Editing Armada/Tactics/Empire (section)

==Small Ships==

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Class !! Variant !! Fore !! Sides !! Aft !! AA !! Hull !! Defenses !! C/S/E 
|-
| Arquitens
| Command
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <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">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span><span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| 5
| Contain, Evade, Redirect x2
| 2/2/3
|-
| Arquitens
| Light
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤⬤</span>
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:red">⬤</span>⬤
| ⬤
| 5
| Contain, Evade, Redirect x2
| 2/1/3
|-
| Gladiator
| I
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</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>
| 5
| Brace, Evade, Redirect
| 2/2/3
|-
| Gladiator
| II
| <span style="color:green">❸</span> <span style="color:red">⬤⬤</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>
| 5
| Brace, Evade, Redirect
| 2/2/3
|-
| Raider
| I
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤⬤</span>⬤⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue"></span>⬤⬤
| 4
| Brace, Evade x2
| 1/1/2
|-
| Raider
| II
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤⬤⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| <span style="color:green">❷</span> <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>
| <span style="color:blue">⬤</span>⬤
| 4
| Brace, Evade x2
| 1/1/2
|-
|}

====Gladiator Star Destroyer====
The Empire's knife (or axe) -fighter, the Gladiator combines a deadly black dice payload with a nice variety of defense tokens and the upgrade slots to amplify its attack. While it has a few red dice, it lacks the upgrade slots to do anything with them (eg a Turbolaser slot for H-9s), so you're best off not relying on them. Squadron 2 means it can help push TIEs in a pinch, but most of the time you're gonna be taking Demolisher with Ordnance Experts, APTs or ACMs, and possibly an Intel Officer to make up for your lack of Accuracy tech. While it tops out at Speed 3 and has a mediocre nav chart, it's two yaw at Speed 1 make it a great candidate for Engine Techs (especially helpful for lining up double arcs). The safest way to get off its attack is to bid for first, store up a nav token, and move up after the target has already activated.
*'''Gladiator I-Class Star Destroyer''' - The "default" variant, this is the one you should usually be fielding. 
*'''Gladiator II-Class Star Destroyer''' - The upgunned version of the Gladiator, changing one die to red in each side and gaining a second blue AA die. The red dice are arguably a downgrade, given the ship's role; but the extra AA die can be very useful (especially with the ''Demolisher'' title, turning it into an AA monster that can erase whole squadron balls) - unfortunately, you're paying 6 points for the package.  
*'''Titles:'''
**'''''Insidious''''' - Black dice can be used up to medium range when your ship fires at the rear hull zone of an enemy ship. This is a situational pick, since most cases where you can get into medium range behind your target, you could've also gotten into close and been largely safe from harm. 
**'''''Demolisher''''' - (As of Armada 1.5) Lose one of your attacks in the normal attack step, but gain it back AFTER you move. It cannot be understated how much of a difference this makes. For ten points, this can ''massively'' change the way you plan your tactics and position with this ship. Bear in mind this attack is still subject to the normal rules, so you cannot fire from one arc, move, then fire from that arc again. But either way your threat radius for the vessel expands remarkably. Most of the time that you're fielding Gladiators, one of them should have this title.
**'''''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, but in a 400 point game it's difficult to bring enough ships for the benefit to outweigh the alternative choices.  In higher point games, Gladiators can get good mileage out of this, both on their own and screening for larger ships like Onagers.

