Embedded Files
by Ken Lin (Old_School)
“Runt of the Litter” Lyran TC
Despite my best intentions, real-life issues had prevented me from going to Origins since 2001. Although June of 2005 was extremely busy for me with a relocation to Columbus, selling our Chicago home, getting the resumé ready, and interviewing (I had an interview at Nationwide the Thursday morning before I registered at the convention!), I was extremely excited to be able to attend my first Origins in 4 years. As always the case at Origins, a great time was had by all. Despite being extremely competitive behind the phaser controls, SFB players at Origins are generally good-natured and very sportsmanlike. It’s always a blast hanging out with the Origins crowd, whether we’re discussing tactics in the bullpen, ribbing each other over pale ales at Barley’s (the brew pub across the street), or playing late-night poker in the hotel room. In addition, it was great to meet some of the SFBOL players face to face, after having chatted with and played against them online.
For Origins 2005 I chose to fly the Lyran for several reasons. First, I had been flying my “Runt of the Litter” Lyran TC fairly regularly on SFBOL the past two years with some success, so I was familiar with the ship. Second, one of the appealing characteristics about the ship is that while there are no extremely favorable matchups, there are also no horrendous matchups. Consequently, the Lyran always has a fighting chance in any battle. Third, because I got such a late start on Thursday, I didn’t think I would have enough time to play ships such as the ISC and the Firehawk, which can have long battles on a regular basis. Fourth, the Lyran had never won the Gold Hat, and I’ve always had a soft spot for the underdog! While I did try to take detailed notes from each game, unfortunately there are some games where I did not get my opponent’s EAF and SSD. All errors in the description of the games are solely the responsibility of the author.
I’d like to thank Jude Hornborg (Von_Nasty), who more than any other player showed me what the Lyran is capable of. Finally, I’d like to salute the other active members of Battle Group Ann Arbor – Ralph Wiazowski (wralph) and Jim Mayes (Foggy). Playing against them in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s made me the SFB player I am today, and they will always be great friends as well as my most difficult opponents.
STANDARD NOTES
In order to avoid repeating these items over and over, please note the following:
I will always describe the game with the Lyran starting in hex 2530 facing direction A and my opponent in hex 1701 facing direction D. If I say “northwest corner of the map,” it means relative to the Lyran starting position.
Guards Assigned: 4 Disruptors, 2 ESGs, 1 tractor, 5 phaser-1s (#1-#5). If the opponent has drones, I guard both tractors and only guard 4 phaser-1s (#1-#4).
Special Shuttles: Readers will note that except against Ralph, I started each game holding 2 wild weasels. I’d like to point out that the Lyran does arm suicide shuttles regularly against many ships. However, the types of ships I encountered at Origins 2005 generally dictated the arming of wild weasels instead of suicide shuttles.
Energy Allocation: During EA, unless otherwise noted, I always refilled the phaser capacitor to the maximum extent possible using an integer power amount (I will generally leave 0.5 in the phaser capacitor empty and use batteries to fire as needed, rather than waste 0.5 of a point of energy during EA), and always recharged the batteries with 5 points of reserve warp.
Plasma Notation: C20 refers to a 20 point plasma F torpedo from launcher C. B60 refers to a 60 point enveloping plasma S torpedo from launcher B. I will sometimes refer to an enveloping plasma torpedo as an EPT.
TACTICAL DOCTRINE: LYRAN vs BIG PLASMA
Normally I would write a short paragraph about each of my opponent’s ships, outlining my general strategy and plan of attack against each ship. However, since I faced 5 (!!) Big Plasma ships at Origins 2005, it is worthwhile to have a separate section for this particular matchup. For those who aren’t familiar with the terminology, Big Plasma refers to the Gorn, Romulan Firehawk, Romulan TKR, and Romulan TKE. It does not refer to the ISC, against which Lyran tactics are vastly different and can involve a turn 1 ESG ram. Much of what I know about Big Plasma tactics and ways to counter them come from years and years of flying the Firehawk. Although this is somewhat of a simplification and numerous variations exist, opening strategies for Big Plasma ships can generally be separated into two categories:
#1: EPT ballet, in which the plasma ship launches a single EPT to prevent range 8 on both turns 1 and 2. The goal of the plasma ship is to gradually wear down the opponent’s shields while avoiding a crippling return strike. The general Lyran turn 1 counter-tactic for this opening involves a slow-fast plot (usually 16 -> 31) with 8 to 12 points of disruptors powered. The EPT game is highly dependent on board position, and the Lyran should attempt to make the Big Plasma ship launch as early on turn 1 as possible. This in turn will force a earlier turn 2 launch, and create better board position on subsequent turns. The goal of the Lyran ship is to force earlier and earlier EPT launches (and F torp launches if possible), which will allow the Lyran to get closer and closer to the center of the map as the plasmas cycle. The eventual goal is to corner the Big Plasma ship at the beginning of a turn, either to create an ESG overrun opportunity, or to allow the Lyran to go weasel speeds (speeds 0-4) while getting range 4-8 overload shots against the rear shields of the cornered Big Plasma ship.
#2: The “Standard Game” utilizes 1 or 2 standard S torpedoes (real or fake) on turn 1, and relies heavily on deception and the pseudo plasma torpedoes. While standard-loaded S torpedoes do less overall damage than EPTs, they are better at “creating a hole” in the opponent’s shields for future EPTs, they make use of the pseudo plasmas, and they afford the plasma ship significantly more power, which translates to greater speed, reinforcement, and anchor/bolt opportunities. The Lyran counter-tactic for the Standard Game is similar to that for the EPT ballet, although the Lyran must be more aware of anchor and bolt opportunities for the plasma ship.
I follow several tactical guidelines when I am flying a Lyran against Big Plasma:
· Most importantly, the Lyran does not need to execute an ESG ram in order to win. Like drones, the ESGs can be effective even if they do not impact. ESGs should be used to influence movement, discourage anchor attempts, and draw plasma that would not otherwise be launched. A Lyran captain that insists on the ESG ram in the face of overwhelming seeking weapons will generally lose.
· While 16 -> 31 is a fine speed plot for turn 1, it is critical for the Lyran to be going at HET speed (speed 26 or less) on turn 2. The reason for this is that the Lyran is usually starting turn 2 running away from a plasma torpedo and pointing away from his opponent. Moving at faster than HET speed makes it very easy for the Big Plasma ship to stay behind the Lyran, and eliminates the possibility of a Lyran HET/ESG ram.
· The Lyran should be very aware of the plasma ship’s bolting opportunities, especially on the rear shields. This ties to the previous point – speed 26 allows the Lyran to HET and avoid Mizia after the initial bolt. Particularly dangerous situations for the Lyran include centerline on Big Plasma ships (especially the Gorn, whose centerline bolt at range 5 approaches a Fed’s damage output at range 4), as well as oblique on the Firehawk.
· When the Big Plasma ship is in a pursuit position at ranges 4-5, the Lyran should be aware of opportunities for a Lyran HET/ESG ram. If the Lyran can manage direct fire on the same shield the ESG impacts, this can be a winning exchange for the Lyran, even if the Big Plasma ship lands substantial plasma. This is yet another reason it is important for the Lyran to be going at HET speeds on turns 2 and subsequent.
· The Lyran should try to take early turn phaser and plasma damage on rear shields, preserving the front shields for the late game.
· Against Big Plasma, the Lyran should strive to make his attack runs using the Semi-Oblique Attack (along the #1/#2 or #1/#6 shield spine). The Semi-Oblique Attack offers numerous advantages, such as threatening to close the distance without turning in, preserving an escape vector for launched plasma, and making it difficult for the Big Plasma ship to control the shield facing.
Patrol Round Game 1 (Thursday Afternoon)
Jack Huskey, Romulan TKR; 6 turns
I hadn’t played a SFB game in approximately 3 months, and I was hoping I hadn’t lost too much of the edge that can only come from chair time at the controls of a starship.
