Another surprise benefactor of the ‘no dreadnought’ list building format is the A/H Kriegsmarine. This is because of the Radetzky class pre-dread.

Yes she is far more expensive than the cap ships we have discussed so far but she is a perfect match for the torpedo spam list. She has protection 1, M size and eight first class directed guns. She is faster than most pre-dreads so she takes longer to chase down with torpedo boats. This gives your light cruisers more time to spend shooting at them. As a result you can run a list with one less light cruiser to protect your BB’s.

BATTLE SQUADRON

Flagship

SMS Radetzky (1911) [105]

Battleships

SMS Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand (1910) [105]

SCREENING SHIPS

Light Cruisers

SMS Saida (1914) [23]
SMS Zenta (1899) [23]
SMS Szigetvár (1901) [23]

SUPPORT SHIPS
Destroyer

SMS Balaton (1913) [33]

SMS Tátra (1913) [33]

SMS Huszár (1911) [18]

Destroyer leader

SMS Helgoland (1914) [23]

Points: 386/400

The Novara class in this list are a part of your torpedo attack. Leaving your BB’s with only the two Zenta class LC to keep them safe. Lead your attack on your enemy BB’s and AC’s with the cheap and nasty Huszar then follow up with twelve torpedoes from the rest of the boats.

There are lots of points left for the two fire control upgrade cards to really make those 12″ range band guns hit home.

Let’s talk about all out attack.

BATTLE SQUADRON

Flagship

HMS King Edward VII (1905)

Battleships

HMS Africa (1905)

HMS Hibernia (1905)

SCREENING SHIPS

Light Cruisers

HMS Challenger (1904), HMS Encounter (1905)

HMS Topaze (1904), HMS Sapphire (1905)

‘Eddie’ is the RN’s poster boy. All guns no protection. Yes 1 really makes a difference. Having three of these ‘six gun supermen’ is all about beating your opponents ability to take evasive action. Your opponent shakes one set of ranging in and you just start with another from your next King Edward. This list will punish your opponent for taking an armoured cruiser as well. Don’t forget two sets of directed guns means two different directed gun targets! Send the 4+ FP guns at an armoured cruiser while hitting a BB with the 3+ guns.

Range is the asset you are looking for here. Put these three at the very back of your deployment zone and let the 12″ range band on their guns make all the difference.

This list has a two tiered defense. Put your two Challengers out into the middle of the table to utilize their nasty long range gear and the Topaz will finish off what gets through them. Feel free to lose all your cruisers as long as the 267 points worth of Eddies are left. If you do have a DD break through all that, check out the aggressive self defense these pre-dreads have. Seven 12/18 guns.

I hope you give this format a go. It really is a completely different experience from the ‘Open’ format. Next time we discuss the ‘Chase the HMS Dreadnought’ format.

If you are interested in this style of play don’t forget day three of CANCON 25′ still has spots available.

Cheers and a happy 2025 to you!

-Ben

As we are doing something a little different for CANCON on Day Three, I’d thought I’d share some list ideas for our Pre-Dreadnoughts only tournament.

Firstly, here are the rules:

• 400 point lists only.

• No ships after 1914. (You can include ships from 1914).

–The only ships you can have in your battle squadron are Pre-Dreadnoughts. (No Battle cruisers or dreadnoughts)

-No Lord Nelson Class ships. (Not cricket. This class isn’t really a Pre-Dread).

I use Lord Nelsons when ever I can. I am a really big fan of the class. Sadly, she is just too advanced for this format and would dominate list building.

If you have a bit of a click through list building following the above rules you will see it still leaves a lot of options open. The 1914 date helps many nations field a good mix of gear. In truth, the RN could be limited to earlier but we will see what our players deliver.

The bad news is the Ottomans are out. The format doesn’t allow BC. Sorry Ottoman players!

What this format does do is let other ships rise to the top of the pile. I will highlight this in some lists below. Without a dreadnought on table to ruin your second line battleships’ day, its fun to see just how many great ships there are to choose from.

All this being said, Pre-Dread combat is a completely different game. For a start, your older destroyers are way faster than the average Pre-Dread. So DD’s you normally skip past are good again, especially considering the thin 400 point total. Pre-Dreads have just 6 hull. Any torpedo hit will cripple them. Given that some nations can put a DD on table for less than 20, the DD spam can be even spammier!

