RE: FT: tactics vs. a slow mover with high arcs

my rebuttals to various repliers...
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From: "Andrew Apter" <apter@prodigy.net>
I play with Steve too. I think I know a few things that have worked on
him.

1: Beam 4s left side and rear and make like a horse archer.  Run around
him
and shoot at range.
    He will die or get bored and FTL.
2: Fighters and wave gun , or missile and wave gun mix.
3: A very large barge similar to his designs.
4: Have a small child roll your dice.
5: We have not tried mines yet.
6: I think it might be fun to try vector.
7: Make him chase you so you wind up in his Forward arc and he can not
use
his RX weapons.
8: Change ships and tactics every time you play.

Andy
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1. yeah, I got some designs like this.	Maybe next time I'll use them,
and use
them, and use them, until he makes faster ships.
2.  I tried WGs several times, last Tuesday night also.  One out of 4 WG
boats lined up a shot before getting squished.
His newest "BB" designs have about 6-8 PDS and an Area Defense.  So if
playing against two of these I expect about 12-16 PDS in effect. 
Fighters
don't live too long against that.
3.  I got several of these, but he still rolls better than I.
4.  sorry, the cost of obtaining a small child is way too many points
(both in real life and FT terms).   :)	  btw, what is the FT cost?  
VBG
5.  I don't want to try mines.
6.  I tried it once at home as a "race" around some "space cones".
It is tricky and not sure I like it.
7.  Hmm, so have rear firing class 3s and stay ahead of him.  Hmmm.
8.  I do this all the time.  Okay, maybe except for tactics (get close
and 
die).
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From: "Robertson, Brendan" <Brendan.Robertson@dva.gov.au> 
Increase the speed of your firing passes.  Burn in at velocity 14-18 &
he'll
only get 1 long range turn.
Using 5-arc class 3s are costing him weapon mass, so for every one of
his
class 3s you get 4 3-arc class 2s. (I can't believe I'm saying this...)
How about sending in 2 separate waves from opposite sides?  Multiarc
weapons
can only fire in 1 direction at a time, so 1 wave will get free shots.
Another option is to increase the number of destroyers you field.  Mount
them with 5-6 submunition packs each & send them in at velocity 20+.  15
beam die ignoring screens is a lot of re-rolls & damage...
Or try removing all your offensive weapons & load your ships with
nothing
but torpedo & attack fighters.
In a 1500 point game, you should be able to get about 10-15 squadrons on
the
board, which not even the best point defence can stop them all.

Or the last option is easy: stop playing against him in design-your-own
battles.  Only play him with FTFB ships.
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I'll comment first on that last suggestion: NO WAY.  The NAC suck.  I
hate 
slow
moving tubs like the NSL.  Not that crazy about missile salvos and don't
like
the no-armor FSE ships.  The ESU also lacks armor, although I like the 
Voroshilev.
Besides, I have Fed and Klingon minatures and my designs have similar
arcs 
and pulse 
torps.	Against each other they would probably be fairer fights.

I'm usually moving at speeds from 14-20.  It's not his long range
firepower 
that
worries me, it's his medium (12-24) and short (1-12) range firepower. 
He has
several 2s and a plethora of 1s (yes, plethora).  Try going against
28-32 beam
dice at range 11.   And his propensity to roll more than average number
of 6s.
Yes, almost all of my ships have double screens.  Which makes 
them more expensive in the defensive department, although that is made
up by
bigger drives.	I've tried narrow arc weapons.	So while he's not in my
arc of
fire he's still shooting at me.  That was a losing situation from the
get go 
when
we first started many months ago.

Divided forces means divided deaths.

I have this aversion to one shot weapons.  Submunitions have to get 
within 6 to get maximum effect and also in arc.  I'm terrible at
maneuvering.

If I had 1500 points for a CV force.  Usually there's two of us against
him.  
So I get 750 points.  I have to talk the other player into CVs, not
always 
easy to do.

Glen