What Do we Call this Ship? (Valdore/Mogai/Neorexan Class)

Today we take an in depth look at the Iconic Valdore/Mogai/Neorexan class answering why this ship has so many Names? Why it is so divisive among fans? in so doing we will explore the unique features hidden under the surface of this supposedly simplistic Design... revealing a cutting edge battlecruiser built for the Dominion War.

Special thanks to the 4th Combined fleet and my own community for the STO screenshots.

[captainyossarian]

0:10 "Why won't Commander Donatra step on me?" I'm not gonna kink shame, VGM, whatever floats your boat. 🤣
Seriously, great in-depth video as always.

[seannewboy]

How can you hate this ship, its beautiful!

[gusty]

"Why won't Commander Donatra step on me?"
Never heard of that controversy before ... Although that would explain his bias towards Romulans :)).

[killingragethrowback]

It feels like the ship was the Romulans seeing the Sovereign class in action and deciding it's time for an upgrade. It's like they decided on a sleeker aesthetic just like the Sovereign.

[_BLACKSTAR_]

The bird of prey is a frigate, but the Kvort class is a heavy cruiser version that is about 5 times the size.
The Defiant is an escort or attack class corvette that is heavily armed and armored.
The Ares was Starfleet's first warship according to "Prelude to Axanar"
Commander Donatra will DEFINITELY step on you for the right price.

[admiralcasperr]

0:10 My headcanon for that is that starfleet first says "we're getting serious, so we made a dedicated warship" and after the war is over, when the wow of "the first warship" passed they quietly change the designation and say "well actually that's an escort ship for _defending_ stuff. Totally not a warship, please forget what we said 10 years earlier. "
It would fit what we see of the federation in TNG and DS9 very well.

[scpguy]

I think Valdore is such a good name since it lines up with past naming conventions for Romulan Warbirds like the D, Deridex

[occultatumquaestio]

A sleek overview of the Mogai (I'm more partial to that name personally, but the other two are fine, given I named my STO Mogai Neorexan). It clearly is a Romulan attempt to pack a stronger punch in a "relatively smaller" package.
While not my favorite Romulan design, I've still always quite liked it.
I look forward to when you convey the reasons behind the brown ones in video form. [Given the effort for the screenshots].

[merafirewing]

I think the Valdore is a better name for the class and I think this particular warbird suffers from an identity crisis. And Donatra is by far the most beautiful romulan character, she just has that tomboyish look to her.

[danielseelye]

5:15 - Is that a Trekyards callout? 😳
Didn't know there was any drama. 🤔

[direnightfury]

I've always thought of the Neorexan as a response to the Sovereign class. It makes sense when you think of the D'deridex as the equivalent to the Galaxy, so when the Federation is pumping out the anti-Borg fleet and the Sovereign class is revealed, the Romulans spend a bit of time studying it, looking at the Battle of Sector 001, and the Sovereign's exploits during the early months of the Dominion war. Add in the fact that after the Tal Shiar tried and failed to exterminate the Founders with only D'deridex, the Romulan's realized they needed a more maneuverable capital ship.

While the Raptor worked, it still had some flaws being an offshoot of D'deridex, so the Romulans wanted a more dedicated battlecruiser/fast warbird, but it wouldn't be ready as fast as they would like, maybe some similar problems as the Defiant where the Neorexan found herself being well overpowered than they expected, thus requiring more work before being fielded. When we see the Neorexan in Nemesis, all the problems have been worked out, or at least realized.

Of course, Nemesis only uses it as a fodder ship so it really seems underwhelming if you just use the film. I will admit though the modular design isn't something I thought of before, so I imagine there are a few torpedo modules, maybe a heavy disruptor if your feeling a bit crazy, additional sensors, or maybe even a hospital module (though that might be stretching it a bit).

[samuelvine]

"Save that for another time".... *insert cartoon curses here* Damn you cliffhangers! *Insert Mulan's Mushu "dishonor on" rant here*

[Co]

I'm with Foley. Always loved the BoP design, and it really bugged me they took it and just gave it to the Klingons for expedience sake, in ST III. I still like the D'Deridex as the best Romulan ship, but i really love the Valdore too, it does look like the BoP, it feels like they finally made it right by giving the Romulans back the ship they stole from them lol. I just wish we'd get to see it do something cool someday. Nemesis wasn't exactly a glorious introduction.

[krim]

Star Trek Attack Wing sells this model under the name Valdore-class. So, to me, it is the Valdore.

[HeadlessChickenTO]

It was introduced as the Valdor, and I shall keep calling it that. I've always likes the streamlined design. And to me, it makes a ton of sense in a post Dominion War environment. The D'deridex was a powerful battleship that had some major shortcomings from what we saw. They were slow and cumbersome, lacked decent firing arcs to cover its flanks, and they made up the bulk of the Imperial fleet which probably drained their resources. A smaller but equally as beefy as the D'deridex ship is needed to fill in some of the rolls from the losses post Dominion War, that can at least match the new advanced combat oriented ships that Starfleet has started pumping out.

[DFAMPODCAST]

Dammit...you make the BEST Star Trek videos brother!! Thanks so much for all your hard work!

[andrewbutton]

I seem to remember mogai being the romulan equivalent of geese, at least once remember it used in "wild mogai chase" and it was pointed out that it was a bit more dangerous than terran geese for some reason. With that context, I'm quite happy to call it a Mogai class.

Neorexan just sounds like a brand of antidepressant to me.

[RiderofRiddermark]

In my headcanon it was always like this:
"Neorexan" is a super-class consisting of two designs.
The Valdore is the heavier version focused singularly on battle. These ships are kept inside the Empire and supposed to be sent out as part of a fleet when a war actually breaks out.
The Mogai on the other hand is lighter, with many of its weapon and defense systems stripped back and the excess space and energy being repurposed for better sensors and an even more modern cloak. They are used for espionage and reconaissance, as well as plain research in yet uncharted and therefore potentially dangerous space.

Anyways, it's always been amongst my absolute favourites. The strong reminiscence of a BoP is actually something I like about it.

[micketm]

Loved the Valdore since we saw it in the movie and in Star Trek Online, for me 😅 is still is Valdore.

Love the design of it !! Its made for attack 😊

D'deridex is definitely multirole.

[Darmok_]

I like this design but it does kind of bug me that Star Trek tends to default to the basic Star Trek III bird of prey/Klingon battle cruiser layout for villain ships