ACTA Minbari Fleet- advice needed

[wargame_insomniac]

Hi all

A while back i traded some Shadow ships for a part painted Minbari fleet. I am looking at finishing the painting for the Minbari fleet and finishing off the fleet, probably to 5 points War, in case anyone at outr club wants to play ACTA.

So far I have the following part painted:
1 Sharlin Warcruiser
4 Tinashi War Frigate
2 Tigara Attack Cruiser
6 Torotha Assault Frigate
By my reckoning this 4.25 points War.

I also have the following unpainted:
2 more Sharlin Warcruiser
3 more Tigara Attack Cruiser / Leshath Heavy Scout
1 Neshatan Gunship
2 Troligan Armoured Cruiser
1 Morshin Carrier

Clearly if I paint it all up I will have well in excess of 5 War points. How essential are Neshatan / Troligan / Morshin to Minbari fleet in ACTA? I am not a fan of these sculpts- they don't look much like Minbari ships to me (when compared to iconic Sharlin and even the earlier Tinashi).

Basically i need to work out what ships to try to paint to finish the fleet, and which ships to trade / sell.

Thanks for your help

Cheers

James

PS: is anyone still playing B5 RPG near Leeds?

 

[Burger]

I've never found Troligan to be any use whatsoever. Especially with the new beam rules, which devalues hull 6. And stealth 3+ is fairly useless at close range. I'd rather take a Tinashi any day. If you need close-up work, use a Tigara or 2.

Morshin, well the primary disadvantage of the Nial is range 2 and low hull so it's easy to swat down by AF. So the Morshin is only any good against fleets with low AF. Well it's also good at dogfighting so might be good against a fighter-heavy enemy, but it's expensive for this purpose at Battle level. Its hull 4 makes it easy prey for e-mines and any lucky stealth rolls will bone it.

Neshatan, again hull 6 is not as much of an advantage as it used to be. Sharlin is better in every other regard so I would always take a Sharlin in 2nd ed. It was a great ship in 1st ed, though. Veshatan is a better proposition, its extra damage over the Tinashi makes up for its lower stealth, especially if you're playing a race such as Shadows that usually see through stealth fairly easily, or against e-mines. But again the Tinashi has more turns, more AD and TL secondaries, better AF so if you don't know your opponent's fleet I would go for Tinashi.

I've never found Torotha to be any good, except for making up odd-numbered FAP skirmish level games. I'd always take a Tigana or Teshlan in preference to 2 Torotha.

Leshath is probably the best scout in the game. They are very similar to Tigara so you could just give one a different paint job. In fact I gave my Leshath a different paint job, even though it is the actual model, to avoid confusion. You would very rarely if ever need more than 1.

 

[AdrianH]

I've never played Minbari but I have faced them, usually with Shadows and occasionally with Earth. Out of the ships in the unpainted list, the ones which caused me most problems were the Leshath (sniggers at other people's stealth) and Morshin (Command 1 in addition to the regular Minbari initiative +4, a bunch of fighters and the ability to respawn them). The Morshin might not be useful against all opponents but it's worth keeping the option open.

In the tournaments which I've attended, nobody who played Minbari used a Troligan or a Neshatan/Veshatan, nor have they been used in any of the casual games I played against Minbari. Draw your own conclusion about how useful they are.

Physically the only difference between a Leshath and a Tigara is that the Leshath has a nacelle at the base of the dorsal fin, which the Tigara lacks. This should be easy to add. Otherwise, as Burger says, you could paint it differently - or just treat it as another Tigara variant like the Teshlan, and take note of which one is acting as a Leshath in this game.

I'd also keep at least one more Sharlin, partly because it is the iconic Minbari ship and partly to give you some extra choices in high value games.

 

[Da Boss]

In the tournaments which I've attended, nobody who played Minbari used a Troligan or a Neshatan/Veshatan, nor have they been used in any of the casual games I played against Minbari. Draw your own conclusion about how useful they are.

I'll tell you if they work for me on Saturday :shock:

 

[KennyBoy]

At Battle level, I like the Shantavi as well for an option... Though I appear to be in the minority...
As with many fleets, your selections are going to be more/less successful against certain opposition, but I would say that the only Minbari ship to avoid is the Troligan - it's just not as good as taking two Tigaras... which, to be fair, is one of the most lethal "knife-fighters" in the game! There is very little, below Battle level (and even some of those will suffer) that can withstand a CAF'd Tigara's front arc!

