Let me just say that I love the flagship resource cards. The faction-specific ones are pretty good, but I'm most excited about the generic ones. Essentially each faction now has five extra options to round out a fleet with. Got a great list but just need that little bit of extra attack, one more tech slot or another defence die? These cards can really help you out.
The included black base is nice, but the cards...oh man the cards are what you want. So many great options.
USS Sutherland (Grand Prize)
Of all the prize ships so far this was the one I wanted the most. I love the Ch'Tang and its accompanying collection of cards, but I think I like the package that is the Sutherland more.
First off, I think this is the best painted Federation ship released for the game so far. The yellow applications on the hull are very clean and well placed, and there is a ton of detailing on the bottom. I love that it has nacelle detail, striping and Federation logos on it, it's just a shame that most of it is on the underside! I only wish that all the Federation ships had the names and registry numbers painted on them. I know they can be used as generics...but the named ships are what most players seem to use more often than not.
Data is the cheapest captain in the game that can take an elite talent; and it is a GREAT talent. This is one of the few ways to get a duplicate of a token. It's a single use because of the discard but doesn't require an action. That means you can do it at any time, even after all the dice for an attack exchange have been rolled. Lots of captains will be able to use this card. If Weyoun-6 had an elite talent slot he'd be a monster with this. Thankfully he doesn't.
Secondary Torpedo Launcher is a spiffy weapon card, but it becomes expensive because it needs to be taken with another weapon in order to really use it. It's a hard choice of whether to put it on another ship, or leave it on the Sutherland to get the re-roll from the ship's ability.
Hobson is a pretty solid crew card but could be wasted points if you're not up against cloaked ships. I'll skip over the lame, over-priced tech upgrade. If you're going to use Data's ability take something else, something cheaper that can be useful against ships whether they're cloaked or not.
Here's a possible list I came up with that makes use of a lot of the Sutherland's anti-cloak stuff:
- USS Enterprise D w/ Picard and Attack Pattern Omega, Hobson, Sulu, Worf, Quantum Torpedoes and Secondary Torpedo Launcher
- USS Sutherland w/ Data and Disobey Orders, Spock, Positron Beam and Photon Torpedoes
If my math is right, this clocks in at 99 points. If Admiral's Orders are available you could use United Force to get another 10 points and kit one of the ships out with more upgrades or the other order. Or use that extra 10 points to make one of them a flagship!
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