The Brakiri

[The Adept]

I had my first game with my new Brakiri last night. It wasn’t a proper game, because I was teaching my opponent to play, but it gave a bit of an insight into the Brakiri ships. I normally use Vree, and the Brakiri are quite different.

I like the Ikorta, the Haltona and the Brokados, as they did well in the game. This may seem to be (and in fact is) the ramblings of a madman, but there is something of a point. Does anyone have any advice, insights, tips or funny stories about the Brakiri, either using them or against them?

 

[TGT]

to me they seem a better combined arms fleet than the EA just less interceptors and less carried fighters
Skirmish seems to be a strong point for them if used correctly
I would expect most people to agree Raid is also strong and they have 2 very good choices at Battle

 

[TGT]

well this is the 6pt battle fleet choice of a very good gamer taking the rest of us apart during this saturdays midlands tourney
2 x Avioki
3 x Haltona
1 x Brokados
1 x Batrado
2 x Brikorta
3 x Ikorta
1 x Shakara

 

[Triggy]

to me they seem a better combined arms fleet than the EA just less interceptors and less carried fighters
Skirmish seems to be a strong point for them if used correctly
I would expect most people to agree Raid is also strong and they have 2 very good choices at Battle

Ooh, good omens for me tomorrow then

Adept - I'll give a report on my performance at the Midlands tournament with my Brakiri and any insights that go with it. They are a good "all round" fleet though with strengths as you point out. Getting the combination of fighter and scout support for the fleet that actually does the damage is one of the key issues to think about.

 

[CZuschlag]

Brakiri quick thoughts:

-- The Haltona is a beast of a ship that I consider outright broken. The firepower of the beam, even with slow-loading, combines with non-boresight, huge size, and 2 45's to make a power ship; this thing can win you games on its own, thank you very much.

-- Battle now has more choice for you to consider, especially with the resurrection of the Avioki.

-- The Brokados may be the best CV in the game, vieing with the Garasoch for the top slot. Its capability to give Avoikis, Haltonas and the like Interceptors is very powerful, and it can fight a bit itself, too. Unchecked, Pikatos can do significant damage while staying out of Antifighter range as well.

-- Skirmish is only OK to marginal, the downgrade of the Brikorta's beam to 1 AD of Boresight was a major balance change. I think this slot in a league fleet is much better filled by Vree, or, better yet, pak'ma'ra (that is, if you can stomach the damage done to your initiative score.)

 

[The Adept]

I do love the Halatona - even when the beam is reloading, it's got reasonable firepower.

I found the Ikorta to be nice, but not as tasty as a Xeel carrier - I've just this minute finished painting the first two Xeels, with another four up next...

I'm not so sure on the talk of Battle being a hard choice - the Avioki, with its 8AD beam, seems the logical choice, or the lance varient if you need long range support. Not using the Kabrokta is made quite easy for me - I don't have one! Is it stronger than it seems at first glance?

I'm supprised there's been no mention of the war level choices. The Corumai and the Tashkat look very nice, or the mine varient with its 4x4AD, DD e-mines.

 

[CZuschlag]

While they are tasty, it's worth noting that most everyone's War-level choices are brutal in 2nd Edition. Other than the marginal Command Omega and Octurion, where's the weak link here: the Dra'Vash with 8 Precise DD beams forward, 6 aft, and a GEG of 4? The Mankhat with 20 dice of range 28 slow-loading Triple Damage missiles, backed up with a total of 48 dice of bolters? The Z'Takk, whose firepower is almost as great, and has turreted weapons and Super Maneouverable? The G'Vrahn (I don't have to list the number of things it has going for it, do I?)?

They're very impressive, and they have to be --- because the crit system really slants the field against them, and swarms just work that darn well.

 

[The Adept]

Funny you should mention the Z'Takk, 'cos that was what I painted before the Xeels. I've not had a chance to use it yet, and I'm not sure how it'll perform. Anyone ever tried it out?

 

[Da Boss]

While they are tasty, it's worth noting that most everyone's War-level choices are brutal in 2nd Edition. Other than the marginal Command Omega and Octurion, where's the weak link here: the
They're very impressive, and they have to be --- because the crit system really slants the field against them, and swarms just work that darn well.

I agree but there is the Fireraptor! :shock: The exception that proves the rule........the Octurion could do with a slight improvement

Played with Brakiri recently - very good fleet versitile and some nasty ships 8)

 

[CZuschlag]

Oh, yeah --- my bad. The Fireraptor truly is an awful ship.

Given how good the rest of the War-level ships are, the Poseidon and Cidikar feel kind of lacking, too. Perhaps the G'Quonth, too.

Back on topic -- the Brakiri!

You can try a total change-up fleet, too, but pick your targets for this fleet carefully. Here, you load up on Brikortas, a Brokados or two, and perhaps a Cidikar, along with a Halik or two to lend the Escort and Antifighter to break up dogfight interceptions. The idea here is ship elimination through massive Pikatos volleys, followed up by a few Falkosi for dogfight rating benefits. It's a finesse fleet, but against certain enemies (Demos fleets, slow Dilgar, perhaps Minbari if they forget an Ashinta or two, Drazi, Shadows, Vorlons) it may be very valid. You are really taking a chance.

The above is totally theory, but it's "so stupid that it just might work."

 

[The Adept]

I was a little disapointed with the Pikatos, most likely because I'm used to having Tyzmm!

 

[Banichi]

But tyzmms can be a hard act for other types of fighter to follow. Especially when they swarm a ship that only has one arc, and no antifighter. ie my demos last Sunday. And in big numbers they can mug even bigish ships. ie my centurion last Sunday.

 

[Iain McGhee]

The Brakiri are my second favourites, after Third Age EA. The boresight laser armed types are well rounded, but the lack of interceptors on most of the G-beam equipped ships can be a serious weakness against some races (e.g. the Centauri with lots of AP guns) although the better-than-most Damage and Crew scores make up for this to a degree. The Riva and Pikatos fighters can't really stand up to enemy fighters and can have problems against races with good AF scores and/or lots of secondary guns. They can be pretty effective if you clear up enemy fighters with Falkosis and Haliks before you deploy them and mainly use them against races/ships with limited fire arcs (e.g. Drazi, many Narn and lower-PL Centauri) and always use the Pikatos with Fleet Carrier support. A useful tip when using several slow-loading beam ships is to pair them up and fire one when the other is loading so that your enemy can't CBD when he knows your beams are charged and use full firepower and other SAs when they're loading. Works especially well with Avioki teams, as few foes fancy getting 8AD of DD beam without any protective measures. Useful against races that have good fighters as you can often prevent them from launching them quickly by targeting their carriers this way (either they CBD or they take a severe mauling when they launch fighters).