The D'deridex class Romulan Warbird is the workhorse of the Romulan fleet. One of three vessels included in the starter set, at first glance it is also the least impressive. It has no rear firing arc, relatively few green maneuvers on its dial, a weak Attack value, and a hefty price of 28 for the generic ship or 30 for one of the named versions. Of the three starting vessels, it is the least suited to taking opponents head on.
So what do you get in return for nearly a third of your squadron points in a standard game? Despite the above weaknesses, quite a bit. The Warbird is the most durable ship in the game, sporting 2 Agility, 3 Shields, and 6 Hull; it can keep on fighting where other ships would be destroyed. It's also maneuverable. While the Warbird lacks straight line speed and has only a few green maneuvers, it has an abundance of white moves, including hard 2 & 3 turns, as well as the ability to reverse course without changing its facing. It can fly rings around the Federation, while maintaining a slight edge against the Klingons and Dominion.
It only gets better when you consider the Warbird's action bar. First and foremost are the options to Cloak and Sensor Echo. Effective Cloaking is the key to using the Warbird; in almost every game, this should be the first thing you do. Cloaking dramatically increases a Warbird's survivability, boosting its base Agility to 6. While this is by no means impenetrable, it substantially reduces incoming damage; not only does it have the highest damage threshold in the game, but it potentially has the highest damage reduction. Cloaking also gives you access to the Sensor Echo action, which, while situational, can substantially increase the Warbird's room to maneuver and get it out of the way of incoming fire.
The other two actions, Evasive Maneuvers and Target Lock, are almost as important. Evasive Maneuvers, while not as essential to a Warbird as to other vessels, can still be the difference between taking damage and escaping unscathed, and should be considered whenever you're throwing a Warbird into situation where multiple ships will have it in their firing arcs, or when your own attack has little chance of damaging an opponent. Target Lock is equally important, as it is the only way for the Warbird to boost its own attacks, either in the form of rerolls or firing off a secondary weapon.
Finally, there are its Upgrade options. This is another area where the Warbird shines. With the generic versions possessing two slots for Crew and a single each for Weapons and Tech, the Warbird can be heavily customized for specific tasks. Available upgrades will be considered in later posts, but suffice it to say that the Warbird has some excellent options that can make it significantly more dangerous on the tabletop.
The key to getting the most out of a Warbird is timing. While Cloaked it can absorb most basic attacks; the problem becomes what to do when it is time to fire back, as doing so will drop the cloak at the end of the turn. While you can always Cloak again next turn, this will take up your action, and you will likely have to contend with being at close range to an opponent who has a higher Attack value and at least one damage buff available. Approach your opponent slowly if possible; on a standard board you should be able to Cloak before other ships are anywhere near firing range. Ideally you want to be able to Target Lock when your opponent is taking shots at Range 3, where he'll need to get through 7 dice to damage you. If Target Lock isn't an option due to range or a cloaked enemy, then Evade or Sensor Echo to prevent even more damage or improve your position next turn. If you can establish a Target Lock at range, then you can risk closing with the other ship, boosting your attack while preserving the extra defense dice from Cloak and keeping the option to use Evasive Maneuvers. Sensor Echo may allow you to get outside of an opponent's fire arc completely if you feel confident in guessing their moves at this stage. Rinse and repeat if using single ships, or focus on a single vessel in the hopes of bringing it down in one pass if using multiple ships of your own.
Remember that your main defense is in having the 6 defense dice granted by Cloak, and maintain that for as long as possible. Don't be afraid to to trust in your shields after the first shot, particularly if you have a chance to do substantial damage on the next turn, but be aware they will buckle under sustained fire, and take the ability to Cloak and Sensor Echo with them.
Finally, a few words on the named versions of the ship. Like all the named vessels, they have 1 additional Shield, and both have a special ability designed to boost damage. The Khazara comes with the starter set, and gets an additional attack die on the turn it decloaks. This isn't a great ability, but it does help with Warbird's subpar damage output. It also comes with a third Crew slot, allowing for some extra customization. The second, the Aj'Rmr, is an OP 3 prize; it allows the reroll of one attack die for every point of damage done to its hull. This is potentially much better, as it applies every turn, and meshes well with the tendency of the Warbird to take incremental damage. After 2-3 damage, the Aj'Rmr is very close to being perpetually Target Locked on whatever it fires on. Neither named ship is essential, but both provide respectable boosts to the weakest area of any Romulan fleet - firepower.
Overall the Warbird is just as useful as the other starter set vessels, and can be an asset in almost any style Romulan fleet. It is extremely durable, versatile, and can do appreciable damage given the correct setup.
