Monday, June 1, 2015

Armada Objectives - Part 3/3 (Navigation)

This is the final article on objectives, and will discuss the last four objectives we haven't gone over, the Navigation objectives.  Again, we are going to go over what the different objectives are, and why you would want to chose one over the other.

Superior Positions:

For this objective, the first player must deploy all of their ships / squadrons first.  Also, during game play, any attack against a rear hull zone that does damage gives the attacker a victory token.

Second Player:

You have fast / maneuverable ships, and the possibility of outflanking hitting the opponent with squadrons in sufficient numbers to get rear hull zone hits.  Ships with Engine Techs, and carrier spec'd Victorys / Assault Frigates are the stars of this show.  As player 2, you know where your opponent is setting up, and can take advantage of that - splitting your forces into a pincer so someone will be getting rear shots on someone, wherever the opponent turns.  Mon Mothma is an amazing commander for this - keeping enemies from getting a single hit on your back arc from an evade is an amazing boost.

First Player:

Much the same as the second player, you have the forces that can outflank the opponent, even if you are the one that starts.  I think in this case, an advantage in squadron superiority is the key - being able to take even a non-bomber shot with a throwaway squadron gives you a 50/50 shot of free 15 points.  Use the obstacles to limit where and how the second player can flank you.

Both Players:

Armada is all about planning multiple turns in advance, and no where is that more apparent than this scenario.  Being able to predict where you and your opponent will wind up three turns ahead is what will determine if you win or lose.  Too many games have been won and lost on deployment to take this objective lightly.

Intel Sweep:

It's sweeps week!  After placing objectives, 5 objectives tokens are placed on the board - distance 5 of players edges / distance 3 of other objective tokens.  Each player chooses an objective ship - that ship and only that ship can pick up the tokens when they reveal their command dial.  If you have more objective tokens than the opponent - you increase your final score by 75.

Second Player:

You have a fast, nimble ship that you can use to grab objective tokens.  Here is where a properly geared Corvette or Raider can really shine - Engine Techs or Nav Teams to make sure you land in just the right spot, or even without those the ship is usually maneuverable enough.  Something could be said for having a durable ship as well - Assault Frigates can move at speed 3, even if they aren't very agile - and Gladiators almost have the agility and speed of Corvettes, and can be spec'd for speed as well.  When placing your tokens, try to plan them out so that they make a nice line for your ship to grab after each turn of movement, and you end T3 in a spot where the other side's second collection point just isn't anywhere near.

First Player:

You have a real advantage here - by getting the first activation, you can ensure that if something is contested, you can pick it up first!  But that is only if your ship is there to do the collecting.  Since the Second Player can make a line with their tokens, and you are left guessing where that line will end at the 3rd token, you will need to deploy your forces for some area denial at the final location.  You may be able to grab your 3rd token first, and backtrack to the other 2 you placed.  Your ship will likely need to be durable enough to survive (no Corvette for you unless you are going to sweep the 3rd token first - you can't pick something that is going to melt against sustained fire before T4).  This is a good spot for a speedy Gladiator, or a MC80 with Engine Techs and a pedal to the floor. Unless someone gets really out of position, 75 points can decide the match, so make sure you are the one collecting.

Both Players:

This objective is all about area denial, and making your opponent move a ship somewhere it doesn't want to be.  Since you can both set down 2 objective markers, those should be yours - figure out how and when you are going to get to that 3rd objective, and make sure that you can hold it and the enemy off of it until you can collect it.

Minefields:

The second player places all the obstacles, and can place them anywhere.  The second player also places 6 objective tokens, placed at Range 1 of an obstacle and beyond Range 1 of all other tokens.  The objective tokens are mines, and blow up if a ship moves into Range 1 of them, dealing 2 Blue dice worth of damage directly to hull, with Criticals causing the first card to be face up.

Second Player:

This is a great objective for blocking off areas of play, making a much narrower playing field, and almost a second edge.  Placing the "mines" and obstacles to make a line down the middle of the board can split it in two, or you can just play around with the opponent's side of the board, making them have to fly through an obstacle course to get to your ships.  The idea is to be creative and use the board to set up an advantageous engagement for you.  This is a good objective for you if you need to funnel the enemy into a specific kill zone for your forces, like with a Black dice heavy list, or to keep them from cutting you off if you have a standoff list.

First Player:

You really don't get anything out of this.  The only thing that you can take away is that squadrons aren't affected, so that's something.  There is only so much the opponent can do with the mines though, so if you can take their fleet in a straight up brawl, this might be worthwhile.  Do not be afraid to crash through the mine field with a large ship if you need to - engineering commands can fix the hull damage.

Both Players:

Not much room for error in this when it comes to maneuvering, so you should be able to predict where your opponent is going to be multiple turns down the line.  Whether you can do anything about it though, with a narrow playing field...

Dangerous Territory:

After placing obstacles, they get an objective token.  Overlap an obstacle to claim the token.  15 points per token.  Player 2 isn't affected by overlapping obstacles.

Second Player:

Another objective that benefits fast, agile ships.  Corvettes are best, Gladiators almost as good.  If you have 3 ships, you can just plop down three obstacles right by your starting area for a quick pickup T1. You know your opponent is going to crash into obstacles, which is why you always plop down the station first.  Then, engage his weakened ships.  It really doesn't make sense to play this objective without 3 ships.  Dodonna does work with face-up cards from asteroids.

First Player:

Probably only makes sense with 3 ships with enough engineering to repair on T2 the smashing they took on T1.  Again, if you have 3 ships, you can place 3 obstacles really close to your starting area, and grab 'em on T1.  It doesn't really make sense to play this objective without 3 ships.  

Both Players:

It doesn't really make much sense to play this objective without 3 ships.  Be ready to cut off an enemy ship that just smashed into an obstacle, or pick up a missed obstacle.


Well that's it.  You've wasted another perfectly good 10 minutes of your life reading my terrible strategy advice.  Let me know what you think, or what you'd like me to cover next time!

2 comments:

  1. Now with wave 3 and 4 maybe an updated review of the objective cards is in order. With DeMSU and rymberablls and flotillas out, the game play has changed quite a bit for what objectives to take.

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  2. I'm on my second game and needed a crash course for a game this evening. This fit the bill perfectly. Much obliged.

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