UCM Heavy and Colossal  Ship Guide

Welcome to part four of our UCM fleet deep dive. Here we’ll be talking about the big boys of the UCM fleet. These are some of the deadliest and most durable ships available to you. Plus, they all look pretty great on the table. Our goal here is to give you an idea of how strong these ships are, where they slot into your fleet, and how you should use them on the table. We give each ship a 1-5 rating based on our totally arbitrary feelings about these ships. You can and should disagree as you gain more experience with these ships, and these ratings should by no means deter you from at least trying out a ship. We’re using a unique symbol for each faction. UCM gets explosions to represent their “when in doubt, apply more firepower” approach and generally brutal looking aesthetic. A ship rated with five explosions is something we consider extremely good, probably a “must take” in a competitive sense. On the other end, one explosion means you’re probably going to struggle to justify bringing the ship. Let’s dive in.

We're not starting off strong with the JoBurg. What was formerly my favorite UCM flagship is a shell of its former self. This used to essentially be a Vilnius with a Seattle’s launch tacked on for a very nice cost. Now…not so much. You're paying 75 points over the Vilnius for essentially the same weapons, 1” more thrust, a couple hull, and 2 Fighter/Bomber launch. This was a ship that always needed to weapons free to be effective, but the new version of weapons free really hurts it. Now you have to choose between your fusillade weapon and launch. You're bringing it for the launch, because otherwise…why are you taking this ship? So the result is a weapon you're highly unlikely to ever use, but is still clearly factored into the cost. Even if you like launch as it is right now (the community is rather split), the UCM has way better options available.

The Perth is in a pretty good spot in this edition, and probably the best battlecruiser in the UCM roster now. Its Viper Super Heavy Laser wants to maul the hell out of big ships. You might be tempted to look at the Warsaw and think that ship is actually going to crack armor better because of its burnthrough-2. That is a bit deceptive, though. The Viper’s 8 attacks makes up for the lower burnthrough value. At the end of the day, you're going to be likely reducing energy saves by 2-3 by virtue of the larger attack pool. Even against PHR targets, you're likely to be causing more damage than a Warsaw with the laser alone. When you factor in the UF-4200s on weapons free, the Perth pulls away. 

I like to split my attack runs with the Perth. The laser wants to hit something big and mean, pushing through large chunks of damage. While the UF-4200s can certainly pile onto that, there are likely to be more effective uses of them. For example, against Bioficers, I really like to use the UF-42000s to clear out cells and Logics while the laser goes after cruisers. It takes a bit of coordinating, spikes and/or closing with the right targets at the right time, but the Perth can make it really worth your time. 

You are playing a game of feast or famine when you bring the Rome out to play. When those giant torpedoes hit home, they can absolutely obliterate ships. Anything cruiser sized is highly likely to get one shot. Battlecruisers are in for a very bad day. These torps are even likely to cripple a Battleship and give a Dreadnought a seriously bad blow. If both torpedoes hit one target? Forget about it. The X factor? Penetrator and the luck of the dice. First you have a 50/50 shot of triggering Penetrator on the hit roll. Then you also have to make it through any backup save. With just four dice to roll, you can get some major feasts or famines depending on how the dice decide to behave. Get some hot Penetrator rolls and your opponent doesn't have a backup save? That's 16 damage from a single torpedo. Hit a Bioficer ship on a bunch of 2s and 3s? Those 4+ kinetic saves and 5+ backup saves could very easily cancel all that damage. And you better believe they'll dip into AP for additional chances to save.

Your opinion of the Rome is going to largely come down to how much you like the big skyscraper torpedoes. They have very little weaponry besides the torpedoes: just a single UF-4200s battery. That’s not to say Romes are useless once the torps are off. Their very impressive Aegis value can cover a large portion of the board. As such, it is an excellent ship at anchoring the center of your line. It's not going down to kinetic damage any time soon, nor is anything around it. That's why this thing costs as much or more than some battleships. Is that worthwhile? It's very much down to personal taste. For me? The model looks awesome, so I'll never regret having it in my collection. That way, if I wanna gamble for a game, those big ol’ torps can come out and play.

