1500pts Bastion Imperial fleet

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

So after deciding the bastion fleet is probably the best fleet for me (I have an exorcist, an Armageddon and a Retrbution I have written this 1500pts list, not sure if I will ever get to use (there are a couple of people interested at my uni gaming club, but not sure they will ever get up to this size.)

Imperial Navy fleet (Bastion fleet list)  1500pts
Admiral with extra reroll 125pts
Retribution class Battleship “Blood Hawk" 365pts
Exorcist Class Grand cruiser “Ark Imperial”  230pts
Lunar Class cruiser “Tenken My’o” 180pts
Gothic Class Cruiser “Divine Spear” 180pts
Dauntless class light cruiser “Redemption” 110pts
Dauntless class light cruiser “Wrath of Man” 110pts
“Beta Squadron” 3 Sword class frigates 105pts
“7th destroyer squadron” 3 Cobra class destroyers 90pts
Fleet total 1495pts 
The idea is for the swords to either stick with the Spear or go with the light cruisers (possibly in a flanking attempt) and for the cobras to stick with either the Bloodhawk or the Ark, making sure no one gets to their rears. Any thoughts?

[AndrewChristlieb]

Well it a bit low on ordinance but that shouldnt be a game breaker. If i were to change anything i would think about running a Dictator in place of the Dauntlesses.

[Sigoroth]

Generally speaking the higher level admirals are not worth their points. You should go with a lower leadership admiral with the extra re-roll, saving 50 pts. Secondly, you don't have much in the way of a line. The Exorcist is certainly a viable alternative to a Dictator but given that you're spending a fair amount of points on light cruisers and escorts you have very little in the way of line cruisers (only 725 pts out of 1500 spent on line ships).  Lastly, you have very little in the way of AC. A fairly typical Kor'vattra Tau 1500 pt fleet would put out 30 AC, compared to your 4. Against this sort of fleet I expect that your CLs and escorts would all be destroyed before they could come to grips with the enemy. While Tau are an extreme example of an AC loaded fleet, this is not an extreme example of Tau (an extremely AC heavy 1500 pt Tau fleet could put out 48 AC). You would likely face at least 8 AC against any fleet, even Eldar, and 12 is not all that unlikely either.

If you're going to take a Retribution as the flagship of your fleet I would suggest using the BFG:R version to begin with, but also I would suggest using a couple of Dictators to accompany it and defend your fleet from AC dominance. Having AC is key for an IN fleet so as to ensure their torpedoes get through the enemy CAP screen.  Given how WB dominant this core is I'd round out the rest of the line with a couple of Gothics. I would then buy another Gothic or Lunar and some Swords.

BFG:R Imperial Navy Bastion Fleet

Fleet Admiral +1 RR - 75 pts
Retribution - 355 pts (BFG:R version is too cheap)
Dictator x 2 - 420 pts
Gothic x 2 - 360 pts
Lunar - 180 pts
Sword x 3 - 105 pts

Total - 1495 pts

With the last 5 pts you could buy a power ram for one of your ships. Or you could swap the Swords for Cobras and buy 4 power rams. Either way, this fleet gives you a very strong line, good broadside firepower, reasonable AC protection, a lot of torpedoes and a little flexibility from the escorts.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

I must admit, I'm not sure about the BFG:R rules, as I am introducing BFG to my gaming club, I was hoping to start with the basic rulebook/documents off GW, possibly use the 2010 FAQ as well, I don't want to inundate the new players with multiple versions of the rules and everyone having to carry loads of sheets of paper at first.
Is the aircraft (I presume AC) that dominant? Is there a thread/page detailing all the abbreviations used on here?
That list does look nice, and I am pretty sure I have all the models for it.
Just need to get some bomber/fighter markers I like now, I'm not that keen on the GW ones as they look like blobs.

[AndrewChristlieb]

Most people just use the paper markers for ac (attack craft). Im not sure if there is a list of abbreviations or not. I wouldnt throw in too many rules the first few games either. Try starting off with just the basic rules from the BBB and the modifications from the FAQ.

[horizon]

I agree, leave BFG:R out for starters.

Abbrevations... iirc there is a list somewhere....


edit... found it on taccom, copied here:
http://www.forum.specialist-arms.com/index.php?topic=4853.0

[Sigoroth]

I must admit, I'm not sure about the BFG:R rules, as I am introducing BFG to my gaming club, I was hoping to start with the basic rulebook/documents off GW, possibly use the 2010 FAQ as well, I don't want to inundate the new players with multiple versions of the rules and everyone having to carry loads of sheets of paper at first.
Is the aircraft (I presume AC) that dominant? Is there a thread/page detailing all the abbreviations used on here?
That list does look nice, and I am pretty sure I have all the models for it.
Just need to get some bomber/fighter markers I like now, I'm not that keen on the GW ones as they look like blobs.

Well if you're using the BBB fleet list then you'd need to use the Cobras instead of the Swords, else you'll be 5 pts over. Also, I wouldn't use the BBB Retribution. It is poo.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

Would an Apocalypse be any better then? I could get an Emperor, but would take me a couple of months, so I guess it would be okay, but still, I'd like to use the ships I have..

[horizon]

Hey,
I noticed you listed the Retribution as 365pts, but it is 345pts (see rules on GW website + FAQ2010).

And as for Apocalypse / Retribution: just try them and see what fits your style better.