the D7! A Review

All Grown Up!

The D7, and its upgrades, are a pretty weak lot. I still haven't picked up this expansion because I can't see anything from it that is particularly useful. So there's the confession out of the way- I haven't played with a D7. I don't own a D7. I much prefer my klingons to be Cloaked and have 5 attack dice. I've heard some people have run a D7 swarm but I can't bring myself to look upon the upgrades with anything but a hearty "meh".

Here are the stats for the D7

I.K.S. Gr'oth (D7-Class)/ Klingon Battlecruiser (D7 Class)
Front Firing Arc: 90° Rear Firing Arc: NA
A: 3
E: 1
H: 3
S: 2(1)
Each time you defend against a ship at Range 1, roll 1 extra defense die.
Actions: Evasive Maneuvers, Target Lock, Battle Stations
Upgrades: Tech, Weapons, Crew
Points: 18 (16)

Here's the long and short of it- I don't think it's particularly good. Sure, you can cram 6 of them into a list, but you'll still, at best, have 18 shots at one target- I can get that amount of attack dice out of a three ship list using the Klingon Attack Build that I described yesterday- AND I can get cloak at the same time. Sure, I'll have 2 extra hull points across 3 more ships with the D7s, but I hardly think that will be the game changer. 

If you bump it down to 5 D7s, and add in some Captains, you have a bit more of an argument in favour of the D7. Essentially, you'll be at 80 points for ships, which is always a good number. You can take Donatra for 5 points, and Gowron for 4 pts and still have 11 pts left over for a Martok. You can get some pretty decent firepower- 23 shots at one target. But therein lies the worst problem- a 3 ship list has a significantly easier time attacking one target than does a 5 ship list. Sure, it can be done, in a modified triangle formation, but you'll be losing 1-2 ships / turn as your 4 hull/shield points get stripped off of you asap. 

The D7 maneuvers like all of the Klingon Ships in Wave 1- well. Like I said above, Manuvering 5 of them is going to get tricky, and a crafty opponent should be able to get out of your arcs. 

Ultimately, the biggest argument against a swarm D7 list is that it's the biggest glass cannon in the game. With no cloak, your ships will be hammered well before they can respond with their own firepower- especially the 1 skill captain'ed ships. While the Klingon Attack Build that I profiled yesterday has less firepower, it has more surviveability, which is ultimately why I think it is a better build- and a more popular one.