It’s hard to do broadsides in Vanguard, but the rest is there!
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I’ve watch a couple of battle reports - and they seemed a bit sparse. Has anyone got an idea of the equivalent to 2000pts(ish) in KoW? How many ships make for an interesting battle, without getting too bogged down?
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Hey mate,
I would say it all depends on quality of ships and scenario being played. From my personal experience 200pts. games of 4-5 ships per side are pretty fast paced and easy to get a grasp on, whereas 250pts. games with barely any L ships tend to stretch exponentially. Lately I gravitate towards 200pts. games and prefer to field L and XL ships with small support of smaller vessels. Games are fast and satisfying.
If I was to compare Armada points limits to other games I played (like WFB, 40k and other) I would say 150 is 1000, 200 is 1500 and 250 is 2000. I bet it’s similar with Kings of War.
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@Scarhandpainting Thanks for the detailed answer, that’s very helpful. Great paint job on those fleets, really nice work.
Have you played any asymmetric games with lots of little ships versus a few large ships? Did they work well, or was it unbalanced and/or a bit of a slog for one player?
Thanks man, I do my best - the ships themselves make my job easier, as they are beautiful to begin with.
I played some asymmetric games, yes. For example one Dwarf Dreadnought supported with two Hunters and a Runeaxe vs two EoD War Galleys, 2 Dust Chasers and 2 Sould Hunters. The game was brutal, but fair. Even though a Dreadnought was super though and packed a wide arrange of armaments, even though it was able to blast two ships at once (two sides) all the while more numerable fleet usually shot from one side only - the game was a close one.
If you compare XL ships to similar points value in Medium Main Ships there’s not that much difference. Let’s take one Dictator vs 3 Elohi, similar total weaponry and Structure Points. It’s a bit less obvious in factions that have a more varied ships like EoD, but in the end it is always somewhere close. Large ships are slower, but it is easier to put them between droves of opponent ships and blast both sides. In the other hand more Spamy fleets are faster, more maneuverable and pack a similar punch spread across more ships. In my opinion Mantic did a good job in balancing these factors - at least for the time being. The only thing that I am not so keen on is Scenarios, where some scenarios really favor particular ships, but these are scarce.
Anyhow I see you’re clearly interested in the game - I totally recommend you try it out. It is a really nice game. I have over 20 years experience with miniatures games and Armada is something that I enjoy greatly.
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Thanks this is all really useful information.
I don’t think I’ll be able to get demo games - more likely to proxy a solo battle to get a a flavour of the game. Then if I think there’s something there, I’m buying two fleets in order to host the game.
I suppose at the moment, I’m deciding whether it’s worth buying the main rulebook - and I was finding it difficult to find reliable info online.
Hey, glad I was able to help.
I totally get how it is being unable to get a demo. I too started by purchasing two fleets and hosting games. Now I have few buds who purchased their own fleets, alongside few more who gladly play the game with my own miniatures. More potential gaming for me and I do enjoy all fleets I have at home, so I would have purchased more anyway.
As for the rulebook. I have both paper and digital books. Paper is nice to have when playing outside the base. Once you know the book’s layout - finding rules is pretty fast and comfortable. As for digital, I wish they made interactive bookmarks. Scrolling through a digital copy is a pain. Still if you have a wide screen tablet to carry around - paper books are kind of redundant. Anyhow - either paper or digital is a worth buy, necessary to play. Plus it’s not that expensive (in my opinion).
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I’ve been a bit hesitant on the rulebook, as it doesn’t include the lists to play around with - so a bit of a dull purchase imo. It’s also not all the rules either, so feel that I’d only be getting two thirds of the them. Yes, there are reasons for this, and you can subscribe to EasyArmy, but that’s why I haven’t dropped it in the cart at some point already.
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On a more positive note - the spell cards are being included in the starter fleet boxes. Highlighted here: https://blog.untilsomebodylosesaneye.net/2021/09/twilight-at-end-of-tunnel.html
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I was extremely irked to learn that buying the rulebooks and subscribing to EasyArmy still doesn’t give you all the rules - you need to buy the boxes to get the faction-specific rules.
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I’ve found it difficult to get a feel for the fleets - you’re trying to piece together bits of info. It could really do with all being on EasyArmy at least. Youtube battle reports have helped a bit, but it’s pretty hit and miss.
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The fleet rules are slowly getting added to EasyArmy - but it doesn’t keep up with actual release schedule, which is unfortunate.
Since mantic are generally pretty good otherwise with access to rules etc, would be nice if the fleet info was available separately, even if just as a free/cheap pdf
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I assume we should not post too much of rulebook material. But maybe some paragraphs of text would be acceptable (as opposed to sharing images of the actual pages of rules)? Not really sure how to reply. 
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@FredOslow I get that!
@mattjgilbert Rulebook arrived today, and I’ve watched a few battle reports - also signed up to an All-in Easy Army subscription.
It would be good to know the faction-wide rules when choosing which fleets to pick up. Is it okay for people to post those specific rules on the forum?
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I’ve asked Gregg (EasyArmy) to add them to the paid version (and add a free Armada version). He will not be able to get to that until he’s finished Deadzone and all the Clash of Kings updates though.
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Thanks for getting back to us with the information, appreciate the response from someone at Mantic.
Having everything on EasyArmy sounds good. There was a no to posting rules there I think - back to the online detective work in the interim.
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I am not sure what are the forum rules on disclosing the Armada faction rules but these are quite easy to find in the (faction starter) unboxing videos on youtube, e.g. on the EoD one. The ship cards (with specific ship rules) are also shown there …
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To be fair a rules sharing taboo either here or at Armada Fanatics group at FB would be kind of pointless. There is a tone of unboxing videos out there, where EVERYTHING is visible, to a point that one could printscreen and save an entire rulebook from one video. I do believe that creating a taboo from rules, that might otherwise help people resolve rules issues, pick a faction or just keep them comfortable and enjoying the game, is not a good idea. Am not saying rulebook should be free. Just there shouldn’t be an embargo from sharing pics and screenshots of the rules, unless someone goes over the top and starts sharing an entire pdf rulebook.
If someone is determined to slowly build a rulebook out of screenshots, such person would find a way to get the rules and rulebook anyway - easiest way would be from the unboxing videos.
I sincerely hope that in order to keep the community healthy, hyped and enjoying the game, but also enjoying the community itself, there won’t be a rules sharing embargo.
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This is a good point. I ordered my first starter boxes of Armada factions today, but I did so blindly, not knowing the faction rules. It was a bit of a weird feeling. It’s not like having access to the faction rules would not have stopped me ordering the boxes. On the contrary, it would have given me the chance to make a more informed choice.
With this fresh insight, I declare that you can post all the rules you want, as I have experienced first hand that it only helps people get into the game. Just don’t overdo it or post any complete books, like you said yourself. Only snippets and tidbits preferably.
Excited about getting into Vanguard, and I will start hosting demo games here locally when I get my fleets painted up.
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