Along with this article, I recommend reading 'Kicking the Tires' by Bruce Graw from the Tactics Manual, as it gives very good advice about individual ships. Other articles that should be read in the Tactics manual include basic maneuvering, fleet maneuvering, and firing arcs.
NOTE: Campaign fleets are largely affected by the resources available, and the time required to build replacements. They will not be the focus of this paper, though some tips might prove useful.
The next division is known as the 'R' modules: R1 - auxiliaries for all races, through R6 - The Fast Warships. These contain some of the most powerful 'new' ships available, each containing a few variants of familiar ships, and adding new classes to the game.
The last division is everything else: Module 'M' troop transports, Fighters, Fast Patrol Ships, and X-Ships. These are ignored most of the time, unless a player decides to run a fleet of that kind. Most of the ships here are very mission specific.
In most fleets, it appears that everyone goes straight to the 'R' modules, ignoring the basic set ships for the latest ships out of construction. This is a big mistake as several very effective fleets can come out of the basic set. Take, for example, a 500 point Romulan fleet: 3 WE + 1 KE.
Three War Eagles provide a tremendous amount of Forward Arc firepower in the form of 4 Phaser-1's, and the grandaddy of all Plasma's, the R. They can be found in the Basic Set SSD book. While not terribly fast, under cloak, speed can be counter-productive. A fast moving cloaked ship is easier to find than one moving only eight. Plus, the flank shields are fantastic, allowing an oblique shot with the plasma, and remaining fairly protected against return fire. They cost 100 points each, 103 if the Phaser-3's are installed.
The Flag ship of the fleet comes in the form of the 140 point King Eagle Command Cruiser. This ship can actually move at top speed to evade incoming seeking weapons, though it would probably cloak for that purpose. It carries the same armament as the WE's, plus two Plasma-F's.
This leaves 60 points for a nasty surprise. While the 'Eagles' are making their attack runs, enemy units may try to get in behind their position. Imagine the look on their face when they run into the lone Warbird that has been hiding cloaked for the entire game. It decloaks, unloads it's plasma, then cloaks again. Any enemy ships will have to turn away from that plasma and into the fleet, or take the plasma, and attempt to locate the gun platform. Either way, the eagles will control the situation, looping around and striking from behind. The 60 points could be used for other purposes: cloaked decoys, NSM's, etc.
Many other examples can be taken from the basic set books. The point is, while there are so many wonderful ships available, don't neglect something just because it is old news. Sometimes, the best tactics come from using something old in a brilliant and exciting new way.
Unless it is a single ship duel, more than five minutes should be spent picking a fleet. This doesn't mean that two hours should be spent choosing your ships. This only slows the game down. Besides, there is time enough between games to look over the SSD's and begin learning strengths and weaknesses.
Second, look at the firing arcs of the ships you are considering. A fleet with similar firing arcs is easier to use in formation, where a fleet gets it's strength. If ships have different firing arcs, then they should be deployed in the formation where those arcs can protect the fleet best. For example, the mainstay of the Klingon Fleet, the D7, and it's cousin, the D6, are excellent Forward Arc ships, and should take the center of the formation where there are a few ships to protect their flanks. The D5 series, with their right and left arc disruptors, should go on the ends of the formation, providing strong defense from flankers. The F5's have good RX phasers, and should probably stay a little behind the fleet to provide rearward and flank protection.
Third, the mission of each ship determines which ship to use. If you expect to need a lot of drone support, look to the Drone cruisers. Fixed positions, and ships caught in tight quarters fall easy prey to maulers and anchors. The flagship needs the command rating to handle all of the ships in the fleet, but also must be able to defend itself if necessary. Scouts should appear in any battle, just for the amount of Electronic Warfare they can create. A fleet becomes much more difficult to defeat when no one can hit any of their ships. Special mission ships, like scouts and maulers, or even carriers and PF tenders tend to draw a lot of attention. Often, they will be targeted first for elimination. This brings up the importance of escorts. No ship special ship should be left alone. Attach a frigate or destroyer to that ship, and operate them as a squadron. If someone moves to attack the scout, the escort can turn and respond.
Fourth, if you purchase a carrier, or a PF tender, then by all means bring the fighters or PF's. If nothing else, they can be used to defend the tender against raids, though the small units should usually be dedicated to adding to the firepower of the fleet. Be careful with Fighters and PF's. They are each easily destroyed, and it might not take long to have a squadron eliminated.
Please send any comments to Chris Rebman C/O Ed Crisler- <crisler@mychoice.net>