MCEF: Using What They Give You

Mon Calamari Exodus Fleet: Or How I Learned to Shut Up and Figure Out How to Use What They Give Me

Hey there! In this article, I plan on exploring what I think is the least commonly seen Task Force (TF) title: Mon Calamari Exodus Fleet (MCEF). I’ll get into its value, what it does, and what I think of it, as well as why I think we see it less frequently than any other TF title. I’ve got a lot of thoughts about this, so I apologize in advance: it’s a bit of a long read. But I want to start by explaining my choice of title for this article (beyond the Doctor Strangelove reference). Why “How I learned to shut up and figure out how to use what they give me?” Welp. It is my opinion based on how much Armada I’ve played and how many different forum threads I’ve read that we as fans of the game as well as fans of the series often have a different notion than the designers on what a ship or upgrade card should be capable of doing. More often than not, I see that as being a result of trying to project a more accurate representation of Star Wars lore into the game. Sometimes, it’s more a question of function within the game (this upgrade is never chosen because this other upgrade is a better choice, so we should make this upgrade better so it’s competitive). I don’t necessarily disagree with the discourse, but there are some instances wherein people get unreasonably aggressive about what a card *should* do. Which I think is silly. To that end, I’ve found myself frustrated with cards and ships sometimes. “This is too weak,” “That’s unreasonably powerful,” etc. But at the end of the day, we got what we got, y’all. And just because I think a card *should* do something doesn’t mean it ever will. So rather than trying to project my own thoughts on what MCEF should do onto the upgrade, I really want to take a closer look at what it actually does, and how it might actually be more useful if I bend my way of thinking rather than trying to bend the upgrade to my own will and design.

“Do not try and bend the spoon, that’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth… there is no spoon. Then you’ll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.”

I like TF titles because I think they not only lend a theme to fleet building, but I also like the idea of ships working together to be greater than the sum of their parts. I think that’s a notion in Armada that makes the game that much more fun, but also leads to builds that can be more effective when placed in the right hands. To that end, I think it’s clear that we see the Hammerhead TF titles far more frequently than Seventh Fleet Star Destroyer (7th Fleet) or MCEF for a couple of reasons.


The Hammerhead TFs are cheaper overall than 7th Fleet and MCEF. Task Force Organa (TFO) comes in at 1 point a piece, and Task Force Antilles (TFA) weighs in at 3. I say “cheaper overall” because not only are the titles cheaper, but the ships on which they go are cheaper than options for 7th Fleet and MCEF. So overall, the point investment for them is less.


The second, more common reason (I think) is that the Star Destroyers and Mon Cal ships already have good titles that do not require a large points investment with regards to fielding at least two ships that can take the title. My 3 Hammerheads (1 Scout, 2 Torpedo) armed with TFO and no other upgrades costs me 116 points. Just over a fourth of my fleet. So I’ve got lots of room for other options. My cheapest use of 7th Fleet means I’ve got only 2 Gladiator Star Destroyers, each with a copy of 7th Fleet, costs me 122. Not only is it more expensive, but I get 1 fewer deployment, activation, etc. with 7th Fleet, but I’m also forgoing use of Demolisher. The cheapest use I get out of MCEF is two MC30 Torpedo Frigates at 136 with each of them bearing the MCEF title. Even more expensive than 7th Fleet. Better net impact than 7th Fleet at this point, but I’ll get into that later.


So yeah. We don’t see 7th Fleet that often not just because of the price point, but because Glads and ISDs already have good titles that players are more inclined to use. And fielding a VSD without Harrow certainly poses its own problems. Especially because if your VSD can’t turn hard enough (which is a tall order without Harrow), 7th Fleet is useless as a defense mechanism anyway. MCEF? Well, how many folks out there want to fly an MC30 without Admonition or Foresight? Which means we’re looking at taking bigger MC ships to utilize MCEF, which means more points invested in making it work. Plus, all of the MC ships also have other good titles without having to invest in multiple MC ships, thus limiting the fleet build options. Not necessarily limiting in terms of efficacy, but certainly in terms of literal choices.

