This is a rough draft of something I've been brewing since i saw the IA 10 information on the older ships such as the Charybdis class. It's not quite balanced yet, and does not play quite like other fleets. Note: attempts to use Smotherman = fail here. It's, technically, an IN fleet, but it's not a normal IN by any means. The ship selection process sort of resembles Tau, but plays... differently. I went with Mandragora as the fleet as it's a sector well known in the Imperium for being a very bizarre and ill omened place and that isn't really trusted by the Imperium at large.
All the ships used are either fluffed to predate the advent of the 'modern' IN or are variants thereof, with the exception of the Tempest, which hails from one of Mandragora's spinward neighbors, and the Daemonhunter, which fits this sector like a glove, with the idea that this is a fleet more or less left to make do with older war reserves while newer equipment is used in places like Cadia and Scarus sector.
A single GK SC may be taken as a reserve for the same reasons. Mandragora is a bad, bad place.
You may also notice that one class of ship is missing. This is intentional. Battleships are too valuable to leave in the hands of people that you don't entirely trust.
Battlefleet Mandragora
The Mandragora sector lacks for the most powerful ships of the line, and has no battleships of its own, instead being forced to rely heavily on an aging fleet of Grand Cruisers, some so ancient that they’re rarely seen outside reserve yards and mothball fleets, others representing one off experimental ships. Other then the recent receipt of a number of Tempest class frigates from near-by Calixis sector, Mandragora’s battlefleet is obsolete by current Imperial thinking.
Grand Cruisers:
A Battlefleet Mandragora list may contain any number of grand cruisers drawn from the following list:
Exorcist
Scylla (0-1 per 2000pts)
Charybdis (0-1 per 1500pts)
Avenger
Vengeance
Repulsive
A Battlefleet Mandragora list may take 1 heavy cruiser or two cruisers or light cruisers from the following list for each Grand Cruiser taken OR up to 3 escort squadrons.
Murder Class Cruiser
Hades Class Heavy Cruiser
Siluria class light cruiser
Cardinal Class Heavy Cruiser
Daemonslayer (0-1)
Circe class light cruiser
Escorts:
Havoc
Iconoclast
Tempest (0-2 Squadrons)
Apostate (0-2 squadrons)
Characters:
0-1 Admiral
Fleet Admiral 50
Admiral 100
Solar Admiral 150
0-5 Veteran Captains 30
If a Scylla or Charybdis is present, it must be the admirals flagship, if both are present you may pick one. If veteran captains are taken, and either a Scylla or Charybdis is without an Admiral, one veteran captain must be placed on that this before any other ships may be assigned a veteran captain.
Charybdis 350
Grand cruiser/10, speed 25, armor 6, shields 5, turrets 3
Port/starboard st 16 wb 30cm
Dorsal str 2 lance 45cm
prow st 4 launch bay
st 6 prow torps
Special rules
From the Dark Age: May make teleport attacks at 30cm
Scylla 360
Grand cruiser/10, speed 25, armor 5, shields 4, turrets 4
Port 3lbs
Starboard 3lbs
Prow 3lbs
Dorsal: Lance str 3 45cm
Special rules
Scylla may launch and have in play up to twice its remaining launch bays.
Circe 100
Light Cruiser/6, Speed 25, armor 5, shields 2, turrets 3
Dorsal: Str 2 lance 30cm
Choose 1:
P/S str 1 30cm lances for +40 points
OR
P/S s6 45cm wbs +20 points
OR
P/S
Str 1 LBs. + 30 pts
Tempest 40
Escort /1 Speed 25 armor 5 shields 1 turrets 2
Dorsal str 2 WB 15cm
1 LB
(Entire squadron may take assault boats for +5 points)
Upgrades
Note: All these are in addition to any option that these ships may take normally, such as the Repulsive's lance range boost or the Exorcist's aboats.
Any Grand cruiser except Scylla or Charybdis may take the following upgrade: +5 speed for 10 points
Exorcist:
Exorcist may take +1 LB per side for +30 points
Repulsive:
Repulsive may take +6 armor on its front arc only for +15 points
Avenger:
may take Improved Thrusters for +5 points OR Increase its armor to +6 for +25 points. It may not take these upgrades if it has taken the +5 speed bonus above.
Reserve Rules
Battlefleet Mandragora may freely use ships from the Reserve Fleets list as reserve ships, without penalty. Grand Cruisers taken as reserves in this manner may take the +5cm upgrade available to BFM grand cruisers, but no others, and MAY NOT make use of Chaos ordinance but instead must use it's IN equivalent. Heavy Cruisers, cruisers, light cruisers or escorts taken this way count toward the number of ships you are allowed per grand cruiser.
Mandragora lists MAY not take reserves from the Gothic, Armageddon, or Bakka lists, with the exception of Grand Cruisers.
Battlefleet Mandragora may, in addition, take 0-1 Grey Knight Strike Cruisers as a reserve choice. SM vessles may not squadron with non-SM vessels. This strike cruiser does not count against the number of cruisers and escorts you may take per grand cruiser.
Note: Reserve ships taken for other fleets from the Mandragora list may not take these upgrades with them, representing, as they do, unusual or rare variants. Any ship taken by IN as a reserve ship from this list automatically gains the Unreliable trait (see Armada, page 29) due to the Mandragora Sectors not entirely undeserved reputation as a fell and ill omened place filled with daemons and worse
Thoughts?