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So, I may have impulse-bought a Saratoga. Anyone got advice for how to build baby's first UCM fleet?
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Apr 25, 2017 11:50
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| # ? May 12, 2024 23:00 |
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Generally the starter fleets are pretty good (Moscow, Seattle, Berlin, plus 2 New Orleans and 2 Toulons). Some people don't end up using the Toulons in the long-run (Taipeis are often preferred, or no damage frigates and just more New Orleanses). If you have a Saratoga, the other swap to consider would be building a New Cairo instead of the Berlin. It's a minor modeling/painting difference - the top half of each wing - but since you have to take New Cairos/Saratogas in pairs or more, it's tricky to fit with a starter fleet's Berlin. Plus I see a lot of people running New Cairos/Saratogas, so you won't regret having it. (I don't think you'd regret having the Berlin, either, but I think the New Cairos are more popular.) So if you have a starter fleet and a Saratoga ordered, I'd build: Moscow Seattle New Cairo Saratoga 2x New Orleans 2x Toulon The Toulons are certainly the most swappable there. In other news, has anyone looked at/used the Charybdis? (the Scourge bombardment frigate) I've seen some news about people liking Madrids, and the Charybdis seems like it'd fill a similar niche, just more survivable in exchange for less bombardment. Two Charybdis are the same price as a Madrid, and you get 8 bombardments on a 4+ instead of 6 on a 2+. The Madrid will certainly put out more damage (expected 5 hits instead of 4, and 3 crits instead of 1-2), but it's sitting in low instead of atmo. Thoughts?
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May 1, 2017 02:18
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Hey, does anyone know why Battleships seem to be always sold out at all US retailers? I've been wanting a Diamond/Platinum for months now but they've never, ever been in stock anywhere and it's getting actually quite frustrating.
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May 1, 2017 02:54
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Charybdis have to be in low orbit to bombard as per the errata/FAQ. You can still dip them into atmosphere to avoid an attack, at least.
Sojenus fucked around with this message at 03:21 on May 1, 2017 |
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May 1, 2017 03:19
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Sojenus posted:Charybdis have to be in low orbit to bombard as per the errata/FAQ. You can still dip them into atmosphere to avoid an attack, at least. Oh, I missed that because I mostly play UCM. That seems a pretty hefty nerf!
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May 1, 2017 03:50
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FrostyPox posted:Hey, does anyone know why Battleships seem to be always sold out at all US retailers? I've been wanting a Diamond/Platinum for months now but they've never, ever been in stock anywhere and it's getting actually quite frustrating. IIRC the US distributor is a huge piece of poo poo about restocking.
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May 1, 2017 05:31
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FrostyPox posted:Hey, does anyone know why Battleships seem to be always sold out at all US retailers? I've been wanting a Diamond/Platinum for months now but they've never, ever been in stock anywhere and it's getting actually quite frustrating. Probably because they are cool models for a cool game imported in the wrong direction across the Atlantic. Seems to be a running theme for smaller europe based companies trying to sell minis in the states.
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May 1, 2017 09:10
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I got ahold of the UCM command cards deck at Salute and wow some of these are powerful. We have buffed to-hits on mass drivers, double-shot burnthroughs (although they have to cool down the next turn), instant spike removal and sig-drop-to-zero, a card that lets you launch fighter and bomber strikes into atmosphere, and a card that straight-up gives you a FREE RIO-CLASS CRUISER (or three Toulons)...thoughtfully with the Outlier tag so they don't have coherence issues the turn they arrive. EDIT: Oooh, a card that forces enemy ships off special orders too. And a card that lets you activate a ship in the middle of an enemy activation. Suddenly the Moscow and Rio classes have become terrifying buff platforms. Loxbourne fucked around with this message at 12:14 on May 1, 2017 |
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May 1, 2017 12:12
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Is the one that makes bombers atmo capable still there? That one was mental in play testing. Esp with the buffed NY.
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May 1, 2017 12:15
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Flipswitch posted:Is the one that makes bombers atmo capable still there? That one was mental in play testing. Esp with the buffed NY. Yup. The "gunnery master" one that lets UCM ships fire two weapons on standard orders is also pretty mental.
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May 1, 2017 12:18
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How does Local Resistance work now? Did they change it from a die roll? That was my pet peeve in the beta cards.
