I chose as my ship the WYN Great Black Shark. Since it has come onto the scene, I've really come to admire this ship. It has its good and bad points, like any ship, and it doesn't do anything extremely well. But it doesn't do anything very badly, either. I have found that if you fill the option mounts with drones, it performs very well against most opponents. I suspect it will face its greatest challenge against the Kzinti, but fortunately I didn't have to play any Cats at ChimeraFest.
But there are other ships that cause it trouble. The Orion and Andro give everyone trouble. But a durable plasma player in a Gorn is also quite a challenge, and the Fed is always a hit-or-miss proposition for everyone. That pretty much lists who I played.
My first opponent was an Orion TBR. I was sort of surprised at his option mounts: one Phaser-G, one disruptor, and one photon in the nose, and fusion beams in the wings. I plotted my standard opening: speed 14 until 16, then up to 20 until 24, then up to 25 through the end of turn. This takes 19 power, which leaves me enough to either heavily reinforce a shield or overload my disruptors, depending upon my attack plan. Against the Orion, I loaded 2 disruptors standard and put about 10 reinforcement on my #6.
As we closed, I launched 4 type IM drones in two stacks of two, getting one stack two hexes in front of me, one four hexes in front of me by the time I sped up to match them on 16. The Orion had both engines doubled, so I was expecting a fast attack. He came at speed 31. I slipped away to keep my drones ahead of me and to keep him on my #6, knowing that he was going to get to close range anyway. I was in no hurry to face him. In fact, I figured I was going to buy the farm in round one, the way he was coming on. But he turned in on me, fired 4 phasers at my first wave of drones, killing them, and blew past the second stack. He lined up on my #6 and stayed there.
With fusions in his wings, I knew I didn't want him at range 0, so at range 1, I used 4 of my 5 batteries to tractor him. It worked. I quickly checked the movement chart, and speed 5 moved on the next impulse, so I launched a suicide shuttle at him. (Our pseudo-speeds did not move.) The Orion decided to try and kill me in one fell swoop, so we unloaded on each other. I was surprised to find that his photon and disruptor were standard. (We later deterined that the photon could not have fired at range 1, but it made no difference.) But he had suicide-overloaded the fusions. He added his remaining phasers to the mix. I fired two regular disruptors, six Phaser-Is and five phaser-IIIs. With my reinforcement, the net result was 19 internals to the WYN, 34 internals to the Orion, plus the loss of the fusions, plus 4 more internals from the suicide overloads. We didn't even bother to roll the damage. The Pirate was going to take the above damage, plus a suicide shuttle, plus 2 more drones (losing another shield), then two warp from engine doubling, compared to my 19 internals.
No, I wasn't playing another Black Shark. My Round 2 opponent was a Gorn TCC. Anyone who follows my exploits on CServe knows that, until recently, I have played Gorn almost exclusively for 14 years. So to say I was familiar with the capabilities of the ship would be an understatement.
But I was totally unfamiliar with my opponent, so I knew I was in for some surprises. I did my standard movement plot as I described for Round One, and put 15 reinforcement on my #6 shield, loading no disruptors at all, but powering 2 weasels and holding 1 suicide shuttle. I got my drones out in front at range 2 and 4, and came in. My plan was to let the Gorn launch at medium range, take the torps on my #6 after phasering down the F, then hack-and-slash him at the end of turn 1. Like many good plans, this one did not survive first contact with the enemy. This Gorn had one philosophy: anchor and destroy. He turned toward me as he closed, and I got my 2-and-2 stacks of drones out ahead of me. We closed and, about time I sped up to 25, we got to range 3 on the FA line. We both called for a hold in fire segment, we both fired nothing.
He was moving 24, so on the next impulse, he moved first, going straight in order to avoid giving me a range 1 shot. (With my power as it was, he was thinking I had full overloads, so he wanted to avoid giving me a sure hit shot until I was in tracotr range. Plus, moving forward took him out of my FA.) I turned in on him, putting me at range 2 on the shield line. This puts him on my super-reinforced #6, me on his #5. He launched 50 points of plasma from his A and C launchers. I couldn't avoid it except by HETting. Another hold, and this time we did unload, phasers to phasers. I had 6 phaser-Is and 3 phaser-IIIs to his 3 phaser-Is and 1 phaser-III. (He had fired some at my drones, which were now all gone.) His fire didn't even dink the shield. My fire did 38 hits for 14 internals. I killed a couple of phasers and a warp, no torps, and ate a fair-sized hole in his hull. But the ship can really take damage, so it wasn't even an annoying blow, and I knew it. If I had had 4 overloaded disruptors instead of the reinforcement, this would have been a much more telling blow, and as it was, the reinforcement didn't save any internals, just shield boxes. But I drew first blood anyway.
