Editing Armada/Tactics/Empire (section)

==Large Ships==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Class !! Variant !! Fore !! Sides !! Aft !! AA !! Hull !! Defenses !! C/S/E 
|-
| Imperial
| I
| <span style="color:green">❹</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| 11
| Brace, Contain, Redirect x2
| 3/4/4
|-
| Imperial
| II
| <span style="color:green">❹</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| 11
| Brace, Contain, Redirect x2
| 3/4/4
|-
| Imperial
| Cymoon
| <span style="color:green">❹</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| ⬤⬤
| 11
| Brace, Contain, Redirect x2
| 3/3/4
|-
| Imperial
| Kuat
| <span style="color:green">❹</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| 11
| Brace, Contain, Redirect x2
| 3/2/4
|-
| Onager
| Destroyer
| <span style="color:green">❺</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤<br>Ignite:<span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:green">❶</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| 10
| Brace, Redirect, Salvo
| 3/2/3
|-
| Onager
| Testbed
| <span style="color:green">❺</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤<br>Ignite:<span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue"></span>⬤⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❶</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| ⬤
| 10
| Brace, Redirect, Salvo
| 3/1/3
|-
| Venator
| II
| <span style="color:green">❹</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❶</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| 9
| Brace, Redirect, Contain, Salvo
| 3/3/4
|-
|}

====Imperial Star Destroyer====
[[File:ArmadaISD.png|thumb|right|300x300px|Imperial Star Destroyer Expansion Pack]]
The Empire's iconic Star Destroyer. The ISD has it all - speed 3, a devastating and heavily shielded front arc ''and'' strong side arcs, strong defenses, a full ''11'' hull, and the ability to adapt to any role the Empire needs filled - from a long range Turbolaser platform, to a close-range black dice brawler, to a dedicated squadron pusher - while still being able to contribute in every other area when need be. With the release of the Chimaera Expansion, the Empire's namesake vessel will have no fewer than four different variants, offering the most versatility of any ship in the game. But as an expensive ship, be careful not to overspend on upgrades - leaving the rest of your fleet ineffectual or leaving the enemy just a single target to focus down - and take care in setting your commands or supporting the ship with tokens, lest you dial in too many Squadron commands and fly into a poor position, or find yourself Concentrating Fire when you instead needed to be Engineering. 

*'''Imperial I-Class Star Destroyer''' - With two Offensive Retrofits and Squadron 4, this is the Empire's alternative super-squadron-pusher to the Quasar. While that ship comes in at a much lower price, the ISD-I brings the ''stats of an ISD'' to the table, allowing it to support its squadrons by smashing the enemy's carriers directly (or forcing them to keep their distance from its front arc and play defensively). At just two points apart, whether the ''I-Class'' or the Kuat Refit makes the superior black dice brawler will depend on the specific upgrades slots you want to fill.

*'''Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer''' - Half Turbolasers, half Ion Cannons, the ''II-Class'' embodies the well-rounded nature of the Imperial Star Destroyer. With Squadron 4, an Offensive Retrofit, and 2 blue flak, it can be a powerful carrier in its own right; with Weapon Team, Ion Cannon, and Turbolaser upgrades, it can rip apart enemy ships at medium range; and with the same Offensive Retrofit/Weapon Team pairing as on every ISD, it can sport a boarding team to cripple vital enemy ships. Depending on your needs and spare points, it can do some degree of all of those things ''at once''. 

[[File:ArmadaChimaera.png|thumb|right|300x300px|Chimaera Expansion Pack]]

*'''Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit''' -Comparable to the ISD-I, but losing two points of Squadron, the Turbolaser upgrade, and one of the Offensive Retrofit, while gaining an Ordnance upgrade and Defensive Retrofit. In addition, the dice composition in the side and rear arcs changes slightly, notably changing one die in the sides to blue, allowing them to leverage Ion Cannon upgrades like Leading Shots.