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May 1, 2017 12:45
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Bistromatic posted:How does Local Resistance work now? Did they change it from a die roll? That was my pet peeve in the beta cards. Flipswitch fucked around with this message at 13:18 on May 1, 2017 |
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May 1, 2017 13:16
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Takes a few days extra for the cards to make their way over the channel 
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May 1, 2017 13:27
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Bistro, thank you for the tip about panel line accent from Tamiya. That is just magic and makes UCM stuff look so good. And I really like that I can apply it (often way too heavy) and clean up the messes by just loading one of those hard tamiya pointy q-tips with enamel thinner, wiping it on a towel, and then scrubbing the whole drat ship with the q-tip. It leaves the accent in all the grooves while clearing it off any raised surfaces. Excuse the lovely iPhone photos, but here is my Seattle from a few days ago with no accent, and the same ship (in weird light) with the accent.    
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May 2, 2017 01:20
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wdarkk posted:IIRC the US distributor is a huge piece of poo poo about restocking. Possible, I suppose, but there are a couple of US distributors, unless they're getting their supply from the same intermediary or some poo poo. I don't know how this kind of stuff works, but that sounds.... unlikely. Either way, it's really soured the local FLGS to Hawk (not helped by some bizarre incorrect shipments in a DZC order) and it's really making me hesitant to try to promote the game... Telling people "Oh yeah some of the stuff is only available from Hawk directly, hope you're ok with paying $25 shipping or waiting until enough people get a group order or something". Oh well. Maybe some day it'll all get ironed out. 
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May 2, 2017 05:45
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Arcturas posted:Generally the starter fleets are pretty good (Moscow, Seattle, Berlin, plus 2 New Orleans and 2 Toulons). Some people don't end up using the Toulons in the long-run (Taipeis are often preferred, or no damage frigates and just more New Orleanses). If you have a Saratoga, the other swap to consider would be building a New Cairo instead of the Berlin. It's a minor modeling/painting difference - the top half of each wing - but since you have to take New Cairos/Saratogas in pairs or more, it's tricky to fit with a starter fleet's Berlin. Plus I see a lot of people running New Cairos/Saratogas, so you won't regret having it. (I don't think you'd regret having the Berlin, either, but I think the New Cairos are more popular.) Thanks for the advice - unfortunately I already built the Starter Fleet and just followed the starter guide  I'm trying to put together names for the ships, now.
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May 2, 2017 13:02
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FrostyPox posted:Possible, I suppose, but there are a couple of US distributors, unless they're getting their supply from the same intermediary or some poo poo. I don't know how this kind of stuff works, but that sounds.... unlikely. Either way, it's really soured the local FLGS to Hawk (not helped by some bizarre incorrect shipments in a DZC order) and it's really making me hesitant to try to promote the game... Telling people "Oh yeah some of the stuff is only available from Hawk directly, hope you're ok with paying $25 shipping or waiting until enough people get a group order or something". I also play Batman (Knight Models) and frequently hear the same thing about their US distribution. It seems to be a recurring theme that smaller European manufacturers struggle to get their stock over there reliably. I would guess it has something to do with cost of shipping making distributors hesitant to stump up the cost of regular restocks on the less mainstream titles?
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May 2, 2017 13:15
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Yvonmukluk posted:Thanks for the advice - unfortunately I already built the Starter Fleet and just followed the starter guide There's nothing wrong with the basic starter fleet! It's actually really good. You can proxy and play the burnthrough cruiser as a burnthrough light cruiser very easily (I did the opposite because I have been slow to build my light cruisers), so long as your table opponent is at all reasonable. Plus they look very similar on the table so it shouldn't create any confusion.
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May 2, 2017 14:19
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I neglect the Berlin a lot because the New Cairo/Saratoga is cheaper, and the St Petersburg has a reason to go weapons free, and even more hull, but I also tend to lose my new cairos in single volleys so I've been eyeing the better armor and hull of the Berlin. I'm still struggling with the single volley ship erasing that my PHR opponent takes. Especially on the Heracles, but also the 2+ lock on their bombers is maddening, since their carriers have the armor and hull to shrug off fire and get nice and close. Should I just build 18 Tai Pei and slam the heracles with every missile?
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May 3, 2017 17:38
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The UCM command cards have a few that will help with PHR bomber spam. There's one that lets defensive fighters persist for multiple turns, in particular.
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May 4, 2017 00:18
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Just started going through my stuff now I'm back and one of my cruiser hulls is a bit hosed, will have to fix that at some point. I've also got a hundred or so custom strike craft to base. 
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May 4, 2017 09:23
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Just got my command cards and looked through the UCM deck. The change for Local Resistance is in. Feeling a bit proud seeing my suggestion in print.
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May 5, 2017 11:35
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Anyone tried putting together their Saratoga? The first one I've tried to put together isn't going together too well and looks like there will be major gaps that need to be filled. Wondering if I can do the ol' hot water trick to take any of it out.
