The UK Nationals (or Birmingham Regionals depending on your views) was held only days ago and drew in a fantastic showing of fifty players. This is fairly consistent with previous years, and UK Nationals often seems to end up like a second European Championship.

I’m always grateful to our field operatives for passing on the fleet information needed for these reports, but especially here! UK Nationals has a reputation of being a real testing bed (by global standards) when it comes to list design. Plus, with five rounds of Swiss and a top two cut its a strong acid test of any fleet, so I love seeing what comes out of it.

1. James Parker – 39pts

The part that I dislike about any European tournament however, is trying to talk about players that I have absolutely no idea about.

It’s my fault, not theirs. Every player has their own story, I just generally have a better handle on those outside of Europe.

With this preface in mind, what can I say about James?

Well by all accounts he has had consistently strong showings at Regionals in the UK and at previous Nationals so this result comes as no surprise to those that do know him.

He also has a nice forearm.

Beautiful.

With that out of the way, lets check out his fleet.

ISD-II

Admiral Motti, Agent Kallus, Gunnery Team, Quad Laser Turrets, Early Warning System, XI7 Turbolasers, Leading Shots

ISD-II

Strategic Adviser, Gunnery Team, Quad Laser Turrets, Early Warning System, XI7 Turbolasers, Leading Shots

Gozanti

Comms Net

Gozanti

Comms Net

Mauler Mithel

Most Wanted, Contested Outpost, Solar Corona

394pts

James list is in many ways a combination of old school Motti list design with the newer iterations of anti-squadron tech. The 2+2 (2 ISDs, 2 Goz) is the quintessential dual ISD list. Invariably the Gozantis are packing Comms Net and their entire role is to palm tokens to the big guys, pad activations, and nobly go to their doom to block a lethal enemy ship. For 50pts the only better bang for your buck in ships is from the GR-75 equivalent.

The big guys here are interesting in the sense that they are representative of an attacking style that was common in the very early days of Armada, namely, a consistent wearing down of an opponent rather than one or two intense damage spikes. Speaking of which, two ISD-IIs will just grind an opponent down. Sure, 4 Red, 4 Blue, might not be as sexy as a bunch of re-rollable black dice where your opponent has no defence tokens. But if you’re getting hit by that twice a turn (and it’s average damage is about 6ish pre-brace), and you can’t redirect effectively because of XI7s? Yeah, you’re going to feel it.

Overall, James list looks to be countering two key archetypes – spike damage dealers and squadrons. The spikes are dealt with by having a stronger chin. Trying to destroy a Motti ISD, with a well placed EWS, and in one pass is a very tall order. You’ll almost certainly be able to jack it up considerably, but odds are it’s able to hang on and limp away unless you have another finisher nearby. Equally, squadrons attacking the big boys can be funnelled and de-fanged through EWS management, and then ground down by up to 5 blue dice a turn (2 from each ISD, plus counter from a quad, plus a dice of any colour if they’re a unique from Kallus).

Mauler Mithel looks to be a cheeky way of getting that extra point of massed plinking damage, and as a throw away distraction.

I really wish I knew what the complete suite of objectives actually is in this list, as I feel with only a six points bid (in the context of the renowned European penchant for extreme bidding) that James, unlike the rest of the top five, would have been playing second more often than not and would have probably planned to be doing so.

My gut tells me though that James’ fleet would be using objectives, like Contested Outpost, that score points to really exacerbate the fortress nature of this list. There’s very little to squeeze from it that isn’t a large angry space triangle, and those angry triangles can really take a hell of a punch.

[Note: So turns out James other objectives were Most Wanted and Solar Corona. Most Wanted is unsurprising, it makes the ISDs even more threatening and turns the target ship into a giant points pinata at the risk of a Gozanti being worth 48pts. That’s a trade I’d make every day of the week. Solar Corona is more interesting. It’s been a mainstay of big ship fleets for a very long time because of how it offsets their innate lack of deployments. With the dominance of squadron fleets, this made a lot of sense as it allowed them to counterdeploy and target their opponent’s carriers. Increasingly though, I think Solar Corona is an objective that deserves some consideration before it’s included. Nowadays there are more and more fleets that either don’t particularly mind being out-deployed (other dual ISD lists for example) or ignore the problem altogether (Raddus lists)].

