I’m definitely long overdue on this report, my agents in the field sent me the data I needed over two weeks ago! Thank you to both Daniel and Jakub for making sure I was given the fleet lists I needed to do the write-up and semi-sincere apologies for taking so long. It’s sincere because I genuinely didn’t want to take this long to do my report, it’s semi-sincere because you know…

This report is an especially exciting one to go through though as it presents an insight into a very talented and enigmatic meta:

Poland.

So the tournament structure for Polish Nationals was 5 rounds of Swiss dropping to a Top 4 single elimination cut. Polish Nationals had 32 players (with 2 drops across the tournament). As is to be expected the skill level of all players was apparently very high.

1. Piotr “Swietlik” Swietlicki – 43pts (First After Swiss)

Swietliki (if my Google Translating is correct) is Polish for “the Fireflies”, and Piotr’s nickname “Swietlik” is therefore “Firefly”.

A: That’s badass. B: It seems like he lived up to his name because Piotr lit his competition up.

I make no apologies for that joke.

You might recognise the Firefly from that time he won Euros this year.

Now I’m no expert but it seems like Swietlik is pretty damn good at Star Wars: Armada.

ISD-II

Governor Pryce, Electronic Countermeasures, Flight Controllers, Expanded Hanger Bay, Avenger, Leading Shots

Raider-I

Admiral Sloane, Hondo Ohnaka

Gozanti

Comms Net

Gozanti

Maarek Steele, Colonel Jendon, Mauler Mithel, 4x TIE Phantom, JumpMaster 5000

Advanced Gunnery, Fighter Ambush, Superior Positions

396pts

Super interesting list. While the nuts and bolts are very different when you get down to it, I can’t help but wonder if the Firefly took any inspiration from Ginkapo’s Euros list (which he played and beat on his road to winning the tournament), particularly considering how unpopular Phantoms have been as a rule.

Going through the list: the Gozantis do Gozanti things (though I really think the comms net for a squadron token is especially nice in this list to allow Avenger to be able to command 6 squadrons) and it feels like the Raider is just there to lifeboat Sloane and prevent tabling. Sure you could use the Raider in a pinch if needed, but I don’t think that’s its role. Hondo though is again nice for the squadron token (presumably coming after the Pryce turn where he wants to activate the ISD as his first activation the next turn).

Really the meat and potatoes of this list though is the ISD-II / Squadron combo. The ISD-II is just such a reliable platform on all fronts, and with its blue / red dice has such a lethal threat range.

My suspicion is the Firefly wants to hug his squadrons around the ISD, and let you roll into medium range of its guns on the turn that it uses Governor Pryce. It will then activate last and unload six squadrons into you (the ideal case being Maarek, Jendon, and the 4x Phantoms), before shooting while ignoring your key defence tokens. If you’re still around after that it will then do it again the very next activation he gets.

Back of the envelope math suggests that while they are high variance the Phantoms should be doing the same amount of damage as a black dice bomber (it’s harder to quantify the impact on expected damage from the Sloane accuracies, but it’s significant). Maarek and Jendon are lethally effective as always. That’s a brutal punch into any ship.

The JumpMaster and Expanded Hanger Bay really suggests that Swietlik wants to stay tight to his ISD and using Intel to ignore his opponents squadrons if he needs to. The inclusion of Mauler Mithel and Flight Controllers though, also gives this list some fairly substantial anti-squadron power.

The objectives are probably the best choices in each of their categories (though I could be talked very easily into Contested Outpost as the yellow objective). Overall I think this list is a very strong usage of an admiral that has been significantly less popular since the release of Wave 7, and I also think looking ahead that this list would be very, very problematic for an SSD list to deal with.

2. Daniele De Gemini – 36pts (Third After Swiss)

I know that Daniele was an Italian visitor to Polish Nationals, and that his name is “of Gemini”. Beyond that I’m stumped.

Quasar-II

Moff JerJerrod, Squall, Ruthless Strategists, Boosted Comms

Arquitens Light Cruiser

Turbolaser Reroute Circuits, Centicore, Captain Needa

Raider-I

Ordnance Experts, Agent Kallus, External Racks

Gozanti

Bomber Command Centre

Gozanti

“Mauler” Mithel, Lambda Shuttle, Tempest Squadron, JumpMaster 5000, 8x TIE Bombers

Precision Strike, Fire Lanes, Superior Positions

398pts

My gut reaction is that I really don’t know what to make of this list. On the one hand, Imperial’s without a large ship (or a tanky medium) have really struggled this wave in favour of LMSU thanks to the inclusion of Strategic Adviser. On the other hand, it looks pretty solid and it’s done really well after 5 rounds of Swiss and 2 rounds of cut. I think baseline, I’m somewhat leery of the fleet design as I worry that its ships can be bullied very easy, however I also think that’s probably my personal tastes shining through.

