Welcome to the Spacedock!

"Don't you see?" that your battle deck could use the help of the:

The I.K.C. Bortas' uses:

Now *This* Is A Lethal Weapon: The I.K.C. Bortas boasts a variety of features useful in a nasty combat vessel. Range 9 is enough to keep up with most ships likely to hit the table. Weapons 9 is as good as most of the foremost combat vessels, and allows the I.K.C. Bortas to punch through most ship's Shields. Shields 7 is rather poor...But then again, this is a Klingon ship. You don't care if the enemy hits you--just hit him harder! Glory to the Empire! Bloodwine for everyone! Did I ever tell you about the time when I was faced with three Romulan Warbirds, all at close range, and...

[The Spacedock crew would like to apologize for accidentally letting their commander reminisce. The crew promises to be more vigilant in the future.]

Now *This* Is A Really Lethal Weapon: The I.K.C. Bortas' combat excellence doesn't end with its attributes. With the wide variety of ship enhancements available, the I.K.C. Bortas can prove to be a stunningly formidable opponent. Ready Room Door allows one to download Gowron, a handy card in his own right. Captain's Log increases the I.K.C. Bortas' attributes to a fear-causing 9-12-10--and it only gets worse with the Defiant Dedication Plaque. So, now you have a ship which can rush about the spaceline at an awe-inspiring speed, and which can smash just about anything it comes in contact with short of a Borg Cube or a Husnock Ship. What do you get for the ship that has everything?

Backup.

You see, the I.K.C. Bortas has a little problem. Everyone thinks of it as a fighting ship--which makes sense, since that's exactly what it is. This means that, as soon as it hits the table, you can bet that every ship-mucker-upper that your opponent has will be coming at it. Borg Cubes ordered to Eliminate your Starship, a Future Enterprise which has been Authorized to Attack, the works. Alone, the I.K.C. Bortas is little more than a target. But, your flagship can get by with a little help from its friends. Just use a Spacedoor to download an I.K.C. Vor'Cha, and the odds suddenly get a lot better. Now, that Future Enterprise has to contend with the very real possibility that it could wind up destroyed. The Borg Cube is still a serious threat, but you have enough Range to run away until you have either more ships or a Weapons-enhancer. Matters may seem grim, but with multiple Klingon warships in the air, most opponents will opt to pull away rather than face the wrath of your fleet. And with an enhanced I.K.C. Bortas, that fleet doesn't have to be very large at all...

"A blaster is a good weapon, but it can point both ways..."

Guns Don't Solve Missions, People Solve Missions: The major weakness of the I.K.C. Bortas is that, in its basic state, it is inappropriate for mission-solving duty. Shields 7 is simply insufficient to protect the substantial number of Klingon warriors you will need to complete missions reliably. With a Captain's Log the I.K.C. Bortas becomes more suited to the task, but that means using either a card play or a Ready Room Door to snag it--and you will probably need as many of these as you can get to get your troops out into play as quickly as possible. Hence, the I.K.C. Bortas essentially forces you to either a) use an inferior vessel or b) waste resources to get cards into play. Overall, the better choice is probably to just get another ship.

Final Analysis: The I.K.C. Bortas is, like so many ships, suited to its one role--and not to any others. It excels at smashing other ships, but it is not especially effective when called upon to serve as a ferry. When building a Klingon deck, remember to consider what the deck is intended to do; if combat isn't on the list, put in another copy of the I.K.C. Fek'lhr instead.

Next Week: The Spacedock manipulates the DNA of those aboard the I.K.C. Maht-H'a.