FFG's Star Wars Armada and Imperial Assault

[pretre]

http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4979

 

 

“General, there’s a fleet of Star Destroyers coming out of hyperspace in sector four.”

    –The Empire Strikes Back

 

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Star Wars™: Armada, a two-player miniatures game of epic fleet battles in the Star Wars galaxy!

 

Massive Star Destroyers fly to battle against Rebel corvettes and frigates. Banks of turbolasers unleash torrential volleys of fire against squadrons of X-wing 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. You assemble your fleet and engage the enemy. Using the game’s unique maneuver tool, you steer your capital ships across the battlefield, even while squadrons of starfighters buzz around them. Then, as these ships exchange fire, it’s your job to issue the tactical commands that will decide the course of battle and, perhaps, the fate of the galaxy.

 

 

The Armada Core Set contains ten unpainted squadrons, three pre-painted capital ships, nearly one hundred cards, an innovative maneuver tool, a range ruler, six command dials, nine custom attack dice, and all the tokens that you need to engage the enemy and battle for the fate of the galaxy!

 

Space Battles on a Galactic Scale

 

Winning a battle between capital starships requires more than raw firepower. It requires the coordinated activity of hundreds – even thousands – of crew. As a ship’s commanders belt out orders, gunners rain fire upon enemy ships, and engineering teams race to keep their ship’s shields and hull intact, often rerouting power where it’s needed most.

 

Armada allows you to bring one or more of these massive ships to battle, along with whole squadrons of starfighters. To win, you must issue commands, direct your fleet’s movement, coordinate its fire, sustain its defenses, and do all of this while remaining mindful of your battle objective.

 

More than that, you’ll need to master every aspect of the ships in your fleet. You need to become intimately familiar with your ship’s design, its firing arcs, its attacks and defenses, and the way that it uses the game’s unique maneuver tool to set its course.

 

 

The game’s unique maneuver tool. (Product image not final. Pending Licensor approval.)

 

This maneuver tool is one of the game’s most innovative features and adds a unique feel to the way your capital ships must accommodate for inertia as they maneuver through the stars.

 

 

Using the game’s unique maneuver tool, a Rebel player plots a “3” speed maneuver for his Nebulon-B escort frigate

 

Capital ships can’t easily vary their speeds or execute hairpin turns like the starfighters that buzz around them. Accordingly, you only use the maneuver tool to maneuver your capital ships. Then, even as it makes it easy for you to set a ship’s course, the game’s maneuver tool lends an element of realism to its pitch and yaw.

 

As an example of how Armada uses its maneuver tool to realistically portray the different ways its capital ships can maneuver, we can consider the differences between the CR90 and the Victory-class Star Destroyer.

 

 

The speed chart for the CR90 (left) alongside that of the Victory-class Star Destroyer (right).

 

The CR90 is both capable of tighter turns and faster, with a maximum speed of "4" versus the Star Destroyer's maximum speed of "2." At speed "2," while the Star Destroyer can adjust the maneuver tool only one click to either side, and then at the second range increment, the CR90 can adjust its course one click at the first range increment and two clicks at the second range increment. Still, the faster the CR90 flies, the fewer clicks it can adjust its course through the initial range increments.

 

Another important consideration is that capital ships in Star Wars: Armada fire before they move, so when you set your ship’s course, you’re always trying to set yourself up for a good shot in the next round. However, the more powerful your ship, the less nimble it is, and the harder it is to adjust your actions on the fly.

 

Altogether, the maneuver tool and the rules for ship movement work in tandem to force you to always look ahead. Successful fleet admirals excel at planning their attack strategies well in advance of their initial engagements.

 

Capital Ships in Combat

 

Armada balances the awesome scale of the Star Wars galaxy’s ships and space warfare with intuitive ship designs and accessible rules for issuing commands and resolving combat that make for rich, engaging, and highly tactical play experiences.

 

Capital ships are extremely powerful war machines, but they’re also massive and sophisticated vessels that can’t swiftly react to every development in the heat of battle. Accordingly, the key to flying these vessels effectively is learning how to plan ahead. You want to issue your commands in such a way that your crews will be ready to execute them at just the right times.

