Thoughts from a (Terrible) Terran Player

[Ruckdog]

New blog post! In this one, I look back at my experiences running my Terran fleet in 2016:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2016/12/13/fsa-thoughts-from-a-terrible-terran-player/

[Charbe86]

A very good read.  I'm still waiting for my patrol fleet to arrive, but you've given me some very good ideas on where to expand.

[Quickdraw]

You have some good thoughts. It'all be interesting to see how your games change as you experiment with stuff.
I like your section about the cruisers. The shield or the hull point  is a really difficult choice. I think you nailed it though. The possibility of double critical on a ship with a CR of 6 is a serious danger. Hull point every time, unless your strategy hinges on shield cruisers.
Your notes on the carrier are interesting also. I find itt effective but never in a spearhead role. It does great in the backfield or as an objective defender. I can't stress enough the ability of fighters. Especially with the increased command distance. They have an effective range of 26". Farther then range band three of primary weapons.

[Ryjak]

It's hard for me to give you Fleet-building advice without know what Squadrons are available, and the point value you're looking for...

For the Cruisers, you want the +1 HP unless you will have Shield Cruisers somewhere.  3 Shields hitting on 3+ is downright nasty to face.  But in any case, they only max at 14AD; the first lost Cruiser makes them combat ineffective.  This generally applies to the Frigates and Battleship as well; they trade Firepower for the nebulous protection of Shields.  So to make them effective, you either need to double-down on Shields fleet-wide, with a few Shield Cruisers as well, or you need to start throwning more AD.

Basically, do you want to play a long game, or a short game?  Do you want to focus on resilience or power?

Your play-style (from the few games we have played) doesn't seem to fit the long game plan; you want to get across the table and start mixing it up right away.  Terrans aren't particularly suited to this, which is probably the biggest issue... particularly because they look like they should.

The Battlecruisers, Torpedo Cruisers, Destroyers, and Light Frigates have larger threat ranges and more Attack Dice.  Those Light Frigates can punch up to 14AD, and basically have a 30" threat range with it.  The Destroyers and Torp Cruisers are about the same, but using different weapons, and Battlecruisers are the closest things to glass cannons in the game.

[Ruckdog]

You have some good thoughts. It'all be interesting to see how your games change as you experiment with stuff.
I like your section about the cruisers. The shield or the hull point  is a really difficult choice. I think you nailed it though. The possibility of double critical on a ship with a CR of 6 is a serious danger. Hull point every time, unless your strategy hinges on shield cruisers.
Your notes on the carrier are interesting also. I find itt effective but never in a spearhead role. It does great in the backfield or as an objective defender. I can't stress enough the ability of fighters. Especially with the increased command distance. They have an effective range of 26". Farther then range band three of primary weapons.

Good point about the fighters. I might have to run those the next time I field my CV.

It's hard for me to give you Fleet-building advice without know what Squadrons are available, and the point value you're looking for...

For the Cruisers, you want the +1 HP unless you will have Shield Cruisers somewhere.  3 Shields hitting on 3+ is downright nasty to face.  But in any case, they only max at 14AD; the first lost Cruiser makes them combat ineffective.  This generally applies to the Frigates and Battleship as well; they trade Firepower for the nebulous protection of Shields.  So to make them effective, you either need to double-down on Shields fleet-wide, with a few Shield Cruisers as well, or you need to start throwning more AD.

Basically, do you want to play a long game, or a short game?  Do you want to focus on resilience or power?

Your play-style (from the few games we have played) doesn't seem to fit the long game plan; you want to get across the table and start mixing it up right away.  Terrans aren't particularly suited to this, which is probably the biggest issue... particularly because they look like they should.

The Battlecruisers, Torpedo Cruisers, Destroyers, and Light Frigates have larger threat ranges and more Attack Dice.  Those Light Frigates can punch up to 14AD, and basically have a 30" threat range with it.  The Destroyers and Torp Cruisers are about the same, but using different weapons, and Battlecruisers are the closest things to glass cannons in the game.

Good question regarding the options. Right now, in addition to the Taskforce minis I'm working on, I have pretty much the entire rest of the Terran range sitting on the shelf waiting for their turn on the painting table. So, there really isn't a limit on the options at this point, since I still have time to paint for Adepticon. I appreciate your thoughts regarding my playstyle; part of that has been my lack of preparation leading me to select relatively straight forward game plans. Something else to work on!

[Ryjak]

So basically you have one of everything... does this include the Tyrant?  In my head, you also have the original 1.0 Terran models, so you also have:

2x Battleships
2x Cruiser Squadrons
3x Pilgrim Frigate Squadrons (12 models total)

Maybe I should finally post something to my website, like my Terran Torpedo Fleet.  Who needs extra Shields when you can be obscured by terrain?

