SW Armada: Thinking About the New Star Destroyers

Two new versions of the  Imperial Star Destroyer are coming to Armada. How do you plan on using them?

Wave VII is shaping up to be a pretty great wave for Armada. Among the stuff we’ve seen so far, limited as it is, what might have me most excited are the new ISD variants. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how I might use them and here are few lists I’ve come up with to showcase them. I think these do a good job of whetting my appetite for  Wave 7 and will only get better when the rest of the new cards are reveled. Let’s take a look at what I’ve come up with.

The One-Two Punch

Commander: Admiral Sloane

Assault Objective: Targeting Beacons
Defense Objective: Planetary Ion Cannon
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points)
–  Devastator  ( 10  points)
–  The Grand Inquisitor  ( 4  points)
–  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
–  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
–  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
–  Expanded Launchers  ( 13  points)
157 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points)
–  Admiral Sloane  ( 24  points)
–  Avenger  ( 5  points)
–  Minister Tua  ( 2  points)
–  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
–  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
–  X17 Turbolasers  ( 6  points)
–  Spinal Armament  ( 9  points)
172 total ship cost

6 TIE Fighter Squadrons ( 48 points)

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 377/400

Showing Off the New Ships

This list shows off both of the new ISD versions. The build I’ve done for this are some of my current favorite for decked out builds. The Kaut Refit throws out devastating 10 dice attacks at close range. Even at mid-long range it has some real firepower. With the Devastator title and a command it can max out at a 15 dice single attack, which has a chance to cripple or kill about anything in the game.  Leading shots means its pretty hard to whiff your big hit.

In Contrast the Cymoon 1 Refit is built to stand off and a bunch of red dice down range. With a base volley of 6 reds, twice, it can really put the hurt on the enemy and hopefully push them into range of the Kaut. Tua helps get the ship much need surviablity  and Avenger pairs well with Salone. The Squadrons are the weakest part of the list but hopefully the TIEs can either slow the enemy down of plink off a defense token or two.

With only two ships I’ve gone with a huge points bid as going first it really important here. Overall the list should be able to put some real hurt out at all ranges and take a hit or two in return. At the same time it really shows off the versatility of the new ISDs.

Up In Your Face

Commander: Admiral Motti

Assault Objective: Targeting Beacons
Defense Objective: Fire Lanes
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points)
–  Devastator  ( 10  points)
–  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
–  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
–  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
–  Expanded Launchers  ( 13  points)
153 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points)
–  Admiral Motti  ( 24  points)
–  Relentless  ( 3  points)
–  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
–  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
–  Leading Shots  ( 4  points)
–  Expanded Launchers  ( 13  points)
170 total ship cost

4 Aggressor Assault Fighters ( 64 points)

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 387/400

Up Close and Personal

This list was built as a major brawler list. Two Kuats fitted out much like my first list. Motti takes an already tough ship and pushes it through the roof. There’s not really a ship in the game that can spend much time up close with one of these, let alone two, while they can shrug off hits for days. While these are close range ships, the fleet can put out 46 dice in a turn of shooting, even at long range they can use gunnery teams to hunt enemies. I’d play them as bull horns coming in from opposite sides and forcing the enemy to get close to one of them. The Aggressor act as an independent shield and hopefully can tie up enemy squads for a bit.

The Rebel Way

Commander: Darth Vader

Assault Objective: Opening Salvo
Defense Objective: Planetary Ion Cannon
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona

[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points)
–  Darth Vader  ( 36  points)
–  Relentless  ( 3  points)
–  Minister Tua  ( 2  points)
–  Gunnery Team  ( 7  points)
–  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points)
–  Spinal Armament  ( 9  points)
–  X17 Turbolasers  ( 6  points)

– Shields to Maximum! ( 6 points)
188 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
– Slaved Turrets  ( 6  points)
60 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
– Slaved Turrets  ( 6  points)
60 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points)
–  Enhanced Armament  ( 10  points)

64 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
–  Comms Net  ( 2  points)
25 total ship cost

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 397/400

Learning From the Foe

This list shows off the Cymoon 1 Refit to it’s fullest and is the closest to a Rebel type list I’ve built with the Empire. This entire list is designed around standing off at red range and concentrating red dice on the enemy.  At it’s heart is the Cymoon 1 with its heavy 6 red dice attack it can throw twice a turn. Survivable and deadly this ship really packs a punch. Shields to Maximum also helps make the whole big fleet more durable. The Gozanti adds an activation and also can use Comms Net to throw tokens to the Cymoon for using Shields to Maximum. The Arquitens, while hard to fly, can all put out 5 red dice broadsides a turn. This allows the fleet to throw up to 21 red dice at a target if played right.

Vader leading the fleet allow some needed re-rolls and makes the long range shooting a lot less random. The fleet has a good number of activations and is overall fairly tough. While it lacks fighters, it’s fast and long range and can hopefully use this to mitigate the damage it takes. A low bid means it may not go first, but when it does act, it can put the hurt out.

Final Thoughts

So these are just a few of the lists I’ve been playing around with. Overall I really like the new ISD options and hope to see them on tables soon. In the meantime I’ll keep working away at making more lists.

That’s all for today folks! Let us know what fleets you want to try out using the new ISDs in, down in the comments!

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.