Turn #1: I plotted 26 moves (1-12:16, 13-32:31), 4 standard disruptors, and 2 wild weasels. The TKR plotted 24 moves (1-16:21, 17-32:28). Very early in the turn the TKR turned right to facing E, heading towards the western edge of the map before turning back to direction D. I started slipping left towards the center of the map, maintaining direction A. On impulse 21 at about range 10, the TKR was about to fly past my FA arc, so I fired 4 standards, doing 6 points to his #6. I continued to slip left towards the TKR, while the TKR turned in to direction C. On impulse 27 I fired 4 phaser-1s (LS and FA/L) from range 8 at the TKR #6, and on impulse 29 the TKR fired 5 phaser-1s at me and a bolted S torpedo from the A launcher (missed), doing 15 points to my #5 shield from range 7. We both ended the turn approximately in the middle of the map facing direction B, the TKR about 8 hexes behind me.
After the game, Jack confirmed my suspicion that the bolted S torpedo was an enveloped plasma which he bolted to create a down shield for the turn 2 EPT. Launching the A60 would have been a much better tactical choice for the TKR. An A60 launched on impulse 32 of turn 1 would have kept me running for all of turn 2 (even if it didn’t do any damage), which would have given the TKR excellent board position and allowed a B60 launch late on turn 2. If the TKR was going to play an EPT ballet game, I felt I had a definite advantage at this point due to board position and the lack of any plasma on the map, even if it would take me 5 more turns to enforce that advantage.
Turn #2: I plotted 24 moves (1-5:14, 6-32:26), recharged the phasers, armed 3 standards, and held 2 wild weasels. The TKR plotted 20 moves (1-8:28, 9-16:21, 17-32:15). I started to turn around, and on impulse 10 the TKR launched an enveloping plasma torpedo out of the B launcher. I spent the rest of the turn running out the B60, an the TKR followed leisurely. We ended up in the northwest corner of the map, and at end of turn I discharged 3 standards.
Turn #3: I plotted 24 moves (1-26:26, 27-32:14), put 3 into HET, armed 2 overloads, and held 1 wild weasel (I dumped 1, not foreseeing the need for 2 wild weasels on turn 4). I armed 2 overloads instead of 4 standards this turn because there was a good chance I could get a range 8 shot on the TKR rears, and I wanted the UIM boost if the shot was presented to me. The TKR plotted 25 moves (1-7:28, 8-16:21, 17-24:28, 25-32:21). On impulse 4 the TKR launched C20 and D20, and turned off. At this point I could have gotten the range 8 shot on the TKR rears if I was willing to eat the 2 F torps. I chose instead to run deep into the northwest corner, and the F torps eventually impacted for 1 point each. The TKR ended up in the center of the map facing direction C, while I was just starting to come out of the northwest corner. At end of turn I discharged 2 overloads.
Turn #4: I plotted speed 26 all turn, armed 4 standards, held 1 wild weasel and started a 2nd. The TKR plotted speed 21 all turn. On impulse 1 the TKR launched an EPT out of the A tube. Because the Romulan F torps wouldn’t be coming back until turn 6, I quickly decided I would eat this plasma in order to corner the TKR at the start of turn 5. I headed toward the center of the map facing direction C, and the plasma impacted for 44 on impulse 12, scratching all my shields and taking my #5 down to 2 points. I then turned to direction D to chase the TKR into the southwest corner. On impulse 25 I fired 4 standards from range 15, rolling well and doing 12 points to the TKR #3. We ended the turn with the TKR deep in the southwest corner facing direction F, and the Lyran direction E 8 hexes from the western map edge.
Turn #5: Now that I had the TKR cornered, I plotted 5 moves (1-4:9, 5-32:4), armed 4 overloads, put 12 points of reinforcement on the #1, held 2 wild weasels and started a 3rd. The TKR plotted 22 moves (1-3:28, 4-32:21). On impulse 1 the TKR launched an EPT out of the B launcher. On impulse 4 I moved forward at speed 9 (now 7 hexes from the map edge) and announced speed 4. The TKR had turned right to direction A, and was trying to escape north along the western map edge. On impulse 5 I launched the 1st wild weasel. On impulse 8 I moved at speed 4 (now 6 hexes from the map edge), the torpedo crushed the weasel, and I announced Active Fire Control. On impulse 12 my fire control came up, and I used 1 reserve warp to bump up my speed to 5, which was scheduled to move next impulse. This impulse the TKR fired 1 phaser-1, which bounced off the reinforcement on my #1. On impulse 13 I moved at speed 5 (now 5 hexes from the map edge in direction E, and 5 hexes to the TKR). Also on impulse 13, I announced ESG #1, and the TKR fired another phaser-1, doing 5 points to my #2.
On impulse 14 the TKR had a dilemma – going straight in direction A would expose his damaged #3 to a range 5 overload shot, but turning in would allow range 4. The Romulan decided to turn in to direction B to show his strong #2 (#2 to #2), but at range 4 we both held fire. On impulse 16 the TKR slipped left, keeping the range at 4, and I called for fire. During fire, the TKR fired 3 phaser-1s and 4 phaser-3s, doing 16 points and taking my #2 shield to 1 box. I fired 5 phaser-1s and 4 UIM overloads (all hit), doing 50 points to the TKR’s #2 shield. After 5 reinforcement, this netted 15 internals, including 2 warp, 1 torpedo, 2 phaser-3s, and 2 phaser-1 (since we were not on a perfect oblique, the TKR only had the 2 forward phaser-3s as padding for the phaser-1s). On impulse 17 the TKR moved forward to range 3 perfect oblique. ESG #1 came up at radius 3 energy 5 (total ESG damage=15). Although the ESG was in the same hex as the TKR, I was moving too slowly to be able to hit him with it. I Miziaed the TKR with another phaser-1, hitting a warp and a phaser-3. The TKR slipped left on impulse 19, and eventually turned left to avoid the ESG. On impulse 20, I used the remaining 4 reserve warp to go to speed 14 to pursue. On impulse 26 I fired my 2 remaining LS phaser-1s at the TKR #4, scratching it for 6 points from range 5. We ended up both facing direction A at range 6 (Lyran #1 to TKR #4).
Turn #6: I again plotted 5 moves (1-4:9, 5-32:4), recharged phasers and batteries (only 4 reserve warp this turn because I had a lot to recharge), armed 4 overloads, held 2 wild weasels and started a 3rd (last shuttle in my bay). The TKR plotted 15 all turn long, and continued to run in direction A. On impulse 8 I slipped to centerline the Romulan, and gave him a range 7 alpha strike with 8 phaser-1s and 4 overloads (2 hit), doing 30 points to his 18 box #4. This netted me 12 internals, including another phaser-3, 3 batteries, and 4 more power. On impulse 9 the TKR HETed back into me, and I announced ESG #2. On impulse 11 the TKR launched an F torp from the C tube, so I cancelled ESG #2 and weaseled. On impulse 21 the TKR launched an F torp from the D launcher, which I also weaseled. We flew out the rest of the turn, but at this point I had yet to take an internal, and Jack conceded.
Patrol Round Game 2 (Friday Morning)
John Mountford, Romulan TKR; 7 turns
I had lunch with and had the opportunity to chat with John several times at Origins 2005. John is returning to SFB after a short hiatus – it was great to see him do well, advance to the Saturday Captain’s Finals, and earn his second Ace card by making it to the Final Eight. On turn 4 I do not recall the exact facing, range, and shield damage, for which I apologize.
