SSD Expansion Evaluation Part 2

Welcome to the second part of our SSD expiation evaluation, in this wright up we will be looking at the two new commanders that the Empire will get getting, First we will talk about the card that we have know for quite some time Palpatine, then we will talk about Admiral Piett, but with no further ado lets look at the one and only Papa Palp.

Emperor Palpatine

So before I start talking about what I think about the leader of the Empire lets go over his card text. “After deploying fleets, place 1 defense token of each type on this card. At the start of each Ship Phase you may discard 1 of those tokens. If you do, until the end of the round if any enemy ship or squadron spends a matching token during its spend Defense tokens step, discard that token.” So firstly some people have thought that you could nutter a TRC fleet by triggering the evade, that does not work as Palpatine only triggers in the spend defense tokens step, at no other time can Palpatine trigger. So Palpatine is really just an Intel Officer that can only be used on cretin tokens once each game, and I think now is a good time to talk about Intel Officer so we can get a better understanding of how to best use Palpatine.

So Intel Officer, when I see most people run him its almost always on their heaviest hitter, and let me tell you right now that is not the optimal way to run Intel Officer, he should be put on a medium hitting ship that produces 4-8 damage consistently. Why is that? Well lets say my Arquitens does 4 damage to a large ship and I use Intel officer on the brace, well they will just redirect it most likely especially if I have a heavy hitter coming in, but what Intel officer did for me is it made the damage “stick”, as he did not keep any damage off his ship by spending his brace. Now lets say we had a Cymoon and it did 8 Damage and we used Intel, and we still had a heavy hitter like Demolisher, now they have a pretty tough decision to make, do they spend the brace on 8 damage, or do they just take it and save the brace for Demolisher, ether way they are going to let a lot of damage “stick”. In short what I am saying is that Intel Officer should not be used on your one big hitter as using Intel officer to strip a brace has more value forcing damage to “stick” to a ship, and if the brace is spent you want to be able to follow it up with a heavy amount of damage from one of your heavy hitters, so you can put him on a heavy hitter, if you have 2 heavy hitters in your fleet or you only have 1 ship in your fleet that will deal damage so defense tokens will never get burned otherwise, but the best value is to put him on a ship that outputs consistence damage that forces your opponent to ether let damage "stick" or lose the brace before your heavy hitter gets there, because if you have Intel Officer on your heavy hitter they are going to spend the brace regardless and arch doge your scarcest arch and in essences your heavy hitter wont be able to take advantage of the now burnt brace. So now that we have talked about Intel officer and how to use him lets see what makes Palpatine better than just taking Intel officer. So while Intel officer can only target one token Palpatine targets all of one token, getting around ships with duplicate tokens, it also works on squadrons so when your squadrons attack a squadron or a ship, if they spend a matching token bye bye scatter, it also works against squadrons while your ships are flaking. In addition Palpatine is not an exhaust effect, so a single ship could make multiple other ships/squadrons lose their tokens or make damage “stick”, so now that we see what makes him better lets look as a few builds he might be good in. 2 Heavy Hitters 385/400 Points [ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit (112 points) - Emperor Palpatine ( 35 points) - Relentless ( 3 points) - Director Krennic ( 8 points) - Gunnery Team ( 7 points) - Spinal Armament ( 9 points) - X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points) - Intensify Firepower! ( 6 points) = 186 total ship cost

Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer (56 points) - Demolisher ( 10 points) - Admiral Ozzel ( 2 points) - Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) - Assault Proton Torpedoes ( 5 points) = 77 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Darth Vader ( 1 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 26 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 25 total ship cost

1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points) 1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points) 1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points) 1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points) = 71 total squadron cost

The double heavy hitter list, in this list we have Demo, and an ISD Cymoon, but you could take a double ISD, but I kinda like this build because of its flexibility. So a plus to this build is that Emperor Palpatine lets us take Director Krennic and still get an Intel officer effect, and with Gunnery teams on the Cymoon, it has a good chance of triggering twice, something that we could not do with just Vader and Intel officer. We can also follow up the Cymoons brace striping with a big punch from Demo or visa versa. We also have a pretty solid and flexible squadron wing, that can ether take advantage of defenseless ships with bombing, and/or can help us win the squadron game by striping off scatters, and braces that keep aces alive. All and all I really like the feel of this list and think it could do quite well. Imperial MSU

