Firestorm Armada -Sorylian Destroyer Review

Spartan Games has kept up a blistering pace of new releases this year and look set to continue into the next. One of the most anticipated releases is the Firestorm Armada Dreadnoughts and Destroyers.

This review looks at the Sorylian Kestros Destroyer. A later review will take a look at the mighty Sorylian Dreadnought.

The Destroyers come packed with two ships, two clear flight stands and a Stats Card.


Model Review

contents of Pack

 The Ships themselves are lovely little models. These are single piece models which, unlike the majority of the Sorylian range, which usually contain a metal Engine endcap.

Without the metal endcap these ships look a lot sleeker then most of the Sorylian fleet.

topside detail

Detail is excellent. Sharp and crisp details are something we've come to expect from Spartan and this ship is no different.

I've also got to say that Spartan has improved their peg holes. I had no problems setting the ships on their stands, it fit snug and was level. This has not been the case for a lot of my Firestorm ships which have needed extra drilling to accommodate the stand.

Fore Detail

There is nothing exceptionally amazing in the design of the ship. they fall well within the established look and feel of the rest of the Sorylian fleet.  Thankfully staying away from the crazy design of the Sorylian Escort.

Aft detail

The Engines look good, with a fair amount of detail.

Model conclusion:
 I prefer the single cast piece over the multi-part standard Sorylian Cruisers. These ships are a sleek and great looking. I recommend these ships to any Firestorm Armada or general Sci-fi fan.





In-game stats and comparison:

R: Heavy Cruiser   L: Destroyer

The Destroyer is an entirely new class of ship, not directly related to the current wet-navy interpretation of a Destroyer.

First lets talk about what the ship can do in the  game. Destroyers are Cruiser sized ships (4 Hull) with powerful armament.

It's on the slow side for a Cruiser, only 8" versus 10" for the standard Cruiser and Heavy Cruiser.
DR/CR is nothing to special, equal to the standard Sorylian cruiser at 4/7.

 The Destroyer is more vulnerable to boarding than all the other Sorylian Cruisers... indicating this ship should not be getting close.

Weapons: This ship's forte is direct fire from the front with a powerful fixed forward cannon that, at it's best range of RB3 puts out a 7 AD attack.

This is almost double the forward cannons on a standard Cruiser.

It can also pump out a small swarm of torpedoes forward as well.

Lastly this ship has the MAR Hidden Hunter... if it's stopped it can not be targeted from RB3 and 4.

So best case attack scenario. A maxed out squadron of 3 Destroyers Target an enemy that  is at RB3.
You are firing 13 AD from your cannons (7+3+3) and  8 AD of Torpedoes (4+2+2). Compare this to the Standard Cruiser squadron with 3 Cruisers. They can put out 8AD from their guns and 8AD from torpedoes.

The downside is most of the Destroyers weapons are fixed... once flanked by speedier enemies the Destroyer will be a liability, as at close range the performance of their main weaponry is seriously degraded.
Proper fleet deployment and support will be necessary to make these ships shine

So overall there seems to be a niche for this ship in the Sorylian Navy except for one thing...

Sorylian Gunship

The Sorylian Bombard Gunship fills the same role of Long Range bombardment and is only 5 points more expensive! 75 versus 70.
At RB3, the Kestros's prefered range band, the a three strong Bombard Squadron is pumping out 16 AD of torpedoes! and 9 AD of direct fire.
For those 5 extra points per ship the Bombard also gets higher CR, Hull points, AP and a shield!

Yes, those 16 AD of torps can be intercepted but represent far more firepower for the points increase.
And yes, the Bombard doesn't have the Hidden Hunter MAR, however it does benefit from a shield and higher overall CR...


At an affordable 70 points this ship this ship is a decent option for a Sorylian fleet that plans on fighting on a somewhat open table. However even then the Kestros shouldn't be your first stop... the Bombard, for only 5 points more per ship, is the better deal. Both of these long range "artillery pieces" are in serious  trouble when flanked by faster enemies.

The MAR for the Kestros is cool but hard to implement... you must come to a stop to use it, surrendering initiative to the enemy, letting them avoid your RB3 or flank you. Skillfully lead ships can also jump your RB3, getting from RB4 to RB2 in a single move, negating your superior firepower.


Conclusion:

From a model standpoint the Kestros Class Destroyer is a win. Spartan took everything that make the Sorylians cool and puts it in a sleek and deadly looking ship. Price wise it's a good deal as well, with two ships per blister pack.

In Game the value isn't so cut and dried... Playing the Long Range game takes a certain tactical finesse and there is a better option in the Bombard Gunship.

Spartan is to be commended in that we now have 4! choices of Sorylian Cruisers. Each one offers something different and all though some are better deals than others they are all great looking and well matched against the other races in Firestorm Armada.