Tactics: Shaltari Tribes

Popular Styles: Long range Sniping, High Mobility, Signature Management

General Characteristics:

 Great

\*With active shields

Shaltari are a tricky faction with lots of special rules and as such can be difficult to master, but under a skilled hand they can be very dangerous and are good contenders for the top faction.

Most of their ships and weapons have special rules that the other factions rarely have access to. They are fast with small signatures and good point defense, but lower than average Hull and Armour values - that is, until they raise their shields. Their great scan ranges translate into better threat ranges for their close action weapons as well. Shaltari also have the most maneuverable ships in the game, with top-notch Thrust and several ships with the Vectored rule.

Large scan and thrust allows the Shaltari player to usually achieve first strikes against any given opposing group, with an average threat range of over 24" on a broad selection of ships combined with the low signature meaning that aside from cloaked ships a typical cruiser or frigate group can often setup just outside of an opponent's range for an attack next turn. For example, an Amber can start 24" away from a UCM Rio, move forward 10" and fire. But if the Rio activates first, even if it does move forward it's thrust of 8", it won't be able to shoot the Amber as the Rio's 6" scan and the Amber's 3" sig doesn't make up the 16" gap.

Most Shaltari ships need to use weapons free orders to access their full firepower. This can often telegraph their attacks as they will line up the turn prior (just out of range of their opponents). An observant opponent might see this coming and try to steer their ships outside of the arc of fire, but sometimes that will spoil their own plans. For the keen Shaltari admirals group activation order is critical to avoid letting targets move out of LOS for your more dangerous ships, such as Granites and Obsidians.

When a Shaltari ship raises its shields, it loses all Point Defense and its signature increases dramatically (roughly equivalent to a major spike). The shields however provide a passive countermeasure save that functions against critical hits, which most players consider a fair trade. The increased signature however means that you must be careful when you decide to raise your shields and allow the enemy to lock onto you from massive distances. Of note, all ships in a battlegroup must choose to raise their shields at the same time, which is at the start of their activation. You also cannot use Silent Running to eliminate the sharp increase to your ship's Signature.

Other things to remember are that while the ship’s point defense might drop to 0, you can still improve your point defense with fighters. Weapons with Scald can reduce the Armour value provided by the shields, as per usual.

Shields work very well against small numbers of regular attacks, or against attacks that can easily cause critical hits. Against massed volleys of close action attacks with bad lock values, the additional point defense is more useful than raised shields. One of the major elements of playing Shaltari is knowing (or gambling) when to raise shields, as it's better to take some damage in exchange for keeping out of the crosshairs of bigger guns that can't find a targeting solution.

The other big difference to other fleets is the Shaltari drop via motherships and voidgates. Motherships tend to avoid the frontlines and act as your troopship equivalents - they can deploy Ground Assets to sectors that are within range of friendly voidgates, meaning that even if a voidgate is killed, you don't really lose any drop capacity. Voidgates as strike carrier analogs meanwhile can be chained from one to another, dramatically increasing the safe distance your motherships can play at or allowing you to redeploy Ground Assets from one sector to another if they're close enough. As mandatory parts of your game, motherships are VIP targets for enemies and so must be kept safe. Voidgates meanwhile pay for their flexibility with fragility but can hide in atmosphere making them as durable as any strike carrier.

The Shaltari have ready access to Particle and Mauler weapons, which are the bane of ships with good armour values: the latter uses the armour of the target as its Lock value, flipping the odds against heavily armoured ships, while the former always crits, preventing saves altogether. Some Particle weapons also have Fusillade, giving you extra shots on a Weapons Free order. While it can be tricky to line up shots like this, it is extremely potent when you pull it off.

Shaltari Bombardment weapons all have an alternate firing mode, giving them flexibility beyond being dedicated to the role. They also have sole access (for now) to Impel weapons, which while unreliable can potentially mess with your opponent's movement and turn dangerous weapons away from your ships. You also have weapons that can disable special orders, giving you great ability to mess with enemy capital ships instead of outright killing them.

With so much else going on in the faction, it's little wonder Shaltari launch assets don't get the attention they deserve. While your bombers are mediocre at best, Shaltari fighters are top notch and can grant bonus point defence even after your shields have been raised. This means fighters are your preferred launch of choice, with bombers being deployed only when the opportunity presents itself, or out of necessity.

A general note, being a front arc and f(n) heavy faction the Shaltari ships suffer late game as the fleets start to pass and mix. They need to do their damage up front as later turns will see them struggle to bring their weapons to bear as ships turn around each other.

### Advanced Tactics

Shaltari have several ships with special rules like Impel, and Ion, which can disable or turn opposing ships and thus defeat them without doing damage. These can be very useful against ships that rely on F(N) weapons, as now they must turn to bring the weapon to bear or may not be able to do much of anything. Some Aquamarines can use their 24+sig threat range to turn battleships and dreadnoughts 90 degrees, which can force the target to go on Course change orders in order to even continue forward, which denies going weapons free and adds a spike to the target's already large signature. In rare circumstances Impel can be used to direct ships into the path of your ships that need a target in the F(n) arc, forcing your opponent to turn or course change in order to avoid the very deadly fire from an Obsidan.

The Gravitic Beamer on Bronze and Silver battleships is a new toy to add to this equation. Hits prevent a ship from turning for a turn and add extra forward movement. The combination means that a cunning Shaltari player can target specific enemy ships, lock them into a new direction and force them to move away from battle, helpless. The large thrust and scan ranges on the fleet make this type of teamwork much easier than it would be in other fleets, where such combined attacks are a bit trickier and often require high SR groups.

With the best scan and thrust values in the game, most Shaltari ships can get a first strike on opposing battlegroups, and with Max Thrust jump into your opponent's back field where they can line up shots on support ships like Limas and carriers. Be sure to send these ships after targets they can eliminate quickly, as the low hull and armor make Shaltari vulnerable to large groups of ships that can return fire even after sustaining damage. In general, you will want to use your superior scan and thrust to take on and eliminate one entire battlegroup at a time.

Fighters/Bombers:

Shaltari do not have lots of carrier options. The Basalt, Scoria, Gothite and Platinum and Gold being the only options and with no aegis support. Shaltari fighters offer long range and some of the best PD bonuses in the game, while the bombers are long ranged but otherwise output average damage. The main issue with Shaltari is that raising your energy shields removes your ships PD. Shaltari ships in general have top tier PD, and can easily shrug off CAW or a single bomber. Dedicated CAW ships and bomber swarms are still a threat to them. However, with shields up, the PD drops to zero, meaning that fighter support is very important if you expect to take a swarm of bombers or an attack from a CAW focused ship such as a Scourge Banshee. It's recommended then to have at least one carrier to support your fleet and focus mostly on fighters unless a target of opportunity arises. With better then average speed on the carrier platform, and the longer range on launch assets, Shaltari carriers can be effective from much further away then other fleets.

### Faction Specific Space Stations

Unique space stations often require opponent's consent and have very specific rules for deployment. This limits their effectiveness, as some standard missions do not have room to deploy them, while others may put them in a location where they cannot contribute much to battle or are easily focused and destroyed. Generic space stations can often have longer range or more effective armaments.

#### Shaltari Anchor

A large space station that will slow ships around it and force them to use a specific order (station keeping). Can act as a teleport node for gates. Limited weaponry. As it must be positioned more than 6" from a cluster or other space station outside of custom missions its usefulness is limited at best.

#### Shaltari Shuriken

A large space station that can fire a weapon system in each of five arcs generally doing 3-4 damage to a single target in each arc. With a scan of 12" depending on its location it can start contributing to a fight earlier then other space station choices. However generic space stations can outperform it from a damage and range standpoint.

#### Shaltari Gatestation

A small station with drop for your gate network. A consideration since drop is hard to come by in the Shaltari fleet and these are less expensive than a mothership.

#### Shaltari Grav Hook

A small station with no weapons, but lets you move 8 inches extra around it, or slows your opponents by 4 inches via its Gravity Manipulator rule.

### Famous Admrials

#### Prime Starchief Quetzalcoatl - Uranium Dreadnought

The ability to cause any critical to become a radiation burst is deadly to most frigates, as 2 unsavable hull damage is enough to set off a wave of crippling and then follow on explosions. Corvettes are also in danger if too close to frigates/cruisers, and in tightly packed games this can cascade through a fleet doing far more damage than one would expect. As such this is a pretty good ability but is limited by the ship being the Uranium vs. the far more ranged Plutonium.

#### The Twins of Aaru - Two Amber

These add vectored to any ship, which many shaltari ships already have. This is a rather unexceptional, as the ships that really need it can't turn on weapons free orders. Ambers themselves are a line ship, and its never been difficult for Shaltari players to get them in a list, so on the whole this is a bottom tier choice good only for fluff purposes.

#### Starchief Seth - Sapphire Battlecruiser

An S tier choice, Seth is like a free (pre-nerf) UCM Venice for your fleet. Sapphires are not great ships, but his ability to allow a free turn is so good for Shaltari it doesn't matter. The ability to go weapons free on Granite, Onyx, Obsidian and Diamonds makes Hematites nearly obsolete. These are some of the highest damage options a Shaltari admiral has at their disposal and Seth takes away the biggest limitation on their use. That he also lets players cycle through their deck faster is just icing on the cake. Seth is an auto include any time Admirals are allowed.