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May 6, 2017 03:36
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Hot water made a world of difference on mine. You have to be careful the too doesn't get torqued so that it's bent funny, but nbd.
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May 6, 2017 06:13
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I'm seeing loads of posts about people getting their Dropfleet command cards delivered from eBay stores like trolltrader, but nothing out of Hawk about them being released. Did I miss the memo or did Hawk get worse at communicating?
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May 6, 2017 13:10
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Hawk are usually a few days behind retailers. Firestorm Games has them in the UK.
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May 8, 2017 19:07
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Flipswitch posted:Hawk are usually a few days behind retailers. Firestorm Games has them in the UK. Usually Hawk make some sort of announcement that they are releasing a new product, but I heard nothing about these since the tournament they were being beta tested at. Seems like Hawk are almost radio silent lately.
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May 9, 2017 20:45
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Haha, i have the opposite experience. A product just appearing out of nowhere is the authentic ~Hawk Experience~ even if they have been a bit better about communication lately.
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May 9, 2017 21:08
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Ugleb posted:Usually Hawk make some sort of announcement that they are releasing a new product, but I heard nothing about these since the tournament they were being beta tested at. Seems like Hawk are almost radio silent lately. They seem to still be hella overloaded. I might send them an email asking about the status of my Talon application.
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May 10, 2017 01:31
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I got my Saratoga! But II started assembling it and found out it's got a chunk missing from the left hand engine. Kind of a bummer.
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May 14, 2017 10:35
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Contact Hawk and they'll replace it. Maybe send a pic with your email.
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May 14, 2017 16:00
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I have regrets about not picking stuff up at Salute. 
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May 14, 2017 16:09
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I played my first game of Dropzone in bloody ages, gave a halting demo game with a friend. Great fun, I forgot how much I liked this game.
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May 14, 2017 18:34
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Ugleb posted:Contact Hawk and they'll replace it. Maybe send a pic with your email. Alright, I sent them an email. Annoyingly I already stuck the two hull bits together, so even they send me a replacement rear hull, I can't use it. Unless they send me a whole new Saratoga, but I figure that's not happening.
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May 14, 2017 19:24
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Flipswitch posted:I played my first game of Dropzone in bloody ages, gave a halting demo game with a friend. Great fun, I forgot how much I liked this game. I keep thinking about how little Dropzone discussion we have in this Dropzone thread lately. And that I haven't got a game in since November, but then I usually go months between playing the same game twice so that may not mean much.
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May 14, 2017 23:00
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Dropnoun Commander doesn't really have the same ring to it to be honest. But until new stuff comes out for Dropzone it's gonna be quiet for a little while I think. I do want to get in a 1.5k game of Dropzone soonish, no idea how to build a UCM list these days though. Probs still put the fridge, rapiers, hazard suits and Katanas, that's a chunk of points gone already.
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May 14, 2017 23:31
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Bump for this dead thread, playing this soon: -------------------------------------- 1/5k - 1499pts UCM - 9 launch assets SR17 Flag battlegroup (324pts) 1 x New York - 260pts - S + UCM Commodore (40pts, 3AV) 2 x New Orleans - 64pts - L SR12 Vanguard battlegroup (227pts) 1 x Moscow - 163pts - H 2 x Jakarta - 64pts - L SR14 Line battlegroup (362pts) 1 x San Francisco - 111pts - M 1 x San Francisco - 111pts - M 4 x Toulon - 140pts - L SR6 Line battlegroup (142pts) 1 x Lima - 37pts - L 1 x Berlin - 105pts - M SR7 Pathfinder battlegroup (259pts) 5 x Taipei - 195pts - L 2 x New Orleans - 64pts - L SR8 Pathfinder battlegroup (145pts) 3 x Santiago - 66pts - L 1 x Madrid - 79pts - M ------------- dflist.com -------------
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May 18, 2017 12:51
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Nice spread of boats. Toulon are still making it into lists then, people weren't keen on them at launch.
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May 18, 2017 13:14
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Tbh I think they're one of the best frigates in the game, you get a lot of shots for their points and they can overwhelm some ships. Really good for finishing things off. The only bit I am unsure on is having my Troopships in the same group, they kind of have to stay relatively near each other so it may be tricky if I need to disperse. I'd basically have to doom blob a cluster and then move onto the next.
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May 18, 2017 13:33
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| # ? May 12, 2024 23:00 |
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Why do you have the Jakartas in with the Moscow? I would have thought to pair them with one of your frigate groups or the troopships.
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May 18, 2017 13:38
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