I haven't played GOWK/Zannah, but even without Veers I don't think they would be an overwhelming challenge. With +16 attack, snowtroopers will hit half the time if the target is in cover. More like 70% with no cover, which is what they'll be once they're out and ready to attack. If 7 snowtroopers can get shots off on Zannah per round and 3 of them are in range of a czerka, that's 10 shots per round. Average 7 hits... 3.5 get past the first soresu and then you're eating up force points. Even with Renewal 1 and a ghost, she's likely to be out of FPs in a round and a half of combat. Then 3+ hits getting past Soresu per round will wear her down quickly. Even bubbled, she's taking damage because they're 30-50 dmg per shot depending on their bonuses.

Piett costs 20, while Veers (either one) costs 21, so you have to mainline Veers and use your Pellaeon CE to switch to Piett (95% of the time) if you want to do that. So you're paying 37pts (16 and 21) for that trick. If you're expecting to see a lot of Daala squads, then those 37pts are probably better spent on more troopers/Zygerrians (as Tim said, higher activations win Daala mirror matches).

So if the competitive meta is going to be restricted again (), then at least it will require SOME creative thinking, rather than copy/pasting the top squad.

Death Shots and Nom Bombs should compete against it, because you're trading pieces and those squads can often fit in more of them.

My thoughts on matchups...

I think Yobuck and NPE Extreme still have an advantage over Daala squads, but with Daala's firepower and the LIN, it's a narrow advantage. Not all Lancer squads will have an advantage - they have to be able to out-activate Daala. And they have to strike quickly because the MTB will eat into the activation advantage.

I don't know about Bastila squads. Particularly Thon Song. Thon's Repulse is perfect for clearing out a clump of troopers. ABM knocks the troopers back down to earth with only a Prideful bonus to go for them (and possibly the Czerka). Makes it hard to hit Thon with attacks below 10, and damage is only 20 (40 with Twin). With Thon's Light Tutor, ABM can stay on for a long time. However, a deep strike could potentially turn it off if the attack hits. My guess is Thon Song still has a slight advantage, but OR without Thon's Light Tutor means Daala just waits until the end of a round and then dominates.

I think Cloaked Mandos have a chance against Daala, but I give Daala the advantage. Disruptive reduces their effectiveness in running up (+8/+9 attack only goes so far), but they still get Charging/Prideful for 30dmg. All the Mandos are Cloaked so they have to Charge to do anything.

Blaster Barrage/Furious Assault pieces could potentially hurt a Daala squad, but if the squad is split up sufficiently I think Daala would still hold the advantage. I do think they could compete, though. I'd put them in the same category as the Cloaked Mandos.

Not sure about Death Shots/Nom Bombs, but to me Daala seems stronger on paper. Daala either has a great Deep Strike option to take out Mon Mothma/Nom Anor, or she has more activations to the point where a trade is in her favor: 4point troopers for 6/7/11 point pieces. But these would be decent matches.

I think tank squads will just crumble against Daala - even GOWK/Zannah, though I haven't faced either yet. When you can only take out a couple troopers per round, eventually they will surround you and when you have to absorb 10ish hits per round at 40ish damage per shot, it will eat force points quickly and soon enough of it gets through. Big offensive-minded pieces fare even worse. New Bane went down after taking shots from 4 or 5 snowtroopers... less than half a round's worth of activations. He didn't do any real damage, and even if he got close enough to he would only touch a couple troopers at a time.


Summary -
Slight advantages over Daala:
* Certain Lancer squads
* Yobuck
* Thon Song

Can compete, but advantage Daala:
* Nom Bombs
* Death Shots
* Blaster Barrage/Furious Assault
* Cloaked Mandos

Daala dominates:
* Low activation, big beatstick or tank squads
* Traditional "multi-threat" squads with 3-5 threats in the 20-40 point range and 12-18 activations (captures a TON of squads)


Another caveat... to get my perceived advantage over Daala, Yobuck/Lancer/Thon Song would need to be played expertly.

You didn't have death shots in that squad, but I realized that you did not keep everyone in the Disruptive bubble, which is why I was able to run up and take out the key commanders with uber-deep strike. The key would be to keep everyone in Disruptive but still try to keep Vindicated hidden. Tricky... tough enough that I think Daala does have the edge in that matchup, but not an auto-win for Daala like she was against Revan/Bane this weekend.

From my playing and squadbuilding, I'm convinced this core is needed in the ideal Daala squad:

27 Admiral Daala
13 Czerka Scientist
13 Snowtrooper Commander
12 LIN Demolitionmech
11 Snowtrooper Officer
8 Mas Amedda
8 R7 Astromech Droid
8 Zygerrian Slaver
8 Raxus Prime Trooper x2
32 Snowtrooper x8

(140pts. 18 activations)

You take at least one Zygerrian and two Raxus Primes for a deep strike option. Sometimes with 3 Zygerrians they're often just wasted activations, 2 I usually find useful, but it's always worth taking at least one. More Snowtroopers than Raxus Primes for consistent and bigger damage output. Snowtroopers get to +16 attack with Daala/Snowtrooper commanders. The Czerka makes it really hard to advance on the Snowtroopers. Just the 8 troopers above (with Czerka/Daala/Snowtrooper commanders) can put out 70dmg each for 560 damage per round at +16 attack. And there's still 60 points to play with.

From here you can add more Snowtroopers/GARY/Piett for more damage output. Zygerrians/Flim/Needa/Raxus Primes/StormtrooperCommander/ImperialOfficer all make for more powerful and deeper deep strikes. AccurateVeers for mouse walls or to deep strike commanders hiding in the corner. CombineFireVeers for GOWK or similar high-def/Evade squads. Disra to counter Bastila/Disruptive and the option to bring in a Buzz droid. Pellaeon to frustrate LSDefenders and the option to tailor the squad. Ozzel/Tarkin for activation control.

When you have 560+ consistent damage output per round plus the ability to stick 30dmg after running 24 squares and then shooting, none of the above are 'wrong' answers. Just a matter of guessing what the meta will be. To me, the toughest decision is: Flim/Disra, Pellaeon, or neither - just take more troopers. Flim is so great for deep strikes (extending the deep strike range to 48 squares if you have 3 Zygerrians or granting an extra deep strike attack if 'only' running 36 squares), and Disra is basically the only Bastila counter (even though he's weak) - plus he gives you a Buzz Droid bribery option. On the other hand, Pellaeon lets you pick and choose to counter pretty much anything else. I see a whole lot of Piett, and GARY but I haven't used them or missed them. +16 attack has been enough for me, as has the damage output. If used more deep strikes, I could see it being more useful.

I really wanted to be able to say, "And this is what I think the best Daala squad is...," but I don't know. Still playing around with things, and this discussion helped a lot. I think it helped me see that there really isn't a 'best' Daala squad. It's going to depend on the meta. But leaning toward fewer commanders and more troops at this point. If I were to play right now, I'd go with Flim:

--New Daala Snowtroopers--
27 Admiral Daala
15 Flim
13 Czerka Scientist
13 Snowtrooper Commander
12 LIN Demolitionmech
11 Snowtrooper Officer
8 Mas Amedda
8 R7 Astromech Droid
16 Zygerrian Slaver x2
14 Bothan Saboteur x2
8 Raxus Prime Trooper x2
52 Snowtrooper x13
3 Ugnaught Demolitionist

(200pts. 28 activations)

Actually, I had thought of the RNAF; Gerry plays it really well. I was actually considering the Daala Scout variant (with super-stealth) as a counter to Da Naboo, but then it became clear that the Raxus will eat the Scouts alive.

The Daala meta is not just a A-B-C meta...it's more complicated than that: A1-B1-A2-C1-B2-A3, etc. I love the complexity of it all...I just wish there was a broader range of options involved in that complexity.

@thereisnotry: Yeah I think either the Naboo pilots or troopers hold their own against Daala. Pick your poison.

Well with upwards of 25+ activations the Naboo troopers should be able to stay pretty even initially and get some opportunist shots off on their own turn. As soon as they turn the activation tide you are in trouble. Hence the absolute necessity to have at least the option of bringing in Ozzel.

As for a Raxus getting to Mon, I think that's easier said then done on most maps. Even if you do get that deep the Republic player is going to give you Amidala first, then Panaka, not Mon or Mas.

+1