All of that is to say that it can be more difficult (and definitely requires more of an investment) to get value out of 7th Fleet and MCEF over TFO and TFA. One has to be more deliberate in one’s build in order to make the investment worthwhile. So, to that end, I won’t get into what I think MCEF *should* do for its cost. Let’s dig into what it actually does: upon resolving an Engineering command, “You may choose and exhaust another copy of this card on a friendly ship at distance 1-4. If you do, you gain 2 additional engineering points.” Right off the bat, I think this is a very good reason as to why we see MCEF even less frequently than 7th Fleet: 7th Fleet is a simple exhaust upon being attacked and before resolving damage. MCEF requires one to resolve an Engineering command. Which means that not only do I have to make sure my ships are flying in formation tightly enough to satisfy the 1-4 range requirement (which is definitely generous, but does require some attempt at a formation to maintain said distance, lest the title be completely useless), but I also have to commit to an Engineering command. Now, admittedly, this could simply be an Engineering token; a token would still satisfy the title’s requirement in order to net 2 additional Engineering points. But the other 3 TF titles are reactionary (“use this to reroll your dice,” “use this to shift points of damage amongst other bearers of TFA,” “use this when you’re taking damage to reduce the damage by one.”), whereas MCEF requires planning and is sort of a proactive TF title. I say that not in the sense that you can heal damage before you’ve been hit, but because you have to plan for it. It does not used in a reactionary moment, but you had to previously plan for its use by either lining up an Engineering dial or stashing an Engineering token. That intentionality makes this title’s use a bit harder for which to plan.


To that end, what does the title accomplish? Well, it could save your ships, that’s for certain. But I think that’s the wrong approach to take. Why? Because if all you do is line up Engineering dials and tokens for every turn, you have the possibility of mitigating a ridiculous amount of damage. Let’s assume you maximize the damage you repair, and that your opponent does not break whatever machine you’ve built; your opponent dutifully splits their fire between both of your ships sporting the title (spoiler alert: a good opponent won’t), and you somehow have activation advantage (spoiler alert: this is unlikely if you lean too hard into a tank build), and you can activate in your ideal order in order to distribute Engineering tokens to your ships as needed (spoiler alert: this will also be disrupted, so don’t count on it). Assuming they jump you and start pouring fire into both of your ships with this title in round 2, you can heal (with everything falling perfectly into place, which...you know, it won’t. It just won’t.) 30 shields a game. Awesome! That’s great, and saves 30 damage! Assuming that your machine works perfectly from round 2 onward, is never disrupted, and you only ever take shield damage and not hull damage. If you take hull damage, your Engineering points will be distributed differently. Maybe you heal 20 shields and 10 hull over the course of the game. Again, assuming everything goes perfectly, including not drawing into damage cards like Life Support Failure (which will prevent you from holding Engineering tokens until the damage is repaired) or Power Failure (which reduces your Engineering value by half, which, incidentally, hurts both your dial and token values). By the way, did you know that Power Failure stacks? Oh sure, there are only 2 in the deck, so you’re unlikely to ever draw it. But if you do, your MC80 with an Engineering of 4? Yeah, you halve that down to 2, then halve it again down to 1. Oh, with the help of MCEF, you’ll be able to ditch one of the cards, but not the other. That’s two turns you’ve spent basically just trying to get rid of two damage cards.


If one leans so hard into tanking so as to make a ship impossible to take down, it’s possible you won’t do enough damage back to either eliminate the threat or win the match. And even if you maximize your Engineering every turn, that’s 8 points of Engineering. Let’s say you REALLY piled on. You’re sporting Engineering Team in a Support Team slot to add another point; you’re also fielding Redemption for another point. You’ve got 10 points of Engineering, which is equal to 5 points of damage repaired a turn, assuming you only have to repair shield damage. That’s absolutely a ton! But is your opponent really only dealing out 5 damage a turn? Or are they doing more than that? It’s likely they’re doing more, or they’re not much of a threat to you. When I first latched onto flying 7th Fleet in my Tarkin fleet (amongst a Kuat and 2 Gladiator Star Destroyers), I thought it might save my ships. But that’s not what 7th Fleet does: 7th Fleet allows my fleet to approach yours without dying. It’s basically delivery insurance, so that you don’t burn any of my ships down on approach. Once we’re engaged, it’s all too easy for you to hit my Glads in a hull zone other than my front, at which point, 7th Fleet is no longer applicable. Even with the Kuat, if I’ve got it lined up so you can only hit my front, there’s the distinct possibility that I don’t have you double-arced, in which case, I’m saving you 4 dice and a possible crit effect each turn JUST to save myself one damage. It’s a foolish trade for me to make. I’d rather eat the extra single damage and then ensure my Kuat has two attacks instead of just one.


