I was just wondering if the commander you choose for your fleet counts towards your fleet cost? You select him before you build your fleet, and someone on BGG mentioned that they didn't count towards cost. I assumed they did. Can anyone clarify?

Never saw that in the rules. They dont count towards the 1 upgrade per ship, but i never saw anything about your points. Nor would it make any sense to not count towards your points.

You build a 400pt Fleet as per normal, with the additional restriction of only 1 upgrade per ship, to begin with,

Your admiral does not count as the 1 upgrade (ie, they can go on a ship with an upgrade to start with).

But there's no rul emaking them free... You still have to pay for them as part of your initial 400pts.

I thought so, I just wanted to make sure. Thanks guys!

You build a 400pt Fleet as per normal, with the additional restriction of only 1 upgrade per ship, to begin with,

Your admiral does not count as the 1 upgrade (ie, they can go on a ship with an upgrade to start with).

But there's no rul emaking them free... You still have to pay for them as part of your initial 400pts.

On INITIAL FLEET POINTS...

Since there is no reason to bid, we are thinking of just adding any extra points to our Resources.

The rule book is silent on this I believe. Thoughts?

I'm in the "Use 'em or Lose 'em" Camp.

You have an opportunity to build a 400pt List. For "Free" effectively.

I would suggest that, if you fail to do so, the failure is on your head, and you should not get a benefit for it.

Because how far do you go, then? I mean, if I take it to the ludicrous:

I'll build a 0 point fleet... Bank all 400 resources... Lose my first game automatically... Then come back next round with a 450pt, balanced, upgraded fleet...

... doesn't sound right.