CoA List building

Building a tournament legal 1000 point Covenant of Antarctica Naval List

Large

In my opinion this is where the majority of our damage output lives. The combination of high strength broadsides and turret (guns) combined with Sterginium rounds  means Large CoA vessels put out some of the best, difficult to mitigate, damage output compared to anyone else.

The weapons on the large ships are also effective against all different enemy vessels with the only possible exception being enemy corvettes.

So that brings me to the first major decision. What large vessels do you take. The dreadnought is awesome and I can not fault it (despite being the most expensive squadron I have seen in the game but i think that is justifiable). In 1000 points though I am going to have to pass on it in order to take two Battleships instead.

The damage output on the Battleship is very comparable to the dreadnought. Its main advantage though is that a pair of them outputs significantly more firepower (I know they cost more). I cannot justify spending 460 points on 1 of each in 1000 points. However I can easily take 370 points in two battleships.

With the battleships the utility value of wave lurker and the extra 2" move it gains from that are very handy for avoiding damage and closing into range.

The Time orb is also an essential large squadron in most CoA lists. The threat of teleportation alone is worth the 70 points even if you dont use it. More importantly though the Time Dilation Field that reduces the incoming AD from your opponents is indispensable. Especially in games where you want to close with the enemy.

Medium

Given that points for points none of the medium ships (or fliers) output the same order of magnitude of firepower as our large and massive squadrons, I have abandoned the idea of selecting mediums primarily on firepower. If you find yourself taking mediums for damage output then I would recommend dropping them and trying to fit something larger.

Based on the fact that most of the core missions involve victory points I take the Zeno Armored Cruisers (usually a pair). For 25 points more than a Plato Cruiser you get inventive scientists, 2 extra CR and HP.

These stats bonuses equate to your enemy having to get TWICE as many (24) successful AD against the Zeno compared to the Plato (12).

The higher CR means they tend to take damage more slowly meaning their firepower drops off less during the game. The two extra HP also give you more opportunity to play a repair card on the squadron if using them.

For these reasons I take a pair of Zeno cruisers. The broadsides are really nice for providing versatile damage output. The particle accelerator can nicely damage a medium ship and then follow through on a small one behind it, or alternatvily with reasonable alignment, (which I admit is tricky against a good opponent) two small ships. The points denial value is where these models shine though.

Small

My advice is to go with Frigates. They are fast, cheap and have reasonable damage that is easy to use.


The real advantage of Frigates though is 2 AP. CoA is not a boarding army. AP though is a critical resource and frigates are the most cost effective way to boost it.

You are unlikely to actually capture enemy vessels unless you get lucky but you can preemptively board to reduce their AP and get in the way.

Frigates are disposable. Use a screen of frigates to prevent your opponent getting close enough to board you. Throw one right in front of their big stuff to lock down their movement.

Destroyers are good (I have revised my 'do not take' status I assigned to them in my post on CoA small), however, they have no real advantages in my list over Frigates.

The Fore Guns on the Destroyer are easier to use and Pack Hunter means that they can lay down some serious damage. The problem is that unless you are attacking large things the extra firepower is largely overkill. My big vessels take out large enemy vessels fine, I dont feel the need to invest more points into fufilling this role.

Frigates on the other hand are just as effective at taking out small enemy vessels and cost 10 points less.

My main problem with corvettes is that they are less durable than the other smalls with the CR 4 and the fixed channel guns are more fiddly to use while outputting less firepower (broadsides get to shoot out both sides). Yes they are faster but I have not yet encountered a need to be faster than the Frigates already are.


The message is:

• Damage comes from big things
• Everything else provides utility or tactical/strategic options...any damage you get from them is a bonus

Sample list

2x Battleships
1x Time Orb
2x Armored Cruisers
3x escorts
3x escorts
4x frigates
3x frigates
2x frigates

Total 995 points

That is 9 activations per turn (including your two from tiny fliers) which seems to be enough to not get too badly out maneuvered  in 1000 points. I have yet to have significant difficulty destroying anything that I focus on and can avoid losing models that I need.