So, unsurprisingly, everything seems to be fairly geared around the 12 squadrons. With 8 TIE Bombers there is a lot of hull to chew through, which combos very well with the red-dice flak ruthless strategists on the Quasar-II. Mauler Mithel and the JumpMaster contribute some very strong auto damage potential (which is powerful in its own right, but rolls especially well with the auto damage of RS) and the Shuttle opens up some nice objective play.

Moff JerJerrod was, I thought at first, an interesting choice. But Jerry really allows Daniele’s ships to be happily setting their dials to squadron commands while still having a good amount of maneuver flexibility.

Gozantis Gozanti it up. The Quasar pretty similarly would fly close enough that its Red flak / RS bubble was relevant but otherwise would endeavour to stay out of harms way and keep those bombers bombing.

I really suspect that the Raider is a classic squadron shepherd. A ship you hug your squadrons around, or move in support of your squads, and say “Come after my squads and you’re going to cop two re-rollable black dice”. Squads would probably likewise stay close-ish to Centicore to allow its ability to proc. Centicore itself is there to provide annoyingly reliable amounts of damage and finish off damaged ships.

The objectives make an inordinate amount of sense, my only quibble is that other squadron builds can easily make use of them (though obviously that’s hard to avoid!).

My main concerns with the fleet really centres around the fact that it’s 5 activations without a Large ship. These days most fleets can hit 4-5 activations with a large. So if you’re not out-activating them, and you’re not outmuscling them, an MSU player can quickly find themselves forced into an unenviable position. The other question mark I have is what the squadrons do when they’re up against something that has a comparable amount of hull (a situation which occurred to me during our Regional season).

[Equal] 3. Jakub “Kubbek” Charmo – 37pts (Second After Swiss)

Attempting to learn very small parts of Polish with y’all nicknames has been surprisingly fun. Best I can tell Kubbek is a play on a pet form of Jakub (Kuba) in the same way Bill is to William or Dick is to Richard in English. Either that or it means ‘Cup’.

I didn’t claim to be good at Polish.

Kubbek, you may recall, just fell short of the cut at UK nationals (where he finished 5th) and his list is unchanged from that outing.

ISD-II

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

GSD-I

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

Raider-II

Heavy Ion Emplacements, Veteran Gunners, Disposable Capacitors

Gozanti

Slicer Tools, Suppressor

Gozanti

Comms Net

Advanced Gunnery, Fire Lanes, Intel Sweep

384pts

Having reviewed my comments about this list that I made after UK Nationals, I largely stand by them.

With a 16pt bid, Kubbek really is looking to be first and (outside the notoriously insane UK meta) he should get it the majority of the time.

The two Gozantis, Gozanti it up but the Suppressor Slicer Tools is especially important as it really helps offset his lack of any squadron screen.

I still am of the view that this particular style of Demolisher is the best currently available. Demolisher is a ship that needs to be able to close with the enemy, and survive long enough to deliver its payload. Engine Techs are often one of the first things on the chopping block when points are tight. I personally think leaving them home is a massive mistake. Similarly, Demolisher’s main problem these days is its survivability (or relative lack thereof), being able to cancel a die with Captain Brunson dramatically improves its chances of hanging around and should really be strongly considered for any Demolisher build.

I really want to see how Kubbek flies that Raider. I feel the DCaps / HIEs Raider II should be strong, in theory, but Raiders can be very underwhelming if flown poorly. Having a long-range (at least for one round) ship that can really soften up a target helps this list considerably though.

I’m more approving of the ISD-II now then I was after UK Nationals. Sure it might get out spiked by a Kuat, but man the combination of range and reliability is really hard to go past. My only quibble on it is I would still probably prefer ECMs to EWS. Obviously it’s a meta call by Kubbek that heavy squadrons are more of a threat than spike damage from ships, but I always get nervy about it for those big ship vs big ship match ups.

