So, I had this idea to write a series of tactical analysis articles about a dead game I've hardly played, and am not likely to play for the foreseeable future. Why? Well, its something to do. I'm building some Ork Ships, so why not use the creative energy that's there?
This
article started with a question.
Why is the Lite Kroozer? Seriously, why?
Appearing in the 2010 Compendium, the Lite Kroozer is part of the expanded Ork Clans list. As the name implies, its a smaller class of Kroozer, presumably to fill a gap between the full sized versions and Escorts. And, though it pains me to say: its a bit crap on first impression. This is mainly due to their underwhelming selection of weapons, equivalent to a single Gunship upfront, and half of one on a broadside. While tougher than an equivalent weight of escorts,its going to have less dakka, it doesn't look to work well in a squadron either. Furthermore, it doesn't bring anything new or distinctive to the table. Yes, it's cheap and durable at 90 points, but what's it for? Why would I take this over a full Kroozer, or an Escort Squadron? Then there's this extract, which suggests a vaguely confused concept.
By their very nature, Ork Lite Kroozers come in a wide array of forms. They may represent a captured or salvaged Imperial light cruiser hull instead of the larger Imperial or Chaos cruisers Orks more typically build their Kill Kroozers and Terror Ships from. Conversely, they may have originated from an enterprising Ork Kaptain that cut apart and bolted together several escorts he captured, salvaged or even re-appropriated from his own skwadron!
So is this a salvaged light cruiser , 60% of a Kill Krooser, or 3 Gunships welded together?
It's kinda all three at once. There's some similarities to the Endeavour family of ships. There's a lot of overlap with Gunships, as you get what amounts to having one of the big 3 as the main prow armament. However, the greatest similarity is to the Kill Kroozer, as the Lite has largely identical mobility and defensive qualities, just with 4 less Hull Points. In practical terms, this boils down to a single Gunship lengthened, sprinkled with some Gunz, and made a more desirable target for bomber tokens.
Crowdsourced Answers
As I'm not really in a position to actually playtest just now, I posed my concerns to a BFG facebook group, and got a largely helpful selection of responses. Putting aside negative viewpoints, these fell into two broad arguments. The first was to view the Lite Kroozer as a low cost slot filler. 90 points is definitely on the cheap side, and this leads to some rather mundane applications in smaller games and fleet building. The second was to view the Lite Kroozer as a Ramming and Boarding platform, in the same way as their larger kin. I've not got around to writing much about these abilities yet, but the short version: Ork faction bonuses and ship design reward both. Lesser represented opinions included the Lite Kroozer being a distraction, a support to escorts, and a bully of escorts.
My take
Both of the main arguments above have merit, although neither leap out as compelling or unique. With respects to the seat filling aspects first :the Clan list enforces a roughly 50% Escort requirement, based on the presence of Warlords and their rerolls. As such, sliding one or two Lite Kroozers into your list may be necessary, although your mileage may vary. I drew up some provisional lists based on what I have painted, and found a few places where this could help me support my swarms of Ramships, as opposed to the Terror Ship. It's very easy to get blocks of a single Lite and escorts of about 210 points. That's not exciting, and you can always put a Warlord on a Brute or something, but that's a use. The whole Boarding/Ramming argument does also hold water, but mainly due to stuff like the (kinda awesome) Klaw Gubbins and the Warlord bonus. A mere six hull points does not equate to a high Boarding Value by itself, and those same upgrades could probably be better applied to something bigger. Meanwhile Ramming ability does not degrade in the same way as boarding value, although the comparison with Ramships and larger Kroozers is mixed. Brutes are basically perfect at the job, and a Kill Kroozer rams harder, but a Lite is more survivable than the former, and more disposable than the latter.
While I'm not expecting such a ship to be great, or even OK, I'd be lying if I said the idea of a 100 point ship with grabbing arms didn't appeal. It reminds me of summat else.....
Wrapping Things Up
Well, I got an answer, and short of playtesting, I'll take it. Plus, I'm building one.
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