‘Star Wars: Armada’ Is Back, Baby!

The game that just won’t die keeps on going yet again. But Star Wars Armada is with some new cards!

It’s been 8 months since Atomic Mass Games announced nothing new was in production for Star Wars: Armada. Most Armada fans would agree that the game was always a little under-supported. We were without news for months – almost a year, actually. There were constant claims that the game had died. And yet it never did. Still, AMG’s announcement seemed to many to be the end of the road. A game that doesn’t ever get anything new is effectively dead. But now it’s back!

The Return of Star Wars Armada

There’s some inkling over the past few weeks that Armada still had some life in it. New tournament packets and rules errata’s have kept the game playable. But still it wasn’t anything new. Then this week they released Rapid Reinforcements I. This represents the first new things in Star Wars: Armada in quite some time. New units and rules means the game isn’t dead and gone. Indeed this seems like the start of a new era for the game.

New Ships, Sort of

Before we get too exited, we should be clear what’s going on.  Four new ship and three new squadron cards were released. These are new cards for existing models. As such there are no new models out. So if you were expecting or hoping for a bunch of new models or things to run out and buy, well this ain’t it. Yet. But it does shake the game up. The new cards are:

The Providence-class Carrier. This allows the Rebels to field this Separatist capital ship. Lore-wise several of these did end up in Rebel hands.

The Venator-II class Star Destroyer. Here the Empire is allowed to field the old Republic unit. This is also constant with the lore, as when the Republic became the Empire, the new Empire inherited the vast Republic fleet of Venators. Many of these served in Imperial navy even as they were slowly phased out and replaced by the Victory class.

Speaking of the Victory class. The next new card allows the Imperial Victory-I  to be used by the Republic. The Victory was first introduced towards the end of the Clone Wars, though it wasn’t present in enough numbers to be a staple of combat yet.

Lastly this card allows the Separatist access to the Imperial Gozanti. Gozanti’s of course first showed up prior to the Clone Wars and were a common ship at the time. The CIS used them regularly during the war. They showed up in the Clone Wars long before they showed up as an Imperial vessel, so its only fitting the CIS gets them. 

Lastly there are new Squadron cards for Anakin, Hera and Anakin (well, Vader). These are brand new and allow them to fly new ships. Sadly the CIS doesn’t get anything new here.

The Start Of Something for Star Wars Armada

Some might say that this is slim pickings. After all there are no new units. On the other hand I think this is great step. Based on this being called Rapid Reinforcements I, it seems like we will likely get more of this kind of thing. I think some new cards to shake up the game and give players options are a great way to keep the game alive and changing. Hopefully this is a stop gap until we get some new ships. In the mean time this makes a lot of sense. After all, all of these cards have solid grounding in the lore. There is no reason the ships should be used in the new factions. Lets hope this is the start of something great for Star Wars Armada!

Let us know what you think of this new lease on life, down in the comments! 

Author: Abe Apfel

Abe is that rare thing, an Austin local born and raised here. Though he keeps on moving around, DC, Japan, ETC., he always seems to find his way back eventually. Abe has decades of experience with a wide range of tabletop and RPG games, from historicals, to Star Wars to D&D and 40K. He has been contributing to BOLS since almost the start, back when he worked at and then owned a local gaming store. He used to be big into the competitive Warhammer tournament scene but age has mellowed him and he now appreciates a good casual match. He currently covers 40K tactics and lore, as well as all things Star Wars, with occasional dabbling in other topics. Abe remains in mourning over the loss of WFB to this day.