Turn #1: I plotted 26 moves (1-12:16, 13-32:31), armed 4 standards, and held 2 wild weasels. The TKR plotted 22 moves (1-24:20, 25-32:26). By impulse 16 we had both turned left to start an oblique attack (#2 to #2), and the TKR launched an EPT from the B launcher from range 12. I slipped in while the TKR slipped out, and on impulse 20 we were at range 8, #2 to #2 with the EPT closing on me rapidly. During fire of impulse 20 I fired 6 phaser-1s and 4 standards (2 hit), rolling poorly for 15 points, which after 5 reinforcement did 10 points to the TKR’s #2 shield. I turned left to direction E to run out the plasma, and the TKR turned in to direction D to pursue. On impulse 24 the TKR returned fire, firing 4 phaser-1s at my #3 shield for 9 points. At turn’s end I was in the western part of the map facing direction E with the EPT 2 hexes behind me. The TKR was in the center of the map also facing direction E, about 10 hexes behind me.
Turn #2: I plotted 24 moves (1-8:28, 9-16:15, 17-32:26), with a burst of speed at the beginning to run out the B60, and a burst of speed at the end to run out what I assumed was an A60 coming this turn. I recharged the phasers, held 2 wild weasels, and put the leftover 4 points into tractor, in case the TKR tried for an anchor. The TKR plotted 17 moves (1-8:15, 9-32:18). The 1st 8 impulses I sprinted away from the B60 towards the western map edge facing direction E, and the EPT eventually hit me for 2 points on impulse 9. I then turned right to direction F, and then to direction A, heading north very close to the western map edge. Meanwhile the TKR had turned right to direction F, trying to pin me against the wall. On impulse 22 the TKR arrived at 10 hexes from the western map edge and launched an EPT from the A launcher. At this point the TKR was almost directly off my #2 shield, so although the EPT would land for a painful 60 points if I kept going in direction A, there was much more room to run in direction D towards the southwest corner. On impulse 23 I used 5 reserve warp to HET to direction D, and the Romulan turned off to direction A. We ended fairly far apart, the Lyran still charging towards the southwest corner to outrun the EPT 3 hexes behind me.
Turn #3: I plotted 25 moves (1-6:16, 7-32:26), recharged the batteries, held 2 wild weasels, and armed 2 standards. The TKR plotted speed 20 all turn. By impulse 5 the EPT had got to range 1 off my #6 shield, and I blasted it with 8 phaser-3s (6 of them were phaser-1s downfired as phaser-3s). On impulse 6 the EPT hit for 30-15=15, which did 2-3 damage to each shield (although looking at my SSD I think I took a little more damage than I was supposed to from this EPT). I started to turn back into the center, and on impulse 24 I fired 2 standards (1 hit) for 3 points of damage, which the TKR reinforced. On impulse 29 the TKR launched a F torp out of the D launcher. On impulse 31 I announced 2 ESGs, more as a feint than anything else. We ended up about range 8 in the center of the map, the Lyran facing direction A and the TKR having turned to direction C, and the F torp about 4 hexes away from the Lyran.
Turn #4: I plotted 11 moves in a Decel plot (1-6:31, 7-14:15, 15-22:7, 23-32: 3), planning to sprint forward to get a close range overload shot, eat the F torp on a strong forward shield, and weasel any S torpedo that was launched out of the B launcher. I recharged phasers, armed 4 overloads, put 2 reinforcement on the #6, held 2 wild weasels and started a 3rd. The TKR plotted 20 moves (1-10:25, 11-23:19, 24-32:15). On impulse 2 I cancelled the ESGs, and fired 2 phaser-3s at the F torp . On impulse 3, I went straight into the F-torp, which unfortunately meant I would eat it for the full 20-4=16 on my #1 shield, since I had moved into its hex before the plasma made its 6th movement. I did this to ensure the TKR was not shooting phasers on the same shield the torpedo impacted. The TKR then launched a 30 point plasma out of the B tube.
On impulse 4 we moved to range 5 (Lyran #2 to TKR #3), and I called for fire. The TKR fired 2 phaser-1s on my #2 for 9 points, while I alphaed with 6 phaser-1s and 4 UIM overloads (3 hit) for a total of 38 on the TKR #3. The TKR reinforced 7 points of damage, and took 7 internals. I don’t remember exactly what was hit, but it included at least 1 warp hit.
On impulse 5 the TKR HETed (the details are a little hazy, but I think it was to prevent me turning in and Miziaing him with my remaining 2 phaser-1s), and I turned off to direction F. On impulse 6 I declared Emergency Deceleration, and on impulse 7 the TKR fired his 3 remaining phaser-1s at me, doing ~12 points to my #3. On impulse 8 I used my 1st wild weasel on the B30, which turned out to be a real S torpedo. The Romulan turned off, I did 1 warp TAC from reserve warp, and we ended outside of range 8 with the Lyran in the center of the map and the TKR in the eastern area of the map. At this point I had done a few internals but the TKR was still in fighting shape, with shields at 30/20/0/24/24/30. My shields were at 11/16/9/19/20/23.
Turn #5: I plotted 7 moves (1-3: warp TAC, 4-11:9, 12-32:4), recharged batteries and phasers, armed 4 overloads, put 2 reinforcement on the #1 shield, held 2 wild weasels and started a 3rd (last shuttle in my bay). The TKR plotted 13 all turn. On impulse 2 I TACed towards the TKR and started slowly pursuing him into the northeast corner. On impulse 20 the TKR launched a 30 point torpedo out of the A tube. On impulse 30 I had centerlined the plasma, and blasted it with 10 phaser-3s (8 were phaser-1s downfired as phaser-3s). The torpedo turned out to be real, and on impulse 31 it impacted for 22-17=5 points on my #1 shield, which I reinforced (3 from battery). On impulse 32 the TKR launched a F torp out of the C launcher, and fired 5 phaser-1s from range 10, doing ~3 points. I reinforced 2 more from battery, and took one damage to my #1. We never got to range 8, and at end of turn I discharged 4 overloads.
Turn #6: I plotted 5 moves (1-4:9, 5-32:4), recharged batteries and phasers, armed 4 overloads, put 2 reinforcement on the #1 shield, and held 3 wild weasels. The TKR plotted speed 18 all turn. On impulse 5 I weaseled the C20 with my 2nd wild weasel. The TKR was trying to escape along the northern map edge, but there was very little room and on impulse 13 we arrived at range 5, the Lyran facing direction F and the TKR fleeing in direction F (Lyran #2 to TKR #5). The TKR launched shuttle #1 speed 6, and I called for fire. The TKR scratched my #1 shield with a phaser-1, while I alphaed the TKR with 6 phaser-1s and 4 overloads (1 hit), rolling poorly and doing 26 measly points from range 5! The TKR reinforced 5 points of damage, which left his #5 at 3 boxes. On impulse 14 I announced ESG #1 radius 3 energy 4 (total ESG damage=12, enough to kill 2 shuttles), and eventually ran over the Romulan shuttle with the ESG. On impulse 22 I spent 3 reserve warp to increase my speed to 14, and followed the TKR leisurely. On impulse 32 the TKR launched shuttle #2. We ended at range 8, Lyran #2 to TKR #4, with the TKR along the northern map edge.
Turn #7: Although we were in overload range to start the turn, I wanted to take advantage of the fact that the TKR would have a very hard time turning around without showing me his down and weak #3 and #5 shields. I plotted speed 14 all turn, recharged batteries and phasers, armed 4 standards, put 3 reinforcement on the #1 shield, and held 2 wild weasels. The TKR plotted speed 15 all turn. We maintained a chase position, the Lyran #2 to TKR #4, with the Romulan skirting the northern map edge in direction F and unwilling to turn to show me the weak #5 shield. On impulse 12 I ran over shuttle #2 with the ESG, and the TKR launched shuttle #3. On impulse 21 I spent 2 batteries to tractor and death-drag shuttle #3 from range 2 (I used a tractor instead of the phaser-3s because I needed to “freeze” the shuttle in place along my #1/#2 shield spine, preserving my choice of shield). The shuttle fired and did a couple of points to my #2 before he died. We maintained the chase position until impulse 30, when the TKR attempted to HET into me. As this was the Romulan’s 2nd HET, John no longer had his HET bonus, rolled a 5, broke down, and conceded. It turns out that the B plasma that was back on line this turn was armed as an EPT, which would have had to have been ejected into space, barring a successful HET to bring it into arc.
