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Board Game Reviews

Through The Ages: A New Story of Civilization By Czech Games 2015

Designer: Vlaada Chvátil

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star3.9Stars (3.9 out 5 Stars)

Vlaada Chvátil is without question one of my favorite designers, not so much because he has produced what I consider the best games, but because every time he makes a game it’s truly a unique experience. His designs stand out. More than that though he does not have a style, but rather is able to break barriers with new ideas and innovations. Whether it’s the wacky Galaxy Trucker or Dungeon Lords, or more brainy games like Mage Knight, he finds ways to separate himself from the crowd of copy-cats and creates something truly original. No game however is more unique, broken more records and set more precedence than Through The Ages. Most consider this his true masterpiece, a sentiment I largely agree with.

Through the Ages is an established award winning classic and a fan favorite on BoardGameGeek.Com sitting pretty in the top 10 for the better part of a decade. Finally after years of refurbished versions of the original Vlaada has produced a new edition that promises not only upgraded components but more streamlined and balanced gameplay. While I have always been a fan of the original it never ranked high on my list of best games because I always felt it had this thick coat of Euro game complexity and length that made the game difficult to get to the table. It was a game that was difficult to explain and even harder to grasp. Over the course of a decade I played it perhaps ten times all together, it’s what I like to call the dust collector of my collection.

Distinctively Vlaada, Galaxy Trucker is truly a unique gem that rivals Through The Ages as one of Chvátil's masterpieces.
Distinctively Vlaada, Galaxy Trucker is truly a unique gem that rivals Through The Ages as one of Chvátil’s masterpieces.

With a new edition and hope for an improved version of this un-played but fantastic game I gladly dove in. Let’s see how it fares!

Overview

Through The Ages is a competitive civilization building game abstracted into card drafting and resource management mechanics. The word competitive hardly does it justice as despite the absence of a map and miniatures it is a brutally combative and competitive game, I’m talking about some seriously mean cut-throat shit here making it difficult to define it as a Euro game, yet that is exactly what it is.

It looks like a Euro game because it is one, but that is just one of Through The Ages many layers.
It looks like a Euro game because it is one, but that is just one of Through The Ages many layers. This seemingly humble Euro gets mean fast!

Each player takes on the role of a world leader of a civilization from the ancient age all the way to the modern age. In typical euro game fashion the game is won by collecting the most culture points of any civilization by the end of the game. Uncharacteristically of Euro games however Through The Ages is as much a resource management and development game as it is a mean spirited war game. It takes that classic formula of Sid Meiers Civilization but in abstracted form, yet maintaining that if I can’t out build them, I can conqueror them approach that Sid Meier’s Civilization is so famous for. Oddly enough despite two previous games with the word Sid Meier in their title (eagle games version and Fantasy Flight Games version), Through The Ages thematically has more in common with the classic PC game than anything that has come before and after it.

Components

Verdict: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_star

Pros: Aesthetically pleasing art, quality components and separated game boards make this a vast improvement over the old editions of Through The Ages.

Cons: A lot of book keeping and statistics to track result in a very fiddly and ultimately messy game space in particular towards the end of the game.

Through The Ages in previous editions left you very underwhelmed in terms of components, certainly they were functional but they were both aesthetically ugly ducklings and so small you felt like a giant trying to handle cheerios. The game was already a hard sell for being a complex Euro with a steep learning curve, but to have look of a prototype definitely didn’t help.

Even in its stock sales pitch photo the old version is very underwhelming. You don't see much art because there is almost not art.
Even in its stock sales pitch photo the old version is very underwhelming. You don’t see much art because there is almost not art.

With this new version component quality could not possibly get worse so naturally it has improved. Thankfully that improvement is dramatic in particular in the application of quality art and a sizing up of components that make it possible for a grown man to handle them without feeling clumsy.

The art style is reminiscent of old school Sid Meier game art, which I don’t think is a coincidence as this is exactly the theme Through The Ages is trying to capture. I in particular like the colorization of components, it makes every type of component easy to distinguish across the table.

World leaders are just one of the many unique ways you can make your civilization different from other.
World leaders are just one of the many unique ways you can make your civilization different from other.

The card stock quality is excellent ensuring this game will actually last through the ages and there is a solid broken up design for the gameboards that will make it easier to put on the table by splitting up the various boards into distinct areas. I don’t know that this change was necessary but depending on the size of your table and available space being able to organize the different pieces in Tetris style is going to be appreciated by those with tighter game space.

A vast improvement over the old version but still only gets a passing grade for today’s standards. Its functional, built to last and aesthetically pleasing but it’s not going to blow you away. Given that a six year old with a box of crayons could have done a better job than the last version of Through The Ages, the improvement in this new edition are much appreciated.

That said the game is still extremely fiddly, you are pushing cubes, counters and cards around constantly and the table gets quite messy towards the end of the game. Towards the 3rd age you will find yourself counting and recounting the tracked statistics to ensure you have them right which kind of renders all the book keeping useless.

Theme

Verdict: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Competitive civilization building theme is captured with perfection ensuring every faucet of a civilization is included and equally important. This is Sid Meiers Civilization in a board game.

Cons: Some might miss the absence of a map and moving units around on the board. Like the PC game version its based on, Through The Ages is a loooooong game.

Through the Ages has been in the top 10 on board gamegeek for a decade for one very solid reason, its theme. There is absolutely no denying that the competitive culture race and clash that made Sid Meier’s PC game so popular is captured splendidly in board game form in Through The Ages. The newly improved art helps to solidify the theme, but really even without it Through The Ages had a solid connection between mechanics and thematics.

I don’t think the new version has added anything that distinctly makes it more or less thematic than the old version, but having some quality visuals defiantly makes it feel like this version is more thematic. Art really does count towards theme but the truth is that Through The Age gameplay is really what makes the theme sing.

The new translucent cubes are larger as are the cards which coupled with the addition of new art give this game a feel the old version was really missing thematically.
The new translucent cubes are larger as are the cards which coupled with the addition of new art give this game a feel the old version was really missing thematically.

There is this distinct feeling of advancement and growth, starting with what feels like far too little resources and eventually rising to a point where you have far more than you could ever use. More than that though you’re Civilization can really be focused and distinct. By the time the 2nd age starts each player will have created a completely unique engine, driven by bonuses and advantages as a result of combining different technologies, wonders, discovered territories and just general management. You could argue that some strategies are more or less effective than others but my experience has been that players will often focus their strategy on the theme they have chosen for their civilization rather than simply trying to game the game, which I think is a great sign of the game having strong theme.

In particular the card drafting mechanic really inexplicability have the feeling of the passage of time, a kind of pressure to keep up that gives it that distinctively civilization building feel. Best of all though is that there is no element of the Civilization theme ignored here and every element is as important as the next. You need military, science, technology, culture and resources (food and metal) to win and you need them all in equal qualities. If you focus on one more than the other you will have a distinct advantage in that area over other players who fail to keep up, but it will come at a sacrifice of something else. It’s simply impossible to be the best at everything and that really drives the theme home. Civilization building games are about choices and Through The Ages has choices in spades.

Through the Ages still does civilization building in a board game the best of any game I have played and from that stand point the theme is nearly perfect.

Nations is not civilization building game slouch, but comparatively if you are looking for a deep and rewarding experience and don't mind the complexity and length Through The Ages, in particular the new edition is definitely the superior game. Nations on the other is far more approachable and is likely to make your table more often.
Nations is no civilization building game slouch, but comparatively if you are looking for a deep and rewarding experience and don’t mind the complexity and length Through The Ages, in particular the new edition is definitely the superior game. Nations on the other is far more approachable and is likely to make your table more often.

