Dindrenzi Reinforcements

There was a while where I was playing Firestorm Armada every week or so, sometimes multiple times, getting in game after game with my Dindrenzi and generally having a blast. Sometime down the road, other things got in the way. Not only Malifaux, the miniatures game that ended up stealing away my number one game slot from Firestorm, but also the whole wedding thing, plus the honeymoon, and other stuff like that.

Recently, though, I've gotten back into Firestorm with the advent of a couple new ships to diversify my fleet. I used to run with the basics - battleships, cruisers and frigates, with occasional escorts thrown in. My carrier never made the field, mostly because at speed 5", it never got anywhere and since it was large, it turned far too slowly. So the games got pretty repetitive.

Not anymore. Two new ships streaked out into my lineup and I'm ready to rumble once more.



First, Heavy Cruisers. What isn't good about these guys? At 20 points more a pop, they're a bit pricey. Two of them weigh in at just under a battleship's cost, and three of them are a good chunk more. But they're quite worth it. Where in normal cruisers, the only powerful gun was the front fixed gun. The side guns weren't all that fantastic. And even though they sported a nice 4/8 damage rating, they'd still drop pretty quick to concentrated fire. Not so much anymore. Their gun racks max out the same as their fore fixed, meaning with proper maneuvering, the Dindrenzi could finally threaten two ships at once. Their damage rating bumped up to a 5/8, and they gained two more hull points meaning they're not going to fall too easily. Frigates have a much harder time reaching that lucky shot that does a damage to them, and they'll stick on the table for a while, waiting for that heal card. Plus, link their side guns (which are an arc, not fixed like their fore guns) and you're launching a nice 16 dice. Very pretty.



Not to be outdone, soon the Gladius Class Gunship hit the tables. Again, a squad of only three, but these guys don't really need more than that (don't get me wrong - I'd take more than that, but they don't need it). Their damage is further godly at 5/9. They lose their mines, and take a hit on crew and assault, but they make up for it by pretending they're Sorylian ships. No more picking one of the two flanks to fire on - these ships have guns aimed both port and starboard, as well as their standard heavy railgun. They're going to launch a nice 10 dice to each side, linking to a hefty 20 dice. I've seen these guys take out a handful of ships in a couple turns, and they're ready to take a pounding themselves. You pay for these things - 95 points a pop - but they're worth it. Being medium ships, they can maneuver better than a battleship and hit just as hard (or harder).

Overall, my fleet has finally found a reason to drop its second battleship and start fielding something that can maneuver a little. I shudder to think how the other fleets are going to compare before they receive their own gunships.