Just for conversations sake (and 'cause it's dead around here): What is, in your opinion, the best ship available for its cost?
We could have multiple categories divided by type of ship and whether it is from the "official" sets or something made here (Sea Gods, SWO, Brigs, etc). So, best Battleship, Wizards or "custom;" best Cruiser, Wizards or custom, etc.
Also, what is, in your opinion, the best ship over-all for the cost?
Fell free to interpret the question as you wish. I am just trying to get a conversation going so feel free to be creative.
The first ship that comes to my mind is the Graf Zepplin. For a mere 18 points you get an nicely gunned cruiser with a capacity of 2 air units!
I’d throw in for the Giorgios Averof. 17 points for a heavy cruiser with secondaries that are more powerful than a lot of cruisers primaries. Sure, it’s only range 3 and it’s slow, but when the enemy has to close range, it can really lay down some hurt.
BB; Richelieu at 54pts best bang for the buck BB' 40PT Range A close one but i like West Virginia over Warspite BC; Repulse at 33pts.
Cruiser;; Belfast -- Close seconds Algérie TP -- Cleveland ER4
CV;; Lots of good choices here, i think the CAP 3's are most cost effective and i like a CV with 3 Expert SA's so Saratoga and Akagi the better defensive line worth the points.
DD's;; To me DD's are good for Controlling Subs and their Torpedo line; not bringing a knife to a gun fight;
V Olga best safe torp. line at 7 pts. at 8pts the Kidd can't beat Flethcher's Armor 3; will not pay any more for a DD
Sub;; U 510 -- Truculent a close second
Fighter;; for the cost P-40-- carrier Pick-em Wildcat--Elite Zero --Me 109
Dive Bomber;; Dauntless Torpedo Bomber; Kate 97
PB;; Kondor;; Worth their weight for what they do; B-24 ASW -- Ju88 All around -- Sparviero Torps
BB: Upper: Massachusetts; only 56 points and incredible guns and armor Middle: Nagato ; Great guns all around, flag 2, and only slow 1 Lower: Dunkerque; 36 for what you get plus expert spotting is exceptional
CV: Lexington; 24 points, mid range, great armor, TD1, a couple decent SA's and flag 1
CA: Heavy: Haguro; Needs no explanation Light: Giuseppe Garibaldi; might come as somewhat of a surprise, but at 13 points it has good guns, present secondaries, solid armor, and two great SA's. For me it's hard to beat the cost on this one. I like the Cleveland but this does a lot of that cheaper.
DD: Kidd; I really like this unit, and in my personal opinion its the best Fletcher (from the original sets). At 8 points, the SA's make this unit, and the armor of 3 should never be underestimated.
SS: U-66; This category is really close, but I think the combination of Wolfpack and Elusive Quarry make this unit lethal, especially against British fleets who rely heavily on Sub Hunter.
Fighter: Martlet Mk. II; For 6 points it is very impressive
Dive-Bomber: D4Y1 "Judy"; Slightly more cost effective than the SBD in my opinion, but extremely close.
Torpedo Bomber: TBF-1 Avenger; Another surprise unit, but for 11 points, the durability you get is unequal anywhere aside from the obvious TBF itself. Rugged helps this along and AP 6 is a nice touch.
Patrol Bomber: Ju-88A4; this thing is the Swiss-army knife of the sky. It can do just about anything needed for a very reasonable cost.
6hp BB The Musashi is simply disgustingly cheap for the survivability and insta-kill factor. Upper 50's: It's very hard to argue with Massachusetts, but Alabama gets the edge for me. That extra pseudo-hull point/vital dodge can be a tremendous difference maker. Mid 50's: Hard to argue against Richelieu, but I'm going with Tirpitz. ER5, Flag2, 9AA, extra die at R3+, plus 2nds AND 3rds. This is a 58 point boat with only one flaw (8 armor). High40/Low 50's: The Nagato is the show-stealer here. The flaw is slow 1...the benefits are amazing. The Tirpitz of the value bracket. Low 40's...Meh. Battlecruisers - The Renown is a beast! The cheapies - It's very easy to underestimate an OktRev until you have to face a swarm of them and you didn't bring subs or air.
Expensive Heavy Cruisers - best value is Haguro and it's not even close. Though in the right build, the Chikuma pays for itself many many times over. The low-cost cruisers - Sheffield @ 12 points or Helena @ 14. They both do their jobs with lethal efficiency.
DD's - USS Johnston is very hard to counter, but the best value is probably the Arunta. Lot of good DD options though to be honest
Subs - U66 remains a very deadly player in the underseas realm, but Ro-41 is an underrated and very useful sub in many situations.
Fighter - the F4F takes the cake for most stacked fighter for cost. 7 points for an extremely robust, 3 MG strafer that can become a 8AA fighter on defense. It's kit is loaded! Even in latewar games, I gladly drop a Hellcat and a P40 for 2 F4F's.
Bomber - Bombers hate me. They all annihilate me when I have to face them, but drop like flies when I use them. DB/TB/PB it doesn't matter. Because of PtA the Dauntless is more useful to me than the Helldiver, but I fail so many rolls ( and lose a few in the drink for good measure) it's more of a wash than good comparison. The only Bombers I've ever had really good luck with are the Fireflies and Sturmoviks. But they are quite expensive and not the most robust.
Special Unit Mention - Atlantis! I love me a good Atlantis trap. It's a kamikaze move, but when it works it is oh so sweet!
Most of what I would pick has already been mentioned
BB - Richelieu but North Carolina is pretty good BC - Alaska Carrier - Graf Zep Sub: - U66 edges out U510 Cruiser - Haguro FF - Original Wildcat DB - Original Dauntless PB - Kondor