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Tactica: Gothica Imperialis - Dysartes | |
| The Imperial fleet is probably the closest to an average fleet you get in Battlefleet Gothic (BFG). Most of its vessels follow a combined arms approach, sporting a selection of weapons batterias, lances, torpedoes and launch bays. The only unique feature to the Imperial fleet is the Nova Cannon weapons system, used be a small number of cruisers. Other than this, the Imperial fleet tends to have the average when it comes to fighters, bombers, turrets and shields, with slightly above-average prow armour. As one of the fleets supplied in the boxed game, the Imperial fleet is one of the most common amongst those who play BFG. It is almost certain that every player will have found themselves using, or facing, the Imperial fleet. With the release of Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, the number of fleet lists available to Imperial players has increased to five, with the additions of Battlefleet Armageddon, Imperial Bastion fleets, Battlefleet Cadia and Segmentum Obscurus Reserve fleets, in addition to the Battlefleet Gothic fleet list supplied in the main rulebook. As such, I will be concentrating on the Battlefleet Gothic fleet list, but a lot of what is said will be transferable to the other fleets as well. The ArmouryIn most cases, the weapons fitted to Imperial ships are the benchmark by which other races are compared against. This tends to mean that, while they are not excessively over-powered, the Imperial ships are well-equipped for their size, usually mounting two or three of the weapons systems described below.Weapons Batteries - The Imperial fleets weapons batteries are generally standardised at a 30cm, Firepower 6 salvo per "section" of weapons batteries on the cruiser, while all escorts are equipped with some weapons batteries to supplement their other weapons. While both battleships and some of the cruisers come with longer-ranged batteries, its generally safe to say that once you engage with your batteries, you're in for a slugging match. Lances - Again, the Imperial fleet is pretty standard in its use of lances, with 2 30cm shots for each "section" of lance on a vessel. Your lances are best used after your batteries, and are especially good against highly-armoured targets such as Necrons and Space Marines, due to always hitting on a 4+. Against any form of an Eldar fleet, however, your lances will fare pretty poorly, due to their holofields or shadowfields. Nova Cannon - The Nova Cannon varies in effectiveness by which set of rules you are using. If you use the rules as given in the Battlefleet Gothic rulebook, you need to be able to guess ranges well in centimeters. If you use the updated rules as published in the Battlefleet Gothic Annual 2002, you don't need to have as much skill, you just need to roll low. If you are using a Nova Cannon armed vessel in your fleet, make sure you agree with your opponent which set of rules you are using before the game begins. The Nova Cannon is a powerful weapon, capable of crippling cruisers with a single hit. Some people would say it is too powerful, but see this article for my thoughts on that debate. As a general rule of thumb, if you're playing a friendly game, try not to take more than 1 Nova Cannon armed vessel per 750pts in your fleet - if you take more than this, then they can overwhelm the game. Torpedoes - The standard method of launch for Imperial torpedoes is from a prow mount, usually as a strength 6 salvo when fired from a cruiser, though torpedo armed escorts (such as the Cobra) as well as torpedo armed battleships (like the Retribution) will fire more or less respectively. Imperal torpedoes work exactly as described in the rulebook, though you do have the option to upgrade to carrying special torpedoes, as described in Warp Storm, if you wish to surprise your opponent. Fury Interceptors - The Fury Interceptor is a fast fighter craft, and is carried by all ships which have launch bays. With a 30cm move, the Fury is well equipped to fulfill its role - intercepting incoming bombers or torpedoes. It can be worth mixing a squadron or two of Furies in with a Starhawk wave, as a method of defending them against turret fire, as the Furies will sacrifice themselves to make sure the Starhawks get their payload in on target. Starhawk Bombers - The Starhawk bomber is not especially fast, with a 20cm move, but is still generally able to complete its mission, that of bombng the enemy capital ships. The Starhawk will need to have Furies provided as an escort, as enemy fighters will be able to catch the Starhawk, or at least move to a position to make it difficult for the Starhawk to get to its target vessel. Its generally worth using the Starhawk on enemy vessels you know to have few turrets, as it a, makes it more likely the Stahawk will reach its target and b, will allow the Starhawk to do more damage to the enemy vessel. If you can get a salvo of torpedoes hitting an enemy ship at the same time as a bomber wave, as your opponent will have to make a tough decision - stop the torpedoes which will hit his ship first, or stop the bombers, which may do more damage but are unpredictable. Shark Assault Boats - Only carried by one ship (the Emperor battleship), the Shark is a fast piece of ordinance, capable of travelling 30cm a move. The assault boat is an interesting craft, used to board enemy vessels and cripple them from the inside, similar to a teleport attack. As such, you can render sections of the enemies weaponry unable to fire, but you will generally not do any visible damage (in terms of structure points). Of course, the more assault boats you can get to hit the enemy with the better, as critical locations will take more repair rolls to fix. Escorts make a good target for assault boats, thanks to the rule by which a single critical causes the escort to be destroyed. 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