====Raider Corvette====
FFG's own original contribution to Star Wars canon, the Raider can be built as either a close range brawler, with Ordnance Experts and External Racks; or as an anti-squadron escort, with Ruthless Strategists, Flechette Torpedoes, and Agent Kallus. Similarly priced to the CR90, and sharing its max speed and double evades; but where the CR90 is a long range skirmisher with good maneuverability at high speeds, the Raider has ''amazing'' turning at low speeds, but is mediocre when flying fast. With a Brace instead of the CR90's Redirect, the Raider can take a surprising amount of pain, but can't afford to get attacked repeatedly in the same arc.  A difficult but rewarding ship when flown well; but it demands subtlety in a faction that treats subtlety as a character flaw.
*'''Raider I-Class Corvette''' - This variant is a bit like a cheaper Gladiator, slightly more fragile and a similar front arc, with weaker sides in exchange for an Offensive Retrofit and better flak. 
*'''Raider II-Class Corvette''' - Changing one black from the front and AA for blue, and swapping with an ion cannon upgrade slot. In practice, black dice is what the Raider does best, and this has less of them. If you're going to bring it, have a plan to leverage its Ion slots, and consider using the Offensive Retrofit for Disposable Capacitors. 
*'''Titles:'''
**'''''Impetuous''''' - A free shot at a single squadron in range after you do your normal shots. If you're taking the full Kallus/Ruthless/Flechettes/Ordnance loadout, this doubles your ability to nuke an enemy ace.
**'''''Instigator''''' - Enemy squadrons at distance are engaged as if there were two squadrons nearby. Keeps enemies from leaving - as it bypasses Intel or Grit - but doesn't prevent bombers from hitting you unless you have squadrons engaged with them as well.
**'''''Corvus''''' - From EA's Battlefront 2 and packaged with Rebellion in the Rim comes an interesting upgrade to the Raider. For 2 points, you can call a mulligan at the end of fleet deployment (before squadron deployment) and redeploy ''Corvus'' within your deployment zone. While you can take it at face value and use it as a reaction to your opponent's fleet deployment; with some lateral thinking, this can be deceptively powerful. First, this overrides the deployment rules for the Fleet Ambush and Surprise Attack objectives. If you wanted to keep a commander like Motti or Screed out of harm's way while your brawlers start in the action, this is the way to do it. Second, because this counts as deploying ''Corvus'' again, upgrade cards that deal with "on deployment" effects trigger ''TWICE''. Gunnery Chief Varnillian can have TWO red dice to swap in and out. You can have a Raider with TWO Salvo tokens with Local Fire Control. A little bit of creative thinking can go a long way in bending the rules to ''Corvus's'' favor.

====Arquitens-Class Cruiser====
The Arquitens is unique among Imperial ships in that it goes against nearly every trait that Imperial ships share ''(probably because it's a holdover from the Republic)''.  It's a small-base support ship that wouldn't be out of place among the Rebellion with broadside arcs firing 3 red dice, it's rear arc of all things is the widest in the entire game, a defensive token suite that's geared towards long range survivability, and it's the first Imperial ship to come with Defensive Retrofits as a standard option with both variants.  The titles that it comes with are geared towards fleet support rather than combat and it is bundled with not only a great Commander (Moff Jerjerrod) but perhaps the most useful and cost-effective Defensive Retrofit in the entire game (Reinforced Blast Doors).  While it's not as fast as the CR90 and the movement profile is... painfully predictable, it does provide the Empire with a much needed boost in long range harassment at a competitive point cost.
*'''Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser''' - The basic version and the one most often seen, the Light Cruiser's black die in the front and rear should be considered a last resort in nearly every situation.
*'''Arquitens-Class Command Cruiser''' - The black flak and front/rear dice are swapped with more respectable blue dice, but this upgraded variant also gains a Support Team slot and an additional Squadron command point.  However, these tend to be a bit redundant with the inclusion of either of these titles.
*'''Titles:'''
**'''''Hand of Justice''''' - Upon activation but before revealing a command, this card may be exhausted to allow another friendly ship at range 1-5 to ready one defense token.  Do note that this means that ''Hand of Justice'' may not ready it's own tokens, nor may it bring back a discarded token.
**'''''Centicore''''' - Essentially, ''Centicore'' turns an Arquitens into a '''Relay''' 2 ship; the GOOD pre-1.5 kind of relay that works from anywhere.  This lets a vulnerable Gozanti stay safely away from combat while still providing fighter support with a Squadron dial.