The Delta Quadrant offers a whole chunk of the universe in and of itself. This group I really struggle to cross-pollinate with ships from other periods, quadrants or time lines, as the combatants are literally a universe apart. The Borg and their enemies Species 8472 are fine, but any others are just a real stretch.
There is of course ample room for odd encounters in the Quadrant. The Klingons do make an appearance, the Romulans and others are hinted at, but the core ships are the ones that could have been part of an ongoing presence during the Voyager’s time or are native races.
Because of the variety here, 60 to 200 point fleets are possible and scenario play is recommended.
A good, but not great model, the AW ships do the job.
The Federation have The Voyager of course, namesake of the series, the Equinox, that could have allied with her if things had gone differently, or maybe just more Crew if they were open to switching ships and the Delta Flyer.
Not much of a fleet and a bit of a stretch even, but in upgrades the Federation are pretty flush in both quantity and quality. 7 possible Captains (without a generic), 12 Crew, 19 Tech and Weapon upgrades (some cross-over) and 1 Elite (others are also possible such as Self Destruct), make this little fleet as strong as any. Standouts are plenty, showing the strength of the crew with a myriad of synergies to explore.
The Voyager had some success against the Borg, even using their own tech to get home, and it shows. Powerful Weapons, Tech and tactics help reduce the Borg threat, which is good seeing as there is no help at hand and plenty of other things to worry about in this part of the universe.
The Voyager is the equal fastest ship in the game at white 6, but she has the typical Federation issue of not turning well. The Delta flyer is nimble and a pocket powerhouse, so they team well. The Equinox is a little tame, but brings some excellent upgrades that add variety and power to the faction as a whole and that all important wingman for the Voyager, if story line is toyed with a tad.
The Dauntless, a late purchase because I felt it was a little too hypothetical, has been added, because the actual ship is representative of it’s alien (Species 116) capabilities and in that form (with the Federation costume) it did exist, so deserves the same hypothetical life chance the Val Jean or Equinox get. A fast and tough ship, it is offensively complicated. Only 2 Primary with no Weapon or Crew slots means you have to think outside the box, using up to 4 Tech slots for some kind of edge or an imaginative Captain option. It is also in scale (yay!).
Another option is to play the Marquis ship, the Val Jean with a Marquis/Federation crew, for a hypothetical “all hands to the wheel” team effort which assumes it survived the first episodes and could keep up. The ships are in the “Skirmish” class of TNG ships (more on this later), so any from that grouping will fit fine.
The Voyager had a fated life in the DQ, which is evident when you look at what she was up against.
The Kazon, a race apparently not worth the Borg’s time to assimilate can still cause some problems. With two ship types, a half dozen Captains, and 15 other upgrades, there is enough depth and variety to place the Federation (or others) under some stress, but even at full strength, they are a bit of a “warmup” faction compared to what is coming.
Many of their upgrades are Crew disabling or upgrade thieving, so the faction’s character (or lack there of) comes through well.
The ships are a light raider, about the same strength as the Delta Flyer or Equinox or the larger Predator class with a decent 4 Primary and some fleet support effects. Not the most impressive, but not duds either.
The Hirogen, who gave the later Voyager some genuine grief, are dangerous and thanks to a later card pack, unpredictable as well. 5 Captains with 5 Elite, and 9 other upgrades, with decent numbers make the Hirogen a top tier and flavourful faction.
Karr is a rare Captain with 2 (!) Elite talents, and two other Captains (semi-generic ones) also have Elite slots, making the most of the ample choices. The role of the Hirogens is similar to the Romulans. Hard to hit, even slippery, and decisive when they strike.
The fearsome Borg, scourge of the Alpha Quadrant have a bit of a tough time in the DQ. The Federation have plenty of anti Borg upgrades and tricks, Species 8472 are effectively immune to Borg strengths, the Krenim are a handful and even the relatively unexciting Kazon have some immunity through obscurity (yes, they are that unexciting). Being Borg in the Delta Quadrant is not as easy a ride as before.
All of the impressive Borg power is there, in the form of sheer Toughness & Regeneration, Drones and plenty of raw punch, leaving lots of room for some juicy high octane confrontations, but unlike in the Alpha Quadrant, in the DQ there is more of an even playing field for all.
Species 8472 are a scary and enigmatic bunch, even to the Borg.
Packing 6 Primary, on teleporting and group supporting ships, with tough Captains, lots of Tech and powerful Weapons, they are a match for any combination of protagonists.
I have 4 of these (2 A’s & 2 B’s), enough to take on a decent 200pt Borg force or half my full Federation fleet, something few others can claim.
The Krenim, only have a single ship if played to canon, may seem like a fairly thin one trick faction and to a certain extent they are, but it is a good trick.
With the ability to control time, they can be a thorn in the side of the best a faction can offer. The ship and upgrades are expensive, but bizarre and powerful, so a 1 ship, 60 point offering is a potent alpha striker ally, but a 100pt, 2 ship fleet is even stronger.
A fleet of these would be up there with Species 8472 or the Borg. Maybe……(just ordered a second, now we are talkin’).
The Vidiians, I have not included because I just do not like/own them, but if added they increase the DQ’s variety.
The Delta Quadrant offers a very different feel to the Alpha Quadrant. Lots of big, powerful ships or swarmy factions and all with their own strong flavour. It is also nice to not play the “usual guys” some times.
Can the Delta Quadrant, as a sub-genre of Attack Wing stand on it’s own two feet?
Build depth 4/5 A reasonable range of strong factions with deep upgrade choice.
Interest value 4.5/5 Some of the most unique and powerful factions in Star Trek.
If I could only play one period or faction group, I would be torn between this and the Enterprise era, with this one probably winning through sheer interest value and ship strength.