@Soka Paint:
Thanks for the tips, I appreciate you taking the time to type up an extensive response to my experiences. I read your post on your tournament win a couple of pages ago, I salute you!
After having read your reply a couple of days ago, I am definitely considering growing the Skyhook unit to 30 men, on foot, with a Khemist nearby. This will clear up some space in the boat and will make it so that I don't really need a second boat. The Frigate is on the painting table right now, but all and all I am not liking the boats. But maybe I am spoiled, I am used to Venoms. 24" for 18 Skyhook shots sounds pretty nasty.
Putting the Ironclad and the Riggers ahead of the objective was exactly what I tried. I put the Admiral on top of the objective and screened him with the Ironclad and the Riggers. I failed the hook and charge with the Riggers, which was a big deal, but I was definitely not expecting two Morghasts, 3 Spirit bases and a few Graveguard to kill the entire screen in almost one swoop. I feel that, might I have held on a bit longer, this screening tactic might have worked. I didn't get a chance to heal the Ironclad or fly it out. Maybe next time I will!
I might even try a different Skyport. I painted my models in the Zilfin scheme, because I like the Zilfin colours, but I might just try different Ports during the game.
@stato:
Thanks for the tips, you're definitely right. With a bit more practice, I could probably get more out of this game. For the record, I did exactly what you suggested: I focused on one objective, ignoring the other. I figured that, since I had the first turn and could be on the objective turn 1, I would rack in more points than his 40 skeleton + Necro flank which would take 2 turns to get on top of the objective. I split his forces successfully and was able to ignore 40 skeletons and a Necromancer the entire game, but that didn't stop the other half of his army to table me in effectively 2 rounds of combat, with no chance for me to get a response in in between (AoS double-turn is very swingy). I might have fared better if I had spread my forces a bit more. The 3" pile-in in AoS still surprises me. And yeah, I will definitely play more effectively in the future with a bit more practice.
On your other points, I think you're right on all. The knowledge wasn't lined up in my head at all! The Battletome is a lot to take in, but it's basically impossible for a newbie like me to also take into account all the FAQ's and warscroll changes. Can't keep up
Your three hero points is well taken and I felt the same way. I finished the Khemist and the Navigator recently so I wanted to give them a try, but I usually play Warhammer with the smallest amount of Character models that I have to (still coming from DE, where every HQ you took was basically a mandatory waste of points). Three heroes was two-too-much in my opinion. I think I will, in the future, just settle on the Khemist and see where I go from there..
I see that posting pictures of your miniatures is a thing here.
I have some pictures up of my army here:
Balloons Baby
(Featuring the latest units I painted, my Riggers, Khemist and Navigator)
Army KO
(My army just before the update above, you have to scroll down a bit).
Cheers!