I'm staring at all three of my models now and felt like I'd hit this presumption on the nose.

I'm one of the first people to say the VSD is in trouble. Home One and XI7s will make these 70-85 point ships soak up a lot of damage without being able to do anything to stop it, and burn down horribly in flames. I get that, I know that, I don't want it to be so.

But apart from the speed and the lack of defensiveness I feel that the VSD is still a pretty good cruiser. The health amount seems decent, and the dice spreads are acceptable as a mini ISD. The Rebels seem to get along just fine with their assault frigates... am I overlooking some potential out of the VSD?

One of these days I'd like to stick Needa on one to see about getting a little extra long-range protection. If I can't use my brace to cancel damage, maybe the Evade?

I've seen now and again other people with VSDs in their lists. How are you guys running it/them? What kind of successes have you had and what strategies are you employing?

I realize the VSD is in trouble. What I want to know is if there is some optimism for the ship, and can they work now? Or are they really so unusable that you might as well switch to engine tech GSDs?

If you look for CaribbeanNinja's recent AAR's you will see how he did with 3 VSD's and Tarkin. It is viable.

Hell No, they are not Obsolete... Hell Yes, You can make them work.

We've re-treaded this quite often.

Essentially, you have noted its Weaknesses - Speed and Lack of Defensiveness.

But the flipside of that is, at Range, it is quite effective - equal to most dice-throwers out there, before you start counting upgrades... 3 Red Dice is sub-par only to the ISD-II and the MC80 Assault Cruiser... And is equal straight-up to the ISD-I, MC80 Command, and the Assault Frigate...

So, utilise that Range Advantage. It is an advantage if you leverage it correctly.

I've seen someone run roughshod over just about everyone by piloting a triple Victory list with a hefty full 134pt Rhymer Ball, and mounting, of all things, Slaved Turrets on the VSDs... Considering "Hey, you're at Long Range anyway - let's just stick with all we've got..."

That also cleaned up his Gunnery Team slot, so he was able to utilise Flight Controllers to add even more potency to his Rhymer Ball...

I've seen 3 VSDs work... You just have to accept your Limitations.

You can Boosted-Comms engage any Ship that is being Boosted by Home One (since Home One itself is not effected) with a Rhymer Ball at obscene Ranges overall - and pack the ability to Flight-Control (or Intel) Defending Squadrons into obsolescence at the same time...

Heck, I made 5 VSDs work 50% of the time, and most of those games were Store championship Games

3 x VSD + boosted comms + flight controllers + Tarkin

Add a Rhymer ball of 3 bombers plus the man, Dengar, and 4 Interceptors...throw in a Corruptor title to taste.

You basically ram the list down someone's throat...don't be afraid to ram either if you're facing a dual ISD build...as that ram puts him in your front and side arcs.

It's a great list to run for a new guy you learn how to use ships and squadrons quickly.

If you look for CaribbeanNinja's recent AAR's you will see how he did with 3 VSD's and Tarkin. It is viable.

That is actually an elaborate ploy. He is going to show up at Regionals with a Demolisher and a 50 point bid.

I am waiting to see if we get a fleet support upgrade that may boost the maneuverability of the VSD first. Would be cool to have.

A tech upgrade of some sort would be really neat that allowed you to spend an evade or a redirect to add one more yaw click to your maneuver.

First of all, 3 seems like an interesting number. That's enough that an opponent will probably be hard pressed to actually murder them all before your squadron ball eats their children.

Also I LOVE trying to use Tarkin. But I usually end up not. But, Tarkin works best with VSDs. Gives so much flexibility.

But honestly... Would Demolisher just be a better 3rd ship?

But honestly... Would Demolisher just be a better 3rd ship?

If you have essentially zero bid, it'd at least force opponents into a tough choice regarding initiative. If you're up against a list with brutal objectives that loves second player, they'll happily give you first player, but with a Demo they'd at least have to give it a second thought, and potentially cede to your objectives. With so many squadrons I doubt the Demo would hurt your 2nd player viability, so it might be worth it.

I can say without hesitation that the VSD-I is NOT dead yet. I have been running a 3 VSD1 list for a little while (through the tournaments I've played and in the Vassal Team Tournament). Here are my thoughts:

• I would say it has been a successful list. I've played against the winner in three tournaments (having a chance to win in the last round) and won my last tournament.
• The VSD1 is the most efficient carrier there is. Bring your squadrons and be ready because THAT is where you will win or lose.
• I settled on Tarkin. Even thought he's expensive, he's SO worth it and gives you incredible flexibility. (I now LOVE running Tarkin.)
• You don't needa the Needa. I tried him early on and he is just an extra two points. I'd rather have the redundant redirects.
• It messes with some players because it doesn't fit into the regular mode of fleets they've played. (They are unsure of their strategy against it.)
• I have had deployment advantage (13) in all but one of the matches I've had. It really helps to be able to place my last two VSDs last.
• They are hard to wipe out with 24 hull and 30 shields (but not impossible!)

I'm currently toying with the idea of replacing a VSD with a raider (or a Demo since Blail said it ) But I'm not sure how well that fleet will synergize. This is in preparation for Wave 3 where I will HAVE to give up something to get the flotillas!

I also don't have a great answer for the Demolisher (having had a lot of practice against it and AdmiralYor). However I am getting better against it.