### Super Heavy Ships

#### Plutonium - Dreadnought

**Role:** Filling the roll of weight of fire, the Plutonium carriers a bevy of various guns, of which none are F(n). This allows the Plutonium more flexibility akin to a London or Colonizer as it can focus fire on a single target like an opposing battleship or dreadnought or disperse its firepower to take out several smaller ships. With both Particle weapons, and lock 3+, it can handle the heavier armored ships, while the Distort turret can do some serious damage to lighter armored vessels. This ship does need weapons free to function at full capacity, so you will often find yourself needing to raise shields to deal with the fact that every other ship will have range to return fire. Opals with their shield boosters are your friend, as well as fighter support to compensate for the zero PD. On weapons free this ship can average over 15 damage on even the most heavily armored targets, meaning it can clean up battlecruisers and battleships in a single focused salvo. With it's shields up it can even (barely) survive a blast from a Colonizer.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Without shields up, the London will win a damage race due to the extra UF4600s. With shields up the Plutonium can outperform the London at the cost of being exposed to the rest of the UCM fleet. The Plutonium is also a priority target for Rome heavy torpedo barrages. With shield boosters against a beam heavy UCM, it will be relatively tough. Railgun and torpedo heavy UCM can get chip damage through the shields and are a harder counter.
* **Scourge:** Scourge Dreads are heavily reliant on stealth and full cloak to avoid fire until they can get within range. With similar thrust, and only 2 inches less scan, you must active scan them to knock them out of silent running then go weapons free and hope for a good crippling result. Cthulu are reliant on F(N) guns, so using impel weapons to knock them off bore is highly effective. Nosforatu don't have this limitation. However, silent running prevents turns, making it easier to line up F(n) WF activations from Obsidians or other ships for substantial damage, when combined with a weapons free volley from the Plutonium can leave the Nosforatu burning in space.
* **PHR:** Raising shields against the PHR is dangerous, as they have numerous anti-dread ships such as the Romulus, Pompeus, and even swarms of Electra that can do substantial damage with heavy calibre guns. However with Ourania and active scanning they can usually get a targeting solution anyway. It is important then to use debris fields to shield your ship from return fire. If you expect to get shot by a Romulus, do raise shields, otherwise the overcharged Hypernova laser is likely to drop 15 damage on your Plutonium.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match.
* **Resistance:** Colonizers will outshoot the Plutonium, and only need one volley to inflict severe damage. With all their weapons on turrets Colonizers are also relatively immune to impel spam. It is important then to use your superior thrust and scan to get the first shot, and then an early activation next turn to finish it off.

**Synergies:** Shield boosting from Opals is very helpful, given that shields up plus a major spike makes your signature 48 inches AKA even blind squirrels can get a firing solution on you. Major spikes are going to happen to this ship, as Dreads are priority target #1 for enemy fleets, so you might as well take the initiative and ensure that anything that lives does so only by your consent.

#### Uranium - Close Action Dreadnought

**Role:** Trading much of the ranged firepower of the Plutonium for more close action weapons, removing the need to use Weapon Free orders. It also drives this ship to get in close, which can be an issue vs. Scourge and Resistance fleets with scald. That being said a 16' scan range means your close action weapons are hitting at ranges that other fleets cannot match. This ship is a bully, with the speed and range to try and dominate the center of the board, soaking up the return fire. It is a very risky tactic compared to the more conventional and safer Plutonium, and thus comes at a discounted cost. The ship's main advantage is the ability to turn to avoid dangerous F(n) weapons from ships such as the Amazon or Cthulu.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** The Rome is a dangerous adversary, with the dual heavy torpedoes ignoring PD meaning you must have shields up, which makes you targetable by Cobra Laser equipped ships from well out of range.
* **Scourge:** Scourge Dreads rely on signature management to snipe from range, but are vulnerable to impel weapons turning them away from targets. Use your Aquamarines to keep them spun away from your Uranium until you get into CAW range. Screen your Uranium from Djin and Wyvern CAW ships with Ceasium and cruisers. In general this is a tougher match up as you are fighting your foe in their preferred environment.
* **PHR:** PHR have superior ranged firepower in the Romulus, and access to heavy calibre weapons to inflict additional damage. Prioritize Electras and Pompeus, using Ceasiums to strip off Calypsos and chase away Ouranias.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match, the Uranium isn't as good vs. other Shaltari ships.
* **Resistance:** What should be a curb stomp turns into a big problem, as the Resistance will likely have the Uranium spiked and targeted from range for railgun batteries. While the Uranium is very effective vs. heavily armored ships like Centurions, Phalanx and Tridents, the ability for these ships to fire at range, and the withering damage they can put out, means shields are needed to survive. This negates the main weakness of the Resistance, low scan, and allows their entire fleet to target the Uranium. Backfield Newtons are of particular danger, as they also have particle weapons and your large signature compensates for the low thrust and scan that normally limits them.

**Synergies:** Opals are a must for this ship, as it will nearly always have shields up and thus will be targetable from anywhere on the table.

#### Diamond - Battleship

The Doom Laser - Particle Lance Triad plus two Disintegrator Banks

The Particle Lance Triad is a beautiful, dangerous thing. You trade sheer damage for reliability and the crippling bonus - remember this. The Diamond simply can't compete with the sheer damage output of the Mercury or Granite, so taking one really means you are looking for that lucky cripple. When it happens and you ruin the enemy flagship before it's even gotten a chance to act, that's a good day. When you just give it a spike... not so much. Sadly with Bloom on the Particle Lances, you're going to end your activation with a minor spike for at least 10" of signature. Keeping the Diamond in reserve can give you a chance to keep it safe after its first shot, but it simply can't stay hidden forever if you want to get your points out of it. Going WF is only ever worth it if you are F(N) lined up, but a SR15 ship has a pretty hard time with that. Good practice is to take at least one other threatening group that also likes to line up for WF so that you can create a potential trap for your enemies. The advantage there is that the Diamond can accomplish it's main goal on standard orders if it ends up not getting its target - the extra shots are a bonus, but when you're after the cripple they don't matter as much.

If you go WF or are going to reach major spike, might as well raise shields. Otherwise carefully gauge what things are in threat range.

Curiously comes with an extra gate. Launch it if you already have a major spike, but it shouldn't be worth it otherwise.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Very similar in play style to the Perth, and with roughly similar damage when not weapons free.
* **Scourge:** Scourge battleships don't have cloak, making them good targets for long range crippling attacks. Akuma and Shenlong on the other hand will try to fire from concealment for free shots. These latter ships need to be targeted by other vessels to clear the way for your Diamond.
* **PHR:** Slightly superior damage output to its contemporary the PHR Hercules, but lacking with support ships such as Calypsos and Ouranas that can give the PHR a large range and durabilty advantage. PHR Pompeus and Electras can also do heavy damage, at the cost of going weapons free. Shield boosting Opals are a must then. However, given that PHR damage dealers are going to use WF, that should make lining up shots with Granites and Obsidians easer, and those will be able to fire first unless the PHR lean heavily on forward Ourania. Aquamarines and Saphire can use Impel to great effect on the Hercules and Pompeus to diminish incoming fire.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match.
* **Resistance:** Low thrust and lock makes it easy to get first volleys off on resistance ships, but the Triumvir can negate much of the long-term crippling effects and outside of vanguard and battleships the Resistance often will dispense with ablative armor, which reduces the advantage of particle weapons. Resistance also lacks F(n) weaponry, making impel support less effective. Focus on the largest ships such as Tridents, Triumvirs and Colonizers and try to abuse the greater range on your ships to get more shots off before the Resistance can drop the hammer.

**Synergies:** Opal Shield boosters are good. Most other tactics require other battle groups to use impel to turn jousting ships like Perths or Cthulu so they cannot bring their firepower to bear as easily or have to take a major spike from orders to stay in the fight.

#### Platinum - Supercarrier Battleship

The Supercarrier - 7x launch assets plus plus two disintegrator banks and boosted harpoons

A very handy ship. Without the need to get in scan range of enemies, you are not nearly as pressed to manage spikes as on the Diamond, but a better point of comparison is the Basalt (your main source of strike craft). For a comparable points value, you get one less launch asset and lose 2" of speed, but gain better weapons and a bonus gate. Crucially you can sit back and strafe the battlefield with the side arc rather than having to get up close, and the harpoon deluge can be a nasty surprise for light ships that get too close. When it comes to providing a backfield battery of fighters for defensive purposes, the Platinum does an admirable job, and with its fat SR it can prevent backfield critical locations from being easily stolen. If you launch assets, then launching the gate is a moot point since you already have the spike, so you can look at the Platinum as a bonus gate.

The Platinum really shouldn't be directly compared to the Diamond as they do different things, but the Platinum is just more reliable and simpler to play. In distant and column approaches it is limited as to when it arrives, meaning much of your launch can be off the table, and launch gives the ship a minor spike, making it harder to keep it out of range of retaliatory fire.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Similar to the New York, in function and fire power.
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** Very effective bombers means that some fighter support will be needed.
* **Shaltari:** Mirror matches
* **Resistance:** Fighter support is very useful against the Resistance, but it rarely is required to go all in and take the launch cap. Resistance bombers are the weakest in the game, but fireships are very dangerous. With only 6" range though it is easier to take out Senecas before they ever launch those little exploding cargo containers.