383/400 points [ flagship ] Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points) - Emperor Palpatine ( 35 points) - Director Krennic ( 8 points) - Early Warning System ( 7 points) - Slaved Turrets ( 6 points) = 110 total ship cost

Gladiator II-Class Star Destroyer (62 points) - Demolisher ( 10 points) - Agent Kallus ( 3 points) - Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) - Assault Concussion Missiles ( 7 points) = 86 total ship cost

Raider II-Class Corvette (48 points) - Lira Wessex ( 2 points) - Veteran Gunners ( 5 points) - Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points) - Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points) = 67 total ship cost

Raider II-Class Corvette (48 points) - Admiral Titus ( 2 points) - Veteran Gunners ( 5 points) - Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points) - Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points) = 67 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Darth Vader ( 1 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 26 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 27 total ship cost Ever since the last wave we had, MSU lists (Multipul Small Units) have fallen out of favor, especially on the Imperial side, this is due to a few factors, but Strategic Adviser is really the main reason why, and the more I have played with him the more and more I start to dislike him, as I find him more limiting of viable lists as opposed to liberating, personally I think the nerf to only having two flotillas in a fleet was what was needed to bring the game back in line, but I digress. Anyway Imperial MSU and most MSU fleets have evolved into L+MSU (Large ship+ Mulipul Small Units) though I think this list might make it possible to bring back just a strait up MSU list for the Empire. In essence you will get one Super Turn when Palpatine helps all your damage sick to the other players large ship, its strategy for dealing with squadrons is to flack them to death with Goantis, Raiders and the GSD II. The big problem with MSU right now is that most L+MSU fleets can get just as many activations as them, and so it takes away the incentive to play strictly MSU, and that is still the case with this list, but we will see how things pan out, but Palpatine giving you that one turn to get all the damage to stick might make it work. The One Hit Wonder

397/400 Points

[ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points) - Emperor Palpatine ( 35 points) - Relentless ( 3 points) - Director Krennic ( 8 points) - Gunnery Team ( 7 points) - Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points) - Spinal Armament ( 9 points) - SW-7 Ion Batteries ( 5 points) = 194 total ship cost

Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points) - Interdictor ( 3 points) - Captain Brunson ( 5 points) - Projection Experts ( 6 points) - Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points) - Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points) - Targeting Scrambler ( 5 points) - Grav Shift Reroute ( 2 points) = 123 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 25 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 25 total ship cost

1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points) 1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points) = 30 total squadron cost

So with this last list its more about dealing a large amount of damage with the ISD to force a brace discard, and then once they are out of your front arch chip away at the rest of there heath, also the interdictor can be surprisingly efficient at killing things once the brace is gone. I don't think this is the best example of a one hit wonder list, nor do I think one hit wonders will be the best list for Palatine, but we will see another one hit wonder list next week when we talk about the SSD variations.

So what is the verdict on Papa Palp, well he is good, however I think if there is a competitive list out there for him it will most likely be some variation of the first list I shared. Palpatine is pretty expensive, so you really need to get a lot value out of his ability to incentive taking him over other commanders, and his ability can be played around, it really will come down to the turn you drop the brace on Palpatine to determine weather or not you got value out of him, he will also take practice as you will have to look ahead in the turn to see what token is the best to burn at this time, but once you get good at predicting the token that will need to be spent on palatine this round it will be worth it as you can say:

Admiral Piett

Alright this one will not take quite so long, sadly but now that we got his card text let look at Admiral Piett “When a Friendly Ship spends only a command token to resolve a command, you may exhaust this card. If you do, that ship resolves that command as if it had spent a dial of the same type instead.” So first he is an exhaust admiral, first in the game, but that means you can only trigger his ability once a round, two if you want to be cute with the Interdictor title. In short he is a Thrawn that is 10 points cheaper, but only works for one, maybe two of your ships at the cost of a token, however he can give your ship that command more than just 3 times a game so that is a plus. I was a little disappointed with him as he is such an Iconic Admiral in the movies, and he is an admiral that can be hard counted by MS-1 Ion Cannons, the other player can bring MS-1's and completely negate your admiral with a 2 point upgrade. Now how often do you see MS-1 Ion Cannons well not very often, but if Piett ever got really good, there is a hard counter to him and well its a little sad, as I don't really feel any other admiral has a hard counter. Now I don't think its all bad I am just a little disappointed, I will do my darnedest to find a list that is good with him when he comes out. Right now I can really only find 3 fleets he is good in

