So recently I have been playing lists that have no flotillas in them, and well I did not even notice that I was not running flotillas anymore its just something I started to see, and I was wondering why I have started to do that, and if it has any benefits, and well after looking into this well, it does. So I wanted to share my thoughts about flotillas, and why you should, and maybe why you should not take them when building a list. First lets look at a very generic Imperial list: Imperial II (120) • Moff Jerjerrod (23) • Strategic Adviser (4) • Gunnery Team (7) • Electronic Countermeasures (7) • Leading Shots (4) • Quad Battery Turrets (5) • Avenger (5) = 175 Points
Gladiator I (56) • Captain Brunson (5) • Ordnance Experts (4) • Engine Techs (8) • Assault Proton Torpedoes (5) • Demolisher (10) = 88 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23) • Comms Net (2) = 25 Points
Gozanti Cruisers (23) • Comms Net (2) = 25 Points
Squadrons: • Ciena Ree (17) • Valen Rudor (13) • Colonel Jendon (20) • Maarek Stele (21) = 71 Points
Total Points: 384
So this is a pretty standard Imperial list you have an ISD, a Demolisher two gozantis and a nice versatile fighter wing, and five activations with Strategic Adviser with a strong bid. So the first thing to look at when taking flotillas you need to ask yourself what role they going to play in your list, lets look at the above list, what is the role of the flotillas? Well first they have comms net one of the most prevalent upgrades in the game, they provide some versatility to your fleet but do we have to have them in this list, well no. They can also both push the squadrons we are taking, but so could the ISD, so again we don't necessarily need them for anything in the list they just give us activation's and a little bit of flexibility with comms net, we could add suppressor, for some synergy with Avenger that does not seam to bad but what if we just didn't take the flotillas? We would get something like this:
Imperial II (120) • Moff Jerjerrod (23) • Strategic Adviser (4) • Gunnery Team (7) • Electronic Countermeasures (7) • Leading Shots (4) • Quad Battery Turrets (5) • Avenger (5) = 175 Points
Gladiator I (56) • Captain Brunson (5) • Ordnance Experts (4) • Assault Proton Torpedoes (5) • Demolisher (10) = 80 Points
Arquitens Light Cruiser (54) • Captain Needa (2) • Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7) = 63 Points
Squadrons: • Ciena Ree (17) • Valen Rudor (13) • Colonel Jendon (20) • Maarek Stele (21) = 71 Points
Total Points: 389
So what are the advantages to this list over the list will the flotillas? Well since flotillas do not count as ships for the purposes of tabling this list is more difficult to table. In addition by taking the Arquitens in place of the flotillas, we get a lot more firepower especially with the TRC upgrade card, each of our activations carries with it some pretty serious weight, the Arquitens can spam confire commands as we have Jerry as the commander, meaning 4 red dice with 1 double from TRC, it is not unreasonable to expect 4-5 damage from it every activation with the highest spike possible being 8 damage it has weight behind it. What do we lose, well we lost one activation, and some flexibility, and we lost some of our bid, we also dropped Engine Techs, but they are not quite as good as they used to be on Demolisher. I am not saying that you should never take flotillas, but you should consider there role in your overall strategy and how essential they are to it and if not what could be taken in its place. Lets look at just the standard comms net flotilla, as that is what is mostly seen this is the one that is most easily replaced, especially if you don't have a ship that needs to be feed tokens round in and round out, and even with that there are ways around it. If you just want some flexibility that the comms net Flotilla provides everyone's friend Hondo is a great choice for 2 points, he will provide you with that little bit of flexibility that you will need on that key turn. The rebels have a bit of an under utilized title Tantive IV that acts as a comms net.
CR90 Corvette A (44) • Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7) • Tantive IV (3) = 54 Points
This is much more expensive then a comms net flotilla for the rebels, but again you have more weight in your activation more ships that need to be killed to table you.
For the Empire if you have a ship that needs to be feed the same token over and over again Wulff Yularen or Taskmaster Grint can help fill that role Wulff giving you more flexibility. On the rebel side this is a bit more hard to pull off but clever use of Asoka, and Raymus Antilles can give you a similar effect. Though he is not supper cost effective Vetran Captain is an option as well, (if he only cost 1 point I think he could be a good card, but at 3 its a bit steep.)
So I have raged on the flotillas but its important to remember that flotillas have a role beyond just the comms net token slave roles that no other ships can perform, like
the squadron buff ship:
GR-75 Medium Transports (18) • Toryn Farr (7) • Bomber Command Center (8) • Bright Hope (2) = 35 Points
or the compact carrier:
Gozanti Cruisers (23) • Taskmaster Grint (5) • Expanded Hangar Bay (5) • Vector (2) = 35 Points
or the Slicer in both Imperial and rebel forums:
Gozanti Cruisers (23) • Slicer Tools (7) • Suppressor (4) = 34 Points
GR-75 Medium Transports (18) • Slicer Tools (7) • Quantum Storm (1) = 26 Points
and more roles that only flotillas can fill.
In addition if points are tight and you have all the squadrons you want or need rounding out your list with a flotilla is never a bad idea, but if you do take just a standard flotilla, just make sure it pulls it weight, my flotillas always get in the fight even the dice-less transports you better believe they are going to throw some dice at squadrons and/or block ship movement, Armada is a game of maximizing all your resources so if you don't have a good reason to take something in your list well then don't.
As a side note I have started to care less and less about how many activations I have or how big my bid is I simply adapt to the circumstances I find myself in, it is easier said then done, and much more complex then that, but we may talk about that another day. Just remember to make sure each ship in your fleet has a role and that as many of your activations as possible carry weight behind them, make your list hard to table/win big against, and make sure even the littlest of guys pull their own weight. In addtion a great way to have a ship activation carry more weight is to have it push squadrons. The reason 2-ship is doing so well right now is the weight of each activation, not activation shenanigans, a 2 -ship list won a regional with no activation shenanigans it simply utilized the weight of each of its ships activations to deal out as much destruction in one swift stroke or activation however you would like to say it.
So we have talked about pulling your own weight but what is weight? put simply it is the power in your activation, how much it can swing the balance to your favor. A comms net flottila is going to have little to no impact during its activation, but if there is a good reason to take it, then make sure it carries its weight and contributes in as many ways as it possibly can, however if you can take a ship that carries with it a little more weight in its activation, it might be worth considering, especially if you can get the same effect a comms net would give you by using different upgrades, or even admirals. Have a wonderful week everyone!
Comments