Recent CoA experience

Apologies for the lack of recent posts. Unfortunately life gets in the way of Hobby sometimes.

Aside from recently finishing off my 6 destroyers and another batch of frigates I have been playing some games using the new 1.1 Dystopian Wars rulebook.

I love the new rulebook...but I'm going to save that for another post. For now I want to talk about some game experiences.

I have been running in a 1000 points a core of:

2x Aristotle Battleships
2x Zeno Armored Cruisers
2x 3 Galen Escorts
1x Callimachus Time Orb

and been fiddling around with frigates, destroyers and corvettes (and more escorts for the orb).

So far it has been working really well. One of the real advantages is the compression of applicable force. Each of my major activations (medium and up) lets me unleash very large amounts of firepower in a single activation. Another time I will post some thoughts on how to build a list to take advantage of this and balance it with volume of activations.

Against armies that you want to get in close against:

1. The Callimachus Time Orb activates first and uses the Time Dilation Template to protect the Battleships which are submerged
2. Tiny fliers and small vessels activate
3. Last 2 activations are the Battleships moving forward 10 (8" submerged + 2" for the Time Dilation)

Next turn the orb moves forward and provides the same trick to the Battleships. This time when the battle ships activate though they tend to surface and begin merrily blasting away at my target priorities.

That is just the general game plan against armies where I want to get closer. The advantage being that the only things that get full shots against the Battleships is any number of squadrons my opponent has more than me plus up to two extra (one if he goes first and another if he goes first in the second turn before the orb rinses and repeats.

You also have the opportunity for opportunistic teleportation but beware as this more often than not leaves you very vulnerable. 

I find that the Zeno Armored Cruisers soak up a massive amount of damage. That higher Critical Rating and starting Hull Points mean that it takes very considerable firepower to destroy them.

I find that the Plato Cruiser doesn't put out significant firepower. Given this I would rather for the extra points be hard to kill. The particle accelerator tends to KO little ships and the broadsides are nice and beefy on the Zeno.

As far as little ships go I have not made up my mind 100%
I have reassessed my previous position about Plutarch Destroyers not being worth considering. I have used them very effectively in two games. I just am not yet convinced that they output the correct amount of fire for their points when compared to Frigates.

At present I am leaning towards using the Diogenes Frigate as my main small ship. Being cheaper and therefore more numerous than Destroyers in my list I find they put out good firepower at short range.

Being disposable I use them to block enemy assaults. By placing a screen of Frigates more than 4" out from your larger vessels you can prevent larger (therefore less maneuverable) enemy vessels from closing into boarding range. They usually also end up targeting small enemy vessels leaving my big ships to focus on theirs. As such I tend to run them in small squadrons to increase my number of activations per turn.

Since the Diogenes Frigate has broadsides this means they can zip out from behind your battleship, form a screen and then give a nasty broadside to anything trying to close with you.

Galan Escorts have been amazing. They neutralize the effect of rockets and torpedoes on my big ships and can double in to the role of screening that frigates do in a pinch. The extra AA against boarders also can mean the difference between a win and a lose. They really force you opponent to dedicate significant resources to eliminating them in order to attack your Battleships.
 

Ptolemy Class Bombers Completed

Finished off the bombers today. I was really glad to get some dull coat on them as they chip really easily without it.

Also there is now a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/HobbyOrDie

Painting guide:

CoA Small Class Naval Unit Analysis and Tactics

So in my opinion this is definitely our weakest class with relatively difficult to use options. The main reason I say this is due to their limited range and firing arcs. I will try to keep this article up to date with my views and any rule changes.

Overall I think minimizing the number of small squadrons is a mistake. There are a few common reasons to take several squadrons such as:

• Increased number of activations per turn. This reduces the extent to which your opponent gets multiple activations after you have activated all of your Squadrons. Additionally this lets you make 'inconsequential' moves while waiting for your opponent to commit or come into range.
• Protection for larger ships from small/medium class models by obstructing line of sight

Compared to their cost other factions small ships generally do everything better than ours except for movement. Our movement is faster but this means that either you waste this advantage by holding back to provide support for slower larger vessels or you run up, do a suicide run and get blasted apart next turn.