**Synergies:** As a carrier, it often can stay back from the front lines and with 24' range on fighters support ships easily. As such it is fairly independent.

#### Gold - Supercarrier Battleship

The Supercarrier - 7x launch assets, microwave beam close action and Ion Cannonade

An alternative carrier to the Platinum, this ship boasts a bit better standard order firepower with the Ion Cannonade, while the Platinum is a bit better when going weapons free with its disintegrator batteries. The Microwave arrays output more damage then the harpoon cascade, but can't focus fire and are limited to the side arcs. The Gold then is a more aggressive Platinum, intended to contribute more direct firepower and be closer to the front rather than the rear line Platinum.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Similar to the New York, in function and fire power.
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** Very effective bombers means that some fighter support will be needed.
* **Shaltari:** Mirror matches
* **Resistance:** Fighter support is very useful against the Resistance, but it rarely is required to go all in and take the launch cap. Resistance bombers are the weakest in the game, but fireships are very dangerous. With only 6" range though it is easier to take out Senecas before they ever launch those little exploding cargo containers.

**Synergies:** As a carrier, it often can stay back from the front lines and with 24' range on fighters support ships easily. As such it is fairly independent.

#### Silver - Support Battleship

Dropping the launch from the gold for a Grav Beamer and Obliterator Cannon, the Silver is an interesting design. The Gravitic Beamer has Re-entry, and combined with the large scan, and high thrust you can potentially snipe out strike carriers over central clusters when they reach them turn 2, or if they max thrust turn 1. Remember, Grav beamers prevent turning, which means you can prevent a ship from entering atmosphere by hitting it with the Grav Beamer. The whole group is affected by the hit, so with some lucky positioning you can lock an entire strike carrier group in low orbit for an extra turn You can also use it to pull ships into debris fields, LSOs or pull troop ships off of clusters. You could clear a minor cluster by turn 3, and with the Gravitic Beamer being F/S you can still maneuver to line up the Obliterator Cannon. The obliterator cannon is not super powerful, averaging 8 damage (4 being critical), and maxing out at 16 damage 20% of the time. However, as the Cannon isn't F(n) but just front arc, you can go weapons free and continue to pick off strike carriers as you coast the Silver in to fire at other ships with the Obliterator. This makes it somewhat comparable to the Diamond in firepower, however it lacks crippling and thus won't stack critical damage on an opponent. The flexibility of not requiring you to line up f(n) shots means this ship can often come down a flank to secure a side cluster before turning and shooting mid map. Paring it with ships with the impel rule (Aquamarines, Sapphires) can allow you to turn Hanoi, Perths, Pompeus, Cthulu and other ships with mostly F and F(n) armaments way off bore and cause them to waist a turn or two, without having to destroy them. The Grav Beamer can also cause all sorts of headaches for an opponent, causing ships to fly off bore and into all sorts of celestial phenomena, or in concert with Aquas even off the map or into LSOs. When facing ships that rely on F(n) weapons like the Amazon, C'thulu, Hanoi, etc, it has some advantages. As long as it remains off bore, the Grav beamer can prevent those ships from turning to bring their powerful main armament to bear, while the more open F arc on the obliterator will allow the Silver to go WF and hit with both its weapons.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** tbd
* **Scourge:**tbd
* **PHR:** tbd
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match.
* **Resistance:** tbd

**Synergies:** Opal Shield boosters are good. Most other tactics require other battle groups to use impel to turn jousting ships like Perths or Cthulu so they cannot bring their firepower to bear as easily or have to take a major spike from orders to stay in the fight. A pair of Aquamarines can work in concert with the Graviton Beamer to force ships off the map, into LSOs, or into debris fields causing damage or destruction.

#### Bronze - Support Battleship

Dropping the launch from the gold for a Grav Beamer and Ion Cannon, the Bronze is a debuffer. The Gravitic Beamer has Re-entry, and combined with the large scan, and high thrust you can potentially snipe out strike carriers over central clusters when they reach them turn 2, or if they max thrust turn 1. Remember, Grav beamers prevent turning, which means you can prevent a ship from entering atmosphere by hitting it with the Grav Beamer. The whole group is affected by the hit, so with some lucky positioning you can lock an entire strike carrier group in low orbit for an extra turn. You could clear a minor cluster by turn 3, and with the Gravitic Beamer being F/S you can still maneuver to line up the Ion Cannon. You can also use it to pull ships into debris fields, LSOs or pull troop ships off of clusters. The Ion Cannon is not super powerful, averaging 2-3 damage depending on the target's armor and possibly applying an "energy surge" crippling result (preventing use of special orders). However, as the Ion Cannon isn't F(n) but just front arc, you can go weapons free and continue to pick off strike carriers as you coast the Bronze in to fire at other ships. Unlike the Diamond you won't choose this ship for raw firepower, but as a support ship that hurts your opponent's scoring potential while still contributing to the orbital fight by debuffing enemy ships. The flexibility by not requiring you to line up f(n) shots means this ship can often come down a flank to secure a side cluster before turning and shooting mid map. Applying the energy surge effect to target enemy ships can help early on to prevent them from going weapons free and knock them out of silent running. This can be a huge debuff for ships like Colonizers, Londons and other ships that rely on weapons free orders to use the majority of their firepower. Combining this ship with ships with Impel weapons can turn enemy ships and lock them on course, unable to slow down or fire at full effect, leaving them around 8" out of position and oriented the wrong way. When fighitng ships with powerful F(n) weapons like Amazons or C'thulu, the Grav Beamer can prevent those ships from turning to bring their weapon to bear, leaving them relatively under gunned when shooting at the Bronze.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Generally a poor choice as many UCM ships have good firepower on standard orders, turrets, or both. Can be effective vs. Perths, St. Petes and Hanoi.
* **Scourge:** Energy Surges are especially dangerous to Scourge, as most of their ships require weapons free orders. An early ion hit on a Battleship, Akuma, or even a Sphinx, can severely hinder their firepower. The grav beamer also works better vs. the Scourge, as their high thrust means they will move 9" and be way off bore and needing course change orders to get back into the fight, further delaying their maximum damage.
* **PHR:** Want to lock down an Agrippa? Hit it with the Ion Cannonade then laugh. Generally though you should be able to use a bunch of destroyers to kill the Agrippa early. With the change to PHR, most of their ships don't need weapons free orders so outside of certain situations this ship is less useful vs. a Silver or Diamond. Pompeus and Agrippas the main exceptions as both of those ships rely on weapons free orders.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match. Ion weapons can lock down many of the Shaltari's most powerful ships.
* **Resistance:** It all depends on the build, as Resistance ships can easily be configured to not require weapons free orders. However their most damaging builds often do, so the Bronze can be effective, as long as it targets things away from a Triumvir. The bigger ships such as Tridents, Colonizers and Amazons are prime targets.

**Synergies:** Opal Shield boosters are good. Most other tactics require other battle groups to use impel to turn jousting ships like Perths or Cthulu so they cannot bring their firepower to bear as easily or have to take a major spike from orders to stay in the fight. A pair of Aquamarines can work in concert with the Graviton Beamer to force ships off the map, into LSOs, or into debris fields causing damage or destruction. Active scan support can really let this ship reach out and touch enemies.

### Heavy Ships

#### Ruby/Adamant - Battlecruiser

The Hybrid - double Particle Lance and two side mounted Disntegrator batteries

The Ruby is very close to an Amber and a Granite glued together, with the small addition that it can fire two particle lances on standard, instead of one, for a small discount. The Ruby trades out the sheer damage potential of the Granite Duo (same cost) for the flexibility that you get from two disintegrator batteries. However, you still need to be lined up with your opponent in order to get what you want out of a WF with the Ruby, as otherwise you are missing the 4 particle lance shots and are essentially an overly expensive Amber. This makes it hard to recommend the Ruby, as if you’re going to setup a F(N) WF you might as well get a lot out of it with two Granites instead. The disintegrators let you pick your shots on the turns prior to the WF setup and pick away at light targets without screwing up your line up, but if you take a Ruby, it would be a waste not to try to set it up for WF.

The Ruby can do one thing far better than the Granites, which is be useful after they’ve shot their shot. It’s not too hard to get both disintegrators on target after your initial lineup target is destroyed, but it’s fairly impossible with the Granites. Try to keep this in mind when you use the Ruby, and approach from an angle such that you will have targets remaining in the front arc after your initial pick is destroyed, so that you can safely go WF the remaining turns of the game and get out your 8 shots. What you do not want to do is fire your 4 lance shots and then only get to fire 2 lances, or worse, a single disintegrator on subsequent turns.

In comparison to the other vanguard gunships, the Hematite, Ruby, Onyx, and Obsidian, the Ruby's total damage output is 2nd only to the Hematite. It averages around 2 points more damage on a WF volley then either the Obsidian or Onyx. However given the points differences, the Obsidian is about as point efficient from a damage perspective. While slightly less point efficient, the Onyx benefits from not requiring a ship to be in the F(n) arc.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** A ruby can allocate damage from the disintegrators to Calypsos at the same time as the particle lances target larger ships, forcing a PHR player to lose one or the other ship. In some situations having a Ruby bust through an Agrippa shield like the Cool-aid man to go weapons free on the Agrippa and support ships is the only option.
* **Shaltari:** The combination of Particle and Disintegrator weapons leaves opposing Shaltari players in a dilemma. Shields are useless vs. the particle weapons, but the disintegrators are effective vs. the 5+ armor saves most ships have, leaving them with no clear choices.
* **Resistance:** The resistance often has both lightly armored ships alongside heavily armored ones. The Ruby is moderately effective vs both due to its split weapons loadout. The massive thrust and scan advantage over Resistance makes lining up on key ships far easier then vs. other fleets.