I think MCEF does something similar: it’s meant to keep your ship alive just a bit longer than your opponent. It’s meant to get you into position. If it saves your ship, then great! That’s awesome! But consider that a bonus rather than the intention. After all, simply surviving doesn’t win you a game (unless you’re second player), right? You have to score objectives and/or destroy some of your opponent’s fleet. So it’s not enough to *only* turtle - you need to be accomplishing something else. And that, I think, is where it is so easy to go wrong with an MCEF build. Owing to the fact that MCEF’s use requires the most intentionality of all 4 TF titles, as well as its cost (both the straight-up cost of the upgrade and the implied cost of your expensive ships onto which it can be strapped), it is easy to get caught in the trap of leaning too hard into a tanky build. Many of my attempts have featured MC80s, with their double Redirect, their 8 hull, their 15 shields, and two Defensive Retrofit slots. Extremely appealing, right? And like in many games, it makes more sense to turn a strength into an obscenity rather than trying to round out the rough edges so that your ship is now decently rounded. After all, in so many fantasy settings, Rangers are decent at everything, but good at very little and great at nothing. That approach doesn’t often work in a game where the intensity and accuracy of a good fleet’s focus can burn like a laser through an opponent regardless of dice luck on either side.

MCEF is one of the rare instances wherein I think turning a strength into an obscenity is a mistake. And that is because MCEF, by itself, does not win you a game. So I think MCEF is a title around which a player should build, but not make the point of the fleet. Take a look at what I’ve listed below.


Ackbar’s Exodus (15/397/400)

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MC75 Armored Cruiser (104 + 80: 184)

• Admiral Ackbar (38)
• Intel Officer (7)
• Caitken and Shollan (6)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Expanded Launchers (13)
• Mon Calamari Exodus Fleet (5)

MC75 Armored Cruiser (104 + 48: 152)

• Intel Officer (7)
• Sensor Team (5)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
• Leading Shots (4)
• Expanded Launchers (13)
• Linked Turbolaser Towers (7)
• Mon Calamari Exodus Fleet (5)

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 + 5: 23)

•  Ezra Bridger (3)
•  Comms Net (2)

GR-75 Medium Transports (18 + 5: 23)

• Leia Organa (3)
• Comms Net (2)

VCX-100 Freighter (15)


Station Assault

Fire Lanes

Hyperspace Migration


Now, to be clear: I’m not arguing this is a winning fleet. I don’t actually know if it is or not. I’ve not tested it, so I’d need to fly it several times to see if it even has a chance. But note that the vast majority of my fleet is not seeking to exploit my Engineering for the sake of healing: I plan on exploiting my Engineering points in order to lay on the damage or score objectives. Ackbar and my Turbolaser/Ion Cannon/Ordnance upgrades are all heavily damage-focused, as are my choices for Weapons Teams. Even Intel Officer is in there to strip defense tokens when they’re used so that I can maybe overcome the fact that I’ll only be, at best, launching four attacks per round against an opponent. I’m unlikely to overheat defense tokens, so I’ll try and strip them with Intel Officer. Each of my objectives is all about scoring points and forcing my opponent to come to me. Ezra ensures that I can maximize scoring Hyperspace Migration early in the game, or that I can make it that much more difficult for an opponent to kill a space station in Station Assault. My single squadron moves objective tokens so that Fire Lanes is that much more profitable for me, or I can possibly contest an opponent’s objective tokens if they choose to be second player. Again, I’m not talking about whether or not this fleet works, as I’ve not yet flown it and don’t know. But it’s the intention behind it: Leia will give me Engineering dials if I’ve mistimed my own command dial stack, and both GR-75s can toss me Engineering tokens for small repairs as needed. I’m building around MCEF, but not anchoring my fleet around it. I skipped things like Redemption or the MC80s with Projection Experts. Why? Because I just can’t repair as much damage as you can deal in a turn, and it’ll be a losing battle. Plus, if I’m so focused on Engineering every turn that I can’t do anything else, then how do I plan on winning? The Rebels do not have a Piett or a Thrawn, and so can only do one thing in a turn. Which means I’ve got to play my command game well, and simply spamming Engineering won’t win me anything.


