Tactics: United Colonies of Man (UCM)

Popular styles: Massed Batteries, Long range snipers General Characteristics: The UCM sits in the middle of ship characteristics between all the factions. While this means that they do not shine in certain areas like other factions, it means that they do not have the same weaknesses either.

Their weapons batteries have very forgiving firing arcs and with the Linked and Squadron rules they can team up and take down ships in their middle range. Inexpensive options like a group of Osaka can bring just as much firepower as a single larger vessel for the similar cost.

You also have access to some very good burnthrough laser options that you can combine with active scanning ships like the Lima. This allows you to easily take down your targets at long range where they can not strike back without exposing them to the rest of your fleet.

Do not discount UCM launch assets, while on paper they seem unimpressive when compared to other fleets. When combined with a good point defense and/or Aegis can clamp down on enemy close action weapons and bombers in defense or swarm a lone ship and take it down

Beijing - Battleship
Role: A ship of the line, the Beijing carries lots of guns. The railgun batteries are linked, so it can fire on the move, but to bring the cobra laser to bear alongside them it needs to go weapons free, which is risky as it cannot turn and its signature becomes large. Paired with a Venice, it can overcome that limitation but it is an expensive tactic. For its points it is a solid workhorse, even if it needs some planning to use effectively.

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: The Beijing benefits from active scan on targets, (Limas) and from the various enhancements provided by the Venice. The UCM also has several means of additional protection via Aegis to blunt enemy CAW frigate swarms.

New York - Battleship
Role: Heavy carrier. This ship has a launch capacity of seven. In addition, it's armed with two Linked UF-4000 mass drivers on each side to cover the front and side arcs and close action shark missile bays. It also has two torpedoes. The main purpose of the New York is to support your fleet with its launch assets, either by attacking with the bombers or throwing up fighter screens. Launch will give the ship a minor spike each turn, so the New York is easier for opponents to target over the other battleship options. In certain approaches, the New York will come on the table later, so be prepared to do without its fighter cover for a few turns.

Matchups


 * UCM: Usually the mirror matches tend to have similar lists. The New York will definitely ensure you have plenty of launch assets, and even though the UCM has the worst bombers and fighters of the game, they can get the job done. Just be careful of where you deploy this ship, as your enemy might snipe it using Burnthrough lasers. Watch out for any Jakartas as well, due to their Aegis support.
 * Scourge: The Scourge tend to rely more on their own launch assets thanks to their superior firepower and flight distance. Since the New York can send 7 assets in the same turn, you can stack fighters on valuable ships to really make this ship into a rock in the shoes of a Scourge opponent.
 * PHR: PHR ships tend to have good armor, which the mass drivers of the New York can struggle to deal damage against. However you also get a torpedo, and while it can be inconsistent, there's the potential to cripple a PHR cruiser with an average roll. Note that the PHR assets have superior flight distance, so it may be better to concentrate a generous amount of bombers on a single target if your opponent can deploy fighter cover to it.
 * Shaltari: The Particle weapons of the Shaltari are really wicked. They can cripple your ship in a single shot, and since your opponent has better scan and the New York has a big 12" Signature, you may want to cover your ship behind debris and/or keep her on Silent Running until a opportunity arises. I would also suggest taking your Admiral in another ship, since this one may attract a lot of attention.
 * Resistance: The Resistance has a lot of flexible builds, so it may be hard to give generic advice. It mostly depends on your opponent's play style and list, but generally speaking your assets should be able to do a lot of damage against Resistance vessels due to them having poor armour. They can, of course, upgrade their saves to a 3+ with Ablative Armour, but they lose a weapon system for the privilege. Resistance bombers and fire ships are also a force to be reckoned with, so giving your ships enough fighter assistance is definitely worth it.

Synergies: Since its a support battleship it can go with almost everything, especially when giving fighter coverage to your ships. However, bear in mind that you shouldn't bring more than one New York because of its relative lack of firepower.

Tokyo - Battleship
Role: "See that cluster? I don't want to". This ship is armed with two Linked UF-4200 mass drivers (4 attacks each with lock 4+) on each side covering the F/S arcs, a Cobra heavy laser ( Two Lock 3+ attacks with Burnthrough) in the F (N) arc, Shark missile bays for close action (D6+1 attacks at Lock 4+), and finally two Linked UF-B-8000 Bombardment turrets (5 attacks at Lock 2+). This ship's main role is to obliterate any sector you may struggle to actually capture. With its 8" Scan, it has a little more range than the Madrid on top of way more firepower. However, you may struggle to employ all of this firepower, given the restrictive arc of the Cobra laser, forcing you to pick one weapon system to fire at a time. On the other hand, the ship can freely turn to fire the cobra laser when not wrecking a sector, is relatively inexpensive, and durable.