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Sapphire/Palladium - Battlecruiser

The Identity Crisis - one ion weapon. one Grav coil.

What a weird ship. The ion weapon and gravity coils have completely different purposes for specialist weapons, and here they are on the same ship. What you can do is fire both its guns on standard orders, which is good for a battlecruiser. You can fly straight at an enemy ship and turn it away from you such that it can’t respond effectively while shooting it with ion weapons, or you can use the ion weapons to strafe weak targets while going for an Impel turn on a priority target. Both of those strategies really rely on the Impel going off, as the damage output is too low. The problem is that you need both shots to deal damage, and for a ship of this cost, the odds just aren’t good enough. The core strategy of the ship being that unreliable is tough. In theory you can joust with enemy ships, turning them such that they can’t WF back at you and heckling them with your beam, all while doing whatever orders you want as you can fire both its guns on course change or station keeping. That itself is fairly valuable. In practice, you need to kill things with a battlecruiser, and the Sapphire has a low damage output for something its size, plus the Impel weapons will disappoint you at key junctions if taken on a single ship. Let turning things come from the Aquamarine - that’s its job, and it's far more efficient at it. Bombardment is a nice utility to have but buy a dedicated Turquoise first and then evaluate whether or not your second bombardment platform should be a Sapphire. The inability to fire the bombardment weapon and grav-coil at the same time on non-WF orders is a big minus.

As a bombardment support ship however, the Sapphire has some use. The ability to target a sector from 22" away, while turning a troop ship can support your taking of a cluster. A high SR group of a Sapphire and two Aquamarines can spin a troop ship to the point where it may not be able to get back to a cluster, while bombarding enemy troops off a sector. This is a niche case however, and most of the time this ship is inferior to other choices.

As of the 2.5 update this ship can now use the Weapons Free order to use both modes of the Ion Storm in the same activation, allowing it to spin an opponent, zap them with the Ion close action profile, then bombard a sector at the same time.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Turret weapons make the "turn and burn" strategy less effective.
* **Scourge:** Scourge have great CAW, which will easily out damage the Sapphire's even if turned.
* **PHR:** Ironically, turning a PHR ship often helps line up the broadside, with the exception of Pompeus and Electras.
* **Shaltari:** The only real effective match up, disrupting the forward bias of opposing shaltari guns and with CAW getting through the shaltari high PD. The Sapphire is very effective due to the heavy bias of Shaltari to F and F(N) loadouts, low armor, and high PD. Grav coils can spin an opposing ship making it impossible to go WF on your own, and Ion Auras ignore PD. However the Sapphire isn't going to sink an enemy ship quickly, with an average of 5 damage taking 2-3 turns vs most cruisers/battlecruisers (Same as a weapon free Amber).
* **Resistance:** A poor choice in general, as the Resistance relies mainly on turreted guns and has the hull points to survive the CAW attack.

**Synergies:** Mostly works solo, or with other CAW based ships like the Mercury or Amathyst.

#### Hematite - Battlecruiser

The UberChrome - Mega Thermal Lance

As of the 2.5 update this ship is dramatically nerfed, the number of shots reduced and some locked behind weapons free orders, putting it in the same boat as an Obsidian. It is still a potent ship, but not nearly so dominant that it takes over for Diamonds.

Going weapons free with F(N) will result in flying towards the enemy, so your consideration besides target priority should be mapping out your path through the board to ensure you don’t have a turn where your gun isn’t firing at a key target. What you don’t want to happen is to have a key turn 5 or turn 6 shot go into something minor like a frigate for lack of targets in your turning arc. Start far away from the action and put this ship in the second wave to ensure that you are firing at things on base signature to best give yourself the advantage of distance. This will maximize the number of turns you can stay shields down and keep more targets in your front arc.

On standard orders this ship is very dangerous to cruisers and such, even doing significant damage to heavy cruisers or battlecruisers. It is comparable to a Viper Heavy Laser or Python Laser, and superior to Supernovas. It is superior to the damage an Obsidian can dish out on standard orders, but a weapons free Obsidian will do more damage than a weapons free Hematite. The ease of use factor is considerable, given that the 12" scan is very good. Bloom on the thermal lance means that often after two turns of firing you will need to raise shields do to the considerable incoming fire. it is key then to target your opponent's key ships early on, before they are in a position to fight back. Often the threat of a Hematite can be used to "persuade" an opponent to abandon certain corridors of approach. In addition, certain enemy ships will need weapons free to fire at full effect, and you can often line up the Hematite for a WF activation of your own to force them to use standard orders to evade, and then still hit them with the base fire mode.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** This ship will win jousts with UCM burnthrough heavy ships, and can often get the first shot.
* **Scourge:** full cloak and stealth on things like Akumas hinder your range advantage. However the standard order shot will be easier to line up on rushing scourge ships.
* **PHR:** Agrippas and Calypsos can nullify this ship easily. You will need a plan to strip off these support ships to allow the Hematite (or any of your big hitters) to be effective.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match. The Obsidian is a little more effective as the particle rule ignores shields.
* **Resistance:** The resistance has several big, slow, ships that are prime targets. However they also have Sagittari which can bumrush the Hematite, and Newtons which will punish any ships that raise shields. In addition, they have plenty of turreted ships to allow return fire at most angles even when weapons free. You will have to line up your ships carefully and use your massive range advantage in order to snipe their heavy hitters.

**Synergies:** Support with Opals if it's your only large ship.

#### Goethite - Battlecruiser

Borrowed Scourge ship - Hyperwave Cannon + 4 strike craft

The Goethite has an interesting gun that, on top of having a great damage output, has Corruptor. The front arc means you can keep this ship on standard orders much of the time and get in some good opening shots with decent damage. The Shaltari threat range presents an opportunity to get multiple Corruptor stacks ticking very early, and since Corruptor (like fire) now deals damage before damage control rolls, you are looking at some nice bonus damage.

The bonus of an entire Basalt's worth of strike craft is huge, as it means you can have a front- or midline ship providing fighters and shooting a good gun instead of sheepishly hanging at the back. Just remember that your shields have to be raised when you start your activation, and launching gives you a spike at the end of the turn, so if you intend to launch and are worried about what next turn might get you, plan ahead regarding your shield usage. This presents a big challenge in using it effectively. Because it is more likely to be close to enemies, the possibility of a bomber wave is more likely, but it's entirely likely it is another point defence battery.

Without the massive critical damage of the Hematite you aren't going to be headshotting enemy heavies, but you can very flexibly put damage on enemy mediums and then bully nearby frigates with bombers or pull back your fighters for defensive use. Don't use the main gun on lights unless they really must die. Remember that each crit is 2 damage plus at least one at the end of the turn, so really a crit is 3 damage with these. This can turn a good roll into a one turn cripple/kill on medium cruisers. Given the large sig on battleships and dreads, and the large thrust and scan on this ship it can often start stacking corruptor damage on larger ships early, which makes the damage over time effect more pronounced.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** Triumvirs can mitigate the corruptor damage easily, so target those first.

**Synergies:** A loner support ship, use this to drop DOTs on larger enemy vessels that might survive a volley from another battle group. It does benefit from active scan by other ships, and you could fit a Silicon monitor with it to put a minor spike on targets for a 28" threat range.

#### Onyx - Heavy Cruiser

The Dakka boat - 3x Disintegrator Batteries

As of update 1.5, the Onyx has 8x distintegrator shots on standard orders. This makes the Onyx a great source of reliable firepower at an affordable price and throws out a lot of the poor press the onyx previously had. If you're absolutely trying to make the most out of a single battlegroup and SR10, you are still better off with 2x ambers but the Onyx makes a strong argument in the affordability category. With low signature, 8x shots and typical shaltari scan range, the Onyx is a fairly easy ship to use and very forgiving on activation order in most cases. Float up the board and shoot things, then turn on your shields when you get close and go weapons free. Ideally you let other things lead the way to get enemy ships spiked or off silent running, and the onyx can easily hit them from further back. The Onyx is very point efficient, even on weapons free, for the amount of damage it outputs vs. the other vanguard choices, and Disintegrators are fairly generic, multipurpose guns that can work vs. the majority of ships in game. Making it a good all round choice if a player doesn't know who their opponent will be.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Similar to a UCM Moscow, the advantage of the Onyx is the ability to avoid jousting with high damage burnthrough based ships like the Perth. The ability to turn, and the damage output while not on WF orders can keep the Onyx out of the thickest fire and thus keep it alive longer.
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** The Onyx suffers a bit vs. the PHR, mostly due to the PHR's support ships like Calypsos and Agrippas. The lock penalties hurt the disintegrators far more then particle lance based ships.
* **Shaltari:** Generally less effective due to the shield bonus when stuck in vs. particle weapons.
* **Resistance:** A good ship vs. Resistance where there will be plentiful low armored ships and the short threat range makes it easy to line up shots.

