List A

Tau Kar'O (Ld. 9)

Explorer Class Starship (Bor'kan Config).....305 points
-(3x) Orcas

Merchant Class Starship (Ke'lshan Config).....170 points
-Superior Hull Structure
-(2x) Orcas

Merchant Class Starship (Dal'yth Config).....120 points
-Superior Hull Structure

Hero Class Starship (Vash'ya Config)

(2x) Defender Class Starship

Messenger Class Starship

Total: 995 points

Basically I think this is a fairly balanced force. I have 18 Torpedoes, 6 Bombers or Fighters, and a good balance of guns at both 45cm and 30cm range. The Messenger will also help with the long range firing, helping me to avoid the right column shift.

I am worried about the lack of Fighters/Bombers I can put out though.

List B

Tau Kar'O (Ld. 9)

Explorer Class Starship (Vash'ya Config).....280 points
-(2x) Orcas

Explorer Class Starship (Bor'kan Config).....280 points
-(2x) Orcas

Hero Class Starship (Vash'ya Config)

Hero Class Starship (Vash'ya Config)

Total: 1000 points

Bit different fleet. Less ships, but higher volumes of shots. I also gain 10 more Fighers/Bombers and 2 Torpedoes compared to List A. Only problem with this list would be its only 8 ships in total, and I lose the Messenger for the long range shooting.

nice lists spec, im a fan of the second one. though i plan on using merchants, its just for fluff reasons, and for completness, i can see you are trying to include a bit of all the things available in teh fleet as well. the merchant though isnt the best ship for its points, and im not a fan of the defender either, id rather have more orcas. for the second fleet, ive found its best to stick with one option for ships, either torp or squadron varients. either option is fun, combined with two heroes you would have nice torp power, and still be feilding a large amount of squadrons for 1k.