The Front loader [ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points) - Admiral Piett ( 22 points) - Avenger ( 5 points) - Governor Pryce ( 7 points) - Gunnery Team ( 7 points) - Expanded Hangar Bay ( 5 points) - Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points) - Spinal Armament ( 9 points) - Leading Shots ( 4 points) = 186 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Suppressor ( 4 points) - Darth Vader ( 1 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 30 total ship cost

Arquitens-class Light Cruiser (54 points) - Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 points) = 56 total ship cost

1 Maarek Steele ( 21 points) 1 Colonel Jendon ( 20 points) 1 Morna Kee ( 27 points) 1 Captain Jonus ( 16 points) 1 "Mauler" Mithel ( 15 points) 1 Dengar ( 20 points) = 119 total squadron cost

So front loading is a term used in most games that have a you go I go type activation. Front loading is packing an exceptional amount of power in the first activation of your turn, and that is what this list aims to do. The ISD II has an exceptional amount of firepower add to that the power of your squadron ball and well I think you start to get the idea its really about ending the game in one swift stroke, very Imperial. The Arquitens is there to add a little bit of fire power, and insurance against getting tabled it can also pop Hondo if needed if it becomes apparent that he will not be needed then DV is there to scrap him for a reroll. Interdictor Double take.

Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points) - Avenger ( 5 points) - Governor Pryce ( 7 points) - Boarding Troopers ( 3 points) - Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points) - Leading Shots ( 4 points) - External Racks ( 3 points) = 141 total ship cost

[ flagship ] Interdictor-class Suppression Refit (90 points) - Admiral Piett ( 22 points) - Interdictor ( 3 points) - Captain Brunson ( 5 points) - Engine Techs ( 8 points) - Disposable Capacitors ( 3 points) - Heavy Ion Emplacements ( 9 points) - Targeting Scrambler ( 5 points) - Grav Shift Reroute ( 2 points) = 147 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Darth Vader ( 1 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 26 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 27 total ship cost

1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points) 1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points) 2 TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 18 points) = 48 total squadron cost

So with this one we can get two ships to get the best value out of Piett, he will make it so our interdictor has flexibility and can ether Engineering or Con fire, on top of the nav we will have set for engine techs. We will also always have a con fire for avenger when it needs it so we will have a very potent avenger shot, we can also keep both ships alive very well with the support from the interdictor and engineering if we need it. Ship Enhancement [ flagship ] Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer (120 points) - Admiral Piett ( 22 points) - Chimaera ( 4 points) - Strategic Adviser ( 4 points) - Gunnery Team ( 7 points) - Electronic Countermeasures ( 7 points) - X17 Turbolasers ( 6 points) - Leading Shots ( 4 points) - Entrapment Formation! ( 5 points) = 179 total ship cost

Raider I-Class Corvette (44 points) - Commander Gherant ( 2 points) - Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) - External Racks ( 3 points) = 53 total ship cost

Raider I-Class Corvette (44 points) - Admiral Titus ( 2 points) - Ordnance Experts ( 4 points) - External Racks ( 3 points) = 53 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Hondo Ohnaka ( 2 - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 27 total ship cost

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points) - Darth Vader ( 1 points) - Comms Net ( 2 points) = 26 total ship cost

1 Ciena Ree ( 17 points) points) 2 TIE Bomber Squadrons ( 18 points) 1 Valen Rudor ( 13 points) = 48 total squadron cost

So here is the last place I think Piett might be good, just to make large ships a little more flexible in L+MSU lists it seams rather bland, but in theory it could be very good to increase the punch of the ISD with a con fire while still navigating and doing that every single turn, though you have to ask yourself the question why not Motti or JJ thankfully Piett is very cheep at 22 points, and can do some work even if it is only for one ship a round and maybe that is all the justification we need to take him. In conclusion I think that both the new Imperial Admirals will have their place, but I don't think any of them invalidate any other Imperial admiral, that is one thing I like about the Empire I think all admirals have their merits, maybe not Tarken just to expensive for what he does, however I think the rebels are a little bit more limited in competitive choice in regards to admirals, however I am trying to break that wide open, I bring back Garm to his former glory! But that is a different article all together.

Thank you for reading this article in the next one we will cover the SSDs in all their variation's, Titles, and look at a few builds for them as well I hope you enjoyed this read, please like it on Facebook and share your thoughts in the comments on the Facebook page as well, what do you think of these admirals and how will you use them? If you have suggestions on how to improve AMM please let me know I want to put out the content the community wants.