The barony seems underpowered to me, are there any tips in playing them. In my group we always thought that they got +1 for each 2 trade goods you gave up so you could mass a huge bonus, but in the FAQ it says you can't do that. What exactly makes this faction worthwild then

see side 4 in this Forum. There is a thread on this subject.

The +1 fleet supply is pretty handy, it's a permanent CC on your sheet in a vital area. The TG bonus is pretty good, and if you buy the racial technology then it's active all the time! That's disgusting!

However, their biggest asset is their homesystem. 6 resources in a double planet? It's the best system in the game. You can double-dock it and churn out units until the cows come home (and then build even more, forget the cows!)

Letnev are regarded as (I think) middle power. Not the best, but certainly not underpowered.

Yeah possuman has it right. The letnev are a production powerhouse. If you buy a second dock in their home system first turn you have a production capacity of 10 on the second turn which allows you to build a really nasty fighter fleet.

The Letnev were weakened quite a bit with the expansion because of automated defense turrets and friendly fire but they still pack a military punch in the early game.

Just try to think of their home system as their racial bonus and they make a lot more sense.

blarknob said:

I didn't realize that you could put to stardocks in one system. Also, I didn't see rules for friendly fire in the expansion, what s that all about?

Friendly Fire is an Action Card played immediately before a Space Battle. If your opponent has more fighters than capital ships in the Space Battle, he must destroy half of his fighters (rounding down).

You can have a spacedock for each planet in a system. The letnev have a two planet homesystem so they can have two docks.

And yeah freindly fire is an action card that nukes half your fighters.

I've only ever played the Letnev once, and that was a while ago, but when I did, it was a crushing victory. Their fast expansion allowed me to build up a sizable feet and quickly move in on Mecatol Rex. Once I got there, the extra fleet supply and racial ability helped me keep it out of everyone else's clutches and rack up the victory points. It might have been a fluke because it was one of our first games, but they pretty fun to play. I wouldn't mind giving them another shot sometime and see how they handle now that we have more experience with the game.

possumman said:

The Letnev's racial tech only affects invasion combat. They do not compare to the Norr.

That tech is overpriced, as is their ability.

I disagree, the ability to get a free +2 to all Invasion combat rolls (which is for offense and defense) is HUGE in games where you are trying to take over key planets. That basically makes Letnev GFs fight with nearly the same power as a Shock Troop!

It is rather pricey, though. But many people play with a variant rule where you get a tech for free when you get VPs equal to its cost, and get a discount for each VP you have prior to that point.

In any case, the Letnev are hardly a bottom of the barrel race. The racial ability isn't great, but even in space combat it's like having access to a Morale Boost anytime you need it and have TGs available, and in some battles that +1 can be the difference between winning and losing.

Having +2 to all GFs rolls all the time is absolutely disgusting. When you consider how important GF combat actually is, it makes a huge huge difference. Who's going to initiate a 3v2 GF combat against you when they hit on 8s and you hit on 6s?

Yes but simply having trade goods is the exact same deterent without having to buy the tech.

You know what else is a deterrant? 1 more ground force, it contributes almost as much fighting power per 2gf as what you get from that tech. And only cost 1/2 a res per planet.

Of course it doesn't beat my favorite deterrent, of superior fleet and/or Deep Space Cannon.