*'''Imperial Star Destroyer Cymoon 1 Refit''' - Focusing on red dice, the Cymoon Refit loses one total die in the front arc to bring 5 native red dice to bear, as well as sporting dual Turbolaser upgrades to maximize their effectiveness. While it lacks the Ion Cannon upgrade usually used by the similarly-equipped MC80 Liberty for Leading Shots, it gains the Fleet Command previously unique to the Pelta. Speed 3 YV-666s, regenerating Arquitens, or Raiders jumping speeds 2 at a time, all on the Empire's sturdiest platform.

*'''Titles:'''
**'''''Devastator''''' - For ten points, each defense token you've discarded adds 1 blue die to your front arc. A way to up your raw damage or secure Leading Shots at long range, the hardest part is actually losing your defense tokens in the first place - you can spend them all on every attack, but you have to take those attacks first. Discarding your Contain the first time you take two attacks is an easy way to score the bonus, but take care not to regret giving away your Brace or Redirects if you do so. (Fun fact- this was the Star Destroyer that was pursuing the Tantive IV in A New Hope & Rogue One. It was Vader's command ship until he [[Star_Wars:_Armada#Super_Star_Destroyer|upgraded]])
**'''''Avenger''''' - When this ship attacks, your target cannot use ''exhausted'' defense tokens. This can force your opponent into difficult choices, where they sit on defense tokens they'd rather spend, because there's a deadlier shot coming at them from Avenger later in the turn. There's three ways to activate Avenger: hit the opponent with another threat first (such as Demolisher, or even Avenger's side arc); use an effect that allows another ship or squadron to exhaust the opponents tokens, like a Sloane TIE Fighter or a Raider with Overload Pulse; or equip Avenger with Boarding Troopers and spend them yourself. The latter is the easiest to pull off, as it has the fewest moving parts to coordinate, but as it deprives you of a Gunnery Team and telegraphs your intentions, you need the right fleet to support it.
**'''''Relentless''''' - Reduces the number of command dials you must assign to your ship by 1. This makes your ship much more responsive, and comes in fairly cheap; giving you the reactivity of a Gladiator or Arquitens while preserving your ability to store 3 command tokens. Paired with the 1 point Skilled First Officer, you can change your plans on a dime - setting a command, discarding the top command and using the dial you just set, and then choosing both new dials next turn.
**'''''Chimaera''''' - [[File:Star_Wars_TIE_Fighter_Thrawn.png|right|300px]]Any frame other than the Cymoon can take on the title of Thrawn's flagship to gain a Fleet Command upgrade slot of its own. But Thrawn's adaptability allows the Chimaera to swap out the chosen upgrade for any other at the start of the Command Phase, allowing you to use Entrapment Formation to speed up to engage, Concentrate Firepower the next turn while engaging, and then swapping again to Shields to Max to repair the return fire. Pair Thrawn's flagship with the Grand Admiral himself, and your whole fleet can double-down on those pivotal turns; or ignore the latter ability and just take the title for a Fleet Command on a Kuat Refit.
**'''''7th Fleet Star Destroyer''''' - When receiving an attack on your front arc, you can exhaust a copy of this card on a nearby 7th Fleet Star Destroyer to decrease the incoming damage by 1. Good for grouped up fleet playstyles like the Rebel's Hammerhead Task Forces or Mon Cal Exodus Fleet, but you're sacrificing good titles like ''Demolisher'', ''Harrow'', and ''Avenger'' to use it.
**'''''Sovereign''''' - Exhaust this title at the beginning of the round, and 3 other friendly ships at up to range 5 can toss out a command token to replace it with another type. Unfortunately, this doesn't count as spending the original token, so that token's effect is lost. Good for keeping ships fed with the tokens that they need, if you can supply them with tokens reliably through Tarkin or other means.