 

Each of your pre-painted capital ships has a command value, which determines how many commands it will have in its stack at any given point in time. During setup, you secretly build your initial command stack, selecting from any of four different commands, each of which provides a different advantage. Once you have locked your selections, you place the commands in your stack in the order of your choice. Then, during each round of game play, you secretly select and assign a new command to your ship, placing it at the bottom of your command stack, before you reveal the command at the top of your stack and gain its benefits.

 

 

A Rebel player selects a command for his Nebulon-B escort frigate by framing it within his command dial’s fastener (1). Then, he places it at the bottom of his command stack, to be revealed in a future round (2).

 

You might launch a screen of TIEs to intercept incoming X-wings. You might concentrate your fire on an incoming capital ship. You might scramble to repair your shields. Or if you reveal a command that doesn’t offer an immediate benefit, you can place a token on your ship and save a lesser version of that command’s benefits for later use.

 

Notably, the larger and more powerful your ship, the less quickly it can react to your commands. Most of the more powerful ships, like the Victory-class Star Destroyer, feature higher command values that force you to plan your actions two or more rounds ahead of time. In this way, the command stack doesn't just reflect the various actions your ships can take; it also reflects how swiftly they can adjust to the changing tides of battle.

 

After your ship resolves its command, it can perform up to two attacks. These can be directed against the same target or against different targets. However, these attacks must originate from two different hull sections and can only target ships or squadrons within range of those hull sections’ firing arcs.

 

 

Ships are all divided into four sections, each of which has its own firing arc, shield rating, and attack value. Here, we see a Victory-class Star Destroyer presented next to its base.

 

The number and type of dice you roll for your attacks depend upon the ship, the hull section from which its attack originates, and the range of the attack.

 

 

Each of the game’s attack dice presents a different effective range and spread of possible results

 

Meanwhile, each ship offers a number of defenses from enemy fire. Each ship’s hull is reinforced to withstand enemy fire, though larger ships like the Victory-class Star Destroyer can withstand much more than smaller ships like the Corellian corvette. Meanwhile, each section of your ship’s hull has a shield rating, indicating how many hits its shields can absorb before enemy fire damages the hull directly. Moreover, in the heat of battle, you need to decide when and how to make use of your ship’s defense tokens. With these, you can angle your deflector shields and perform evasive maneuvers to reduce the amount of damage your ship suffers.

 

Squadrons of Starfighters

 

Although Star Wars: Armada is built around the galaxy’s many capital ships, you’ll almost certainly want to fly one or more squadrons of starfighters in your fleet, both to threaten enemy ships and to defend your ships from enemy squadrons.

 

Your squadrons are highly adaptable and flexible collections of starfighters, and only a foolish fleet admiral would overlook the tactical options that they can bring to a battle. While squadrons don’t pack the raw power or resilience of the capital ships they accompany, they come with their own rules for movement and combat that make them far more capable of occupying and threatening the exact portion of the battlefield that you choose.

 

If left unchecked, a swarm of starfighters can tear down even the most massive of capital ships, and while capital ships can return their fire, any shot directed at squadrons is a shot not taken at a larger ship. Furthermore, capital ships don’t use their primary weapons while attacking squadrons; they have to use their anti-squadron armament, which is typically much less effective.

 

Add to this the fact that some squadrons are led by such skilled pilots as Luke Skywalker, who can bypass a capital ship’s shields when he attacks, and you’ll find that squadrons are far more than an afterthought. They’re powerful weapons that skilled fleet admirals will be able to integrate into their larger strategies.

 

Meanwhile, even though the squadrons in Armada aren't pre-painted like the capital ships, they are presented in colors intended to complement their fleets.

 

 

An X-wing squadron is shown connected to its base which tracks its remaining hit points (shown here at "5") and whether or not it has activated. Here, the blue tab on the left of the base indicates that the squadron has not yet activated. Once the squadron has activated, the tab is pushed through to the other side and displays its orange end.

 

Winning the Battle to Win the War

 

In addition to its ships and squadrons, Armada shapes your Star Wars battles with twelve different objective cards. Each game uses one of these objectives, which introduces special rules and helps to define the narrative of your battle. Are you tracking down a specific target? Are you contesting a key outpost? Are you trying to intercept key intel?