So while you may hate the build I’ve got above (and I might even end up agreeing with you when I’ve finally tried it!), I’m not focusing on my own purely theoretical build so much as I am focusing on the notion that the goal of using MCEF in your fleet should not be to ensure your survival so much as it should be about getting your ship(s) to where they need to be. Geek19 points out here that Ackbar’s ability is probably derived from a tactic he developed called the Ackbar slash. But simply driving your HMC80 up between two Star Destroyers is almost certainly going to translate into a dead HMC80. I’m not saying MCEF allows you to suddenly execute such a maneuver and come out on the other side. But it could possibly allow your pickle to get into positions it would not have otherwise survived long enough to attain. And once it’s there, it can loose a volley of hellfire. Positioning is king in Armada, and MCEF gives you some added leeway in your endeavors to obtain the high ground.

Because there are other memes we can afford to use for such a line…

So, bottom line it for me, you hack: is MCEF worth it?


I don’t know. Sorry, but after all of that “analysis,” I honestly don’t. If I had the time (which I don’t, because of work and family) and the availability of matches (which I don’t, because of covid and my Palpatine experiment), I could test out different combinations. There are four different ships MCEF can grace (MC30c Frigates, HMC80s, LMC80s, and MC75s), which means you can mess with different combinations. And this is also, I think, the only TF title worth only taking on two ships. Sure, you run the risk of one of them blowing up and rendering the other useless. But the effectiveness of the title does not increase with each added ship bearing the title, unlike TFO, TFA, or 7th Fleet. The latter two titles allow more damage mitigation with each added TF ship, and the former allows for more overall rerolls. With MCEF, there is no such enhanced effect for each ship sporting the MCEF title. This gives MCEF just a little more leeway than the other TF titles. So, silver lining.


I think it’s worth experimenting with the title. I think it *can* be good. But if you’re expecting the title to save your ship, you’re asking too much of it. My inclination is to place the title on HMC80s, with their double Redirects and their double Defensive Retrofit slots. But I think that instinct is wrong. Those ships can already tank really hard. Do we really want to invest another 10 points in the title slot to make them tank harder? Do we want two pickles in our fleet, eating up a ton of points? Maybe you do, and if that’s the case, try it! But I can also say that I already did it once, and was disappointed by the results. Sure, I only played one match. Hardly enough evidence. But I went with Hyperspace Migration to hunt objective points, and that was a good call. But I wasn’t doing enough damage with these two ships, and they ate up the bulk of my fleet total. I couldn’t do enough damage to be enough of a threat, and so I was able to tank really hard, but still went down. I don’t like MCEF on MC30s because Admonition and Foresight are already so good, and because I think it’s a lot to ask of your MC30s to fly in formation as well as be able to repair. Plus, what flotillas or other MC ships will keep up with MC30s on their attack runs to make sure they can repair with tokens if they’re not spamming Engineering dials? I think MCEF functions better on ships like MC75s and LMC80s that don’t have multiple Redirect tokens. It means when you hit me, depending on the situation and my activations, I can simply eat the damage instead of burning a Redirect, and then repair those shields right back where I wanted them. Or move them around. Either is fine, depending on my need. I think it’s easier to justify MCEF on MC75s than on LMC80s, just because LMC80s want to be navigating so often in order to keep their front arcs on target. But I can see how it might work if one can keep them fed with Engineering tokens. I think there are options for MCEF, and that it can do some good work. But I also do not think this is a title for novice players.