Topic: Battle Fleet Gothic. *Now with pictures! and a battle report*

[Mogsam]

Does anyone play? We are picking this up for the occasional game because we liked the models and are going to have some ackward "no one knows how to play" games. I picked up a Tau Fleet (also, FW sent them too me 1st class, ordered them yesterday and got them today. They must be soooo busy.)

Here's my Tau fleet.

Tau Commander. 50.

Protector. 190

Protector. 190

3 Castillians 150

3 Castillians 150

2 Nacassaran D-Hows 50

780.

It's a bit short since we are playing naratively so one of the ships in the fleet will be a Imperial Cruiser. It's part of the storyline.

Anyone have any advice about BFG? We haven't really gotten far yet in understanding or tacticalness. I assume Tau are a shoot from long range sort of fleet and avoid broadsides.

[BAWTRM]

I've got an Imperial fleet, 8 Cruisers, a Battleship, 2 Light Cruisers and a host of Escorts. I had one (1) opponent whom I swapped Cruisers with but he decided to move to England a while ago so I haven't played in years!

Once I finally get my gaming table setup though I plan on introducing another friend to the game. That, or maybe A Call to Arms (Babylon 5).

I'm planning on scratchbuilding and 'counts as' fleets a lot though. I can't really afford to buy complete new fleets.

So scratchbuild Orks, Tyrranids and also Tau. I find Chaos and the Eldar races a bit trickier. Necrons should be doable though.

[Cannonofdoom]

I have a Space Marine Fleet.

Battle Barge

4 Strike Cruisers

2 Squadrons of 4 Novas


Tau are much more of an Ordnance fleet, since they can put out a huge number of guided missiles, which are deadly. You don't want to get up close and slug it out if you're Tau. You will be crushed.

Avoid boarding actions. Avoid being rammed. Avoid being shot. Tau are really quite squishy, but they can put out so many Mantas and missiles that it shouldn't be much of a problem. Also, download the newest FAQ and errata, as it is definitely a better game with those revisions.

Tactics wise, don't get split. Tau are better in groups. As an example, if I were playing you I would screen ahead with my Nova squadrons, and then dive my cruisers and battle barge straight for your center. If they got in among your ships then it would be pretty much over. Space Marines are a hammer. Use your speed to avoid, but don't let your escorts run off chasing other escorts. Control the movement of the game, and you will do well with Tau. Don't let Orcs or 'Nids get anywhere near you.

[BAWTRM]

So Tau are the gunline of BFG?

[Cannonofdoom]

No, that's Imperials. Nobody spits out more Ordnance than the imperial fleet.

Do you know how many torpedoes I've seen an Imperial player lay down? Over 50. Ridiculous.

[patsy02]

I lurves my torpedoes. Watch out for enemy bombing runs though. If your friend is competitive he will probably stock up on a few of them, and you'll need the fighter squadrons to compensate.

[Robert Klemic]

Actually Cannonofdoom,  Tau normally DO spit out more ordinance tokens, or at least fighters and bombers than an IN fleet.  Depending on what flavor of Tau (SG vs Forgeworld) they may very well spit out more torpedos as well. 

Remember,  the base battleship for SG tau costs 220 points and either spits out 8 F/B tokens or 4 F/B tokens and a S8 Torpedo a load and the Cruiser for 180 points spits out 2 F/B tokens and a s6 torpedo. The torpedo escort spits out a S2 a load.  Also remember that those torpedos TURN and move at a non standard rate.  I've run Adepticon's BFG tournament for the last couple years and 2 of the last 3 years were won by the same tau fleet (Armada rules using FW models as counts as).

[BAWTRM]

I really like those FW Tau models, far better than those SG ones!

[Cannonofdoom]

I'm just going by my own experiences, as every imperial player I have played has laid down about 30-40 ordnance tokens a turn. Their B-ships with S12 loads and at least 4 cruisers with S6 loads, as well as anywhere from 6 to 12 cobras spitting out their S2's.

[Feanor Fire Heart]

I've always wanted to try this game, and would more than likley play Tau or imperials. but alas n one in my area plays and I havnt the funds.

[Mogsam]

It's dirt cheap in comparison to other GW games. I have a 1,000 points and it's cost me around £50. However, that includes:

- 2 Tau Cruisers (forge world)
- 6 Escorts (forge world)
- 1 Imperial Cruiser. (GW)
- 80cm - 80cm board. Black paint.
- New brush to paint it.
- 20p toothbrushes for flicking.
- 3 big planets and 5 little plannets.

So that's all the scenary and all the ships for £50. Split the scenary costs between two guys and it's £40 total. Dirt cheap for GW.

On a side not I really wish i'd bought the little ships from forge world!

[BAWTRM]

That's a small board, I like playing on a full 6'x4'.

Edit: I've even got this black almost satin like sheet to cover the table with.

[Mogsam]

We are only just learning to play anyway. When we get better I can easily add another board onto the side. How small are the bomber models? Are they tiny?

[Cannonofdoom]

They are tiny. I got thunderhawks from forgeworld, and they are bigger than the bombers, and I could put 4 of them on a 20mm base if I wanted.

[Feanor Fire Heart]

how much is the rules and models? US$ wise

[Aldaris]

The rules are free to download on the GW site, and the models depend on the fleet you want. Chaos and Imperial Navy are pretty much the cheapest factions money-wise (because the cruisers are plastic). I got 2 1000 points fleets for less than 100 pounds.

[Mogsam]

The Tau fleet was only £32 including postage for 750 points. With another set of cruisers you could be higher than 1000 for £47. Ironically the Tau FW cruisers were cheaper than their Imperial GW counterparts.

[GamesPoet]

Glad Mogs started this thread.  I'm now intrigued enough to eventually look into getting a fleet and giving this game a try.

[Aldaris]

Sadly, my Chaos fleet has only fought one action since I got them half a year ago, in which they thoroughly kicked the stuffing out of their Imperial Navy opponents. BFG is a fun game to be sure.

[Michael W]

Wow, I haven't played BFG in ages...there's a Space Marine fleet with Imperial allies rotting in a box somewhere around here though.  I do remember having a fair amount of fun with it...unless I was dealing with Eldar.  An enemy who can literally run rings around you is a difficult one to defeat.  The game rewards maneuverability just as much as armour and firepower.

[Mogsam]

I promised Whitey some pictures so here they are. Please bare in mind the only thing finished is the one terrian planet! The rest are as far as i've gotten in 2 days.

[Aldaris]

That planet looks great, and I like the color scheme of your Tau. Looks like a very promising start!

[patsy02]

I made a planet and a moon like that once. It looks good but they tip over easily and you can't fly across them, which is a pain sometimes.

[Mogsam]

I'm going to weigh down their bases when i'm done. The planet doesn't look too bad from a distance, I figure it'll never look good up close. Polystyrene balls are a bit shit like that.

How can I make the colour scheme more interesting? They aren't exactly thrilling looking.

Also, totally accidently bought 10 fighters and 8 bombers of FW today.    Though the fighters are Orc ones. I like the idea of a dependant race being the fighter pilots.

[Aldaris]

Some yellow stripes perhaps for contrast? Or a bright red?