Armada - Onager Breakdown

Let's talk about the Onager and some build ideas!
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[@erichludwig2095]

It'd be really interesting to see an ignition arc in the sides of a ship for more of a Malevolence vibe. Maybe this will be the Separatist's huge ship when they finally release Clone Wars for Armada

[@Galvanizer1779]

Introduced this ship to my friend a few nights ago - he's not really up to date with Armada at the moment so didn't know what the Onager could do. Round 1 ignition (long) attack with Cataclysm... I've never seen anyone look so defeated after one ship activation. Spent the rest of the game trying to catch up with him as he ran circles around the table trying to stay out of the front arc. Funny and totally worth it to see his face! ;)

[@caseydawson537]

I almost purchased this ship, but my store had the Gladiator, MkII, and Imperial on sale for reasonable prices. At the time i couldn't find them on Amazon. The Onager is next on my list to get next month along with a couple rebel ships I havent picked up yet.

[@JKSSubstandard]

This ship has been an excellent addition to the empire. I've played it in different ways with different outcomes but overall it plays well. My favorite build has actually been double interdictor testbed with Konstantine. The interdictors are both scramblers/grav well with proj experts, and disp caps. It allows you to keep 2 Uber tanks out front ruining the enemy's nav and keeping the onager at arms reach. Use surprise attack, doomed station or contested outpost as obstacles. Enemy either needs to take a speed 0 turn 1 ignition on their flagship or they give me 6 victory tokens because the largely will not be able to get remotely close enough to challenge the objective or onager. Weak against squadrons, but my local meta isn't squad heavy

[@klinktastic]

sounds interesting.

[@JKSSubstandard]

@@klinktastic Ive run it twice and gotten 2 tablings. The starhawk despises this build because its just eating ignition shots every turn and unable to close the distance. The interdictors are tanky as anything in the game and just stall while throwing 4-8 dice per turn to strip shields and tokens before the onager fires. The fast ships that thought they were going to hit and run cant run. Things like hammerheads and gladiators that are trying to close in fast are suddenly at arms reach. The tanky ships are taking 2-3 shots before they can hit back. I think this is probably the one use for Konstantine in the game, but its worked really well for me so far.

[@klinktastic]

@@JKSSubstandard So, typically, are you using the Interdictors first, to chip away at shields, opening it up for the bigshot with the Onager?

[@JKSSubstandard]

@@klinktastic basically. The onager hangs back at 0 or 2 while the interdictors advance at 1 or 2 and get ahead. They force ships to burn tokens and do chip damage before onager fires. They can also block movement of more dangerous ships and absorb a good amount of damage. People also forget the interdictors don't have terrible firepower. 4 dice no matter where you come at them, 8 on double arc. Pretty good arcs. And with 9 hull and 3/2/2 shields targeting scramblers and 5 engineering they are pretty hard to kill without some serious firepower. Usually have brunson on one and either yularen or Palpatine on the other depending on if I want tokens spent or infinite shields. They screen and run interference for onager while that 4 red 3 black ignition rips into the enemy. I've also thrown in a gozanti for tokens. This is niche as hell, but I've found that Konstantine works fine for this build

[@JuergenGDB]

@@JKSSubstandard How does this do vs heavy rebel squadrons... that would just rush the Onager? It seems to me that unless both players agree to somewhat what they are bringing.. the Onager is only a support ship that needs plenty of escorts. All the people I play against always bring about 80-110pt in squadrons...

[@nicholasfronkier6884]

Just got an Oager today, and I can't wait use it! Thank for your awesome advice

[@rollingthunder55]

Is quickly becoming one of my favorite ships having some real luck with Vader the test bed, 3 Kittens an assault carrier and a few high end fighters. Its racked up a nice kill tally so far.

[@fredrichedlund6013]

Hope you are having a speedy recovery from your accident. Take care and great video as always!

[@shaunscott4773]

Glad to see your okay still, remember time off isnt a bad thing. Onager is terrifying, it's an absolute menace to small ships!

[@Wadtomaton]

This past week I ran a fleet with the Onager with Needa for TRC to guarantee a crit with Cataclysm, the long range Ignition SW, Tarkin for tokens, and Interdictors for gx7. Probably not good (only got to play the 1st 2 turns) but getting a Ignition attack off turn 1 against a 0 speed ship is good times. 🤣

[@therealneal9980]

I can’t wait to get my Onager in, I’m excited for a same day delivery build.

[@dobob3698]

The Wave 8 ships are just so pretty, and I love it.

[@antoniogojevic3232]

It is pretty fun to run a testbed with orbital bombardment particle cannons, Hondo, Cataclysm, and Admiral Screed. It lets you get a guaranteed red crit first turn with some splash damage. Really devastating against a carrier with squadrons around it.