At this point, the Gorn could have won the game. If he had attempted to tractor me at range 2, I would have had to use my reserve to defeat it, killing my HET possibility, or let it hold me, slowing me so that his plasma would get me. I would have HAD to fight it, and would have taken at least 50 plasma at close range. But he didn't and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Then I HETted and stayed at range 2 to him and his plasma. On impule 32, he attempted a tractor with 2 points of power, which was successul because I had burned all my reserve to make the HET. Then he launched the B torp (I was on the shield line.) So I had 50 points of plasma 2 hexes behind me, 30 points two hexes off my starboard aft, and a tractor on me.
We started turn 2 with an auction. He evidently wanted to hold me VERY badly, and I knew that I simply could not allow it. So I auctioned up to 14 points of power, which was 28 power for the Gorn, leaving him 9 to play with, plus a couple of batteries, perhaps. The Gorn was certain I would run. I didn't. I plotted a couple more tractor power, re-charged my phasers, and 3 TACs. The Gorn also was sitting and spinning. I weaseled the plasma, 50 of which was real, taking 7 collateral on my #2. I brought up my fire control immediately and, as soon as it was up, tractored the Gorn. (He didn't have any extra tractor power.) I launched my 4 drones. On the next impulse, he launched another 50 points of plasma, labbed and destroyed my drones. Next impulse, his plasma moved to range 1 of me, so I dropped the tractor and launched my second WW. The 50 plasma was all real, so I took another 7 collateral.
Then we just sat and waited. Because we were on a shield line, I wanted to move to get to a definite shield on impulse 32, so on impulse 27, I drew a point of reserve for a speed increase, and so did he. On 32 I moved to get his #4 shield at range 2, dead rear of him, and fired all my phasers, the full 6 and 5, doing him 20 internals or so. This got through his hull and started killing weapons and power. Knowing that I was going to hit him for 32 more with full overloads on impulse 1 of turn 3, the Gorn resigned.
Nobody likes the Andro except the misguided and oft-maligned cretins that fly it. (No disrespect, Slayer, Encoder, and Paul.) Disruptor ships can't punch it, plasma can't catch it, and drones can't keep up with it. About the only solution to a good Andro is four overloaded photons, but the Fed can't keep it in the FA because of its turn mode. So when I got the Andro in the semis, I was very concerned. His ship is hard to punch, but mine is durable, so we both knew we were in for a long battle. Five turns later, we knew we were right.
But I didn't abandon the plan. I decided that I was going to take his punch, get on his rear, and stay there for the hack-and-slash at close range. I did my standard opening again, with no disruptors and 18 on the #6 shield, no shuttles armed. I slipped away from the Krait, who turned in to get onto my #1 shield. But he couldn't stay there. As he closed, I turned toward the edge of the board to keep my #6 on him. He cut through a couple of drones and finally, at range 5, took his T/R shot. (But he did not displace.) He did 40 to my 18-point reinforced shield, taking 12 off of it. He then turned to run from my other drones, and I HETted to stay in the 6-8 range. But he was moving faster than I, so by the end of the turn, I was range 8.
Turn 2 was a tail-chase. I moved speed 26, no disruptors armed, and simply gave chase. I passed the two speed-20 drones that remained from Turn 1, and the end of the turn approached as we approached the far edge of the map. The Krait turned, slipped away until he could turn again, then we approached with him in the 41xx row and me coming on. I launched two 32- speeders from range 8, and both they and I were starting to crowd the Krait into the edge of the board. He displaced 6 hexes north to gain some running room and ended the turn there. I launched the other 32-speeders, this time my Type IV drones.
On Turn 3, I put reinforcement on my #1, but not as much as before. I needed too much speed. The Andy HETted on impulse 2 to get me on his FH line at range 6, took his shot and sped off to the northwest. His shot left 1 box on my #1 shield, and I turned to give chase. My opponent slipped and got all of the drones on the board to hit a single T-bomb. (Good movement play on his part. He got all of my fast drones with it, two of which were my type IVs.) But I continued to chase, edging him into the top of the board. When he hit the 01xx rows, he turned to come back on me, using his Phaser-IIs to finish off my #1 shield and do me a couple of internals. (One warp and a couple of hull, plus a drone rack.) I put out 2 speed 20 drones, which he slipped to take on his forward panels, giving him 24 power and degration. I turned and slipped to get behind him, and on impulse 30, I got the shot I wanted, a range 2 shot on rear PA panels with all my phasers. I took it and filled him up, killing two phasers, a bunch of cargo and hull, and a couple of warp. On 31 he dropped his panels to standard and 16 power flowed to the front. We ended up at range 3, me facing C, him facing D and off my #3 shield.
