Sorry its been a while since I last posted, its been crazy at work and Ive only just had a chance to grab some Jase time. Even now I have the kids here as its summer holidays
That doesn’t mean that nothing has been happening.
Today I received my copies of the USS Bellerophon, the prize for the Voyager episodic OP Event “Year of Hell”. The USS Bellerophon (NCC-74705) was a 24th century Federation Intrepid-class starship operated by Starfleet. Under the command of Admiral William Ross, the Bellerophon transported Federation delegates to Romulus for a conference on Dominion War issues in 2375 as seen in the DS9 episode “Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges“.
This is the second Intrepid class vessel seen in Wizkids Star Trek Attack Wing, the first being USS Voyager after which the Voyager series is named. It is also only the second time an Intrepid class vessel is seen in Star Trek and the only time it happens outside of the Voyager series.
USS Bellerophon, Federation Intrepid Class Starship
Stats – 4-2-4-5 Actions – Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battlestations
A Wing of Intrepids
Lets start with the model itself….well its the same sculpt as USS Voyager but sadly has the horrible silver paintjob of the NX-Class. It could certainly do with some toning down with either a wash or just a general repaint to take that horrible shine off it.
USS Bellerophon Base Plate
Intrepid Base Plate
Intrepid Maneuver Dial
USS Bellerophon and Intrepid Ship Cards and Maneuver Card
The USS Bellerophon has standard Intrepid class stats of 4-2-4-5 (for the named version) and 4-2-4-4 (for the generic). The Maneuver dial is the standard set of maneuvers for a ship of this class and does not have any Red maneuvers at all which is all kinda of awesome. With stats of 4-2-4-5 the named version is 30pts and the generic comes with one less shield and no ability for 28pts. Unlike its class mate USS Voyager the upgrade slots available on this ship do not include 3 Crew, 1 Weapon and 1 Tech. The Bellerophon has 2 Crew, 2 Weapons and 1 Tech. This makes the vessel more of a warship than Voyager although Voyager has been used previously as the basis for many a Fednought build.
The named ability is rather nifty as any damage nullification ability is. In a world where Magnometric Guided Charges and other shield ignoring weapons are commonplace those shields wont be taking much damage so to be able to disable 2 Active Shields to cancel an attackers Hit is a nice ability to have. What this ship doesn’t have is that nice 360 arc shot that Named Voyager has. So you may find yourself utilising the extra weapon slots on this vessel to add torpedoes to protect that rear of your hull.
Admiral Ross (CS6)
Generic Federation Captain (CS1)
As per the DS9 episode where this vessel first appeared Admiral William Ross captains the USS Bellerophon. We are treated to two versions of Ross, the Admiral who adds +2 to any captain he supports and the CS6 Captain. Both versions bring an Elite Talent slot to the table and the Action is good when jousting with an enemy vessel. it requires the enemy vessel to be in your forward arc and to attack your ship. Ideally you’d not want to be attacked as you’d have flanked and come into the rear arc of the enemy but if you do go toe to toe with the enemy Ross will be there to help. Sadly no further captains are included except the generic Federation included in every Federation ship. I’d have liked to have seen another captain but I can understand why one isn’t included.
Secondary Weapon – Tricobalt Device
Crew Upgrade – Luther Sloan
Elite Talent – Section 31
Tech Upgrade – Variable Geometry Plyons
This prize ship isn’t really stocked to the gills with upgrades and extras. It only includes 1 Crew, 1 Secondary Weapon, 1 Tech Upgrade and 1 Elite Talent. Thankfully two of them are related to my all time favourite character ever….Luther Sloan, so that’s where we’ll start. Luther Sloan, the clandestine operative from Section 31, the dark side of Starfleet, makes an appearance. Due to his nature and lack of accountability to the Federation he is listed as an Independant Crew upgrade. His knowledge of the enemy is what he brings to your fleet. He can change his ships maneuver after assessing upto 3 enemy ships maneuver dials and then disappear as if he were never there. I’d have loved him to be a disable but he’s a discard. Not too expensive either clocking in at 3pts. Given the episode in which this ship appears I would have expected a Julian Bashir crew card but no sign of DS9’s beloved genetically enhanced doctor.
Sloan also brings with him the Elite Talent Section 31 which allows the captain it is assigned to to perform the effects of spending a Battlestations, Evade or Target Lock token as if the ship had one. For 3pts this discardable ET will give your ship the cutting edge it needs in Attack or Defence. The ability to spend a Target Lock or BS on an attack from a ship that doesn’t natively have that Action is great! I can see this being used in Romulan fleets for the BS it grants.
Lets fill those weapon slots on the Bellerophon…..to do this we have Tricobalt Device. Its a nice weapon to have with a decent range of 2-3 and sadly can only be fired from the forward arc. Nothing game breaking there. Its a 6 attack dice and is Intrepid class only…..boo. It would have been nice to see some standard Torpedoes that this ship could use from its rear arc but again nothing there.
Lastly we have our Tech upgrade Variable Geometry Pylons. Its another Intrepid only upgrade and clocks in at 5pts. This would be bad enough for me to seriously consider not using it but it gets worse, it also costs you your ships Action for that round. To me this is too big a price to pay for the limited ability it grants. This upgrade allows you to increase or decrease your speed by 1 if you disable it before you move. Im not 100% about this upgrade…….I like that it is disable only but its cost and limited use really make me consider consigning it to the folder forever.
All in all this is a somewhat disappointing prize ship. The only redeeming features are the Section 31 cards in Luther Sloan and Section 31. I might use Admiral Ross from time to time but the weapon is a bit meh and the Tech upgrade is hardly worth pulling out the folder.
Its just not that great. The ship will see use especially in those Fednought builds.
Dont take my word for it, go play and grab one yourself. Let me know what you think
Jase
talesfromthemancave 