Tuesday 20 February 2018

Tabletop Review - Star Wars Armada: "Chimaera" Expansion

Star Wars - Armada: Chimaera Expansion Pack
Designed by Michael Gernes and Sam Stewart, expanding upon the Star Wars: Armada system, originally designed by James Kniffen and Christian T. Petersen
Published by Fantasy Flight Games

Can we just take a moment to reflect on how awesome it is that we have Grand Admiral Thrawn in Armada now? And in the Chimaera, no less? It’s been a bumpy road bringing one of the Expanded Universe’s finest characters back into continuity, but we’re finally here now, and this expansion pack is an absolute doozy. What surprised me was not only do you get an Imperial Star Destroyer in the box (covered in Thrawn’s nice little detailing artwork), but there’s also two Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighters. They’re pretty nippy little dudes, and able to do seed enemy ships with the new “Raid” tokens.

“Raid” tokens, when given to an enemy ship, stop them from being able to issue a particular order. So a “Raid: Navigate” token, can’t resolve a Navigate order. The only way to get rid of them is to discard tokens or dials, meaning that with a few lucky shots, the effectiveness of an enemy ship can be severely reduced.

Not only that, but there are also extra bases included, allowing you to upgrade up to two other Imperial Class Star Destroyer models you already own into refitted models, with various extra upgrades. If you’re playing a 300 point game, you’d only ever be able to field two, but it’s nice to have the option there, in case you like to play with higher points costs, such as can be found in The Corellian Conflict.

So, what do we get in terms of upgrades?

In terms of characters, there’s Thrawn, and some supporting characters from Rebels, including Captain Brunson and Governor Price. There’s also a new Darth Vader upgrade card that lets you go Rogue One on a nearby ship, sending the Dark Lord of the Sith on a boarding mission to smash up some crew or equipment. There’s also the option to fire off chaff, which - as a semi-regular player of modern jet age games - I absolutely love, and there’s always room for more countermeasures in Armada.

This is an excellent expansion, and definitely worth picking up if you’re a dedicated Imperial player, a fan of Grand Admiral Thrawn, or just want to grab the new upgrades. There’s a lot more gameplay here than it first appears.


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