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Obsidian - Heavy Cruiser

Plus Sized Granite - Three Particle Lances

The Obsidian has once again dropped in points. Compare to buying two Granites you get an extra shot on standard for much cheaper, but lose 2" of movement, as well as the extra hull points. Being able to put out 12 armour piercing damage at this points price is a *very* good deal - the obsidian is a relatively cheap, good damage dealer. In terms of damage potential for SR in bigger games, you'll want to go with the Haematite or Granite pair, but the Obsidian can be used as a secondary lance group in bigger games or as a budget option in smaller ones.

The obsidian is exactly equivalent to the Granite in play style. Put it last against a group over SR10 and line it up, preferably while getting your first two shots off. Then WF the next turn to deal an average of 8 armour piercing damage. It will probably die or be unable to find good targets after that, so pick your targets carefully.

The problem with the obsidian is still that while it may offer a lot of damage for its points value, it is very strictly limited in how it applies that damage. You only get so many chances to pull off a SR10 weapons free, and it may be worth it to spring the extra 60 points for another granite if you are committing to it. There is the option of abandoning the idea of a last-first strike and using the obsidian as a cheap cone denier that exists mostly to create a cone of particle lance threat, but the positioning can be tricky to pull off. If you don't mind letting the enemy get to places first, you can use the obsidian as a relatively cheap last activator to watch over clusters from long range and hit whatever winds up over them.

In the alternative, the Obsidian with superior Shaltari scan can be used to deter enemy ships from going weapons free along a corridor, as they will be serving themselves up for significant damage. Few opposing ships want to joust with an Obsidian, making it capable of staring down Perths, Bellaraphon, and some dreads from well rearward of your main line.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** Several of the most damaging PHR ships require weapons free orders on front oriented weaponry, and thus will need to approach on predictable lines. Use the Obsidian to deter this, as no PHR ship enjoys taking 10 damage with no saves.
* **Shaltari:** Particle ignores shields, meaning that the presence of an Obsidian can keep an opponent from raising shields and then suffering more damage from disintegrators.
* **Resistance:** Very effective vs. some of the tougher ships such as Gladiators and Tridents. The longer range will also give you more time to fire on these ships who will often have major spikes.

**Synergies:** Jades compliment weapon profiles. This would be a prime candidate for active scan support from prior battle groups, or Aquamarines to force enemy ships into predictable locations to allow a WF shot.

#### Jet - Heavy Cruiser

The Premium Turquoise - Ion Weapon Combo plus a Disintegrator

The Jet is an odd one. It’s a front arc disintegrator glued onto a Turquoise. Because it’s beam is close action, it can fire both the beam and disintegration on standard for 10 shots in the front against targets in scan range. However, once you get close you risk losing the ability to fire front arc without station keeping, and going WF for 4 distintegrator shots if you want to also fire bombardment will rarely be worth it. It is good to have a Turquoise that can do something while it’s floating up the board if targets are available, but is that possibility worth the 50 extra points? Throwing out an average of 11.5 3+ shots on standard orders is quite something, but needing to be in scan range for full effect means if it needs to raise shields, it’s lost it’s primary benefit, and an Onyx could be doing it’s job somewhat better.

It must be said though, that while it’s not a level comparison on points, 2x Turquoise is the same SR and plays the objective better. The Jet overpays for the same bombardment ability, and it’s much easier to justify/afford taking two Turqs than two Jets if you care mostly about the bombard. The Jet actually is more efficient when it comes to anti-ship firepower however.

To get full benefit, try to keep the Jet’s shields down until absolutely necessary, as it does a great job of bullying enemy light groups without becoming visible. You have better tools for fighting big scary enemy capital ships, so the Jet is more suited to things it can kill that won’t be able to hit back hard enough to justify raising shields. If you can pull this off you can have an incredibly powerful, hard to target threat on the flanks that can also swoop in to hit enemy sectors.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Scoria - Heavy Carrier

Somewhat dangerous on standard orders with the particle weapon pair, this ship functions much like an Obsidian or Granite, but with the added capacity of launch. Released in 2022 as part of the Experimental cruiser pack, it is built from the standard cruiser sprue. If you need more launch but don't want to include more Basalts, this is an option that doesn't need to cower in the backfield. It competes with the Gothite, but the two are slightly different and the Scoria does more up front damage but needs weapons free to do so. As of the 2.5 update it is reduced in cost.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

### Medium Ships

#### Amber - Cruiser

The Gunship - Two Distintegrators, one on each side with a common front arc. Slightly more expensive than average for a cruiser.

The Amber can throw out high accuracy shots sideways while using it's superior scan range and signature to avoid return fire. Go WF for double the shots at something you're pointed at. The Amber is a solid ship with good damage output, but going WF with it and giving up your low profile for an extra 4 shots is tough to stomach. If you just need to throw out shots, there are cheaper ways of getting Disintegrators pointed at the enemy. Best for working flanks where it can quickly move as needed, blast light ships and double up when needed.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Granite - Cruiser

The Sniper - two particle lances.

The Granite exists to go weapons free. On standard orders it has a low damage output, and no reason to take it over the Amber. The goal is to setup your F(N) weapons on a target and go weapons free. With both lances firing with fusillade activated, you go up to a potential 8 damage ignoring all saves. Shaltari speed and scan range means it can stay back at the edge of the board and line up it's WF safely, then zoom forward and devastate whatever it's pointed at. The SR5 means this is a threat against any heavy ship, negating the armour of the human heavies and acting before they do. Having a granite group has implications for your entire army however, as guaranteeing the F(N) WF means you other groups in your fleet that want to go first will have to fight for priority. Think carefully about what your other ships are doing before including a Granite, and keep in mind that once you get off your WF, it's unlikely the opponent will let you do it again, so the game of a Granite is often leading up to one activation. If playing with cards, keep an espionage or two handy when the moment comes.

When you fire, the WF will make you visible enough anyways that raising shields is probably warranted.

Taking two in a group is optimal for battleship hunting. One in a group with destroyers is better for other targets. If you want to mess with dreadnoughts, you may consider something a bit heavier, though an average of 10 damage is nothing to sneeze at and will get the first cripple result.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Turquoise - Cruiser

The Assault Ship- combo bombardment/close action beam, with a 360-degree firing arc.

The Turquoise is an odd one. It is your only real option for bombardment and can also moonlight as a close combat ship, with D6+3 close action shots that hit on 3+. Compared to the Rio, the Turq isn't as cheap and brutally effective, and it's also not a 'true' close combat ship like the Wyvern in damage output. 6x shots on 3+ can certainly melt light ships, but isn't really up to the task of actually knife fighting in the center of the board. If the Turquoise needs to fight, it is best to do so by jumping behind the enemy and using the rear arc gun to avoid counter fire, as it just doesn't have the firepower to take scary things out. The good news is that it's faster than other things with good bombardment, so getting to backfield targets and hitting multiple areas is easier, plus given its mobility, firepower and the capacity to do everything it wants on standard orders, you can send it off on its own to a degree.

Unless you have pulled off a careful joust with minimal potential of counter fire, probably better to raise shields as soon as you get in beam range because most anything will be able to hit you the turn after you hit them.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Basalt - Fleet Carrier

The Fleet Carrier - one Disruptor, 4x Strike Craft.

The Basalt has problems other carriers don't. It really doesn't want to get shot at, so the minor spikes from launching means positioning and activation order are critical. Its gun is exclusively front facing, and for a fragile expensive ship, being pointed at the enemy is NOT what you want. It has the worst armament of its carrier peers by far, which means the sole purpose of the Basalt should be to sit back and deploy fighters to defend your shielded ships. Thankfully with four fighters (5 PD apiece) launching per turn up to 24" away, it's damn good at it. Taking multiple and launching big bomber waves isn't necessarily bad, but launching fighters is almost always better and you have more efficient ways of killing things. This is why taking a Basalt is essentially a 'tax' on Shaltari fleets to provide fighter cover. The disruptor is often not worth firing compared to going sideways across the backfield, and should only be aimed when you are confident the enemy is unable to strike back, but remember that you have it.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Emerald - Mothership

The ~~mommy~~ Mothership - one Disruptor, 3x Gates.

You practically have to take these, so the only question is how to use them. The Emerald gets a spike when it teleport troops (not the Voidgates it teleports to), so you have to be careful about its positioning, given that enemy ships will be beelining for it. Lose your Emeralds too early in the game and you have essentially lost. Like the Basalt, the disruptor is not really good enough to prioritize using over positioning. Don't be afraid to lose drop for one turn by going on max thrust or silent running if it gets you out of immediate danger - a drop next turn is better than potentially dying this turn, especially in situations where a turn 6 troop drop can swing the game. Be very careful with shields - if you know you cannot move far enough to get out of range, turn shields on and reposition somewhere that will hopefully be safer next turn. If you can get far enough away, double check enemy threat ranges, but not getting shot at all is better than a 4+ invulnerable save. In general, you have a gate network so these ships can hide in the very back of the map and drop troops each turn with minimal risk. They don't need to drive forward and don't feel bad if you never fire a shot with them. Their goal is to win games by dropping troops, nothing more nothing less.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** Often gates are included in the mothership groups to free up pathfinder groups for corvettes, destroyers or other low SR damage dealers.