Matchups


 * UCM: A good ol' tactic of the UCM is to say "If I can't have it, no one can," and the Tokyo is the best representation of that creed. Dispatch this ship to enemy-controlled sectors but do remember that in order to bombard a city you have to be within 8" of the centre of the cluster so pay attention to the distance. Bombardment is usually best employed on the third turn, so you may want to hold the Tokyo back until them to provide fire support with its mass drivers and Cobra laser. This however is a risky endeavor, as the Tokyo's 6" Thrust may make performing a dash into range of enemy-held clusters on turn 3 difficult to do.
 * Scourge: The Tokyo's 4+ wing turrets will feel effective against the majority of Scourge ships, save for their heavies and super heavies. However, Scald and Umbra lists in particular will make mincemeat of a Tokyo. It's perhaps best served here as a defensive, reactionary tool, as Scourge strike carriers can often grab the initiative through their speed, but a Tokyo sitting over a cluster will require a determined assault from the Scourge to break.
 * PHR: PHR troopships are slow - almost as slow as the Tokyo - so you'll be able to match their pace. The Tokyo is also perhaps one of the few UCM heavies/super heavies that doesn't get too screwed over by the Calypso, given it can still go hard on bombardment regardless - however, don't discount the many other tools the PHR have to take down your big ships. Don't forget the 3+ CAW the Tokyo has - it can be surprisingly effective here.
 * Shaltari: The Tokyo is very good with the Venice in this match up, as you want it to get into the centre to smash up sectors, but want it to be able to juke and jive out of the way of Particle Lances. Watch out for Mercury groups, which will easily demolish a Tokyo. The wing turrets can also be surprisingly effective at sniping voidgates by throwing 6's at them from low orbit.
 * Resistance: The Tokyo's wing turrets may find use against ships that have had their ablative armour stripped, but in general the Cobra is going to be your go-to here. The Resistance's drop game can be somewhat inflexible thanks to the lack of open/outlier on a lot of their drop related assets, but they have one of, if not the best troopship in the game in the Aldrin - perhaps the Tokyo works best here as a second wave asset, coming in and bombing large Resistance concentrations flat.

Synergies: The Tokyo gets a lot out of a Venice, meaning it doesn't require weapons free to unleash its full firepower. Outside of that, the Tokyo doesn't require that much support - while it appreciates the active scanning support of Limas, they aren't especially necessary and you will have better things to spend the points on.

London - Dreadnought
Role: Do you want guns? Because the London has all the guns, even enough PD guns to grant aegis to nearby ships. The London is one of the easiest dreads to use because it lacks any F(N) guns. Everything is turrets letting you focus on one ship and riddle it with holes or assign each enemy ship their own personal turret. The usual dreadnought downsides apply in that when going weapons free most ships will be able to return fire, so make sure there are none left to do so. Focus fire via Limas to spike targets, or buff with a Venice for some fast movement.

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: Scourge dreads rely on stealth to fire without risk of retaliation. While you cannot spike them, you can knock them out of silent running, which means their standard sig of 18 comes back into play.  With a Scan of 14 on the dread, that means you have an effective 38 inch range.  A single barrage should do 18 damage and force double cripple rolls on the target, if you go first on turn 2.
 * PHR: The PHR has some powerful Battleships and Dreads, along with tricky ships that can spot or force your ship on silent running. The key then is to screen your ships and target these smaller support vessels prior to the big engagement.
 * Shaltari: Shaltari generally have poor armor and raising their shields means their sig increases. This can work to your advantage, but again they will outrange you and ships like the Hemetite will try to snipe your dread before it can fire.  You may want to silent run and use debris fields to block LOS till you can get close enough.
 * Resistance: Resistance Dreadnoughts can be built to outshoot the London, and even the Battleships can be trouble. However, the Resistance is heavily reliant on spikes to compensate for lower scan, and the dreads don't have high armor.  You will need to add some focus fire from other ships to support your attack or try to get your Nuuks in close to limit the return firepower.

Synergies: Venice support in larger point games can be helpful. Nuuks can limit Resistance and UCM dreads from using their full weapons compliment, and work well against enemy battleships. Limas to spike targets can ensure first turn shots on opposing dreadnoughts without full cloak.

Washington - Supercarrier
Role: Dropping guns for combat craft, the Washington is a larger New York. It loses the UF6400s (an average of 7 damage on targets) for 15 launch. In most games this will be your ENTIRE launch cap. On one ship. That might not arrive until turn 3. It is wise to include some aegis ships in the rest of your fleet then to support them during periods when your Washington isn't present. The UCM has a reputation for its bombers being the worst in the game (until the Resistance Bombers were released) but they are not bad, in and of themselves, and 15 of them will pose a problem for all but the largest ships with the most PD. Launch will give the Washington a minor spike, so it will be targetable from most of the map. It is imperative then to use debris fields and other objects to limit possible return fire. While it still has plenty of guns, the loss of the lock 3+ UF6400s makes it more difficult for the Washington to engage the largest enemy ships, and it is often more effective targeting cruisers and frigates while the rest of your fleet hunts the enemy heavies.

Matchups


 * UCM: UCM has access to multiple sources of Aegis, so launch isn't as big a threat to the fleet in general. It also has wide access to burn through lasers which can be very dangerous to the Washington.
 * Scourge: Scourge bombers are very dangerous, but aside from the dreadnoughts bombers work well against scourge ships with cloaking.
 * PHR: PHR often utilize their high quality bombers making some sort of launch defense necessary. Their anti-dread tools tend to be the smaller Harpocrates and Electras, or the Hercules battleships and Romulus Dreadnought.  Be sure to bring other ships like the Saint Petersburg or the Avalon/Perth to support your Washington.  Nuuks won't be as effective, as both the Hercules and Romulus can fire on standard orders.
 * Shaltari: Shaltari dreads work best at CAW range, which is still a fair distance compared to say Resistance, but does mean that you won't be taking as much fire turn 1 and 2 from the dreadnought. Instead, the main threat will come from heavy cruisers and battleships which can fire turn 1 if they have two groups active scan the dreadnought.  That beware of that possiblity, and perhaps silent run for the first turn to lure them in closer.
 * Resistance: The Resistance lists bring lots of launch by default, due to the nature of their near absent PD. Their bombers are worse than the UCM, and they have no burn through lasers.  Instead, they have access to lots of lock 2+ guns on cruisers and above.  The Resistance dreads and battleships have plenty of hull to keep the deadly 9k and 10k guns in a fight.  Those will be the primary threat to your ships.  The Washington's main challenge then is to do enough hull points to knock out the larger ships before they terminate it.  Focus fire is the name of the game on these larger ships, then the Washington is well equipped to deal with the lower armor, low PD cruisers and smaller stuff.

Synergies: Venice and Limas are always helpful for most UCM ships, however in the Washingtons case it can also benefit from friendly Vienna and Jakara aegis escorts to free up it's launch to support elsewhere.

Atlantis/Johannesburg - Big Gun Battlecruiser
Role: Guns guns guns. This ship brings lots of guns which while not flashy, allow it to avoid the inevitable jousting competitions that often spell the demise of ships that rely on F(n) guns for damage. It also has launch to provide fighter/bomber support. A good place for an admiral on lower point games, and a solid choice in larger games where it can deal with multiple small targets or focus one large target without being too concerned about facing.

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Avalon/Perth- Battlecruiser
Role: Let's be honest, you saw "Viper Super Heavy Laser" in the fleet builder and said "yes please". The viper does deliver, averaging 6-7 damage on most targets for an instant cripple on anything not in the superheavy category. You won't be using the backup UF4200s much unless you are getting Venice support, but they can be effective when dealing with pesky light ships. This is the classic back line sniper since the introduction of the game, and prior to the introduction of the Shaltari Hemetite one of the best ones in the game. Lima support is almost mandatory for this ship to spike and shoot in the same activation. The main downside is the one common to all ships with F(n) guns in that you are tied into approaching the enemy fleet and will be a priority target.

Matchups


 * UCM: Good counters to the Perth are Kievs and Reykjavik swarms, which use the lower SR to fire first on the approaching spiked Perth.
 * Scourge: Scourge tend to rely on cloaked ships to attack from range without risk of retaliation or must rush the guns with smaller ships and burn it down.
 * PHR: Watch for sneaky Harpocrates and annoying Calypsos, both of which can neuter your Perth. Either target them with other ships or choose to target something not protected by the Calypsos.
 * Shaltari: The Shaltari Hemetite is a better version of the Perth. Try to take it out with Havanna or Reykjavik groups so your Perth can deal with shaltari cruisers.
 * Resistance: Resistance ships will need to risk the guns of the Perth to fight it effectively but do have more hull points in general to tank a hit. The Atlantis/Johanisburg are generally a better choice against them.

Synergies: Lima support is a must. Venice support is optional but always helpful. Aegis support from other ships is also nice but by no means mandatory.

Rome - Torpedo Delivery System
Role: Yeah, you saw those heavy torpedoes and are all about that damage. You want to delete a ship, a big ship, with them. Well, it can happen, but then what? You have a big Aegis platform with a cruiser's secondary guns. So, temper your enthusiasm because while yes, this ship can make a big impact in the game, it is not assured. Torpedoes take effect at the end of the next turn activation, can be shaken off by course change orders or flying through debris fields (or both, curse you Agrippa!). The heavy torpedoes also have a max range of 18 inches, which is almost knife fight range in Dropfleet. While aegis will protect you from suicide squads of frigates, you will be a prime target for burn through lasers and heavy guns without any real means of retaliation for a few turns. You really want to use this ship against enemy battleships and dreadnoughts, but most of those can destroy the Rome long before it gets into range. You will need to be sneaky to use this ship and conceal it behind debris fields or have other, more immediate threats.

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Venice Command Battlecruiser
Role: A very very important ship for a great many UCM lists, the Venice is a point sink that makes the rest of your fleet way better. The Venice's ability to allow a ship to fire one more weapon than normal is it's standout ability, allowing many ships in the UCM to access their full firepower on change course - something that is especially a boon for ships with F(N) weapons, like the Beijing and St. Petersburg. This feature can also allow for smaller UCM ships, such as the Taipei or Toulon, to achieve far larger threat ranges by allowing them to fire their weapons on max thrust. The Venice's 4" bonus to thrust can also be useful. One thing to keep in mind is that the bonus conferred to the thrust charactersitic of the ship, which is done before special orders are declared - this means that the bonus is added to the ship's overall thrust before doubling said thrust for the max thrust special order (in other words, you can yeet a London 20" up the board). This can be really useful for getting the slower UCM ships, such as monitors, up to the centre in a quick fashion. The Venice's final ability, allowing a ship to change orbital layers even if it would not be able to normally, is the most niche of it's three buffs, but can still find it's uses - keep it in mind especially for ships going on weapons free. The Venice's extra command cards buff seems minor, but feels anything but on the table - you want to be burning through your command cards fast while using a well built Venice list, and you will often find yourself with a few cards you might want to play normally (e.g., the free Rio/Toulons card, holding on to an espionage, etc).

When building a list with a Venice, it's best to start with the Venice first and build around it - it's a significant force multiplier, but you need that to make up for the fact that it's taking up nearly 15% of your fleet in a standard 1500 point game. On the table itself, the Venice is a paperweight - keep it protected, at the very back of the board, prefrably with the a portion of the rest of your fleet and a few debris fields between it and the enemy.

Matchups


 * UCM: The UCM have a set of fast ships that would easily take care of a Venice, but of particular note are Kievs with Limas, Havanas, Taipeis, and Toulons. The first three have the threat range and/or firepower to quickly burst down a Venice - while the Toulon's preferred style of skirmishing and attempting to bully an opponent's backline is perfectly suited for taking out a Venice.
 * Scourge: Scourge options to kill the Venice are numerous, quick, and deadly - bombers, CAW attack groups, and Umbra buffed Occulus gunboats are all capable of quickly reaching and tearing through a Venice. Keep some fighters handy.
 * PHR: Echos, with their decent save and out of atmosphere firepower, can be surprisingly effective at taking out the Venice, as can PHR destroyers.
 * Shaltari: Utilize silent running to try and negate the Shaltari's high threat range, and keep a careful eye on Particle Lance ships. Mercury groups are also worth your attention - there is very little you can do once they get in striking distance of a Venice, try and stop them from getting there.
 * Resistance: Watch out for potential Galileo wombo combos. Decent groups of Senecas and Armstrongs can also pose a threat.

Synergies: A Venice contributes little to it's battlegroup. Avoid putting it with anything that even somewhat prefers to have a decent SR, as not only does give it a pretty substatinal +10 to SR, it is highly likely the battlegroup will suffer from coherency penalty with the Venice hiding in the back. Things like troopships and strike carriers can fit in nicely here.

Moscow - Heavy Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

St. Petersburg - Heavy Cruiser
Role: The St. Petersburg is an awkward ship that's difficult to set up, requires a weapons free order thanks to its F(N) weapons, and most likely needs a very telegraphed double activation - and even then, it will only barely outperform a pair of New Carios, which are in comparison, reliant on no special orders, fast, and flexible. To put it simply, the St. Petersburg is outperformed.

Unless!

Unless of course, you pair it with a Venice. The St. Petersburg is probably the ship that gains the most from the Venice out of all the ships in the UCM arsenal, allowing it to fire both of it's burnthrough lasers while turning on a special order, typically course change. However, it should not be thought of as a straight upgrade to the New Cairo. While both ships are effective anti-armour tools, the New Cairo is fast, is not reliant on support from the rest of it's fleet, and does not need any special orders. The St. Petersburg, on the other hand, is reliant on the rest of the fleet for support, needs special orders, and is slow - but it has a 3+ armour save. Where a New Cairo will quickly be destroyed by even a combat frigate group, a St. Petersburg will need to be engaged by proper anti-armour weapons to be brought down. This combination of traits makes the St. Petersburg one of the few UCM ships in the Heavy and Super Heavy range that can go toe to toe with the likes of an Agamemnon/Leonidas, Bellerephon, Grand Cruiser or Akuma in equal numbers, and expect to come out efficiently and/or on top.

Matchups


 * UCM: Not a bad idea here - the St. Petersburg will be capable of cutting down UCM Cruisers and trading efficiently against the larger UCM ships, but it is a very tempting target for the UCM's powerful, smaller anti-armour tools, namely New Cairos, Kievs and Havanas.
 * Scourge: Stealth and Full Cloak, when paired with the low threat range of the St. Petersburg means it may struggle to get to the targets it wants to go after, namely Scourge Heavies and Super Heavies. It will be able to easily core anything it can get at.
 * PHR: The PHR's mix of Calibre (H) weapons, Fusillade, and the Calypso gives the PHR all the tools they need to easily shut down a St. Petersburg. However, a St. Petersburg should be more than capable of engaging high value PHR targets like troopships and carriers effectively.
 * Shaltari: Don't joust against the Shaltari. Shields make the UCM's BTLs less valuable against the Shaltari, but the Shaltari's Particle Lances are almost tailor made to destroy the St. Petersburg in particular, although careful maneuvering can alleviate this to an extent.
 * Resistance: Possibly the best place to bring a St. Petersburg. The high armour of the Resistance give value to BTLs and the low thrust, low scan but average signature of the Resistance a St. Petersburg can go to town on Resistance Heavies and Super Heavies. Heavy Frigates, however, are going to have no issues at all when it comes to cleaning up a St. Petersburg.