2. Sam Ledwich – 38pts

Sam is the gentleman on the left and, as you can tell by his shirt, a member of the Eagle Squadron in the UK. If he’s anything like his compatriot, Strategic Adviser Marcus, which for the sake of argument I’m going to assume he is, then he’s got to be one hell of a guy and one hell of an Armada player. [Note: Turns out James is another Eagle Squadron member, fantastic showing for the boys].

Seeing as he finished second after Swiss at this years UK Nationals, than surely both of those things must be true (I’m sure that logic holds up).

Much like James though, Sam is well regarded by those that know him and is a fine player. At minimum he definitely seems to have had a much better day in the office this time around, compared to Euros where he finished 32nd.

ISD-I

Admiral Motti, Flight Controllers, Expanded Hangar Bays, Boosted Comms

ISD-Kuat

Avenger, Boarding Troopers, External Racks, Leading Shots, Reinforced Blast Doors

Morna Kee, Maarek Steele, Ciena Ree, Mauler Mithel, Colonel Jendon

?, ?, ?

381pts

This list is a perfect example of why I love seeing what comes out of European tournaments because it’s just different to what I’m used to seeing. I think people, even really high level players, have a tendency to assume that if it isn’t what they’re doing then it’s wrong. I personally believe that you should assume every region is playing any competitive game as competitively as you are. Sam’s list therefore tells me that two ship ISD builds can be extremely effective. That’s exciting.

Even more so than James’ list, Sam’s list relies on its Motti hull and the innate chin of the ISD to tank the damage it needs to.

I find so many elements of Sam’s list to be interesting, he’s rocking a pure carrier ISD-I build alongside a very stripped down squad build. My assumption is that he’s looking to dominate the skies quickly, and then the anti-ship damage comes from Morna Kee and the Super Best Friends. I can see that squad build doing very well, but I can also seeing it get bogged down by other squad balls, and I really suspect that Sam’s squadron management must be seriously on point to get that thing humming like he obviously has.

That’s effectively one half of his list. The other half is a quintessential BTAvenger. It’s a Kuat, with External Racks, and Leading Shots. It’s going to roll in, neuter your two best tokens, and then absolutely unload on you with front (and probably side arc). Again, what’s interesting here is the calibre of play that Sam’s list design tends to suggest. That BTAvenger doesn’t have Pryce, so with a two ship build it’s rolling in and then absolutely taking whatever the enemy can throw it. Plus, it means that often times it’s intended target will get to move afterwards. So this ship has to roll in, tank a shit tonne of damage AND Sam has to be on point with calling where the opponent’s ships will be? Damn, dude.

The one offset here is that with a 19pt bid, you tend to assume that he will be first player most of the time. With RBDs in tow, that Kuat is going to engage and try and weather the storm before absolutely kicking your teeth in.

I can dig it.

3. Tom MacArthur – 37pts

Tom appears to be the best player in Europe at finishing just outside the Top Cut.

He came in sixth at Euros where it was a Top 4 cut, so, naturally, came 3rd at UK Nationals where it was a Top 2 cut.

Before anyone thinks that’s an insult, let’s consider the fact that across two 5+ round tournaments, with a combined attendance of over hundred, Tom’s average is Top 5. That sort of consistency speaks to an incredibly talented player.

ISD-Kuat

Moff JerJerrod, Strategic Adviser, Electronic Countermeasures, Leading Shots, External Racks, Avenger, Boarding Troopers

GSD-I

Demolisher, Intel Officer, Engine Techs, Ordnance Experts, Assault Proton Torpedos

Raider-I

Raider-I

Gozanti

Hondo Ohnaka, Comms Net

Gozanti

Comms Net

Most Wanted, Planetary Ion Cannon, Navigational Hazards

391pts

Tom’s list looks to be operating with the completely opposite strategy to Sam’s. It isn’t going to stand there and wear your punches, because frankly with seven activations and JJ powered turns, it’s just not going to be where you can punch it.

