Using Imperial escorts

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

Any advice on them? Personally I like the infidel for my chaos, and the sword, cobra and falchion classes for my imperials, only thing is I am not sure how survivable they are. I'm thinking the torpedo ones may be better as they can damage ships with shields up, and can just hang back pumping torpedoes at the enemy, using their weapons batteries on any enemy escorts that get a bit too close?
Any advice on squad sizes or uses?

[horizon]

Heya,

first rule: do not use escorts as front scouts.... they'll die pretty quick that way.

Personally I use battery/weapon based escorts behind/around my cruisers. Only jumping in when the lines close, and then using their good speed & turns to get good shooting positions.
Because remember... 5 Swords, is 20 weapon batteries @ 30cm all focusable in any arc you desire (except rear of course). No cruiser can do that. Furthermore a regular Imperial cruiser has a striking range of 20cm + 30cm = 50cm, the escort have 25+30 = 55cm. Important 5cm.

This can also be applied with Iconoclasts, Tau Wardens/Orca's, etc

On torpedo escorts:
they can snipe enemy fighters who are on cap, so your larger torpedo waves & bombers can go in without trouble. Falchions are most excellent for this as they only have 1 torpedo.
But add all torpedoes in a squadron when the oppurtuniy arises, 5 Cobra's can suddenly unleash 10 torpedoes.

Torpedo escort tend to do better behind the lines as well, but depending on opponent you can use a safe flanking movement to gain some good shooting positions. The speed of Cobra's is good for this. Consider the Widowmaker upgrade at all times.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

It's mainly for when I have 70=140pts spare in my fleet and not sure what to use on it. Must admit the Falcions and cobra's are probably my favorites model wise, but I have about 3/4 of each imperial type.
Must admit the plan I was thinking was to have a couple of Falcions or cobra's hanging back around an Apocalypse class battleship, using their torpedoes to get the odd hit on enemy ships or brake up incoming ordnance, and using their weapons batteries/torpedo shotguns on anything that got to close, hopefully stripping a shield or two so that  the battleship's ances could finish it off.

[AndrewChristlieb]

Horizon hit the nail in the head there. For your purpose there I would go with a big group of Falchions. 5 gives you 15 weapons which should be plenty to knock shields off your targets and they can still link to a respectable 5 toorps if you get the chance. 

[Gun_wun]

Hey Horizon, I hate to ask a stupid question, but where does one find a write up for a widowmaker?  I've looked around a bit but can't find anything.

[Bessemer]

He means the option to ditch the weapon batteries and get +2  for Enemy Contacts. Widowmakers comes from the name of a squad that was modified in this manner (BBB, the Cobra entry sidebar).

Or were you looking for something more in-depth?

[horizon]

Yep, in the main rulebook with the Cobra Destroyer entry.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

My main worry with the likes of swords and firestorms is that they are so fragile, and that whereas it take a a few hits on the hull (or a lucky critical damage roll) to reduce a cruisers firepower, as soon as your sheilds are down, even if the squad survives there ability to do damge is severely diminished.
Plus with firestorms, I imagine they either rely on an accompaniment of swords, or even for the likes of a tyrant or lunar class to take the enemies shields out so they can do damage, and just seem too expensive for their capabilities. 

[AndrewChristlieb]

With Imperials I look at it the other way around. Instead of "do I take a Dominator to accompany my Firestorms" its "Can I take some Firestorms to accompany my Dominator and save points over a Gothic?" Of course I prefer Swords and Gothics or lance Dauntless paired but the opposite would work just as well.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

That's the point however, pretty much all the other imperial escorts can act on their own, where as the firestorm requires support, even against other escorts and whilst ships work best working together, the firestorm seems kind of impotent on it's own.
Also, due to their low points cost, I've thinking escorts may be the best thing to utilise the reserves rules, I'm thinking of possibly having a squadron of 5 Falcions and have a cobra come in from reserves.

[fracas]

Given firestorm are more maneuverable than cruisers, they have a very exact role as executioner for enemy ships stripped of shields and sounded by capital ships.
They go behind your cruiser line.

[Zarathustra Sucuine]

Has anyone had any luck allying in falcions into a bastion fleet list?
Or of squads of 2 swords and a firestorm?