There is so much talk of Super Star Destroyers coming to Armada these days. I’ve been a proponent of seeing the executor come to the game for a long time, and as such I’ve been involved in many of these discussions. But even now so many arguments tend to repeat themselves and it becomes tiresome to repeat the same talking points over and over.
Argument number 1: “The Executor is too big!”
Yup. It sure is. It’s massive. Fortunately Armada has a sliding scale, which has already accounted for the fact that the ISD cannot fit a CR-90 in it’s hangar bay. It had to have a sliding scale. We all know that at some point we’ll probably see the “Finalizer”, the First Order’s Star Destroyer, which is DOUBLE the size of an ISD – yet nobody expect that it will actually be double the size on the board. Honestly it would only need to be a little larger than the Raider from X-Wing, so probably around 2 feet in length, to really stand out and look ominous. At that length it would still dwarf every other ship, and entire fleets would tremble in its presence.
And don’t forget that perspective is a real thing in Star Wars battles. Consider the end of the Rebels epsode “Secret Cargo”, where we see the entire rebel fleet jump in at Dantooine. So many of these ships are all over the place. There is an MC-80, (Possibly Home One) which looks smaller than the Quasar carrier. This is because space is in 3D and allows a lot of forgiveness in terms of ships appearing out of scale.
And this is the case in just about every space battle we see. A Super Star Destroyer doesn’t have to be 6 feet long to work. Two feet or less will still look amazing.
Argument #2: “It would be too powerful”
Well it certainly COULD be. But you have to consider that power in this game has a direct correlation to point cost. Suppose a ship has 10 red attack dice in a single arc, but costs 350 points? Power doesn’t always make a ship worthwhile. As any veteran of the game will tell you, a ship’s overall worth is determined by several factors, including maneuverability, upgrades, defensive options, firing arcs, and even the ability to combo with other ships in your fleet, besides simply the sum of battery armament. And suppose there were multiple ship cards for it to reflect various capabilities? A damaged Super Star Destroyer might only cost 150 points, and may have less of it’s batteries available to fire.
Argument #3: “There would be nothing for the Rebels”
This is demonstrably false. In the recent Aftermath trilogy of books by Chuck Wendig, there are three different Executor Class Dreadnaughts mentioned by name (They refer to Super Star Destroyers by the more appropriately generic term “Dreadnaught” fairly often). The Executor of course, plus the Ravager, which is featured heavily in the book, and whose remains can be seen covering the desert in Episode 7.
Additionally, there is the Annihilator. The Annihilator was stolen from the Empire by pirates, during the chaos that ensued after the fall of the Emperor. These pirates happened to be less of the evil type and more of the free-spirited rebel type that you might associate with a young Han Solo or Lando Calrissian; trying to live life on their own terms away from the rule of the Empire or the New Republic. They were generally kind spirited and even liberated people and allowed them to join up. I would consider this group relatively “Good” and as such, they would likely fight against the empire in a fight, so I would argue that you could field the Annihilator in a battle against the Executor or Ravager.
And let’s not forget about the Viscount! This mighty Mon Calamari creation is still likely to be pulled out of Legends and placed back into canon at some point soon.
It would be an amazing option for the rebels not only because of the size, but also it LOOKS like it belongs in Star Wars, and that is one of the driving forces behind what comes back into canon and what stays lost in Legends like the dreaded Suncrusher and the Christmas Special.
My prediction : The Campaign
The Corellian Conflict served two purposes as far as I’m concerned. It tested the waters for how interested players are in a campaign, and it also gave a trial run into players running 500 point games. So far both have been a moderate success, with the greater in my opinion, being the larger games.
Both of these aspects can work with a Super Star Destroyer release. Imagine a campaign based on the rebels attacking a shipyard to slow or halt construction on a super star destroyer. Suppose it comes with several different versions of the ship, including the various stages of construction. An early “Under Construction” model might only cost 40 points, and may have very little operational weaponry. And even if a full constructed Executor-Class Super Star Destroyer costs upwards of 300 points, we’ve already seen the point limit work at 500 points. They may even extend the official tournament cost to 500. Personally I’d love that.
And with the recent re-canonization of the Eclipse, we are destined to see Super Star Destroyers show up in Armada sooner rather than later. I predict we will see an announcement regarding them before the end of 2017. They are gorgeous, they are iconic, and frankly… where ELSE are they going to show up?