Is the Victory 1 Star Destroyer Obsolete?

With the continued spoiling of Armada's Wave VI, we got the full specs of the Quasar class Carrier for the Imperials. The Quasar was seen mostly in the Star Wars Rebels animated show.  This new expansion is designed to give the Imperials something they've had already in their Victory Star Destroyers, but at a much more points efficient 54 or 61 point varieties.  The Quasar come standard with at least one weapons team and one offensive retrofit (double depending on the variety you choose).  Its native Squad 4 is the same as an ISD, and can easily be pushed to 5 for still just about half the points of an ISD1.  The titles for the ship are extremely synergistic, from being able to pull out a squadron command when you need it to obstructing every attack thrown at your Swarm fighters.

This of course, plays directly into the obsolescence of the famed Victory Class Star Destroyers, type 1.  The VSD comes standard in the Core Set for the Imperials, and for much of Waves 1 and 2 was a workhorse.  Not ever being super points efficient, 8 hull and good shields with Weapons Team slot and Offensive Retrofit made it the go to Imperial Carrier if taking the VSD1 variant.  The VSD2 has always lagged behind because of its cost, but it might see some time in the sun again following the release of Disposable Capacitors as a long range fire support ship. 

The VSD1 could take a beating from enemy ships and squads while still continuing to hand out squad commands, and when timed right had enough Engineering Points to keep itself on the board in crucial moments. However, kitting one out as a carrier racked up the points quickly, and for a ship that without the skilled commanding of Moff Jerjerrod could not keep its front guns pointed at the enemy without spending precious commands navigating, nor could it use its class leading 3 black dice easily.  It also didn't help that players typically had to forgo upgrades that would help even out the fickle Red Dice the VSD1 had at range to get the max from its carrier abilities.  Now we get the Quasar that could potentially have Flight Controllers, Expanded Hangar Bay, Boosted Comms and the Stronghold tittle for just 2 points more than the naked VSD1.

Even the Card art has it getting blown up

The Quasar suffers some of the same drawbacks the VSD1 has, namely if kitted for carrier duty it loses a lot of its chances to be a more efficient combat ship. It cannot take some of the better Weapons teams upgrades if its looking to up its fire rate (Gunnery Team) or even out its dice rolls (Veteran Gunners).  It also lacks the VSDs staying power, with its rather abysmal defense token suite and the low amount of shielding.  This one hurts since its unlikely to ever be able to really use its Boarding Teams upgrades before it gets shot up on approach. These drawbacks though don't really tilt things towards the VSD1 for maintaining its primary carrier roll.

If the VSD1's days of being the main fleet carrier, what role can it fill?  It still is a survivable gunship, and has a solid 3 Squad rating.  There is a chance with the External Racks upgrade that is forthcoming it could again work as a very good area denial piece.  But that's a niche role going forward, since the Gladiator fills a similar role for a relatively equal price and is more efficient of  a killing machine for the points..  It also is not nearly as good as say an Arquitens and Gozanti Cruiser for the same price in terms of fire support and overall fleet composition. 

Perhaps its lone spot will be with the Quasar, as the tank to soak up approaching fleets shots, and equipped with Veteran Gunners and Dual Turbolaser Turrets it could effectively support bombers with long range shots that hurt.  Its just not likely though that the VSD1 will see much time on the mat following the Quasar's release.