This fleet is like a fighter that bobs and weaves out of harms way before coming in with a vicious upper-cut.

Once again we see the ever helpful 50ish points of Gozantis token palming, activation padding, and lining up targets for a sucker punch.

Points. Well. Spent.

Hondo, as always, is very nice for providing the squadron token to Avenger for BT triggering purposes.

Two completely naked Raider-Is seems akin to the inclusion of naked Hammerheads in lists we saw coming out of Worlds. Relatively cheap, throw-away units, that can be used to block, to chase down or threaten targets, and are still slinging a nice amount of dice even if its unmodified. Part of me wonders if Tom used them to help screen squadrons with that double black dice, but truthfully I can’t be sure.

The Demo here is a classic model. This is the Demolisher of yesteryear that is built to absolutely ruin enemy ships, though that comes at the cost of survivability in the modern era of play. Still, it’s undeniably lethal when applied correctly, and I suspect with seven activations and a decent-ish bid that was the case more often than not.

BTAvenger would do BTAvenger things.

It would have been very interesting to know what objectives were in play for this list and the one that follows. They’re both in that interesting bid range of 7-10 where they should have a semi-decent chance of getting initiative, but equally in the European meta they could still be expecting to go second a lot depending on matchups, and therefore their objectives would really matter.

[Note: With Tom’s objectives now in hand, it’s certainly an interesting bunch. Most Wanted is a real no-brainer for obvious reasons. PIC and Navigational Hazards I find to be interesting choices though. I’m a real sucker for Contested Outpost as I think there is very few lists where it’s not a good choice, but Hyperspace Assault would also have proven to be a better choice I feel given his lethal Demo. I can see the logic behind Navigational Hazards given the maneuverability of his fleet with JJ, but its the kind of objective that your opponent can deny if they’re wily or clever, for mind Salvage Run, with an almost guaranteed 80pts for this six ship list, would have been far more effective.]

At any rate I think one of its key aspects for dealing with second is the interaction of seven activations and an aggressive style Demolisher. With this in mind, he almost certainly would have the final activation, and with a Demolisher tooled up to lay down the hurt he can effectively get the first strike from a second player position.

4. Przemyslaw “Przemo” Paluszynski – 37pts

Remember how I was just talking up Tom for consistency?

Yeah, well Przemo has now come third during the Swiss at Euros (and was second after the cut) and fourth at UK Nationals.

Boy oh boy y’all got some good players over in Europe.

CR90B

Admiral Raddus, Hondo Ohnaka

MC-75 Ordnance Cruiser

Lando Calrissian, Ordnance Experts, Early Warning System, Assault Proton Torpedos, External Racks, Profundity

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette

Ordnance Experts, External Racks

GR-75

Bright Hope

GR-75

Quantum Storm

Jan Ors, VCX-100, 5x YT-2400

Most Wanted, Planetary Ion Cannon, Intel Sweep

393pts

This list looks to be exactly the same as what Przemo was running at Euros so I’m going to assume that the objectives were the same (though that could be wrong) [Note: It was not].

What I said about this fleet during my analysis of it following Euros still holds true, though I increasingly question the EWS if only because of the extreme abundance of other large ships by the looks of things.

Lots of great spotters, and an effective squadron ball that can put up a stiff fight for even the heaviest squad builds or just as easily start bombing the heck out of an opponent.

Profundity dropping off a Hammerhead is just really, really nice.

5. Jakub Charmo – 37pts

Now I’ve seen Jakub’s name spelt both with a ‘u’ and with an ‘o’, so if I’ve gotten it wrong I do apologise.

Let’s talk about another thing I’ve heard on the grapevine. Seems the Charm is Polish.

