Greetings - Just Starting

[ElectricPaladin]

Hello all.

In real life, I'm Mark. I'm a middle school teacher in Oakland, CA. I'm also - obviously - a huge nerd. I play RPGs in addition to wargames and board games, and I've even been lucky enough to write RPG freelance a couple of times. My wargames include Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, Warmachine, Hordes, and soon, Battlefleet Gothic. Yes, I'm a rare new convert. Personally, I really like the idea of getting to play with the naval side of war in the 41st Millenia, which is why I'm likely to start by building fleets for Tau and Space Marines, my two 40k armies, though I think there's a good chance that I'll end up collecting an Imperial fleet, too, given how many Imperial ships work so well as allies in a Space Marine fleet. And I guess there's a chance of me fielding all Kroot or all Demiurge in the future, if such things are possible. My Tau fleet is going to wait a while, though, as all their best stuff is Forgeworld.

So, as I'm just starting off, I'd love to hear any advice you can offer. I'm happy to find a forum dedicated to this neat game, and eager to begin playing Battlefleet Gothic.

[AndrewChristlieb]

Hi! you have some good picks there and its always good to see new faces . I would say starting out you might want to look at the Tau first (the space marines are not like 40k! they require a good bit of knowledge about the game to play well). Tau can be pretty forgiving for a beginner and the Forgeworld stuff is a bit cheaper than the GW spacemarine fleet (and the GW Tau). Dont overlook the GW Tau tho they have some great ships that work well with the Forgeworld ships too. Do you have a local club that plays? They can probably run you through the basics and give you a good idea how most of the fleets run.

[ElectricPaladin]

I hadn't know that about the Tau. The thing is, I'm not by nature a patient man. I really want to get started now. I'm also not a wealthy man, and the shipping I'd need to pay to get stuff from Forgeworld is excessive and galling. My FLGS can special order stuff from GW for me, and they don't pay shipping because they can have it packaged with the product they already get. It's a match made in heaven.

Getting Forgeworld models, on the other hand, is an expensive mess.

That said, I'm doing a Forgeworld order to the apartment of a friend flying home in December. Perhaps I'll stretch my budget and order a Tau fleet, too.

[horizon]

heya

Forgeworld Tau is by far cheaper then GW Tau.

(feel free to ask your BoLs questions here as well).

[Jimmy Zimms]

Forgeworld stuff is a bit cheaper than the GW spacemarine fleet (and the GW Tau).

And IMHO looks a whole hell of a lot better. My only wish (well one of my top wishes at least) would have been a FW version of the Battle Barge.

Going to throw out there the classic Traitor / Imperial lists as great starters (hell the game shipped with them!
4 cruisers a side is enough to play a good game and comes CHEAP. I see tons of stuff sell on ebay for less than retail for these two fleets if you don't mind second hand (it's how I got my entire traitor fleet over the years on the cheap).

[ElectricPaladin]

I am currently seriously considering starting with Tau instead. On your recommendation, I looked into building a 1500 point Tau list, and yeah... it's a lot easier and more straightforward.

In fact, here's what I've got - what do you think?

ʉۢ Custodian Class Battleship w/Kor'el Commander
ʉۢ 3 Wardens

ʉۢ Protector-Class Cruiser
ʉۢ Protector-Class Cruiser

ʉۢ Castellan-Class Escort
ʉۢ Castellan-Class Escort
ʉۢ Castellan-Class Escort
ʉۢ Castellan-Class Escort

ʉۢ Demiurge Bastion-Class Commerce Vessel

ʉۢ Nicassar Caravan

This seems like an "all-star" list, full of the stuff that seems "best." I'd love feedback before I start buying (no rush - I'll be making my Forgeworld order in October).

[AndrewChristlieb]

Custodian requires Kor'O for fleet commander. Wardens are good, im not a big fan of Protectors but they work well enough, Castellans have a bad rap due to their cost but i like them just keep them to to rear they give up vp pretty easy , Bastion is ok i think they fit better with the gw fleet but it should do ya fine, never used a caravan (well the minivan but thats besides the point).  Before you buy i always advise people to try it out first! Find some players and play a few games with your fleet (proxies of course unless someone has Tau) and see if its fun, thats whats important!

[ElectricPaladin]

Custodian requires Kor'O for fleet commander.

Not a hard fix - I  can drop a Castellan and add an Aun'el.

Wardens are good,

They seem good to me!

Bastion is ok i think they fit better with the gw fleet but it should do ya fine, never used a caravan (well the minivan but thats besides the point).

I really like the idea of including all Tau ally races in my army. I plan to own a Warsphere, too, eventually! The alliance aspect of the Tau Empire is part of what drew me to them in the first place.

Before you buy i always advise people to try it out first! Find some players and play a few games with your fleet (proxies of course unless someone has Tau) and see if its fun, thats whats important!

Well, yes. That's the plan.

Honestly, though, once I know that I'm not interested in models that suck or desperately need, say, two blisters of Protectors rather than one, I'm good to go ahead with my Forgeworld order, and that's the main point. I'm as much a painter as I am a player - for example, I bought a Kor Orbital city even though I have no plans to field it immediately - and I love the Tau models.

I should be honest - that's most of what I'm looking for here. Confirmation that what I'm buying is not a mistake, not piecing together a perfect list. I should post later with a list of what I intend to buy, rather than play, and make sure I'm not sinking money into any space-lemons.

[ElectricPaladin]

Ok, here's what I'm going to buy:

ʉۢ Tau Air Caste City (I know I'm not likely to use this until I'm playing big games, but I really like it).
ʉۢ Tau Barracuda Blister
ʉۢ Tau Custodians Blister
ʉۢ Tau Emissaries Blister
ʉۢ Tau Mantas Blister
ʉۢ Tau Protectors Blister
ʉۢ Tau Wardens Blister
ʉۢ Demiurge Stronghold
ʉۢ Tau Castellans Blister

Basically, one of everything except the Demiurge Bastion (not interested in fielding a Demiurge-focused fleet, so I'd rather invest in the Tau battleship) and the orbitals (I might just buy them anyway, honestly). Is there anything on this list that just blatantly sucks? If I'm willing to pretty much just buy the fleet, is there anything I should skip?

[horizon]

If money is an issue just don't order the attack craft (barracuda/manta's) and use markers instead.

Fleet is nice, I like the fact you include the caravan.

[ElectricPaladin]

If money is an issue just don't order the attack craft (barracuda/manta's) and use markers instead.

But... they're pretty... and relatively cheap.

Actually, that's a good idea. If I don't need them to make free shipping, I'll skip 'em.

Fleet is nice, I like the fact you include the caravan.

It seems like a fun model, doesn't it?

Um... anyone have any idea where I get the models for the Nicassar Caravan? Or what it's supposed to look like?

[horizon]

Nowhere. It doesn't exist. Build it yourselves or look at other manufacturers, there is enough available I think what will be suited.

[ElectricPaladin]

That's a shame.

Ok, then. I have a mechanical question regarding the Caravan.

The rules say that the Caravan is a single entity, despite being made of a Rig and 4 Dhows. Does this mean that it needs to be represented on a single base?