Admiral Yularen Fleet - Y So Serious

 Admiral Yularen Fleet - Y So Serious?

This is likely the face he'll make as he watches Triumphant explode, knowing his Pelta flagship is next...

Let's start with the list itself, shall we? Quick note: If you're familiar with the most excellent Armada Fleets Designer app, then you'll be familiar with the format of the fleet list. If not, then you should know that the numbers in the parentheses next to the fleet name are as follows - number of points invested in squadrons/total number of fleet points/maximum number of fleet points.

Y So Serious? (96/400/400)

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Venator I-class Star Destroyer (90 + 26: 116)

· Veteran Captain (3)

· Ruthless Strategists (4)

· Intensify Firepower! (6)

· Advanced Transponder Net (5)

· Ordnance Pods (3)

· Triumphant (5)

Pelta-class Transport Frigate (45 + 39: 84)

· Admiral Yularen (24)

· Hondo Ohnaka (2)

· Parts Resupply (3)

· Projection Experts (6)

· FB-88 (4)

Charger c70 (45 + 7: 52)

· Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

Charger c70 (45 + 7: 52)

· Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)

Kit Fisto (26)

7 x BTL-B Y-wing Squadron (7 x 10)

Ion Storm

Jamming Barrier

Superior Positions

I had already made the decision to build something around Triumphant, but anytime I do, I almost inevitably consider Luminara to be my default commander. Mainly because Triumphant is aiming to swim in shark-infested waters alone (save for my contingent of squadrons), and I'd like it to last long enough to be an effective relay node (and, you know, shoot stuff). I don't like when my brain settles into a "right way" of building a fleet or playing a game because it makes me complacent. So I knew I was building around Triumphant, and I knew I was using a commander that wasn't Luminara.

That's the face she makes when she's disappointed in my choices. I think.

My inclination when using bombers in a Republic fleet is to try and fit ARCs in there. Mostly because I genuinely like them! But also because I'm almost always fairly certain that I'll end up replacing them with Y-Wings in the end. I like that ARCs protect themselves and that they bomb with two dice. I also want to combine them with Wolffe for Assault fun. But Y-Wings are faster, much cheaper, and have nearly as much hull. Plus, however much I like "Oddball," Anakin is unequivocally better. So I always *try* to use ARCs in the hopes that they'll stick this time. Ultimately, as this fleet rounded out, I needed more points (I know; who's surprised?), and the ARCs were replaced with Y-Wings. With SO many Y-Wings, I've got to worry about enemy squadron presence. So I include some anti-squadron tech in the form of Kit Fisto (if you want to lock down my Y-Wings, you'll have to work for it), Ordnance Pods, Ruthless Strategists (after all, my Y-Wings can take it), and Advanced Transponder Net. None of that other anti-squadron tech makes a bit of difference if my enemy's squadrons can impudently ignore my Y-Wings and bomb Triumphant, so I need to make sure that's not an option. I couldn't find the points to also include Plo Koon to give the Ys Counter; it was a choice between Plo and Kit. I chose Kit.

My Y-Wings are fast enough at 3 that I don't need All Fighters, Follow Me! as my fleet command. I know this because players better than me have proven it. If I can't fly my Y-Wings well enough to function without it, then I need to GIT GUD, SCRUB. So I equipped Intensify Firepower! (IF) to buff my ship attacks. Veteran Captain is a choice I make later as I'm figuring out my token economy. I had originally tried to create something more intricate and possibly more  prolific when it comes to token generation. But ultimately, I once again found myself starved for points and had to figure out how to make it all work on a budget.

This might as well be inserted into ALL of my Republic fleet posts...

I would like more ships so I can take advantage of IF! Knowing I want more ships means no Acclamators for me. A tough call, and probably not the right one (because Nevoota Bee is SO good), but if that's the case, then I might have trouble pushing my squadrons, because Consulars aren't really built for it. So I end up choosing Yularen to lead this fleet, because now my Consulars can each command up to two squadrons with just a token. I equip them sparingly with just Turbolaser Reroute Circuits. Since they only have one Evade token each, I normally wouldn't do this. But I figure they're not high priority targets for my opponent, so I'm willing to take the chance to ensure my dice behave.

I don't know that I've really built a Republic list with a Pelta yet. Not because I don't like it; I do! But because it's rehashing a ship we've already seen, so I'm not really excited about it. Plus, it's the last part of this wave that still hasn't released in this area. But I know I'm gonna want one for this fleet, so while I start with the Medical chassis, I end up switching to the Transport chassis because of points. I originally chose the Medical Frigate because it has a higher squadron value and I like the blue dice. But with Yularen, the squadron value is irrelevant unless the Pelta is going to be using squadron dials, and I don't plan on that often being the case. I put the FB-88 title on there because I absolutely LOVE the title: it's like a perpetual Skilled First Officer (SFO), and I've really learned to love that card after using it in my Tarkin fleet for the past two or so years. I don't plan on spamming the Repair element of Yularen's ability, but since the option to use it is there, I might as well have a way to take advantage of it. So my Pelta has Parts Resupply to facilitate such usage. Plus, if the Pelta uses even an Engineering token, it can trigger Projection Experts to support Triumphant and keep it running just a little longer. Hondo is on there because token economy.

As to my objectives, I decided on Ion Storm because it's easy enough for my ships to resolve Engineering commands to ditch tokens and I get to place all of the obstacles, which means I choose where squadrons can and cannot hide in obstruction. The critical effect and victory tokens are secondary in my choice. If I get them, great! But I'm not exactly banking on it. Jamming Barrier will ideally protect Triumphant as it gets into its forward position, thus allowing for a smoother, safer approach. Finally, Superior Positions felt a little bit like a no-brainer with what I've built. I've got a lot of squadrons that can take advantage of it for points, most of my fleet wants to hang back and are less likely to get shot in the butt, and has to deploy everything before I do. This objective could be turned against me, but I don't think it'll be easy to do. I'm willing to take the chance and see what happens!