On turn 4, I plotted speed 16 (which would allow me to turn on impulse 2) with a quick change down to 14 for the rest of the turn, four standard disruptors, and I refilled my phaser capacitor. I also used CDR to repair 2 boxes on my #1 shield, plus another from powered shield repair. On impulse 2, I turned, but the Andy HETted his second time (and made it on a 3) to stay out of my FA. So on impulse 3, I HETted a second time (and made it on a roll of 4), bringing my disruptors into arc for a range 3 shot. I hit with 3 of 4 on his rear for 12, which was 6 internals. Two degradation flowed power to the front, so he only took 4. A warp, a cargo, a hull, and a phaser. Not bad. I held on and on impulse 6 fired all my phaser Is again, now at range 5. This caused 16 internals, which took out another phaser, one of the T/Rs, and 3 batteries. So now he was hurt. He turned off and looped around, and I, at speed 14, waved as he went, glad that he did not turn back on me now that he could raise his panels to reinforced levels. I launched 3 more speed 20s to keep him away and turned to follow, at a snail's pace of 14. He was quite surprised when I announced three shield boxes coming back on my #1.
On turn 5, he looped back in on me, hoping to get my #1 shield again. As we closed to range 4, he was on my #2. He had slipped to get where he was, so I turned into him, running my #1 past him, leaving him on my #6 at range 2. He had the option to slip onto my #1 at range 1 the following impulse, so I launched three more drones facing into that hex to deter him, but they would not move next impulse, being speed 20s. Evidently did not want to risk my full range 1 alpha. (Which would not have been much. My phasers were recharged, but I had no disruptors. But of course, HE didn't know that.) So he took the range 2 shot with 1 T/R and two phaser-IIs on my 18-point #6 shield, which did me 11 internals, finishing off my hull and taking four batteries and a disruptor, plus cutting me to 33 total power generation. But then he missed his displacement roll. He could have run, but conceded at that point. He told me that he was sucking wind on power now that he had only 3 batteries, and had a plotted speed change back to 14 in just a few impulses. All 6 drones that I had on the board at that time were going to catch him before the end of the turn, and he didn't have any more phasers to shoot them. So although he could have run it out another 6 impulses, the game was over.
Whew!
Now I was in the finals against Rick Cromwell and the Fed TCC, who had defeated Steve Rushing's Archaeo-Tholian to get into the game. The Fed is a frightening ship, with massive crunch power. But I did the same thing against him that I did against the Andy. I used my standard 14-20-25 plot and got two stacks of two drones out in front of me. The Fed moved 17, then up to 24 near mid-turn. He used his phaser-IIIs on two of my drones, sidestepping the other 2. We closed and, after jockeying, Rick managed to get the range 3 centerline alpha that I wanted him to take. (Well, I had hoped for range 5, but you can't have everything.) So on impulse 31 of turn 1, he unloaded on me and did me 34 internals. (Three photons plus 8 phaser 1s enocunter a 30 point shield with 16 reinforcement.) At the same time, I fired 2 regular disruptors (from battery) and all my phasers at his #1, taking it down and doing maybe 4 internals. I took my lumps, he ran through my forward hull and killed 4 of my now-empty batteries, three phasers, a drone rack, 3 warp, an impulse and an APR. He turned away from me, and I turned towards him on impulse 32, leaving us at range 2.
I refilled my phaser capacitors, put up shields, fire control, and life support, and put everything else into tractors (22 points). I was through with my EAF in about 30 seconds, which worried Rick to no end. He was sweating over how to get away from me before my weapons came back on line while still re-starting all his photons. I told him that I was smiling because I know something that he does not know: I am not left-handed! He took off at speed 26 (for a brief time) and I tractored him on impulse 1. He didn't even fight it. I launched 3 fast drones, including my type 4s. These three, plus the two that were still out from turn 1, were going to hit before his weapons came back on line. At that, Rick conceded the game.
And I got my first ever Rated Ace card, and the first for our playing group.
All in all, a good day.
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