If there is any part of the game that would count against it is that in most civilization games you get to manage and control unique units on a big map, this is really a big part of the civilization building genre. This part of the theme is abstracted quite heavily in Through The Ages to a point where you might initially feel its absence. The game is so robust and engaging however that after a couple of plays you forget all about it.

The other thematic issue which I will go into deeper later in the review is the length of the game. Civilization building games are typically quite long and Through The Ages is no exception here, in fact, it’s so long that anything beyond 3 players is too long as each player adds about one and a half hours to gameplay. This definitely works against the game since you kind of want to play it with more people, but realistically the more people you add, the longer the game gets and that can be quite painful towards the end of the game. This of course is actually thematically correct as far as capturing the Sid Meier Civilization theme, but ironically while it captures this part of the genre, for many this is the part of the genre people who love the game, don’t like. So it’s a strange relationship of both capturing the good and bad parts of the theme in this genre.

Gameplay

Verdict: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: A deep strategic experience with countless potential approaches to the game that keeps you engaged despite its very long play time. Great mechanical balance.

Cons: Not for the casual gamer, things can get quite mean and once you fall behind it can be very difficult if not impossible to catch up.

Through The Ages has an incredibly robust and unique combination of card drafting and resource management mechanics. It’s a Euro through and through in this regard and one that is constructed with an uncanny balance and eye for that fiddly complexity and high level strategy Euro gamers love. It evokes a lot of thought and multiple plays reveal the many levels and depths the game can rise to revealing countless possible approaches to the game. If you play the game without the military aggression and war cards, this game would be a pure Euro game experience and a very good one.

The linear civilization advancement line of Through The Ages is a simple yet ingenious way to capture the feel of the passage of time.
The linear civilization advancement line of Through The Ages is a simple yet ingenious way to capture the feel of the passage of time.

At its core the game is about drafting technology cards that represent the various types of advances that can be constructed like buildings, wonders, leaders of the world, military units etc. The card line is constantly moving however and the closer to falling off the line the cards get the cheaper they are to pick up. Civil actions, one of the resources in the game are what drive your civilization. This limited supply replenishes every round but because it’s so limited every decision you make is a tough one. What technology you pick up will in turn determine what sorts of advantages you will be able to construct with your resources through the course of the game and in fact can very much define your advantages and disadvantages in later stages.

The sequence is fairly simple. You might pick up an Iron Mine technology, that will allow you to build Iron Mines which of course will give you more resources to build with later. Simple concept except that in order to build Iron Mines you need population, which in turn requires food to build, so you might need to build some farms first. You need science to put the Iron mine into play to begin with and ultimately you will need to keep your people happy enough so that as you deploy your population to work you can bare the costs of doing so you also need religious temples to keep your people happy. Everything is sort of interconnected this way and it’s all about ceasing opportunities and building a civilization that is self-sustaining one step at a time. Misstep and you might find that you have lots of resources to build with but not enough people to build them with for example. It’s challenging and fun to create your engine and it really captures the essence of civilization building games.

In typical Vladi fashion however the entire game is turned on its heels with the military and politic mechanics which create almost a mean spirited competition of the likes I haven’t seen since games like Diplomacy. It’s ruthlessly brutal where players can really stick it to each other, often kicking your face in the dirt when you’re already a bloody mess. It’s so mean in fact that there is a rule for resigning from the game when you have had enough.

The political phase is where most of the games nastiness comes from. From event cards that reward the strongest player and hurt the weakest, to direct aggression and war cards, there is plenty of opportunity to screw over your competition. But be careful, many event cards can back fire and end up causing more harm then good.
The political phase is where most of the games nastiness comes from. From event cards that reward the strongest player and hurt the weakest, to direct aggression and war cards, there is plenty of opportunity to screw over your competition. But be careful, many event cards can back fire and end up causing more harm then good.

At its core however the entire military and political mechanic is built on a sort of delay and in lays its genius. Whatever wars and attacks are going to take place, they will do so several turns in the future as the event deck is built with a 4 event delay. Meaning that if you put down a nasty event that will help you because you are the strongest civilization, that card won’t actually come into play until later in the game. This gives everyone an opportunity to react to the current status of the game and effectively build up to potentially reap the benefits of cards someone else played.

Military power is as important if not more important than other developments however it produces very little on its own so building up a big one comes at the cost of other developments. It’s a real back and forth balance and so you have to decide whether you are going to let your military fall behind to build other more productive developments or if you are going to keep up so you don’t get smashed when those nasty event and war cards come.

Players are also able to make pacts and alliances with each other, again via event cards. These cards allow weaker players an opportunity to cut deals with stronger players that will encourage them to leave them alone. This works to the benefit of the stronger players in the short term but in the long run players who aren’t focused on military build powerful economies that can be really difficult to dismantle later even with an overwhelming military. The balance here is uncanny and the decisions are tough all leading me to one conclusion. This game is awesome!

There is this amazing risk vs. reward system with a constant stream of hard decisions that keeps you engaged whether it’s your turn or not. It’s as important to you what other players are doing as what you are doing so even though there can be some fairly sizable downtime in the game, the downtime is really an opportunity to re-asses, plan and of course think about your response to each other players actions.

On the flip side though the downtimes can be quite long and while assessment and observation are a part of the game, Through The Age’s fun factor really suffers as you wait for your turn. In particular if players are being indecisive, this is definitely a game that can cause some analysis paralysis. The wait times increase over time as Civilizations become more complicated to manage and events are being triggered almost every round. In a four player game you might end up waiting as much as 10 minutes for your turn to come up by the final rounds of the game which can be quite excruciating after 4+ hour game.

You can play a game of Nations with 5 players in the same time it would take to play a 2 player game of Through The Ages. 3 and 4 player games of Through The Ages can easily exceed 5+ hours in particular with new players.
You can play a game of Nations with 5 players in the same time it would take to play a 2 player game of Through The Ages. 3 and 4 player games of Through The Ages can easily exceed 5+ hours in particular with new players.

The fact that the game is quite competitive and outright mean at times can result in players falling hopelessly behind. This is compounded by the fact that the game can stretch into the 5 hour mark with 4 players quite easily. It’s one thing to be getting your ass handed to you in a 20 minute card game, it’s another to be abused in a 5 hour game and in Through The Ages its often beneficial to attack the weakest opponent. Now experienced players are not going to have this problem, play the game a couple of times and you will know the consequences all too well of not keeping up militarily. This makes the game that much tougher on new players who are not only having to learn the ins and outs of the complex rules, but getting abused for failing to grasp concepts like military power quickly. This might explain why there is a “low aggression” option for the game and a shorter game variant where you only play to the second age. Both good for introducing new players and highly recommended.

Through the Ages has fantastic mechanics and gameplay that merges well with its theme, it’s truly a unique experience but it’s one that takes some effort to get into. It’s a demanding game with considerable rules complexity, tough and unforgiving systems and fairly mean spirited “take it” type mechanics. To me, its music to my ears, but objectively I can understand how this might not appeal to everyone.

Replay ability and Longevity

Verdict: christmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Plenty of strategies to explore for repeated plays, it has already proven itself to have long term legs.

Cons: While the Euro puzzle is difficult to unravel, if you study the game you will eventually unravel its mysteries creating repetitive strategies that can dissipate the dynamics of the game hurting replay ability.

Through the Ages has sufficient strategic routes to keep you entertained endlessly and so its replay ability is very good which might explain its high ranking for so long on BoardGameGeek.com. There is however a sort of general sequence to the game, every card in Age I, II and III will eventually come up so there is definitely a sort of pre-planned strategy possible which can result in players unraveling the mechanical puzzle and creating repetitive strategies that work. This is the drawback of most Euro games. There is some randomness to the order in which cards come out and this definitely mixes things up, but patient players can definitely build long term strategies from round one and with minor adjustments be very successful at executing them in every game.

