I have finally finished my Armada fleets.
After resisting a Profundity expansion, because it does not fit with my sharks vs whales dynamic, the Rebellion in the Rift expansion arrived, vindicating my decision.
This campaign will bring stability to the galaxy, but not peace to all.
Today, out of the blue, I googled “Raider Expansion Pack” and one turned up at normal shelf price, in country and with reasonable freight.
The Raider was seen as an optional ship*, but on purchasing it and adding it to my fleet lists I realise it does several things for the Imperials that they likely need, hopefully without unbalancing the feel of the two fleets.
The Imperial “Rim Fleet” consists of;
Imperial Class (commander of the region and flagship for the Intimidator fleet)
Onager Class (commander and reason for the experimental Devastator fleet)
Victory Class (command ship of the Enforcer fleet)
2x Gladiator Class (one works with the Victory above, the other commands the Hunter fleet)
2x Assault cruiser/carrier flotillas, escorting the Intimidator and Devastator fleets.
Several smaller ship/squadrons (Decimators, Shuttles and various Scum mercenaries)
26 squadrons
What they lack is;
A speed 4 pursuit ship to support faster squadrons. It may fit in with the Hunter fleet or possibly the Enforcer fleet (switching the second Gladiator to the Hunter fleet), adding much needed flak and speed to a Victory class core.
A points balancer (the Imperials are a soft 50 points behind the Rebels)
Some Flak* (although squadrons are the Imperial edge here)
A decent evader* (again squadrons)
The Raider fits like a glove. I will get one only citing the issues below* and the reality is only one turned up.
*The issues with the Raider are it’s “balancing” effect and application.
The difference in feel between the two factions is to be nurtured, even championed. The Assault Frigate, Profundity and Raider could all rob their opponents of some of their uniqueness (big vs small dynamic), but in the AF and Raider’s cases, it will be stretched equally in opposite directions, but hopefully not broken. The Profundity however is still on the back burner and will again unbalance things.
The other issue with the ship is it’s twitchiness, being notoriously hard to use well. One ship amongst 1000 odd points is not going to make a mountain of tactical or mechanical difference and conversely may make the difference occasionally.
Plus, it is a gorgeous model!