| Home |
|
|||
 | ||||
| ||||
Starship Battles Preview 1Mon Calamari Star Defender Viscount and Super Star Destroyer Executor | ||||
|
Starting this November, you'll be able to recreate your favorite Star Wars space battles and dream up new skirmishes of your own with the Star Wars Miniatures Starship Battles game. Choose your allegiance (Light Side or Dark Side), build your fleet, and conquer the galaxy -- or defend it! Today, we've got the first in a series of previews of the new miniatures. It all starts when Gary Sarli cruises up in the Viscount-class star defender, the largest ship of the Light Side faction. But Sterling Hershey revs up the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer, the largest Dark Side ship. These two capital ships are exclusive to the Starship Battles Starter Set. Mon Calamari Star Defender ViscountThe Viscount-class star defender was designed after the Black Fleet Crisis as it became apparent that the New Republic needed a heavier dreadnaught to serve as the flagship for major engagements. As such, this class was created to be the equal of the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer. Although it's somewhat smaller than the Executor in overall size, the superior engineering techniques used by the Mon Calamari enabled this vessel to carry more starfighter wings and still be operated by a substantially smaller crew. The Viscount-class star defender carries three wings of starfighters (216 total ships), usually including 60 T65-A3 X-wings, 12 T65-XJ X-wings, 48 A-wings, 48 E-wings, and 48 B-wings or K-wings. In addition, the Viscount has a complement of dozens of additional shuttles, troop transports, drop ships, and landing barges, for a total of about 300 carried craft.
In the Star Wars MiniaturesStarship Battles game, the Viscount is the largest ship of the Light Side faction. Its high Hull rating is second only to the Executor, giving it excellent staying power in any battle. Like the Executor, it brings a wide array of weapons and abilities to the table in exchange for its high cost of 150 points. As long as the Viscount remains at full strength, it has Damage Reduction 1, making it impervious to most laser and blaster cannon attacks. More important, its Tractor Beams can pin down enemy capital ships that stray too close. You can make short work of almost any Class 3 ship, and you can usually take out a Class 2 ship in a single round if you turn to expose your broadside to the enemy. Nevertheless, the broadside attack should be used carefully. Although you gain an additional attack with a very good Attack bonus, you expose your lower-Defense flanks to a counterattack. Finally, take advantage of your advantages over the Executor. Although you have a slightly weaker Hull rating, your Ion Cannons are more accurate, and you have a higher Fighter Launch rate. Thus, always make sure your fleet includes plenty of fighters that you can get into the battle early, and use your Ion Cannons to wear down full-strength targets so that your fighters can make short work of them. Star Wars Miniatures Statistics Preview Faction: Light Side FULL STRENGTH REDUCED STRENGTH Star Wars Roleplaying Game Statistics Viscount-Class Star Defender Class: Space station Weapon: Turbolasers (250); Fire Arc: 10 batteries front, 20 batteries right, 20 batteries left; Attack Bonus: +2 (–8 size, +4 crew, +2 fire control, +2 battery fire); Damage: 7d10x5; Max Range: Long. Weapon: Heavy turbolasers (250); Fire Arc: 10 batteries front, 15 batteries right, 15 batteries left, 10 batteries rear; Attack Bonus: +8 (–8 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +4 battery fire); Damage: 10d10x5; Max Range: Long. Weapon: Assault concussion missile tubes (200, 30 missiles each); Fire Arc: 100 front, 50 right, 50 left; Damage: 9d10x5; Missile Quality: Ordinary (+5). Weapon: Heavy ion cannons (300); Fire Arc: 10 batteries front, 20 batteries right, 20 batteries left, 10 batteries rear; Attack Bonus: +10 (–8 size, +4 crew, +10 fire control, +4 battery fire); Damage: Special; Max Range: Long. Weapon: Tractor beams (40); Fire Arc: 20 front, 10 right, 10 left; Attack Bonus: +4 (–8 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control); Damage: Special; Max Range: Short. Super Star Destroyer ExecutorDwarfing even the feared and awe-inspiring Imperial-class Star Destroyer, the Executor-class star dreadnought was one of the largest and most powerful vessels ever built by the Empire. The ship was colloquially known as a "Super Star Destroyer" because the Imperial Navy listed it as a "Super-class Star Destroyer" in budget requests to hide its true nature from the Imperial Senate. Even the ship's size was reported incorrectly to conceal its role from oversight committees. Although the official designation was changed by the time the Executor was operational, the phrase "Super Star Destroyer" stuck, and it was even applied to later vessels such as the Sovereign-class and Eclipse-class. As Darth Vader's personal flagship, the Executor was at the forefront of the effort to find and destroy the Rebel Alliance. The ship helped to drive the Rebels from Hoth and trap the Rebel Fleet at Endor. But Endor would be its last battle. Targeted specifically by desperate Rebels, the Executor sustained crippling damage and exploded in a massive collision with the second Death Star.