 

 

Objective cards challenge you to adapt your tactics in each battle

 

Importantly, the game’s objectives change the ways that you’ll score points in each battle, and they force you and your opponent to adapt your strategies, leading to tremendous replayability.

 

The Enemy Fleet Is Coming into Firing Range

 

Star Wars: Armada is due to arrive at retailers in early 2015, and Rebel and Imperial fleets will then battle for the fate of the galaxy!

 

 

An Imperial fleet heads to battle, led by a pre-painted Victory-class Star Destroyer

 

In the meantime, you can visit the game’s description page to find more information and keep your eyes open for our upcoming series of previews, announcements of future expansions, and other news. Plus, if you’re headed to Gen Con Indy, you can stop by our booth for a free demo of its epic fleet battles!

 

This could hurt some wallets...

[Matt Israel]

take my money now!

[sergentzimm]

Yes I am ready to pay out the nose for this. I didn't catch on to the dog fighting mechanics, but this might work well for capital ships. Plus having the capital ships for other games always works. 

[andozane]

My wallet weeps...

[DisruptiveConduct]

Jizz everywhere.

[scottshoemaker]

I will or will not get this, I will not try.

 

Most likely I will.

[shmitty]

Can't wait. Wish I was at GenCon next week to give it a try.

[sergentzimm]

Yes I am hoping some copies make it to PAX... though not holding out much hope.

[Murphy'sLawyer]

OMG! Really? Why?

 

*looks at Bank Account and cries*

 

Well maybe it won't hit the stores till after Christmas.

[jesselowe]

Yeah, that's my wallet gone to hell.

[xipetotec]

I hate you FFG . . . really I do . . . .

 

 

Take my money.

[DisruptiveConduct]

Interesting they have some unpainted models with this.

[dashneeb]

I personally don't think I'll get into it, I like the dogfighting aspect of X-wing, this just doesn't speak to me.

 

However, if I can get away long enough from work at Gencon I'll probably take a peek at it.  

[sergentzimm]

I personally don't think I'll get into it, I like the dogfighting aspect of X-wing, this just doesn't speak to me.

 

However, if I can get away long enough from work at Gencon I'll probably take a peek at it.  

You must report!

[Murphy'sLawyer]

I personally don't think I'll get into it, I like the dogfighting aspect of X-wing, this just doesn't speak to me.

 

However, if I can get away long enough from work at Gencon I'll probably take a peek at it.

 

It is going to have a very different feel and appeal to more of a larger scale tactics, more like Dystopian Wars than Wings of War.

[shmitty]

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hrxO1t9wY10

 

Demo with the game designer.

 

From a mechanics standpoint it looks solid. Satisfied the need for meaningful, non/obvious choices at multiple levels,

 

The minis look great and components look up to FFGs usual quality and quantity.

 

But really, Star Destroyers and PEW PEW sounds FTW.

[Murphy'sLawyer]

The six year old that saw Star Wars (wasn't episode IV when it first came out) its opening week in me is very geeked.

 

FFG is really targeting the late 30's to mid 40's crowd.

[pretre]

 

 

And without using Kickstarter too! :)

 

News for August 2014
    Imperial Assault
Announcing a Board Game of Tactical Combat and STAR WARS Adventure
Imperial Assault | Published 15 August 2014


Packaging pending licensor approval.

Victory! By destroying the Death Star, the Rebellion has given hope to a galaxy living in fear. The Empire races to recover from their crushing defeat and the loss of their ultimate weapon as the Rebel Alliance works to solidify their advantage. When an Imperial distress beacon begins to broadcast from an remote outpost on Yavin 4, a small team of elite Rebel operatives is dispatched. Their mission: to silence the signal at all costs…

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce the upcoming release of Imperial Assault, a Star Wars board game of cinematic adventure and tactical combat for two to five players!

Imperial Assault casts you and your friends into the climatic events following the Death Star’s destruction above Yavin 4, and offers two full game experiences within the Star Wars universe. In the campaign game, you and up to four other friends play a series of thrilling missions woven together in a narrative campaign, and in the skirmish game, you and your opponent muster your own strike teams and battle head-to-head over conflicting objectives.


