SW Armada: Playing With Rebel Squadrons
Lets look at a couple lists I’ve come up with based around Rebel Squadrons.
OK readers, confession time: I don’t like or feel super comfortable with squadron based lists. I think the reason is two fold. For one I just really like the big ships, thats the main draw of Armada for me. Second I’ve been playing the game since day one, and back at the start I, and many others, felt squadrons were under-powered, you could build a variety of good squadron-less builds.
That has however changed. Squadrons have gotten massive power boost and going squadron free is a real risk these days. I however haven’t really adjusted much, and am either still building lists without squadrons or often focusing on light screens rather than heavy squadron action. So today I messed around a little and built a couple of Rebel lists based around heavy squadron use. Lets take a look at them.
I’ve Got 95 Problems and Z Aint One
Commander: Leia Organa
[ flagship ] Modified Pelta-class Command Ship (60 points)
– Leia Organa ( 38 points)
– Phoenix Home ( 3 points)
– Walex Blissex ( 5 points)
– Major Derlin ( 7 points)
– Engine Techs ( 8 points)
– Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
– All Fighters, Follow Me! ( 5 points)
131 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
– Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
23 total ship cost
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
– Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
23 total ship cost
Modified Pelta-class Command Ship (60 points)
– Engine Techs ( 8 points)
– Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points)
73 total ship cost
1 Lietenant Blount ( 14 points)
17 Z-95 Headhunter Squadrons ( 119 points)
Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Fighter Ambush
Navigation Objective: Solar Corona
383/400
Flying The Fleet
So obviously this list is built around pushing forward a swarm of Z-95s. The Z-95 is a ship I’ve always loved in Star Wars and I still love it in Armada. Cheap and a little fragile the Z-95 is really a luck based ship. It has a super high damage potential, but can also whiff. Luckily for me I like to gamble a bit in games and will take the risk they bring. Supporting my Zs I’ve got enough carriers that with Leia I can activate all 18 of my squadrons each turn.
The ships themselves aren’t much to talk about, but the Peltas can at least add a little supporting fire and can take a hit or two. Still it’s the squadrons that will be heavy lifting. There are enough of them, and with enough re-rolls that a good strike can cripple almost any ship in the game, or make enemy fighters worry. It’s a fragile list, but one that played right can hit hard enough to win games.
The Knock Out Punch
Commander: General Madine
GR-75 Medium Transports (18 points)
– Bomber Command Center ( 8 points)
26 total ship cost
[ flagship ] MC80 Battle Cruiser (103 points)
– General Madine ( 30 points)
– Mon Karren ( 8 points)
– Major Derlin ( 7 points)
– Gunnery Team ( 7 points)
– Engine Techs ( 8 points)
– Spinal Armament ( 9 points)
– Quad Turbolaser Cannons ( 10 points)
– Leading Shots ( 4 points)
186 total ship cost
Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette (36 points)
– Ordnance Experts ( 4 points)
– External Racks ( 3 points)
43 total ship cost
1 Rogue Squadron ( 14 points)
1 Corran Horn ( 22 points)
6 Lancer-class Pursuit Crafts ( 90 points)
Assault Objective: Precision Strike
Defense Objective: Fighter Ambush
Navigation Objective: Superior Positions
381/400
Using the List
In contrast to the previous list this one uses a smaller elite unit of squadrons to deliver a one two punch with a heavy ship. I built this list around elite rogue bombers. The Lancer is a decent rogue bomber, that while not as good anti-squadron as a YT-2400 is more flexible and hits ships harder. Corran and Rouge Squadron, round out a squadron force that hit hard and act independently. My big worry is that they aren’t strong enough to punch through a heavy enemy screen.
Backing the squadrons up is the heavy hitting Liberty Class, able to go toe-to-toe with pretty much any ship in the game. It’s a fast and flexible ship that with Madine can be where I need it. A GR75 with bomber command backs up the squadrons pretty well. Lastly I’ve got a Hammerhead with external racks. This little ship give me an extra activation but if placed right can also get in a big hit on the enemy, punch far above its weight class.
Final Thoughts
So there you go, a couple of Rebel based squadron lists. I’m trying to move outside my comfort area and also not just rehash a Rebel aces list. Both of these work in very different ways but seem interesting to play. I’ll get them out of the tabletop, see how they do and then as usual work on refining and optimizing them. Hopefully they will help me overcome my issues with squadron based lists!
Thats all for this time Armada fans! Let us know what you think of the lists and how you use squadrons, down in the comments!
