Fireymonkeyboy
Mongoose
Hi,
So, played game #2 tonight, and used the force I recently ordered - a Poseidon with 6 T-Bolts and 10 Starfuries, and two Hyperion variants; I decided to try the railguns for starters.
The game was, shall we say, a learning experience. 5p Raid, opponent played Centauri, and had 2 Maximus, 2 Altairin, and 2 others, I think either Mograth or Dargan. Table was 4x6, three small planets.
Turn one was uneventfull. My game plan was to try and take out his Maximus with my Hyperion variants, then close in with the fighters. I moved toward the cover of the planet, and concentrated my hyperions, hoping to draw off his fighters and Maximus(es). He followed, no shooting turn one.
Turn two, the fleets closed, I pushed up a Hyperion into weapons range, while the second closed just outside of it. I fired at his closest Maximus, missing with all shots. He closed on the Hyperion with the bulk of his fleet, and returned fire, heavy on beams, damn near crippling my ship.
Turn three was nasty. By this point, I'd tied up his sentri flights with auroras, and had moved my t-bolts into position to swarm his flanks, supported by laods of starfuries. He won initiative, concentrated his fleet, and ripped apart both Hyperions, as well as managing to take out most of my fighters. What little return damage the surviving fighters caused was easily absorbed, and the start of turn four saw his essentially undamaged fleet close in on the poseidon. While I was lucky on my recovery rolls, I was left with little in the way of options. By the end of turn 4, the Poseidon had lost all movement to criticals, and we called the game.
So, lessons learned. First, while the advantages ofered by the Poseidon are significant, taking one at Raid priority starves the fleet of needed firepower. Second, while fighter can serve mulitple uses, as the main strike arm of the fleet, they are wanting. Third, Hyperions are astonishingly fragile to beam weapons, or concentrated firepower in general. Putting a relatively close range weapon on their hull does not seem to do much. Fourth, the Poseidon would likely be a more effective addition to a fleet that already has considerable firepower and fighter presence, magnifying the existing fighter wing, and granting air superiority.
While I've not yet given up hope on a fighter-heavy force, I'm reconsidering composition.
Other things to think about. Ships are much more fragile than I realized. My only other game was using Minbari, and I found the ships were far more surviveable, presumeably due to stealth. The vulnerability of my Hyperions to beam weapons caught me off guard, and I'm going to have to consider ways of countering it. Hull 5 just doesn't seem to cut it against the range of firepower my opponent was able to bring to bear. Learning how to effectively break up an opponent, denying the ability to concentrate fire, will be a priority.
Despite having my butt handed to me in a basket, it was an interesting game. I'd love to find a way to salvage my dream of a carrier fleet, but I suspect the P. really is only viable in bigger games. More experimentation to follow.
FMB
So, played game #2 tonight, and used the force I recently ordered - a Poseidon with 6 T-Bolts and 10 Starfuries, and two Hyperion variants; I decided to try the railguns for starters.
The game was, shall we say, a learning experience. 5p Raid, opponent played Centauri, and had 2 Maximus, 2 Altairin, and 2 others, I think either Mograth or Dargan. Table was 4x6, three small planets.
Turn one was uneventfull. My game plan was to try and take out his Maximus with my Hyperion variants, then close in with the fighters. I moved toward the cover of the planet, and concentrated my hyperions, hoping to draw off his fighters and Maximus(es). He followed, no shooting turn one.
Turn two, the fleets closed, I pushed up a Hyperion into weapons range, while the second closed just outside of it. I fired at his closest Maximus, missing with all shots. He closed on the Hyperion with the bulk of his fleet, and returned fire, heavy on beams, damn near crippling my ship.
Turn three was nasty. By this point, I'd tied up his sentri flights with auroras, and had moved my t-bolts into position to swarm his flanks, supported by laods of starfuries. He won initiative, concentrated his fleet, and ripped apart both Hyperions, as well as managing to take out most of my fighters. What little return damage the surviving fighters caused was easily absorbed, and the start of turn four saw his essentially undamaged fleet close in on the poseidon. While I was lucky on my recovery rolls, I was left with little in the way of options. By the end of turn 4, the Poseidon had lost all movement to criticals, and we called the game.
So, lessons learned. First, while the advantages ofered by the Poseidon are significant, taking one at Raid priority starves the fleet of needed firepower. Second, while fighter can serve mulitple uses, as the main strike arm of the fleet, they are wanting. Third, Hyperions are astonishingly fragile to beam weapons, or concentrated firepower in general. Putting a relatively close range weapon on their hull does not seem to do much. Fourth, the Poseidon would likely be a more effective addition to a fleet that already has considerable firepower and fighter presence, magnifying the existing fighter wing, and granting air superiority.
While I've not yet given up hope on a fighter-heavy force, I'm reconsidering composition.
Other things to think about. Ships are much more fragile than I realized. My only other game was using Minbari, and I found the ships were far more surviveable, presumeably due to stealth. The vulnerability of my Hyperions to beam weapons caught me off guard, and I'm going to have to consider ways of countering it. Hull 5 just doesn't seem to cut it against the range of firepower my opponent was able to bring to bear. Learning how to effectively break up an opponent, denying the ability to concentrate fire, will be a priority.
Despite having my butt handed to me in a basket, it was an interesting game. I'd love to find a way to salvage my dream of a carrier fleet, but I suspect the P. really is only viable in bigger games. More experimentation to follow.
FMB
