SW Armada: Lifeboats, Valid Tactic or Game Killer?

Lifeboats, what are they and why are they possibly the biggest problem facing Armada today.

No topic is more divisive among players of Star Wars: Armada then the topic of life-boating. It is a topic that has the community arguing itself in knots and has turned brother against brother. Sides have formed. Lines have been drawn. Armies of clone troopers have been bred on Kamino.  OK, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea. But what are lifeboats, and why are they such an issue? Well, lets dig into that.

Using this reference makes me feel old

What is a lifeboat?

Life-boating is when you take a cheap flotilla, GR-75 or Gozonti, and place your admiral on it. You then place this ship, the lifeboat, far away from the combat, and basically fly in circles. The goal is to keep your precious leader as far away from any enemy ships as possible.

Wrong precious leader.

Why Is It So Good?

Life-boating is really good for three main reason.

1. It keeps your admiral alive the whole game, meaning their effect never goes away and they never give up their points.
2. It gives you an extra activation and placement, both of these are big advantages and well worth the points for the that fact alone.
3. With the introduction of the relay keyword the flotilla can now activate fighters from its hidden position and effectively have a useful turn.

All of these benefits, for 18 or 23 points make using a lifeboat a very cost effective and increasingly popular choice. Rather than placing them on an expensive battleship, making it even more expensive, and possibly losing them, you keep your admiral safe and deny the enemy points, and no cost to yourself.

So Whats the Problem?

For some the problem is not having enough lifeboats… too soon? 

There are several arguments against lifeboats. First off it’s not fluffy. In pretty much every Star Wars battle the commanders, from Raddus, to Vader, to Ackbar, to Grievous commanded from the bridge of a battleship. Can you imagine the Battle of Endor cutting away from the action to see Ackbar on some GR75 on the other side of the Forest Moon giving orders? Preposterous! (The counter argument is that this is pretty much what happens at Yavin during the First Death Star.)

Not pictured, a ship of any kind. 

In addition players argue that its clearly not what the designers intended. If they wanted admirals to be unkillable they would have just had them be kept off table rather than placed on a ship in the first place. Going after your enemies command to weaken their fleet is supposed to be a part of the game. Having lifeboats around effectively removes that whole tactic.

Lastly people argue that its simply unfun and against the spirit of the game. This, they say, is a game about fleets battling it, and ships exploding each other. Hiding ships, or flying them in circles in the corner of the table, is silly and not really what the game is about at all. Taking your ships out of the game on purpose, playing denial, is neither fun nor sporting.

So Are People Going to Stop?

The meme that keeps on giving.

Not at all. In fact more and more fleets use the tactic. The fact is that it is an efficient tactic. The inclusion of relay has just made it even better. People were already taking flotillas simply for the activation and no other reason (that is another issue), but being able to now keep your admiral alive just makes it more attractive. As long as it remains a legal tactic players are going to keep using it.

How Do You Fix It?

Hydrospanners?

If you are of the mind that it even needs to be fixed there are a couple of ways addressing life-boating. To me there are three that make any real sense. The first idea is make a rule that an admiral has to be placed on a ship with a minimum value of X, make x like 38-40 points and you disallow him to be placed on a striped down flotilla. Another proposal would simply be saying that a flotilla can’t be your flagship. Lastly you could say that the most expensive ship in your fleet must be your flagship, which makes the most thematic sense. Any of these changes, made by FFG would address the issue.

For Now, Deal With It

Wise words, master.

For now however, lifeboats are a thing we just have to live with. Love them or hate them they are part of the game. We can argue back and forth weather they are good or bad for the game but they remain for the moment a valid and powerful tactic. Rather than bemoaning their unfairness players are much better off learning how to use and counter them.

That all for this time BOLS fans. Let us know what you think of lifeboats and their use, down in the comments. 

top image :

Star Wars characters promoting the new film that was filmed in the Forest of Dean.
Picture by Clint Randall www.pixelprphotography.co.uk

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.