[@ericdimeck4481]

Played last week with a similar build with Onager Star Destroyer. Used General Romodi and as second player choose Fleet Ambush. I hid behind obstacles and pummelled my opponent with Superheavy Composite Beam Turbolasers. Also kept my Cymoon ISD near by and remaining obstructive. Romodi is an amazing commander.

[@shaniel1877]

Thanks for the breakdown. This is my new favorite ship:)

[@namdoolb]

I don't normally run Intel officer all that often, but I feel like the onager does make an exceptionally good platform for it. My current preferred configuration is cataclysm, with the gunnery chief, the orbital bombardment cannons, Intel officer, and h-9 turbolasers. Obviously with hondo safely stowed away on another ship. (Preferred admiral here is Vader) I find it does a great job of pressuring opposing defence tokens right from the get-go. With a bit of luck and some poor positioning from the opponent you can actually snipe some of the smaller ships right out of existence on the first turn (although this does require them to move forwards before you activate). Obviously this setup is for the star destroyer variant, (h-9's are kinda important for blocking out opposing evade tokens at that range.) You could probably get away with this on a testbed also, replacing h-9's with sensor team. But I dislike sensor team because it requires the spending of a die.

[@Puzzu]

Great ideas for an Onager build! Will have to try it out soon

[@Snowbane]

Good to see you breaking this down.

[@carlossaona4629]

Thank you for this video it really helps me and my friend group understand these ships

[@arckangel777]

Nice breakdown and options...some look fun for sure I personally love the test bed and enjoyed this past weekend taking out a few small ships with a single ignition attack multiple times. Keep up the work and get well soon

[@mattemler1274]

I've been really liking this ship so far. Nav Team is actually a great card for the Testbed

[@Hailthecloudslayer]

Mine is coming in the mail today! Excited to try it!

[@Ty-yy7zr]

The testbed with Rakehell, commander canto, nav team and the orbital bombardment canon, and sir in a relative corner at speed 0 pivoting all day.

[@KingTiggerTank]

Just ordered mine and can’t wait to fly it

[@brettwiemken5559]

I am so excited for the Clone Wars Armada release

[@charlielara1578]

This is a ship I would like to see in media

[@jda0987654321]

Can't wait to buy this and start using that cool new attack.

[@alexgloor7414]

These things look very dangerous if played well. Will be very interesting to see how they play out

[@Jacksonmckay107]

I think the Ignition effect encapsulates the superweapon fantastically. Definitely agree that this has greater utility than the Starhawk, although my wife and I have a steady debate going about that. She’s listing the Starhawk as a “catch all” ship and experimenting with that and some fast attackers. I’m still fielding a Chimera list. Haven’t had much of a reason to change that, even with the Onager.

[@out4soccer]

Really curious to see if the Testbed is a sleeper hit with the Support Officer slot.

[@Warrickomega]

My one run with the Onager so far has been good, though without good escort support and protection, if the enemy comes in on the flanks, there's only so much to be done.

[@jamestrowbridge5661]

So cool that they added a super laser component

[@simonwillis1529]

Always helpful watching these vids how to build lists

[@Khether0001]

*SIDE STRAFING ONAGER* Hi Crabbok! Please, could you make that video? would be really awesome to see!

[@darrienarnold-cowley891]

My friend is super interested in this ship, I’ll have to pass this video on to him

[@jeremyz4043]

The onager is a beast

[@nathanneugard6276]

Seeing such good reviews/Batrep's for this I'm taking some of my money for my second SSD and going ahead and ordering Onager. Not only is this ship awesome, but the upgrade cards it comes with are really good too! Currently on sale on Amazon, btw.

[@helgefarmer]

Lots of good thoughts. Thanks 😀

[@briantoomey8809]

I love this ship The build I use has the quad turbo laser and sensor team with the new chief and I love it since its negates the evade

[@josephmoberly2109]

So many good options with this ship

[@GreyG88479]

I'd like to run a onager prototype with 2 cymoons

[@leonardomeirelles15]

I think it's gonna be my next purchase. I Wish we had it in Brazil.

[@andrewnowell1695]

These new big ships are quite expensive. I hope they make a significant impact on the list.

[@ericdimeck4481]

And, I'd love another batrep with the Onager...

[@Digitalfiendscom]

No head contusion is going to slow down Crabbok. ;P. I’m really liking the Onager as well...too bad I never get to play it as my daughter is always playing Imperial. I also like the Starhawk but its “super weapon” is a bit crappy.

[@oldvacher]

Needa/TRC with Jonus Around has been à staple for me.

