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| A list with TWO Valdores? HOLY! |
Apologies for my absence on Sunday. I may forego posting on Sunday unless something actually extra comes along that deserves posting. Anyway, today we're going to start a week long Romulan review. I've recently had some experience running the science vessel, and I've definitely run the Valdore a lot, so I should be able to discuss this topic with a modicum of authority.
So here's the Valdore:
I.R.W. Valdore (Valdore Class)/ Romulan Starship (Valdore Class)
Front Firing Arc: 90° Rear Firing Arc: NA
A: 4
E: 2
H: 6
S: 3(2)
If you perform a Green Manuver, add +1 attack die for the remainder of this round.
Actions: Evasive Maneuvers, Target Lock, Cloak, Sensor Echo
Upgrades: Weapons, Weapons, Crew, Crew
Points: 30 (28)
The Valdore has no rear firing arc. What does that tell us right off the bat? Don't waste time with Photon Torpedoes. Don't waste time with weapon upgrades. It has no tech slot, so you don't have to worry about wasting points on tech upgrades either.
If you can afford the two points, I would probably always take the named version over the unnamed version. The named ability is really great, and the extra shield make sure that this thing can stay alive. The Hull is one of the biggest in the game and the two agility can really make sure that this thing survives well into the game.
The movement dial is one of the best in the whole game that isn't on a ship with no teeth. It has six green maneuvers, which make it an ideal candidate for, GUESS WHAT, Engage. Engage works great on a Valdore with its green two banks. You only get 1 extra attack even if you move two greens, but you can get 5 attacks and be in an amazing position to hit without being hit back.
Think about Sensor Echo as well. Sensor Echo lets you do some absolutely crazy things. Sensor Echo is something that it takes a while to get used to, but on a high skill captain, Sensor Echo can be a life saver. I'm finding that even on lower skill captains Sensor Echo can really put a snag in your opponent's game plan. Sensor Echo is one of those actions that isn't taken nearly as often as it should be. To get yourself used to Sensor Echo, I would play a few games where you take Sensor Echo at every opportunity. I bet you will see your ships lasting a lot longer than before. Part of taking your game to the next level, is making sure every tool is in your toolbox, and Sensor Echo is an important part of that toolbox. Additionally, Sensor Echo lets you perform a modified two turn where you get to face forward at the end of the turn. That move is really great.
Getting back to the Valdore, it probably doesn't need Engage, but it's definitely nice for chasing down a fleeing opponent. There are going to be times when it will be better for your opponent to race away, I've found that Engage has been great in those instances. With Engage on the Valdore, I've found that I rarely take the Come About (mostly because I have auxiliary tokens every turn!).
Tomorrow, I'll take a look at some of the upgrades that come with the Valdore.
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ReplyDeleteI love the IRW Valdore. Potentially the best ship in the game. Based on this post I just came up with this potentially very ugly 2 Valdore build. Screw faction pure. :) I have no idea how this would perform in reality though. I generally prefer 3 ships builds so I don't lose 1/2 my firepower when a ship dies.
ReplyDeleteI.R.W. Valdore (Romulan 30)
Shinzon of Remus (Romulan 7) aka: Jean-Luc Picard
Tactical Officer (Romulan 3)
Alexander (Klingon 4)
Engage (Federation 4)
Romulan Valdore (Romulan 28)
Toreth (Romulan 4)
Dorsal Weapons Array (Dominion 4)
Tactical Officer (Romulan 3)
Hikaru Sulu (Federation 4)
Engage (Federation 4)
Elite Attack Die (5)
Total Point Cost: 100
I know, a little short. I've got something that I think will be decent for tomorrow, using the Valdore's awesomeness as a guide.
ReplyDeleteI like the list, but I think you could drop the Tactical Officers. I think they're a bit overhyped. The second Valdore should have Dukat- the Battlestations will keep your Valdore alive forever. But if you play it, let me know how it goes!
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Dukat will offer you better action efficiency - keep running battlestations and Sulu when you need to defend without cloak, or battlestations and engage to maneuver to a safe spot to attack from - and you can use either evade or battlestations and cloak in the same turn if you suddenly need to dive, dive, dive.
ReplyDeleteThe elite attack die is probably a very weak choice compared to taking a flagship card as your one resource, but they aren't readily available yet and they do cost five points more. Certainly worth trading off the tactical officers for unless you desperately need crew for scenarios - and even then you've a got a 1-cost boarding chump that could fill in for that role. If you don't take that boarder you'd be at 99, which means you're winning on captain skill ties against a "full" fleet - often the best point or two you haven't spent, given how common Picard is.
If using Admiralty's orders, you should also consider finding five points to run as a Strike Force, which does incredible things for you action economy. With all the toys, I'd consider this a pretty good variation on the theme:
Strike Force (Orders 5)
Romulan Flagship Card (Resource 10)
I.R.W. Valdore (Romulan 30)
Shinzon of Remus (Romulan 7) aka: Jean-Luc Picard
Engage (Federation 4)
Romulan Valdore (Romulan 28)
Gul Dukat (Dominion 6)
Hikaru Sulu (Federation 4)
Engage (Federation 4)
That's 98 points. You could leave it at that and count on winning ties pretty often, add a 1 point crew for corner case utility, or upgrade the no-name Valdore to the IRW Khazara for an extra shield - only worth it if you plan on staying in cloak with that ship most of the game, which is easy to do with Dukat and a bonus action from Strike Force. If you do that, shuffling Sulu to the Valdore is probably a better idea, since the Valdore is more capable of fighting outside of the cloak when needed (ie, when very low on hull and facing few enemies) without sacrificing offense. Even uncloaked, 5 dice (flagship + Sulu) with full battlestations (Picard) and maybe an evade (Strike Force action) should minimize your damage.
Like any two ship fleet you're going to be weeping if your opponent manages to force a collision and deprive you of actions even briefly. Watch out for swarms, and for anything that denies defense dice (Suicide Attacks, Stab At Thee, Apnex, Riker, Ultritium, Massacre, etc) unless you're currently out of cloak and shielded. Also beware of Miles O'Brien disabling Sulu or even Engage at an inopportune time, and the Jem'Hadar boarding crew murdering him or stealing his ability - and all those tricks are repeatable with Weyoun. Chang disabling a captain is also pretty horrid, but slightly less of a threat with Strike Force's extra action. Stasis Field Projector will also kill a disproportionate amount of your offense for a turn, which could be problematic.
Rich, you should find room for Uhura in a two ship Engage Build. You probably don't need Sulu.
ReplyDeleteMaybe. Uhura helps fix the collision problem, while Sulu (although an action hog) gives you much better insurance against having to face steady gunfire. Engage and Sensor Ghost (free on the flagship - whee) will let you avoid a lot of shots right now, but I foresee widespread use of Dorsal Weapon Array upgrades that will make positioning tricks less safe. They're no real threat at the basic 3 die level, but with attack boosters (notably the ubiquitous Donatra and some other lesser options) you can expect them to be up in the 4-5 die level a lot, and at that point being able to slap on extra dodginess with Sulu may be better than running Engage that round.
ReplyDeleteAt least the blasted things are disable to use, so they can't maintain fire like the Ent-D does.
Add Ferengi EM Pulses to the list of things that mess this build up enormously, BTW. Engage doesn't seem like such a good idea when you start the turn with two Aux Power tokens instead of one.