Squadrons provide an important supplement to the capital ships of Star Wars: Armada. As of Wave 1, the Imperial Navy has four basic squadrons and five character squadrons to choose from. Today, let’s take a look at what the standard TIE squadrons have to offer.
IN SHORT: Cheap, fast, and more specialized than Rebel squadrons, TIEs provide a versatile set of cannon fodder to throw at your opponents.
TIE FIGHTERS: At 8 points each, TIE Fighter Squadrons are incredibly affordable and can form effective screening forces with minimal investment. With speed 4, TIE Fighters can easily get the drop on the often slower enemy squadrons. They also pack impressive anti-squadron punch for their points.
3 blue dice allow them to tear through enemy squadrons rapidly, and the Swarm rule only makes this better. With nearby friendly squadrons engaging the enemy, they can reroll a single die. This potent anti-squadron ability can be further supplemented with Howlrunner and/or Flight Controllers for up to 5 blue dice (with a single reroll) per squadron.
And don’t discount TIE Fighters when it comes to engaging enemy ships. True, they only have a single blue die to attack with, but that’s 1 blue die … per 8 points! Attacks like that can add up quickly.
So what’s the downside?
Well, TIE Fighters may put out a ton of anti-squadron damage, but they go down fast. With only 3 hit points, they’re easily focused down during a single round of combat. It also doesn’t help that the Swarm rule and Howlrunner both encourages them to bunch up. Enemy ships with strong anti-squadron batteries should be rightly feared, as they will quickly whittle TIE clusters to dust.
Easy come, easy go.
TIE INTERCEPTORS: At 11 points, TIE Interceptors act like TIE Fighters on steroids. They boast a blistering top speed of 5 and come with anti-squadron armaments of 4 blue dice. Like TIE Fighters, they benefit greatly from Swarm, but also come with Counter.
Thanks to the Counter rule, TIE Interceptors get to fire 2 blue dice at enemy squadrons attacking them, and these counter attacks benefit from both Howlrunner’s ability and Swarm, giving them a potential Counter 3 with a single reroll. Ouch!
TIE Interceptors are a powerful, dedicated anti-squadron force, and their Counter ability can make them highly challenging for bombers like Y-Wings and TIE Bombers to handle. Like TIE Fighters, they also combine extremely well with Flight Controllers. But they are also incredibly frail. In fact, point for point, they are the frailest squadron type in the game as of Wave 1. Swarms of interceptors do not like taking fire from a capital ship’s arc, and it should also be noted that, by the very nature of them having Counter, opponents are more likely to engage TIE Interceptors with capital ships instead of squadrons, when possible.
TIE ADVANCED: Weighing in at a cost of 12 and coming with a hefty 5 hit points, TIE Advanced squadrons are a welcomed bit of durability in the TIE lineup. And a good thing too, because they also come with Escort, forcing opponents to target them first. This combination makes them superb wingmen for named squadrons like Howlrunner or Rhymer.
Their single black anti-ship die and 3 blue anti-squadron dice are respectable, as is their speed value of 4, but TIE Advanced Squadrons are quickly outclassed in damage output by other Imperial offerings. TIE Fighters and Interceptors will shred enemy squadrons, and TIE Bombers can quickly pack on the hurt against enemy ships.
In the end, they’re meat shields. Their best uses are defensive, not offensive, either protecting a critical named squadron or slugging it out with bombers trying to get to a capital ship.
TIE BOMBERS: Featuring a black anti-ship die and the Bomber rule (allowing them to inflict critical hits against enemy ships), the role of TIE Bombers Squadrons is clear. With a cost of only 9 points and speed 4, they’re cheap and surprisingly swift for bombers, a trait that can be exaggerated even more with the Corruptor title on a Victory-class Star Destroyer for even more speed. Throw Rhymer into the mix to allow TIE Bombers to attack at medium range instead of range 1, and suddenly these squadrons can strike targets at considerable distances.
On average, a single TIE Bomber will inflict 1 point of damage against an enemy ship per attack with a 25% chance of a critical effect. This is made even nastier because it’s difficult to use defense tokens against them. Brace can only trigger if the TIE Bombers get a double hit, Evade isn’t going to do anything at range 1 unless Mon Mothma is commanding the Rebel forces, and Redirect can only shift a point or two of damage at a time.
TIE Bombers are utterly devastating when they get into range of enemy capital ships. But there is, of course, a downside. They also come with the Heavy rule, which means they cannot engage enemy squadrons. TIE Bombers may come with a plenty of hit points to absorb attacks, but their effectiveness as a screening force is zero. Secondly, they have the weakest anti-squadron attack in the game: a single black die.
(Capital ships with a single blue die shouldn’t be counted as the weakest because they can strike multiple targets at once.)
LISTS FOR FUN: Want to give a squadron-heavy list a whirl? Try Grand Moff Tarkin’s Flying Circus.
Victory I-class Star Destroyer (73)
– Grand Moff Tarkin (38)
– Flight Controllers (6)
– Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
Victory I-class Star Destroyer (73)
– Corruptor Title (5)
– Admiral Chiraneau (10)
– Expanded Hangar Bay (5)
TIE Fighter Squadrons x 5 (40)
TIE Bomber Squadrons x 5 (45)
TOTAL: 300 points
Okay, it may be 300 points, but it’s easy enough to trim an upgrade or squadron (or even substitute out Tarkin) to price it for an effective initiative bid. The basic idea is that each Victory can activate up to 5 squadrons per round (base 3 + Expanded Hangar Bay + Squadron tokens from Tarkin). And by doing this, they maximize the use of their squadron friendly upgrades.
Flight Controllers can turn those 5 TIE Fighters into squadron mulching machines, spitting out a combined total of 20 blue dice (with up to 5 rerolls). And with the Corruptor title and Admiral Chiraneau, those TIE Bombers are going to be speed 5 normally and can easily escape at speed 3 if they get engaged.
SUMMARY: TIEs, ladies and gentlemen. Fast, hard-hitting, and dirt cheap. Just don’t get too attached to them, because they tend not to last long. 🙂
Check out the complete list of Star Wars: Armada articles here.
Science Fiction
Seraphim Revival – Book 3 Cover Art!
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
The incredibly talented Adam Burn has completed the third and final Seraphim Revival cover for Disciple of the Dead!
Normally, here’s the part of these art reveals where I talk a little about what or who is on the cover … only I can’t this time. Astute observers who have already finished the first book may recognize that the giant robot on the cover is not a seraph, but other than that … yeah, sorry. I can’t talk about what it is. I can’t talk about who the pilot is. And I certainly can’t talk about that really tall tower in the background. Trust me, if this series interests you, you’ll enjoy it more if you discover it for yourself. 🙂
What is the Seraphim Revival?
This is a story of Intense Mech Combat. The seraphs represent the absolute pinnacle of combat technology. Fueled by the pilot’s own soul, seraphs are capable of drawing upon almost limitless power. The relationship between pilot and machine is symbiotic to the point where any boundaries between them vanish. In a sense, the pilots become their seraphs. Clashes between them are brutal contests where willpower matters just as much as hardware.
This is a story of the Living Ruled by the Dead. Here is a society where the preserved minds of the deceased exercise absolute authority over the living. Seraph pilots are extremely rare, and therefore incredibly valuable. Not everyone, dead or alive, has their best interests in mind.
This is a story of Honor and Betrayal. The best way to take out a seraph is with another seraph, but the gift to command such a craft is hereditary. Many pilots share common bloodlines, and when sides are chosen, some divides fall in the worst possible places.
All seraphs launching 2015!
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Bane of the Dead – Released!
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
Jack Donolon is the most powerful pilot in existence, a hero of Earth with a mind fractured by his seraph. On the far side of the galaxy, he uncovers a terrible truth about the seraphs and their pilots. Now he must return on a mission no one will understand, to face and kill the people who once called him friend and comrade.
But the death he will bring is insignificant next to the destruction that will follow, should he fail …
Book 1 of the Seraphim Revival is now on sale in in paperback and eBook!
H.P. and I are extremely excited to finally be releasing this trilogy. The seed for this series started a long time ago in my mind, and it is incredibly gratifying to finally see the first book realized in physical form with beautiful cover art by Adam Burn. With the Seraphim Revival, readers are in for one wild, action-packed ride. Not only do we have giant robots tearing up the place, but there are so many twists and turns in these three novels that I can’t even begin to describe what happens in the third book without dropping massive spoilers. So, it’s probably for the best if I don’t say anything else. 🙂
For now, I’ll simply leave you with this.
Coming in a few short months …
Book 2 is on its way! All seraphs launching 2015!
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Star Wars: Armada – Gladiator-class Star Destroyer Tactics
Capital ships form the critical foundation of any Star Wars: Armada fleet. As of Wave 1, the Imperial Navy has two excellent capital ships to choose from. Today, let’s take a look at the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer.
IN SHORT: With good speed, surprising maneuverability with the right upgrades, and a devastating close range punch, the Gladiator is a deadly addition to the Imperial fleet.
STRENGTHS: How about 4 black dice firing out of the left and right arcs? That’s the first thing anyone should notice about the stock Gladiator I. And if it isn’t, then it will probably be made clear when the Gladiator unloads at close range. On average, that’s 4 damage inflicted out of each attack. Start adding in Concentration commands and/or upgrades, and the Gladiator’s damage output can become ridiculously high.
The Gladiator is also a remarkably well-rounded package. It comes with 1 token each for Evade, Brace, and Redirect, giving it a defensive mechanic for just about any situation. It can turn 2 clicks at speed 1, allowing it to execute some very tight turns. 2 Command allows it to react reasonably quickly to the ebb and flow of battle, and 2 Squadron and 3 Engineering are nothing to sneeze at either.
The upgraded Gladiator II exchanges 1 of its black dice on each side for reds and enhances its anti-squadron batteries to 2 blue dice. This gives it an overall boost in versatility while lessening its broadside punch just a little for only 6 points. With generously wide side arcs, the Gladiator II is well suited to assisting TIE squadrons with sprays of blue dice.
It even comes with 2 forward facing red dice (augmented with 2 more black dice) for chipping away at enemies while on approach. Oh, yes. I like this ship.
WEAKNESSES: When it starts receiving hits, the Gladiator-class Star Destroyer is no Victory. A Gladiator II costs 62 points, only 11 below a base Victory I, but it won’t survive enemy fire nearly as long. 5 Hull Points are still respectable, but caution should be used to ensure the Gladiator is supported by the rest of your fleet and not blindly charging ahead of it.
It’s also not much more than a nuisance at anything outside close range. Sure, black dice are awesome, but only when you actually get to roll with them. Fortunately, there are a few options available to the Gladiator to help with this problem.
