Killer Bee's
Chrystaline Entity #18
Table Of Contents
Feature Article: Solitaire Game That Works
Deck Design: DuraS
The Borg are BACK
Klingon Korner
Feature Article: Solitaire Game that Works
Personally, I hate modifying my deck to play solitaire games. When I am faced with a real opponent, I have to reassemble my old deck, and that just is noooo fun. There are a few other solitaire games out there with robot enemies, but most are too hard and require certain cards to be effective against another deck.
I have, by chance, stumbled on a varient that works pretty well. Play a couple of games by these rules, than, if it is too hard, try some rule options. You should win about 50% of the time to make it fun. Remember to use strategies and your knowledge of your dilemmas to the maximum.
Step 1: seeding the space line
Put all of your missions in a random order next to each other. This will be the 6 card spaceline. Next, put out any doorways, ect.
Then you must make dilemma combos. There are two choices here. If you have a good memory, then choose choice two, but if you can forget what your combos are, 1 would be more challenging.
Option 1:
Make Planet and space combos that you would use against your opponent. Make sure to have enough so that all of your missions have a good combo under them. Shuffle the planet dilemmas. Then shuffle the space dilemma combos. Put them under random missions that match their classification as planet or space.
Option 2:
Divide your dilemmas into 3 piles: Planet, Planet/Space, Space. Shuffle the piles and put them face down. Divide the Planet/space dilemmas into both piles evenly. Seed your dilemmas randomly, making sure not to put a space dilemma where a planet is and vice versa.
Place your outpost and your artifacts in the most advantageous position. Keep in mind that the opponent has no means of using psychology against you. You may put it on the easiest mission each time.
Step 2: Playing The Game
Use normal rules when playing the game except the following
1) Kivas Fajo/ Traveler MUST be played on the earliest turn possible
2) You control Kevin Uxbridge, Palor Toff and Q2, but Amanda Rogers should be played at the least advantageous time possible.
3) Any cards that cause a delaying/ disadvantageous effect (eg. Temporal Rift/ Loss of orbital stability) are played as soon as possible.
Step 3: Result of the Game
You win if you pass ALL of your missions and have a point total greater than or equal to the sum of all of the missions points before running out of cards.
You lose the game when you have no more cards in the deck.
You keep track of your high scores by adding up all points score by any means.
Optional Rules:
If you win too much
--Add more missions/dilemmas temporarily
--Seed your artifact in a random planet location
-- Shuffle all dilemmas up and treat planet dilemmas in space as if they were applicable
-- Make a few husnock ships that fly arround attacking your ship (2-3)
-- Opponent controls your Kevin Uxbridges as well, to counter powerful cards. You keep your Q2's.
-- Make a borg ship or 2 that fly around, attacking everything (so much for the Mordock strategy)
If you lose too much, you may want to try these options
--You must not play card drawing interrupts until you get a red alert.
-- Card Drawing interrupts must only be played every other turn
-- The goal of the game is to get an equal number of points to that of all of the missions combined. (Borg ship would be a big help here)
--You control Amanda Rogers
-- You must just pass all the missions. You have no time limit (I caution that this is not nearly as fun as if without this rule)
-- You have a set time limit of a finite number of turns. Thus, drawing 3 cards at once is not a disadvantage, but an advantage.
Varients
Hunt for the artifacts. Credit goes to Picard
The mission layout is the same, but you must choose option II for dilemmas.
Shuffle the artifacts in with the space/planet dilemmas.
You can put artifacts anywhere. In space, on the ground, ect.
Cryosatilite has no effect other than that one must find it.
People seeded in Cryosatilite are treated as artifacts, but, when encountered they immediately join the away team.
The goal of this game is to get all artifacts as soon as possible. If you get them before you run out of cards, you win! All other rules remain the same as above.
DuraS Deck
Draw Deck:
Traveler
Red Alert
Kivas Fajo x2
Bynar's Weapon Enhancement
Metaphasic Shields
Kevin Uxbridge x2
Q2 x2
IKC Vorn
IKC Pagh
IKC K'Ratak
IKC K'Vort x2
IKC Hegh'ta (A slight breach of the theme, but oh well)
Combat Vessel
Tama
Ja'rod
Toral
DuraS
Luras
B'Etor
Kargan
Roga Danar
Nu'Daq
Soong-Type Android
Dr. Reyga
K'ChiQ
Vekor x2
Kle'eg
J'Dan
Divok
Dathon
Seed Cards:
AU Doorway
Fever Emergency
Relief Mission
Investigate Anomaly
Secret Salvage
Plunder Site
Pegusis search
Klingon Outpost
Kurlan Nasicose
Borg Cube x2
Cyrithians
Birth Of Junior
Armus, Skin of Evil
Cardie Trap x2
Barclay's
Tarellian Plague Ship
Yuta
Punishment Zone
Hunter Gangs
Frame of Mind x2
Shakka when the Walls Fell x2
Hologram Ruse
Security Precautions
This deck is a basic attack deck. Supported with strong Dilemmas and good events, this attack deck could probably destroy a normal deck of any short of a temporal deck. In case a few games have been played against a temporal deck, the player can exchange a card that is unnecessary (such as the second vekor) for a Doorway. Basically destroy the outpost and complete missions at will is the motto of this deck.