That said, the game is so long and so complex that its not going to be something you play at every session, it’s just too demanding. This game is longevity and really at the heart of replay ability isn’t so much that it’s something you want to play 5 times a week, but something you still want to play 10 years from now and Through The Ages definitely has that long shelf life appeal.

Replay ability is not the same thing as longevity. Through The Ages is a timeless classic for good reason, there is some serious legs for what is effectively a resource management and card drafting game.
Replay ability is not the same thing as longevity. Through The Ages is a timeless classic for good reason, there is some serious legs for what is effectively a resource management and card drafting game.

I do believe Nations is a much more dynamic game because the reliability of what cards come up for purchase of developing your Civilization is not only randomized every game in what order they come up but what actual cards will be available. In Nations you will see 20% of the possible cards each age come up so effectively every game is going to be vastly different, this is not the case in Through The Ages. I don’t consider this a major drawback, but in terms of replay ability there is definitely a puzzle that can be solved here and I can see this game growing repetitive and tiresome if you play it too often. It’s got dynamic character and longevity, but it’s going to need to rest and collect dust periodically. It’s too heavy, complex and long to be played often.

Conclusion

Through the Ages is a fantastic game, but its deep, complex and long so it’s definitely a game with a very particular audience in mind. This is not a casual game and will likely only appeal to experienced gamers who can appreciate its depth and don’t mind overcoming a steep learning curve both in learning how to play and learning how to play well.

That said this is a true gem in the rough, most Civilization board game implementations really do kind suck. Through the Ages and its little brother Nations handle things in a more abstract way, but actually capture the civilization genre better thematically and mechanically then more literal interpretations like the Eagle and Fantasy Flight Games versions.

I recommend it with the disclosure that you really need to enjoy heavy games like this. If you are looking for a more casual civilization building game I recommend Nations instead which is far more approachable to the casual gamer.

In the end however this game appeals to my gamer sensibilities, its deep, complex and extremely competitive, all the things I want a great civilization building game to be.

Best of List

5 Overly Complex Games That Might Be Awesome If you actually had the will to play them

Whooa, that is a mouthful! As gamers I imagine most of us day dream about some way for us to put our life on the sidelines and get involved in some of those full bodied hobby games that take up extraordinary amounts of time, money and effort to play. Those ultra-complex games that are out there that look amazing, but are largely inaccessible thanks to the hustle of our everyday lives. I suspect most people have a game or two that definitely falls into this magnetic allure so Today I’m going to identify 5 games that qualify in my opinion with some tips and ways you might actually be able to get involved with minimal or at least less effort than what it appears to be.

Advanced Squad Leader

For many gamers war is a very common and favored theme in board games. In fact, I would estimate that at least 80% of all my gaming is dedicated to some form of war game. While I’m personally not that a huge of a realist, historical buff or simulationist gamer, some of my favorite games actually kind of qualify. Tide of Irons for example is a tactical world war II game which has graced my shelf for several years and is one I would not object to being buried with it. I love it and it definitely scratches that itch, but Advanced Commander by all accounts is really the meca of world war II tactical war games.

Advanced Squad Leader is really kind of the ultimate in complex war games in general thanks to countless modules and expansions, but like all of the games on this list it’s really almost overwhelmingly complex and demands a pretty serious commitment to learn to play let alone actually play. Even the smallest most basic scenario will have you reading over a hundred pages of rules and will take 4+ hours to resolve. So why would anyone be attracted to it?

Not really designed with table presence in mind, but it does have that general standing over a map feel to it.
Not really designed with table presence in mind, but it does have that general standing over a map feel to it.

The truth is that most war games heavily abstract combat for streamlining sake immediately drawing it out of the realm of realism, but for me personally sometimes I really want that full experience out of a game. That gritty reality only a complex war game can offer. This is probably why for more complex games I look to my PC as much of what is complex about games like ASL (remembering rules, the math) is done for you. I have never played Advanced Squad Leader but I do feel the allure of it and it’s something that has been on my must try list for years.

Fortunately the Advanced Squad Leader fan base has put forth some effort to creating some initial baby steps and shallow waters for new players. Several levels of Advanced Squad Leader basic kits have been released since 2004 as well as the creation of some pretty comprehensive youtube tutorials that really walk you through the absolute basic need to know information. Enough so that the game almost reaches that approachable spectrum. More importantly unlike many games on this list, its actually very cheap to try so all you really need to do is convince a friend to join you and you really have a shot at getting a game off the ground.

I don’t know if my schedule and patience will ever allow me to try this game, but I can definitely understand its popularity. There is a tremendous amount of depth and realism in this game allowing history buffs to really play out those scary moments in time from the comforts of their favorite chair. I totally get it.

Warhammer

Large table top games like Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k is not that far from reality for me. I actually dove into it several years ago and its every bit as epic as it looks. The trouble with Warhammer like many miniature hobbies is that aside from simply playing the game it requires that you spend hundreds of hours carefully gluing and painting your army and terrain. It’s really a two part hobby that is not only incredibly time consuming and expensive but fairly complex and difficult to be successful at.

This actually brings me to one conclusion about these sort of epic style hobby games which is that sometimes the allure of them is far stronger than the actual impact. In the end, after playing Warhammer for a couple of years I saw the countless flaws in the game system, tired of the endless stream of “pre-game work” and the insane amounts of money that you have to invest in the game. After a thousand hours of invested time and as many dollars I doubt I played more than a grand total of 15-20 games over the course of two years. Was it worth it?

if the mechanics of the game had the same quality as the view from the table, this would easily be the best game ever made.
if the mechanics of the game had the same quality as the view from the table, this would easily be the best game ever made.

Hunched over a massive table of miniatures painted in painstaking detail after having spent months reading, planning and thinking about a single event was really kind of as epic and monster sized of an event as it sounds. I don’t regret the money or time invested in the short lived hobby, it was really fun while it lasted but it was just impossible to maintain. No regrets, I wouldn’t object to repeating it but in a way it’s probably part of the reason why alternatives pre-painted miniature games like X-Wing and Armada sort of appeal to me more. You still have to spend the money, but after that it’s just to play the game which in a sense is actually the best part of the hobby for me.

If you have never tried it however, I urge you to because it really is, despite all the work and money a lot of fun, even if it does not last forever. Unfortunatly there really are very few shortcuts to take here, ultimately the best way to approach the game is to find people who are already playing it. Thanks to a pretty healthy 3rd party market the cost of getting involved has dropped considerably and in the end selling off your collection is not going to be that difficult either when you’re done with it.

Twilight Imperium

Another Big Bad Ass game that I have actually played a ton in the past that certainly deserves to be on this list. I have met and talked to many gamers who look at this intimidating beast and imagine themselves hunched over the table as a master of a galactic race, drawn to it like a moth to a flame but off put by its sheer size and scope. All I can say is that its every bit as epic and awesome as you probably imagine it to be but the good news is that while it’s an incredibly long game considering the rest of this list, this game actually has some pretty streamlined and comprehensive rules, it really isn’t that hard to grasp. It’s a complex board game, but within the realm of normal gaming, it’s a lot less of a stretch I think. It’s probably the most approachable game on the list and quite possibly the best.

Small tables need not apply, I shit you not this is a small game of Twilight Imperium.
Small tables need not apply, I shit you not this is a small game of Twilight Imperium.

Twilight Imperium definitely is an investment though and the hard part is that it requires an investment of time not just from you or one other opponent but actually a whole group of at least 4 players but preferably 6. That can be the most difficult part for a lot of people myself included, its actually one of the reasons on the I wish I had more time for it list. I would imagine this alone excludes a lot of gamers from ever getting the opportunity to try it.

