The Army of Light is probably the ultimate mixed bag fleet. Introduced in P&P, it replaces the League of Non-Aligned Worlds combined fleet after 2259 and includes a few ships from each of the League races as well as Earth, ISA, Minbari and Narn. This gives it tremendous flexibility, allowing players to develop their own fighting styles. My own method is to divide the ships loosely into "core" and "cavalry" types. Core ships form the middle of the fleet, use long range weapons and advance slowly. Cavalry ships charge up the side of the battle area, using cover if possible, before turning hard towards the enemy to strike from the side or rear. Cavalry ships may also defend the core against enemy ships doing the same thing.
Almost all the ships in the Army of Light fleet list are ships which appeared on screen in "Babylon 5". The exceptions are those from the Abbai, Gaim and pak'ma'ra, which never had any ships on screen. (This is not entirely true; a pak'ma'ra Sunhawk did appear briefly in one episode, but the Army of Light fleet list gives them the Halik rather than the Sunhawk.) What this means is that, since fleet carriers don't exist in "Babylon 5" (apart from the Raiders Strike Carrier), the Army of Light doesn't have them. It also means that, since Earth has more different ships on screen than anyone else, there are more ships in the Army of Light from Earth than from any other fleet.
The ships are listed below, divided into the races which contribute them:
Earth
Earth ships are not particularly fast or agile and are best suited to duty in the core of the fleet.
Fighters: Earth has some of the best fighters in the game, the Aurora and Thunderbolt, and the Army of Light gets both.
Olympus: A versatile little ship with weapons to cover various ranges. It can stay at the back, throwing the occasional missile and acting as an init sink, or it can close to use railguns and pulse cannons.
Nova: After launching its fighters, the Nova is another init sink until the main fleets close together and it can use its pulse cannons.
Hyperion: Adds a moderately powerful beam to the fleet during the initial advance, and can turn quickly enough to find a target for at least one of its beams after the fleets have close.
Omega: A powerful, long range beam makes this a very valuable ship to have in the middle of the fleet.
ISA
The ISA only contribute one ship, and it's a beauty. (OK, their list includes some fighters, but the same fighters are listed here under their original fleets - which is where the ISA gets them from anyway!)
White Star: The ultimate cavalry ship. Fast and very agile, it can get behind an enemy fleet quickly, where its dodge and adaptive armour will give it good protection against secondary weapons. It's also the Army's best scout, so look after it!
Minbari
The Minbari contributions to the Army of Light are at opposite ends of the power spectrum - fighters and a War level ship, and nothing in between.
Fighters: The Nial is possibly the best fighter around, certainly one of the best dogfighters, but it is also expensive. The Flyer costs the same as Earth's Aurora but is poorer in a dogfight and more vulnerable to antifighter.
Sharlin: The Army of Light's only War level choice, the Sharlin mounts an awesome main beam backed up by batteries of long range mini-beam secondaries. Relatively fragile for a War level ship, it prefers to stay back at long range where its stealth will be more effective.
Narn
Narn ships are tougher than, but not quite as powerful as, their counterparts from other fleets. They can be useful for capturing enemy ships.
Fighters: The Frazi is cheap but a poor dogfighter with no long range weapons.
T'Loth: A heavy troop transport, the T'Loth is good for boarding any ship which moves slowly enough. Alternatively the T'Loth's large damage rating makes it a good support for a "Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded" attempt.
G'Quan: The Narn heavy cruiser can do the same as the T'Loth, plus it has a reasonably powerful long range beam, making it a useful addition to the core fleet. The energy mine will give the enemy something to think about during initial fleet deployment and while the fleets are closing. Alternatively, if the scenario date permits (or in-service dates are not being enforced), the G'Tal provides a Command bonus, useful since the Army of Light's initiative bonus is +0.
Abbai
Bimith: The Abbai's only contribution is unlikely to do much damage but can provide some antifighter protection. However, there are other, cheaper alternatives for this.
Brakiri
Avioki: The Avioki's heavy, slow-loading beam is useful if the enemy has stealth. In this case it will probably only get to fire at most half the time anyway, and when it does it will hit hard.