Two Games in One

The first game included in Imperial Assault is the campaign game, which allows up to five players to enter the Star Wars universe through a narrative story composed of linked missions. One player commands the armed forces of the Galactic Empire, while up to four others play as heroes of the Rebellion, engaging in covert operations and missions. Both the forces of the Empire and the Rebel heroes gain new skills and items throughout the campaign, allowing characters to develop and grow as the story unfolds.

Imperial Assault offers a completely distinct game experience in the skirmish game. Skirmish missions allow you and a friend to compete in head-to-head, tactical combat. You’ll muster your own teams of Imperial, Rebel, and Mercenary forces, and build decks of Command cards, which you can play to gain an unexpected advantage. Each skirmish mission has its own objectives. Whether you recover lost holocrons, or battle to defeat a raiding party, you’ll find danger and tense, tactical choices in every skirmish.

As an added bonus, the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain Pack are both included within the Imperial Assault Core Set. You’ll find sculpted plastic figures inside these figure packs alongside new campaign and skirmish missions that highlight Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader within Imperial Assault.



Lead Your Strike Team

Imperial Assault’s campaign game offers you and your friends a narrative campaign with over thirty possible missions. Every mission in Imperial Assault is constructed using some of over fifty double-sided interlocking map tiles, depicting a massive range of Star Wars environments, from the jungles of Yavin 4, to the dusty wastes of Tatooine, to the metallic corridors of an Imperial base.

When playing a campaign, one player commands the limitless forces of the Galactic Empire, including stormtroopers, Imperial officers, AT-ST walkers, assorted mercenaries, and iconic villains such as IG-88 and Darth Vader. The power of the entire Empire is at your fingertips as you outwit, entrap, and exterminate Rebels wherever you find them. Whether you hunt down the Rebel scum with Trandoshan mercenaries, or defend strategic strongpoints with the Royal Guard, the forces of the Empire pose a dire threat to the Rebel Alliance.



Up to four other players oppose the might of the Empire during the campaign game, each playing as an elite Rebel operative and sometimes fighting alongside well-known characters like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. You might take on the role of a smuggler, a Wookiee warrior, or even a Force user as you strive to defeat the Empire’s schemes. Every hero also features his own Class cards, allowing your character to learn new skills and abilities over the course of the campaign.



Campaign missions test your skills to the limit as the heroes and the Imperial player battle to dominate the mission with the figures they control. Whenever you activate a figure, you may take two actions. You can move, attack with melee or ranged attacks, open doors, investigate crates for useful items, or rest to recover strain and damage. The actions you choose and the way you execute them are crucial to the success of every mission. For more information on actions, visit the description page, and check back for future Imperial Assault previews.

When playing the Rebels, you and your fellow heroes must coordinate your actions and work as a team to defeat the superior numbers of the Imperial player, scorching the air with blaster fire as you strive to complete the mission’s objective. The heroes must move quickly, however, because the Empire’s reserves are limitless. When you play as an Imperial player, every round increases your threat dial. Threat can be spent to replenish squads and summon reinforcements, bringing you closer to crushing the Rebel strike team beneath your armed forces.



During a campaign mission, only the Imperial player has access to all of the mission’s information, meaning the heroes never know exactly what traps may await. The Droid you’re looking for may be behind a door, but you don’t know if it’s unguarded, or if you’ll see the ominous figure of Darth Vader when you open the door.

All is not lost for the brave heroes of the Rebel Alliance, however. Both the heroes and the Imperial player have a chance to prepare for surprises during the campaign by using their experience to learn new skills, and their credits to purchase new weapons and survival gear.

Choose Your Missions and Your Gear

You’ll find a host of different missions, objectives, enemies, and allies throughout the Imperial Assault campaign. As the campaign progresses, your available missions can change dramatically based on the outcomes of past missions. With the variety of side missions included in Imperial Assault, you’ll never encounter the same campaign twice. You may be captured while investigating an Imperial base, or an old friend may suddenly call in some favors. Whether your mission is stealing data from encrypted Imperial consoles, silencing an Imperial distress beacon, or helping Han Solo settle his debts, every mission puts you in the center of the action in the Star Wars universe.



