Rebellion In the Rim Campaign - Part 1

20th May 2025

Barry

10 mins

Introduction

We’re finally revisiting the Rebellion in the Rim campaign – and I think this is my first time playing as Imperials. And just in time for me to have watched Andor and feel visceral repulsion for my faction.

Having never really played Imperials for this campaign format I will admit I laboured a lot over what to take. The design space becomes constrained quickly and it does seem like for the Rebels the answer to the exam question is a bit easier - take a Assault Frigate (or two) and then just work out what play style you want to go with.

The Empire doesn’t really have that jack of all trades ship in that price range. The closest is the Victory Class Star Destroyer but its speed and manoeuvrability sucks without immediate access to Moff Jerjorrod and/or Harrow. The importance of manoeuvrability in the 3x3 board space cannot be understated.

The temptation is then to go for an Imperial Star Destroyer but after blowing away more than half your points you’re backed into a corner design wise in terms of activations. Then there’s the question of how you drive that thing and avoid being flanked.

So in building my squad I looked to develop overlapping layers of fire that made it (hopefully) difficult to just run headlong into but also challenging to skirt away from.

Arquitens Light Cruiser (52) (Flagship)
• XX-9 Turbolasers (2)
= 54 Points

Raider I (44)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
= 48 Points

Gladiator I (56)
• Ordnance Experts (4)
= 60 Points

Squadrons:
• Gar Saxon (20)
• Mandalorian Gauntlet Fighter (18)
= 38 Points

Total Points: 200

The problem is that I’ve only ever really used Arquiten’s in a gun-line scenario in the standard game – choosing it as my flagship is an uncomfortable start. Gladiators seem scary but without any ordnance available right now I’m just hoping for decent rolls, and much the same could be said for the Raider. And again I’ve not really ever used either of those two ships.

The squadrons I’ve opted for are a Gar and another Gauntlet – I did flirt with the idea of Decimators but I felt that their speed and the raid component that comes with the Assault keyword would be more helpful where the opposition has equally stressed over the inclusion of a comms-net flotilla.

For the commander ability I’ve selected - Ambush Gunner I which reads: “While you are attacking at distance 1-2 of an obstacle or friendly ship, your attacks cannot be obstructed.” This should prove valuable in a compressed battlespace full of obstacles and ships.

Of course the campaign presents other challenges, and I’m fortunate that NinjaBoomer has the admiral’s duties of coordinating everything. Which brings us to our first round.

Round 1 Ops Brief

Situation:

• Factions: Imperial (me) vs. Rebels (Mundo)

• Location & Objective: Concord Dawn – Marked for Destruction

• Ruleset: Rebellion in the Rim

Order of Battle (ORBAT):

Me – First Player

Mundo

Assault Frigate Mk2 B (72)
• Electronic Countermeasures (7)
= 79 Points

CR90 Corvette A (44)
• Turbolaser Reroute Circuits (7)
= 51 Points

GR-75 Combat Retrofits (24)
• Comms Net (2)
= 26 Points

Squadrons:
• Mart Mattin (22)
• Ketsu Onyo (22)
= 44 Points

Total Points: 200

This is probably a terrible match-up for me. He far outguns me at long range, and having comms-net undermines any value of the Gauntlets. Worse still is his objectives, all of which have moving obstacles or Exogorths. So the decision for Marked for Destruction may also be ill informed but there’s no good choices here with Mart Mattin just dropping mines.

SMITH. ZAPP SMITH. BRANNIGAN…

I don’t have a plan so…I think I’m going to defer to my Commander.

Zapp Brannigan! I’ve been transferred to the Outer Rim to help deal with a little Rebellion and has absolutely nothing to do with a HR complaint. Out here there’s no law – just Brannigan’s Law. I don’t pretend to understand it - I just enforce it.

That’s why we have a variety of triangles to do just that. Fighting the enemy at Concord Dawn…the planet that looks like it suffered a fate far worse than death by Snu Snu. So tragically relatable.

The first round is just a cunning game of cat v cat with only minor moves with me opting to move to the right lane to try and get past the Purgill. Mundo navigates taking the centre with the Space Potato, and the alien space whales are moved.

Round numero…two and the Raider goes first and sends that hero Gar Saxon who raids the enemy baked potato for a single damage. He activates his CR90 but is short of a anti-squadron shot and so turns hard in. The Gladiator goes speed 3 and runs short of the spacewhale remaining short and out of range of the Baked Potato’s guns, which instead opts to burn its nav token to clear the raid and flak at Gar for 1 damage and overlapping him.

My flagship pitches in, while the enemy flotilla drifts forward at speed 1. My gauntlet moves in on the AFMK2 and puts another raid token on it. Mart drops a mine onto the Purgill and Ketsu moves to hit Gar for another damage.

The third round starts poorly by all standards – especially mine, with the raider landing near the mine and takes 2 facedown damage. Mundo’s flotilla activates and throws another token to the baked potato meandering forward again. The Gladiator runs over the Purgill at speed 2 which does more free damage to the Imperial.

Prepare for ship-to-ship intimacy.

Mundo opts to activate the Baked Potato which flaks at the gauntlet fighter and hits the raider for a single damage before shimmying around the gas cloud. My Flagship hits the enemy Baked Potato on just one damage and rams into the Raider for even more fratricide – and it’s clear the Raider will die next turn.

You see it’s this kind of short sightedness is why you’ll never make Captain Kif.

The CR90 hits the Gladiator for a single damage and moves further into the centre of the board. My squadrons manage to reduce that terrifying Ketsu down to half health but Gar Saxon is lost in the return fire.

Round four and I’m feeling the Captain’s itch – and the raider shoots at both the enemy ships and moves away as best it can. The enemy’s transport attacks the gauntlet and hides, so the Gladiator moves behind it. The enemy ship uses those ridiculous weapons to get a critical damage on the raider and which triggers the objective special rule. Well two can play at that game.

Or even four…

The Arquitens gets a critical onto the enemy Baked Potato, which takes a shot at the Gladiator for 1 damage before driving into the protection of that whimsical looking cloud. His squadrons run like cowards. Oh and the Raider dies.

Fifth round the Arquiten has the enemy ship dead to rights at close range but misses and so only gets one damage onto it – it runs over the space whale to get some distance from the fight.

The rebels fire and run while the Gladiator takes on Ketsu.

We continue in a tit-for-tit fashion like this for remainder of the battle through to the end.

It’s a loss of 83-15.

Debrief

When I'm in command, every mission is a suicide mission.

Not the best result for Zapp or myself, we skulk away with our 2XP and 15pts for squadrons. The Rebels have taken a decent lead with 3 wins to the Empire’s 1. And as usual they’re taking that momentum as they march towards Mandalore and Nal Hutta for the Ally tokens.

From there winning the campaign becomes progressively out of our reach.

Until next time…

Stay Salty.

- Barry