I know I am not the first to say this.
I know the old guard and Classic players will crucify me.
I know there will likely be no changes as a result of my post.
But here goes: The Fascists suck.
I am not the best player. Based on my record with other races, I should not expect to win with the Fascists. But if my skills remain relatively constant (with slow improvement), then my record with the Fascists should be similar to what it is with other races. it is emphatically not. In my opinion, the reasons for that can be separated into three overlapping piles. Pile #1: The Fascist ship list is garbage. Pile #2: The Fascist advantages do not fit into categories that win games. Pile #3: With the exceptions Pillage and Glory devices, there is nothing the Fascists do that one or more other races don't do better.
I'll start with the ship list, because it really is the Achilles' Heel of the Fascists. And I'll start at the top, with the flying turd known as the Vickie. It is acceptable, even understood, that it can't and won't compete with heavy carriers. On paper it is better than a T-Rex, but Lizard crew bonus and double beams muddy the waters on direct comparisons. It is obviously better than the Priv "capital ship", but Privs don't build capital ships, they steal them. It's worse than an Annihilation, a ship the Borg rarely use. It is a virtual twin for the Diamond Flame, but the Crystals at least also have access to the Crystal Thunder. The Dark Wing beats it in mass, weaponry, and has advanced cloak. The Vickie needs a boost. I see three options: #1 Boost it's mass, because right now it pays a full priority point for 1 ton of mass. Boosting it's mass to 475 or so from 451 makes for a better PP investment without making the Vickie overly powerful. #2 Drop it's mass by 1, making it cost one less PP and again making it a better PP investment. Or #3 Boost it's weapons to match the Dark Wing's 8 tubes. Personally, I'd opt for #1 or #2, and if it was #2 I'd apply the same change to the Diamond Flame.
Next up is minelayers. The Fascists have two options, the D7 and the Ill Wind. They both stink for different reasons when compared to the principal minelayers of other race (except for the Empire, who are jealous of the D7 and Ill Wind). In the case of the D7 the problem is small cargo space. An argument could be made that the cloaking ability offsets that weakness, but the LCC, MCBR, and Resolute all have bigger cargo spaces than the D7. For the Ill Wind, the problem is that it is a fuel-guzzling hog that is under-armed (the D7 shares the fuel-guzzling problem). Sure, it can beat every other principal minelayer out there except for perhaps a Resolute or Emerald in straight up combat, but that is more about it's mass than it's weaponry. The Cobol delivers nearly as many mines, generates fuel, and has a bioscanner. The Firecloud has more mines and chunnels. The Resolute cloaks, the Cat's Paw doesn't guzzle fuel, and the Nebula is arguably better armed. The MCBR can't deliver as many mines, but has the speed and cloaking, and the Emerald and Tranquility carry more mines while using less fuel. I would suggest a cheap campaign upgrade for the D7 that adds cargo space, and a not-as-cheap upgrade for the Ill Wind that adds a torpedo tube and more cargo space.
Next up is cloakers, which are vital to properly utilizing both the Pillage mission and the ground attack bonus to it's full effect, as well as sneaky minelaying. The Fascist cloakers each are sub-par in weaponry, mass, fuel tanks/range, and ill-suited to maximizing ground attacks due to limited cargo space (for the D7 it is only weaponry and cargo). A Lizard commander lucky enough to find an opponent's homeworld early and drop a full LCC worth of clans onto it cripples their opponent's homeworld economy for several turns. Two LCC's worth of clans can stunt it's growth for dozens of turns. Between the lower combat bonus (which the Fascists pay less for, so that's not bad) and the lower cargo capacity of the D7, this is not a strategy the Fascists can realistically employ even if they do get lucky and find that homeworld. They instead have to find an unguarded homeworld so that they can drop clans and Pillage. Even ignoring that fantastic homeworld-finding scenario, Fascist cloakers are generally inferior to the LCC, the MCBR, and the Resolute, not to mention the Dark Wing. Suggestion to improve are the same campaign upgrade mentioned for the D7 above, and perhaps yet another campaign upgrade to the Deth Specula, again building off of the Armored Frigate, but instead of adding more stealth tech, adding more mass, cargo, and fuel capacity to add range, make it more durable in combat, and provide for better ground attack options.
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