Kubbek’s objectives strike me again as a meta call, basically Kubbek wants to be playing first and the assumption is that if he isn’t playing first its because someone has bid higher than he has. Kubbek has then assumed that if someone has bid higher than he has, that they’re very unlikely to have strategic which should make all of his objectives very strong. In general I think its a very good way of choosing objectives for a list like this, and I think his three objectives are very strong indeed. My only concern is that designing your list this way tends to lock you into being first. Might be an edge case consideration but sometimes it can be helpful to have the choice of going second if needed.

[Equal] 3. “Nairod” – 35pts (Fourth After Swiss)

So “Nairod” requested that only his nickname be used / given, and unlike previous tournaments where this has been the case he even gave in his nickname for tournament purposes.

The meaning and origin of “Nairod” escape me. The only thing of note from travails is that there is an electronic ambient dark synthwave artist based out of Paris who also goes by the name of Nairod. His stuff is up on Bandcamp and it was actually pretty enjoyable to have on in the background whilst writing this article.

VSD-I

Warlord, H9 Turbolasers, Ruthless Strategists, Boosted Comms, Ordnance Pods, Agent Kallus

Quasar-II

Admiral Motti, Pursuant, Captain Brunson, Ruthless Strategists, Boosted Comms

Gozanti

Bomber Command Centre, Boosted Comms

Gozanti

Comms Net

Dengar, Major Rhymer, Valen Rudor, Tempest Squadron, Black Squadron, 7x TIE Bombers

Precision Strike, Fighter Ambush, Superior Positions

397pts

Another spin on the Ruthless Strategists focused build, though this drops from 5 activations to 4 to get a second medium based ship into the fleet. In terms of the core idea of the fleet, clearing the skies quickly with RS and then bombing away, I think this one does it better than Daniele’s purely because it potentially has access to multiple layers of RS a turn. The flak potential off the VSD in particular is kind of insane between the Warlord, H9s, Agent Kallus, RS, and Ordnance Pods wombo-combo (particularly against unique squadrons).

The Gozantis Gozanti it up as they always do, and again the Quasar probably wants to hang back as much as it can. Captain Brunson is always solid for keeping fragile ships on the table, and Pursuant helps offset the fact that Nairod has gone with Admiral Motti.

Motti probably makes the most sense as admiral for this list due to both making the VSD and Quasar a fair ways tougher and because of his cheap cost. I don’t really see any other Imperial admiral I would prefer.

12 Squadrons is so good, there’s just something to be said for putting that many squads on the board. However, were it me, I’d probably drop to 11 squads and combine Valen Rudor and Black Squadron into Mauler Mithel. I just think if you’re going down the RS route as an Imperial, and you already have Intel in the squad ball, you can’t go past Mauler’s auto damage.

Objectives are solid, again though we see my concern about taking squad focused objectives in a squad heavy meta (and I say this as someone who does exactly that!). Would have been very interesting if Daniele and Nairod had matched up per my comments earlier as they have comparable amounts of hull and similar overall strategies.

5. Dawid “Czart” Czartoszewski – 34pts

Dawid’s nickname, have to give it to him, is pretty bad ass. If you’ve played the Witcher series its the Polish form of Chort (basically a demon). Apparently Polish mythology has him as a shapeshifter who tricks people into giving him their soul and / or is tricked by people into doing work for them.

As best as I can tell, Czartoszewski is basically “Demon Shoemaker”. I mean no wonder the Poles are good at Armada, I feel with a last name like “Demon Shoemaker” you have a lot to live up to.

Assault Frigate MkII B

Adar Tallon, Gallant Haven, Electronic Countermeasures, Flight Controllers, Boosted Comms

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate

Yavaris, Fighter Coordination Teams, Flight Commander

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette

General Dodonna

GR-75

Bright Hope, Bomber Command Centre

GR-75

Comms Net

Nym, Jan Ors, Ten Numb, VCX-100, 2x X-Wings, 2x Y-Wings

Most Wanted, Planetary Ion Cannon, Minefields

399pts

Czart’s list is quite reminiscent of the Gallant Haven builds that really had their heyday in 2016 and 2017. In general, that was a very strong archetype and there’s a lot to like in this spin on it.

Yavaris is just such a strong game piece. We all know what it does, and how effectively it can do it. I personally am of the view that Flight Commander is an upgrade that should be stapled onto Yavaris. It allows Yavaris to hang back that little bit longer and / or re-position to pick up different squads, which can often make all the difference. I’m a lot more sceptical towards the Fighter Coordination Teams following the Yavaris / FCT nerf, byut I can see the value of them.

