Yes, this is exactly as I suspected. This is why I think the Vanguards working together are going to become the standard strike platform for boarding in space. With a single Sentinel to fly point and confuse the target "oh, there's a Lancer coming in", a Harbinger or two and a Hoplite or two, fat cat packages like StarG's, Caterpillars, Connies, Tallies, BMMs, 890s, Carracks, all the Hulls, Reclaimers, Starliners, Endevors, Crucibles, even the HH, Polaris, Idris and especially the Kracken--which does not require enough crew to keep it safe--are all going to be favored targets for boarding. If it is too big to dodge at 5-7 km range, it is a prime target. Even the many S5 guns of the HH can't save it if they can't hit their opponents at great range. Really S3 and above missiles are the only hope here and we still don't know if we can shoot those down. Could be a single Hurricane with 4 S3 scatterguns is all that is needed to protect an entire wing of Vanguards from incoming missiles.
This is BTW, the whole notion behind running smaller, lighter, faster Mechs in the Mechwarrior world. Medium Mechs equipped to run very fast are devlilishly hard to hit at range, yet can hit the bigger Mechs with ease. This is a battle tested strategy.
You can work out attack scenarios based upon stealth instead of speed, using Eclipse, Prowlers, and even Ravens, but my guess is the Vanguard is going to wear that unique "long range attack platform" package as a legendary base for pirate and privateering functions. CIG keeps suggesting the Connie as a pirate ship but I just don't see it.
At 7km the Vanguards can knock shields down and spike a target with impunity by strafing to avoid incoming, and they can control the distance to every one of these targets above. The only thing they can't do very easily is cope with fighter escorts, so if you want to be safe, plan to use escorts. Turrets will not keep big ships safe, IMHO.
