The recently-released set of expansions brings us the USS Voyager, as well as the first ships for the Borg, Kazon and Species 8472. With my preference for playing pure fleets, I thought I'd take a quick look at what this means for players like me. I'll focus on the 90-point build suggested for "The Collective" organized play events.
The Borg
Let's start with the Borg, as I feel they'll likely be the new favourite of a lot of players. The named sphere clocks in at 40 points. If you add all of the goodies that come in the box with it you end up with the following 80 point list:
Borg Sphere 4270 w/
- Tactical Drone
- Borg Ablative Hull Armor
- Borg Tractor Beam
- Seven of Nine
- Feedback Pulse
- Cutting Beam
If you add a flagship or another 10-point resource you have a very maneuverable monster to add your 30-point booster contents to. If your venue is still allowing Admiral's Orders (which I hope it isn't) you have even more options.
You could add a second sphere and strip down the tech you have on each, but I don't see the need to purchase a second sphere when we will have another Borg release coming out in the next wave. Putting a cube and a sphere together into a 90-point lists will probably be a challenge.
The Kazon
Not having watched a lot of Voyager I don't know the Kazon well. However, you could make a faction pure 90-point list, which I think would look something like this:
- Nistrim Raider w/ Culluh, Kazon Raiding Party, Seska, Masking Circuitry and Photonic Charges
- Kazon Raider w/ Rettik, Kazon Raiding Party, Tierna and Photonic Charges
- Kazon Raider w/ Kazon Raiding Party
I don't see this list being very good, simply because at best your ships are rolling 3 attack dice in range 1-2. You'd also have to buy three copies of this expansion to even try it. At 100 points you could swap things around to get another copy of photonic charges on the third ship, or add a flagship resource which might help. I'd be temped to borrow a few ships/dials to try this out, but it's unlikely it would pack much punch in organized play.
On the other hand, the ships are decently maneuverable so if you could use that to your advantage you might be able to make good use of your Kazon raiding parties. Rolling low numbers of attack dice will make this very challenging.
Species 8472
Another challenge here. If we were working at 100-points you could squeeze two bio-ships into the build. At 90-points a fully loaded ship clocks in at 82 points:
Bioship Alpha w/ Pilot & The Weak Will Perish, Bio-Electric Interference, Extraordinary Immune Response, Quantum Singularity, Energy Blast and Energy Focusing Ship.
Of course with only one ship in your build, and at 82-points you can't afford a flagship resource. You'd have to drop something, or use a cheaper resource like the tokens or attack die (which might not be a bad option). Not knowing what you'll get in your booster, taking the Energy Focusing Ship upgrade might end up being a waste. I'd likely go for a very light two ship 90-point build instead.
- Bioship Alpha w/ Pilot and Extraordinary Immune Response
- Species 8472 Bioship w/ Extraordinary Immune Response
With six attack on both ships and a little insurance from the upgrades you should have enough longevity to inflict some damage. I'm not sure if it would stand up to a Borg sphere, but right now I'm uncertain there's much that can. I'm tempted to purchase another Bioship, simply because I think they look really cool. When playing casual games I usually play 100-point fleets, and with 120-point being the new level for "The Collective" you can really squeeze some more firepower in.
I won't be buying duplicates of any ships until I've had a chance to try them out. If for some reason I decide to (or am able to) test any of the lists above I'll be sure to post back with my results!
The Borg
Let's start with the Borg, as I feel they'll likely be the new favourite of a lot of players. The named sphere clocks in at 40 points. If you add all of the goodies that come in the box with it you end up with the following 80 point list:
Borg Sphere 4270 w/
- Tactical Drone
- Borg Ablative Hull Armor
- Borg Tractor Beam
- Seven of Nine
- Feedback Pulse
- Cutting Beam
If you add a flagship or another 10-point resource you have a very maneuverable monster to add your 30-point booster contents to. If your venue is still allowing Admiral's Orders (which I hope it isn't) you have even more options.
You could add a second sphere and strip down the tech you have on each, but I don't see the need to purchase a second sphere when we will have another Borg release coming out in the next wave. Putting a cube and a sphere together into a 90-point lists will probably be a challenge.
The Kazon
Not having watched a lot of Voyager I don't know the Kazon well. However, you could make a faction pure 90-point list, which I think would look something like this:
- Nistrim Raider w/ Culluh, Kazon Raiding Party, Seska, Masking Circuitry and Photonic Charges
- Kazon Raider w/ Rettik, Kazon Raiding Party, Tierna and Photonic Charges
- Kazon Raider w/ Kazon Raiding Party
I don't see this list being very good, simply because at best your ships are rolling 3 attack dice in range 1-2. You'd also have to buy three copies of this expansion to even try it. At 100 points you could swap things around to get another copy of photonic charges on the third ship, or add a flagship resource which might help. I'd be temped to borrow a few ships/dials to try this out, but it's unlikely it would pack much punch in organized play.
On the other hand, the ships are decently maneuverable so if you could use that to your advantage you might be able to make good use of your Kazon raiding parties. Rolling low numbers of attack dice will make this very challenging.
Species 8472
Another challenge here. If we were working at 100-points you could squeeze two bio-ships into the build. At 90-points a fully loaded ship clocks in at 82 points:
Bioship Alpha w/ Pilot & The Weak Will Perish, Bio-Electric Interference, Extraordinary Immune Response, Quantum Singularity, Energy Blast and Energy Focusing Ship.
Of course with only one ship in your build, and at 82-points you can't afford a flagship resource. You'd have to drop something, or use a cheaper resource like the tokens or attack die (which might not be a bad option). Not knowing what you'll get in your booster, taking the Energy Focusing Ship upgrade might end up being a waste. I'd likely go for a very light two ship 90-point build instead.
- Bioship Alpha w/ Pilot and Extraordinary Immune Response
- Species 8472 Bioship w/ Extraordinary Immune Response
With six attack on both ships and a little insurance from the upgrades you should have enough longevity to inflict some damage. I'm not sure if it would stand up to a Borg sphere, but right now I'm uncertain there's much that can. I'm tempted to purchase another Bioship, simply because I think they look really cool. When playing casual games I usually play 100-point fleets, and with 120-point being the new level for "The Collective" you can really squeeze some more firepower in.
I won't be buying duplicates of any ships until I've had a chance to try them out. If for some reason I decide to (or am able to) test any of the lists above I'll be sure to post back with my results!
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