Good morning, Admirals
Welcome to my first fleet list for the Dindrenzi based around the Valhalla boxed set and the analysis I recently posted up for the 3 ship types that come in the box. Ok, let’s start with a bit of background on the list. I wanted to start at a reasonably low points value, but not so low that games would be over in half an hour and generally play out the same way every time. To that end I settled on 800 points, the upper boundary of a Patrol Fleet, as being a good starting point. From my experience of playing the Battle for Valhalla games an 800 point game should take around 1-2 hours to play out depending on the variables of tabletop gaming and allow me a reasonable amount of versatility when it came to building the list.
I wanted to design a take all comers style fleet, able to put down a significant amount of hurt while still being able to take a few punches and keep on swinging. The fleet should also be as mutually supporting as possible, with overlapping areas of responsibility to ensure that even after taking a few losses the fleet as a whole is still mostly covered. There is an element of redundancy and repetition in the list; primarily down to the models I have available but also because at this points level of game I would rather develop a really solid core fleet which I can add the more esoteric choices to at a later date.
So, the list, and I apologise in advance for this post being a little longer than usual (I got excited!):
Praetorian Battleship (DSN Crimson Spear) 295 Points
- +2 AP
- +3 wings
- Assault Blitz
- Launch Tubes
- 3 Escorts
This ship forms the tip of the spear that I plan on storming as far forward as possible and launching a boarding assault against the biggest possible target. She can take a beating with her DR of 6 and CR of 12, going up to 13 on the flanks thanks to Reinforced (SB/Port) and 10 HP, plus her Elite Crew for when things do start to fall apart. She can plow into an enemy fleet, kinetic weaponry and gun racks blazing before launching a massive contingent of marines at the largest enemy ship in their fleet. When most Patrol Fleets are only going to contain a single Tier 1 ship taking this out of the game, ideally by capturing and FSDing it off the table, can win you the game outright.
Vermillion Squadron
3x Secutor Class Cruisers
- Secured Bulkheads MAR
This squadron forms the primary fire support role, deploying towards a flank they are there to pound enemy ships repeatedly with kinetic attacks and torpedoes to clear a path for the Praetorian to reach its goal in relative safety. The hope being that a full squadron of 3 Cruisers is something that cannot be ignored meaning that some of the enemy will be drawn away from the Spear to deal with them. This role would probably be more suited to a squadron of Destroyers as they can sit stationary and still turn up to 90 degrees, allowing them to keep a target in their sights without having to worry about moving out of position as well as their other bonuses like the High Energy MAR upgrade, Stealth and an optimum range band one step higher than the Cruisers but it all comes down to points, and the 15 points more to field the Destroyers, plus the extra 15 to upgrade to High Energy, is more than I have to spare at the moment. Though, that said, I could drop two Escorts from the Praetorian to take them without a massive drop in capability which could work well, though it does make the Praetorian more vulnerable to torpedo attacks so perhaps not entirely worth it at this stage. Destroyers are also less heavily armoured than the Cruisers so at this level where an admiral has less available to him at the start survivability may outclass that extra damage potential.
Carmine Squadron
2x Secutor Class Cruisers
- Secured Bulkheads MAR
This second squadron of Cruisers is intended to be far more aggressive than Vermillion Squadron. The plan for Carmine is to form the flanks of the Spear, moving alongside the Praetorian to either soften up or finish off any targets of opportunity that the Battleship may also have fired at. They also present an alternative target to an enemy, spreading fire power away from purely focusing on the DSN Crimson Spear. One of the main reasons for including them alongside the Battleship is for the Targeted Strike special rule. In order to ensure that the boarding action from the Praetorian is as successful as possible it is necessary to take the PD of the intended target ship offline. This can only be done on a Targeted Strike or a particular Critical Effect and given that most of the targets for boarding actions are likely to be Tier 1 ships they will probably have a very high CR. Also, if the PD can be nullified just prior to the assault the effect cannot be repaired before the boarding action takes place.
Scarlet Squadron
3x Thraex Class Frigates
This squadron of Frigates are to act in close support of the Spear, effectively forming an additional ring of Escorts with the ability to put out an increased level of fire power as well as help diffuse target priority by presenting so many of them in such a small area of the board. Including the Escorts, the Speartip consists of 9 ships out of the 15 in the fleet, that should take a lot of stopping! One of the primary roles of this squadron will be the targeting of the enemy’s Escorts and Frigates that may be guarding the Tier 1 ship that the Spear wants to launch a boarding action against. By reducing the ability for the enemy admiral to combine or link PD against the boarders the higher the chance of the enemy ship being captured.
Falu Squadron
3x Thraex Class Frigates
Falu Squadron has been included to be more adaptable, either assisting in the defence of the squadron of 3 Secutors or gunning down a flank to hit the rear arcs of more sturdy vessels. The main thing is making sure they don’t end up isolated as they are likely to be operating on a more independent basis than most of the fleet, closer to opportunistic hunters than part of the battle line, which could leave them in the open with no support from the larger ships in the fleet. As long as I don’t get too carried away with them they should be a useful addition to the fleet, adding a few extra AD here and there where needed to push an enemy ship over the edge or making Targeted Strikes to cripple key elements of the enemy fleet.
That pretty much wraps up how I plan to build my first 800 point fleet. If you have any thoughts, criticisms or suggestions then please leave them in the comments!
Until next time,
Matt
Into The Storm Zone 