Patrol Round Game 3 (Friday Afternoon)
Allen Phelps (BigLizard), Gorn; 8 turns
I was 1-1 against Allen going into this matchup, having lost a Firehawk-Gorn battle and won a ISC-Gorn battle at Origins in the 1990s, both approaching 20 turns in duration. Some of the middle turns of this game I do not recall the exact facing, range, and shield damage, for which I apologize. I’d like to thank Allen for helping me reconstruct some parts of this battle.
Turn #1: I plotted 26 moves (1-12:16, 13-32:31), 4 standards, and 2 wild weasels. The Gorn plotted 23 moves (1-10:17, 11-24:31, 25-32:16) enveloping the B torpedo and rolling the A torpedo. I went straight up the map, while the Gorn eventually turned left to direction C to “cross my T.” On impulse 16 from range 12, the Gorn launched the EPT from the B launcher, and started slipping left to try to keep the distance open. The Lyran turned right to direction B, trying to either get a range 8 shot or make the Gorn turn off completely. On impulse 21 the Gorn was forced to turn to direction B heading towards the northeast corner, in order to prevent the range 8 shot. I fired 4 standards, marking the Gorn #3 for 6 points, and turned off to direction C. We ended the turn with the Gorn in the northeast corner facing A, and the Lyran in the southern area of the map facing D, running from the B60 4 hexes behind me.
Turn #2: I plotted 23 moves (1-5:20, 6-16:19, 17-32:26), 4 standards, 3 into HET, and held 2 wild weasels. The Gorn plotted 25 moves (1-3:17, 4-32:26). After the battle I learned that Allen had allocated 4 to tractor this turn. I ran out the B60, and turned back towards the center of the map. Mid turn we were both heading for a battle pass in the middle of the map, and on impulse 16 I announced 2 ESGs. On impulse 20 from range 6, Allen knew the ESGs could not be cancelled, and the Gorn launched A30 and C20. The ESGs came up at radius 3 energy 5 (total ESG damage=30). On impulse 21 we closed to range 4 approximately off the #6/#1 shield spine (Gorn facing direction E, Lyran facing direction B). During fire, the Gorn fired 4 phaser-1s from range 4, doing 17 points to my #6 shield, while I held fire, hoping to get a firing opportunity after an ESG ram.
On impulse 22 the Gorn made a 180˚ HET to direction B. Seeing how I was not going to get an ESG ram without eating the A30 and C20, I turned right to direction C. During fire, the Gorn fired his remaining 4 phaser-1s from range 5, doing ~13 points to my #5 shield, of which I blocked 5 with batteries. I fired 4 phaser-1s (FA/L and LS) at the Gorn #4. On impulse 32 I dropped the ESGs, and we ended up at range ~20, with the plasmas 2 hexes behind me. I discharged 4 standards. The Gorn definitely won this close range phaser exchange.
Turn #3: I plotted 24 moves (1-4:26, 5-12:14, 13-32:26), recharged batteries and phasers, held 2 wild weasels, and stuck 1 leftover point of energy into ESG #1. The Gorn plotted speed 16 all turn. I started the turn with a speed burst to run the pursuing plasmas to 16 hexes, and shot 2 phaser-3s at the A30 on impulse 4. On impulse 5 the A30 impacted and was revealed as a pseudo. I looped around to engage, and the Gorn kept his distance for most of the turn. On impulse 23 we were in the northern area of the map, and the Gorn announced speed 31 (Allen later told me this was from reserve warp). Also on impulse 23, the Gorn launched an EPT from the A tube to drive me off and regain the center of the map. I peeled off to run it out.
Turn #4: I plotted 23 moves (1-16:20, 17-32:26), recharged phasers, and held 2 wild weasels. Instead of charging disruptors, I decided to put 9 into the ESGs and fully recharge them (1 point was already in ESG #1 from turn 3). The Gorn plotted 16 all turn. Nothing much happened this turn, as I spent most of the turn running out the EPT, while the Gorn followed leisurely into the center of the map.
Turn #5: I plotted speed 26 all turn, armed 4 standards, and held 2 wild weasels. The Gorn plotted 20 moves (1-13:26, 14-32:16). After the battle I learned that Allen had allocated 6 to tractor this turn. Early in the turn we were heading for another close range battle pass, and on impulse 3 I announced 2 ESGs. On impulse 7 the 2 full strength ESGs went up, radius 3 energy 5 (total ESG damage=30), which surprised Allen a little I think. I think we were at range 5 just short of perfect oblique at this point (#2 to #2), and he launched 2 shuttles as ESG padding. I remember that Allen and I both thought on this impulse for a long time, and during fire phase I fired 2 standards and 1 FA/L phaser-1 at each shuttle (FA weapons which would go out of arc unless I turned in), killing both. I remember thinking I could probably defeat a range 3 anchor attempt with batteries, but that the Gorn could potentially win a range 2 anchor attempt. The details are a little hazy, but I remember wanting to preserve the ability to do a full strength ram outside of my FA arc, keeping the FA/R and RS phaser-1s as a phaser chaser. Anyways, it seemed to make sense at the time! On impulse 8 we moved to range 4 just past the Lyran oblique, which was fine since I had already fired the FA disruptors. The Gorn launched a 20 point torp out of the C tube, and fired 4 phaser-1s at my #2.
On impulse 9 the Gorn turned off and I slipped in (again, details are hazy but I think it was because I could get the already damaged Gorn #4 with 4 phaser-1s without eating the F torp for full on the front shields), and fired 4 phaser-1s (FA/R, RS) back at the Gorn, which after reinforcement took the Gorn #4 shield down but did no internals. The same impulse the Gorn fired another phaser-1 at my #3. On impulse 10 I turned off, and used 2 reserve warp to go to speed 28 to run out the F torp a little. On impulse 13 I got my last 2 LS phaser-1s on the down Gorn #4 from range 9, but I rolled poorly and didn’t score any internals. The F torp eventually impacted my #3 shield for 15 on impulse 17 (I think, details a little hazy), and we ended the turn outside of range 8. On impulse 32 I dropped the ESGs. Like turn 2, the Gorn again had won the phaser exchange. While I had dropped the Gorn #4 and dinged the #3, the Gorn had ripped my flank shields to shreds with phaser-1s on turns 2 and 5, and my shields at this point were not looking so great at 30/16/8/24/16/13. In addition, Allen had again drawn my full strength ESGs, and would have 3 plasma torpedoes hot on turn 6.
Turn #6: I plotted 22 moves (1-12:14, 13-32:26), recharged the batteries and phasers, armed 1 standard, and held 2 wild weasels. The Gorn also plotted 22 moves (1-17:17, 18-32:26). We approached pretty much head to head, and on impulse 14 the Gorn launched A30 (real). On impulse 15 we moved to range 5, and I fired 6 phaser-1s and the standard disruptor (hit), doing 25 points and taking the Gorn #1 shield to 5 boxes. On impulse 16 the Lyran did a 180˚ HET to direction A, directly away from the Gorn and the S torp, and showing the 24 box #4. The Gorn pursued me at speed 26, being careful not to show me the damaged #1 with my remaining 2 phaser-1s. On impulses 19 and 24, the Gorn fired his 6 forward phaser-1s from range 5, dropping my #4 shield to 1 box. We ended at range 4 at the northern map edge, Lyran facing F and Gorn facing A (Gorn #6 to Lyran #4). I honestly don’t remember exactly what happened to the A30, but I’m pretty sure I took it late in the turn on the #5 for 15-4=11, which dropped the #5 shield to 5 boxes. Now my shields were really a wreck, at 30/16/8/1/5/13.