[@lowin7127]

It seems like you get so much upside for the Onager's point cost

[@kitapotamus705]

Great overview, thanks! I'm thinking about getting into the game and building both Galactic Civil War era fleets to have games with friends. Really torn between this and the ISD. I definitely prefer the Onager- I have a soft spot for long range artillery 😅 But I worry- could this ship be unenjoyable for the opponent and lead to repetitive, uninteresting games? I'm thinking of pairing it with the starter pack Victory and a Quasar (another ship I love). But yeah, just a bit concerned the ISD would provide a more enjoyable opponent for the rebels. It doesn't help that my favourite rebel ship is the Liberty and that's also a "point the bow at the enemy and shoot" ship 😅

[@PetersaberHD]

Intel Officer, red-coloured Superweapon, Gunnery Chief Varnillian, Veteran Gunners (or admiral Darth Vader), and that's Brace gone turn 1, at latest turn 2. IMHO if you put oth Intel Officer and XI-7 on it it get borderline broken.

[@nathanneugard6276]

I agree veteran gunners is a good fit for Onager!

[@MegaFattymac]

Ive had luck running the test bed bare bones for the most part while spending the points in the rest of the fleet

[@boomcollie2210]

Thanks for the vid!

[@emenende4057]

I still need to get one 🙃

[@keithcompton6916]

Gonna get me one!

[@isped8650]

wish the Starhawk was as good as the onager.

[@Giraffasaur]

I see your reasoning for not including Gunnary Team, but I actually think you're in error. Let me explain: Gunnary team can be a VERY powerful option on the Onager, especially for anti-squad, but also for ships plowing through your ignition zone, especially in pairs. Yes, you only get one ignition shot. But if a ship gets out of your limited ignition arc but still in your front hull zone, without Gunnary Team, you're in trouble. Conversely, if you're putting emphasis on double-arcing, that completely ruins targeting anything in the ignition arc. I think relying on the sides of the Onager is strange and very situational only, especially since the Onager needs to be in the back of the line. Maybe if you're running some exposed front Onager I could see not using Gunnary Teams, but then I'd make a slew of new recommendations for a build like that altogether.

[@Crabbok]

I can understand the anti-squadron option, but for ships that manage to avoid the ignition arc, they are most likely gonna creep over into the side arc, which is often gonna be the better shot. There are a few cases where ships could creep in between, but I'd rather focus my build on the shots I'm more likely to take, and for me, that means maximizing the one ignition shot.

[@Giraffasaur]

@@Crabbok A fair sentiment. Just hope you the shot then! Otherwise, that's a lot of untapped points for the fleet. Eek!

[@Crabbok]

@@Giraffasaur Sure... but if you don't have the ignition shot, then gunnery teams would be wasted also.

[@flaviobertholdo8371]

It is a good ship, same with Starhawk. But it is still hard to not play with a Super Star Destroyer, lol

[@americanjihad236]

THE HAMMERHEAD SHARK SHIP STRIKES AGAIN GLORY TO THE EMPIRE

[@nathanneugard6276]

Totally agree! Empire Forever!

[@nickkooyman4445]

If star destroyer is in the ship card name. Is it considered a star destroyer? For example the gladiator aswell?

[@nancyleerollins7363]

Always thought it looked like a coffin

[@devonmayer4648]

Captain Needa and Turbo Laser Reroutes?

[@hammerpr1]

Needa and TRC?

[@mattberry3551]

So you critisised the Starhawk weapon reduving a ship to speed 0 as not being a fun experience but think removing upgrades from an opponents ship is fun?

[@Crabbok]

Not particularly, but it’s a title for the ship so I’m talking about it. Removing an upgrade is nowhere near as crippling as being speed 0

[@mattberry3551]

@@Crabbok Fair enough. If the Starhawk ever arrives in the UK - still no sign of it 3 weeks after the US release - I'm keen to find out if its as bad as you claimed in your previous vid (compared to existing other options).

[@chrishayhurst3005]

That programme you're using looks useful? Is it available anywhere?

[@Crabbok]

armada.ryankingston.com

[@Ty-yy7zr]

I don't mind konstantine, and he's the only commander to mess with speed. And speed 0 is a part of the game. Deal with it.

[@jagerzaku9160]

Crab

[@Socherbal]

Hey crabbok and comments section. Just thought I’d let you guys know I found a cool KZbin channel that plays armada games. Called ion radio. I really enjoyed their content. Thought I would share in case anyone else was looking for another good armada channel

[@MegaSnowlizard]

Ur bump is going down

[@vineheart01]

the onager really feels way better than the starhawk. Probably more because the onager is obvious how it works, starhawk not so much. Least to me anyway.

[@johnstuke4850]

What is the program you use to make your rosters?

[@Crabbok]

Armada.ryankingston.com

[@johnstuke4850]

Thanks! Brand new player, so this will help a lot.

[@sashakoleskov4844]

Just realized I wasn’t subscribed. Fixed that

[@L4R5.]

Triple onagers anyone.

[@SevericK_BooM]

I need a gift card so I can buy half an arquitons....

[@eldraque4556]

please can i have a voucher for a nebulon b please? (i'mpoor)