There are a lot of great Armada blogs out there. Reading them has bough to my attention that I;

• Don’t know enough about the game yet to make fully informed decisions

• I have underestimated the “layers” involved in this game. It is simply deeper than X or Attack Wing.

When building the Rebel fleet, I really wanted to keep it at “minnow” level compared to the Imperial whale (Killer Whale that is). I topped out at the Pelta Command/support ship, ideal for….command…and support, the Nebulon-B brawler, 2 Hammerheads and a CR90 butterfly (as fastest ship in my game). All of the little rogues and squadrons are also my secret crush, so lets keep sight of that.

I avoided the only other small Rebel ship available because, to be honest, it seemed too strong, specifically against a lone ISD build, making the Rebel fleet all about delivering this angry beast like a giant missile. The other ships I do have coming offer elements of an MC-30 (Hammerheads, Nebulon), but nothing is as brutal and down right mean. Nothing is as unbalancing.

This left a hole in my “representative of the Armada game” fleets and I have also become aware of failings in my plan to run huge swarms and a Star Destroyer only. Game mechanics flaws.

The ISD needs a support ship and the fleet/game just needs more depth.

The fix is elegant.

The Imperial Gladiator Star Destroyer (GSD) is a bigger than average, small base escort with several nice personality traits, like the Cameron Diaz Ogress to Mike Myer’s Ogre (see Ogre reference in previous post for a loose connection there).

• First up, it is well respected, balanced and lethal, even after several waves of game growth.

• It sits in the “much smaller than an ISD, but chunkier than my Rebels” camp, so it is still menacing.

• It has the MC-30’s strong side weaponry, but unlike the MC, it will actually have more ships to shoot at and does not unbalance either fleet.

• It is tougher than the MC-30.

• It adds tactical elements I am missing, It gives the Imperials some flank strength other than fighters.

• It looks like the mother to my little Decimator escorts (Ogrelings), as the ISD looks like their dad, aaaawww. I do not like the look of the other small, rounded off Imperial ships, happy to leave that shape to the Republic.

• It is a flak platform if desired, ideal for the scale and feel of my games.

• It is a mini carrier if desired, see above.

• It is a suicide fire ship if desired, see above.

• It is a delaying sacrificial escort if desired, see above.

• So it adds several scenario options.

• It allows me to field more Imperial upgrades and tactics (some actual synergy).

• It negates the need to track down the rare Raider, my intended escort ship.

Is this the end?

I feel not, but I like when starting something new, to have realistic feel-good end points in mind so I can stop contented at these points. Having no plan usually ends badly. As an example, I would have likely only done the early movie ships in X Wing 1e if I had seen the longer picture, leaving fewer TFA for 2e (only). This is roughly where I got, but with a lot of double dipping and blind purchasing. Alternatively, I may have simply done Armada!

The reality is, I often retrospectively see a better, cleaner path, but knowing myself, I do try to crystal ball the chaos, sometimes failing dismally :). See how my plan to do the Clone Wars fleets only failed within days of purchasing them.