Allen and I talked a little bit about this turn after the battle, and we both agreed that he chased me too hard on turn 6. I understand why he was so aggressive (he was trying to rake me with Gorn phasers on the weak rear shields on impulse 1 of next turn), but ending the turn at such close range really allowed me to even up the game on turn 7. I think if Allen had turned off and ended at ranges 6-15, we both agreed my degraded shielding would have translated to an eventual Gorn victory.
Turn #7: I plotted 5 TACs (4 warp, 1 impulse), recharged the batteries and phasers, armed 4 overloads, put a little into tractor, and held 2 wild weasels. Allen plotted 13 moves (1-8:17, 9-32:12). On impulse 1 the Gorn declined to fire on my 1 box #4, thinking I had a brick on that shield. On impulse 2 the Gorn turned right to direction B, and I made a warp TAC to direction E. The Gorn fired 3 phaser-1s (LS and RA/L) from range 4, rolling poorly and doing 9 points to my 5 box #5. I burned 5 batteries for reinforcement, and the shield held at 1 box.
On impulse 3 I made an impulse TAC to direction D, which brought the Gorn into my FA arc. On fire of impulse 3, I fired 4 phaser 1-s and 4 UIM overloads (all hit), doing 46 damage to the Gorn’s 24 box #5 shield. Allen considered saving his batteries for a HET, but since he had already done a HET on turn 2, it would have meant a 33% chance of breaking down. The Gorn blocked 5 of the damage, and took 17 internals from the salvo, netting me a torp (I think Allen took the A torp since it would be 2 turns until it was back online), 3 warp, 1 phaser-3, and 1 phaser-1. On impulse 4 I Miziaed the Gorn with 2 more phaser-1s through the down shield, doing 6 internals and hitting another phaser-1. On impulse 8 Allen moved on to my centerline (even had he not, I could have TACed to bring my last 2 phasers to bear) and I fired the last 2 phaser-1s through the down shield, doing a few internals but hitting nothing of consequence.
Allen still had 50 points of armed plasma on his ship (B30 and D20) as well as 5 unfired phaser-1s, so he slowly started to circle around to his left at speed 12. On impulse 19 I launched a manned shuttle for fire support. On impulse 20 the Gorn had gotten himself mostly turned around, and from range 6 launched a 30 point torpedo out of the B launcher. On impulse 25 the plasma was 1 hex away and I considered weaseling, but at this point I was more concerned about a late turn Gorn Anchor (since I had already burned my batteries) rather than a single S torp taking down my #1 shield, so I let it hit. The B30 impacted on impulse 26, and was revealed as a pseudo (After the battle I learned that Allen had actually wanted to launch a real S, but that he was rolling the torp and did not have any more battery power to finish it as a standard S). On impulse 26 I launched my 1st wild weasel, wanting to draw Gorn phaser fire, since any phasers fired at this point would not be cycled until impulse 2 of next turn, and my 2 weasels would provide me protection from being tractored through the end of the turn. The Gorn fired a FA/L phaser-1 at the weasel, crippling it. The Gorn continued to close slowly, and on impulse 27 my manned shuttle had maneuvered onto the Gorn’s down #4 shield. My shuttle fired from range 2, doing 4 internals – I do not remember but I think the internals were good, getting ~2 power/weapon hits. The same impulse, the Gorn finished the crippled wild weasel with the RS phaser-3, and fired a RA/R phaser-1 at the manned shuttle, rolling well and killing it. On impulse 30, the Gorn was at range 2, and I launched my 2nd wild weasel. The Gorn crippled it with the FA/R phaser-1. Although this was my last wild weasel armed, it appeared that we would end the turn at range 1, and at this point all I wanted to do was survive until next turn, since I thought I could do more damage with my direct fire than the Gorn could do with his plasma torpedoes. We ended at range 1 (Lyran #1 to Gorn #2), with the Gorn at ~34 power, missing 1-2 plasmas and 4-5 phasers, while I had yet to take an internal.
Turn #8: I TACed and overloaded everything. On impulse 1 I blasted the Gorn with 8 phaser-1s, 2 phaser-3s, and 4 overloads (all hit). Because my Active Fire Control was not up, I was firing at double range (range 2), but I still did 76 points to the Gorn #2, and Allen conceded.
Captain’s Round of 16 (Saturday Morning)
Lee Larsen (LeeLarsen), Romulan TFH; 4 turns + EA of turn 5
I knew I was in for a tussle against Lee, the 1996 Fleet Captain. The Firehawk is a little different than the other Big Plasma ships in that the S torps have the FH plasma arc. While this provides some powerful advantages, it also means that once the Firehawk loses the #1, #2, and #6 shields, it becomes very difficult for the Firehawk to launch the S torps. Because of this, I will usually make a concerted effort to do damage to the front shields rather than the rear shields of the Firehawk.
Turn #1: I plotted 24 moves (1-16:16, 17-32:31), with 1 overload, 3 standards, and 2 wild weasels. The Firehawk plotted 26 moves (1-27:25, 28-32:26). I found out after the battle that Lee had also plotted 1 suicide shuttle, 2 to tractor, 1 to HET, and held both S torps as standards. We both went straight for about the first 16 impulses and closed rapidly, and as we closed no plasma was launched! This definitely threw me for a loop, and I started to wonder whether the Firehawk was trying for a turn 1 anchor. On impulse 17 I announced 2 ESGs, and we continued to close, the Firehawk turning left to direction C.
On impulse 21 we arrived at range 4 just off the Romulan centerline (Firehawk #1 to Lyran #6), and both ESGs went up at range 3 energy 5 (total ESG damage=30). There was still no plasma in the air! I contemplated holding fire until after the ESGs impacted, but I was still worried (rightly) about the anchor. During fire phase of impulse 21 the Firehawk held fire, while I fired 6 phaser-1s, using 4 reserve power to fire 3 overloads with the UIM (2 hit), and a standard (hit), for a total of 40 points on the Firehawk #1, netting 10 internals including 2 warp, a torpedo (Lee chose the D torp), and the RS phaser-3.
On impulse 22 the Firehawk HET to direction B in order to avoid getting hit by the ESGs on the down shield. After my fire on impulse 21 I only had 1 battery left to fight off a range 3 tractor attempt. After I saw the Romulan HET, I was almost sure he couldn’t tractor me at range 3, and I was sorely tempted to ram him with the ESGs, which would have downed his #2 shield and left me in great shape for the rest of the game. However, I wasn’t 100% sure I could defeat the range 3 anchor attempt if the Romulan had a speed change down later in the turn, so I conservatively opted not to ram, and slipped right to maintain range 4. On impulse 23 the Firehawk did not move, and I turned right to direction B to again maintain range 4, with the Firehawk behind me off my #5.
On impulse 24, Lee realized he would not be getting to range 3, and he fired 3 phaser-1s and bolted 2 S torpedoes (1 hit) on my #5, doing 26 points and scoring 2 internals, one of which hit a phaser-3. Lee would have bolted the D20 at me as well, but on impulse 21 he had taken the wrong F torp as damage (D20 instead of C20 – destroyed plasma torpedoes can be launched but not bolted for 8 impulses). On impulse 25 the Firehawk fired another phaser-1, destroying the other phaser-3 and a LS phaser-1. On impulse 28 the Firehawk turned to direction A and fired his last RX phaser-1 through my #5, destroying another LS phaser-1!! On impulse 29 I turned off to direction C because I was concerned the Firehawk might end the turn facing my down shield. The Firehawk launched his destroyed D20, and we peeled off in opposite directions. On impulse 32 I dropped the ESGs. At this point I felt very good about having dropped the Romulan #1, but was a little worried because I’d lost so many phasers on 3 very small volleys! We both ended the turn down 2 warp, the Romulan at 36 total power and the Lyran at 38 total power.
