Gaim rip-off

[CrookedWookie]

I know this has come up a couple of times before, but the Gaim fleet still just irks me. I think they have some very cool ships, I like the IDEA of them a lot and the look of them, but the fighter thing just blows.

Their box set (which doesn't even COME with a carrier) has ships capable of carrying I think 45 flights of Klikkitas. It comes with 8, leaving it THIRTY-SEVEN flights short. Each of those can transform into the Klikkitak missile, and it comes with 8 of those as well.

I understand it's a business and all but come ON... The box set is SEVENTY-FOUR flights short of the fighters and missiles. That's 18.5 blister packs. Call it 19, at a minimum of $10 apiece--$13, if you go through the Mongoose store. That's $190 to $247 (plus tax) on fighters alone, just to make up the complement the ships are capable of carrying.

And like I said; the box set doesn't even come with a carrier!

The S&P issue was boasting about how you could field a 5-point Raid fleet with 4 carriers and a Queen light cruiser--and field something like 104 flights of fighters between them. Terrific; that's only fifty-two blister packs of fighters, or a pittance of $520-676. Chump change.

Don't get me wrong; I know it's a business and I know it's an expensive hobby. I know you could use little tokens or counters to represent the fighters but come on... If you wanted to do that you wouldn't be buying the nice metal models to begin with.

I think the Gaim are a great new fleet. I just think it's a shame that I'll never be able to afford to play them right.

 

[tneva82]

The S&P issue was boasting about how you could field a 5-point Raid fleet with 4 carriers and a Queen light cruiser--and field something like 104 flights of fighters between them. Terrific; that's only fifty-two blister packs of fighters, or a pittance of $520-676. Chump change.

But do you need 104 stands physically? I would dare to make a guess you are going to lose quite a lot of them so you don't neccessarily get to field all of them.

But hey fighter heavy fleets can be pretty expensive. I have EA fleet which needed pretty lot of fighters as well. What with aurora/thunderbolts. Still need badgers...

Each game has some fleets/armies that are just more expensive than others. Why would ACTA be different?

 

[Chernobyl]

don't mount them 6 to a base, you easily cut your costs in half or more by coming up with another scheme (I started by mounting single fighters on pennies) or using someone elses method (timesslip's triple flying stand)


Chern

 

[CrookedWookie]

Ah, but see the thing about the EA fleet is their fighters don't transform. So right off the bat that cuts the number of models (and cost) in half. Plus, their carrier is a full 2 priority levels higher than the Gaim carrier, which means you're NEVER going to field anywhere near as many of them.

And while most EA ships can carry 1-4 flights of fighters, nothing short of the Avenger or Poseidon carries 8-16 flights or more like some of the Gaim ships.

I'm not saying fighter-heavy fleets aren't going to be expensive. I'm just saying that if you ACTUALLY wanted to field all of the Gaim fighters the ships can carry--and considering their fighters ARE one of their two main weapon systems, along with their bombs, why wouldn't you?--the cost goes past "expensive hobby" to "insane."

The 104 flights of fighters they give in their example is for a RAID-level fleet, no less. Imagine how expensive it gets if someone tries to put together a 5-point battle level fleet made up heavily of carriers.

I think it would be a lot of FUN to throw hundreds and hundreds of manned missiles as your opponent--although that would seem to get into the ream of the game being broken, since I can't imagine how you'd withstand that--but the price is just nuts.

I guess all I'm trying to say is that if you're going to create a fleet who are entirely geared to fielding dozens or even hundreds of fighters as one of their main weapons...you should try and make them a little more affordable somehow. Whether that comes as more in the fleet box, more than 4 flights in a blister pack--or a box set of nothing but fighters to fill out your fleet--or SOMETHING.

The fact that the box set doesn't come with a carrier and is still SEVENTY FOUR flights short of its full complement of fighters and the missiles they can convert to is insane.

And yes, I realize that you can cut that down some by not transforming them all simultaneously--thus allowing you to recycle the missile models--but if you're not firing them off in large numbers to overwhelm fighter defenses it kind of defeats their whole purpose, doesn't it?

 

[Admiral Phlop]

You can buy different flight stands. I use a flight stand from timeslip which has threads here. These stands only use 3 craft per stand so you get twice as many flights per package. Just an idea to save some money and still use the pretty fighters.

 

[animus]

An obvious tactic is to make your own flight bases and put 1 ship on each. That should help alot.

