The humble Nebulon-B is still a ship to be feared on the Armada tabletop, nerfs be damned! Yavaris is still a huge threat that is not to be taken lightly.
Leia Organa is an interesting fleet admiral that has a plethora of potential options for your ships in her fleet. With the ability to have a phantom matching command token with each reveal command Leia can boost your ships to new levels that push their limits. While it’s commonly advised to go with command 1 ships, it doesn’t hurt to include command 2 ships, much like the unassuming Nebulon-B.
The Nebulon-B Escort Frigate is a good mix of anti-squadron and ship. With 3 shields in its front arc and redundant brace tokens, this small ship can take some hits before it goes down. Just remember to treat them like a Claymore mine- Front Towards Enemy. Their weak side’s arcs can be an Achilles’ Heel for them but this ship can deal a surprising amount of damage in its activation. Enter the Yavaris!
Yavaris may have been slightly nerfed with the latest Armada FAQ but it is still a powerful ship. While it’s not viable to equip Fighter Coordination Teams onto the Nebulon platform any longer, Flight Commander can still get some good mileage out of Yavaris. Being able to attack twice, if they do not move, is incredibly powerful for Rebel squadrons. With Leia as your fleet admiral Yavaris may activate 3 squadrons with a squadron command. You could get up to 6 attack dice into an enemy ISD with the right squadron group.
To take advantage of these bomber shots, Norra Wexley will be leader the attack run. Norra grants an additional crit ability for friendly bombers at range 1. With the crit ability being able to remove an additional shield, these hits can quickly burn down the defenses on an ISD.
Yavaris’ best friends are B-Wing squadrons. Although they may be slow at speed 2, they pack a wallop with 1 blue and 1 black anti-ship dice. With Norra nearby, these B-Wings can potentially attack twice, peaking at 3 damage each attack with an additional shield burned with Norra’s crit ability. An ISD only has 4 shields in its front arc and can only redirect up to 6 damage onto its side arcs. Those shields will be long gone before these B-Wings start eating into its hull.
To get the maximum advantage out of Norra and Yavaris’ abilities, go with squadrons that throw 2 anti-ship dice. Gold Squadron is a specialized Y-Wing with 2 blue anti-ship dice. Each of these blue dice can roll a crit ability, and down goes 1 more shield from that menacing ISD. These bombers can eat through the hull of even Motti ISDs in no time at all.
Use the Rebel strengths to the best of their abilities with Yavaris and her bombers!