Drazi
The fast, agile Drazi ships are good cavalry. Drazi Aggression also makes them good for initiating "Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded" provided there's something big nearby to support. See "Narn".
Auxiliary craft: The Drazi provide the Army of Light with its breaching pods. The only Drazi fighter available is the Sky Serpent heavy fighter. In both cases, good luck getting them past enemy fighters, but if they do make it, they can make their presence felt.
Sunhawk: Unless you're using it individually as an init sink, the basic Sunhawk is of limited value. Two of them cost the same as one Warbird, are about as durable, have the same combined beam and less secondary, all with shorter range. The Guardhawk variant provides a cheap escort, though.
Warbird: A superb cavalry ship. Fast, agile and with decent firepower, all in a Skirmish level package.
Gaim
Fighters: The Gaim Klikkita is cheap but not all that effective, and the Army of Light does not get the ships which carry swarms of them.
Sataaka: If the enemy has lots of fighters, the Sataaka's repeating energy mine should thin them out a bit, as well as making him think twice about close formations and squadrons.
pak'ma'ra
Halik: The Halik provides another option for antifighter escort. And if you have at least two of them, you can put them into a squadron and use the pak'ma'ra plasma web.
Vree
Though not as fast as others, the Vree ships can be used as cavalry. They're also good at defending the core ships against enemy flanking attacks, especially if the scenario allows the enemy to approach from the side or open a jump point. With their super manoeuvrability, the Vree ships will be the first to react if an enemy emerges from hyperspace behind your fleet.
Xorr: The long range of the Xorr's guns makes it good for flanking attacks. Once in position, it can attack most enemy ships from the side or rear, staying out of reach of their secondaries.
Xill: Slower and less manoeuvrable than the Xorr, the Xill is best kept with the core fleet to defend against enemy flankers, at least until the fleets have closed range. The Battle level Xaak variant provides some long range firepower as well as another way to get a Command bonus.
Final thoughts
Diversity is the Army of Light's great strength. Counting just basic ships, the Army of Light has more types available than pretty well any other fleet. Counting variants, the Army of Light includes about half the Vree fleet and most of the Drazi fleet. If you can work out who is best for what job, you can weld the ragtag fleet into a force capable of standing up to anyone else. And quite apart from combat effectiveness, playing such a varied fleet is enjoyable just for the sake of it. As the song goes, it's fun to be in the Army of Light!
Almost all the ships in the Army of Light fleet list are ships which appeared on screen in "Babylon 5". The exceptions are those from the Abbai, Gaim and pak'ma'ra, which never had any ships on screen. (This is not entirely true; a pak'ma'ra Sunhawk did appear briefly in one episode, but the Army of Light fleet list gives them the Halik rather than the Sunhawk.) What this means is that, since fleet carriers don't exist in "Babylon 5" (apart from the Raiders Strike Carrier), the Army of Light doesn't have them. It also means that, since Earth has more different ships on screen than anyone else, there are more ships in the Army of Light from Earth than from any other fleet.
The ships are listed below, divided into the races which contribute them:
Earth
Earth ships are not particularly fast or agile and are best suited to duty in the core of the fleet.
Fighters: Earth has some of the best fighters in the game, the Aurora and Thunderbolt, and the Army of Light gets both.
Olympus: A versatile little ship with weapons to cover various ranges. It can stay at the back, throwing the occasional missile and acting as an init sink, or it can close to use railguns and pulse cannons.
Nova: After launching its fighters, the Nova is another init sink until the main fleets close together and it can use its pulse cannons.
Hyperion: Adds a moderately powerful beam to the fleet during the initial advance, and can turn quickly enough to find a target for at least one of its beams after the fleets have close.
Omega: A powerful, long range beam makes this a very valuable ship to have in the middle of the fleet.
ISA
The ISA only contribute one ship, and it's a beauty. (OK, their list includes some fighters, but the same fighters are listed here under their original fleets - which is where the ISA gets them from anyway!)
White Star: The ultimate cavalry ship. Fast and very agile, it can get behind an enemy fleet quickly, where its dodge and adaptive armour will give it good protection against secondary weapons. It's also the Army's best scout, so look after it!