The Hammerhead is very similar in role to the Raider in Swietlik’s list. It lifeboats the admiral, makes the list harder to table, and can make an aggressive close range pass on a target should it be required.

The GR-75s do the flotilla thing. I personally would have shifted Adar Tallon over to one of the flotillas as I think his presence on the Assault Frigate puts a huge target over its head.

Gallant Haven is an interesting call over all and since its nerf it has really fallen by the way side at major events. I think there’s some negative synergy with the upgrade suite here (the squads want to be close to Gallant Haven, so I question whether it needs boosted comms for example) but its still pretty solid.

The squad comp, for me, is the most interesting part of this list. Ten Numb and Yavaris go together like gin and tonic. In addition, the VCX is nice for both the strategic shennanigans and the relay for Yavaris. The rest of it though is certainly, from my perspective, not the current norm (at least not together at any rate).

Nym with Yavaris could be downright devastating. I really like it but I just wish Toryn was in here somewhere to make that threat more reliable. 2 X-Wings and Jan are clearly designed to give this squadron ball some ablative shielding, though I question the effectiveness of that in a world of Mauler Mithels, Corran Horns, and Sabre Squadrons. Y-Wings are the best value squadrons in the game (and the only one that is better is Gold, which is also a Y-Wing).

My main problem with this squadron ball is that it doesn’t feel like it would take a lot to pull its claws out. Obviously I understand that this is where Gallant Haven and smart escort play is key to mitigate such attempts, but I can’t help but feel like a really good player with some ubiquitous game pieces could put the hurt on that squad ball fast.

The objectives are nice as they do a lot for the list without being easy picks for other squadron lists. Sure you get the problem that other lists with strategic could have an easier time of it, but its a scissors-paper-rock sort of problem.

6. Daniel “Black Admiral” Unzeitig – 33pts

Unzeitig is German for “unseasonable” so until I am shown otherwise, I’m just going to assume the Black Admiral looks like this.

MC30c Torpedo Frigate

General Dodonna, Admonition, H9 Turbolasers, Assault Proton Torpedoes, Lando Calrissian, Ordnance Experts

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette

Expanded Hangar Bay, Hondo Ohnaka

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette

Expanded Hangar Bay

GR-75

Adar Tallon, Bomber Command Centre, Boosted Comms

GR-75

Toryn Farr, Boosted Comms

Nym, Jan Ors, VCX-100, 2x X-Wings, Gold Squadron, 4x Y-Wings

Precision Strike, Fighter Ambush, Superior Positions

398pts

Oh man, a 10 squadron Rebel bomber list without Yavaris and that uses Hammerheads as carriers? Consider me intrigued.

Alright so straight off the bat the flotillas flotilla. I probably would have dropped Boosted Comms off of Toryn in exchange for Bright Hope as realistically Toryn wants to be within command range of the squadrons anyway because of her ability. Adar is perfect, just about the best 40pts Rebels have access to. Side note: It really sucks when that 40pts dies because how the hell is a flotilla 40pts.

Two carrier Hammerheads are… something. I’m very curious to see how these were used and how they play on the table. I’ve used carrier Hammerheads before but that was in the context of a Leia list where you can incidentally slap down a squadron command and go “boom here’s two squads before I send in the torpedos”. Much more interesting here where that appears to be their dedicated role. I wonder if for two points it would have been worthwhile putting TF:O on the Hammerheads to give them extra punch should a ship get too close to them.

MC30 is really nice, tough to kill with ship fire and hits very hard. Only concern would be the difficulty of getting it to connect as second player, but there are certainly plenty of ways around that (forking and the like).

The squad ball is very similar to Czart’s, trading Ten Numb and points elsewhere in the list for Gold and 2 additional Ys. I think this version, taken in isolation, is probably the better of the two. My issues with Czart’s squad ball are likewise present here. I think Jan can be sniped out by a good player more easily than you’d like, and if she goes down it’s difficult to say whether Toryn would be enough of a force multiplier for the squadrons to punch their way out.

Objectives are strong, same concerns as elsewhere, but still very reliable overall. Handles Fighter Ambush better than most lists with his speed and maneuverability.

7. Bartlomiej Kostuch – 33pts

Honestly, by the time I got to Bartlomiej I was just translating names out of curiosity. I couldn’t find a direct translation for Kostuch, but the feminine form, Kostucha is literally Death / the Grim Reaper.

At some point I’m beginning to think Polish surnames became a “who can sound more badass” competition. Yeah you’re a Demon Shoemaker? Well, fuck it, we’re literally the Grim Reaper.