====Onager Star Destroyer====
{{topquote|Charge the wave motion gun!|Space Battleship Yamato}}
The Imperial answer to the Rebel Starhawk (and a wholly original design for Armada, outside of an obscure mention in The Rebel Files). The Onager [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ia8EOo4Z5Dc does one thing], and one thing only. Shoot at beyond the range ruler distances with its disgustingly huge gun. USING that gun requires a bit of explanation. At the end of the Onager's activation (or the beginning of the Ship Phase with a certain title), the player can place an Ignition token fully within the special arc nestled inside the front firing arc and partially within one of it's Ignition ranges. All Onagers have close range, and the new Superweapon upgrade card can grant it another range. When attacking from the Ignition arc, the range and damage dice are determined from the distance from the token to the attacking ship, and not from the Onager's cardboard base. If this distance is beyond the original range of attack, it is considered "Extreme Range" and ships with an evade token can remove two dice from your attack, so be aware. Also, if the ignition token is out then your first attack MUST be an Ignition attack.
*'''Onager-Class Testbed''' - For 96 points, you get a superlaser.  That's it.  The Onager testbed variant has only 1 Squadron and 3 Engineering, along with a single Brace, Redirect, and the new Salvo defense token.  It also has equal shielding to a Liberty MC80 in the front and sides, but only a single shield point to the rear.  Simply put, the Onager is NOT a close range brawler and never should be considered as one.  Keep it away from the combat area, make shot after shot from your mega gun as possible (with two weapons officer slots on it, you'd best be taking Gunnery Team), and pray nothing <s>tries</s> ''manages'' to close the distance.
*'''Onager-Class Star Destroyer''' - 14 points beefs up this ship significantly. While it won't improve your engineering or give you new defense tokens, the Onager can now actually dish out some extra, non-superlaser related damage. An extra red dice to every regular firing arc is nice, and the turbolaser slot with an extra blue flak die are great too. More importantly, the Ignition arc trades in one red and one black for two blue dice, which makes the superlaser attacks far more versatile than before. Again, the Onager should NEVER be in the thick of the fighting if you can help it. But if you CAN'T help it, then at least it can now give a bit of a fight.
*'''Titles:'''
**'''''Cataclysm''''' - Feed it a Concentrate Fire token at the beginning of the round, get an ignition token for your troubles. Combined with other fleet upgrades or a commander like Tarkin, you can potentially get off a superlaser shot at turn 1 with ''Cataclysm''. However, the more important utility is the ability to redo a token placement after the Onager's activation from the previous turn. It makes your superlaser slightly more reactive, which is never something your opponent wants to consider.
**'''''Rakehell''''' - Ever wanted to burn rubber doing donuts in space? ''Rakehell'' lets you do just that. With a Maneuver command, ''Rakehell'' can made a single click of movement at range 0. Simply place the maneuver tool into the ship base, remove the ship, then make a single click in either direction and place the ship back. This is perfect for keeping the Onager out of harm's way while still getting lobbing balls of concentrated hatred at your opponent's fleet. Be warned, however. Ships at speed 0 do NOT get use of ANY defense tokens.
**'''''Sunder''''' - For anyone who thought "Boy, I like the idea of using the Darth Vader boarding team do remove an upgrade, but I HATE getting into close range with an MC30!"  Any blue or black critical from ''Sunder'' (not just from the Ignition arc!) will destroy one Offensive or Defensive Retrofit, Ordinance, Ion, or Turbolaser upgrade from the ship you hit.  It's expensive and you must discard the ''Sunder'' title to do, but wiping out Home One's ECMs is nothing short of EXTREMELY satisfying.
**'''''7th Fleet Star Destroyer''''' - When receiving an attack on your front arc, you can exhaust a copy of this card on a nearby 7th Fleet Star Destroyer to decrease the incoming damage by 1.  Please note that only the Onager-class Star Destroyer card can equip this title.  Usually the 7th Fleet title is overshadowed by other upgrades, but in the case of the Onager it can be useful to pass some damage off to an escorting Gladiator.  But even then it's not really cost effective in a 400 point game.

====Venator II Star Destroyer====
''Rapid Reinforcements I'' allows the Empire to take the Venator II as a unique at 100 points.  While undeniably a better deal points wise than the Victory, it doesn't offer anything that the Imperial class can't do a bit better for a few more points.