Synergies: The Venice is a must to make the St. Petersburg worthwhile. Limas can also help extend it's threat range, often necessary given it's low thrust. Some form of aegis or fighter protection may be nice to have as well, depending on how central the St. Petersburg is to your list and the matchup. A space station with an astrobotanical lab can also assist in keeping your St. Petersburgs safe, as they will be taking a lot of minor spikes.

Centurion - Grand Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Pungari Thresher - Hiveship
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Rio - Cruiser
Role: The Rio is a very bog-standard ship that is in a somewhat unusual place in the UCM cruiser line up. Squadron (2) encourages you to bring them in pairs, but if you are taking them purely for the 3+ Mass Drivers, an Osaka pair can do the same thing for cheaper, while being faster. As a single cruiser, the Berlin brings more firepower and the Seattle is a more flexible while bringing equivalent firepower on standard orders. The one thing the Rio has is it's linked 4+ shoulder Mass Driver turrets, which are only accessible on weapons free - it doubles the amount of dice the Rio can throw at a target, but those extra dice are unlikely to do much against a target with decent armor. The Rio is perhaps best utilized as a brawler taken in pairs, driving down the middle in a way Osakas typically do not want to thanks to their inferior armour and hull - it's wide arcs make getting a weapons free off multiple times a game a feasible proposition, and it doesn't typically demand a super low SR or specific activation strategy in order to do it's thing.

Matchups


 * UCM: Brawling against the UCM is not a terrible idea, but UCM armour is typically good enough to render the Rio's 4+ Mass Drivers as not especially useful. Osakas if you want to take a pair and a Berlin if you want to take a single cruiser are probably better options, but the Rio should still preform decently.
 * Scourge: The Scourge's poor armour means the Rio capable of dealing decent damage on weapons free, but brawling against the Scourge requires careful play - with the UCM's easy access to Aegis it can be done, but charging in without much care will see your Rios quickly removed.
 * PHR: Not really worth it against the PHR - if you want 3+ Mass Drivers, just take the Osaka instead. The 4+ Mass Drivers will rarely do much of anything against PHR armour, and brawling against the PHR is typically a bad idea - their combo of Fusillade, good armour and high HP ensure that.
 * Shaltari: The Rio be a somewhat compelling brawler against the Shaltari - throwing a lot of dice at the Shaltari can give good returns, but unless you have a way to force shields to be raised, a pair of Rios are going to have to survive a hail of deadly Shaltari firepower before getting a shot off themselves.
 * Resistance: Rios can perhaps prey effectively on ships that do not have or have lost their ablative armour, but are not especially effective at getting Resistance ships to that point - Resistance Grand Cruisers in particular are very effective brawlers against the Rio. Again, the Osaka and Berlin are probably better options for the respective niches the Rio can fill here.

Synergies: The Rio does want to do weapons free, but doesn't gain enough out of it to justify taking a Lima group with them. However sources of Aegis (especially the Jakarta, which is fast enough to keep up with a Rio at full speed) can increase their longevity, especially against the Scourge.

Berlin - Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Madrid - Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Seattle - Fleet Carrier
Role: Light carrier/ mainline ship

Surprisingly for a "fleet carrier," the UCM Seattle can be extremely flexible and aggressive. It swaps out the middling 4200 triple mass driver turrets for hangars, giving it a launch of 3 in total that is sadly below the launch of other equivalent ships in other fleets. While it can be useful to launch friendly fighters for support, that role is generally taken up by Aegis from frigates, or the Rome battle cruiser. Where it shines is using it as an assault carrier, firing the 6400s in tandem with launch assets to make it extremely annoying to deal with. Careful positioning will be required for this type of play, however.

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Osaka - Light Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

New Cairo - Light Cruiser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

San Francisco - Troopship
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Toulon - Frigate
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Taipei - Missile Frigate
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Jakarta - Aegis Frigate
Role: Far from flashy, yet reliable, fast and efficient, the Jakarta is in many ways a quintessential UCM ship. Aside from providing protection from launch assets and CAW, Jakartas often work well as active scanners, being decently cheap, expendable, and with a low base sig. Keep them close to your brawling frontliners, or with high value targets within the threat range of enemy bombers/CAW attack groups - although keep in mind that 1-2 Jakartas will not be able to overly blunt the impact of the larger CAW attack groups. Jakartas can often change the math in the launch phase, leaving you feeling more comfortable spending more of your launch on bombers, thus forcing your opponent to spend more of their launch on fighters - which is often a favorable trade given that most factions have at worst equal bombers to your own.

Matchups


 * UCM: Jakartas are capable of blunting the impact of all but the most determined Taipei attacks, and can also help in dealing bombers, but overall, they are far from essential here.
 * Scourge: Extremely useful, not only given the power of Scourge bombers, but also due to the ubiquity of quality CAW weapons amongst the Scourge.
 * PHR: While PHR CAW is rarely something to write home about, their bombers can be devestating - the Jakarta can help a great deal here.
 * Shaltari: Where the Jakarta is perhaps the least useful. Shaltari CAW, outside of a few specific ships, is rarely of note, and in the case of said specific ships, will either have the Beam special rule, or be powerful Maulers that are simply too much for Jakartas to handle especially well. Shaltari bombers are at their worst equal to yours on paper, but the Shaltari will rarely find themselves fielding too many of them.
 * Resistance: Resistance bombers suck against the UCM, to the point in which Jakartas can feel like insane overkill. The mediocore at best CAW of the Resistance also can make the Jakarta feel a tad pointless - however, they can prove useful in deal with small fireship attacks, although note that too many may overwhelm the capabilities of the Jakarta.

Synergies: Jakartas work best with your light/heavy/regular cruisers and battlecruisers - anything bigger tends to be able to look after itself well enough, and anything smaller tends to be expendable. Jakartas can work particularly well with light cruisers, being fast enough to keep up and serving as a great active scanner.

Lima - Frigate
Role: The Lima has a single role: to light up large enemy ships for your big UCM firepower battlegroups to alpha strike. It is efficient and effective at this role, but it is a rather niche role - the Lima tends to lose it's utility past turns 3-4, once the majority of both sides have reached and/or crossed the center, and it is only useful in battlegroups that feature ships that benefit a great deal from weapons free. For example, there is little point in bringing a group of Limas in the same battlegroup as a pack of New Cairos - a Jakarta and a New Orleans can replicate the same effect, while having far more utility beyond just scanning.

Matchups


 * UCM: A Lima squadron could be useful in assisting in targeting some of the more powerful UCM ships that function effectively on standard orders, like the Osaka and New Cairo, but also work just fine against UCM Heavies and Super Heavies.
 * Scourge: Full Cloak means most of the larger Scourge ships are completely indifferent to Limas, and while perhaps Limas may be useful in hunting down the extremely long ranged Hydra, and perhaps the rarely seen Scourge battleships, the majority of the Scourge are capable of and willing to close the gap in a manner that makes Limas lose their utility even faster.
 * PHR: Limas can pair well with Kievs to snipe the PHR's normally tough Medea strike carrier from a significant range, and in general can help the UCM target the powerful backline PHR heavy cruisers and battleships, like the Heracles and Bellerephon. The slow, but tough and decently armed troopships of the PHR can also make a compelling target, especially in the early stages of a game before they have been able to reach the center.
 * Shaltari: The Lima can help mitigate the severe deficit the UCM has with regard to scan and signature against the Shaltari, giving the UCM a bit of alpha strike ability. It can also force a Shaltari player to be very calculated with their positioning and shield management
 * Resistance: While useful when trying to get an alpha strike off on a Resistance Heavy or Super Heavy, an equal part of the Resistance's firepower and strength lies in Heavy Frigates, which are far from ideal targets for a Lima squad.

Synergies: The Moscow, Kiev and Johannesburg function fantastically with the Lima, all gaining a great deal from weapons free and having easy to set up arcs. The Perth, Beijing and Tokyo can also gain a lot from the Lima, especially the Beijing, but these all require the set up their F(N) weapons, which is harder to set up, often requiring a double activation.

New Orleans - Strike Carrier
Role: Your basic, cheap, and cheerful strike carrier with little bells and whistles, balanced between the tankiness of the PHR's Medea and the speed of the Scourge's Gargoyle. While they are outperformed in the role of delivering dropships by the Lysander most of the time, the New Orleans has an additional role in serving as an active scanner - it's low sig and cheap cost makes it a good way to throw on spikes on the enemy for UCM cruisers and especially light cruisers. However be careful with this, as a ship cannot go down an orbital layer while scanning, and you cannot scan from atmosphere - try and do this early in the game.

Matchups


 * UCM: They have strike carriers and corvettes, you have strike carriers and corvettes, and they are all the same - I dunno what to tell you. I suppose Kievs will make mincemeat of them pretty easily.
 * Scourge: The speed of the Succubus and especially the Nickar give the Scourge a very wide reach with their anti-atmosphere options, so be careful with the positioning of your New Orleans.
 * PHR: Jasons and Echos are the two threats to look out for, both being decent at taking out New Orleans easily. The PHR also have the option of throwing buckets of 6+ dice at New Orleans from low orbit, which is marginally effective, but they will typically have better things to do given how many dice they'll need to throw. If the PHR is relying on their bulk lander destroyers and troopships, keep your New Orleans as safe as you can - you need the efficiency of armour against infantry.
 * Shaltari: The Glass is a decent counter to the New Orleans but lacks the Rear arc on it's Ion Lances - this isn't so much something you can play around as much as it is just something to keep in mind and try and take advantage of if the chance presents itself.
 * Resistance: The Munifex will easily take out New Orleans with it's high amount of quality shots, but their threat range is low, especially once they get into atmosphere - try and abuse this with clever positioning. Also keep in mind that the Resistance lacks open on any of their strike carriers or bulk lander carriers, making their drop carrying ships far less flexible.

Synergies: Perths, New Cairos, Osakas, and Berlins love having the scanning support of a New Orleans. Aside from that, stick them in whatever group that allows them to come on early and get into atmosphere.