Pelta Command Ship

Adar Tallon, All Fighters Follow Me!, Boosted Comms

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate

Yavaris, Flight Commander

Hammerhead Torpedo Corvette

General Rieekan, Hondo Ohnaka

GR-75

Bomber Command Centre, Ahsoka Tano

GR-75

Toryn Farr

Ketsu Onyo, Wedge Antilles, Ten Numb, Jan Ors, “Dutch” Vander, Gold Squadron, 2x YT-1300

Precision Strike, Fighter Ambush, Superior Positions

398pts

So this is a list with its DNA taken from Swietlik’s Euros winning and Rikki P’s Worlds Top Cut fleets.

I don’t have to talk about this list as much, just because so many of its components are self-evident.

Flotillas flotilla it up. Once again we have a tabling preventing lifeboat Hammerhead. Yavaris has the exact amount of upgrades it needs to do its devastating tricks. CoolCoolCool CoolCool CoolCoolCool.

I personally have never been the biggest fan of the Pelta variant of Rieekan Aces, but I’m frequently wrong and I know enough about the game to see why its strong (you mean they now move faster? Oh god).

The squadron comp is where some changes to the standard Rieekan Aces has occurred. First off it has no VCXs, which is something I’m fine with. They’re great when you have them but they’re not compulsory in my view. Dutch is always fantastic, and Ten Numb is fantastic in Yavaris / Adar / Toryn builds so two big thumbs up from me there. Gold Squadron? Best 12pts in the game. Jan, Wedge and the 2 YTs are nice, my concerns are still there about Jan getting sniped out but this is definitely a list which can punch its way out of a squadron fight. Really the neat part is Ketsu. Honestly? While I think its a non-standard choice, the more I looked at it the more I liked it. Big squadrons are still popular as ever and being able to reduce your opponent’s squads speed by 2 is huge. A lot of high level squad play is about positioning, and being able to simultaneously reduce your opponent’s ability to jockey for position and increase your own ability to do so (through AFFM!) is a really nice combination.

Squad objectives are strong! *Disclaimer: They might not be as strong against other squad builds.

8. Przemyslaw “Przemek” Niedzielski – 32pts

So first off Przemek is a diminutive of Przemyslaw and, for those wondering, Przemek’s last name means “of Sundays”

Yes I had a lot of fun with this.

ISD-II

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

ISD-II

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

Gozanti

Comms Net

Gozanti

Comms Net

“Mauler” Mithel

Most Wanted, Contested Outpost, Intel Sweep

399pts

So Przemek’s list is pretty much a quintessential 2 ISD + 2 Goz build. Anecdotally, it’s a build that has been really popular, even if it hasn’t necessarily achieved the greatest results.

Helpfully it’s a very easy list to talk about. Gozantis going to Gozanti. Predominantly blocking and passing tokens to the big boys.

So the two big boys, as gunnery team ISD-IIs are just super steady and reliable. Dread it. Run from it. Destiny (skull fucking by Red/Blue dice) still arrives.

Przemek has really leant into covering the list’s weaknesses (heavy squadrons) which can be seen through EWS, Kallus, and the Quad Laser Turrets. Probably a really strong meta call given the omnipresence of squadrons, but damn I just get so worried about a non-ECM big ship running into another big ship. This concern is probably especially overblown however given the extra hull from Motti.

Intel Sweep might warrant a rethink, otherwise the objectives are very, very solid.

Top Cut:

After 4,250 words my ability to write with flair really drops off so the break down of the Top Cut will be short and sweet. The Semis saw Nairod against Swietlik and Daniele against Kubba. Nairod by all accounts played very conservatively against Swietlik but the Firefly just rolled forward patiently and did what he needed to do to advance to the final.

Kubba apparently was pretty damn unlucky against Daniele (crucially whiffing against an Arquittens at the wrong moment). Daniele capitalised on his opponent’s misfortune and did enough to get the victory.

In the final Daniele likewise attempted to play conservatively against the Firefly, but again Swietlik just rolled forward patiently and did his thing.

Congratulations to the Firefly who adds another notch to his belt!

One final take away: Damn check out the number of Precision Strikes, Fighter Ambushes, and Superior Positions in the objective decks. Summary – It’s a lot.

Anyway thats all from me on Polish Nationals! I’ll see you relatively soon with London Masters and a report from my very own international backwater.

– Intel Officer Luke