Welcome to the absolute worst ship in the UCM fleet. This poor ship is paying for the sins of its past in this edition. There’s no more zooming around at Max Thrust while still shooting weapons. Now the Venice has two very lackluster additional AP abilities and…uh…yeah that’s about it. You do get command ship-2, but the extra point of AP over a Geneva or a Las Vegas isn’t worth the considerable price tag. You should take a Las Vegas over this ship every single time and twice on Sunday. Yes, I gave this ship no points. May God have mercy on its soul.

The Beijing got a big upgrade with the changes to general quarters. With four weapons, it can shoot its two most lethal weapons, the UF-6400s and Python Super Heavy Laser, without having to spike itself. The Python Super Heavy Laser in particular got a massive buff with the edition change. This thing is legitimately terrifying to mediums and above. With six shots and burnthrough-2, it is all but guaranteed to reduce even the best energy saves to a 6+. That means an awful lot of the 2 damage hits are going to get through. You can reasonably expect a floor of six damage per shot. A full spike of 12 damage is not exactly far fetched either. 

Between the excellent damage of the laser and the solid chip damage on the UF-6400s, the Beijing can impact the battle early on without having to go weapons free. When it is time to starting swinging for the fences, the UF-4200s make the Beijing into a first class brawler. The 4200s are ready-made to save for weapons free, as their combined fusillade is essentially a whole additional weapon. The Beijing is an anchor for your front line. It has excellent hull and a very good kinetic save. You really want to combine this with a Vienna. The ship’s escort rule, Aegis, and 3+ energy is the perfect complement to the Beijing. The two put together make for an extremely difficult pair to take down.

Nearly everything I just said about the Beijing is true for the Tokyo: the UF-4200s, the Cobra Super Heavy Laser, anchoring your frontline, and combining it with a Vienna. All that jazz. Where the Tokyo differs is the replacement of the UF-6400s with a massive bombardment weapon. This provides a slight distinction in the roles of the two ships. Where the Beijing is concentrated exclusively in orbit, the Tokyo can also pick fights in atmosphere. The result is an extremely flexible ship that wants to be in the thick of things. The only real downside is the three weapons want three different types of targets, which can be hard to line up. Like all UCM battleships, a supporting Vienna is a huge boon for its already solid survivability.

The New York is an OK backline launch platform, providing plenty of hull and a solid bunker for your admiral. Unfortunately, it is just outclassed by lighter options in the UCM roster. The Fusillade on the New York’s only weapons synergizes poorly with its primary purpose as a carrier. It's not JoBurg levels of bad, but I cannot really see a situation where the points aren't better spent elsewhere. If you want launch, you can get just as efficiently with a Las Vegas and a Seattle. That pair gives you the same amount of launch for the same cost, but also brings Detector, Command Ship-1, and a better pair of weapons. Where the New York has the advantage is survivability. It concentrates a similar amount of total hull into one package, and can also work in tandem with a Vienna escort. I can see bringing a New York in a double Battleship list where one Vienna can run escort duties for both big boys. It also makes the New York the third priority for targeting after the other battleship and the Vienna escort.