Turn #2: I plotted 24 moves (1-16:20, 17-32:27), recharged batteries and phasers, and held 2 wild weasels. I had 1 extra point of power left over so I stuck it into ESG #1. The Firehawk plotted 13 moves (1-11:9, 12-32:14). I circled to the right towards the center of the map, while the Firehawk slowly circled left to meet me. By impulse 28 we had arrived at range 5, the Lyran facing F and the Firehawk facing E (Lyran #2 to Firehawk #6). The Firehawk launched a 20 point plasma from the C tube, and during fire I fired my 6 phaser-1s, reducing the Firehawk #6 shield to 5 boxes. On impulse 29 I turned left to direction E to run out the F torp, and the Firehawk returned fire over the next 3 impulses with 5 phaser-1s on my #3 from range 5, reducing my #3 shield to a handful of boxes. I ended the turn with the F torp 2 hexes behind me. At the end of the turn the Firehawk repaired 2 boxes (powered) on his #1 shield. I repaired a phaser-3 (1st repair), and was working on a LS phaser-1. The Lyran shields were at 30/30/5/24/0/30, while the Romulan shields were at 2/30/24/24/24/5.
Turn #3: I plotted 18 moves (1-4:24, 5-12:23, 13-32:14), recharged phasers (only 6 out of the 6.5 capacitor was full this turn), armed 3 standards, held 2 wild weasels and started a 3rd. I had an extra point left over, so I put it into HET. The Firehawk plotted 17 moves (1-14:14, 15-24:24, 25-32:12). Early in the turn I continued to run from the F torpedo in direction C, and eventually it impacted for 15 points on my #4 shield. On impulse 12 the Firehawk fired 4 phaser-1s at my weak #3 from range 8, and I was forced to use 4 batteries to reinforce and keep the shield at 1 box. I fired the 3 standards at the Firehawk #3 on impulse 22, hitting with all 3 and scoring 9 points on the Firehawk #3. We ended the turn in the center of the map, the Lyran facing direction B and the Firehawk facing direction D at about range 8 (Lyran #1 to Firehawk #2). I repaired a LS phaser-1 (2nd repair) and was working on the other LS phaser-1. Lee repaired a F torp (1st repair). Lyran shields at this point were at 30/30/1/9/0/30, while the Firehawk shields were at 2/30/15/24/24/5.
Turn #4: This turn presented a dilemma – I could not attempt the standard oblique attack because a single plasma S launch would force me to turn off, exposing my weak and down rear shields to Romulan phaser fire. In addition, the ESGs were not powered, and there was a very real threat of a Romulan anchor attempt. Because of these reasons, I planned to Emergency Decel and weasel this turn, hoping that the Firehawk would choose to attempt the anchor. I plotted 11 moves in a Decel plot (1-4:24, 5-12:14, 13-20:9, 21-32:4). I allocated 4 standards, held 3 wild weasels, put 1 into phasers (only 7 out of the 7.5 capacitor was full this turn), and 7 into tractor. Because I planned to Emergency Decel and weasel, I filled the batteries with 4 reserve warp and 1 reserve impulse, for greatest TAC flexibility after the Decel. The Firehawk plotted 14 moves (1-3:16, 4-15:14, 16-32:13). After the battle I learned that Lee also put 1 to tractor, 8 to envelop torp A, 2 to roll torp B, 4 to recharge phasers, and was holding his suicide shuttle. On impulse 1 the Firehawk launched a 30 point torpedo from the A tube. I slipped away from the torp the next 3 impulses, and on impulse 4 I announced my speed deceleration to 14. The Romulan responded by launching another 30 point torpedo, from the B tube. I then declared Emergency Deceleration, which didn’t bother me too much since I was planning to Decel this turn anyways. On impulse 6 I was stopped, with the A30 1 hex away and the B30 4 hexes away. I launched my 1st wild weasel speed 5, and the Firehawk immediately vaporized it with phaser-1s #1 and #2, since the A30 and B30 would turn out to be fakes. On impulse 7 I announced Active Fire Control coming up, since even if the B30 were real, it would hit my wild weasel during the explosion period.
On impulse 11 my AFC was up and the Romulan was at range 6 along his #2/#3 shield spine. The Firehawk launched a 30 point torpedo out of the B launcher (real). During fire phase I fired 5 phaser-1s and 4 standards, rolling poorly with the phasers but hitting with 3 disruptors for a total of 17 on the Firehawk’s already damaged #3, doing 2 internals including an already fired FX phaser-1. The reason I fired at this point is that I wanted the Romulan to engage. The worst possible scenario for me would be to have the real B30 kill my 2nd wild weasel, and the real A plasma kill my 3rd wild weasel, leaving me dead in space at speed zero until the Romulan came back with 2 EPTs on turn 7. While the Firehawk would have had some maneuver issues with a down or weak #6, #1, and #3, this was probably a winning strategy for the Romulan.
Luckily for me, Lee saw a mostly-empty Lyran dead in space, and turned in for the anchor, or at least a flyby, raking me with phasers. On impulse 15 with the B30 1 hex away from me, I launched my 2nd wild weasel speed 2, and the Firehawk launched shuttle #1 (manned, speed 6) for phaser support. On impulse 16, the real S torpedo impacted the wild weasel, and I announced Active Fire Control. On impulse 18 the Firehawk launched shuttle #2 (manned, speed 6). On impulse 22 from range 2, the Romulan declared Emergency Deceleration, which would place him at range 1 from the Lyran. I spent 1 reserve warp on a warp TAC this impulse, to centerline the Firehawk (Lyran #1 to Firehawk #2). On impulse 23, the Firehawk moved to range 1, and attempted a tractor beam. I fought the tractor beam for 4 points and broke it (Lee used 1 allocated tractor and 3 batteries, the other 2 batteries having been used to finish the rolling B torpedo). The Firehawk then launched shuttle #3 speed 4 pointed in my direction, which I crippled with a RS phaser-1 so that it wouldn’t move next impulse. On impulse 24, the Firehawk came to a stop, and I used 1 lab on Romulan shuttle #3 at range 1, identifying it as a manned shuttle. On impulse 25, the Firehawk launched the EPT out of the A launcher, wanting to make the Lyran prove it had armed the 3rd wild weasel. I launched the 3rd wild weasel speed 5 pointed at the Firehawk, hoping to cause collateral damage to both the Romulan and his crippled manned shuttle #3 when the weasel entered the Romulan hex. During fire phase, the Firehawk fired the FA/L phaser-1 at the weasel, crippling it and ensuring that at speed 3 it did not leave the hex next impulse. On impulse 26, the EPT crushed the weasel, doing 8 collateral to my #1 shield, and I announced Active Fire Control.
On impulse 27, I used 1 reserve impulse to buy speed 1 in reverse, which would save me from being hit by the suicide shuttle that I suspected the Firehawk was holding in his bay. On impulse 30 my fire control was up. At this point I had shuttles #1 and #2 off my #6, and shuttle #3 and the Firehawk off my 22 box #1. Since I had excess allocated tractor power, I should have tractored shuttles #1 and #2 to keep them on my #6 shield, but I missed the opportunity. The Firehawk launched shuttle #4 (suicide, speed 6) at me. On fire of impulse 30, I fired my phaser-3 at shuttle #3 to autokill it before it became eligible to fire, and my last phaser-1 at shuttle #2 (rolled a 3, doing 5 to shuttle #2 and crippling it). I had to spend 0.5 from my batteries to fire this since the phaser capacitor was not fully charged during EA. Also on impulse 30, the Firehawk fired his remaining bearing phasers at me – 2 phaser-1s and 2 phaser-3s, rolling well and doing 22 points to my #1. I spent another battery to keep the shield at 1 box. On impulse 31, I labbed shuttle #4 and identified it as a seeker, as I had suspected. On impulse 32, I moved directly backwards at speed minus one, and all 3 Romulan shuttles moved to range 1 off my #1 shield. On impulse 32 shuttles #1 and #2 fired at my 1 point #1. I used my last battery for reinforcement and took 5 internals including the repaired phaser-3 (had I tractored shuttles #1 and #2 on impulse 30 to keep them off my #6, I would have taken no internals and kept the #1 shield intact).