#### Aquamarine - Light Cruiser

The Cool One

Allows you to ruin people's day by taking their perfectly lined up F(N) weapons free and moving it somewhere else, or by making them fly into a debris field, or... you get the picture, it's a good tool. Use Vectored to dart around and come out of cover to ruin someone's plans. Take three if they are an integral part of your strategy, since you need 2 damage on a single weapon in order to activate the Impel spin. If your targets don't have anything that needs a F(N) weapons free, look for situations to make them useful, like running up the board and turning a key enemy ship away from its intended target, making the enemy choose between going where they want and avoiding a spike.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Very effective vs UCM burnthrough ships, but Rios don't really care that much about facing.
* **Scourge:** A good counter to the Scourge, as their big hitters need WF orders or want F(n) lineups.
* **PHR:** Less effective choices here, as often turning a PHR ship just brings a broadside into play. Can be fun vs. Agrippa or Pompeus though.
* **Shaltari:** Very effective, given the Shaltari largely are a f or F(N) oriented faction. Turning them can severely nerf firepower.
* **Resistance:** Slow and turreted, with almost no burnthrough weapons, this is the least effected faction. You can still cause problems by turning ships, but not nearly as much as you would by turning an Obsidian.

**Synergies:** Loaners who like to sneak about, these ships don't need much in the way of escorts.

#### Azurite - Light Cruiser

The Other Light Cruiser

The disruptors feels unreliable compared to disintegrators, and the other ships that have it aren't generally fans of being pointed at enemies, but the azurite can make something more of that firepower. The distinegrators actually equal the average performance of disruptors against targets with Armor 4+, and performs ever so slightly better against more lightly armored targets. Against heavier armored targets you might be tempted to think that the Aquamarine has better performance, but math shows the volume of fire makes up for it - unless of course your dice refuse to roll 6s.

The thing the Azurite can do is present an early threat to enemy support ships or other vessels that your enemy is expecting to be out of range. Put the hurt on detector ships hiding in the back - it's very hard to hide from a ship with 12" scan, 12" thrust and vectored. Consider using max thrust on the turn it deploys in order to get up the board and use Vectored plus debris to make sure you don't get caught out turn 1 or early turn 2. There are cheaper, lower SR ships with more efficient firepower - so the Azurite isn't a suicidal VIP killer. Thanks to the 1.5 update, the Azurite has a slightly more flexible firing arc and now can skim around the edge of the board while continuing to pour in shots. The advantage in speed and scan range allow you to put the ship at just the right point where you can shoot an enemy at the edge of your front arc while remaining comfortably out of range of reprisal, then next turn you can slide past whatever you were shooting at and move to the next target. This skirmishing tactic is tough to pull off, but it can be very frustrating to respond to. The Azurite is also excellent at surveying and stealing critical locations at the last moment given it's speed and tonnage to cost ratio. It is probably a slightly better objective ship than the aquamarine now that it can spend more of the game shooting while still staying on the edges of the engagement before swooping in on scoring turns.

If you aren't planning on using vectored or the medium tonnage, the destroyers and cutters are cheaper, more powerful all-around alphastrikers with an SR advantage. The main thing the azurite has over the light competitors is it can accomplish objectives thanks to it's tonnage, but at hull 7 you need to play very carefully with them or they won't survive to do it.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

### Light Ships

#### Topaz - Frigate

The Gun Jockey - Half Sized Disintegrator (2 shots front arc only)

Very cheap for its massive reach across the board, and the ability to put up a 4+ invuln shield for only 37 points. Has better firepower efficiency than the Amber does on standard orders. Hang back safely and pour in reliable shots against targets engaged with other things, while maintaining the potential to zoom up the board and finish off weakened targets. Can also work as a suicide rusher, able to hit the enemy on turn 2 and send some strike carriers down in flames which may tempt the enemy to overreact. This is particular great due to its small Sig - even way up the board, the Topaz is hard to hit given that most enemies need to be within ~8", which can disrupt enemy plans. The Topaz is also the cheapest way to put an annoying blob of shields in front of the enemy if they do not have spam weapons that can efficiently break your shields. Remember two key things:

* Your gun is front arc only
* You have a minimum movement of 6"

Getting into a position where you have to station keep means the ship is going to be visible and thus you might as well put shields up and hope to occupy as much enemy attention as you can.

The Topaz has tough competitors in the Shaltari roster. The jade is now very competitive with it for cheap firepower, the destroyers are better at actually killing things and the Caesium offers a better package at only a small points premium. This means that the Topaz is much more relegated to the 'reserve firepower' or 'distractions' roles. As an inexpensive augment to an Amber they work just fine for an SR9 battle group.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Jade - Frigate

Single Particle Lance

The Jade has received a significant glow up in the balance pass, and for the first time since release is now a viable ship. With 1 particle shot doing 2 damage, it has better damage efficiency against armoured (4+ or better) targets than the Topaz, and with a single average roll can cripple a frigate or strike carrier. While it is limited to F(N), it can get its full damage on standard orders, so it's now a flexible, relatively cheap alpha striker. You have two use cases for the Jade - alpha striking high value light targets (think anti-atmo destroyers, striker carriers, detectors) or using low Sig to try and keep up a trickle of AP shots on anything that needs killing. In the latter case, keep in mind your F(N) limitation, but not needing to go WF will make lining up shots easy most of the time.

For reference, the Jade is now a more points-efficient damage dealer than the Chromium while on standard orders, but is far worse than the Caesium against light targets.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** Effective vs. 3+ armor and with a forward gun, these can focus down key PHR ships like Electras or Pompeus.
* **Shaltari:** Very good choice, as they ignore shields.
* **Resistance:** Particle weapons are very good against the larger Resistance ships that tend to have 2+ armor. Not so much the smaller ships which often have minimal armor to start and rely on hull to tank things.

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Amethyst - Frigate

The Zapper - Close Action Beam Weapon with 3 shots, Lock 3+

The bravest little ship. Using a close action weapon that ignores PD. At 24" effective threat it often matches the ranges of more conventional opponents, but risks coming face to face with the enemy fleet, something most Shaltari don't want to do.

What it can do well is jump behind enemy ships and then shoot them with rear arc guns. If you do this in a place where there is nothing behind waiting to shoot you, this can either make the enemy let you jump around pestering ships or stop and deal with your annoying skirmisher. It is worth nothing that in terms of firepower it is actually slightly more efficient than the Topaz, and with a complete firing arc. However, Shaltari are still not a brawling faction, and you should not treat this as a knife fighter but rather a flexible hit and run ship. These make a good screen to jump on Taipei or Djinn groups trying to rush your ships, as they outrange both.

As of the 2.5 update it went down in cost, and the random number of shots was normalized to 3 (along with most other close action weapons). This makes it a bit more efficient compared to its counterparts the Topaz and Jade.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** UCM has easy access to Aegis weapons, so will blunt most harpoon cascade attacks. However beam weapons ignore this, making your CAW attacks effective despite cover from groups of Vienna or Jakarta.
* **Scourge:** At 24" threat range, the Amethyst out ranges Djinn and can get a first strike. You probably don't want to end up in close action range vs. Scourge though.
* **PHR:** Light Calibre broadsides tend to make sitting near the PHR line a bad idea.
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** The exceptional range vs. the Resistance makes these an acceptable choice. Your opponent is unlikely able to spike several smaller ships so you will often be able to get the alpha strike with even larger groups of Amethyst.

**Synergies:** These tend to operate alone, or as backup for Mercuries.

#### Opal - Frigate

The Shield Booster - No Primary Weapon

For a brief, shining moment, you can laugh at PHR players as you shrug off 75% of damage with a shielded ship. Each Opal allows you to reroll shield saves for *one* enemy *group* firing, with two Opals needed for Super Heavy ships. Note that the FAQ allows you to decide whether or not to use the Opal until AFTER you roll, which allows you to judge the luck of the enemy shooting and your initial rolls before you spend your charge for the turn.

Opals are very much worth taking if you have a super heavy ship - 60 points is a small price to pay for potentially quashing a huge attack on a high value asset. A smart enemy will try to bait out the shield usage and play a mindgame with you before actually using the big threat on something else vulnerable so that your shields are never used. There is only so much you can do to limit threats with a shielded SH, so just think carefully about the big assets your enemy has and consider what each might shoot at if it doesn't target the super heavy. Of course, since their Shield Booster range is a mere 4", the Opals will become vulnerable once your SH gets into the thick of it, so don't count on them surviving the battle. These will often be high priority targets for torpedoes and lighter units diving to strip them prior to the actual attack on your big ships.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** watch out for light torpedoes from Havannas.
* **Scourge:** These are required for any big ship facing off vs. a C'thulu or furnace cannon heavy Scourge force.
* **PHR:** Give those PHR calypsos a taste of their own medicine and invalidate a Pompeius or Romulus attack!
* **Shaltari:** Shaltari weapons that ignore shields, such as particle equipped Granites, also ignore these. Thus they are less effective in mirror matches.
* **Resistance:** Opals are prime targets for Sagitterri. They can blunt the supreme power of some heavy hitters in the resistance list, but with shields up your ships are much more vulnerable to the low scan resistance fleet.