We probably will never see another game like Twilight Imperium designed either, it’s really a product of an era of gaming that has come and gone. In fact it might actually be considered the spiritual last member of the Big Box Epic board games that evolved from classics like Axis & Allies, Shogun and Fortress America. Games like Twilight Imperium are really not made anymore, these days mechanics are focused on being streamlined, simpler and faster.

I could be wrong, perhaps someday we will see a resurgence of this sort of design but for what it’s worth, in my humble opinion no gamer should ever miss an opportunity to try this game at least once. I would suggest doing it as soon as possible to because I suspect once this game goes out of print, it will be out of print for a very long time, perhaps forever.

18XX Game Series

This is one on this list that really attracts me that I’m yet to try, a complex game of building railroads and manipulating stock markets in the age of steam. The 18XX games is actually a series, though the foundation rules are all the same. It is in effect a Railroad Tycoon style game where you are competing against other players as a Railway Baron in a fairly simulationist economy which is every bit as cut throat and mean spirited as it is complex and I imagine actually was in the 1800’s.

She's an ugly pig, but there is some serious depth here.
She’s an ugly pig, but there is some serious depth here.

I love Railroad Games and Railroad themed games but truth be told everyone that I have ever tried was just too simple for me. Railways of the World (eagle games Railroad Tycoon) was a fun game and it certainly had the theme of railroad building but it lacked that umf as a complex game which I think kind of fits this genre. Games like Russian Railroads are complex, but not in the simultationist way rather more in the Euro puzzle style being barely recognizable as an actual game about railroads. This is one that I’m itching to try, the issue is that the Railroad Baron theme is kind of a love it or hate it one and I fear that my group might not take to it in particular since it’s a very deep, complex, long and unforgiving game.

The good news is that the 18xx’s games received what is referred to as an XL version, you can think of it as 18xx game for newbies which cuts down the rules weight for easier learning. This may just be my ticket to trying it in the near future.

It’s on the list for me though, one day this is going on the table!

Heroscape

Ok so this one might not actually belong on this list in its entirety. It’s actually a very simple game, really the hardest thing about it is

Going bat shit crazy is not a requirement, but I can see myself spending hours building terrain like this if life were a bit more cooperative.
Going bat shit crazy is not a requirement, but I can see myself spending hours building terrain like this if life were a bit more cooperative.

that its insanely difficult to get a hold of, takes up a shit ton of room and has probably one of the longest set up and take down times of any game in the existence of the human race. You are going to spend at least an hour or more setting it up and just as long taking it down unless you just do the rage quit arm sweep into a bin at the end to be dealt with at another time.

 

That said Heroscape is probably one of the most fun looking games I have ever seen and I have always wanted to try it. Its concept is kind of cool as well as there are over a thousand different units in this war game. Players construct a team from soldiers from all genres, histories and imaginations ever created and fight it out in a massive landscape constructed out of hexagon legos that traverses time and space. Its as much a game of war as it is of creativity and silliness from what I have gathered but in the end I just love the way it looks.

Unfortunately Heroscape is both out of print and what is available on the 3rd party markets is really expensive, in particular terrain which you need a lot of. There are a lot of drawbacks to this one, but in a perfect world this game will see a re-print at some point in the future, something I believe is inevitable if you consider how well the 3rd party moves for this game.

Best of List

Top 5 Board Games I wish someone would make

Ok so a while back I asked people to kind of vote or at least submit some ideas on some types of top X list I could make.  It kind of backfired on me, the one that won with overwhelming majority was top 10 cooperative games. The problem is that, of all the genres of gaming I like, Cooperative games might just be the only one that I mostly avoid. I don’t think I could even come up with a top 5 list of cooperative games I like to fill the list. Rather than making a crappy list on a topic I care little for I chose the 2nd highest requested thing instead. The Top 5 Board Games I wish someone made. Rather a strange list, but apparently it’s a common subject for blogs.

In any case, this turned out to be a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be so here goes nothing!

1. Masters Of Orion

Ok so clearly Twilight Imperium is a bow to the classic PC game Masters of Orion designed by one of my all-time favorite game designers Alan Emrich. I have met the man and you will never meet a person that knows more about game design than him, but of all his creations Masters of Orion is the unquestionable king of PC games to me. If there was an alter, I would worship it! The fact that Master of Orion is actually getting a PC reboot is exciting news but as I wrote this on my list I checked to make sure that no one was actually doing a board game version and sure as shit, someone actually is. The information is sketchy at the moment but it is apparently one of the many announcements coming out of the Nurnberg Toy fair this year.

The last time someone tried to make a Masters of Orion (no 3) it failed miserably. Let's hope this time someone has their thinking caps on.
The last time someone tried to make a Masters of Orion (no 3) it failed miserably. Let’s hope this time someone has their thinking cap on.

Suffice to say I love space epics, but that love doesn’t come from movies, TV shows or books, it actually all stems from the original Masters of Orion. While it houses many clichés of the science-fiction genre it’s just one of those games that came at the right time for me, at that perfect, impressionable age. I would love to see a board game version, I just hope whatever is coming, it does it justice!

2. Star Trek Armada

With Star Wars X-Wing we did get a Star Trek version (Attack Wing) but the truth is that in Star Trek almost all of the classic ships from the show are capital ship and it just did not at all work as an X-Wing game. Star Trek is as much about the people as it is about the ships and I think the Armada rule set is really a perfect setup for a Star Trek game. In fact, more so than Star Wars in my humble opinion, .

It didn't take much googling to find that people are already creating Star Trek Armada on their own. Get on it FFG!
It didn’t take much googling to find that people are already creating Star Trek Armada on their own. Get on it FFG!

I would love to see a Star Trek Armada, just tell me where mail my credit card!

3. Civilization

Ok so there have already been several tries and frankly they have all been disappointments to me. The original Advanced Civilization that kick started it all was a good effort, but ultimately it was overly complex and way too bloody long even for a Civilization game. Eagle games did one and again, I thought it was a gallant effort but that game had more rules holes than a fishing net. Finally when Fantasy Flight Games announced Sid Meier’s Civilizations I thought, for certain with Kevin Wilson behind the wheel and Fantasy Flight Games at the helm it can’t fail. In the end however it might have been the worst of the bunch, one of the few major disappointments coming out of FFG.

The classic Advanced Civilization actually got a new update called Mega Civilization which promises, I shit you not, a 12 hour game on the box! It looks great and all, but, please fuck off immediately!
The classic Advanced Civilization actually got a new update called Mega Civilization which promises, I shit you not, a 12 hour game on the box! It looks great and all, but, please fuck off immediately!

We also got some quasi Civilization games like Imperial Settlers, Through the Ages and Nations. I actually liked those fine but they really weren’t comparable to the PC version, they don’t have that epic feel. Everything is very abstracted and while I like Nations the best of the bunch it still does not completely fill that gap for me.

A proper Civilization should really have that epic Twilight Imperium feel. It needs to be huge, dynamic, and have a true asymmetrical feel. I really hope that at some point in the future we will get someone to pick this up and try again, there is an empty space on my shelf for one big box game and its reserved for Civilization whenever and if ever it comes.

4. Legends of the Five Rings War Game

Legends of the Five Rings has probably one of the most quintessential game worlds upon which an amazing war game could practically design itself. You have the many asymmetrical factions, countless unique units to draw on, an epic map and quite possibly one of the most awesome themes in existence, Samu-Fucking-ri’s. The fact that this game doesn’t already exist is shocking, it’s so full of potential I can think of at least a half a dozen different genres which could make use of the theme. One of the most underutilized franchises that exists today. There should be movies, tv shows, board games, PC games… so much wasted potential! Instead it swims in obscurity as a CCG and a role-playing game which could be awesome but is based on a shitty system. Bah, it makes me sooooo angry I want to dragon punch a motherfucker!

Outside of the CCG and roleplaying the only other application of the franchise was... of course Love Letter. These people seriously need to stop!
Outside of the CCG and roleplaying game the only other application of the franchise was… of course Love Letter. These people seriously need to be stopped!

5. Battletech

Ok so back in 2002 they brought battletech back and when I say they brought it back, I mean they basically took the old version of battletech and re-released it. Some minor rules adjustments aside this 1980’s classic really didn’t age that well, it really needed a lot more than a minor revamp. Not surprisingly it kind of landed on def ears and while I’m sure there is a cult following out there that appreciates the efforts made what this game really needs is a proper, new edition of the game and it should be drawing on modern design.

Battletech was always more board game than miniature game, but it sort of landed in this odd midway area. It was too complex as a board game and far too light as a miniature game leaving it to live forever in limbo. Still it’s a fantastic franchise and there is real potential here.

The models aren't terrible, but this game could do with a visual upgrade as well.
The models aren’t terrible, but this game could do with a visual upgrade as well.

I personally would love to see it join the ranks of Attack Wing. We have already seen what ground battles can look like in a D&D version, I really think there is some real potential here. Ideally though it would draw inspiration from modern preprinted miniatures, rather just a conversion. Let’s be serious though, we are talking about giant robot battles, I will straight revoke your nerd license if that does not excite you!

What Makes It Tick

Star Wars Armada: What Makes It Tick Part II

In my last article I kicked things off by looking at the Nebulon B and sort of doing a thorough assessment of a single ship. Now part of the reason I did this is because, in as a whole I feel in order to become a good Armada player you really need to look deeply under the hood of every ship, every upgrade, every mechanic etc. in the game. Hopefully that article presented a sufficiently thorough investigation into one ship that might trigger readers to look at others with the same vigor.

My next article in the series I attribute to the relentless ass whooping’s I have received since I started player Armada. Despite all the frustration, confusion and failed attempts at becoming a good Armada player what I have found is that from failure comes the greatest gains. In today’s article we are going to look at some of those lessons. Some of it will be very specific, some very theoretical but for me its all-golden lessons learned through the very gratifying art of utter failure.

Don’t forget to assess your opponents list

This really is one of the most common reasons why I have lost games. I get to the table, excited, full of energy, I just want to get those ships on the table and start the epic strategy I have contrived after days of staring and thinking about my own list. In the end however no matter how you analyze your own list, the reality is that you are not going to win because of your list, you are going to lose because of your opponents.

When facing a commander like Screed you are going to have to adjust your thinking, failing to do so will put you at a huge disadvantage.
When facing a commander like Screed you are going to have to adjust your thinking, failing to do so will put you at a huge disadvantage.

Knowing what your opponents list strategy is, what his individual ships can do, what combo’s and synergy he has and how that affects your list is absolutely vital to know long before you start setting down ships. You have to take the time to look, asses, think and adapt to your opponents list. This tip alone as seemingly obvious as it is, is actually almost never done. Even in tournaments it’s rare for my opponent to even ask me what I have, let alone actually come around the table and take a moment to look. Doing this improves your chances of winning dramatically, don’t ever forget!

Accept the Meta, Embrace The Imbalance

Meta’s always form, whether it’s the general competitive tournament meta, your local game shop or group meta or just casual games between you and your one friend. You have to adapt to the formation of metas and simply accept that in most cases meta’s are formed out of imbalanced elements of the game or more typically perceived imbalances. Players are going to try to find the best, most effective ways to win matches and the foundation of that is always going to be based on select elements of the game due to their efficiency and impact. In a sense this creates exclusion of many components of the game, while creating a sort of automatic selection of others. Not always a terribly fun approach to a game, but ignoring it is really is shooting yourself in the foot. Besides, meta’s change over time and it’s in this constant adjustment where the best players thrive, to be one, so must you.

Is he OP? I don't know, What we do know is that a lot of people are running him and he is part of the meta, so adjust accordingly.
Is he OP? I don’t know, What we do know is that a lot of people are running him and he is part of the meta, so adjust accordingly.

It’s more than just understanding the meta though, its actively building lists and preparing yourself to respond to it. It’s really easy to throw your hands up in the air and proclaim something OP, but the purity and joy of overcoming a challenge by cleverly built lists and executed strategies is a feeling like no other. Challenge yourself to unravel the puzzles the meta presents and find solutions to overcoming it. Not only will you become a superior player but you are going to distinguish yourself because very few people get too far beyond filing complaints on the forums where their tears are collected by better players. If you must bitch, do so among the company of better players who if you are lucky will pat you on the back, offer advice and inspire you to try again.

Squads are vital, Don’t Ignore them

While I think there will always be effective ways to build all sorts of interesting and unique lists that exclude fighter squadrons, I believe they are really a core element of the Armada mechanic at this point. The game is really centered around the assumption that you will have fighters and the way fighter squadrons affect the game is in essence a sort of secondary battle which when resolved will allow the victor to push through to the heart of the main battle quickly turning the tide. In every match of Star Wars Armada I have ever played, in the end, when I asses the game I always come to the same conclusion. Fighter squadrons Impact and contribution is as vital as any capital ship. I have never played a game where squadrons didn’t play a key role in the victory of a game or the minimizing of a loss. Ignore them at your own peril but if you take any wisdom from this article, know that squadrons are like an insurance policy. You might not always need them, but not having them when you do is usually quite devastating.

The secondary battle of any match is the squadron battle, if you don't bring squadrons you don't get to participate. Its like an early Christmas gift to your opponent.
The secondary battle of any match is the squadron battle, if you don’t bring squadrons you don’t get to participate. Its like an early Christmas gift to your opponent.

 

It’s a game of maneuvering, not dice

Oh this is so hard to admit and so difficult to accept, especially for an unlucky bastard like me. It never fails that you pick up a handful of dice, watching the look on your opponent as he awaits his inevitable fate only to find heart ache on the table. The dice gods are cruel and we curse them for their insolence.

Yes, dice do matter but if you end a match and blame the dice for your loss you will never, ever, be a good Armada player. Oh it’s hard, I know, believe me, if anyone has a complaint to file with the dice gods it’s me. In the end however no matter how you analyze, no matter how much you calculate and how much time you spend in church praying, its maneuvering not dice that will lead you to victory.

Dice stats do matter, but if you are basing your strategy on it, your gambling.
Dice stats do matter, but if you are basing your strategy on it, your gambling.

This is first and foremost a game of maneuvering and it’s a rare match indeed that you can’t trace back to tactical maneuvering errors. Sure builds are important, global strategies are important and certainly if you are just rolling blanks things aren’t going to go well. Maneuvering however is the great equalizer, it’s how you deny your opponent opportunities and create them for yourself. There is no better method to improve your game than learning to control the plastic on the table. Getting those ships into their arches, managing ranges, precision timing and the ability to think a turn or two ahead are all priceless skills.

More than that though as you learn to maneuver and become efficient at being exactly where you want to be, it opens doorways to new builds, to understanding advantages of less common ships and equipment and above all else it allows you the luxury of creating more efficiency within your lists as you won’t have to compensate for your own errors.

No question in my mind that if you learn to do nothing else but maneuvering like a pro you WILL win games.

Don’t give up

I’m not referring to Armada in general but specifically matches that have gone badly or turned on you. I have found that in Armada it’s not over until the fat lady sings and while sometimes you can have atrocious setbacks, every new round offers an opportunity for your opponent to make a mistake and you to make a comeback.

I have seen opponents rise from the grave and I have watched my self fall from seemingly impossible heights. If you stick it out, re-asses and continue to look for opportunities you stand a solid chance of finding them and making a comeback and this isn’t just some motivational or inspirational suggestion, it’s an object fact in Star Wars Armada for mechanical reasons.

