The Spacedock's crew is not much accustomed to travel; however, we considered it worth a trip to the Gamma Quadrant to get a look at the:
Jem'Hadar Attack Ship Attack Ship Class "Nimble attack fighter used by the Dominion. Has ion propulsion drive and ventral impellers. Virtual display technology. Polaron beam weapons." Staff Star May avoid being targetted by Establish Tractor Lock. Invasive Transporters Range 6 Weapons 8 Shields 8
The Jem'Hadar Attack Ship's uses:
Remember Me? : Back in the days of Premiere, I.K.C. K'Vorts were things of nightmares. Despite having been superceded for a time by unique models, the good ol' K'Vorts were given a new lease on life by the Spacedoor, which allows players to create a nasty assault fleet in no time flat. The Jem'Hadar Attack Ship takes the concept that made the K'Vorts successful and takes it one step further. The Jem'Hadar Attack Ship has substantially better Weapons and Shields than the old Birds of Prey. In two turns, you can have 16 Weapons' worth of ships on the table--enough to score direct hits on many of the more popular ships in the game, and enough to at least put the hurt on anything less than a Borg Cube. If you're sneaky about how you seed your outposts, or if you pack Wormholes, you can put the hurt your opponent's ships early on. In every other CCG, getting a stranglehold on your opponent is considered a very good thing. Why not bring the concept to the ST:CCG?
I Ahm Gohing To Pahmp You Ahp: The K'Vorts were fast, but weak individually--you *needed* a substantial group of them if you expected to do any real damage. The Jem'Hadar Attack Ship, on the other hand, takes care of itself quite admirably. In fact, it sports combat power equivalent to many ships of the line!
Where There's Smoke: It really is surprising how many ST:CCG players *still* don't take the threat of combat seriously. Despite the new personnel battle rules in FC and the various toys handed out in FC, DS9, and Fajo, many players are still content to let defense fall by the wayside. Fighting, after all, nets you no points, and is hence not an efficient way to spend your time. Right?
Don't make this Klingon laugh.
Remember that in a game of the ST:CCG, there are two players moving towards 100 points--you and your opponent. If you get to 100 lighting-quick and deny him the chance to get there, that's great. But there's another way to deny him that chance--kill his personalities and break his stuff. Remember that stranglehold we were talking about? After all, if your opponent is at 99 points, and you kill all of his people and smash all of his ships, guess what?
You're going to win.
So, you need to arrange a way to, at the very least, kill his personalities--the ships, after all, can't score by themselves. And that, my friends, is where the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship comes into its own. Take a look at the "frill box." What do we see there? The ability to dodge tractor beams...Interesting, if not a built-in MEDICAL. But, wait, there's something else there...Oh, my. This ship has invasive transporters. Can we guess what that means?
I think we can. Even though "Invasive Beam In" is needed to attach the grapples and send over the boarding party, it will still be easier to get aboard than with Dropping In, etc. You'll be able to board ships on your time and on your terms--not when your opponent gets lazy and allows you to by accident.
Just envision it: You're cruising along, having completed one mission for an overall 55 points after bonuses. One more mission and you win the game. All that's between you and glory is a single Jem'Hadar Attack Ship...And you're riding the Future Enterprise. You're set, you figure. You ride on over, stopping just short of your destination. One turn to victory!
But then the Attack Ship flies on over. What can your opponent be thinking? He can't damage your ship...Hey, why are his people beaming over? There's a fight starting? My Strength 6 Dathon just got paired with his Strength 10 Toman'Torax?
[In best Luke Skywalker voice] NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
I think you get the idea.
Of course, privilege has its price:
You Can't Get There From Here: Unfortunately, the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship is hamstrung by its relatively low Range. Wormholes and careful seeding of outposts aren't merely ways of getting your Attack Ships into the fight faster; they're vital to get them into the fight at all, especially with the big, quick ships now available to most affiliations (Future Enterprise, I.K.C. Chang, Decius). This means that a significant portion of your deck needs to be devoted to using your ships effectively--a painful tradeoff.
Final Analysis: The Jem'Hadar Attack Ship is a powerful vessel which well reflects all the traits we've come to know and love in the Dominion. In an aggressive deck, the Jem'Hadar Attack Ship could work wonders. It is, quite possibly, the best "armada" ship around--an easy-to-staff ship which can take care of itself. However, it demands a painfully large number of "support cards." The tradeoff is worthwhile, but it demands a carefully thought-out and played deck.
Next Time: The Spacedock provides its promised DS9 review, a tour of the I.K.C. Toh'Kaht.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx