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Joined: Wed Aug 20, 2003 12:30 am Posts: 939 Location: University of Essex, Colchester, UK (soon to be Brighton, Sussex, UK)
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Well, I just read that in the yahoo BFG list. It basically answers Axtelinge's question (BTW: looks like you had the correct intuition here ) and makes great comments on the analysis from the POV of an experienced BFG chaos player (13 fleets, OMG!!) even if I disagree with a pair of his points. It is well worth reading and I thought it would be worth to share that with you if you don't read the list
Enjoy,
Xavi
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MAIN BOOK'S CHAOS FLEET ANALYSIS
From: ? "Bell" Date: ?Wed Sep 17, 2003 ?10:04 pm Subject: ?Re: [BFG-List] Blue Book's Chaos Fleet Analysis
Hi Xavi,
I own 13 Chaos fleets (each of the Legions). So I'll give you some comments (as I have time for once)
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MAIN BOOK'S CHAOS FLEET ANALYSIS
BATTLESHIPS
Despoiler: 400 points for a carrier with a fair firepower, even if most line ships beat it there. I don't really like it.
< Desolator: 300 points for 10 side battery firepower (including the dorsal battery) and strength 9 torpedoes. Good for opening a path in the enemy fleet launching a salvo so the rest of the chaos ships can infiltrate the enemy battle line following the torpedoes when the enemy fleet diverts its course to prevent being hit.
< OVERALL: I think that chaos battleships are overpriced and I would go for the grand cruisers any day, but I have seen them used with great efficiency as well. Mostly as damage sponges, where their 4 shields, 12 hit points and high number of turrets turn them into difficult bastions to break, so they are placed in a vulnerable spot to be beaten while the rest of the chaos fleet causes the real damage on the enemy. Usually that "trick" (if it can be called so) is used with a Desolator since it also has Str. 9 torpedoes and there are 1 or 2 Devastations already providing the aircraft cover.
<
HEAVY CRUISERS
Repulsive: It is like a Retribution battleship with increased firepower but lower resistance (-2 shields less, -2 hit points, -1 turret). For its cost it is good as a line ship with punch. One of the few chaos ships with prow torpedoes, and it also has boarding torpedoes, so he is a good buy at 230 points, where it is cheap for its abilities.
< Styx: Extremely expensive ship. Only suited if you want to go to battle with massed aircraft squadrons. In any case I think a pair of Devastations will fit better in the fleet, providing all around a much better combo. 290
< Hades: Good ship. Upgraded Murder to add 2 dorsal lances to the mix and have the frontal lances being able to shot in every direction. For only 30 points more than a Murder it is way better IMO. Lance and WB good firepower. Much better than a Gothic or Lunar for 20 points more. A bargain. 200
<
Acheron: 4 lances in every direction (2+ 2 dorsal lances) and a mild firepower of 6. It is like a lunar with 4 lances instead of the usual 2. Not bad, but could be better. The 3 defence turrets come in handy, though. It is simply a line cruiser, not a heavy one. However, if you do the calculation he outguns a Hades ship in almost every possible circumstance, 4 lances + WS6 being more powerful than 2 lances + WS10. In a frontal firepower he is less powerful, but its side firepower surpassed that of the Hades. An other bargain, this time for side firepower. 190
<
Acheron vs. Hades The Acheron is as good as the Hades. it is simply that they act differently. The Hades is more powerful in frontal (4 lances) against most enemies hit in their prow (high armour values), so while the fleets close the gap between them the Hades is more powerful. But once they are close and the side weapons enter the equation the Acheron is better. It has a more powerful firepower there, with up to 4 lances and WB=6 there over the 2 lances and WS=10 of the Hades. The Acheron also has an extra turret, thing that comes in handy when you have a carrier or torpedo maniac in the other side of the table. They can be rated as equal, though. Which one you prefer comes down to personal preference.
<) The acheron is rather pointless (in the bluie book rules) when taking a Dev is a much better choice for the pts.
OVERALL: except the Styx (very personal opinion) those are good ships, even if not astonishing. They can do their role for a fair price and have a serious weaponry for their point cost.
< CRUISERS
Devastation: very good ship. It is like an Imperial Dictator, but has 2 lances in each side and a prow battery that can shot in the sides, so in fact it is like a Lunar with launch bays if it attacks on the side. Well worth it to provide the needed aircraft screen in low point battles where the Styx and Despoiler are not around to help their smaller brothers. It is better than its imperial equivalent, the Dictator, that is more expensive and has less side firepower. 190
< Murder: Good ship as well if you compare it with imperial equivalents. Good side weaponry (10) and 2 lances in the prow, all with a medium or long range. I think there are better options in the fleet, though. If you want prow lances, better a Hades heavy cruiser, that has double number of prow lances for +30 points, and higher side firepower, adding 2 lances to the mix. If you want side firepower better the Slaughter (that can pack up to WS 30/14 (shorter range, but a higher damage potential)) or the Acheron, that is a lance platform. The Murder is an intermediate vessel, but for the extra 30 points I find a Hades MUCH more flexible and powerful overall. In general it can be considered a second category Hades. If you don't have those extra 30 points to buy the Hades, go for the murder, but it is a second best even if it is not a bad ship at all. 170
< Carnage: WB=16 a 45 cm or less. Massed medium range firepower vessel and it is good at it. Not bad at all for a line cruiser. Packs more firepower than a retribution Imperial battleship, and that being a simple line cruiser. The lack of lances might be annoying sometimes but not by much. Specially if you can take other stuff like Idolators and Hades to compensate for that. It is a medium range mobile battery. 180
<
Slaughter: It is like an upgraded Lunar. (2 lances, WB=8) and can upgrade its firepower with the front battery for a total of up to 14 . Worse frontal punch than a lunar but much better side punch. It is quite a bargain at 165 points, less than what an escort squadron with similar firepower would cost you. It is as fast as an escort as well, a thing most cruisers would be envious of (and they are) The downside in all that is that it is quite short in range, and hence only suited for close range dog fights, even if he excels here. A pair of them acting together can be the bane of quite some more expensive enemy ships there. 165
<it) they can quickly over-take when the time is right and then you'll have tigers in a sheep pen!
OVERALL: those ships are simply great, except the murder, that could be better for its cost, but hey. Well worth buys and the workhorses of the chaos fleet
<
ESCORTS
Idolator: Slightly better than a firestorm. 45
<<45pts for an escort is a bit of a risk, put one in each sqdrn to give that lance a shot even when Braced, plus it will have a bullet shiled of cheaper escorts.
Infidel: torpedoes 2, WB 2. Armour 5+. Better than a cobra (moves 30 as well) but costs 40 points.
<incomming enemy torps (to save on fighters).
Iconoclast: WB=3. 4+ armour. Worse than a Sword class frigate, but at 30 points is not bad, specially when you have infidels at 40 points. They get swapped armour and costs there.
<. Otherwise take a Slaughter for fast firepower, unless you really need the manuevrablity of an escort.
In general Massed weapon battery fire fleet. The fleet is more suited for a side fire kind of battle than for a frontal attack. Better to surround the enemy. It has way more firepower in line ships than regular imperial ships even if their prow weaponry is quite lame when not combined with the side weapons. Being a Left/front/right combo, the weapons in the prow (mostly weapon batteries) are great to combine with the side weapons. In a frontal engagement the massed torpedo salvos and nova cannons can tear them apart, but once the side/rear attacks come into play the imperials might find themselves in dire problems.
<until they get really close where you have the Devs fighters or very carfully placed boarding torps.
Comments, suggestions, flames, nova cannon shots in my head?
<)
< <
_________________ Commanding legions forward while sitting in a nice armchair.
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