Painting the Covenant of Antarctica

This morning I painted up a few test models for my CoA. Other than picking out a few details they are complete and I am happy with the results, especially given the time taken. Still drying a little bit but here are some pics

I Started out by undercoating the models over a few days. I have also been undercoating my Necrons (pics soon) and for the first time in years nearly ran out of spray.

Undercoat completed I used the airbrush to give them a basecoat of Mordian Blue. Once that dried I gave them a Badab Black wash.
The wooden decking was then painted Khemri Brown followed by a devlan mud wash.
The guns and chimney stacks were painted Dwarf Bronze with a Leviathan Purple wash
The Propulsion System got a Chainmail coat then a Thraka Green wash
Finally the remaining metal parts were painted Chainmail and finished off with a Badab Black wash.

Also other than the airbrushed Mordian Blue the entire model was painted using my favorite Citadel Wash Brush.

On the next batch to save time I intend to try and paint the metal bits after the basecoat then wash the whole thing black or alternatively see if doing the purple wash over the Mordian blue basecoat and painted guns gives a good effect. Either of these changes should further cut down the painting time.

The Covenant grows larger

More stuff came in for my CoA fleet :D

In my games so far I have been struggling (against the British at least) to make effective use of the Frigates. Their short range shooting usually means that they are performing suicide runs which I think the Corvettes would be better for. Im planning to experiment more with the small class ships but I haven't been seeing as good a return on them for their points as the larger vessels.

Progress report:

All the large and medium stuff has been undercoated. Light and wind are preventing me from finishing off the undercoat on the smaller ships. Hopefully Ill be able to get it done tomorrow

Starting Dystopian Wars

 Long story short I've been busy the last few months and havent made enough time or done enough hobby to hobby.

My progress on my Necrons has been really slow :( although I did get some metallics down on the destroyers and have nearly completed assembling a squad of Death Marks.

In other hobby related news, this year I have started a new game with some mates...Dystopian Wars.
So far Max and I have played a few games using his starter boxes to get our heads around the rules. He has been using the Kingdom of Bretonia (KoB) and I have been borrowing his Empire of the Blazing Sun (Japan/ EotBS).

First game using the entire Navel Battle Group box content

For myself I will be starting out with a Covenant of Antarctica fleet.

What I managed to snag from a local store

Aside from the rules which I think are absolutely amazing, the models are ridiculously cool. There is detail where it has no right to be, in overhangs and there are things like rivets in the sides of doors at the bottom of stairs that sink into the deck of the ships. Additionally on the resin models there are no mold lines or flash coming off the model except for at the base where it is very easily removed.

Covenant of Antarctica Naval Starter Box a few minutes after opening

The aircraft carrier had the most individual pieces (8 excluding turrets, most of the rest of the stuff is one piece)

Dystopian Wars certainly feels like the most tactical and strategic tabletop game that I have played to date.

Things I liked:

• Clear detailed rules
• Regular rule updates for the game (including great forum run by the creators with game designer->community interaction)
• Cool, distinctive models
• Minimal Assembly (can play using a fleet a few minutes after opening the box)
• Low cost (less than $200 AU to get started to a tournament size with models to spare)
• Stat cards for models (come supplied with the models)
• Inclusion of details on other factions and special rules in the core rulebook
• Land, Air and Navel combat all in the single unified system

The game works on a model by model (or squadron by squadron) activation system (I activate one when I'm finished my opponent does). this means that firstly you are active more often which makes the game more fun and involving (no sitting back and only responding by rolling the dice your opponent hands you. Secondly it adds an extra element of tactics for the order of squadron activation. Additionally it reduces the impact of alpha strike tactics. 


Another nice game play feature is the variable maneuverability of the various models, combined with the different weapon firing arcs and the ability to fire all your weapons regardless of movement. This means each model functions differently and is used to distinguish the play styles of the various factions.
I still haven't decided on my final colour scheme. I am leaning towards blue and brass. Being a steam punk setting I think everything looks better with brass.

I have some more goodies in the mail and hope to put some painting updates (and maybe even guides) up throughout the week.