Prepare to be Breached

by James Hoskin, Staff Writer

24th July 2011

Interactive decks that rely on being present with opponent's personnel, as well as engagement decks, will get a huge boost when Tacking Into the Wind releases in just under two weeks' time.

Some damage dilemmas, like The Three Vipers, have two sets of skill requirements and can be easily overcome if you don't pay attention to the personnel your opponent has played. Other damage dilemmas, like Stolen Computer Core, have an attribute requirement in one set of requirements and are harder to overcome; but they are still somewhat risky to play if you can't remember which personnel your opponent has played. The best damage dilemmas are those with attribute requirements in both sets of requirements. You only need to calculate the average of a particular attribute on your opponent's personnel, and you can be fairly confident as to whether the dilemma will work or not.

Until now, the only damage dilemma that required attributes in both sets of requirements was Gomtuu Shock Wave, and we all know how popular that card is. With the release of Tacking Into the Wind, two new damage dilemmas requiring attributes in both sets of requirements are introduced. The first is Breached. The second will be spoiled at a later date.

Breached requires Navigation, Security, Transporters, and Strength>30 or 2 Physics, Treachery, and Cunning>30. Chances are that your opponent will need at least five personnel to overcome either set of requirements. Many Federation decks have very little Treachery, and multiple personnel with Strength below 5. They'll probably need six or seven personnel to overcome the requirements. Bajoran decks and Starfleet decks may suffer from the same problem. Other affiliations will have an easier time against this dilemma, but if you can filter a few personnel out of the attempt before Breached, it still has a chance at working.

Besides stopping all of your opponent's personnel, the beauty of this dilemma is that it damages your opponent's ship and lets you beam personnel to and from it whenever you want. Assassins, Bajoran assault, Borg assimilation, Cardassian capture, Dominion infiltration, Klingon battle and plain old ship destruction are just some of the strategies that will benefit from using this dilemma. My advice? Be scout-like and "Be Prepared!"

Once your ship is damaged, there aren't many ways to defend again the imminent intrusion. You'll be safe if you are using the U.S.S. Defiant (Patrolling Warship) and have the ship's Commander aboard. Failing that, you'll need to rely on the classic event and interrupt prevention cards like Grav-Plating Trap, Amanda Rogers, or equivalent. Your opponent may be able to beam personnel to your ship, but with a little luck, he or she won't be able to do anything with them while they are there.

Borrowing a phrase from the classic video game Smash TV, "Good luck! You'll need it!"

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