Obi Wan Kenobi
DH: Obi's ability on the surface looks pretty plain, but let's break things down a bit.
In essence, this card adds Expert Shield Tech to all of your ships for free (well 28 points, but the cheapest admiral so far is 20 points, so we'll call it 8). However, it's even better than EST because it happens in addition to normal redirect.
I think Obi is best suited to MSU style builds and in effect is slightly better Motti IF you can use your redirect every time you're shot. I like him!
LM: Both Obi and Bail aren’t getting me too excited but I am eager to be proved wrong. Thus far, no GAR ship has been shown to have multiple redirects and so, a single accuracy per roll and my commander has just been nullified. Although, perhaps that assumes that my brace (usually the most valuable defense token) is then available. Consider the jury out for me on Obi-Wan!
CL: So I’m looking forward to using Obi-Wan, but I’m not particularly excited about him. Not because I don’t think he’s good, though as I’m math-ing his ability (and my math is...not good), I’m just not convinced I want to pay for him, it really breaks down to the fact that his ability isn’t sexy. There isn’t anything that really jumps out at me as fun about his ability, which is one of the reasons I’ve never flown Motti. Oh no, he’s great! But the ability is pretty straightforward and not sexy. So, not a complaint, just not a commander about which I’m particularly excited. I do agree with DH that Obi-Wan is better than Motti, and will be a great addition to MSU builds. I’m not particularly familiar withCloneWars lore, so I’m not looking forward to any particular ships with which I anticipate Obi-Wan will pair well
Bail Organa
LM: To take you behind the curtain, I am sharing my Bail thoughts after Dakota has written his, and, after reading his thoughts (shown below), I am now excited to give Daddy Organa a shot!
I think it may take practice to best determine when to utilize your Bail commands but I look forward to testing these commanders and spending that time with our new toys. Additionally, I like that unlike Obi-Wan, your opponent can never prevent you from using Bail (provided he’s alive).
Final thought: Bail’s dials may be a great anti-raid measure, assuming we dial up Con & Sqd commands.
DH: Bail has a few restrictions. First, you can only place Nav and Eng tokens on the card, and you're only allowed 5 total of any combination, so let's say 3 nav and 2 eng. Secondly, you can discard one of each type when a ship activates, meaning your Acclamator can dial up squadrons, navigate, AND engineer in the same turn. Pretty crazy.
I think the main use for Bail will be combining Nav with Squadron or Concentrate Fire, but i would always bring one engineering command just in case you're in a pinch. Bail lends himself as more of a Acclamator squadrons commander.
CL: I am very excited about Bail. I like that there’s at least a little bit of planning required at the top of the game (how many of each token am I placing on here?), because the planning of Armada is one of my favorite elements of the game. When a plan pays off, it just feels really nice. To that end, flexibility is also something I appreciate, and Bail offers this in a big way. At the moment, there are only two Republic commanders to compare and contrast, so at present, my Republic commander of choice is almost certainly Bail.
Implacable
DH: Sharing is caring. I could see a lot of use for Implacable combined with Obi Wan, a couple of Consulars with Projection Experts, and Advanced Projectors on Implacable to make for a very tanky fleet.
LM: If this card allowed for the lost shields to come from any arc, I’d love it. However, having to lose the shields from the front arc of the Implacable is a big turn off for me. It seems to punish you for doing what seems to come natural - that being, point your nose/guns/most-shielded-zone, at the enemy.
Clone Gunners
DH: Sharing is… destruction? So in effect this card acts as an alternative to H9s and gives you the ability to add accuracies in a clutch moment. Let's all remember how strong Ravager with H9 and QTC is. Now you can have an Acclamator throwing guaranteed 2 accuracies because your two other ships are rocking CF tokens. I would only spend them on important rolls though.
LM: So very excited to utilize this card. Whilst I am not looking forward to having to invest in sourcing con-fire tokens on my ships (I would rather be using dials rather than earning tokens), a guaranteed accuracy is pretty nasty! Combined with XI7, and (outside of ECM) you can be fairly certain that your dice pools will leave a mark.
CL: I think there will be a lot of cool ways to implement this, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the meta takes this card and uses it. I really appreciate that it gives me an alternate way to spend my Con Fire tokens, and it’s a guaranteed way to use the tokens instead of a “well, I can reroll a die, but I don’t know what it’ll do for me.” Not saying I don’t use Con Fire tokens, but I like the sure option that this card affords.
Munitions Resupply
DH: Oh, hey, heard you're really excited about clone gunners!
The other thing to consider is we haven't seen a Republic Floatilla, so we don't know how we're going to make use of this card yet, but it's great way to be able to use a ship for support and have it do its own thing as well, whereas comms net forces it to stick to only one job.
LM: Remember when I said I was excited to use Clone Gunners but unsure how to best supply my ships with con-fire tokens….. Nevermind. I haven’t yet begun to consider what this could do in a Rebel fleet. Perhaps when coupled with the officers/liaisons that allow for the exchange between a token and a command dial.
CL: I’m looking forward to more Fleet Support options. Comms Net is always a useful choice, but yeah, I’ve been dying for more Fleet Support choices. I’m particularly excited for this card because it will reach across all four factions.
Reactive Gunnery
DH: Finally, a use for the DR on small ships like the CR90. Salvo is incredibly good and has won me games. I will probably use this one a lot, especially on ships with contains that don't need ECM.
LM: With Salvo in the game, it can create a real dilemma for ships. All of a sudden you’re less excited at the idea of a double arc as your weak side arc shot may not be much better than your opponents salvo! Additionally, seeing my own ship activate first and gunnery team two targets, only to be salvo’d twice (spending my defense tokens and lowering my shields), before my targets activate to fire on me - ouch!
NW: Good card for ships with defense token redundancy such as CR90’s or possibly even MC30’s as well as the Home One variant with a double defensive retrofit.
CL: I think Reactive Gunnery is a really exciting card. We’ve already seen one way in which ships from the pre-Starhawk/Onager days could get a Salvo token (and 2, with Agate), but as it’s looking as though Salvo is going to be more commonly seen, having this as an option is huge. It is, I think, a very big shift for the game to be in a place where you don’t necessarily want to take every shot you're handed. It’s not always worth it to take a 2 dice side shot at a ship that can fire back at you as you’re trying to run. So having Salvo as a more viable option for so many more ships is a great development choice and, again, I’m looking forward to seeing how this impacts the meta.
Kraken
DH: Yo, I heard you like Ion Screed. Well, this is the more mechanical version of that. Make a blockade of Munificents, wait for them to get in medium range, and let loose a salvo of HIE. Oh you got a natural blue crit? Well turn the blank red into an accuracy and get rid of their brace. 30 points is 4 more than Screed, but you don't have to ditch a dice either. Once CIS gets some black dice ships, i expect Kraken to become even more popular.
NW: If you’re a fanatic of dice manipulation like I am you will love Kraken I think. He’s basically Screed, except instead of a hit/crit its any icon you need at the time. I feel like this will see a lot of play with accuracy, black crit, and blue crit lists.
LM: It’s tough to weigh in on Kraken as the commander that he’s most similar to, Screed, is not one that I’ve got experience with. I am sure I’ll be on the receiving end of many Kraken builds and look forward to building to beat him!
CL: I like it. But I also like the sure thing, sometimes. One of the things I love about Armada is that dice help determine our fate as players, but so much of the game is planning. I know what defense tokens you have, I know what my ships are capable of, etc etc. It all ends up meaning that a lot of the game is...not predictable, but open knowledge. A card like Kraken helps eliminate just a little more of the chance that dice provide.
T-Series Tactical Droid
DH: Well, pretty good way to capitalize on tokens, but really it's all about flexibility. Keep in mind you can still resolve your other command, but not if they're the same. I would mainly save it for engineering and focus my dials elsewhere, then if I need to bail myself out I can still do my other command as normal.
NW: Piett as an officer? Count me in. Great flexibility to pop out a full fledged dial when you only have a token, looks like it’ll pair well with the resupply cards.
LM: As a lover of squadrons, I think this could be a great ‘get out of jail’ card should you have a ship with squadron dialled up and need to do something else. Granted it will require a token but with the new resupply card(s?), early round token taking and comms net, that ought to be easy to get around.
CL: I absolutely echo what NW said: “Piett as an officer? Count me in.” I really like Piett a lot, but still haven’t found a fleet in which I’m happiest with him as my commander choice. Having him as an officer is a really interesting choice, and I think we’ll see this droid in a lot of fleets.
Tide of Progress XII
DH: For 2 points, why not? Its a free hull point and can prevent a lot of nasty effects. I say slap it on your flagship and remember it exists before you take a crit.
NW: A cheap card to remove a nasty crit before it hurts you? Yes please!
LM: I concur with the lads. Until anything more exciting is shared with us, why not invest 2 points to keep your ship alive a little longer? I do think that this card is a bit of a mouthful! Perhaps the Tide of Progress XII, needs a nickname!
CL: Very much a “why not?” situation for me. It’s a cheap title that may or may not be used, but if it is? Very useful. If it’s not? You only spent 2 points. And the cost for un-exhausting the card does not discourage me from choosing it because if I get even one use out of it, the cost was worth it.
Wat Tambor
NW: Good way to boost your engineering power if you have multiple ships to draw from, but at the same time it’s often said that engineering is the weakest command so take that with a grain of salt. Might fit in well with a remote rep fleet as a way to move shields to the ships taking damage.