Santiago - Corvette
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Istanbul - Monitor
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Vienna - Escort Frigate
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Havana - Destroyer
Role: The Havana has one of the highest threat radii in the entire game, only beaten by the bombers of the Hydra. The Light Torpedoes of the Havana are also versatile weapons - when all launched against a single target, they can be a powerful and consistent anti-armour tool, capable of laying serious hurt on larger targets in the early stages of the game, but can also serve as a way to stunt incoming frigate groups, as a single light torpedo has a good chance of destroying a frigate without being ridiculous overkill. Light Torpedoes also have a niche against stations, as there is very very little someone can do to stop a group of Havanas from destroying a whole objective from the other side of the board. Outside of the Light Torpedo, the Havana essentially becomes an overpriced and less powerful Taipei - it still can find some use in sparring with Light and Medium ships, but don't take it for the CAW.

Matchups


 * UCM: Just a decent anti-armour tool. Keep in mind that the middling range and want for weapons free that the UCM has on it's larger gunboats means range is rarely an issue against the UCM.
 * Scourge: Scourge frigates are capable of going into atmosphere to avoid launch assets, but the Havana and the Light Torpedo is unique in being able to target the Battlecruisers and Dreadnoughts of the Scourge from across the board.
 * PHR: Light Torpedoes are both effective against anti-armour, and ignore the ECM shenanigans of the Calypso - and while they may lack the out and out damage to take massive chunks of HP from the PHR Super Heavy ships in the same way that a large Kiev or New Cairo group can, they are more than powerful enough to put some serious hurt on PHR troopships and heavy cruisers.
 * Shaltari: While there is something to be said for forcing a Shaltari Heavy or Super Heavy to raise shields prematurely and utilize Opal Shield Booster uses, Havanas are not especially suited to deal damage to the Shaltari.
 * Resistance: Light Torpedoes are a good way to strip off Ablative Armour from the larger Resistance ships well before they are able to open fire, although most of the time you will be at a range advantage against the Resistance anyway. They can also serve as a good way to deal with Heavy Frigates, which typically are not going to be in range until they've already gotten themselves into the mix.

Synergies: Havanas don't synergize too well any other ship, giving and getting very little from anything else in the UCM roster. As their primary tool is a launch asset, they don't especially need to have a low SR either - although this changes in scenarios that use distant approach, as Havanas shine best in the earlier turns of the game.

Vancouver - Escort Carrier
Role: The Vancouver is one of the four options the UCM have to bring a lot of launch assets (the others being the Seattle, New York, and Washington), and is the most point efficient launch asset carrier in the entire UCM roster. The Vancouver has the lowest signature out of these options, along with the highest thrust - two highly advantageous features, especially for a launch asset based ship. Having your launch assets spread out across different groups can also be advantageous as well. It doesn't have much in the way of secondary systems, unlike the other UCM launch options, and it does compete in the highly competitive UCM Light slot, but the Vancouver is the UCM's cheapest way to bring a lot of launch assets.

Matchups


 * UCM: Jakartas are a cheap and easy way to deal with bombers, especially mediocre UCM bombers - although with enough of them you may be able to put some extra points of damage out - but UCM launch should not be the core of your strategy in this matchup.
 * Scourge: The Scourge have to rely on fighters to boost their point defense, deterring them from utilizing their powerful bombers, and UCM bombers can serve as a way to go after ships with Cloak and Stealth.
 * PHR: PHR bombers are very scary against the UCM, but if played correctly, you can force them to spend a great deal of their launch assets on fighters to counter your own bombers, which are decently threatening against the PHR - the only thing you need is enough bombers to pose a threat.
 * Shaltari: Launch assets can often be a highly useful tool against the Shaltari, uncaring about their low signature, and forcing difficult decisions with regards to shields. However these cannot be the only part of your strategy, as the other side of the equation is the poor unshielded saves of the Shaltari, which need to be threatened by standard firepower.
 * Resistance: Resistance fighters are fantastic, but their base point defense is poor - however you can keep on hammering away at them with bombers, as Resistance bombers themselves are not a huge threat to the UCM.

Synergies: The Vancouver is a decent active scanner, and the mechanics of launching launch assets encourage them to be spread out amongst differing battlegroups - as a result, they pair well with UCM cruisers, light cruisers, and perhaps the Perth battlecruiser.

Kiev - Heavy Destroyer
Role: A UCM mainstay, the Kiev can serve as a powerful armour buster and an effective anti-atmosphere tool, while having a good stat line that is only inferior to a UCM cruiser's stat line in hull. The Kiev does need to go weapons free in order to maximize its firepower against high armour targets, but it can punch far above its weight whenever it does so - just be sure that whatever they are shooting at won't get a chance to shoot back, as Kievs do not have the hull points to survive much return fire from the battlecruisers and battleships they will commonly go after.