It’s difficult to explain, I will do my best here. The thing about Armada is that setbacks usually take place for one of two reasons, your opponent executes a well laid plan and it worked, or you made a mistake and gave him an opportunity that he ceased. The thing about Armada is that everything always has a drawback, regardless of how the success was given birth. There is no action you can take that won’t ultimately present consequences for taking it and at its core this is why Armada is so mechanically well balanced.

Whatever advantage a ship has in one round, will be undone because he took that action in the next and this is the part you have to see on the board to understand how you will take advantage of it and turn things around. Every ship in particular has an optimal position that they are trying to get themselves in but ultimately that position will become a liability in future rounds when it has passed. Sure that Demolisher can shoot, move and shoot which can have deadly results for you, but he has to move and that position he is in when the smoke clears, is your new advantage, cease it.

Point here is that everyone eventually has to expose their weakness but it can be hard to see through the tears of a previous disaster, you have to wipe them away and look for the opportunities that result, they are probably staring you right in the face.

Strategy and Planning around the dice

Ok so I already said the game is not about the dice so this may sound contradictory but you do in fact have to have some sort of plan on how to handle dice because they are part of the game. You have to understand the threats and opportunities on the table and those are often represented by the potential of the dice. Here is how I see them.

First and foremost the black and blue dice you have to see as guaranteed hits, meaning when you are planning your strategy just presume whatever amounts of dice are being rolled, that is how many hits you can expect out of blue and black. This is a very statistically inaccurate way to look at it, but if you walk into a match with this belief and you make decisions based on that assumption you are going to be a lot tougher to beat.

Never roll red die at medium or short range, if you do, you’re doing it wrong. Ok again, hardly a realistic assessment, or even realistically possible to do but it’s how you want to see the use of your ships that are focused on red dice. Your job is to play keep away, you want to roll red dice without getting blue or black dice thrown at you from your targets. Clearly an impossible task but again if you approach the game with this attitude you will be a lot tougher to beat.

Always work on the assumption that your opponent will roll better than you. This is my favorite piece of advice because it mentally prepares you for what the game typically feels like even though statistically it’s probably not true. Aggression can and often will be rewarded, but reliance on out rolling your opponent NEVER pays in anyway shape or form. The game is about strategy, not gambling on your ability to roll dice well and don’t trick yourself into calling it “risk”. It’s not risk if you’re praying for good results for yourself and bad results for your opponent. Again, it’s a game about maneuvering so your job is to deny your opponent opportunities first and create them for yourself second. If you create opportunities for yourself while setting up your opponent for his you aren’t creating a strategy, you are worshiping at the altar of luck. Trust me, it’s worse than scientology, it’s a path that leads nowhere.

Finally don’t build lists driven by statistical dice assumptions or explosive possibilities. For example a Salvation with Slaved Turrets and a concentrate fire lets you roll 5 dice. That’s fantastic, but if the only reason you added that ship to your list is because you might get 5 double hit results for a staggering 10 damage be prepared to be disappointed. Don’t build strategies based on rolling dice because dice will disappoint you. Build strategies on consistency, reliability or as part of a larger tactical plan. For example the Salvation might be perfect if combined to be part of a larger strategy in which the reliance is less so on the dice but on the tactical maneuverability and advantage of the Nebulon-B. Rolling 5 dice and getting 10 hits, great!!— if you get them, but if you don’t, your strategy shouldn’t suddenly fall apart as a result.

Its a great card and it can sometimes pay off, but its nothing to hang your hat on.
Its a decent card and it can sometimes pay off, but its nothing to hang your hat on.

The Golden Rule

Ok this is a bit cliché but don’t forget that it’s a game and you are there to have fun. Competitive or casual it makes no difference, if you don’t like the list your running or the strategy you have built you aren’t going to win no matter how well thought out it is if all your trying to do is just get it done so that it’s over. The best players are always the most enthusiastic ones; those that love the game and want to be there win or lose. All and all victory is sweet, but it can leave you bitter if you didn’t enjoy earning it!

I have to admit that I don’t always take my own advice but I’m never surprised to find myself losing a match, then going back and making the stark realization that if I had, I probably would have done a lot better. Still I really believe in the advice presented here, I honestly think that if you follow it you will win more often and enjoy the game a lot more.

Have a great weekend, Nerd out!

What Makes It Tick

Star Wars Armada: What Makes It Tick Part I

The X-Wing what makes it tick articles have been tons of fun to write but right now in my local gaming area it’s really all about Star Wars Armada. I like to write about what I’m thinking about and playing at any given point and since this blog is really my canvas it suits me just fine to write some articles for Star Wars Armada. Now I will admit that I’m a lot less comfortable about putting out what makes it tick articles about Armada than I was about X-Wing because I’m definitely no master of Armada, not that I was in X-Wing either but it was certainly a game I played a ton more before I started writing. I have a couple of tournaments under my belt at this point none the less and while I consider myself “still learning”, there are definitely some conclusions I have come to about the game.

With this first article I’m going to tackle one of the most commonly discussed aspects of Armada for Rebel players. The one that I find myself in discussions about regularly is the value of the Nebulon B ship for the rebels. The discussion is always about effective uses for this ship in a fleet, whether or not it’s worth it point wise and how it can contribute in competitive play. In a recent tournament I participated in out of 10 lists there wasn’t a single Nebulon B other than the one I put in my list, hardly a full analysis of the current meta but it certainly says a lot about the Neb-B’s status in competitive play at least in my area. I thought I would kick off the article series by exploring this rather iconic rebel capital ship.

nebulon-b-escort-frigate nebulon-b-support-refit

The Nebulon B Problem

The Nebulon B is probably the most difficult ship to keep alive over the course of 6 rounds of any ship in the game, in particular when using the Salvation title card which needs to enter the fray to make use of its Title ability. It’s a really strange combination because it has both the best and the worst defenses of any ship in its class as well as the best and worst weaponry of any ship in its class. It also has some real vulnerability to select types of equipment that can just utterly devastate it while being ridiculously effective in select situations. It’s a real quandary, the kind of ship that can be a game changer in some situations and absolutely useless in others.

With 2 brace and 1 evade token it’s a ship that can mitigate damage extremely well under normal circumstances, better than any other in the rebel fleet without any special equipment cards. It has 3 shields when facing with its front arc which is extremely good considering its dirt cheap price. As well that front arc has real potential to do a ton of damage when combined with certain title and equipment cards, it really can out shoot far more expensive ships, in fact it’s been known to out joust victory class destroyers.

For Star Wars fans, the Nebulon-B is an iconic capital ship that draws us to it on theme alone, but how much value does it really have mechanically in the game?
For Star Wars fans, the Nebulon-B is an iconic capital ship that draws us to it on theme alone, but how much value does it really have mechanically in the game?

The problems for the Nebulon B however are its extraordinarily vulnerable side arcs and the fact that in order to leverage that defensive and offensive strength of your front arc you have to be moving towards your enemy which in turn means at some point you are going to have to pass your opponents ships and expose your vulnerable sides. From the sides the Neb-B neither shoots well or defends well. With only 1 shield on its side it goes down shockingly easy once enemy ships set their sights on them and you aren’t going to do a whole lot with 1 red and 1 blue die when shooting even with equipment boosting them. It’s in particular vulnerable to commonly used equipment like Assault Concussion Missiles and Heavy Turbolaser Turrets and let’s not forget squadrons which can melt a Neb-B with very little effort.

This drawback is extremely difficult if not impossible to manage, really in a sense if you want to leverage its firepower you have to see it almost as a suicide ship.

Or do you?

I think in large part the current presumptions about the Nebulon B are largely driven by its miss use tactically and it’s really not surprising since it really functions opposite to everything a Rebel player would learn and understand about maneuvering and tactics with the Rebel fleet. I think Imperial players might have a better understanding of a front loaded ship. It’s a ship that is used in the exact opposite way of every other ship in the rebel arsenal, but more importantly it’s a ship that has extremely specialized uses and combinations that require very special care to both pull off and survive afterwards.