I personally put 3 flights on a base. It just looks better than the circle or fighters on the hex base and I double my fighters instantly.

 

[Quixote]

Just be glad that Mongoose hasn't made the Cascor yet... Back in AOG days they had Ultralight fighters, that outnumber'd everyone (yes everyone) by at least 3:1.

 

[tneva82]

Ah, but see the thing about the EA fleet is their fighters don't transform.

But they can swap aurora's to thunderbolts for free so in essence they do transform. It's just done in fleet selection but since you might want to change that from game to game you need both...

So right off the bat that cuts the number of models (and cost) in half. Plus, their carrier is a full 2 priority levels higher than the Gaim carrier, which means you're NEVER going to field anywhere near as many of them

Gaim have patrol level carriers?

Anyway they can still get quite a lot of fighters.

I'm just saying that if you ACTUALLY wanted to field all of the Gaim fighters the ships can carry

But how often you need them all in field? Don't you suffer any casualties ever? Heck gaim fighters are designed to BE casualties...Afterall when you use them they die...

 

[JayRaider]

I think the point is valid.
Even basing 3 fighters as a flight its still Way To Much Money!

 

[Dizzy Vree]

a Box set of fighters would be nice, the one thing putting me of a gaim fleet is the cost, i usualy use atleast 3 carriers, thats alot of fighters(and a fair chump of breaching pods). mab a box of say, 50 of each would be great.... cus even basing fighters 3 to a base means you need enough bases...

 

[Sulfurdown]

well.. you've got a maximum of 3456 sq. in. of space on a standard board, how big is the trend in custom fighter bases? .... hmm.. highlevel blockade.... So many fighters that the runner can't legally move past!

 

[CrookedWookie]

I'm not saying there aren't work-arounds. I'm just making a point, is all. I just think it would be cool to get like a $50 box set that has a BUNCH of fighters in it, or something like that, if that's the way the fleet is designed. Something to help you build up their numbers fast and at a little less cost.

Oh, and whoever mentiond the priority levels, did I get it wrong when I said 2 levels? The Gaim carrier is Raid level, the Poseidon is War; that's 2 levels, isn't it? Raid, Battle, War? I wasn't talking about the Avenger, certainly, but that only carries 8 fighters.

 

[Da Boss]

Be nice if there was a counter sheet just for the Giam fighters - as others have said - a reversable one would be great

 

[Chernobyl]

yeah, a double sided counter seems to be the trick here. With timeslip's bases I don't glue the fighter tree to the flight stand, so with the gaim I could just swap out the models.

Chern

 

[tneva82]

Oh, and whoever mentiond the priority levels, did I get it wrong when I said 2 levels? The Gaim carrier is Raid level, the Poseidon is War; that's 2 levels, isn't it? Raid, Battle, War? I wasn't talking about the Avenger, certainly, but that only carries 8 fighters.

And avenger isn't carrier? Let's see...More fighters than normal, check. Carrier X trait, check. Fleet carrier, check. Why it WOULDN'T be carrier?

 

[Da Boss]

I buy ships but not fighters so fighter counters for the Gaim and all races are on my wish list

 

[Greg Smith]

The boxed set does come with a carrier - every ship carries fighters and all but the Sataaka have the carrier trait.

I quite fancy a Gaim fleet, but won't touch it until there are counters, preferably as a PDF so I can print unlimited amounts.

 

[EDFDarkAngel1]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a coin jar with 300+ coins in there that will do beautiful as fighters.

Dark Angel

 

[[Omicron]Urobach]

Don't get me wrong; I know it's a business and I know it's an expensive hobby. I know you could use little tokens or counters to represent the fighters but come on... If you wanted to do that you wouldn't be buying the nice metal models to begin with.

I think the Gaim are a great new fleet. I just think it's a shame that I'll never be able to afford to play them right.

psssssst learn how to make molds by yourself and how to cast something.... and you can save a lot of money. i don´t have sayed this....psssst :twisted: :wink:

 

[Right Hand of God]

I base my fighters 1 to a base. Brigade models sell a dome shaped hex base the same size as the fighter hex at 10p/20cents that holds one fighter model at the top of the dome. Certainly looks fine on the medium and large fighters, looks a bit odd when they are as small as the Sentri or the Gorith though. But at £5.40 a box I get 24 stands of fighters instead of 4. My Gaim fleet is 15 points of war, I havent even begun to count how many fighters I need!