Rating 9.5/10
Dealing with the Borg Collective
In November, the Borg are BACK in Decipher's newest expansion called "First Contact". Here the benvolent races will be forced to fight the borg... or die trying. No one knows how the borg will work, but I have a feeling that the new BaH expansion will help them a whole lot (although it could help attack decks as well). The Borg will most likely be based on a system of battle and assimilation. They get points based on the number of worlds they have assimilated and also based on the number of people and ships.
The Borg will adapt quickely, and our races may have to use interrupts and events to modulate both phasers and shields. I wonder if they borg will be able to beam on at will. It is very possible that they will have a tractor beam interrupt that will allow them to conduct away team battles on the ship. All of those strength giving people will become of immense power. Who knows, maybe the borg will have a card called "They're adapting" which renders Phasers and Disruptors useless. This is a time when Kahlest would be useful. Almost all decks will have to be changed slightly to adapt to fight the collective. No more Kivas Fajo attempt mission decks. Now it will be time to battle. Bynars and Metaphasic shields will be infiately more power, but when thinking of killing borg, there is one card that comes to mind...
Kurlan Nasicose. The Kurlan Nasicose is probably the main way to defeat a borg cube. On the BortaS or the Maht-Ha, the line will be drawn HERE! It is too bad for the Federation that nothing short of the Future Enterprise can destroy a Borg Cube. Who Knows, the enterprise-E may automatically damage a borg ship where present (not destroy) like the calamarain, making it easy meat for a fleet of starships at the outpost.
The Card "Anti Matter Spread" would be very helpful when a fleet of shield 8 starships would like to damage the borg. Then the Enterprise E moves in and boom! The Klingons and Romulans have the Kurlan Nasicose, the Federation has the Enterprise-E. No one can be sure if that will be the special Ability, but we can always hope, can't we!
Personally, i can't wait to score my first borg kill against a live opponent! I have always had to kill those robot Borg Cubes triggered by the dilemmas, but amazing an opponent by killing his cube is going to be a real blast!
Klingon Korner
Dream Card: Klingon Shuttle
6/3/1
This card would be the shuttle in the episode with the Mercenaries and the Stone of Gol.
I think this would be a very interesting card. It has shields of one, so it automatically dies unless fighting a Yridian shuttle or a Type II shuttle. It would seem to be the counterpart to those other shuttles out there. This would be pretty funny to play with and could be useful in a shuttle deck.
Another use for this card could be a redshirt borg killer. Basically, if you are going to be killed by the borg, why be killed just by a few shield points. This guy was killed 12 times over!
Rating: See Klingon Shuttle's Weapons
IKC Qu'Vat
* + + Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam
RANGE 9 WEAPONS 8 SHIELDS 8
Another rating of the fine cruiser that has saved many a crew from attack.
I used to be not so fond of this starship because of its low weapons, but my oppinion has since changed. For the Federation, all good things come at shield 9. But, for the Rommies and Klingons, the magic number is eight. One could say that it is outclassed entirely by the Enterprise (it gets +1 shield), but it DOES have cloak, which helps comat more than one extra shield, and it is better than the Yamato in every way as well (+1 range for no cost). This ship isn't very bad. It lacks a captain, but just what decks use captain's log. Only attack decks do, and this card is basically only good for mission solving decks.
Rating 9.5/10
Federation Fudge
Reginald Barclay
+ ENGINEER
Computer Skill
7/7/5
This card is a bit of an anomaly. It is as rare as Data, yet is worse in every way. He gets half as much computer skill as data, gets none of his other skills, get only engineer, and has below average stats. Cunning 7 is just about as smart as Klingons get, but this guy isn't a Klingon. He is a Federation person who is competing with the Bridge Crew for deck space. This guy is one of the few Federation personnel who is targetted by the Hunter gangs Dilemma. But, the unfortunate truth is, who would care if he did get caught? The sad truth is, if you have a choice between him and Kromm, everyone would choose Kromm each time. The only sparkle of hope for this guy is that in the future expansions, more cards may make him strong. too bad for him that Holodeck Adventures was canceled.
Rating 2.5/10
Romulan Roulette
R/F Steven DeSeve
[AU] + CIVILIAN
Romulan: Treachery, Greed
Federation: OFFICER, Treachery, INTEGRITY -1
5/8/5
This guy is definately not the best Dual Classificaton out there, but he does give the Feds some pretty good skills. The Federation are lacking treachery in every way, and they need more Civvies. The Romulans get the bad end of the deal because he has two of the most common skills. He has treachery and greed. Not that many Romulans have greed, but there are quite a few. And how many people need greed, anyway? He doesn't have officer, so he can't do the Latinum Payoff...
He does,. however, allow a neutral outpost in Fed only decks!
Rating: Romulan 3/10
Federation 5/10
Paramount and Decipher own all rights to this so I will not take credit for any of this. This is for entertainment only and no $$$ is being made off of this so neither of the companies has to worry for their own rights. If you can read this disclaimer you don't need glasses.