More than that though a Nebulon B ultimately borders on being useless without an investment so if you’re looking at the low cost of the Nebulon B and you are tempted know that a properly fitted and used Nebulon B is going to cost you about as much as a base Assault Frigate. You are far better of taking a Corvette for pretty much any purpose over a naked Nebulon B. So this is the first lesson in the use of the Nebulon B. Never, ever… ever use him naked. Of that I’m 100% certain.

A Nebulon B is only as good as the equipment you put on it and it begins with the Title Cards. There are 3 and as such there are really only 3 versions of the Nebulon B (with some subversions based on those core versions). You have the Salvation, Yavaris and Redemption, not having a title card on a Nebulon B is a waste of points, always, no exceptions.

yavaris salvation redemption

The Versions of The Nebulon-B

There are variations on the Salvation build but typically you are looking to maximize your front arc shooting.

With the Yavaris you are effectively a support carrier, usually supporting specialized squadrons that can really make use of that double attack.

Finally the Redemption turns the Nebulon B into a mobile repair platform and support ship.

The Salvation

The standard tactic of the salvation is to arrive to the fight late shooting at already diminished fleets. By leveraging its doubling effect of the critical hits and the defensive front arc combined with two braces on the approach you have both survivability and considerable damage potential. After you strike you will be flying past the fight using its speed and maneuverability, hopefully using its rear arc and braces to escape and survive.

Putting him in a flanking position on deployment and gaining a Nav token is critical in round 1. You also want to make sure as he enters combat he does so by getting into long range and moving at speed 1 so that your approach is slow. Your primary fleet whatever it is, should already be engaged laying down fire on the enemy and softening up shields so when the Nebulon B gets into range it can attack ships that are already damaged.

Than after a round or two when you are about to clash with enemy ships and you are going to pass, you want to ensure you time it right to get a navigation command to speed up spending the nav token you held on to from round one to go from speed 1 to speed 3 in the same round, adjusting angle to ensure whatever shoots at you, shoots at your rear shields.

Finally making use of your speed 3 and double yaw you want to immediately start U turning yourself back into the fight.

With its side arc facing a Victory Class this Nebulon-B is in a lot of trouble.
With its side arc facing a Victory Class this Nebulon-B is in a lot of trouble.

Sound easy? It’s not, it’s so extremely circumstantial that odds of your Neb B making it out alive is slim to none, especially in a tournament where the Neb-B will be seen as an easy way to score points. The truth is that this first pass is likely to be your last so you have to make it count. There are however benefits to the Neb B being exposed. Someone is going to have to shoot at it and while they are shooting at the Neb B, they aren’t shooting at your other ships. 5 Hull is not that easy to chew through when a ship has two braces either so be sure that while your Neb B is getting ripped apart the rest of your ships are tearing into the enemy fleet and making good use of the redirection of firepower. That said, with certain ships and equipment, the defenses of the Nebulon B are worthless, Assault Concussion Missiles in particular will make short work of a Neb.

The real problem with the salvation as an advantage is that it’s an entirely luck driven advantage and the odds of it going off are not very good considering your investment and the almost certain loss of the ship. Statistically you have a 2 in 8 chance per die to roll a critical hit. Regardless of how many dice you roll, the odds of rolling a critical are offset by having the same odds of rolling a miss. It’s really a wash in that regard so you are really gambling here. Even with a concentrate fire and added turrets your average damage is not going to exceed 3 to 4 unless you get lucky. Not bad if the ship could survive and get more than one or two shots in a fight, but given its vulnerability you really have to question the investment on something so luck driven and ultimately fated to explode.

I don't like to get too mathy, but doesn't take more than a quick glance to realize your chances of rolling a critical are as good as a miss statistically offsetting the Salvation ability to turn Criticals into double hits with an equal chance of missing.
I don’t like to get too mathy, but doesn’t take more than a quick glance to realize your chances of rolling a critical are as good as a miss statistically offsetting the Salvation ability to turn Criticals into double hits with an equal chance of missing.

The Salvation can be a real threat if you roll well, which is true of any ship, but it has absolutely nothing else going for it beyond that and the point investment to make it a threat is about the same as buying a naked Assault Frigate. A naked Assault frigate will last longer in a fight and likely put out more damage than a fully loaded salvation.

I personally believe the Salvation version of the Nebulon-B is the weakest of the three versions for that reason. It’s entirely luck based focus and it’s really inability to help your fleet in any other way make this a gamblers ship.

While there are variations on a typical Salvation build, the most effect one would look something like this.

Nebulon –B Support Refit
Salvation
Intel Officer
Slaved Turrets or Heavy Turbolaser Turrets or XX-9 or XI7 or Turbolaser Reroute Circuits

Which turrets you use will have various effects on different types of lists. Typically you won’t know what you will be facing hence Slaved Turrets are best to simply get extra dice. The combination of Intel Officer and Heavy Turbolaser Turrets is great against the brace heavy empire putting your opponent to a really hard choice. X17’s are great to prevent redirects especially effective against Rebel Assault Frigates counting on those Advanced Projectors. XX-9’s are wonderful for dishing out critical hits, great combined with Dodona in particular if you stick to the strategy of attacking late in a fight. It’s all very good and really up to preference, regardless of which one you choose you need one on the Salivation to really stretch the effectiveness of that one or two attack rolls you are going to get with it before it likely dies.

Intel officer is a great way to make your opponent pay dearly for using defense tokens. The more hard choices your opponent has to make the more likely he is to make a critical mistake.
Intel officer is a great way to make your opponent pay dearly for using defense tokens. The harder choices your opponent has to make the more likely he is to make a critical mistake.

The point of the build is to ensure that when you maneuver into combat you are concentrating fire and rolling at least 4 dice, potentially 5 with salvation effect, intel officer effect and the effect of your laser turret which in combination can (if you’re lucky) be completely devastating especially when firing at a damaged ships. With good timing and maneuvering you will be in a position to do this two rounds back to back before you have to make that very risky pass exposing your side arc.

It’s good to point out that the Neb B can be sacrificed to cause additional damage by crashing into stuff and blocking movement if it’s lucky enough to survive added volleys in subsequent rounds. Suffice to say the suicide salvation can cause a lot of chaos and in a way this can be an effect of its own on the fight.

For me personally though the Salvation is a hard pass, its too many points dumped into a ship that is marked for death, in particular for tournament purposes where points are involved. On average it has been my experience that this ship just has far too little impact on a match to justify. I have never been lucky enough to see it cause the havoc the ability of the Title card suggests its capable of. In short, it looks good on paper, but fails in practice in my opinion.

The Armada battlefield can very quickly become completely chaotic, in an environment like that, the Nebulon-B can easily be picked off. This reality is one of the reasons why the Salvation Nebulon-B in particular is tough to survive with.
The Armada battlefield can very quickly become completely chaotic, in an environment like that, the Nebulon-B can easily be picked off. This reality is one of the reasons why the Salvation Nebulon-B in particular is tough to survive with.

The Redemption

The Redemption build is really built to frustrate your opponent. It’s basically a ship that stays completely out of the fight but has a very noticeable impact on combat results by not only supporting the rest of the fleet with heals and tokens, but also potentially coming into the fight at the end to put those front arcs to use. This makes this version of the Nebulon a lot more versatile.

The strategy is simple. Keep your redemption Nebulon-B out of the fight at a maximum range that you can maneuver from your fleet but remain in range to use your primary ability. Hang back and repair ships that are in the fight while helping to manage the battle with command tokens.

