At great risk to the staff and crew, the Spacedock got into and out of the:
The Queen's Borg Sphere's uses:
The Quick And The Dead: With Retask less popular of late, and Activate Subcommands a bit slow for a tournament, staffing Borg Cubes can be a real issue. Masaka Transformations/Borg Queen is popular, but suffers from the same vulnerability to Kevin Uxbridge as Retasking. As time goes on, and players become accustomed to Borg methods of getting personnel into play, the Cube's staffing requirements seem steeper and steeper.
Some enterprising Borg players (Mot the Barber among them) have moved to "swarm" strategies based around a huge number of Borg Scout Vessels to compensate for these difficulties. However, there is another option--the Borg Sphere. Spheres have only slightly higher staffing requirements than Borg Scout Vessels, and have the advantage of being slightly tougher as well, getting past the "Shields less than 6" barrier. Although somewhat slower than the Borg Scout Vessels, they still offer an effective, easy way to get your drones from point A to point B.
In addition, the Borg Sphere can be a handy-dandy way to escape trouble. With those 45- or 50-point bonus boxes, Borg Cubes are an extremely tempting target. Borg Spheres offer a superb emergency outlet, allowing one's crew to escape in an emergency. As an added bonus, they can be downloaded with Launch Portal, allowing the speedy deployment of large numbers of Spheres to form either a protective convoy or an aggressive wolfpack.
Banzai! : The Queen's Borg Sphere, however, moves beyond the basic advantages of the Sphere to become a card truly worth centering a deck around. Since the "Borg Queen Commands," the Queen's Borg Sphere allows one to download (the #1 easiest way to get personnel into play) the Borg Queen (the center of most Borg decks) aboard (a handy way to get around the bothersome lack of a "may report here" frill akin to that of the Borg Cube). The Ready Room Door used to retrieve the Queen is not usele...less-than-useful now, however. It can instead be used to retrieve a Captain's Log, making the Queen's Borg Sphere a Weapons- and Shields 9 monster. Now, you have a Borg ship which can be used both to scout (with the Queen) and crush enemy vessels--for nowhere near the staffing requirements of a Borg Cube. In fact, the Borg Sphere has lower staffing requirements than most BaH! deck vessels, which provides a remarkable opportunity for a preemptive strike.
Well, Why Not: It is a rare thing when a Borg deck gets an opportunity to assimilate Earth in the past. However, such opportunities have been known to arise, and when they do, it is a devastating blow to the opponent. The Queen's Borg Sphere offers a chance to start the process relatively easily, by downloading the Temporal Vortex needed to reach the Montana Missile Complex. Of course, there is still much to do, but a Tent saved is a Tent earned...
Unfortunately, the Queen's Borg Sphere has certain...deficiencies...
A Basic Lack Of Subtlety: The major weakness to the Queen's Borg Sphere is that it is hard to hide your intentions when using it. Its low Range means that you will have to pursue your opponent for several turns, making it clear when you are using it to attack. Similarly, downloading it when under attack is a clear indication that you plan to leave (and might just entice your opponent to save enough Weapons to take out the Sphere, as well). Sitting at a scouted mission is a beacon indicating a future probe attempt. Other ships with low Ranges and/or many alternative uses can often have which use is being considered "cloaked" for subtlety's sake. The Queen's Borg Sphere offers no such option--and hence, becomes infinitely more vulnerable.
Final Analysis: Despite having low attributes, the Queen's Borg Sphere is a card one can base a deck around. Of course, it shines just as brightly as emergency Tent material. All in all, a card that deserves a place in almost any Borg deck.
Next Week: The Spacedock takes a look around while changing the I.K.C. Hegh'ta's oil.
Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free to e-mail Phalanx
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