[Ruckdog]

So basically you have one of everything... does this include the Tyrant?  In my head, you also have the original 1.0 Terran models, so you also have:

2x Battleships
2x Cruiser Squadrons
3x Pilgrim Frigate Squadrons (12 models total)

Maybe I should finally post something to my website, like my Terran Torpedo Fleet.  Who needs extra Shields when you can be obscured by terrain?

It's actually worse than that

I basically have 2 of the Mk I starters, plus the new patrol box, and the rest. So, lots of options.

[Ryjak]

Ok, let's try an 800 point fleet.  First, you need something on the table Turn 1 for your Admiral:

  275 Tyrant with -1" TL, 3 Interceptors, Shield Projector, 2 Light Frigates

Maybe you don't need the Shield Projector... depends on how everything looks.  We still need 125 points to start on the table, so... I'm torn between Torp Cruisers and Assault Cruisers, but I think you want to start doing something Turn 1.

  195 3x Torp Cruisers with Spook Torps

12 AD Spook Torps is reliable damage Turn 1; hopefully Turn 3+ they'll start landing Crits on Tier 2 units.  I'll try to leave 15 points for more firepower here.

Now we need a good Shunt Bomb, and a T3... so why not both?

  100 4x Missionaries

That leaves 215-230 points for a heavy hitter. I can only find one at this point value.

  200 Apollo with +1 Shield, +2 PD, Beams

That's 30 extra points... I suggest giving the Torp Cruisers the extra Turret AND the Nukes.  See how they perform for you in a few games, then adjust.

[Ruckdog]

I like the thinking behind your proposed list! I'm going to start a separate thread shortly to start talking about my Adepticon list more directly.

[Ryjak]

I really wanted to squeeze in the Heavy Cruisers as your Shunt unit, but they're hard to squeeze in with another Tier 2.

[Ruckdog]

Huh, actually, I just went through my stuff and realized that I do not have any Missionaries. That's no big deal; I'll ask around and see if I can scrounge some up.

[Ryjak]

The 1.0 Frigates can work in the meantime, or you could go with...

270 Heavy Cruisers, +1 Shields
120 Pilgrim Squadron
275 Tyrant Battleship, as before

That leaves 135 points, which is an awkward point value to fill.  Another Pilgrim Squadron could work, as you really need two squadrons for them to work well... or, grab the new Light Cruisers with Turrets and Weapon Shielding.  While they can't pick of Smalls or Aquans as well the Frigates, they do act as Cruiser Snipers with 12 AD at 20"-30", and 8 AD Torps will occasionally get lucky and damage a Cruiser or Frigate.

They're functionally similar to the Frigates, except they need LOS... and have a LOT more AD.  Fleet tactics are simple.  Reserve the Heavy Cruisers, place the Frigates behind Asteroids or Debris in a corner, place Light Cruisers in the opposite corner, place Battleship where it can draw as much fire as possible.  Play conservatively until the Heavy Cruisers decide to arrive, then play as aggressively as possible.  Ideally, you'll have only lost a HP or two from your Battleship and a Light Cruiser when this happens.

Then the Heavies show up and toss a 12 AD Nuke up a Cruiser tailpipe, landing a juicy Crit, and either 3x9 AD at another Cruiser, or 13AD and 12AD, or if you really need to Crit a Battleship, 21AD.  21AD should be able to double-Crit and kill a Cruiser, particularly from the rear, but keep in mind you only have a 50/50 chance against a DR 8 (Dindrenzi) or DR 6 with DT (Aquans).  You really need that vulnerable arc against these targets if you want the one-shot Cruiser kill.  The double-tap with 12&13AD is more reliable damage though.

With 21 AD against a Tier 1, you should probably go for a Targeted Strike against Engines.

[Ruckdog]

Yeah, proxies aren't a bad idea on the frigates in the short term. I'm seriously considering a second Reinforcements box so I can have 3 more CLs/Torpedo Cruisers  . I'm planning on magnetizing them, but with the way I do my fleet markings I think that what I will do is make it so that 3 are "normally" torpedo cruisers and the other 3 are "normally" CLs. But that's just my fleet organizational OCD kicking in! 

[Ryjak]

Thoughts from a (Terrific) Terran Player:

http://yesthetruthhurts.com/2015/11/beating-the-aquans/

[Ruckdog]

Interesting premise. I was sort of heading in the direction of mass cruisers with the list I ran at NOVA, though I had compromised to bring a BB and two FFG squadrons. On one hand, the propsed lists have the advantage of stuffing the board with so much HP that it will take opponents a lot longer to chew through it all. On the other hand, I'm not sure how much damage cruiser-heavy lists will be able to dish out in return.