With the dirt cheap Insidious title (only 3 points), a Gladiator can use black dice at medium range. The catch? It can only use this ability when firing into an enemy ship’s rear hull zone. Not the easiest thing to achieve, but certainly not out of the question for an appropriately upgraded Gladiator (see combos below).
With the Demolisher title, a Gladiator gains the incredibly potent ability to perform one of its attacks after a maneuver. Given the general need to get in tight, this upgrade provides the Imperial player with considerable flexibility over every other ship that must shoot first and then move.
COMBOS: Gladiators like to fly in close and personal to deliver all those black dice to the enemy’s face. Good thing they have some handy upgrades to help them get there.
With Engine Techs, a Gladiator can execute an extra speed-1 maneuver after its regular maneuver with the use of a Navigate command (either dial or token). This is especially good on the Gladiator because its speed-1 maneuver has 2 clicks, resulting in a potential 4 or 5-click turn. Toss in Wulff Yularen with his ability to copy a token once per round, and 1 Navigate token at the start can last the entire game.
You can even throw the Demolisher title into this mix. A base Gladiator I with these upgrades starts to get a bit bloated at 81 points, but it can undoubtedly get where it needs to go and unload a fist full of black dice when it gets there. Not bad at all.
And speaking of those black dice, the Assault Concussion Missiles upgrade can make them even meaner. On a black critical, both adjacent hull zones take 1 point of damage. Granted, you can only have one critical effect per attack, but the big advantage is this effect doesn’t need to hit the hull to trigger. It works just as well on shields, too. Take Admiral Screed as your commander, force those critical hits when you don’t actually roll them, and watch the damage pile up.
LISTS FOR FUN: Here’s a little list I like to call Admiral Screed’s One-Two Punch.
Victory II-class Star Destroyer (85)
– Admiral Screed (26)
– Overload Pulse (8)
Gladiator I-class Star Destroyer (56)
– Demolisher (10)
– Engine Techs (8)
Gladiator II-class Star Destroyer (62)
TIE Fighter Squadrons x 5 (40)
TOTAL: 295 points
The idea here is to utilize Screed’s penchant for critical hits by deploying two effects in a combination. Pick a target that’s in range of the Victory and is close to the Demolisher. The Demolisher should either have a Navigate token saved up or a Navigate dial ready to reveal.
Activate the Victory first and trigger an Overload Pulse critical hit on the unlucky target, exhausting all of the ship’s defense tokens. Then move and shoot with the Demolisher and pummel the now helpless target with black dice. Even if the target activates in between, the Demolisher’s move and shoot, plus the Navigate command, plus Engine Techs should give you the flexibility to get an arc on the target. After that, they’ll either take the hit on the chin or start discarding defense tokens. Either result is good for you.
I’ve shown the remaining points spent on TIE Fighters and a second Gladiator (upgraded to a type II for extra anti-squadron firepower), but there are plenty of other ways to spend those remaining points. I just naturally prefer to keep my upgrades frugal and my ship count high. 🙂
SUMMARY: Ladies and gentlemen, the Gladiator. One lean, mean short range brawler.
TRIVIA: Did you know that the Gladiator is not a new Imperial ship? In fact, it’s a very old Imperial design dating back to the Star Wars: Droids cartoon series from 1985. Check this out!
Oh, and here’s Admiral Screed, too!
Check out the complete list of Star Wars: Armada articles here.
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
Star Wars: Armada – Victory-class Star Destroyer Tactics
Capital ships form the critical foundation of any Star Wars: Armada fleet. As of Wave 1, the Imperial Navy has two excellent capital ships to choose from. Today, let’s take a look at the Victory-class Star Destroyer.
IN SHORT: It may be slow and take an entire game just to turn around, but do not underestimate the Victory’s resilience or its frontal attack power. It will take its lumps and then smash the enemy’s face in.
STRENGTHS: With 8 Hull, plentiful shielding, and 2 Redirect tokens, the Victory can easily sop up massive damage before going down. Ignoring any special rules, a frontal assault against a fresh Victory must inflict an astounding 17 points of damage to blow it up (3 shields from the front, left, and right hull facings plus those 8 Hull points). Add in a Brace token, and the Victory is sticking around for a while, during which it can generate 2 shield points each turn with an impressive Engineering value of 4.
Considering this fortitude, the Victory’s base price of 73 points is an absolute steal. Point for point, it is the most resilient ship in the game as of Wave 1.
The Victory also sports a wide and very deadly front firing arc with 6 attack dice (3 reds and 3 more either black or blue depending on the variant). Seriously, who wants to be on the receiving end of that kind of firepower? It also comes equipped with a minimum of 2 red dice in every arc, ensuring that if the enemy can target the Victory, the Victory can fire back.
WEAKNESSES: Sure, the Victory is great at going head-to-head with opposing ships. It’s when faster enemies start maneuvering around to the sides and back that things get dicey. With its top speed at a puttering 2 and only 1 maneuvering click before Navigate commands are considered, the Victory is very much the slow, plodding behemoth.
To make a bad situation worse, its rear hull zone is a clear blind spot. With only 1 shield and 2 red dice, ships that get in behind the Victory or even manage to flank it are very difficult to dislodge.
Also, while it has red dice in every arc, its lack of Evade tokens means it is at a defensive disadvantage in any prolonged long-range engagement. Opponents with Evade tokens can ignore select die results, but the Victory must take every hit on the chin, and those hits will add up despite its raw resilience.
Fortunately, the Dominator title is a good (if expensive) way to help deal with these problems, giving one Victory per list the option of firing an extra two blue dice in any of its arcs. A nasty surprise to be sure, but one that costs 12 points and consumes shield energy with each blue die fired.
COMBOS: The Victory can be kitted out in a huge variety of configurations, but my favorite application is squadron support. With a base Squadron value of 3 and the ability to take the Expanded Hangars upgrade, the Victory is a clear choice for getting the most out of Imperial TIEs. Add in Grand Moff Tarkin dishing out command tokens, and a single Victory can easily support 5 squadrons per round.
This ability is extremely valuable for Imperial fleets because of the lower cost of basic TIE squadrons when compared to Rebel counterparts. In general, it takes a higher Squadron value to make Imperial fighters as effective as Rebels fighters.
Fortunately, the Victory can be customized for a variety of squadron support roles. Combining its already high Squadron value with Expanded Hangars and Flight Controllers gives any TIEs a huge edge in anti-squadron combat. Plus 1 blue dies for everyone? Yes, please!
And let’s not forget the love a Victory can dish out to bombers. With Admiral Chiraneau onboard a Victory with the Corruptor title, enemies will find it very challenging to pin down your bombers. Even if engaged, they’ll still be able to move distance 3 when activated!
LISTS FOR FUN: Victory’s are tough, right? And Admiral Motti makes ships even tougher … so here comes Admiral Motti’s Meat Lovers Pizza!
Victory I-class Star Destroyer (73)
– Admiral Motti (24)
Victory I-class Star Destroyer (73)
Victory I-class Star Destroyer (73)
TIE Fighter Squadrons x 7 (56)
TOTAL: 299 points
It may not be the flashiest list out there, but 3 stock Victory I-class Star Destroyers flying under Admiral Motti means your opponent has a terrifying 30 Hull Points to chew through. That’s a lot of meat on those pizza slices, and that kind of damage is simply not going to happen in most games. Plus, with triple front firing arcs of doom instead of 1, the Victory’s can be positioned to help defend each other’s blind spots, mitigating (to a certain degree) their largest flaw.
After adding the meat, garnish the list to taste with squadrons (I chose TIE Fighters, but it’s really a matter of preference) and take objectives as you see fit.
7 TIE Fighter Squadrons (6 for a more aggressive initiative bid) provide significant anti-squadron firepower to cover the Victory’s from bombers, and the Victory’s come equipped with more than adequate Squadron values to keep those TIEs running at their peak. 7 squadrons won’t stop a determined enemy squadron push, but all they really have to do is dampen it so that the Victory’s can handle whatever gets through.
And besides, playing 3 star destroyers in one list is just plain fun. At the end of the day, isn’t that the point? 🙂
SUMMARY: The Victory may not be the fastest ship or the prettiest ship (far from it on both accounts), but it is a rock solid workhorse for the Imperials and is currently the safest place to put our commanders. This article merely scratches of what the Victory can do on the tabletop.
Check out the complete list of Star Wars: Armada articles here.
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Note: Holo Writing is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program and, as such, may earn a small commission from any product purchased through an affiliate link on this blog.
Seraphim Revival – Book Spine Art!
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
The Seraphim Revival book trilogy is one step closer!
The highly skilled Adam Burn has done it again! Above you can see artwork for the spines of the Seraphim Revival paperback editions, which will form the whole image once all three books are placed together.
Featured in this striking art is the mighty seraph of Seth Elexen, the prodigy. Despite first piloting a seraph as a mere child, his background is an anomaly, having descended from none of the bloodlines his people cultivate to breed pilots. Even his namesake comes from his adoptive father, who was the previous generation’s most powerful pilot, and whose death Seth was at least partially responsible for during a critical battle twenty years ago.
Despite this, Seth has not only survived decades of ceaseless combat, but thrived thanks to an unflinching and indomitable will. In combat, he utilized an aggressive, fast-paced fighting style that takes full advantage of his agility. Eschewing ranged weaponry almost entirely, he assaults his foes with an unending blitz of quick strikes.
A simple man at heart, Seth greatly prefers the purity and clarity of combat to the murky machinations of his people’s leaders, but this single-minded focus leaves him vulnerable to the very plots he so despites.
Seth makes his first appears at the beginning of the trilogy in Bane of the Dead.
What is the Seraphim Revival?
This is a story of Intense Mech Combat. The seraphs represent the absolute pinnacle of combat technology. Fueled by the pilot’s own soul, seraphs are capable of drawing upon almost limitless power. The relationship between pilot and machine is symbiotic to the point where any boundaries between them vanish. In a sense, the pilots become their seraphs. Clashes between them are brutal contests where willpower matters just as much as hardware.
This is a story of the Living Ruled by the Dead. Here is a society where the preserved minds of the deceased exercise absolute authority over the living. Seraph pilots are extremely rare, and therefore incredibly valuable. Not everyone, dead or alive, has their best interests in mind.
This is a story of Honor and Betrayal. The best way to take out a seraph is with another seraph, but the gift to command such a craft is hereditary. Many pilots share common bloodlines, and when sides are chosen, some divides fall in the worst possible places.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are …
Book 1 – Bane of the Dead
Book 2 – Throne of the Dead
Book 3 – Disciple of the Dead
All seraphs launching 2015!
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Star Wars: Armada – Core Set Review
IN SHORT: Fantasy Flight Games has just released the Core Set for their new table top game – Star Wars: Armada. Here are my first impressions and thoughts on the core units.
GENERAL: The game itself focuses on the big picture, namely two fleets of capital ships battling it out while the fighters and bombers take a far smaller (though still important) role. The game has a wonderful sense of momentum to it. Capital ships navigate slowly. Orders take multiple turns to execute. The ships are massive behemoths that take time to react to changing circumstances, and this is represented very well in the game mechanics.
Star Wars: Armada also strikes that sweet spot between being pick-up-and-play friendly and a possessing a lot of depth hidden beneath the surface. Despite the limited amount of ships and upgrade cards, I was surprised by the number of options available for configuring my Victory-class Star Destroyer. (I played Imperial for all my games so far. My affinity for awesome villains remains unchanged. 🙂 )
Next, here’s what I thought of the ships and cards in the Core Set.
Grand Moff Tarkin: Every fleet needs a commander, and Tarkin is the only Imperial commander in the Core Set. But, wow, what an ability! The guy dishes out command tokens like candy, imparting a huge level of flexibility to the otherwise lumbering Victory-class Star Destroyer. Command tokens may not be as powerful as command dials, but Tarkin hands them out exactly when you need them instead of being forced to predict what you’ll need three turns down the road. But at 38 points, you pay a premium price for this ability. He’s almost the same cost as a base CR90 Corvette.
Victory-class Star Destroyer: This thing is a beast to take down. With 8 Hull, 4 Engineering, 2 Redirect defense tokens, a Brace defense token, and plenty of shielding, the Victory is not going to fall quickly to anything. Tarkin just makes a tough ship even tougher, since the command dials and tokens can be combined to even greater effect, giving the Victory a potential +3 shields every turn if the Imperial player decides to turtle up.
It also has a powerful front arc with 6 attack dice. However, the Victory’s biggest vulnerability is its rear arc, which only has 1 shield and 2 attack dice. With speeds that go from slow to slightly less slow, the Victory is in trouble if an enemy ship slips in behind it and can stay there.
TIE Fighter Squadrons: Cheap anti-squadron covering units. You want your Victory focused on the other capital ships, and TIE Fighter Squadrons are an excellent way to keep those X-Wings from pecking the Victory to death. They’re low cost-to-squadron ratio does have disadvantages, though, since squadrons really need squadron commands from capital ships to be at their most effective.
“Howlrunner” TIE Fighter Squadron: For the price of 2 TIE Fighter Squadrons, the Imperials can take this elite squadron. Howlrunner is a force multiplier, giving any friendly squadron with the Swarm rule (which TIE Fighters have), an additional blue attack die when they attack an enemy squadron. This allows a good TIE formation to absolutely shred enemy fighters. She also comes with defense tokens, so even though her TIE is a piece of flying confetti, it’s a hard to hit piece of flying confetti.
That being said, Howlrunner encourages the TIEs to clump up even more than they already do (again, thanks to that Swarm rule), which can leave them vulnerable to attacks from ships with decent anti-squadron abilities like the Nebulon-B Escort. A spray of 2 blue attack dice at every TIE squadron in one of its arcs is not a pretty thing to see.
General Dodonna: Like the Imperials, the Rebels only get one commander in the Core Set. At about half the price of Tarkin, he’s not quite as impressive. Where Tarkin provides a steady stream of benefits over the course of the game, Dodonna allows the Rebel player to draw 4 faceup damage cards (when resolving critical hits on enemy ships) and choose which of the 4 effects to apply to the enemy. This may have huge gameplay ramifications since critical hits can be so nasty … or it might have minimal impact. When the cards comply, Dodonna can be devastating, but I personally prefer more dependable abilities.
CR90 Corvette: Man, is this ship a nasty little speed demon! With two Evade defense tokens, the CR90 can be surprisingly hard to pin down at long or even medium range. It’s Redirect token and a good spread of shields adds to that unexpected resilience. It also has only 1 Command, which allows it to respond very rapidly to changing battlefield conditions.
That being said, the CR90 will not last long in a straight up fight, particularly at close range, which is why the A-type is a worthwhile upgrade over the B-type. With long range red dice in each arc, the CR90 Corvette A can maximize the use of its maneuverability and evade tokens while still launching attacks at the enemy.
Nebulon-B: The two versions of the Nebulon-B (Escort and Support) have some striking differences in their capabilities. With wide side arcs and 2 blue attack dice against squadrons, the Escort can shred through TIE squadrons at a surprising rate, and its enhanced Squadron value of 2 allows it to activate 2 X-Wing squadrons at once. In contrast, the Support acts as a discount version of the Nebulon-B without these enhancements.
However, those side arcs present a glaring weak point. With only 1 side shield each and no Redirect tokens, the Nebulon-B can start taking hull damage very quickly. Its 2 Brace tokens do help mitigate that damage, but it still wants to engage other ships with its (very narrow) front facing and at long range, where it has a much beefier 3 shields, Evade token, and 3 red attack dice.
X-Wing Squadrons: The X-Wings are well-rounded when compared to the anti-squadron focused TIE Fighters. First, they come with Bomber, which allows them to resolve critical hits against enemy ships, significantly increasing their threat level. Their anti-ship attack also uses a red die, granting the potential to do double damage during a single attack.
Their second rule is Escort, which forces nearby squadrons to take out the X-Wings before dealing with anything else (for example Y-Wing or B-Wing Squadrons in the upcoming expansions).
X-Wings. Hard-hitting and versatile for only 13 points.
Luke Skywalker X-Wing Squadron: Luke has everything a regular X-Wing squadron has and more. When making a bombing run on an enemy ship, he is not to be underestimated because his attacks ignore enemy shields! This, coupled with the fact that he performs his anti-ship attacks with a black die gives him a high damage potential. And with 5 hull and 2 Brace tokens, Luke can weather a lot of firepower before he goes down.
All this for 20 points? Not too bad, I think.
SUMMARY
I had a ton of fun playing with the Core Set and will be collecting the Imperial faction for this game. I can’t put it any more simply than that. 🙂 Fantasy Flight Games has a great product here, and I am definitely looking forward to the Wave 1 releases, particularly those Gladiator-class Star Destroyers.
Check out the complete list of Star Wars: Armada articles here.
Seraphim Revival – Book 2 Cover Art!
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
The Seraphim Revival book trilogy is heading this way!
The very talented Adam Burn has produced another beautiful image for the Seraphim Revival trilogy, and I have to admit, I really really really like this one! Here you can see the cover art for the second book Throne of the Dead that showcases one of the pilots.
Pictured in the artwork is Tesset Daelus, the blind empath. Kidnapped as a child and experimented on in secret, Tesset only has empty pits where her eyes should be. But this deliberate mutilation has forced her to develop a sense unique to seraph pilots. She can perceive her surroundings with surprising clarity and can even see into the souls of those around her.
In combat, Tesset is a formidable stealth specialist, striking without warning and then vanishing without a trace. She lacks the brute strength to go face-to-face with most foes, but this hardly matters when they can’t even see her coming. Outside of combat, Tesset still struggles with her new role as a pilot, having been freed from captivity only a few short years ago. Seraph pilots are typically raised from youth, but she found herself thrust into their martial way of life as an adult.
Tesset makes her debut appearance in the second book, Throne of the Dead, and may show up in the third … if she survives. 🙂
What is the Seraphim Revival?
This is a story of Intense Mech Combat. The seraphs represent the absolute pinnacle of combat technology. Fueled by the pilot’s own soul, seraphs are capable of drawing upon almost limitless power. The relationship between pilot and machine is symbiotic to the point where any boundaries between them vanish. In a sense, the pilots become their seraphs. Clashes between them are brutal contests where willpower matters just as much as hardware.
This is a story of the Living Ruled by the Dead. Here is a society where the preserved minds of the deceased exercise absolute authority over the living. Seraph pilots are extremely rare, and therefore incredibly valuable. Not everyone, dead or alive, has their best interests in mind.
This is a story of Honor and Betrayal. The best way to take out a seraph is with another seraph, but the gift to command such a craft is hereditary. Many pilots share common bloodlines, and when sides are chosen, some divides fall in the worst possible places.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are …
Book 1 – Bane of the Dead
Book 2 – Throne of the Dead
Book 3 – Disciple of the Dead
All seraphs launching 2015!
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Seraphim Revival – Book Trilogy Reveal!
In an empire ruled by the honored dead, seraphs are the ultimate weapons. Fueled by the pilot’s very soul, these colossal humanoid war machines are unstoppable in battle. Only a few possess the gift to control such craft, and those men and women are prized above all others.
Jack Donolon is the most powerful pilot in existence, a hero of Earth with a mind fractured by his seraph. On the far side of the galaxy, he uncovers a terrible truth about the seraphs and their pilots. Now he must return on a mission no one will understand, to face and kill the people who once called him friend and comrade.
But the death he will bring is insignificant next to the destruction that will follow, should he fail …
The Seraphim Revival book trilogy is on its way!
That’s right. A whole trilogy! And it’s not like you’ll have to wait years to read the conclusion. All three books are well past the 1st draft stage. Our goal is to polish-polish-polish the entire series like crazy and then release all three books THIS YEAR!
UPDATE: Book 1 has been released!
UPDATE: Book 2 has been released!
We’re very excited about this new series. Both H.P. and I have been toiling on these manuscripts for the past several months, refining them to the level of quality you, our readers, deserve. We may be self-published here at Holo Writing, but we take the quality of our manuscripts very seriously.
As you can see, the highly talented Adam Burn has been hard at work producing gorgeous cover art for the trilogy. Here you can see one of the true stars of the books: the mighty seraphs!
What is the Seraphim Revival?
This is a story of Intense Mech Combat. The seraphs represent the absolute pinnacle of combat technology. Fueled by the pilot’s own soul, seraphs are capable of drawing upon almost limitless power. The relationship between pilot and machine is symbiotic to the point where any boundaries between them vanish. In a sense, the pilots become their seraphs. Clashes between them are brutal contests where willpower matters just as much as hardware.
This is a story of the Living Ruled by the Dead. Here is a society where the preserved minds of the deceased exercise absolute authority over the living. Seraph pilots are extremely rare, and therefore incredibly valuable. Not everyone, dead or alive, has their best interests in mind.
This is a story of Honor and Betrayal. The best way to take out a seraph is with another seraph, but the gift to command such a craft is hereditary. Many pilots share common bloodlines, and when sides are chosen, some divides fall in the worst possible places.
You mentioned a trilogy of books.
Yes I did. And they are …
Book 1 – Bane of the Dead
Book 2 – Throne of the Dead
Book 3 – Disciple of the Dead
What about Humanity Machine? Where’s that book?
I have good news and news (which is really neither good nor bad). The good news is that Humanity Machine will be released. Eventually. The novel is now a very polished 3rd draft, and it’s coming out one way or another.
I honestly wish we could publish the book now, but here comes the neither-good-nor-bad news.
How the novel will be published is a bit of an open question. Actually two open questions. I know that’s horribly vague, but to say anything more at this time would be premature. There are some potentially exciting opportunities here, and the delay comes from H.P. and I taking the time to explore them properly.
So, yes. Humanity Machine will be coming out. You can count on that.
When is the Seraphim Revival trilogy coming out?
Our goal is to release the complete trilogy this year. All seraphs launching 2015!
Subscribe to the Holo Writing Newsletter to receive updates on our current and future books.
The Sons of Liberty – Book Review
Two escaped slaves get superpowers, team up with Ben Franklin, and wreak havoc on their corrupt former owner. This tells you all you need to know about The Sons of Liberty.
This graphic novel, penned by Alexander and Joseph Lagos, is more National Treasure than history class, which is probably why it’s one of the most fun comics that I’ve read in a while.* Graham and Brody begin as slaves under the cruel Jacob Sorenson. When Sorenson’s son attacks Brody, Graham’s act of defense puts them both on the run, where they encounter Benjamin Franklin’s crazypants son, who has been electrocuting animals and, increasingly, slaves in effort to see what effect it has on their bodies. In this case, superpowers! (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.) The boys proceed to befriend Ben Franklin, who gives them work in his print shop, and Quaker abolitionist Benjamin Lay, who teaches them the African martial art of dambe and suggests that they use their newfound powers to right the wrongs slavery has inflicted upon the country.
Normally I’m irked by historical inaccuracy in books, but I make a gleeful exception for this one. After all, via Authors’ Note, the writers are pretty blatant about the historical inaccuracy (see again: superpowers), and most of the relevant inaccuracies are so ridiculous that they’re instantly noticeable. For example, while Benjamin Lay was truly eccentric and loudly anti-slavery (as depicted in the book) he also had a hunched back (as also depicted in the book), which logically seems like something that would interfere with the learning of most martial arts (not depicted in the book). William Franklin, too, is such an exaggeratedly despicable character that it’s hard to see anything that he does as historically-based (other than his strained relationship with his father, which was accurate). Such exaggerations permeate the book, from the fictional slave hunter who outfits his dog collars with foot-long spikes to a terrifyingly huge Hessian character who has no problem scalping a person with his bare hands. These are all the things of over-the-top action movies, which make it easier to suspend disbelief for this particular tale.
Graham and Brody, however, are decidedly non-exaggerated characters, which is what makes the story work so well. Most of the problems that they face in the story are problems that would be faced by any runaway slave—having to evade slave hunters, trying to find food without being conspicuous, worrying about the friends and family they left behind, etc.—and even once they acquire their powers, they react as one would expect teens in their situation to act—terrified at first, and then WHOA THESE POWERS ARE AWESOME. Surprisingly little of the story centers around their powers, too, but this is far from a flaw. Between Lay’s abolition efforts, Franklin’s conflict with William, William’s own several duplicities, and both of Graham and Brody’s conflicts (that is, hiding from Sorenson while learning to use their powers), there’s more than enough to keep the reader interested.
The writing itself zips between each storyline quickly, but never feels rushed. Dialogue is particularly well-handled, with several characters possessing their own unique styles of speaking. The art, too, is energetic, with smart use of color, expression, and character design, even if the lineart beneath the color occasionally looks too quickly-drawn. (It’s far from bad, but every now and then a character will look off-model. It’s not frequent enough to interfere with the reading experience, though.)
Ultimately, The Sons of Liberty is more concerned with entertainment than education. Considering that this was its goal in the first place, it does it with panache—so much so that it might even make readers interested in the true history behind the story! At its heart, it’s an exciting fantasy romp through pre-Revolutionary America, and highly recommended.
***
*No offense to history teachers. Mine were magnificent, but I’ve had several teens refuse historical fiction because they say their history teachers ruined it for them.
Physics of the Impossible – Book Review
IN SHORT: A wonderfully optimistic glimpse of the future, viewed through the prism of advanced modern sciences and the creations of many beloved sci-fi franchises.
WHAT IT IS: A delightful thought experiment. Take a sci-fi trope and ask the question “Is there anything in our current understanding of physics that says we can’t do this?” If the answer is no, then explore how we could theoretically do that. Chapter 1 covers building force fields.
WHAT IT IS NOT: Don’t expect complex equations, mathematical proofs, graphs of hard data, or engineering diagrams, but also don’t let that dissuade you. Michio Kaku is a thoroughly talented communicator of Big Ideas. Throughout the book, he skillfully keeps the discussion understandable (most of the time, anyway), even when talking about string theory or positrons traveling backwards through time.
WHAT I THOUGHT: This book is awesome! Seriously, I’m struggling to remember the last time I enjoyed a book this much. Here’s a snippet of a recent conversation I had while reading Physics of the Impossible.
Jacob Holo: I think I just figured out a way to destroy a planet with a flashlight.
H.P. Holo: How?
Jacob Holo: First I need a sum of negative matter the size of Jupiter.
H.P. Holo: I don’t have that in my purse.
Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed every last chapter, even when it started to get really out there with time travel craziness.
Michio Kaku takes a lot of familiar ideas from science fiction, such as parallel universes and cloaking devices, then guides the reader on a journey of what may be in the centuries and millennia to come. Along the way, he draws upon a wide sampling of science fiction tales both popular and obscure, old and new. Together with well written stories about famous scientists and their theories, he weaves a memorable base from which to explore Big Questions.
Is that impossible?
Could we someday do that?
How?
Take teleportation, for example. Most of us are familiar with beaming from the Star Trek franchise, but did you know that physicists are already tackling real teleportation experiments? Granted, we’re talking about an atom of cesium here or a clump of rubidium there. But still. Teleportation. It could happen, probably not like we see it in Star Trek, but it could happen because nothing in our current understanding of physics says we can’t.
Plus any book that references Xenosaga and Invader Zim in the same breath gets bonus points from me. From metamaterials for invisibility cloaks to negative matter throats for stable wormholes, Michio Kaku tackles a wide range of topics. Seriously people, Chapter 1 explains how to build a force field. A force field! Chapter 12 covers time travel.
For anyone who loves both science fiction and the science of what may be, this book comes with my strongest possible recommendations. Go ahead. Dive in. I loved it, and I think you will too.
VERDICT: Strongly recommended.
Dead Space: Scary Space
SPOILER WARNING!
This article contains SPOILERS for the Dead Space trilogy.
You have been warned!
The ability to evoke an emotional response is one powerful one, and fear is a very potent emotion.
I remember being intimidated by the original Dead Space’s main menu alone. I didn’t even want to start that first game. So creepy! Naturally, different people will have different reactions. Some of us are desensitized to certain stimuli (for example, H.P. laughs when people get eaten in Attack on Titan), while others aren’t so hardy (that same show gives me nightmares).
This story is about my journey through the Dead Space trilogy. It starts with a truly fantastic and terrifying game: the original Dead Space. For me, it was one of my most memorable gaming experiences of recent memory. The game positively oozed atmosphere and presented a repressive sense of isolation.
Granted, this wasn’t the bowel clearing fear of a game like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, but it was more than enough for someone like me who dabbles with scary games, but prefers not to be permanently, psychologically scarred by them.
So, yes. Dead Space was the right scary game for me. Yes, it frightened me, but I had guns (or really wicked mining tools, in this case). I could deal with it.
One of the things I really enjoyed was just how alone you feel in the game. True, there is a smattering of supporting characters. And yes, you do get to interact with them before they meet gruesome fates. But, for most of the game, you are alone. Horribly, unbearably alone. It’s just you and your plasma cutter against a haunted ship full of space zombies that want to eat your face.
And it’s not only the necromorphs. Just about everything you come across wants you dead, including the ship, the asteroids around it, and the very vacuum of space. Dead Space places you alone in a truly oppressive environment, and I enjoyed (I’m using the term loosely here) every minute of it.
Then came Dead Space 2, and it too was a blast to play. But something was different, something that took me a while to figure out.
You see, I wasn’t alone anymore. Isaac Clarke, the silent protagonist from Dead Space (well, except for horrible screams of pain) was now an absolute chatterbox. In Dead Space, I was on my own against everything the Ishimura could throw at me. I was Isaac. In Dead Space 2, I tagged along with Isaac for the ride.
That made a huge difference for me. I found that I was much more at ease turning the next blood-splattered corner now that I had a badass engineer at my side, strange as that may seem. The shift from silent protagonist to a more fleshed out character really made the game a lot less scary. For me, personally, at least.
That’s not to say it didn’t have its share of brilliant moments. The return to the Ishimura? Definitely my favorite part of the second game. That long, drawn out lull in the action kept me on edge as I crept deeper and deeper into the ship’s decommissioned halls to the point where I was begging the game to throw something at me.
When the necromorphs finally arrived, it was awesome.
Dead Space 3 was … well, it just didn’t feel like the same game.
Sure, we still had the space zombies and the disturbing environments, but something was lost on the way from 1 to 2 to 3. The Dead Space games have always been big on jump scares, but Dead Space 3 seemed to take this to a ridiculous extreme. A huge chunk of the game was dominated by mobs of slasher and puker necromorphs jumping out of vents and running at me from all sides.
Sure, jump scares make you jump. That’s what they do. It’s a very human, very understandable response to a surprising stimulus. But after a while, it gets old. I became desensitized. Yeah, I still jumped here and there, but after that initial startled flash came another emotion.
Annoyance.
I tried playing through Dead Space 3 with my faithful plasma cutter, but abandoned it for heavier weaponry about halfway through. I became sick of fast necromorph mobs swarming me, stun-locking me, and having to furiously press the Do-Not-Die button to break their scripted animated holds.
So I retired my plasma cutter for some of the new weapons like shotguns and rocket launchers. I wasn’t even shooting off limbs at this point. Just overwhelming the enemies with sheer damage output, trying to survive a boring spam of cannon fodder. It felt like a different game to me.
To a certain degree, it was. Machine guns? Rocket launchers? Co-op? Many of the additions amped up the action and, as a side effect, lowered the tension. A few necromorphs charging you and your nearly empty plasma cutter is scary. Twenty of them charging your fully loaded rocket launcher? Not so much.
But the strangest addition came in the form of Unitology soldiers. Sure, additional enemy variety sounds good, but here it came at a price. By the time the climax arrived, I had basically wiped out a whole paramilitary army single-handedly (with the occasional necromorph eating a few of them). Those final soldiers blocking my path seemed afraid of me rather than the other way around. For the first time in the series, I really felt like the unstoppable juggernaut rather than the isolated engineer struggling to survive.
I still enjoyed Dead Space 3, but not nearly as much as the previous two games. Again, a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I bought Dead Space 3 because I wanted more of the same intense experiences I had in the first two games.
What I received was a horror game watered down by more guns and more enemies.
Meh. Could have been better.