**Synergies:** These go with your biggest ship and just sit next to it. No real complicated strategy here. If it's going to go weapons free, you will probably raise shields, and if you are using shields Opals are your friend.

#### Chromium - Destroyer

The Burnthrough Guest Appearance - Thermal Lance plus Disintegrator

The Chromium has one of the best overlaps of threat and reliability in the game. The ability to hit something at a minimum of 24" away with 2+ lock on a BTL is fantastic, and can easily put out 2 or more crits per laser on an enemy target. These are great for suicide attacks against light targets that you really need dead. A broad strategy is to put them last on turn 2 and drive them close enough to the enemy to shoot, then put them on top of the deck turn 3 to go first and get your bonus disruption shots in from WF. Their lasers are best at sawing well armoured but low hull targets, but if they put their fire together you can assassinate troop ships as well. The F(N) makes it harder to flank play with these so they really are suited to aggressive assassination plays, but like any Shaltari ship they can skirmish very well if played conservatively. They work well as a compliment to Obisidan and Onyx cruisers.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Broadly effective vs enemy destroyers like the Kyiv, as well as the more conventional cruisers.
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** With the reduction in the Agrippa's debris field, these are now a possible counter if you can pre-spike the Agrippa. The 2+ lock isn't degraded too much via the field, and a minor spike will compensate for the scan penalty.
* **Shaltari:** Shields tend to make BTLs ineffective, particle weapons are a better choice.
* **Resistance:** The generic short range of the Resistance lets these ships position themselves well for a rush on any resistance ship. Good targets are Aldrin troopships, as they are helpless and with only 6 HP can be taken out by a handful of Chromium.

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Mercury - Frigate

The Armour Cracker - Mauler plus Disintegrator

Similar to the Chromium, but its front arc weapon that restricts you to Scan range makes this more of a patient hunter (although in the end it still does boil down to flying at something you want to kill and frying it). The Mercury is an outstanding option for destroying enemy heavy ships, and a group of three of them can do terrible things to the UCM/PHR dreadnoughts or Resistance capital ships. They do suffer against Scourge and quite heavily against other Shaltari, but given that they will be good against all the human heavy ships, they are definitely worth taking. If you don't like lances, these are your best other option for taking down those tough 3+ armour ships.

Damage from its Mauler CAN be canceled by fighters. Watch out for overlapping Aegis fields and try to get multiple enemy targets in threat range such that they can't cover a single target with fighter spam. Can be a viable threat to pull off the threat of PHR or Scourge bombers. Make sure to keep the target of your Mercuries in mind when considering the fighter/bomber balance of the game, and where your targets are in relation to enemy carriers.

Curiously these do not have harpoons, but remember that they can fire both of their guns on standard orders, as Maulers are close action. The Mercury is an auto-include against any human faction, situationally useful against Scourge, and borderline useless against other Shaltari. Keep this in mind, as going too heavily into Mercuries against a friendly opponent playing Resistance would just be mean - while if you are playing a tournament with a large Scourge/Shaltari presence, relying on them too heavily will punish you.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Very effective since mauler crits take more PD to stop, and general 3+ armor across the board with the UCM.
* **Scourge:** a worse choice, as 4+ is where the mauler starts to falter as well as the Scourge having numerous high damage CAW.
* **PHR:** Very effective, near universal 3+ armor combined with low PD and lack of CAW ships. Note Calypso ECM does not hinder CAW, so a Mercury can fly in and fry PHR ships even if they have Calypso support.
* **Shaltari:** Ineffective due to 5+ armor.
* **Resistance:** Great against some ships, usually the larger Centurions and above, but weak against the more common frigates, cruisers and such. Being limited to CAW even with superior scan and thrust is a hindrance vs. other choices.

**Synergies:** the lighter Amethysts can supplement the close action weapons with larger groups of frigates.

#### Cobalt - Homeship

The *other* Mothership. If you want to win, you need to drop troops, so it has that going for it.

Plus Side:

* Faster than Emerald
* Better guns than Emerald by far
* More Hull efficient than Emerald
* Can only launch from the ships you want to keep the others spikeless

Down Side:

* Can be lost to chain detonation

* 36% more points per gate than Emerald

What is neither a pro or a con is that they are in the Light slot, as opposed to Medium, giving you a bit more flexibility when list building. If you have a plan in mind for the Cobalts, then they are a definitely a good pick, but you should not rely on Cobalts for ALL of your drop, just because it's too damn expensive. Keep them separate from your Emeralds and use your speed to try and stay safe, or deliver to far-flung Voidgates that are out of your teleportation network. Remember that they are going to be tough to keep safe once they are spiked from launching.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Voidgate

Strike Carrier Equivalent

Where the game is won. Voidgates are your primary means of delivering troops, and are excellent at it. High speed, cheap cost and the teleport network all work together very well to make these exceptionally useful. It will rarely be worth raising shields, so even the dreaded Kyiv will have to get within 7" to get shots on you. In the meantime, your cheap 'gate can hit on 5's in atmo with no possibility of PD blocking your shots, giving you somewhat of an edge in a slap fight with strike carriers. Always remember that Voidgates give a chance of mishap to any dropships or bulk landers trying to land in nearby clusters. This is a huge advantage that can help you gain ground superiority, and can make parking some Voidgates near a cluster a good tactic even if you don't planning on dropping there yet. They are vulnerable at 2 hull and will die very quickly if seen not in atmo, which poses a major problem in space station games. Absurd PD for a frigate-sized vessel means enemy corvettes will be taking their chances if they only put one weapon per Voidgate, which can help preserve your drop capacity.

It's very wise to take more Voidgates than you actually need or can drop with in order to set up teleport chains, or just for redundancy. Since they're cheap, your main sacrifice is the light slots, so be sure to always max out each group of Voidgates you take unless you have a really good reason for not doing so.

**Always remember the *Charged Air* rule!** Getting a Voidgate near a cluster reduces the odds of enemy assets landing. It's a key part of the balance vs. other factions so don't forget to roll for those bulk landers and dropships.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** Low SR pathfinder groups are essential to rush clusters, and other gates can be slotted into line or vanguard groups to provide the back line network to keep your motherships well away from any possible fire.

#### Glass - Corvette

Strike Carrier Assassin

The Glass is the only way Shaltari have of killing things in atmosphere. Having 1 hull and 5+ armour means you fully expect them to die if there are things with plentiful guns above them, so be mindful of what ships are within Scan range of them. They also lack Squadron, which is an important tool that some other corvettes have for ensuring strike carriers go down. They have a slightly better per-ship damage than other corvettes and the longest scan range, which lets them often fire on opposing corvettes in atmosphere while not being in range for return fire. Munifex are exceptionally vulnerable to them, having to spend two turns crawling forward in atmo in order to make up the scan difference. Echos have similar scan but lower overall thrust, as well as costing 12 points more, almost enough for another Glass. The ability to raise shields while in atmo is far superior to the standard PD of other corvettes, resulting in 1/3rd of all hits being absorbed. Most corvettes only have 1-2 PD which would be lucky to generate a single sucess. Raising shields then in atmosphere ignores the signature hit (since all ships in atmosphere have zero signature) and still provides all the benefits.

Glass are a rarity in the Shaltari list, a lower cost ship then most opposition while maintaining the fleet advantage of high thrust, scan and weight of fire. Low SR Glass groups can position to cover a cluster from the safety of 24" away and forbid any strike carriers from attempting to dive on it or activate late and sweep a cluster free of entrenched corvettes. They are the archtypical "Fleet in being" forcing an opponent to react to them even without directly deploying on a cluster. In general, only one glass is needed to reliably kill one enemy corvette, and two for a strike carrier (or any scourge frigate in atmosphere) which is slightly better performance then all others, which should allocate two corvettes to kill a single enemy corvette. Predictably the Glass have a ... glass jaw ... and as such cannot take fire or risk crossing debris fields and orbital rings. A skilled admiral then will use Glass's range and capability to ward off corvettes and strike carriers from clusters and force them to stay in low orbit longer while bringing in gates to claim the cluster and Ceasiusms to go after the now exposed enemy drop.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Outside of Venice boosts, the Glass is very good at countering sneaky Lysanders as well as more conventional New Orleans Strike Carriers. It suffers from Reentry fire on Kyivs and the "Atmospheric bombers" command card. With widespread access to aegis, UCM fleets can often be harder targets outside of Atmosphere as well. The key then is to use your superior speed and scan to deny clusters to early rushes and then leave the fleet exposed for your superior cruiser level firepower.
* **Scourge:** Scourge ships must rush, and with scald are ignoring even your active countermeasures. However Scourge rely heavily on hiding in atmosphere to protect the fragile frigates. Glass should have ample targets, as well as being able to rush any cloaked ships in the scourge back line late game.
* **PHR:** A hard fleet given the good armor saves and larger scan distances. However PHR ships tend to be as costly if not more then Shaltari ones. This means that the field will be a little more open for Glass to use their speed on Medea, as well as dive on Calypsos and Ouranas.
* **Shaltari:** a mirror match
* **Resistance:** Glass are very effective vs. Munifex, given both scan and thrust are massively superior. In some cases Glass can snipe out Strike carriers without risking retaliation from Munifex using their 4" of extra scan, then depart before the Munifex can crawl forward to engage. Glass also have the speed to go after Galileos and Newtons, which are very dangerous to Shaltari ships, but this can also be done by Ceasiums.

