So after a brief discussion on the merits of the Imperial Navy and Chaos fleets in a previous thread, I have been trying to come up with a list to suit. I also have to be aware of what my opponent will be bringing which is going to be fighter/bomber/assault boat pain.
We play with a couple house rules:
1. You may conduct 1 crew exchange (exchange leadership values between 2 ships) before the game starts. This is done in case one rolls an equal or better leadership for their flagship than the Admiral provides, it is not wasted. Or if this is not necessary you can swap between other ships, perhaps to increase the LD on a squadron.
2. The named ship upgrades and abilities (such as the Salvaged Targeting Matrix for the Mars, or being able to swap out lances for torpedos such as on the Dauntless) do not require the ship to be named as such. We like our own names.
We're using the updated points values available on the GW site. I figure he'll be bringing 1 Repulsive, 1/2 Styx, 2/3 Devastations and some Carnages and/or Slaughters to fill the points. Probably 2, none if he loads up on the Styx and Devs. He has no battleships or escorts so I needn't worry there. If he does load up on the carriers then I will just out gun him, if he's bringing more line cruisers I think I've brought enough of my own ordnance to counter his and still get some pain through. Here's what I plan to bring:
Fleet Admiral Crawford - 50 (No Extra Re-rolls)
Emperor "Churchill" - 365
Mars "Victory" - Salvaged Targeting Matrix - 285
Dictator - "Trudeau" 220
Lunar "Toronto" - 180
Lunar "Glasgow" - 180
Dauntless "Kodiak" - (Prow Torpedos) - 110
Dauntless "Grizzly" - (Prow Torpedos) - 110
Emperor - He's my newest addition and everyone seems to rave about him, 8 squadrons and 16 firepower if you concentrate and are in the L/R arc, but his job isn't to be in the thick of it, it's to hold at the back launching wave after wave of fighters and to clean anything up that breaks through.
Mars - Hangs back and launches fighters with the Emperor. Unloads nova cannon down range every turn hopefully crippling the Grand Cruiser or a carrier before they hit the line in full. Can fire his guns at over 30 cm without penalty (due to the shift provided by his targeting matrix).
(I only brought the one Nova Cannon in this list because I plan to win like a Boss Gentleman)
Dictator - Will hold closer to the front to provide more immediate fighter support. Forms main torpedo line with the two Dauntless. (In no way am I implying by this ships name that Pierre Elliot Trudeau (nor his son Justin) was/is a "dictator." In fact I'm a big fan of the guy (Sr.), which is why I named a beslubbering space ship after him.)
Lunars - Vanguard of the fleet, forms main prong of attack. They will be squadroned. Starts in the torpedo line then moves out and uses torpedoes in a "1 turn" shot (ie. shooting something within 30 cm).
Dauntless - Squadroned. Cheap torpedo access. Backbone of the torpedo line. Can still bring half decent firepower to bear.
To be honest I wasn't quite sure what to do with my last 235 points here so i took the 2 Dauntless and the targeting matrix on the Mars. I could get a cruiser with the points but then the balance would only be enough to buy 1/2 escorts, if that. I could drop 1 dauntless and pick up a unit of 3 swords, or drop a dauntless and the targeting matrix to grab 4 cobras, but I'm not sure if any of those options would be more effective than the double dauntless.
Standard Deployment may look like this, Obviously terrain or "spatial phenomena" placement affects everything, but the 5 torpedo carrying ships will begin the game in Line Abreast.
d d D L L
M
E
16 Squadrons, 1 Nova Cannon, 30 torpedo opening volley, 18 torpedo volley on consecutive turns and a solid attacking core of 5.
Your thoughts rear Admiral