogue is an amazing, if not the best, ability to have. Losing escort actually means it’s teams up better with other X-Wings (aside from Biggs) since enemies can’t target it. While it may not have a lot of crazy combos I’d pretty much consider replacing one X-Wing in any fleet that uses them with Rogue Squadron.
Biggs Darklighter
“It’ll be like old times, Luke. They’ll never stop us.“
Everyone’s favorite 70s Pornstar/doomed X-Wing pilot Biggs Darklighter is another cool new squadron. While Biggs is a bite pricier than standard X-Wing his ability to help squadrons stay alive longer can be a big help. While using him to draw fire from Luke and Wedge is an obvious choice, it’s still a good one. In addition his ability works on squadrons with Escort right now that means not just the X-Wing, but also the stock YT-1300. I can see it being quite beneficial to throw a YT-1300 in with Biggs and some X-Wings to soak up fire. As more squadrons with Escort come Biggs will only get better, though strangely he doesn’t really play well with Rogue Squadron.
Shara Bey
“I suggest Lieutenant Bey act as flight leader. She has the most experience of any of us.“
Shara Bey may be the best individual squadron int he game. Unlike pretty much any other squadron she is actually more deadly when attacked then when attacking. While she can go in with you main pack of fighters, I feel shes most useful as a lone wolf, running in alone to tie up enemy squadrons and forcing them to attack her, where her powerful counter can strike back. Between scatter and and brace she should be able to last a while and deal out some real damage. She’s also good fit for a group of squadron’s with rogue, since she doesn’t need to be taking offensive actions to deal damage. Combo her with Jan Ors for more staying power or with Toryn Farr for almost guaranteed damage.
Ten Numb
“Hmm…” – The only Ten Numb quote I could find, I guess he’s a Sullustan of few words.
Ten Numb might not be the most well known pilot in Star Wars, he’s probably the least famous Rebel unique in Armada, but he’s got one of the most amazing special abilities. Numb is the only Rebel squadron to have any sort of Area of Effect ability and is pretty clearly meant to serve as a counter to the Rhymer/Fireball of Imperial Squadrons. And boy can he put a hurt on them, with his amazing ability to damage not only the target squadron but also any enemies within distance 1 of the defender. This ability is great at breaking up any tight formation of squadrons and works against any of the combo based lists. Now Ten has a odd stat line, his attack dice are neither that of the basic B-Wing, nor that of the other B-wing Ace, and he only get’s two blue dice which means you really want to work to make his ability go off. Flight Controllers, for the extra blue dice, Toryn Farr, for the re-roll, and Adar Tallon for a second attack, are all good options to use in a list with Numb, as are any of the upgrades to his speed. At best you could see him getting off two AoE attacks a turn, making him able to put out more damage than other other Rebel fighter. Even if he doesn’t end up facing enemy squadrons he is still a B-Wing and capable of hurting ships with reliability.
Whhhhhhat! NO Porkins???!
Final Thoughts
So far we’ve only seen half of the new Rebel Squadrons and these alone are going to change up the game dramatically. I can not wait to see what new abilities the remaining Rebels, which should be a B-Wing, an A-Wing and two Y-Wings, will bring to the table. With all the new and amazing squadron’s coming out I do really think that the days of no squadron lists being common are limited. Of course we also haven’t talked about the new Imperial Squadrons, so stay tuned for my thoughts on them, coming soon.
~That’s all for today BoLS fans. Let us know what you think about the new squadrons, and the campaign in general, down in the comments.
Follow me on twitter!
