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Strategy Articles
Federation Point Shenanigans
by James Hoskin, Staff Writer
5th August 2009
Another day, another decklist. Before talking about the deck, let's take a quick moment to highlight three of the new ladies from This Side of Paradise that feature in it.
Nella Daren (Head of Stellar Cartography) prevents personnel present with her from being killed, and leaves them stopped instead. To pay for this ability, you have to destroy an equipment card Nella is equipped with. (Quick rules reminder: If a personnel is present with an equipment, and that personnel could be affected by that equipment's game text, he or she is "equipped with" that equipment.) Nella can be equipped with all three pieces of equipment in this deck; a Tricorder, a Science PADD and an Emergency Transport Unit; so she shouldn't ever be unable to prevent a personnel present from being killed... not that you would often want to destroy an Emergency Transport Unit, when you could just return it to hand to achieve virtually the same effect. It's the thought that counts.
Rayna Kapec (Developing Android) is an Android, and should probably feature in an Android deck. However, if you wish to use her ability to prevent a non-Android from being stopped or killed by a dilemma, then you need to discard two Android personnel from hand to do so. This goes against the general principle of an Android deck – which necessitates keeping three Androids in hand in order to reveal them to the opponent as payment for the abilities on most Androids in play. A better solution, and the reason for her inclusion in this deck, would be to splash her and a few other Android personnel into a non-Android deck, and to use her ability to protect important personnel from being stopped or killed by dilemmas.
Jenna D'Sora (Veteran Security Officer) has a curious ability: At the start of a mission attempt, you can nominate a personnel. If that personnel is chosen or selected by a dilemma during that mission attempt, he or she is attributes +2 and gains Anthropology until the end of that dilemma. There doesn't appear to be many situations where an ability like this would be useful. However, it doesn't cost you anything to use, and she still offers useful skills and decent attributes. It is for these reasons, and not the ability, that she is included in this deck.
And now, we move on to the deck. It has multiple highlights, the first of which inspired the deck title. Quite simply, you want to increase the points needed for your opponent to win the game, while at the same time reducing the number of points he or she already has. If you can hit your opponent with three copies of Causal Recursion and also move the undamaged Phoenix (Risen From the Ashes) away from Earth, then your opponent will need to score 140 points to win the game. Now, throw in the seven other dilemmas that could cause your opponent to lose 5 points, and he or she may end up having to score 175 points to win the game. How many decks can do that?
The chief point-loss dilemma is Molecular Mishap. This has relatively easy requirements and consumes three dilemmas when played, so you are going to want to make sure you play it at the right time. Ideally, you don't want to play it on an opponent's first attempt at a mission, as the three consumed dilemmas will make their subsequent attempt that much easier. You also don't want to play it by itself, as its relatively easy requirements mean it is likely to be overcome. Timing will be everything. To help you, virtually every other dilemma in the pile should help you filter out one or more personnel from the attempt. All-Consuming Evil will be important, if you can get it consumed, as you will be able to kill a personnel with a skill of your choice. Also important is Accelerated Aging, which will prevent personnel from using Anthropology (if it is their first-listed skill) to overcome Molecular Mishap.
The final trick in the points-loss armoury is A Few Minor Difficulties. If you play this event early, before your opponent realizes what your strategy is, he or she might very well be tempted to spend five points to destroy it. You should encourage them to do so because, if they do, even 175 points might not be enough to win them the game.
When it comes to the draw deck, the only thing really worth mentioning is that you want to try and keep copies of Data (Lucasian Chair) and Lore (The One) in your hand, so that you have something to discard when using the ability on Rayna Kapec. With eight "spare" Androids in the deck, you can use her ability up to four times. Of course, there is nothing to stop you from using Data or Lore if your opponent plays Secret Identity and a copy is still in your draw deck. Similarly, you could play Data for just one counter (using his ability) once you have completed Track Survivors. Just remember that their primary function in the deck is to be discarded.
You will probably end up scoring more than 100 points yourself using this deck. Miles O'Brien ("Smiley") and Zefram Cochrane (Ready to Make History) should help you to play both the U.S.S. Enterprise-D (Personal Flagship) and the U.S.S. Enterprise-E (Federation Envoy) for less than their printed cost of seven. In turn, the additional points you score with these ships can be spent with Endangered. Drawing three extra dilemmas and then spending three extra in total cost on those dilemmas should provide your dilemma pile with that little extra help it needs to reduce your opponent's score even more.
The skills required by the missions do overlap a lot. If your personnel face Agonizing Encounter, then three of them will be stopped (subject to Rayna Kapec). However, to borrow a Ferengi phrase, it is "worth the price" to ensure that no matter which personnel you have in play you are able to complete your missions.
Final Thought: You've just read an article about a Federation deck that doesn't mention the offspring of George and Winona Kirk once. Has the world gone mad?
Have an opinion about this article? Post it here, or contact the author!
-djl-
This deck is currently eligible for the following family or families of achievements:
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