DH: Wat stole the clones' idea and decided sharing is important, but only for him. The best use is to steal rear shields off your other ships to protect your fleets anchor point ship, since rear shields are rarely useful. Or if you have a really nasty face up damage it can be useful to ditch it and save some shields too. Overall, not too shabby.
CL: I’m really looking forward to seeing Wat Tambor. A couple of the Armada vets have talked about defense facilitating good offense as a way to win games. I’m looking forward to seeing how Wat Tambor can be used effectively as a shield shuffler to keep Separatist ships alive long enough to strike and kill, or run.
Acclamator-I Class
DH: Pretty good for a medium base, 66 points is not much for 7 hull and 4/2/2 shield layout. Similar to the Vic1, you'll need to keep your nose towards trouble, but the side arcs are decent if you get a double arc. 3 squadron value plus 2 OR slots and WT means you can have a pretty good carrier out of this for about 80 points.
LM: As a rebel player, I feel like I’ve been waiting for a ship just like this! Far too often I’ve been jealous of my opponents quasar as a carrier. I suppose the rebel alternative may be a pelta but frankly, they never got it done for me or left me feeling satisfied.
I can’t wait to bump my squadron value up to 5, add APTs, dial up a stack of squadron dials and throw one of these at my CIS opponent!
Acclamator-II Class
DH: Where the 1 is designed for support, the 2 looks to be more of the brawler. DR means you have ECM to guarantee your Obi redirect or AP Implacable build. WT can go either CG for accuracy or Ordnance Experts for black dice. Depends on how close you plan to get. Really like the flexibility this ship offers.
LM: I am very eager to see this ship ‘spoiled’ fully so that we can really understand it’s dice pools. As it stands, the I love the idea of a few of these fighting it out whilst an ACC-1 pushes a wing of bombers.
Consular-Class Armed Cruiser
DH: The armed Cruiser looks to be pretty similar to the CR90B but a bit meaner at close range. Support Team could be good for engine techs along with Bail to help you sneak out of trouble and get to the engines of your opponent. It'll be interesting to see what other upgrades come out to assist this little guy.
Consular-Class Charger
DH: I would presume the charger will look more like the CR90 as a kind of fast skirmisher. Auxiliary Shield Teams can buy it some more health, and TRC is not a bad choice if you're sure you don't need to evade later in the turn, otherwise dice adders like Spinal or Enhanced are better picks to increase your arsenal.
LM: The single evade makes TRC a tad bit tougher but, ultimately I think that’s where this ship will excel. With an offensive retrofit, perhaps there may be opportunities to exploit that slot and see this ship push a few squadrons too (can you tell I’m excited to fly GAR squadrons yet?)
Delta-7 Squadron
DH: At 17 points, you're practically buying an ace, but look at those abilities and you're practically getting one. Free reroll against squadrons OR ships, counter 2, and ability to force your opponent to reroll a dice while being attacked. I probably wouldn't take just these, but 1 or 2 to back up your squadrons sounds like a good use.
CL: I *fear* we’re going to see a lot of these. Oh, I like them well enough. But man, if they aren’t going to be tough to kill. I think the CW squadrons are going to really shake up the squadron game in different ways, and with these guys being a little surprisingly difficult to kill, I’ll admit that I’m not particularly interested in facing off against them on a regular basis…
LM: The Delta-7 is such an awesome looking ship and I’m excited to see it on the table. It surely is expensive for a ‘generic’ but still, I think it will have it’s place amongst the other more ‘normal’ squadrons that the GAR may field. Perhaps as anti-aces, using their adept reroll to try and score a crucial scatter-preventing accuracy.
Another note/thought - The Delta-7 will have some seriously cool unique pilots, surely!?
V-19 Torrent Squadron
DH: The V19 is more or less a cheaper non bomber X Wing. Where I was really amped on the D7, I'm pretty meh on the V19. It's mostly there because of escort for the other squads, so I would use them to either buy time for bombers, or, hide your legal D7s behind them.
CL: I know they’re not as good as X-Wings, but man, I’m really excited about them having Swarm and working with Reserve Hangar Deck…
LM: Eager to see how these function on the table. I loved flying X Wings when playing as rebels and appreciated the ‘bomber’ keyword a lot. I’m going to have to do some math to determine what is better, a black die or a bomber red.
Munificent-Class Frigate
DH: This ship is clearly built to have an easy time double arcing and its a mean double arc at that. 6 hull 4/3/2 shields mean you can hang back and shoot while your opponent comes towards you and still take a punch if they get there.
Hardcell-Class Battle Refit
DH: Well it's a Nebulon, but with easier to protect sides. DR will likely be for Reinforced Blast Doors, and TL will probably be spinal or LTT. Either way, I quite like the design of this and think they'll be pretty useful gun boats.
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