Hi guys,
Following the discussions on these forums, I grabbed Nick (our resident demo guy) and we tried out the ten Sagittarius fleet.
To match this, I gave 5 White Stars a whirl, figuring I could keep him off balance at least part of the time, and trust to dodges. We played tourney rules, A Call to Arms scenario, with a small planet and an asteroid field.
Some thoughts, if not conclusions;
1. His rolls for criticals were below par, as were my dodges and beam rolls.
2. Terrain maketh the game, even in space - the odd floating rock can spare you a first turn drubbing, and give battered ships breathing space (this would be particularly effective with a Shadow fleet).
3. But it cannot save two Sagittarius (two Sagittari?) from incoming jump points.
4. With ten Sagittarius, you will always be in the field of fire for missiles, wherever you go.
5. But you can put the fleet off balance if you are agile enough, vastly reducing the incoming fire. . .
6. . . . so long as you keep your fleet together and do not spread out.
7. The upgunned forward arc was used twice in this game. Most shots came from the rear and sides.
8. You have to love a planet that a White Star can orbit in a single turn, allowing it to Concentrate All Firepower on a single Sagittarius twice in as row (didn't survive).
End result? The Sagittarius fleet _did_ win. However, it was close enough that it could have swung either way on the dice. One White Star limped home, while only three Sagittarius were left, one badly damaged, one almost pristine.
What was interesting was that the White Stars kept pace, point for point, right up to the end, until both their Damage points and my dice ran out of steam.
Not going to make any judgements from one game and we are more prone to listen to the thoughts of our players than simply go by our own battles so, if after everyone has Armageddon people still want a change, we'll give it some serious thought.
However, 5 White Stars (Armageddon stats) are a perfectly reasonable tournament fleet, so I believe there are ways and means out there. Next time, I'll try a boarding fleet!
My main thought? I don't think people are using planets and asteroids as much as they should.
Warning: Into the Fire II will have terrain on almost every table!!!
Following the discussions on these forums, I grabbed Nick (our resident demo guy) and we tried out the ten Sagittarius fleet.
To match this, I gave 5 White Stars a whirl, figuring I could keep him off balance at least part of the time, and trust to dodges. We played tourney rules, A Call to Arms scenario, with a small planet and an asteroid field.
Some thoughts, if not conclusions;
1. His rolls for criticals were below par, as were my dodges and beam rolls.
2. Terrain maketh the game, even in space - the odd floating rock can spare you a first turn drubbing, and give battered ships breathing space (this would be particularly effective with a Shadow fleet).
3. But it cannot save two Sagittarius (two Sagittari?) from incoming jump points.
4. With ten Sagittarius, you will always be in the field of fire for missiles, wherever you go.
5. But you can put the fleet off balance if you are agile enough, vastly reducing the incoming fire. . .
6. . . . so long as you keep your fleet together and do not spread out.
7. The upgunned forward arc was used twice in this game. Most shots came from the rear and sides.
8. You have to love a planet that a White Star can orbit in a single turn, allowing it to Concentrate All Firepower on a single Sagittarius twice in as row (didn't survive).
End result? The Sagittarius fleet _did_ win. However, it was close enough that it could have swung either way on the dice. One White Star limped home, while only three Sagittarius were left, one badly damaged, one almost pristine.
What was interesting was that the White Stars kept pace, point for point, right up to the end, until both their Damage points and my dice ran out of steam.
Not going to make any judgements from one game and we are more prone to listen to the thoughts of our players than simply go by our own battles so, if after everyone has Armageddon people still want a change, we'll give it some serious thought.
However, 5 White Stars (Armageddon stats) are a perfectly reasonable tournament fleet, so I believe there are ways and means out there. Next time, I'll try a boarding fleet!
My main thought? I don't think people are using planets and asteroids as much as they should.
Warning: Into the Fire II will have terrain on almost every table!!!