I got a game in against Empire of the Burning Sun tonight and I walked away with a lot of valuable information about the contents of the CoA starter.
Aristotle Class Battleship - Tank. With re-rollable shields and the ability to pseudo-submerge to dodge some attacks, its probably the most durable battleship in the game right now. Only when 3 frigates, 2 bombers, and the enemy battleship converged on it did hull points start to drop off. When the Time Dilation Orb comes out, this durability will get even better!
It has amazing firepower as well. Its flashiest weapon is its Particle Accelerator. Its range is really short, but if you can line up its beam properly, you can take out a bunch of frigates in one shot. Its broadsides are solid in bands 1 and 2. The Main Turrets are killers in the lower bands and passable at higher. In combination with the Target Painter Generator (+1 to hit affected model), it really lays down the hurt in RB 1.
Like all Antarctican ships, its AP isn't the best. However, it makes up for it with a solid AA stat (which really shines with a Tiny Flyer fighter doing CAP).
The versatility, durability, and raw power make this probably the best battleship in the game and a focal point of the starter force.
Plato Class Cruiser - Like their larger cousin, they are surprisingly durable due to shields and Inventive Scientists. Excellent Main Turrets and solid broadsides are the major selling points. They link fire very well, making them threats for even the larger ships especially if they have been successfully painted.
Even when looking at all the unreleased models, this cruiser stands out. I think it may be the best model in the fleet and easily the best in the box.
Diogenes Class Frigate - Every battlebox needs a stinker (except for the FSA, apparently) and this is the Antarcticans'. Fore torpedoes and p/s broadsides. Hooray. No self-linking fire, virtually no protection from flyers, boarding, or torpedoes. On top of this, the Plutarch Destroyer coming out next month is 10 points more but has linkable weapons AND pack hunter. Uhg. Worst frigate in the game.
In closing, fuck you Diogenes. I hate you.
Ptolemy Class Bomber - Eh. I want to love this model. It looks awesome. Its maneuverable (not the MAR
), can drop mines, and uh... looks awesome. Its 7AD bombs make me rage. Linking fire with the squadron is incredibly inefficient. The fore guns are a joke at 4AD.
While the bombs are no EotBS and the gunnery is no Prussian, the mines do add a level of board control to the force. Unlike the other factions, which have serious ass kickers, the CoA brings a little more utility to the table with their bomber.
Energy Weapons - While not a model, I thought I'd mention how I felt about the Energy Turrets a few of the ships have the option of using. If you plan on staying 24.5-32" away from your opponent, they're heavy hitters. Once you move down the RBs, they start to suck pretty fast. At RB 3, the conventional turrets are just as powerful. At RB 1 and 2, the Energy Turrets fall behind very quickly. While in theory, holding back your forces and pounding the enemy with high power long range shots seems great. The biggest issue is that the CoA just doesn't have the mobility on their big ships to keep that distance.
Sadly, I think Energy Turrets will almost always be a poor choice.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with the box set. The Diogenes will be replaced ASAP with Plutarchs but I expect to use every other model fairly consistently. I'm probably going to track down another 3 Platos and 2 more Ptolemys to round out the force.