You might be seeing a pattern develop with UCM Battleships: big front-narrow gun plus support weapons that reward you for weapons free. The Hanoi is a slightly different take on that compared to the Beijing and Toyko. Instead of an energy weapon and a secondary medium kinetic weapon, you get the big, angry UF-12000. This puppy is capable of up to eight kinetic damage. That is if you don't trigger its Penetrator special rule. With only a 2+ lock, you're going to be core damage on half your shots. Seeing as you only get two shots, that means you're going to be big time feast or famine from turn to turn with the main gun. Crippling is definitely a nasty side effect, even if it is likewise rather swingy in its effectiveness. By now, I don't need to tell you much about UF-4200s. They like weapons free. Use them on lighter targets, more vulnerable to kinetic damage. I really want to link the angry chin because...well I just love how it looks. It is, unfortunately, strictly inferior to the Toyko or the Beijing for you ship to ship fighting needs. The UF-12000 just doesn't come close to the consistency of the Python Super Heavy Laser. That doesn't even account for the additional weapons the Toyko and Beijing get by comparison. Spend the extra 10-15 points and bring the better battleships.

The Delhi is unlike any other ship in this category. Instead of using beef and weaponry to bully its way around the board, it is instead a major piece for winning the objective game. Sure, it has guns, and they're not half bad. They're essentially the Beijing's weapons without the big laser. You're not going to get maximum use out of them, though, because you're not going to be using weapons free. And that's ok. That's not what the Delhi is here to do. The Delhi is here to do one job: drop a metric shit ton of troops on a dropsite. On an uncontested dropsite, the Delhi can put down an absolutely absurd 10 battalions. Even if the site is contested, it can put down six battalions. That out-drops two San Frans by a significant amount in both circumstances, making the Delhi the point for point most efficient dropship in the UCM fleet. And unlike a pair of San Frans, the Delhi is built to take a beating. Not only does it have the usual toughness of a UCM battleship. It also has the critical Marines-2 keyword, which counters any boarders you might have to deal with. That can be huge against Scourge or Bioficers, both of which have ways to seriously stack boarders. And then, of course, is the usual Vienna synergy. For the combined 315 points, a Delhi and Vienna together are a massive pain in the neck to dislodge from a dropsite. The only downside is that...well you're probably only dropping on one dropsite. You're packing all the points you could usually spread out to two or three dropsites into a singular dropsite. That's OK so long as you bring additional drop assets to spread around. It just means you're probably going to be locked into a drop-heavy strategy if you bring the Delhi. There are definitely worse strategies out there.

The last changes of the previous edition of the game were starting to make Dreadnought a bit more interesting than run silent and then weapons free. DFC 2.0 and its new general quarters really helped out dreadnoughts even further. Being able to use half of its weapons while keeping its substantial sig at least to a bit more manageable levels is pretty great for the London. That mitigates the amount of damage it takes early in the game, and gives it a more interesting dynamic than “WEAPONS FREE ALL THE TIME!!!” The London now definitely feels more like the angry mass of guns you've always wanted. 

That’s not to say you don’t want to go weapons free. With so many guns and fusilade weapons, you will absolutely go weapons free at some point. It’s still a big, expensive, slow ship destined to take a lot of fire. But you know what? Sometimes that can be a pretty fun experience. If you take it, it is a heck of a flagship with command ship-2. As with every ship in the heavy/colossal range, it is best paired with a Vienna. Dreadnoughts are already hard to bring down, but there's nothing quite so great as redirecting an attack you expect to be devastating into a poor little Vienna. If that chonky boy life is for you, the London will do just fine.

Whereas the London largely liked the edition change, the Washington very much did not. It has two things going against it. First, it lost its super carrier status, dropping down to a rather mediocre 6 fighter/bombers. That's not bad, but it pales in comparison to last edition. It doesn't help that it pays through the teeth for that launch capability. As is consistent for the UCM heavy launch platforms, the Washington is point for point very inefficient compared to the stock Seattle. If you want to go launch Heavy, there are much better ways. Second, it badly suffers from not being able to launch on weapons free. With so many weapons, and a healthy dose of fusillade mixed in, you are losing out on an awful lot of potential damage in order to launch. And why are you bringing this ship if you're not launching? Like the New York, though, it's not JoBurg levels of bad. You still get a ton of hull, command ship-2 and some absolutely devastating weapons to choose from. Oh, and of course, bring a Vienna with it.