Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Imperial Navy List

Fleet Admiral

With one extra re-roll


Retribution BB

Mars BC

Lunar

Lunar

Gothic

Gothic


Escorts:

3x Cobras


Total: 1500



Does this look like a pretty well-balanced fleet? My primary enemies will be Chaos and Orks, but I'd like to be able to take all comers if possible. I was planning on pairing up each Lunar with a Gothic for fire-support, and then the Mars and the Retribution will go where needed, with the Cobras running interference and making trouble wherever they can.

Am I too heavy on Gothics? Is there another type of cruiser I should add here instead?

Thanks for any input!

-Hordini

I'll repost here some of Orlanth's advice to another beginning Imperial admiral (I don't remember who, but apparently they didn't want a Battleship), which I saved off of Dakka about 5 years ago:

"Dont take Gothics, Cobras and Mars and you will be fine. the first two are too specialised the latter too expensive. All have their place, though i hate Gothics anyway so you will never get a completely unbiased reply from me there.

I will concentrate on what you will need. take Swords, lots of them. I recommend multiple Dictators as you wont try a battleship (heresy!). If you can stomach it do take an Emperor though, its one of the best ships in the game. Lunars are good against most things, when working in numbers. It is also good form to take them. Dauntlesses and Dominators are also worth taking. If you want a Grand cruiser take the Vengeance and dont be tempted by any of the spin off designs, not only will they cost you more but they arent as good, no matter how they look on paper."

I based my own fleet off this advice and did pretty well with it back when I played regularly. Admittedly, that was years ago, so YMMV.

Meh, I'll disagree with some of that. Specialization is almost always a good thing. Gothics are a fine ship, completely interchangable with Lunars unless you think your going to fight Eldar. (and often superior against Marines and Necrons) Cobras are the only escort that doesn't have to get into range (bad) of enemy ships to hurt them. The Mars is possibly the most debated ship in the game, so its probably going to come down to personal preference for whether or not you like it.

The Fleet itself is decent, expect to be badly outgunned by attack craft though. You can probably deflect most of it just by sheer virtue of the number of torps you can put on the table.

Really, no Gothics? I've heard that Gothics are good, you just don't want to load up on them (I wasn't sure if two in a 1500 list counted as "loading up" or not).

I've been told they work best paired with a Lunar, and my limited experience seems to support that. One Gothic is already built, and so is the Mars, so both of those are already in. I have Cobras, but they don't have to be used, of course. It's funny that even the people who tend to not like escorts are okay with Cobras.

Sorry, I appreciate the advice and I'm not trying to be like "Well thanks for the input, but I'm going to do what I was already planning anyway, LOL!" on you.

I guess I was just surprised, because you said the one thing I didn't expect you to say, (No Gothics and no Cobras), but it's all good.

I don't have any Swords, but I'm certainly not opposed to taking them, so I will definitely give them a try if I can get my hands on some.

I also really want to try some Dauntless-class light cruisers, so I'm with you on that. I assume it's probably not worth it to just take one? Would a pair of them be enough? Also, what works best for Dauntlesses, lances or torpedoes?

So, to switch it up, what if I swapped one of the Gothics for a Dominator?

Would there be any point in taking a Mars and a Dictator?

Thanks for the comments, guys!

Just my opinions here,,, I have always had good results with a Gothic in my fleet. It is s good support ship but it does need to be in a fleet of 4+ ships. It doesn't do well all on it's own. And if you're fighting Eldar, leave it at home. Lances vs holo-fields= imperial disaster.

Lance armed Dauntless's by all means. Again, not so good all alone but squardon a pair of them and you have 6 lances to shoot with. Get lock on and you are almost guarenteed to force a BFI (Bowel Fluxation Immanent) if he doesn't Brace.

Mars and Dictators? It depends on how you play. Our group has decided to use the old rules for carriers. You can run out of ord. but are not limited by launch bays. Personally I like the Mars. A carrier with a nova cannon,,,,,can you say 'stand off firepower'?

Escorts,,,,it depends on play style again. Escorts have 2 uses.
1st-- Battle line screen. Force the enemy to make a ldr check to shoot at your cruisers, or cannon fodder, give the enemy something to shoot at besides your cruisers.
2nd--flanking units. Hold them back until the line is engaged and hit the flanks with them.
I think most people don't like escorts because they use them as screens and expect them to live. When used as screens, they are going to die. You have to accept that and make sure they die at the right time for the right reason.

Gothics and Lunars are great in pairs, when your not fighting Eldar or anyone AC heavy. Solo they don't have enough punch to do much, so always buddy them up.

Imperial generals frequently discount the possibility of an AC heavy fleet, due to the higher cost of IN AC carriers compared to other fleets. I'm not one of those people. I'm perfectly happy with a Mars and 3 Dictators as a 1000pt force. AC heavy fleets do well against anyone not fielding huge things like battleships and hulks.