Are scouts worth it in tournaments?

[prelude_to_war]

With the new tournament format and assuming fleets are 5pt. raid, are scouts worth the investment? Granted some are cheaper than others - and I imagine they'd be a good option in campaigns.

But do you invest in their potential capabalities or opt for a more offensive capable ship?

 

[Slightly Norse John]

Part of the problem is the lack of combat capable scouts. This is one where I wish B5 had stuck a bit closer to reality, because historically, there were no unarmed recon vessels, as is virtually the case with ACtA. Napoleonic frigates, ironclad- era corvettes, WW1 light cruisers and destroyer leaders, WW2 destroyers- technically all would classify as scouts. They don't have to be stealthy themselves. I'd gladly lose the plasma cannon array to mount a scout sensor grid on the Hyperion CA, and it would be better than a flyweight one trick pony.
Rant over. Seriously, against anybody but the Minbari, no. And even then, only at Skirmish level or lower. I forget which of the EA scouts got cheaper, but that one. the Corvan is a good investment anyway, the Narn and Vree have good shooty scouts, but only really the Corvan is a good choice at it's level, in and of itself, as useful for any purpose other than scouting.

 

[Blackavar]

I believe the Narn's Sho'Kar is usually well worth it in a Narn fleet because of its good versatility: It can either redirect attacks (which is the equivalent of CAF without the penaltys to movement and stuff:AKA Boresighted CAF's =D) or the stealth reducing ability. Plus, its not a push over in the weapons department either, but it is no Ka'Tan, and so therefore I'm not sure it is worth it: Ergo the unsure vote... I suppose though that in a tourament setting, versatility is the key, and going toe to toe with the Minbari without a scout would not be good. Its really up to the player.

P.S. Just thought of something though: Tournament crew qualitys are 4 right? So in that case I would have to say a resounding NO! The odds are that it will only pass its checks 1 out of 3 times, not neatrly often enough to justify the lack of firepower you are bringing into the battle. Unfortunately scouts won't be finding many good places in my tourny fleets now. O well, more Ka'Tans for me!

 

[Greg Smith]

The Vree Vaarls are great. They are patrol level and have stealth 5. The Vree get +1 CQ so they only have to roll 3 to reduce stealth and 4 to redirect fire.

 

[lastbesthope]

The Vree Vaarls are great. They are patrol level and have stealth 5. The Vree get +1 CQ so they only have to roll 3 to reduce stealth and 4 to redirect fire.

Slight pooint of Order Greg, Vree don't get a +1 to CQ, they get a +1 on all CQ and Damage Control checks.

This is subtly but importantly different to a CQ bonus of +1, for instance the ISA +1 CQ bonus is too a maximum of 6, so when rolling for campaign random CQs you wouldn't want to roll anything more than a 5 anyway.

However, a Vree ship which rolled a 6 for CQ would still get the bonus to it's CQ and DC checks, effectively giving it a base CQ of 7.

LBH

 

[demonllamma]

You all might also want to remember that having more scout ships than your opponent gives you the ability to reroll initiative for deployment and the first round. This could really come in handy and very well may be worth it if you have a skirmish or especially a patrol level scout.

 

[Morgoth]

I think that Scout ships are pretty good and definitely give you more options at the statr of tha game and also allow redirected fire and stealth reduction. Of course I would like to see scouts with more weaponary although some can still pack a small punch - the Sho'Kar is a capable ship with its burst beams, twin particle array and pulse cannons. and for the priority level the Vaarl and Corvan are pretty good too.

 

[MarkNorfolk]

This based on my last tourney experience (ie EA pre-tourney list fleet) but the re-roll for initiative didn't help, the opponent's bonus skewed the roll too far in his favour. The Oracle I used usually failed to break the stealth of the enemy or else CAF negated it's other effect. Throughout the event I wish I had taken a 'proper' warship. IE trading the potential +1 to break stealth for another, tougher ship with more powerful weaponary.

Cheers
Mark