In the Star Wars MiniaturesStarship Battles game, the Executor-class Super Star Destroyer is the largest ship of the Dark Side faction. It features the highest Hull rating of any ship in the game, slightly higher than its Light Side counterpart, the Viscount-class star defender. For a high cost of 150 points, the Executor sports a wide array of weapons and abilities. It dishes out a lot of damage per round, but it can also take a lot of punishment. It's the only Class 1 Dark Side vessel. As such, it features Damage Reduction 1 (while at full strength), reducing damage from every hit and often negating starfighter damage. This ship also provides two Command Counters -- one of Class 1 and one of any class, giving its fleet a temporary boost when needed. Class 1 ships move very slowly across the stellar grid at only 1 square per round. The Executor won't be outmaneuvering many enemy craft and will often be outside the main action. However, this is not a hindrance to targeting and is often a benefit because it allows the ship to keep its excellent Front Defense (18) facing to most of the stellar grid. With less maneuvering to worry about than other ships, tactical decisions will often focus on the Barrage weapons system. The Barrage is a broadside attack requiring the ship to turn 90 degrees to its target. This allows the highest Attack bonus (+8) of any of the ship's systems, but exposes its weaker Side Defense score (14) to the enemy. Depending on the situation, it may even expose the ship's low Rear Defense (12) to some ships. Choose wisely. The Executor may be the strongest single Dark Side ship, but it's not indestructible. Remember Endor. Star Wars Miniatures Statistics Preview Faction: Dark Side FULL STRENGTH REDUCED STRENGTH Star Wars Roleplaying Game Statistics Executor (Kuat Drive Yards Executor-class Star Dreadnought) Class: Space station Weapon: Turbolasers (250); Fire Arc: 20 batteries front, 15 batteries right, 15 batteries left, Attack Bonus: +2 (–8 size, +4 crew, +2 fire control, +2 battery fire), Damage: 7d10x5, Max Range: Long. Weapon: Heavy turbolasers (250); Fire Arc: 20 batteries front, 10 batteries right, 10 batteries left, 10 batteries rear; Attack Bonus: +8 (–8 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +4 battery fire); Damage: 10d10x5; Max Range: Long. Weapon: Assault concussion missile tubes (250, 30 missiles each); Fire Arc: 10 front, 15 right, 15 left, 10 rear; Damage: 9d10x5; Missile Quality: Ordinary (+5). Weapon: Heavy ion cannons (250); Fire Arc: 20 batteries front, 10 batteries right, 10 batteries left, 10 batteries rear; Attack Bonus: +8 (–8 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control, +4 battery fire); Damage: Special; Max Range: Long. Weapon: Tractor beams (40); Fire Arc: 20 front, 10 right, 10 left; Attack Bonus: +4 (–8 size, +4 crew, +8 fire control); Damage: Special; Max Range: Short. About the AuthorsGary M. Sarli is a freelance writer and editor whose credits include the Saga Edition Rulebook and Ultimate Adversaries (Star Wars Roleplaying Game), and Power of Faerūn and Fiendish Codex II (Dungeons & Dragons). He also moderates on the Wizards.COMmunity message boards as WizO the Hutt, cheerfully feeding Code of Conduct violators to the Sarlacc. Gary recently opened GMSarli Games, an online retailer specializing in non-random miniatures packs designed for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game. Sterling Hershey has been a full-time architect and freelance game designer for over 10 years. He authored and contributed to many of West End Games' Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game products and later contributed to Star Wars Gamer Magazine. These days, he writes regular Star Wars Miniatures scenarios for the Wizards of the Coast website, and he also wrote the Scenario Book for the recently released Attack on Endor Scenario Pack. Gaming in a galaxy far, far away is the focus of his starwars.com blog, Delusions of Grandeur. Sterling lives in the Midwest with his wife, Mary. | ||||
