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Well three of my friends and I are just getting into Battlefleet gothic. I figured it was time I got a bit of advice from people who've played it for a while now. Considering what my buddies are getting ( Imperial Navy, Orks, and possibly eldar or chaos) I was wondering if this seems like a decent starting imperial fleet.

1 Oberon class Battleship
1 Gothic class cruiser
1 Dictator class cruiser
2 Lunar class cruisers
2 Dauntless class light cruisers with lances

Thoughts/comments? im open to advice.

Addendum: We'll also be starting a massive campaign that I hope works out. Ive done major overhauls of the bfg rules for campaign styles, to make it more like a game of risk. something that can be played over a long period of time, and still be viable for all comers, regardless of race.

 

A very lance heavy list. It could work, but it's not how I'd do it myself. I like a bit more firepower with the Weapon Batteries, especially if you do end up with an Eldar player. They pretty much ignore lances.

More gun decks; they're more useful against Eldar (as djones520 said) and for shooting down ordnance waves. Unless another Imp player shows up, or someone picks up Necrons, this level of lance focus will be of questionable usefulness. It can work; it'll just be difficult.

Also, a man after my own heart, not taking any escorts...

Well to be quite honest, my first two enemies will -be- other imperials and orks. the third might be chaos or eldar, he's not sure which yet. Of course, this doesnt mean I cant be flexiable about it. I could always change the configuration of one of the lunars before I build it. A dominator could be useful, though I hate to take nova cannons so early on.

And as far as escorts are concerned.....they can be useful, but light cruisers seem to be more adaptable. not to mention cheaper in the long run.

*edit* Due to lack of available funds, (and the fact that im ordering my stuff overseas), my initial purchase is now gonna be changed around.

So to update, i'll instead be taking

1 Armageddon class battlecruiser

1 Dictator class cruiser

2 Lunar class cruisers

4 dauntless class cruisers (two with lances, two with torpedos)

Small, but when I found out more or less exactly what my opposite IN player is gonna take, I figured this to be the best approach. Still no idea on the ork player.

I wouldn't worry overly much about Orks; they're short-ranged and slow, and have random firepower. The only thing in an Ork list that might scare me is a Hulk, and even that is treated as a Defense, so it gets plastered by gunnery.

Lances versus Imperial only really matter when they're facing you straight on; otherwise, the softer sides aren't so tough. Combined with mostly short ranges on your guns, you'll get maybe one or two shots at their prow before it's Pirates-of-the-Spanish-Main time (broadside to broadside).

I like that you dropped the battleship; with the possible exception of the Emperor, battleships are too slow and unwieldy for my taste. Sure, they're tough, but they can't really keep a determined opponent in range, even with longer-ranged guns.

The Retribution Battleship has the same speed as a regular Imperial Cruiser. It's not that slow. The Emperor is ungodly slow though, only going 15cm a turn. Though I do have to say I love the Emperors ability to drop those assualt boats.

Turn speed is a part of speed, as well; having to move 15cm before turning means that their rear is much easier to get into, and harder to get an enemy out of. That doesn't even cover the lack of ability to use Come to New Heading. The Retribution is a cruiser writ large; worse, its firepower is lacking for the price tag. The only upside is increased range, but since gunnery gets shifted to the right past 30cm, it lacks the dice to make a decisive effect. The Emperor has better gunnery (marginally), and has carrier capacity to boot.

Ive got nothing against battleships myself. Especially seeing as the campaign we are going to play is basically the only time we will be able to play the game.

The way we have it set up, it's kinda like risk, like I said before. Which in and of itself, can make some of the battles really stacked and unfair, but that's half the fun. And in the event of a small patrol clash, like say, a cruiser and it's escorts vs a lone battleship, it doesnt really matter how slow the battleship is, because the whole point is to eliminate the enemy's forces. Once the cruiser and escorts get into range, it doesnt matter. it'll be a slug fest or a shooting gallery, take your pick.

As for my current selection, it's divided into three groups. the battlecruiser and dictator forming one, the lunar and two dauntless cruisers forming another group. take the remainder (another lunar and two dauntless) and you have a total of three. This is going to be matched up against a force that nearly doubles it, but I have every confidence that the dauntless cruisers will be more than a match for the 12 escort frigates my opposite will field.