Thread:Wazat/@comment-27613051-20161214021819/@comment-454133-20161214212839

I finally have two huge imperial ships (assault carrier and raider), which I bought used. I haven't played with them yet though, haven't had the time.

I have fought a few battles against huge ships. Epic battles go a lot slower, and it helps if everyone spends their time planning out their turns so they're not taking excessive time during their turn. At 200 squad points and higher, you have so many ships and upgrades, you really need to be comfortable with the rules and on top of your fleet or the game can slow to a crawl. The person managing the huge ship, for example, has a lot of minutia to manage, and during his turn is a rough time to check the rules if he could have done it while his opponent moved his ships. Practicing a few turns alone can help you familiarize yourself with all the steps. Also, play a 200 point game to start, not 300+. That's just crazy. :D

As for which huge ship to get, I'd say other people here are the best to ask, since I don't have enough first-hand experience yet. I'm particularly fond of the Tantive and Raider simply for how they look; they are gorgeous ships. If you're allowed to proxy cards then you don't have to worry about which upgrades come with which ships, and you can buy based on which ship and faction abilities excite you. Huge ships move differently too, and you can really mess yourself up hitting smaller ships and obstacles, but that can also be strategicallly useful too (it insta-kills smaller ships it overlaps), and I think it's an imperial crew that reduces the threat from obstacles. I believe there's a Rebel crew that lets you clear target locks on the huge ship, making it hard to drop tons of torpedoes and missiles on it (but I got around that with bombs). :D  So explore the faction-locked upgrades and pilot abilities and see if something sounds fun.

I do know that the Imperial Assault Carrier is much lighter on points, and people tend to fly it as a support craft instead of as the main damage dealer. That contrasts a lot with other huge ships, which tend to be regarded as the most serious threat on the table. Because it's so cheap in points, so you can field a larger escourt fleet with it. I assume that feels very different from the larger ships that sink most of the squad points into themselves.

You're probably looking at $50 or $100 for a huge ship if you buy new, so it's fine to not be in a hurry to get one (that's a lot of smaller ships you could buy instead). If I'm totally honest, my advice is to do what I did: If you see a huge ship on sale for a good price (especially one that's used and discounted to 1/3rd MSRP or lower), grab it. But I'm a cheap, cynical jerk. ;)