Matchups


 * UCM: The decent all-around armour of the UCM makes the Kiev an attractive choice - the 3+ armour of the Kiev itself is also a selling point here as well, as it means a UCM player will have to fall back on their more dedicated anti-armour weapons, an annoyance when those weapons are normally intended to deal with larger targets.
 * Scourge: The Kiev will struggle to deal with the ships they typically want to go after most like the Scourge battlecruisers and dreadnoughts thanks to Full Cloak and Stealth, but if a group of Kievs is capable of getting into range, they will easily dispose of any ship unfortunate enough to end up in their sights. Kievs are also capable of dealing with the atmospheric capabilities held by Scourge frigates like the Djinn and Scylla. Oculus Beam based ships, along with the Scourge's bombers, can quickly deal with a group of Kievs, and Kievs should especially avoid ending up in close action range, given the quality close action weapons on most ships fielded Scourge, along with Scald.
 * PHR: The Kiev's offensive strengths are on full display against the PHR, as it's one of the best tools against the PHR's combination of good armour saves and higher than average hull. Aside from the obvious targets of PHR troopships, battlecruisers, battleships and dreadnoughts, the Kiev can be especially adept at taking out Medeas, a useful trait against a ship that is normally highly resistant to fire from low orbit. However, the PHR's bombers and and Calibre (L) broadsides are capable of quickly and efficiently taking out Kievs, and Calypsos can often render even the most potentially devastating attack from a Kiev group ineffective.
 * Shaltari: The Shaltari shield mechanic, especially when paired with the Opal, can often make Kievs feel somewhat underwhelming when trying to use them against the larger Shaltari vessels. Voidgates can be fantastic targets though, as shield or not, Voidgates are unlikely to survive a single attack from a Kiev. Shaltari Disintegrator Batteries and Ion Aura equipped ships are capable of dealing with Kievs with some efficiency, but both Shaltari destroyers are especially well suited for dealing with Kievs.
 * Resistance: The decent to high armour values of the Resistance, especially on their larger Grand Cruisers and Grand Battleships means a group of Kievs will find value from their armour busting abilities, easily stripping off Ablative Armour. The low speed and scan of the Resistance can also help a Kiev group stay safe, leveraging their low signature. Heavy Frigates, especially when equipped with Vent Cannons is the biggest threat to the Kiev, alongside the Scenca Detonator, being fast enough to quickly deal with a Kiev group.

Synergies: The Lima complements the Kiev very well, creating a powerful and fast battlegroup with a long range. In general the Kiev works very well with ships that don't mind active scanning, such as the Jakarta or New Orleans - this is not only because it allows a Kiev group to attack large, dangerous targets from a safer range, but because it also allows the Kiev to target strike carriers and other atmospheric vessels in the atmosphere that might otherwise be out of reach.

Lysander - Stealth Lighter
Role: The Lysander performs the role of delivering dropships more effectively than the New Orleans, given that its faster and cheaper - however it has to rely on the atmosphere and its low signature to protect itself, as it dies instantly to most things that can shoot at it. Full Cloak allows the Lysander to take normally highly risky maneuvers, such as using Max Thrust to move up up the board to contest a cluster on the enemy side of the board without much risk. Stealth Observation is an often forgotten rule which is invaluable when using the equally often forgotten Surveying scoring method.

Matchups


 * UCM: The UCM have a moderate number of dice to throw at Lysanders from low orbit, and an ok tool to deal with the Lysander in the Santiago, however dropships and armour will struggle against more bombardment focused UCM fleets.
 * Scourge: The Scourge have speedy anti-atmosphere vessels that can quickly move to deal with a spread of Lysanders, however the speed of the Lysander, which matches that of the Gargoyle, may allow the UCM to take a bit more initiative when it comes to positioning and the ground game.
 * PHR: The PHR have the sheer number of dice at hand to threaten the Lysander with massed 6+ fire from low orbit, and have decent anti-atmosphere tools to deal with them, however the PHR's typical reliance on bulk landers over dropships makes the Lysander attractive as a cheap source of armour, while the relatively low speed of the Echo means the Corvette may struggle a tad more to deal with a spread of Lysanders in comparison to other Corvettes.
 * Shaltari: The Shaltari's Glass is probably the best equipped ship among all the factions to destroy Lysanders given it's high threat range and number of attacks. Even Voidgates are capable of taking down Lysanders in a somewhat timely manner if there is enough of them present.
 * Resistance: The Resistance only have one anti-atmosphere ship in the Munifex, but like the PHR, have a volume of fire that allows them to potentially deal with Lysanders through throwing handfuls of 6+ dice at them, although their low scan and thrust makes this far less reliable.

Synergies: The Lysander is a highly valuable ship, but can struggle to find a place in a battlegroup, as it's inability to active scan means a group of Lysanders can often feel like it is actively making a battlegroup it is placed into worse, only granting the group a +3 bump to it's SR. It tends to work best with ships that don't typically need a low SR and doesn't need support from Active Scans - typically carriers, such as the New York or Vancouver.

Reykjavik - Cutter
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups

Nuuk - EM Harasser
Role: Description of what the ship does

Matchups


 * UCM: the ship against UCM
 * Scourge: the ship against Scourge
 * PHR: the ship against PHR
 * Shaltari: the ship against Shaltari
 * Resistance: the ship against Resistance

Synergies: ships that work well with this ship, typical battlegroups