Spacedock: Supplemental [revised version]

Or: "In every season, turn, turn, turn..."

On July 22nd (in Australia, July 21st for others), Wood Elf announced that he had pulled a U.S.S. Defiant from a box of DS9. Others backed up his story the next day. It was later confirmed that the Defiant did, in fact, make it into the DS9 set as a promo card:

U.S.S. Defiant
Defiant Class
2 Command Stars 
Cloaking Device, Tractor Beam (cannot carry ships aboard except shuttlepods) 
 NX-74205. Built to battle the Borg. Recommssioned to oppose the Dominion. First ship to test ablative armour and quantum torpedoes. Captained by Benjamin Sisko. 
Range 8 Weapons 10 Shields 9

Shortly thereafter, an unscheduled Spacedock was written on this card. Unfortunately, that Spacedock was written while the crew was up in arms, and so it was, to put it mildly, overly excited. Hence, the Spacedock has decided to present this, revised Spacedock: Supplemental; a calmer, hopefully more coherent version of the original.

With this single card, the Federation turns the tables on her foes. Let's look at why...

"A Time To Die" : The U.S.S. Defiant is easily one of the most terrifying combat ships in the game. For two command stars (easily available on the first turn with AMS) you get no less than 10 Weapons, and all the Range you need to use them. With the new three-way treaty and multiple Defiants in a deck, you can be assured of having a death-dealing monstrosity on the first turn. Let's see how that plays out:

• Player 1: "Report Defiant. Benjamin Maxwell and Sirna get aboard. Move towards your outpost. Your turn."
• Player 2: "Report I.K.C. Hegh'ta. My two mission specialists get aboard. They attempt...And are stopped by Lack Of Preparation. [Looks at Defiant] Oh, my Lord..."
• Player 1: "Defiant moves to your outpost location and attacks. Hegh'ta is damaged. Your turn."

...And so on and so forth. As you can see, the greatest strength of the U.S.S. Defiant is in its quick-striking capability. Unlike most heavy-combat vessels, the U.S.S. Defiant has an extremely low "setup time." This means that, by using the Defiant, you can take the initiative and mount an assault before your opponent has had time to prepare properly.

A Time For Fear: Of course, sometimes the threat of violence can be even more effective than the violence itself. Rather than leaping out at your opponent, why not keep the U.S.S. Defiant in reserve? The advantages are numerous:

• An effective deterrent: The U.S.S. Defiant is a rightly feared vessel, and few ships can approach it without worry. Your opponent may well change their mind about attacking when they see that they cannot do so without taking losses of their own.
• Cheap and easy: With its low overhead, the U.S.S. Defiant can be kept back from the front lines in a ready-to-go state without sacrificing much in the way of personnel.
• Why make deck construction harder than it is? : No way around those bothersome Federation battle restrictions comes without a price. Attack Authorizations take up lots of deck space, and the three-way Treaty prevents one from using the endlessly valuable Q's Tent. However, *retaliation* requires no special preparation. Hence, holding the Defiant back and letting it serve in a counterattacking role allows you to take advantage of its strengths, and still have room for those Wrong Doors.

A Time For Confusion: If you don't mind going to a little extra effort, you can arrange for the U.S.S. Defiant to attack without troubling your deck. Simply seed one or more Conundrums where you know you'll be able to get to them later, and make sure you have INTEGRITY < 40 when you attempt. Ok, so the crew might be a bit dazed, but they can still use those quantum torpedoes...

So, where are the chinks in the ablative armor?

A Time For Peace: In the end, no ship is invincible--and the U.S.S. Defiant is no exception. It can be smashed by an armada (although the individual ships in the armada are at risk). Interrupts like Temporal Vortex and Loss Of Orbital Stability can take Sisko's pride and joy out of the fight for a few turns. If nothing else, that silences the fast-assault strategy outlined earlier. In addition, the U.S.S. Defiant is as vulnerable to being Wormholed as any ship in any fleet. Hence, although the U.S.S. Defiant is a viciously effective ship, it *can* be stopped. You just have to be prepared to do it.

Final Analysis: The U.S.S. Defiant is unusual in that it is a ship which one can design a deck around. The first-turn assault deck is an archetype which the Spacedock's crew hopes to see explored in the future. In the meantime, however, it is sufficient to say that the U.S.S. Defiant is brutally effective at what is does. When used correctly, it can silence the foes of the Federation and still be home in time for supper. While not as fast as the Future Enterprise, its ease of crewing also makes it suitable for mission-completion decks. All in all, a superior vessel.

Next Week: The Spacedock resumes its regularly scheduled programming with the I.K.C. Toh'Kaht.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail