New Rebel Players Buyer’s Guide

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New Rebel Players Buyer's Guide

I originally created this as a Google Sheet, but the comments don’t show up on mobile devices. So I’ve translated it to a blog post.

Must Have

Every Rebel player should have the items in this category as soon as they can afford to purchase them. These are core items.

1st Core Set – If you have a local group, they may be willing to give you everything you need from the Core Set. Movement tool, dice, obstacles, etc. The Clone Wars Starter Sets contain copies of all these items and many experienced players bought 2 or 3 of each!

The Core Set also comes with a CR90, NebB, and Victory SD. But unfortunately, only the CR90 is a ‘Must have.’ I would put the NebB and VSD in the ‘Optional’ category since they are so difficult to use effectively.

1st & 2nd Movement Tool – 1st movement tool is included in the Core Set. The 2nd one is used for shorter movements. So you’ll have a full length one for speeds 3 & 4 and a half length one for speeds 1 & 2.

1st & 2nd Set of Dice – The Core Set only comes with 3 dice of each color, but many attacks will use more than 3 dice of a color. A 2nd set will cover 99% of the attacks you make and in the rare case where you need a 7th die, you can always ask to borrow one from your opponent.

1st CR90 – The one that comes in the Core Set has a slightly darker paint job. This ship will be a staple of your fleets.

1st Upgrade Card Collection – You will grow your fleet building capabilities exponentially. Also great because a lot of the cards changed with 1.5.

1st GR75 – These are the best and most popular ships in the game.

Recommended

Whether you’re starting from scratch or looking to expand your collection, you will never regret these purchases. Will get a lot of use out of them across a wide variety of fleets.

2nd GR75 – Surprisingly difficult to kill at long rage, super cheap, and can do a wide range of things for your fleet.

1st Assault Frigate MKII – She doesn’t have the iconic look of a Mon Calamari Cruiser, but she’s a great value. Her damage output, durability, and squadron pushing ability are comparable to the Mon Calamari ships, but for a fraction of the points.

1st MC30 Frigate – Packs a ton of firepower and is surprisingly durable when equipped with Foresight.

1st Admiral Tater’s Range Rulers – Measuring ranges and distances is a pain with the cardboard ruler that comes with the Core Set. For about $15 you will make the game a lot more enjoyable. Every player I know has a set of Admiral Tater’s Range Rulers and we all love them. There are more extravagant sets too.

1st Rebel Squadron Pack I – If you’re a Star Wars fan, then you probably love squadrons. Start here.

1st Rogues and Villains – Contains 4 Rebels and 4 Imperials. If you know an Imperial player, you can split it with them. Or buy the Rebel half off him if he already owns it.

Next Level

You’ve got a half a dozen games or more under your belt and you’re committed. There’s no stopping you. The plastic crack addiction is too strong! Satiate with these!

3rd & 4th Movement Tool – So you’ll have a movement tool for each speed, 1 through 4.

2nd CR90 – 1st one is included in the Core Set and is an absolute must have. After the GR75, the CR90 is the most popular Rebel ship and fleets with two are common.

2nd Upgrade Card Collection – Not super necessary to own more than one or two copies of each card, but convenient.

Rebel Squadron Pack II – Gives you access to Hera in her VCX and Ketsu in her Lancer. E-Wings and Z95s are rarely seen.

Rebellion in the Rim Campaign – You’ll probably never play the Campaign. But these come with additional squadron cards, obstacles, and objectives.

Corellian Conflict Campaign – Same as Rebellion in the Rim.

1st Rebel Large – The Rebels have their choice of 5 larges:

  • MC75 – If you want to own a Rebel large, and don’t already own one, then this is the one I would recommend for new players. If you already own a Rebel large, then great. You don’t need two. Also you don’t absolutely need one Rebel large because the Assault Frigate MKII makes such a great flagship.
  • HMC80 – Speed 2 makes this iconic ship rather difficult to use. Especially with Onagers in your local meta.
  • LMC80 – No defensive retrofit makes this iconic ship squishy unless you put Commander Agate on it.
  • Star Hawk – A powerful ship, but I think it makes for a boring game. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend it to the new player.
  • Providence – A Separatist ship that became available to Rebel players through a Print & Play called “Rapid Reinforcements I.” It’s a niche ship that I wouldn’t recommend to new players.

Laser Line Pointer – Buy from your Friendly Local Game Store for all your “Is that in arc? Do we have line of sight?” needs.

Storage Boxes – Home Depot has a wide variety of tool boxes that will work.

Token Organizer – The Container Store. Otherwise the fishing section of your local Wal-mart.

Optional / Excessive

By the time you’re experienced, you’ll no longer need this guide. But here are items that you may want to own eventually, based on your preferences. But you don’t need them any time soon — if ever.

3rd & 4th set of Dice – Useful if you wish to provide your opponent with dice.

3rd & 4th CR90 – You can fly 3 or 4 if you wish, but are typically confined to General Cracken or Admiral Ackbar as your commander.

1st OR 2nd NebB – I don’t consider owning a Nebulon B to be necessary. They are my favorite Star Wars ship, but are poorly represented in Armada. But still, in the hands of experienced players they can be effective.

3rd Upgrade Card Collection – Between two boxes and the mini cards that come with the ships, you’ll rarely find a use for a 3rd box.

2nd Assault Frigate MK II – Sometimes you’ll see a 2nd one in Admiral Ackbar lists.

2nd MC30 Frigate – If you already own one and really love it, then by all means. Maybe even grab a 3rd if you want to go nuts. 🙂 But just realize this is a super specific fleet type that I would’t recommend to new players.

2nd through 4th Squadron Pack I – I recommend buying them one at a time and seeing if you’re left wanting more. It’s rare to see more than 4 of the same fighter in a list. The exception is the Biggs Balls that flies 4+ X-Wings, but X-Wings come in the Core Set anyway.

2nd Squadron Pack II – Some lists may want a 3rd VCX for Strategic shenanigans. 2 VCX is usually enough tho.

2nd through 8th Rogues & Villains – The YT-2400s are considered the best generics in the game. But only 1 comes in each pack. If you can buy them used off an Imperial player, you can save some money. 2-4 is reasonable. More than that is probably overkill unless you really know what you’re doing.

Admiral Tater’s Squadron Markers – I own 12, but it’s really a matter of taste.

2nd Rebel Large – For all of the Rebel larges, you’re better off buying a different Rebel large before buying a duplicate. But it’s difficult to fit more than two Rebel larges in the same fleet anyway, outside of an Admiral Raddus fleet.

1st & 2nd set of two Hammerhead Corvettes – These are difficult to fly and rarely seen. Like with all ships, if you just love them and want them, then by all means buy them.

1st & 2nd Pelta – Speed 2 and somewhat expensive make these a rare sight.

Collector’s Only

The plastic crack addiction is strong with this one.

2nd Core Set – It’s cheaper to buy the additional pieces, Movement tool, set of dice, and CR90A, separately.

3rd GR75 – In a standard 400 pt game, you are only allowed to use 2 at max.

2nd Providence – The Rebel Providence is Unique meaning you can legally only fly one.

Anything else – With the exception of maybe a 5th CR90, you’re going to have a hard time fitting anything not listed above into a list, ie a 3rd Assault Frigate MK 2. But hey, it’s your collection. Go nuts if you want!