Pre-Dreads have a low directed gun count so ranging in isn’t the end of your enemy battleship. It takes time and patience to grind your way though your opponents hull count. This opens up room for evasive action to really work keeping your cap ships alive if you are on the pointy end of a round one double 6.

At around 85 points each your 400 point lists can go as high as three Pre-Dreads! This makes the table look a lot more like Tsushima era combat. It also build a formidable hull point wall your opponent has to push through to get the big points from your fleet.

Don’t forget to add aircraft. 15 points to get you the jump on your opponents ranging in attempt can be game changing.

Okay, without more text, lets get to list ideas…

BATTLE SQUADRON

Flagship

SMS Preussen (1905) [94]

Battleships

SMS Braunschweiger (1904) [94]

SMS Lothringen (1906) [94]

SCREENING SHIPS

Light Cruisers

SMS Mainz (1909) [26]

SMS Magdeburg (1912) [30]

SMS Kolberg (1908) [26]

SMS Augsburg (1910) [26]

Points: 390/400

So here we have a list that has the all important ‘Protection 1’. It is a big ‘point wall’ (hiding your fleets points behind big hull counts and strong armour). The cruisers are there just to keep DD from getting to your ‘point ships’. They all have torpedo rooms though so if you have the chance launch, do it every activation! These BB’s have a high directed gun count so getting points, from AC and protection 0 BB will be easier than most. If your opponent has a used all of their 400 points, you might be able to use ‘advanced gunnery’ upgrades to pick on a single ship with two of yours.

BATTLE SQUADRON
Flagship
Danton (1911) [91]
Battleships
Voltaire (1911)

SCREENING SHIPS
Armoured Cruiser
Victor Hugo (1905)
Leon Gambetta (1905)

Light Cruisers
Friant (1895)
Chasseloup-Laubat (1895)
Bugeaud (1895)

Points: 399/400

Unlike the RN, the French Navy budget was strangled by the necessaries of the land war; otherwise we would have these beauties! It might surprise you to see that France is an apex predator in this list format. Check out Danton Class:

She has the same number of directed guns as the Braunschweiger (Der Shwagger) but because of her points reduction from her gun keyword, they are all better. Add protection 1 to the mix and you have a BB killer. She can’t defend herself so the Friants must always be between the enemy DD’s and your point box. Space them out so when your Danton slides forward she has a clear line of sight to the enemy BB’s. You don’t want to give your opponent free obstruction save bonuses.

Speaking of bonuses, the French has one of, if not THE best, AC in the game.

Leon Gambetta (Le’ Bettah) has speed 6 and size M, making her fast and hard to hit, she has the best AC protection of -1 and to top it off she has the best DD killing guns in the game! Seven of them. Give her a more speed order to get her 12″ torpedo room in range of something big & slow and you have expendable mid field power.

I will leave this format with you to try with your favorite nation. I am sure you will find it a refreshing change from the normal shopping list BB’s you default to when building a 600 point fleet.

I’ll be back a little later with two more lists for this format.

-Ben

I don’t know what to type! These pictures speak for themselves!

The accuracy in this work is so good! Even the wash is tamed! If you zoom in you can clearly see Matt has used high lights on the grey.

10/10 Matt! Thanks for sharing your First Scouting Group with us!

Not quite the Iron Duke but a steam powered ship none the less. If you are in Queenstown New Zealand it is well worth taking a cruise. I visited because it has all the character, noise and movement of the Dreadnought era.

Originally built to move livestock to remote farms by water Ernslaw has been renovated for passengers with two legs and fat wallets. You can learn more of her history here: wiki link.

The heat the funnel gives out inside the ship is surprising. The sound of the screws pushing the ship along at speed reminds me of Das Boot audio. Best of all, the engine room is open for passengers to watch the five man crew work the engines. Nothing beats the smell of oil, steam and coal.

The view from the ship is ok too.

For the ship painters out there this deck is not holystoned. I get questions about deck wood colour a lot.

I chose to capture much of this experience for you in video because it is the movement and sound of steam power that makes it so different to any other boat ride.

Moving the coal in the bunker towards the engine room.

The above is the view you get from the passenger deck. You can however get into the engine room and stand above it even while the ship is in motion.

Hope you enjoyed seeing just a little piece of the fun. Even in summer it was very cold on the deck. I recommend a good jacket and jeans. Even if the locals are in ‘Jandals” cheers all, Ben.