Like its little brother the
Samurai-class destroyer leader, the
Valiant-class galactic dreadnought didn't make an appearance until some time after the
Starfleet Wars rulebook came out.
Unfortunately, I can't figure out exactly when that was--it's not listed in either
SfW Book 2 or the
Observer's Directory & Identification Manual.
Again, I refer to the
Valiant as a "galactic dreadnought" because that's the designation it received in
Galactic Knights (other
GK ship classes include the smaller "dreadnought" and the larger "super galactic dreadnought").
Starfleet Wars, however, refers to
all dreadnoughts as "galactic dreadnoughts"--just like it refers to "stellar destroyers" and "stellar cruisers" or "galactic battlecruisers" and "galactic attack carriers." So the
SfW Valiant was just another class of dreadnought, and not an entirely new ship type like in
GK.
Note that the
Val is also a lot taller than other ships in this line of miniatures. That's because it's one of the few SfW starships that's cast in two pieces, instead of a single piece that's much more flat than this assembly.
In
Galactic Knights, the
Valiant can launch three missile salvoes at once, but it's weak on point defense against enemy missiles and fighters, so it can't go it alone--it needs escort craft of some sort.
All in all, this was a fun ship to paint, although it took me awhile! I can't wait to get it on the table for a game and see what it can do in combat.
Its a beautiful and beautifully painted ship.
ReplyDelete.....dreadnought.Sorry.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
ReplyDeleteThe GD2 class came out just as Superior went under. They were designed as a higher
ReplyDeletepower point version of the old GalDred class, but the only place I ever saw stats for them was on a retailer flyer from Superior--which I lost when a friend borrowed my rulebook and never returned it. There were two types--the Valiant and the Jaguar variant for the Carnivores. The Jag worked out well for me as it was large enough to sub as the Vagyr SDG. In the last few years of Superior, they pretty much redid most of the Carnivores, added a few variants (like the Roach) to the Ents, and tossed in the DL class to compensate.
Thanks for the info, maxmike. Until you pointed it out, I hadn't realized the Valiant stats weren't in any of the SfW rulebooks.
ReplyDeleteThat explains why there are multiple classes for the same ship type for certain powers. In addition to your examples, there's also the Aquarians' two classes of Attack Carriers.