He's got a bad case of the VTs

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

Made this on a whim. I kinda like it. Though they're expensive, I seem to be getting solid rolls with the VTs... with 3 black for AA and with the added blue from FCs they hit pretty hard, against ships they do okay too. Best rolls I've made so far when activated by the quasar is 11 hits (on a ship). That's not terrible. The thing I like most is, yeah you can take out the quasar, but these are all rogues, so really you're not stopping them, just slowing them down. The Kuat is well tested. I've run this build maybe 10 times now and only missed the double crit effects once. I figure between the ISD and the VTs I can chew something up and spit it out. 

Weak to MSU? Definitely weak to long range. 

Thoughts?
 

A bad case of the "VTs" 
Author: Darth Sanguis

Faction: Galactic Empire
Points: 398/400  

Commander: Admiral Screed

Assault Objective: Most Wanted
Defense Objective: Contested Outpost
Navigation Objective: Dangerous Territory

 

[ flagship ] Imperial Star Destroyer Kuat Refit (112 points)
-  Admiral Screed  ( 26  points) 
-  Strategic Adviser  ( 4  points) 
-  Fire-Control Team  ( 2  points) 
-  Electronic Countermeasures  ( 7  points) 
-  Heavy Ion Emplacements  ( 9  points) 
-  Assault Concussion Missiles  ( 7  points) 
= 167 total ship cost

 

Quasar Fire I-class Cruiser-Carrier (54 points)
-  Taskmaster Grint  ( 5  points) 
-  Flight Controllers  ( 6  points) 
-  Expanded Hangar Bay  ( 5  points) 
-  Boosted Comms  ( 4  points) 
= 74 total ship cost

 

Gozanti-class Cruisers (23 points)
-  Comms Net  ( 2  points) 
= 25 total ship cost

 

6 VT-49 Decimators ( 132 points) 
= 132 total squadron cost

[Church14 2,495]

I like it an would rip off your list for personal play if I had 6 VTs

[CommanderDave 429]

I feel like dropping the Quasar for Demo with ACMs is just better for follow up damage in the wake of your Kuat. Hard to justify 74 points of squadron pushing with just rogues.

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

7 minutes ago, CommanderDave said:

I feel like dropping the Quasar for Demo with ACMs is just better for follow up damage in the wake of your Kuat. Hard to justify 74 points of squadron pushing with just rogues.

Maybe! Though I do find being able to alpha 18 blue dice at a ship or 18 black and 6 blue at a squadronball does tend to carry it's own level of threat. That said, I'm definitely considering it, especially since screed is running the show. 

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

21 minutes ago, Church14 said:

I like it an would rip off your list for personal play if I had 6 VTs

I've got 4 right now, I'm gonna buy a 3rd imp 2 and and imp 1 fighter pack this weekend. 

 

[simpatikool 104]

I ran 4 VT Decimators... (Which is what I have) but I never thought to couple them with a dedicated order ship packing Flight Controllers. With Screed running the show, would not an assault Gozanti be possibly a nice option? (...never mind...duh)

 

 

Edited April 13, 2018 by simpatikool

[TheCallum 758]

The Kuat build is great, the same I use with a Screed.

I think it need first to work at its best though.

I think you’ll benefit hugely from Intel- with Sloane aces and Tycho/Shara everywhere, you’ll struggle; one blue just isn’t enough vs Scatter Aces.  

They’ll tie you down and laugh as you use half your squadrons just to burn through one Scatter token.

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

2 hours ago, TheCallum said:

The Kuat build is great, the same I use with a Screed.

I think it need first to work at its best though.

I think you’ll benefit hugely from Intel- with Sloane aces and Tycho/Shara everywhere, you’ll struggle; one blue just isn’t enough vs Scatter Aces.  

They’ll tie you down and laugh as you use half your squadrons just to burn through one Scatter token.

Well I got a game in last night... and you're partially right.

The scatter aces took about 4 decimator activations to kill. but in a group of 6.... they made quick work of his shara/tycho, Awing, rogue squadron, VCX ball of fighters. 

I wiped the entire screen in 3 rounds ending with round 4 setting up for a sweet 1st activation barrage on an MC75 softening it enough for a quasar to sink it round 5.... it was beautiful. 

Though I am considering Dengar and Jendon for the reasons you mentioned. Plus Dengar will grant counter 2 to them all and Jendon will give me some relay flexibility, which I could have used yesterday. 

 

[eViL dAvE 76]

I've run a Ball like this and I would recommend adding in Dengar

[Phil B 55]

Dengar is a real bonus stopping the Decis getting tied down, I usually pair him with an escort Tie fighter just to keep him alive for a bit longer. I'm torn between running 4 Decis or 2 Decis and 2 Gauntlets to dish out some Raid token love for my next list. 

