Post by Fadril Adren on Mar 22, 2016 19:43:25 GMT -5
Rebel and Imperial fleets fight for the fate of the galaxy in Star Wars™: Armada, the two-player miniatures game of epic Star Wars space battles!
Massive Star Destroyers fly to battle against Rebel corvettes and frigates. Banks of turbolasers unleash torrential volleys of fire against squadrons of X-wings and TIEs. Engineering teams race to route additional power to failing shields. Laser blasts and explosions flare across the battlefield. Even a single ship can change the tide of battle.
In Star Wars: Armada, you assume the role of fleet admiral, serving with either the Imperial Navy or Rebel Alliance. It’s your job to issue the tactical commands that will decide the course of battle and, perhaps, the fate of the galaxy.
Nebulon-B Frigate
The Nebulon-B frigate was designed for the Imperial Navy by Kuat Drive Yards as a warship that could protect convoys from Rebel starfighters, but it was, ironically, a much more impactful ship within the Rebel fleet. At three-hundred meters long, a single Nebulon-B could boast twelve turbolasters and twelve laser cannons.
The showpiece of the Nebulon-B Expansion Pack for Star Wars: Armada is its detailed and pre-painted Nebulon-B frigate miniature, and the expansion then enhances this ship by supplying all the command dials and tokens you need to fly it, along with ship cards that allow you to build it into your fleet as a fighter escort or as a powerful support ship. Additionally, the expansion’s eight upgrade cards, which include two unique title cards, allow you to further customize your frigate’s role within your fleet.
The second Rebel ship found in the Core Set is the Nebulon-B frigate, and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack enhances its utility and versatility within your fleet by adding a pre-painted Nebulon-B miniature along with eight upgrade cards.
The Nebulon-B is a ship that is truly designed to play one of two different roles within your fleet, and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack further highlights the distinctions between the roles, allowing you to use it as a powerful support ship or as a potent fighter escort. Of course, once you have both the Core Set and the Nebulon-B Frigate Expansion Pack, you can field two Nebulon-B frigates in battle, potentially utilizing both the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate and the Nebulon-B Support Refit in the same fleet.
The ship cards for the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (left) and Nebulon-B Support Refit (right).
Both these types of Nebulon-B frigate feature the same attack dice, shields, hull, and upgrade slots. There are two key differences that merit the six extra fleet points. First of all, the Nebulon-B Escort Frigate gains an extra blue die to its anti-squadron armament, making it far more effective at eliminating enemy squadrons, either to protect itself or free up your fighters to attack enemy ships. Additionally, it gains an extra squadron value, meaning it can activate an extra squadron whenever it reveals the squadron command. This is particularly meaningful if you equip your Nebulon-B frigate with the expansion’s Yavaris title, which allows your squadrons to attack twice when you activate them with the squadron command, so long as they don’t move. Add Luke Skywalker to the mix, and the differences between the two types of Nebulon-B designs becomes profoundly noticeable.
Of course, there’s plenty to say in favor of the Nebulon-B Support Refit. For starters, it comes with all the same attack dice, but at a discount of six fleet points. This is a great option for fleet admirals who plan to use their Nebulon-B frigates to attack directly. For starters, the Salvation title adds extra damage with each result it scores from its front hull zone. Then, the addition of an Intel Officer or XI7 Turbolasers (or both) can minimize your opponent’s ability to defend against your attacks, ensuring that they hit for maximum, targeted impact.
The Support Refit is also, arguably, the better ship to outfit with the Core Set’s Redemption title, which is the title you’d likely select if you wanted your Nebulon-B to play a more defensive role than offensive one. It grants an extra point of engineering to friendly ships within Range 1–5 whenever they resolve the repair command, either from the dial or from a token. Either way, that extra point may make the difference between merely moving a shield and recovering one, or between recovering a shield and discarding some harmful faceup damage card. Additionally, that extra point of engineering piles up quickly; the more you resolve the repair command, the more value you get from the Redemption.