Minbari
The Minbari contributions to the Army of Light are at opposite ends of the power spectrum - fighters and a War level ship, and nothing in between.
Fighters: The Nial is possibly the best fighter around, certainly one of the best dogfighters, but it is also expensive. The Flyer costs the same as Earth's Aurora but is poorer in a dogfight and more vulnerable to antifighter.
Sharlin: The Army of Light's only War level choice, the Sharlin mounts an awesome main beam backed up by batteries of long range mini-beam secondaries. Relatively fragile for a War level ship, it prefers to stay back at long range where its stealth will be more effective.
Narn
Narn ships are tougher than, but not quite as powerful as, their counterparts from other fleets. They can be useful for capturing enemy ships.
Fighters: The Frazi is cheap but a poor dogfighter with no long range weapons.
T'Loth: A heavy troop transport, the T'Loth is good for boarding any ship which moves slowly enough. Alternatively the T'Loth's large damage rating makes it a good support for a "Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded" attempt.
G'Quan: The Narn heavy cruiser can do the same as the T'Loth, plus it has a reasonably powerful long range beam, making it a useful addition to the core fleet. The energy mine will give the enemy something to think about during initial fleet deployment and while the fleets are closing. Alternatively, if the scenario date permits (or in-service dates are not being enforced), the G'Tal provides a Command bonus, useful since the Army of Light's initiative bonus is +0.
Abbai
Bimith: The Abbai's only contribution is unlikely to do much damage but can provide some antifighter protection. However, there are other, cheaper alternatives for this.
Brakiri
Avioki: The Avioki's heavy, slow-loading beam is useful if the enemy has stealth. In this case it will probably only get to fire at most half the time anyway, and when it does it will hit hard.
Drazi
The fast, agile Drazi ships are good cavalry. Drazi Aggression also makes them good for initiating "Stand Down and Prepare to be Boarded" provided there's something big nearby to support. See "Narn".
Auxiliary craft: The Drazi provide the Army of Light with its breaching pods. The only Drazi fighter available is the Sky Serpent heavy fighter. In both cases, good luck getting them past enemy fighters, but if they do make it, they can make their presence felt.
Sunhawk: Unless you're using it individually as an init sink, the basic Sunhawk is of limited value. Two of them cost the same as one Warbird, are about as durable, have the same combined beam and less secondary, all with shorter range. The Guardhawk variant provides a cheap escort, though.
Warbird: A superb cavalry ship. Fast, agile and with decent firepower, all in a Skirmish level package.
Gaim
Fighters: The Gaim Klikkita is cheap but not all that effective, and the Army of Light does not get the ships which carry swarms of them.
Sataaka: If the enemy has lots of fighters, the Sataaka's repeating energy mine should thin them out a bit, as well as making him think twice about close formations and squadrons.
pak'ma'ra
Halik: The Halik provides another option for antifighter escort. And if you have at least two of them, you can put them into a squadron and use the pak'ma'ra plasma web.
Vree
Though not as fast as others, the Vree ships can be used as cavalry. They're also good at defending the core ships against enemy flanking attacks, especially if the scenario allows the enemy to approach from the side or open a jump point. With their super manoeuvrability, the Vree ships will be the first to react if an enemy emerges from hyperspace behind your fleet.
Xorr: The long range of the Xorr's guns makes it good for flanking attacks. Once in position, it can attack most enemy ships from the side or rear, staying out of reach of their secondaries.
Xill: Slower and less manoeuvrable than the Xorr, the Xill is best kept with the core fleet to defend against enemy flankers, at least until the fleets have closed range. The Battle level Xaak variant provides some long range firepower as well as another way to get a Command bonus.
Final thoughts
Diversity is the Army of Light's great strength. Counting just basic ships, the Army of Light has more types available than pretty well any other fleet. Counting variants, the Army of Light includes about half the Vree fleet and most of the Drazi fleet. If you can work out who is best for what job, you can weld the ragtag fleet into a force capable of standing up to anyone else. And quite apart from combat effectiveness, playing such a varied fleet is enjoyable just for the sake of it. As the song goes, it's fun to be in the Army of Light!