The Nebulon-B is not the only ship that can leverage projection experts, but the Redemption is particularly suited for this task.
The Nebulon-B is not the only ship that can leverage projection experts, but the Redemption is particularly suited for this task.

This strategy is exceptional with Assault Frigates, MC30’s and especially the MC80 which can be rendered nearly invisible with Redemption in range.

The Redemption Build

Nebulon B-Refit
Redemption
Leia Organa Or Raymus Antilles
Projection Experts

The Redemption effect works on you as well as other ships so while its already helping the rest of the fleet by providing 1 more engineering for everyone (because everyone should always be within range 5 of you), it also gives you a total of 4 engineering. Leia Organa is great because you will be spamming engineering tokens hence you can pass an engineering command to ships that take too much heat in the fight regardless of their command level. This allows them to fix themselves in addition to the help you’re going to pass on with Projection Experts.

Projection Experts are going to be passing 2 shields each round and you will use the remaining 2 engineering points to recover 1 shield giving you a net loss of 1 shield each time you use it. In the first round you are going to pick up an engineering token so the first time you pass 2 shields you can recover them both with an engineering command and the token. It will take several rounds to really deplete the Nebulon B and frankly it really shouldn’t need them because it should be well away from the fighting anyway.

The alternative here is to use Raymus Antilles, which effectively allows you to pass 2 shields and recover 2 shields every round. I prefer Leia because you get more overall healing to you primary fleet by passing engineering commands. The Neb-B losing a couple of shield over the course of the match is really no big deal, besides it makes for a cheaper build.

Imagine the scenario here. You have an Assault Frigate that has its side shields down and 2 damage on the hull. The redemption kicks in with an engineering command. Leia changes the assault frigates command to engineering. Redemption passes 2 shields to the Assault frigates side, then the redemption recovers 1 of its shields. Then the Assault frigate acts. It has an engineering command, with 4 engineering it removes 1 damage and shifts one of its shields to the side arc from an unexposed area. Suddenly a ship with no shields on its side and 2 damage has 3 shields and 1 damage. If you take an engineering token with the Assault Frigate early, the recovery from the initial engagement can be even better.

With 2 shields coming from redemption and 2 more that it can produce itself, the MC080 becomes an insane tank even without any defensive equipment.
With 2 shields coming from redemption and 2 more that it can produce itself, the MC080 becomes an insane tank even without any defensive equipment.

It’s extremely effective and frustrating for your opponent to watch all that damage get recovered. The redemption should really be called the demoralizer because that’s really the effect it has. This build is definitely approved, it’s easy to use, works reliability and best of all it doesn’t require to put the Nebulon-B in harm’s way.

The Yavaris

The Yavaris is a force multiplier and itself can be an amazing support ship, but requires expert skill (which I don’t have) to use. In fact, I would say avoid using her until you really get the hang of managing squadrons because to use Yavaris you have to understand how to do that well in addition to all the specialized consideration of getting her effect to really pay off. One small error in judgement with this ship and your delicately balanced build will cluster fuck into oblivion.

Yavaris should only be used with named pilots, that’s the first piece of advice. It’s an expensive toy on the board and you want to make sure whatever squads will get those double attacks will be able to maximize their impact on the field. An exception might be B-Wings.

The real trick to Yavaris is to understand that it’s a support carrier not your main carrier and in most fleets that use Yavaris, it should be a late arrival ship. You want those two or three fighters that it’s supporting to come late into a fight to shoot at ships that are already damaged to sort of finish them off. This is for two reasons.

Luke Skywalker is one good choice for Yavaris, but think about how much damage this guy can do with a double shot.
Luke Skywalker is one good choice for Yavaris, but think about how much damage this guy can do with a double shot.

First it’s because the Yavaris is still a Nebulon B, which means you have to soft side arcs and since your managing squadrons you are likely to be put in a position to expose those arcs when you commit to ensure you are in the position you need to be to manage fleets. So you want to come in late into a fight to make a less tempting target. The second reason is that typically the squadrons Yavaris supports are going to have black dice and be bombers, so you want to be throwing those dice against ships with their shields down so that when you roll a critical hit it takes rather than bouncing.

That means that you need other fighter screens and ships capable of managing those squadrons to be up front keeping your Yavaris and its precious squadrons safe. It’s all very complicated and I feel inept here, I don’t feel comfortable really advising on tactics using this ship because either the Stars have to align for this work, or you have to be a fucking maneuvering tactical ace. In fact, it’s precisely because it’s so complicated to use that I don’t use it. At least not yet.

There are variations on the build as well and it’s hard to say which is best, I suppose it comes down to price.

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate (always for the 2 squadron command)
Adar Tallon or Raymus Antilles
XX-9 Turbo Laser (optional)

You must always take the Escort for the extra squad command and the 2 Anti-Fighter attacks. This will help you to clear for your squadrons if need be and of course to allow you to manage a minimum of 2 named squadrons.

Adar Tallon is really good as it can get you a 3rd attack with one of the squadrons in later actions or the squadron phase, this can be in particularly deadly if you combo it with Luke Skywalker for example. Personally I think it’s a little too pricey just to squeeze out one more attack. Raymus Antilles is the better choice in my opinion, it allows you to pick up much needed navigation tokens, extra squad commands and if you actually do get a firing solution you get that extra re-roll. He just works well with anything really. You can also do without either for a cheaper build and I actually think that might be the best version. After all, it’s a Neb B and you will be putting it in harm’s way so it getting blown up is a real possibility, quite likely really.

The XX-9’s are optional but personally I think they are just perfect if you adhere to the rest of the strategy here. You are coming in late, you have squadrons doing double damage on your target during squad activation hopefully by the time you get to the shooting phase the shields your shooting at are going to be down. It can be a real finisher and it’s quite cheap.

Conclusion

I firmly believe that the Nebulon-B is a very difficult ship to use well, but in a sense Star Wars Armada battles are all about risk vs. reward management. There are few guarantees and anything you put on the table is going to have its drawbacks. The Nebulon-B when fitted with purpose and used to good effect, sometimes with a bit of luck can be a real game changer. It never ceases to surprise me how something as seemingly insignificant like a well-timed Engineering Token, or well-orchestrated maneuver can quite literally mean the difference between a crushing defeat and an overwhelming victory. Star Wars Armada can really swing and ships like the Nebulon-B that are well equipped can really turn the tide of a battle.

Still that said, of all the ship in the Rebel arsenal I think the Nebulon-B comes with the greatest risk of backfiring on you. It’s a very unforgiving ship, one small mistake and your toast which is why I typically use it very sparingly. It’s certainly not a ship to build your entire list around, but it’s cost effective enough to splash in there for an extra boost in very specialized areas.

I have very little confidence in luck based mechanics so of all the Neb-B builds, I think the Salvation is perhaps the riskiest but provides perhaps the greatest reward while the Redemption is undoubtedly the most reliable yet pays in moderate dividends. In a way that is the center of balance for the Nebulon-B, it really runs the spectrum of risk vs. reward. Amidst there you also have the Yavaris which I think is perhaps the most specialized and most difficult to use ship and again, I think this is a nice feature as it gives players who get deeper into the game and have more confidence an option to take on some more complex builds that use more complex tactics.

I whole heartedly disagree with the current Meta assessment that the Nebulon-B is somehow useless or doesn’t carry its value. It really offers something for every type of player, whether you like reliable low risk ships, if you’re a high risk gambler or if you are looking for a deeper tactical challenge. The Nebulon-B fits the bill for all three types of players, giving everyone something it can be used for and I think that makes it a really great ship in the Rebel fleet.

I doubt I hit on every point here with the Nebulon-B but hopefully there is sufficient information here to give my readers something new to try with the ship. Good luck in your battles and keep an eye out for future What Makes It Tick articles for Star Wars Armada.