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Tactica: Gothica Imperialis - Cruisers | |
| The mainstay of the Imperial fleet is its cruisers. Costing between 220pts and 180pts for an unupgraded cruiser, it is generally the case that over half your points will be spent on these ships of the line. All of the standard cruisers have a number of things in common. They have an identical speed (20cm), number of hits (8), number of shields (2), armour (6+ front, 5+ everywhere else) and turning radius (45 degrees). All the standard cruisers, bar the Dictator class, have 2 turrets as well. As such, the main difference between each standard cruiser is their armament and cost, which is what will be concentrated on below. Lunar class Cruiser - According to the background, the Lunar class is the mainstay of the Imperial fleet, and it is easy to see why. It has a flexible set of weaponry, comprising of a set of standard batteries, lances and prow-mounted torpedoes. These allow it to engage vessels at close range and do serious damage in every arc bar its aft. The torpedoes also allow it to disrupt the enemies plans with long range salvoes of fire. The downside to being so flexible is that its batteries are a little weak, at Firepower 6, and so will tend to be rolling only a few dice. Because of this, Lunar class cruisers tend to work best in pairs, using their combined battery strength to knock down shields and strike the hull, before their lances do major damage. Being able to put out Firepower 12 and 4 lances to either side can make this a deadly combination. The Minotaur and Lord Daros variants of the Lunar class allow you to field extra Nova Cannon in your fleet. While these vessels will be better equipped to hang back and protect any carriers, they will still be able to bombard the enemy from afar. This upgrade does, however, make the Lunar more expensive, and taking it gives you the second most expensive cruiser in your fleet, at 200pts. However, if you plan on having your fleet in two sections (a carrier group and a main battlegroup), having a Lunar sat back to protect your carriers can be well worth it. Tyrant class Cruiser - The Tyrant class is a heavy gunboat, mounting two sets of batteries on either side, as well as prow torpedoes. The two banks of batteries allow you to fire further, with Firepower 4 at 45cm and a large Firepower 10 broadside at 30cm. This makes the Tyrant good at slugging it out with other cruisers, whch it can outrange with its batteries. While you won't get many dice with them, you should still be able to knock shields down and place blast markers on the enemy. It also makes life difficult for the fragile Eldar vessels, as the extra range can make it tricky for them to avoid all of your firepower if they want to strike at a Tyrant. The Tyrant class has two variants - the Dominion and the Zealous. A Tyrant upgraded to being the Dominion variant gets its 30cm batteries replaced with additional 45cm batteries, making it even more deadly, and worrying Eldar players more than before. A Zealous variant gets that upgrade, but also replaces its prow torpedoes with a Nova Cannon. Both these variants have their uses, and a ship with 45cm Firepower 10 batteries is a worry for most commanders. The Zealous is definately a ship more suited to mid-range combat, where it can use the extra range of its batteries to avoid incoming fire, and hitting enemy support vessels with its Nova Cannon. Dominator class Cruiser - In my opinion, the Dominator has a rather mis-matched weapons fit. It carries a Nova Cannon, so works well as a fleet support unit (which its background claims it was designed as), but also carries a high-strength, standard range set of weapons batteries, enabling it to out-broadside any other Imperial vessel, excluding battleships. However, if you wish to use one of these sets of weapons, you're more than likely going to be wasting the other - if you sit back and hammer the enemy with your Nova Cannon, you'll waste the batteries; close to deliver a powerful broadside, and you'll be wasting the Nova Cannon. In my opinin, the Dominator is probably best suited to bodyguarding your carriers, hitting the enemy with its Nova Cannon and making life unpleasant for any enemy that try to close the range. The Dominator has one variant - the Hammer of Justice, which halves the strength of its weapons batteries to give them a 45cm range. While it makes the ship a little cheaper, I'm not convinced the Hammer of Justice is a useful variant, unless you're looking to save a couple of points in your fleet list. Its definately not an upgrade I'd take, unless that was the case. Gothic class Cruiser - The ship named after the sub-sector, the Gothic is a lance boat, pure and simple. It carries no batteries, launch bays or Nova Cannon, packing a lance-filled broadside and the standard torpedoes in the prow. I like the Gothic, though I don't think it works particularly well on its own - it really needs to be grouped with a Tyrant or two, or maybe even a pair of Lunars, to get maximum effect. Strictly speaking, anything that can knock down your enemies shields is useful with a Gothic, allowing it to concentrate on blowing large chunks out of the enemy with its lances. If possible, once it has closed to firing range, it should ideally be placed on Lock On orders as much as possible, which massively increases its effectiveness. As with anything with a large number of lances, I wouldn't recommend taking it against Eldar or Dark Eldar fleets, as their hollofields and shadowfields will generally render it useless. Dictator class Cruiser - The Dictator, like the Mars, is a mid-level carrier, carrying batteries and torpedoes to support its fighters and defend itself. It has an advantage over most of the Imperial cruisers, in that it carriers three turrets rather than merely two, allowing it to defend itself better against enemy ordinance. If you wish to have a carrier to accompany your main fleet with, the Dictator is probably your best bet, allowing you to have fighter support where it is needed, to intercept enemy ordinance before it gets to strike at your fleet. Its standard allotment of weapons batteries may not seem like much, but they can still be useful at knocking down enemy shields, before your other vessels strike. Dauntless class Light Cruiser - The Dauntless is a light cruiser, so has less hits, shields and turrets than a standard cruiser. However, it is also faster and more manoeuverable than the other cruisers in your fleet, as well as being slightly over half their price. Dauntless light cruisers come with port and starboard firepower 4 batteries, as well as Strength 3 prow lances. This makes them quite powerful for their cost, as well as fast enough to get behind the enemy and cause trouble. The main problem wth the Dauntless is that it doesn't have the same resilience as its larger compatriots, becoming crippled if it takes a mere 4 hits in a turn. This can be solved by using two or three Dauntless' in a squadron, and using them to flank the enemy, with the extra speed the Dauntless gets on All Ahead Full orders. Six or nine lances will make life difficult for many an enemy, especially when they will find it difficult to strike back. The Vigilant and Havock variants allow the Dauntless to be equipped with a standard cruisers complement of torpedoes to replace their lances, at no extra cost. These variants are quite useful, as the Dauntless' speed and manoeuverability allow you to get into position to disrupt the enemy fleet with your torpedoes. I'd normally only have one of these variants, accompanied with two normal Dauntless light cruisers, as it works well as a combined unit. Next: Escorts |
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