Army of Light - no more League? Playtest rules questions.

[Triggy]

I'll repeat myself - the AoL is not a League fleet.

There will be a separate League fleet in P&P.

Let me give you three bulleted questions then, and I'll try and number them from now on, for ease of response.

1. Give me an example of a Army of Light fleet, at Skirmish 5, Raid 5, and Battle 5. What would you take, and do you think it represents a balanced list against the commonly taken fleets at that level?

2. How does taking a White Star work in the Army of Light? Can I take as many as I want, representing the numbers of the White Star fleet? It is an ISA ship in the current rules, not a Minbari one. Will there be legal Army of Light ships, like a special Sharlin (the Dogoto, Delenn's flagship during the major fights of the war), and White Stars? The White Star fleet was present during the Army of Light timeframe, and especially so in the end of the war, which is really the only time the Army of Light fully came together as a "fleet" as we know it, and that wasn't until 2261, and only in 2261 that they all massed together in those numbers.

3. Are there enough Patrol, Skirmish and Raid choices for the Army of Light list? This goes back to #1, I think without seeing what can be arranged at each priority level, we can't make an informed decision, give us some examples of how you see this working, in a competetive setting.

4. Will the G'Quan be looked at during the P&P playtesting? Is the CBD 4 the only major change effecting the ship? It is widely accepted that it is a poor choice, can you give us some word about this highly sought after and vitally canonical ship?

1. 5 FAP Skirmish
1 x Halik Frigate (pak'ma'ra)
1 x Sataaka Gunship
2 x Sunhawk Battlecruiser
1 x Aurora Starfury Wing
1 x Thunderbolt Starfury Wing

5 FAP Raid
2 x White Star
1 x White Star II
1 x Sataaka Gunship
2 x Strikehawk Battle Carrier
2 x Sunhawk Battlecruiser

5 FAP Battle
1 x Shalin Warcruiser
1 x G'Quan Heavy Cruiser
1 x Nova Dreadnought
1 x Batrado Armed Transport
1 x T'Rann Heavy Cruiser
1 x Hyperion Assault Cruiser
2 x Eyehawk Scout Cruiser

These are just three options and show a mixed force, a fast force and a "brick" force. One or two options in the fleet are slightly limited but I find the choices interesting and you can certainly build effective fleets.

2. Yes you can take as many as you want in any combination with other ships or on their own

3. The complete AoL list would have the following:
Patrol
Aurora Starfury Wing
Eyehawk Scout Cruiser
Flyer Wing
Frazi Wing
Nial Wing
Sky Serpent Heavy Wing
Sleekbird Assault Cruiser
Sunhawk Battlecruiser
Thunderbolt Starfury
Ximm Close Escort

Skirmish
Darkhawk Missile Cruiser
Guardhawk Battle Escort
Hyperion Assault Cruiser
Jumphawk Command Cruiser
Olympus Corvette
Sataaka Gunship
Solarhawk Battlecruiser
Strikehawk Battle Carrier
Warbird Cruiser
Xirr Bombardment Saucer
Xixx Torpedo Saucer
Xorr War Saucer

Raid
Batrado Armed Transport
Bimith Defender
Halik Frigate (pak'ma'ra)
Hyperion Cruiser
Nova Dreadnought
T'Loth Assault Cruiser
T'Rann Heavy Cruiser
White Star
White Star II
Xill Battle Saucer

Battle
Avioki Heavy Cruiser
G'Lan Mag Cruiser
G'Quan Heavy Cruiser
G'Tal Command Cruiser
Kaliva Lance Cruiser
Omega Destroyer
Omega Pulse Destroyer
Xaak Command Saucer

War
G'Quonth Attack Cruiser
Omega Command Destroyer
Sharlin Warcruiser
Sharkaan Advanced War Cruiser
Sharoos Heavy War Cruiser

I think there are enough choices at each PL

4. The G'Quan (and variants) is getting extra damage, crew and an extra AD on its laser cannon. This is all on top of the overall Narn proposed special action of CBD.

 

[Hindsight]

Hrm. I'm convinced. Just was unclear about the White Stars, and where they came from in the fleet list, I see re-reading version 1.1 that some of the wording has changed, and that one ship per fleet chosen thing is gone, so you could take an all Minbari, all ISA Army of Light, at Initiative 0 perfectly legally, as legally as mixing it up. That was my main fear and I guess that is already changed. Cool. I'm sold.

Will Delenn and Ivanova be an ISA, Minbari, and Army of Light option then as well? And Sheridan for that matter.

Kinda makes me want to take the Tara'lin still, just for the cheap command upgrade to overcome that 0 initiative, or maybe just one of those shiny new Enforcers. Hrm. This does open up some options. I'll have to see if I can get in some games with this proposed list, and try and get you some proper feedback, but I like what I see, when its all spread out like that, much easier to digest.

 

[Triggy]

Good point on the admirals and the appropriate trio (Delenn, Ivanova and Sheridan) should be available for the AoL.

 

[Hindsight]

I've got a lot to take with me to share now, and I think I'll be bringing an Army of Light fleet this week, to give her a shot. I am not thrilled with Initiative Zero, as you're taking people into battle who have an almost religious backing of Sheridan, especially after returning from Za'ha'Dum.

I'm not thrilled that putting one of them on a White Star makes it a battle level ship though. I'm just not sure its worth a second White Star to get some of those special admiral actions. Even worse so if I were to put one of them on the Sharlin, which as a fluff nut I'd be wanting to do.

I'd love that to get worked out, so they cost a skirmish or raid point always, or something, and you can put them wherever. That'd make trying them out a lot more appealing.

Did we determine that Inspired Command should stack with the command ability also? Wasn't that brought up somewhere else?

Anyway, I thank you for this exchange, I am way overdue for a nap, its four thirty in the morning here, and I open today =) Joy.

EDIT - Re-reading Delenn, imagine if we did have to take a CQ check to fire our weapons as a bore sight ship. It might make it worthwhile to allow Delenn to re-roll not just for her ship, but all ships making TTT CQ checks. I'd pay for her if she brought that kind of power to the table, probably at Battle 5 and up, which really doesn't make her available for a tournament.

 

[Greg Smith]

Good point on the admirals and the appropriate trio (Delenn, Ivanova and Sheridan) should be available for the AoL.

There is no reason why they aren't - since they are available to the appropriate fleets. However since the choice of ships is now a limited one, it should probably be made explicit.

 

[eldiablito]

Well, with the new changes, the AoL looks really appealing! Not necessarily the best fleet out there, but a solid option with tons of flavor for the show-watching fans (like myself).

Well, all that time I was holding out on buying Drazi and Narn ships has finally ended, in order to build it up to a level I'm happy with, I'll have to fork out some more $. Drat! :wink:

On a slightly different note, it seems that the League will make a return, only slightly changed from today (perhaps a similar format of the AoL, but missing some of the total League ships). Well, I'd hope to see that list and make up my own decision, but it does give me hope.