After the game, Lee pointed out that I could have won the game on impulse 32 by recognizing that at speed 1 ships have a turn mode of zero, and I could have turned on impulse 32, and alphaed his down #1 shield on impulse 1! I totally missed this, and we went on to EA of turn 5. At the end of the turn I repaired a LS phaser-1 (3rd repair), while the Firehawk repaired a warp as an AWR (2nd repair). At this point, the Romulan and the Lyran were 2 hexes apart, the Romulan showing a pristine #2 towards the Lyran down #1 (Lyran centerline). At range 1 were 2 manned Romulan shuttles (one crippled) which were not eligible to fire until impulse 8, and a Romulan suicide shuttle. The Firehawk would have 2 phaser-1s cycled and ready to fire on impulse 1 through the down Lyran #1 shield, and the Lyran had 1 shuttle left in the bay. The Lyran was at 38 power, with 8 phaser-1s, 4 disruptors, 2 ESGs, and shields at 0/30/1/9/0/30. The Romulan was at 37 power, with 4 phaser-1s, 3 phaser-3s, 4 plasma torpedoes (S torps coming back on turn #7, and F torps coming back on turns #5 and #6), and shields at 2/30/0/24/24/5.
EA of Turn #5: Sadly, we had just finished EA when the judges came over to adjudicate after 3 hours of play. The most unfortunate thing is that the game was extremely close, and that since we were in a knifefight, playing out even the 1st 8 impulses of turn 5 would really have given a much better indication of who would have won the game. I was planning on killing suicide shuttle #4 and shuttle #1 (or, force it to Emergency Decel) with a minimum of energy into ESG #1, blasting the Firehawk with 7 phaser-1s and 4 overloads on impulse 1, and autokilling the crippled shuttle #2 with the cycling phaser #8. I was planning to eat the cycled C20 on my #2 shield, starting my last wild weasel for one of the S torps coming back on turn 7. Lee planned on bricking my impulse 1 alpha strike and reloading the torps, with 2 in phasers (for the impulse 1 strike) and 2 in tractor. The judges adjudicated in favor of the Lyran, in part I believe because the Firehawk would have had an extremely hard time showing a good shield to launch the S torps on turn 7. Nevertheless, it was a very well-fought and very close game that could have gone either way depending on disruptor rolls on impulse 1, and it was a shame that it had to go to adjudication.
Captain’s Quarterfinal (Saturday Afternoon)
Brian Evans (Romwe), Orion (HHgBB); 1 turn
Against the hellbore Orion, I like to engage on turn 1 in the Lyran if I think I can get to range 4 or better, even if the Orion is doubling both warp engines. On turn 1 it is unlikely that the Lyran will have to deal with drones because any engagement will happen at the end of the turn when the Lyran has his speed. In addition, because the Lyran can potentially corner-dodge on turn 1,the Orion usually does not have hellbores overloaded in EA, and may not have energy allocated to tractor or HET. While corner-dodging on turn 1 is OK in certain situations, it gives away board position and severely limits the Lyran’s options on turn 2.
Turn #1: I plotted 20 moves (1-19:14, 20-27:25, 28-32:26) which allows movement for the last 9 impulses of the turn, armed 3 overloads and 1 standard, and held 2 wild weasels. My plan was to get as close as possible for an overload shot, using radius zero ESGs for hellbore defense. If it looked like I would not get to range 4, my plan was to turn off and delay the engagement until turn 2. The Orion doubled the left warp (power=39), and plotted speed 26 for the whole turn. As we approached, the pirate was slipping right, attempting to keep his #6 shield facing me. Mid-turn I turned left to direction F, hoping that the Orion would make a mistake and show me the #1 shield. He did not, but direction F was still the best intercept course.
On impulse 23 I announced 2 ESGs for hellbore defense, and on impulse 25 the Orion launched 2 drones. On impulse 27 the ESGs went up at radius 0 energy 5 (total ESG damage=40), with the ships approximately range 6 and closing Semi-Oblique, the Orion #6 to the Lyran #1. At this point I think Brian realized he should have turned off earlier – the only way to keep the reinforced #6 shield to me was to allow me to continue closing the distance, and at this point we were so close that turning off meant giving the Lyran a range 4 shot on the unreinforced rears. On impulse 29 I used 4 labs on the drones, identifying them both as type-I drones. This meant that even if the hellbores took down the ESGs, I didn’t really have to worry about the drones doing internals, as long as they did not impact the same shield as Orion fire. At this point we were at range 3 perfect oblique, Orion #6 to Lyran #1.
On impulse 30, the Lyran went straight in direction F, and the Orion slipped in to range 1 direction D (while the Orion could have slipped out to maintain range 3, it would have meant the Lyran would get a non-reinforced shield on impulse 31 by slipping left). The drones were in the same hex as the Orion, also facing direction D. During impulse activity the Orion launched a suicide shuttle in direction D. The Lyran had a range 1 centerline shot on the Orion bricked (reinforced) #6, and we alphaed each other. The Orion fired 4 phaser-1s, 7 phaser-3s, and 2 standard hellbores (autohits against the ESGs), which totaled 43 damage from direct fire, netting 13 internals. The Lyran fired 8 phaser-1s, 2 phaser-3s, and 4 overloads (all hit), which totaled 92 damage, netting ~50 internals after the Orion brick. I was going to be able to evade the Orion seeking weapons by turning to direction A, so Brian conceded and we didn’t roll out the internals.
Having watched and played against him on SFBOL I know Brian to be a very skilled and dangerous player, and I think if we played this matchup 10 times we would each win 5. I was very fortunate that Brian was a little off his game this day, and that he fell into my “trap.”
Captain’s Semifinal (Saturday Afternoon)
Ralph Wiazowski (wralph), Romulan TFH; 5 turns
Having been roommates in Ann Arbor, Ralph and I have played literally thousands of SFB Tournament Duels. Despite our familiarity with each other, this was only the 2nd time we’d faced each other at Origins, the 1st being the Origins 1990 Patrol Final, where his Gorn outflew my Firehawk to take the Patrol title.
Turn #1: I plotted 24 moves (1-16:16, 17-32:31), armed 2 overloads and 1 standard, and held 1 suicide shuttle and 1 wild weasel instead of the usual 2 wild weasels. Ralph is (along with myself), one of the most aggressive plasma players in SFB, and I didn’t think that the game would come down to the 2nd weasel. The Firehawk plotted 20 moves (1-19:16, 20-32:26). We both went straight for the first half of the turn, and as we both approached the #6/#1 spine, I wasn’t sure whether the Romulan had an EPT, or reinforcement on the #2 or #6 (ironically, I found out later that Ralph had 8 General Reinforcement and 1 Specific Reinforcement on the #1). On impulse 20 at range 12 the Firehawk launched a 30 point S torpedo out of the A launcher. On the same impulse I announced 2 ESGs. We both turned left (Lyran direction F, Firehawk direction C) to start an oblique attack off the #2 shield. The Romulan slipped away, and on impulse 23 I cancelled both ESGs. Also on impulse 23, the Firehawk fired the FA/L phaser-1 that was about to go out of arc from range 8 on my #2 shield.