**Synergies:** Relatively independent, Glass tend to want to be alone for low SR pathfinder groups.

#### Helium - Voidflyer

Initiate Spacefold! Able to use the Voidgate teleportation network instead of its normal movement, Vectored, with an astounding 16" Thrust, these are the most maneuverable ship in the game that can get just about anywhere it wants. It's got good guns too - great damage output for their cost with the ability to fire in side arcs that is so sorely lacking on the Topaz. You can use these as either supreme flankers that try to stay behind enemies and assassinate key lights (Calypsos, Havanas, Limas, etc) or you can do the Great Leap: put them in a battlegroup with Voidgates and have them hang back next to one of your reserve Voidgates, then send a Voidgate from that battlegroup forward on max thrust (24") before teleporting out (+6") the Heliums, which have another 8" of threat range thanks to their Scan. Given that is likely to happen on turn 2, you can practically hit anywhere on the board, since the scout Voidgate can advance on turn 1 to cover another 12". They can also be used to ambush Jasons and Succubus going after your gate network, as the 14" effective range after teleport is larger then the scan of those ships CAW reentry guns. Kyivs are a harder target, as they don't need to get as close.

The swing factor and low total output means that small SR groups are a bit inconsistent. Remember that you come out of the Voidgate within one layer of the level it was on, so you can totally use Voidgates as threat extension zones to anything that may pass over them in low orbit. Generally, Ceasiums are better as the 20" range and ability to fire at scan+sig gives them a larger threat range. However Helium's teleport ambush can be brutal, especially as the opposing line flys past your gates. The ability to teleport behind large targets and unleash a flurry of lock 3+ shots should not be underestimated and unlike Ceasiums they are effective even against larger targets such as cruisers or dreads. A group of 6 Helium can often do a last/first activation and teleport behind an opposing group to target support ships like Calypsos, Jakartas or Parasites, then activate first next turn, and teleport elsewhere to ambush another group or just nope out to the back of the map.

The main weakness of the ships, aside from their low firepower output, is to enemy bombers in single thrust range. With minimal PD its easy to take bomber damage when you are in the back line trying to harass support ships.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** Superior for hunting larger stealth ships like Akuma or even doing drive bys on Nosforatu and Demons while those ships are trying to engage your main cruisers.
* **PHR:** Heliums have the firepower to threaten the larger PHR ships, but need to avoid the light calibre broadsides that are common in PHR lists. Can often teleport in and zap annoying Calypsos and Ourania, turboboosting Odysseus, and other ships rushing the map.
* **Shaltari:** A mirror match
* **Resistance:** Very effective vs. Aldrin, and as the Resistance doesn't have any re-entry weapons the gate network should be relatively safe.

**Synergies:** Heliums are highly dependent on your voidgate network, so if you take them you should also include a large voidegate network to allow for maximum ambush potential. They can provide good backup to Selenium, coming in to finish off a target.

#### Selenium - Heavy Voidgate

Backfield Voidgate - Escape Velocity Pop Gun

The Heavy Voidgate finally brings you other options than the humble Voidgate for holding ground. Off the bat, it’s low speed makes it obvious you can’t use it like you can with Voidgates, it’s also too fragile to use as a pseudo-troopship. This puts you firmly in the realm of a backfield ground holder. The reason to take these over Voidgates for that role are the better shields/armour and weapons. The weapons are a good point, as you can turn your otherwise toothless objective campers into effective firepower putting out long range shots from atmosphere. They won’t do a lot, but it’s better than nothing. The A2A charged air is also a plus as for the same price as two Voidgates you get an extra shot. This isn’t really much but it’s something. You also have a net lower SR for one monitor versus two Voidgates.

When it comes to durability, even though you pay for the two points of extra hull, you may not be able to use them given the crippling damage table. If the enemy has Kiev’s or other no-close action atmospheric weapons, leave your shields down. Otherwise. Shields up is generally better, as if you are getting hit by a big wave of corvettes, the saves against crits is better than an average of 2 prevented damage. The presence of shields actually enables better, if not good, durability against the corvette wave. Overall, in missions where you have homefield clusters to guard, or something that the Heavy can reach by Turn 3, the Silicon is a solid choice. Otherwise it’s not of much use. Buying two can spare up voidgates for more aggressive actions up the board and give you a bit more flexible firepower than you would otherwise have. Don't forget that buying two gets you x6 5+ shots with 14" scan range in atmosphere! These are effective chain links that given the wide scan range can be a source of late game firepower that is relatively safe from counter attack. If they are not over an objective then your opponent must waste at least two turns of corvettes to destroy them, or devote the relatively more rare re-entry weapons (if they have them, Resistance and Shaltari don't) to their destruction over your other gates. These can deter corvettes and cutters that have dipped into the rear lines, as those are far more vulnerable to the lock 4+ gun.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Silicon - Monitor

The Stun Locker - Ion Cannons

The Silicon is wholly unimpressive except for the Ion stun rule. At more than a frigate it has less reliable firepower with the same (low) durability. The Ion stun rule is very impressive though – as it can utterly ruin people’s plans of executing a WF order, neutering many scary ships. It’s important to remember that the Energy Surge has to be *repaired* to go away, meaning there is a good chance that enemy ships are going to be neutered for more than one turn. Even *more* good news is that unlike gravity coils, Ion weapons only need 2 *hits* for an entire group. Given the benefits, you shouldn’t get greedy and try to disable multiple targets. With a minimum group of ships you are looking at a 68% success rate. With 3 you bump up to 89%. Of note, Ion was recently nerfed vs. dreads, which instead suffer from the far less impressive "Power Fluctuations" effect, which just does d3 damage when using a special order and prevents silent running.

Even while slower than other ships, the slight boost to scan range gives you decent threat range of 20”. If a Silicon group comes on the board turn 1, it can start turn 3 at the 12” line, meaning it will be able to hit up to 34” up the board on turn 3 when the major shooting starts. This means that you shouldn’t be worried about being in range of things – but you should be worried about being in range of things before they get to shoot. You can either suicide the Silicon up the board and make sure that you stun the scary thing, or you can have it hang back and keep very safe with low signature and stunlock things once they start racking up signature. With the latter strategy, you may not be able to stop the *first* WF. Just remember that repairs rolls are made at the *end* of the turn, so if the Silicon goes after the target ship and surges it, but the target then makes it’s repair role – you have essentially wasted your ion shots.

Remember that WF isn’t the only order this stops – it also stops course changes and station keeping, sometimes allowing you to force enemies away from the action, or to float off of critical locations. A big investment, but combining with Gravity Coils and Gravitic Beamers can result in really funny things happening. All in all, the ability to stop a big WF on the enemy battleship is incredibly powerful.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

#### Caesium - Fast Cutter

**Role:** Fast and with a specialization in taking out light ships, the Ceasium can even snipe unwary strike carriers on their way to cluster turn 2. A 20' thrust and 8' scan means it can target ships on the other side of the table on turn 1, especially strike carriers that attempt to use max thrust first turn (20' thrust, 8' scan, 12' spike, 2-3' sig = 42' threat range). A calibre(L) weapon means that the Caesium is likely to inflict a full 3 hits on a target, often causing crippling and destroying the targeted ship. At tonnage L, they can be part of a low SR pathfinder group and out activate Djinn and Taipei wolfpacks to achieve quick kills that substantially degrade the target battlegroup effectiveness. Vectored makes the limit on their weapon ark less of an issue. So, on the whole these are superior choices over Helium or Glass when facing other light tonnage ships. Their only real weakness is versus heavier armoured ships and cruisers.

As of the 2.5 update these ships have gone up in cost 5 points, and had their lock degraded to a 4+ (3+ vs L tonnage). They are still very effective light tonnage hunters, but now are on the edge of needing two caesiums to kill a hull 4 target.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** Target Limas and New Orleans to severely degrade or delay your opponent's ability to shoot or drop.
* **Scourge:** Parasites are equally broken, and should be your #1 target, followed by Djinn, and Gargoyles.
* **PHR:** Target Calypso, Ourania and Medea, then follow up with strikes on Andromeda.
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** Very good ships to snipe out frigates, heavy frigates and senecas long before they can retaliate.

**Synergies:** These often work best alone, as low SR spoilers that can jump in and take out a wolf pack or strike carrier group before they can activate.

#### Gallium - Corrupter Cutter

**Role:** A damage over time ship, the Bioatomizer stacks corruption tokens on a ship within scan range, which do damage in the roundup phase until repaired. Lock 3+ and beam means this can reasonably threaten larger ships, but the delayed damage means that the Gallium will often be hanging out next to a ship it just made angry. That is the main issue with the ship, it is very fragile at 3 hull and 6+ armour and needs to get within 8 inches of a target, and it cannot kill that target in the same activation. This forces it to be a late activation so it can target ships that cannot retaliate this turn or be sure that its target has bigger fish to fry.

**Matchups**

* **UCM:** the ship against UCM
* **Scourge:** the ship against Scourge
* **PHR:** the ship against PHR
* **Shaltari:** the ship against Shaltari
* **Resistance:** the ship against Resistance

**Synergies:** One synergy is to work with Impel weapon equipped ships. The Gallium will stack corruptor tokens then the Aquamarine turns the target so it cannot fire on the Galliums.