An armory of items and class cards for both Imperials and Rebels adds further replayability to your games of Imperial Assault. Whether you’re playing as a smuggler, a renegade, or another hero of the Rebellion, you can continue to grow and gain skills and abilities that match your specialization. You can also earn credits over the course of the campaign to buy items ranging from blaster pistols to vibroaxes, complete with modifications such as a tactical display or a spread barrel. As the heroes gather equipment and experience, the Empire is not idle. Throughout the campaign, the Empire also has the opportunity to enhance its military might, technological superiority, and subversive tactics.

Battle Head-to-Head

In addition to a campaign of missions, you’ll be able to take on your friend in one of six two-player, head-to-head skirmish missions by mustering your own squads of Imperials, Rebels, or Mercenaries. Each of the skirmish missions included within Imperial Assault thrusts you and a friend into direct combat.



In a standard skirmish mission, you and your friend separately assemble teams of soldiers with iconic heroes and villains from the classic Star Wars films, and build decks of Command cards to give your warriors unexpected advantages in battle. Between choosing heroes, villains, and squads from three distinct factions, and building a command deck out of dozens of possible command cards, you’ll have plenty of options for customizing your strike force.

During the mission itself, you and your opponent battle over conflicting objectives. Whether you’re racing to escape with a deadly T-16 Skyhopper, or collecting contraband for the Hutts, you’ll find high stakes and tense, tactical combat in every Imperial Assault skirmish mission. You’ll be able to learn more about the skirmish game in future previews of Imperial Assault.



Father and Son

As an added bonus, the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain Pack are both included in the Imperial Assault Core Set. Each pack contains a sculpted plastic figure, alongside an additional campaign side mission and two new skirmish missions using a common map. Together, these two figure packs give you a total of thirty-two campaign missions and six skirmish missions within Imperial Assault! These packs bring added life to both Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, and they mark the beginning of Ally Packs and Villain Packs that will expand and support your games of Imperial Assault.

Imperial Troops Advancing

Imperial Assault offers a wealth of Star Wars action, split across two full games with dozens of missions. Will you lead your elite team of Rebel operatives to the heart of the Imperial plan in the campaign game, or will you compete with a single opponent over crucial objectives in the skirmish game? For more information on gameplay in Imperial Assault, visit the description page and look for previews in coming weeks.

Find Imperial Assault at your local retailer early in 2015!

and

 

As a bonus, the Imperial Assault Core Set includes both the Luke Skywalker Ally Pack and the Darth Vader Villain Pack. Both of these packs include a sculpted plastic figure to replace the token found in the Imperial Assault Core Set. In addition to the detailed plastic figure, each figure pack includes two skirmish missions using the same map and a campaign side mission highlighting the character included in the pack. You may gather new recruits for the Rebel Alliance or hunt down Luke Skywalker with Darth Vader using the missions included in these figure packs.

Additional Ally Packs and Villain Packs will be the first expansions released for Imperial Assault, bringing added life to the iconic heroes and villains you fight alongside. Each of these packs includes a sculpted plastic figure, alongside a new campaign side mission, two new skirmish missions, and Command cards to enhance your skirmish missions.

Whether you complete missions for Rebel High Command or seek to destroy the Rebels on the behalf of the Galactic Empire, Imperial Assault invites you to step into the Star Wars universe. Play in a series of campaign missions and gain experience and items with up to five players, and play the head-to-head skirmish game with a friend, mustering your teams and clashing over key objectives. Gather your strike force or ready your stormtroopers, and prepare for Star Wars adventure!

I've resisted X-Wing and will probably be able to resist..Armada?

This one though?

Probably not! :)

[sergentzimm]

Stop FFG, I can only become so erect!

 

I am going to need a second job to keep up with this. 

[Murphy'sLawyer]

Holy Crap! It's Star Wars Descent. Glad everything seems to be coming out right around Tax Return time. (My son will be paying for daddy's games, in a way.)

Stop FFG, I can only become so erect!

 

[Blustorm]

WOW! A Star Wars skirmish game sounds AWESOME! I love the idea of 3 factions too.Sign me up!!!!!

[Murphy'sLawyer]

In case you geeks missed it here are pictures of the ships form GenCon.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hexis/sets/72157646101071689/

[Matt Israel]

And it continues   http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=4998%C2'> wave 6