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Jiggs
07-29-2011, 08:51 PM
So I'm just getting into Dystopian Wars, currently I only have the rulebook but I'm having trouble choosing an army which seems to be common.
Anyways as of now I'm just looking at Naval forces with air support. I'm leaning towards EoBS at the moment because I love the ship and their stats. However I also like the Prussians and FSA. Althoug out of those 3 FSA is my least favorite(technologically they look much more behind compared to the rest) and I'm not a fan of the KoB ships.

So my question is, how do the armies compare to each other on the tabletop?
What I'm looking for I guess is how do they each play on the tabletop... their pro's and con's, the best tactics for each army, etc...? Stats in a book can only give you an idea. Which army seems to be the best for the points? Also of each army which single model seems to be the one that most worth the points for what they can do.

I'm open to hear others proposals to sway me from the EoBS fleet to another one, but as of now I'm pretty set on them.

Voxnovanion
08-09-2011, 06:27 AM
I only just got into Dystopian wars and I bought the new Covenant of Antarctica fleet, mostly because I really like the background fluff (mad scientists with Atlantean high-tech :) )

What I've heard from local players is that the different fleets seem to be fairly well balanced, much more so than different Warhammer armies. So picking a fleet based on what mini's you find most attractive makes a lot of sense (in fact, I'd go so far as to say that this should be your main concern in _any_ miniatures game).

Also what I've heard from more veteran players is that at the moment the 'all flyers list' is very strong, but this is only because a lot of the ships mounting anti-aircraft guns do not have models yet. Spartan games should be fixing this soonish though.

Hope that helps...

Lux
08-15-2011, 10:24 AM
Here's the quick & dirty answer to your question about the playstyles of the naval fleets.

I do feel I should say that the game is designed to be a combined arms game. Including air units actually keeps the fleets balanced. Our little group here in Austin hasn't tried out the land models yet, and those will assuredly have their own impact on what units are "good" and whack ones "suck".

Antarctica just came out so no one really know what they do yet.

Prussians- A close in fleet with good boarding and strong turrets. They have great dive bombers which are useful vs naval and land, but need to be b2b with the target. Most ships are faster than those of other factions.

Brits- Multiple weaker turrets on the bigger ships instead of one or two big ones. Excellent frigates and destroyers. Good torpedoes and AA. Average air units. Turrets are both good and bad. They give flexibility, but the combined firepower suffers a lot once you take some damage due to how the rules work.

Japanese- Very few turrets. Lots of torpedoes. Solid long-ranged rockets. Ships are resistant to critical hits. Great torpedo bomber wings. The comparative lack of turrets makes maneuvering to the correct arc more important.

Federated States of America- Decent speed on ships, especially if you take their kinetic generators. Nice turrets. Rockets for long ranged fire. Ships are harder to initially damage. Seems to be a fleet built more around medium and large class ships.

Lord Azaghul
08-15-2011, 12:31 PM
I'll add an addendum to the prussains, as I play them.

Boarding is honestly almost an after thought to there other abilities (boarding isn't b2b its within 4")

They are a very aggressive force, they have some of the fastest ships in the game, and their ALL guns get better the closer that they get to the foe. They also play the attrition game very well: they have great CC and AA, and cheap enough smaller ships to out 'activate' your opponents.

I play the prussians was a swarm fleet. Escorts for you bigger ships are amazing - they escort by killing stuff.
The bigger ships and dish out a poundings.

The then there is the telsas, especially the telsas on your fliers: your opponents DO NOT get CC or AA vs them - and with 'lethal strike' you pick away at there crew. Don't worry about bombing anything, just punch holes in cruisers with your 'fore' guns.

Game play tips:
Most of your ships have 'fore' turrets; so staying out of of the brits 'fixed channels' its too hard.
Do you best do crush small ships first - destroy the whole squad, they pick at the bigger guys.
Split fire is awesome - don't forget about it.
Combined fire is awesome - don't forget about it.
Get close to enemy capital ships - they are at a -2 to hit you're little guys!