1st time BFG

[Jonas Stromclaw]

So my buddy and I decided to try out Battlefleet Gothic since the rules were available online and we could mock up some models to play with fairly easily. We tried our first battle today

My fleet (Imperials)

Avenger class Eternal Valor

Lunar class Tyrant's Bane

Gothic class Right of Might

 

His fleet (Chaos)

Hades class Besieger

Murder class Betrayer

Murder class Horus Avenger

Slaughter class Angron's Rage

 

We weren't entirely sure what we were doing, but managed to have fun anyway. Both fleets just went head to head. I went first and fired off a torpedo salvo which clipped the Besieger and nearly killed it outright (by the way, ordnance moves in both of our turns, right? We didn't feel that was quite clear from the rules.) Long range fire from his prow weapons put mild damage on the Tyrant's Bane. As our fleets closed I got off the first broadside. Here's the funny bit.

 

So my Lunar class knocks the shields off one of his Murders, the Betrayer. Eternal Valor opens up with its lovely big guns but only manages to cause two points of damage. I roll for critical hits and manage to get one. I roll for the result and, lo and behold, get Bulkhead Collapse. I roll for extra damage and get 6, flat out killing the Murder class. Groaning, my buddy rolls on the Catastrophic damage table to get... box cars, a Warp Drive Implosion, which only has the range to heavily damage his other Murder class. With two ships gone and two damaged, he asked if there were rules for running away.

 

So, things we learned. 1. Make dead sure to avoid big torpedo volleys. 2. Chaos needs to engage at range, not go head to head. 3. Don't bunch your ships, they might end up committing fratricide if one takes too much damage.

[Viray]

Haha, nice. The game sounded like a blast; I'm a little envious.

 

So, are you guys actually going to get into the game, or was it just a one time, out of the blue kinda thing?

[Vaaish]

by the way, ordnance moves in both of our turns, right?

This is correct.

 

 

The Avenger is typically considered overpriced and under gunned. It's better to take a vengeance since you have better range and equivalent weapons.

 

You must have had exceptionally good rolling to nearly kill the hades with your torpedoes. Don't for get Brace for Impact and Lock On Special orders. Typically the Murder/Murder/Hades combo has enough firepower to do some serious damage to an IN fleet as they close since the lances ignore the 6+ armored prows and should be able to fire twice at least before coming in range of the IN ships. 8 Lances should net you 2 hits past shields and locked on should give you enough to outright cripple a ship in a salvo.

 

Before you get too far into learning the rules, there is an update that just came out for the FAQ and other supplemental fleets here: http://tinyurl.com/23nul8q

[Jonas Stromclaw]

@Viray

Before hand, we were just thinking of doing this only every so often, but my buddy is rather eager to avenge his fallen fleet, so this may become a common occurence.

 

@Vaaish

Thanks for the FAQ information. Yeah, of that first torpedo salvo I rolled half of them sixes and managed to pick up another damage point on a critical hit. My buddy is convinced I stole all his beginner's luck for this first match, and he is essentially correct. I rolled ridiculously well while his rolls were unbelievably bad, as already evidenced by the Warp Drive Implosion. Now that we know what we're doing (sort of) actual tactics will factor into the next battle. I know the Avenger was truly a bit undergunned, but I just like the things fluff. I'll find a use for it, I'm sure.