 

[Burger]

I like Shantavi too... TD beam, can't beat it!

I think I've just been unlucky with it in the past and it's got blown up with single shots. I should be less superstitious eh?

 

[wargame_insomniac]

Thanks guys- your replies have confirmed my gut reactions when looking at the model scuplts. Yes you're right- I plan on keeping the extra Sharlins just because they are so inconic. And the Tigara / Leshath I liked mainly due to their resemblance to the Sharlin.

I was nt sold on the looks of the Neshatan / Troligan / Morshin. If none of them are essential to Minbari fleet then I am not sure would want to invest the time to paint them up.

So they will probably be heading towards ebay.

What are the forum rules on selling figures? I have a couple of LONA box sets and some Crusade era EA ships that I will be selling.

Cheers

James

 

[wargame_insomniac]

Physically the only difference between a Leshath and a Tigara is that the Leshath has a nacelle at the base of the dorsal fin, which the Tigara lacks. This should be easy to add. Otherwise, as Burger says, you could paint it differently - or just treat it as another Tigara variant like the Teshlan, and take note of which one is acting as a Leshath in this game.

I'd also keep at least one more Sharlin, partly because it is the iconic Minbari ship and partly to give you some extra choices in high value games.

Thanks for explaining the difference in model- I checked and i have 3 with that nacelle and 2 without. So from what you & Burger have said I will have 2 Tigaras, 1 Leshath, with using the other 2 as maybe Teshlan Fast Cruiser.

Excellent- thanks for your help

James

 

[wargame_insomniac]

That will give m,e the following 5 points war fleet:
1 Sharlin Warcruiser
4 Tinashi War Frigate
1 Leshath Heavy Scout
2 Tigara Attack Cruiser
2 Teshlan Fast Cruiser
6 Torotha Assault Frigate

(with 2 Sharlins in reserve for bigger games). How does that sound as a afce-allcomers force? Is it reasonably well rounded/balanced?

Thanks

James

 

[AdrianH]

The Teshlan is simply a variant of the Tigara, or in your case a variant of the Leshath. So you have 3 Leshaths, any or all of which can be Teshlans if you want - just decide which ones are Teshlans before the game starts and make sure your opponent knows which model is which variant.

If you really want a force capable of meeting all comers, I'd still recommend keeping a Morshin. Personally I hate it, but that's partly because the only Morshins in my games are on the other side. It is useless against some enemies, and against those you leave it out and take another Tinashi. It is very useful against some others. And if you're planning on using a Shantavi, with its reduced anti-fighter, you'd better plan on giving it fighter cover somehow. You could always keep the model unpainted, play a few games (especially against Shadows or Earth, where the fighters will be useful), then sell it if you decide you really can do without it.

 

[wargame_insomniac]

Thanks Adrian

We have a couple of former B5 ACTA players at my local gaming club (Leeds Night Owls). Ross has Shadows (i swapped my Shadow box set for his Minbari fleet above), Andy has a large Vorlon fleet (including my Vorlon box set which I painfully parted with), and I have just found out that Jason has a large EA and Dilgar FA fleets.

So your suggestions have been most helpful in what I might face at my local club.

Much appreciated.

James

 

[Burger]

What are the forum rules on selling figures? I have a couple of LONA box sets and some Crusade era EA ships that I will be selling.

Very relaxed. You can list your stuff and price or ask for offers here, or link to your ebay selling page. To be honest you'll probably make a lot more on ebay, and make a lot more if you break the fleet boxes down into individual ships. That does add hassle of making maybe 100+ auctions of course, but it's worth it.

 

[wargame_insomniac]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Some WIP Minbari painted.

Not sure how my friend Ross managed to paint so many- I have almost finished the highlighting up to Space Wolf grey and I'm done in. Can't face doing the "tiger" stripes yet.

Cheers

James

 

[shiba-tenchi]

What are the forum rules on selling figures? I have a couple of LONA box sets and some Crusade era EA ships that I will be selling.

Which LONA boxed sets are they?

 

[wargame_insomniac]

What are the forum rules on selling figures? I have a couple of LONA box sets and some Crusade era EA ships that I will be selling.

Which LONA boxed sets are they?

I have the Brakiri and Abbai fleet boxes, both shrinkwrapped MIB, plus a few Abbai blisters.

(I also have Deazi fleet box but I'm hoping to hang onto that one).

Cheers

James