I’m just going to leave this here:

ISD-II

Moff JerJerrod, Avenger, Boarding Troopers, XI7 Turbolasers, Leading Shots, Strategic Adviser, Early Warning System

GSD-I

Demolisher, Assault Proton Torpedos, Captain Brunson, Ordnance Experts, Engine Techs

Raider-II

Veteran Gunners, Heavy Ion Emplacements, Disposable Capacitors

Gozanti

Comms Net

Gozanti

Suppressor, Slicer Tools

?, ?, ?

384pts

So with a 16pt bid Jakub isn’t mucking around, he’s looking to go first in most of his engagements, and most of the time that should be the case.

Two gozantis once again, though this time one of them trades in the ubiquitous comms net for Suppressor and Slicer Tools. A very handy inclusion that helps minimise the lack of any sort of squadron screen should he run into a heavy squadron fleet.

The Demolisher here is the exact build I would be running if I was putting it on the table. To be fair though, pretty much every upgrade on Demolisher has been largely standardised barring the Officer slot. Captain Brunson, with her insanely good damage reduction is just too attractive an option in my mind and it seems Jakub feels the same way.

Another BTAvenger in tow, this time on an ISD-II platform, a some what interesting choice given the role of BTAvenger, but it does make it a more reliable platform overall.

Really, the one interesting inclusion is that Raider-II. With Veteran Gunners, HIEs, D-Caps, and I’m assuming a timely con-fire command, it’s clearly all about fishing for those shield stripping criticals at long range. I actually rate it more than I thought I would, it feels like that Raider will punch above its weight and really soften up a target before Avenger and Demo come in and finish the job.

The Top Cut

The top cut saw James and Sam square off. With his high bid and low activations, Sam rather unsurprisingly took first player and elected to take Contested Outpost.

Without knowing what other options were in play, I do find the choice of Contested Outpost to be a questionable one. I feel like the thinking on Sam’s end would be that it clearly telegraphs where James’ ISDs were going to be, and that his intention was to push James off the Station. Because Sam’s fleet relies on its chin, and is outranged by James’ ISD-IIs that feels like a mistake to me, as it forces Sam to engage lest he allow James to rack up the tokens.

[Note: Now knowing the other two options in play, Most Wanted and Solar Corona, I definitely think Contested Outpost was a mistake. Avoiding Most Wanted makes plenty of sense, however I really think Solar Corona was the best option available here for the reasons listed above].

As it happened, Sam’s ISDs charged forward and were just ground down by James consistent fire. Sam’s squads went to work on James’ ISDs, but in the end it was not to be.

Congratulations to James!

Final Thoughts

So the first thing to talk about with this top five is the style of fleet on display. This is an Imperial heavy top end of town, and there are a lot of big ships – a far cry from squadron heavy, small ship, Rebels that have been prevalent elsewhere.

One of the real interesting pieces of data to come out of UK Nationals though was the Admiral breakdown of the entire tournament:

Rebels

Raddus – 6

Dodonna – 6

Ackbar- 5

Rieekan – 3

Madine – 2

Sato – 2

Imperials

Vader – 12

Motti – 5

Thrawn – 2

Screed – 2

JerJerrod – 2

Sloane – 1



So first off, Rebels were evenly represented with their Imperial brethren, but this time were not able to dominate the top of the podium. A refreshing change to be sure!

Leaving Rebels aside though, lets talk about those Imperial admirals. The obvious talking point is the abundance of Darth Vader and the almost non-existent presence of Admiral Sloane. Vader is a really interesting one, because despite making up nearly a quarter of the field he did not place inside the Top 5, one has to wonder as to why that was the case, especially when you consider that both of the JerJerrod players made it into the Top 5.

With Sloane I really do feel like we’re seeing the after effects of a post-FAQ meta and the ramifications of the new tabling rules. Though I must admit it was startlingly to see how fast she has fallen out of favour, and it will be interesting if that trend continues.

Once again, the candle burns low, and my ability to string coherent sentences together is waning, so that will be all for today!

– Intel Officer Luke