In our last two games, involving three 3rd Raters and one 1st Rater per side, both commanders opted to deploy line astern with their 1st Raters at the end of the line.
For my part this was to avoid collisions as the 1st Rater was slower. However, with such a deployment there is a risk the 1st Rater won't be involved.
How do others deploy and why?