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

1 hour ago, eViL dAvE said:

I've run a Ball like this and I would recommend adding in Dengar

 

1 minute ago, Phil B said:

Dengar is a real bonus stopping the Decis getting tied down, I usually pair him with an escort Tie fighter just to keep him alive for a bit longer. I'm torn between running 4 Decis or 2 Decis and 2 Gauntlets to dish out some Raid token love for my next list. 

Then again a part of me wants them to get tied down in fighters. They're easy points for the VTs to collect. 

[Phil B 55]

I agree, but vaporising ships is just as much fun, Chasing ISD's is why I fly Decis.

 

[eViL dAvE 76]

The boost to counter is the main reason I use him to be honest - even before the Decimator's arrived I was running him surrounded by Aggressor's as my CAP - His Intel is just a happy bonus in that situation

[TallGiraffe 3,447]

@Darth Sanguis I recommend swapping one decimator for Valen as he hits like a truck and ignores counter then upgrade one VT to Morna.

[ShoutingMan 100]

On 4/13/2018 at 11:57 AM, Phil B said:

I agree, but vaporising ships is just as much fun, Chasing ISD's is why I fly Decis.

 

How do they compare to straight bombers, which are about 1/3 the cost? Is the Rogue flexibility the payoff?

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

10 hours ago, ShoutingMan said:

How do they compare to straight bombers, which are about 1/3 the cost? Is the Rogue flexibility the payoff?

I think they're much better. 

Yeah, you're paying quite a lot more, but they are versatile. Rogue is a useful tool, but just the bare stats make them easy to use. I activate my 6 from a quasar with flight controllers. That averages out to 16 damage ±2 damage against squads. Honestly it cleans up. From there I can either activate them against ships in the ship phase or let my quasar remove itself from battle and let rogue do it's business. The blue dice average out to 9 damage ±2 between the 6 VTs.... it's pretty brutal. (I've been rolling around 11 damage a round). 


Considering they have counter and 8 hull, they can last in a fight too... 

 

[Ginkapo 9,321]

16 minutes ago, Darth Sanguis said:

Considering they have counter and 8 hull, they can last in a fight too... 
 

I have always alpha'd them, letting Mauler and Valen take 1 each with the rest tanked by dual braces aces. Generics stay well clear

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

23 minutes ago, Ginkapo said:

I have always alpha'd them, letting Mauler and Valen take 1 each with the rest tanked by dual braces aces. Generics stay well clear

I really don't see how that's much news...

You've basically just said "I take aces"

Generic squads vs a full wing of aces.... we all know how they match up. The benefit of braces and scatters makes a big difference. Mauler and Valen are a solid line up, nothing beats auto damage and black dice. I'd be curious to see if 6 VTs couldn't chew through your ace wing before mauler and valen finish them off. Most imp squads aren't well known for being tanky, and without escort, mauler, at the very least, is in for some ****. I feel like this match up would depend heavily on the rolls. I've not seen too many Tie Advanced that punch hard. Zertek on a good day maybe. 

That said, I feel like most fleets, especially locally, don't run 100+ points in aces just to roll up as AA. I know locally that's a huge waste as only 1 pairing out of maybe 5 will have more than 60-80 points in generic squads, usually as AA.

-shrug-

I ain't shook, I still quite like what the VTs do.

 

[Ginkapo 9,321]

I used to do it with Maarek Jendon Mauler and Valen. The defence tokens switch it dramatically. 

Was just a word of warning. 

[Darth Sanguis 6,327]

1 minute ago, Ginkapo said:

I used to do it with Maarek Jendon Mauler and Valen. The defence tokens switch it dramatically. 

Was just a word of warning. 

Interesting, any generics following those or just that 4 man squad?

[Ginkapo 9,321]

5 minutes ago, Darth Sanguis said:

Interesting, any generics following those or just that 4 man squad?

Saber and pretty much anything for a deployment, often black. 

[simpatikool 104]

I ran this list of yours earlier this week.  Since I don't own 6 VTs (only 4) I swapped in Jendon and Dengar. I faced a pretty large enemy squadron component. Pretty much A wings, Tycho, Sara, Hawk etc. With Flight Controllers, the VTs definitely hit harder and allow for some domination in that department. In that battle I felt Jendor was kind of pointless, and I could not protect Dengar. I am using Dengar, Valen and a normal tie advanced next time. 

 

Like many games of Armada, I basically had the game by deployment and objectives as long as I did not do anything too stupid. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2018 by simpatikool
spelling

[Stefan 732]

This is one **** of a cool list. Gotta try this out.

[eliteone 643]

Think about dropping one of the VTs for Valen. He will keep enemy squads from flying around your VTs, and can't be targetted. Use the extra points maybe for Avenger, Squall or upgrade one VT to Morna? 

[jimmyrut 217]

Love the idea of max Decimators

It is something I have wanted to try for awhile. Squall though will at least make a few of them semi speed 5 but I guess that has a possibility of leaving a few out of that initial engagement.

Keen to see some reports!!