On Impulse 24 we were at range 6 perfect oblique, #2 to #2. The Firehawk fired 4 phaser-1s on my #2 shield, while I held fire – I was still entertaining thoughts of turning into the first plasma torpedo to get a shot on the rear shields. We flew past each others’ FA arc, and on impulse 26 I was range 1 from the A30. The Romulan then launched a 30 point S torpedo out of the B launcher, which immediately erased any thoughts of me turning in. I fired 8 phaser-3s at the A30 (6 were phaser-1s downfired as phaser-3s), and turned off to direction E. The Firehawk turned in behind me to direction D to pursue. I meant to slip in to the A30 on impulse 31 to determine if it was real or fake, but Ralph moved the plasma off my #4, meaning I would have to wait until impulse 1 of turn 2 to find out what it was. We ended at range 8 or so, the Lyran in the southwest area of the map direction E, the A30 plasma 1 hex behind me, the B30 plasma 6 hexes behind me, and the Romulan in the center of the map about 9 hexes behind me, also facing direction E. At end of turn I discharged 2 overloads and 1 standard.
Turn #2: I plotted 23 moves (1-16:20, 17-32:26), recharged the phaser capacitor, put 4 into a HET and 3 into tractor. Turn 1 was definitely different than I thought it would be, so I dumped the suicide shuttle and started arming a 2nd wild weasel. I had no idea how much plasma the Romulan still had on board, and I knew that there was definitely an anchor threat, which is why I allocated the tractor. The Firehawk plotted speed 20 all turn. On impulse 1 the A30 hit and was revealed as a pseudo. The Romulan continued to pursue and force me towards the western map edge, as I turned first to direction F, then to direction A, heading towards the northwest corner of the map. On impulse 10, the Firehawk launched an EPT out of the A launcher which was guaranteed to hit for 44 minimum, since he was less than 15 hexes from the western map edge. I fired 2 phaser-3s at the B30 which was 1 hex away. On impulse 11 the B30 impacted, and was also revealed as a pseudo. Up until this time, I had seriously considered HETing to direction D to outrun the A60, especially since 4 points of the HET had already been paid for in EA. However, HETing to direction D would now run me into the southwest corner of the map, setting up Ralph perfectly for a B60 launch on turn 3, so I ruled out the HET. On impulse 11 I announced 2 ESGs coming up, and the Firehawk started slipping left towards the western edge of the map, trying to stay behind me. On impulse 14 I cancelled both ESGs, and on impulse 16 the Firehawk fired 5 phaser-1s from range 8, rolling poorly and doing 7 points to my #3 shield. The Firehawk then turned left to direction D, heading towards the southern part of the map. Ralph had chosen to turn off and gain some separation, rather than follow me into the northwest corner and stay behind me at range 8. Given that the Romulan still had 3 torpedoes in the tubes and pristine shields, turning in to pursue may have been the better choice – turning off gave me the maneuvering room I needed on turn 3.
On impulse 20 I was in the northwest corner still heading direction A, running from the EPT. I fired 4 phaser-1s downfired as phaser-3s at the A60 on impulse 20, and on impulse 21 it impacted for 44-7=37 points, scratching all the shields. I turned right to direction B, heading for the center of the map. We ended the turn approximately range 10, the Lyran in the western area of the map facing direction C, and the Romulan in the southern area of the map facing direction B. At this point I thought the game was fairly even. While I had not done any damage to the Firehawk, I had drawn both pseudos, still had 4 shuttles in the bay, and had good board position starting turn 3. Ralph had gotten my shields down to 24/13/11/17/18/23, and still had 3 torpedoes in the tubes.
Turn #3: I plotted 22 moves (1-21:26, 22-32:14), recharged the phaser capacitor, armed 2 overloads and 1 standard. I only held 1 wild weasel this turn, since it did not appear that I would need multiple wild weasels in the near future. The Firehawk plotted 25 moves (1-5:20, 6-19:25, 20-32:26). The Firehawk had only gone 2 hexes in direction B, and (barring a HET from the Firehawk) it would not be until impulse 5 until he could turn to direction A to get his FH plasma S torps into arc. On impulse 2, I announced 2 ESGs, and continued to charge the Romulan.
On impulse 5, the Romulan turned to direction A and I closed to range 5 just off centerline (Lyran #1 to Firehawk #6). At this point the Romulan launched the B30 and C20 plasmas (both real) as an overrun deterrent. I briefly considered eating the 50 points of plasma for an ESG ram, but decided the Lyran would come out on the losing end of that exchange, so I cancelled both ESGs. On fire of impulse 5, the Romulan fired 1 phaser-1, scratching my #1 for 3 points. The Lyran fired 6 phaser-1s, 2 overloads using the UIM, and 1 standard (all 3 disruptors hit), rolling well for a total of 38 points, netting 8 internals including 2 warp and the LS phaser-3. On impulse 6, to my surprise the speed 25 Firehawk did not HET, but slipped right to range 5 perfect oblique (Ralph later revealed to me that because of his aggressive speed plots and because he had to finish the rolled B plasma this turn as a standard, he was running with only partially full phaser capacitors, and that much of his phaser fire this turn actually came from the batteries, so no HET was available). In return the speed 26 Lyran did a 180˚ HET in place from reserve warp to direction F. During fire of impulse 6, the Firehawk fired the remaining 4 phaser-1s from range 5, doing 16 to the Lyran #4 and taking it to 1 shield box. The Lyran fired the remaining 2 LS phaser-1s through the Firehawk’s down #6, doing 6 more internals – my internal rolls included a 3, a 4 and a 10, which killed the RA/L phaser-3 and the RX and FA/L phaser-1s!! Killing those 2 phaser-1s was the turning point of the game, as except for the 2 phaser-1 hits, the Firehawk was still in fine fighting shape.
With the Firehawk in hot pursuit, the Lyran ran from the B30 and C20 towards the western map edge until impulse 22, when I dropped to speed 14 and shot at the B30 with my 2 phaser-3s. On impulse 23 the B30 impacted for 15-3=12 points, doing 11 internals through the 1 box Lyran #4, including 2 warp and a phaser-3. At this point my major concern was that the Firehawk would get the Lyran #4 shield on impulse 1 of next turn with his FX phaser-1s. On impulse 24 the Firehawk launched his RP D20 plasma, hoping to land it through the down Lyran #4. Near turn’s end the Lyran ended up at the western map edge facing direction D, with the Firehawk northeast of the Lyran facing direction F and trying to get the down #4 shield on impulse 1. On impulse 32 the Lyran slipped into the wall in order to prevent showing the down #4, taking 5 points on the #2 and coming to a full stop. At this point I didn’t mind stopping because I wouldn’t have much energy to put into movement next turn anyways. The Firehawk turned off to direction A and ended at range 6 from the Lyran, and the D20 ended the turn at range 1 off the Lyran #6. The Lyran shields were at 21/8/11/0/18/23, while the Romulan shields were at 30/30/24/24/24/0.
Ralph didn’t have to chase me quite so hard at the end of this turn, but because he thought he was losing, I think he felt he needed to press the action and try to force me into a mistake, rather than turn off and try to win an extended EPT game.
Turn #4: I plotted 12 moves (1-3: 1 warp and 1 impulse TAC, 4-32:10), recharged the phasers and batteries, held 1 wild weasel, and put 8 points of reinforcement on the #6. The Firehawk plotted 8 moves (1-8:4, 9-32:9). On impulse 1, the D20 plasma impacted my #6 shield, doing 7 shield damage after my 8 reinforcement. To my surprise, on impulse 1 the Firehawk started cloaking out – I think Ralph expected me to TAC with overloads, but I had to recharge batteries, phasers, and reinforce the D20, which left no energy for disruptors unless I wanted to TAC all turn long. On impulse 2 I took a warp TAC to direction C. On impulse 3 I took an impulse TAC to direction B, and announced speed 10. To my further surprise, the Romulan launched a wild weasel, which he had been holding since turn 1. On impulse 6 the Firehawk cloaked out, and I lost lock-on. The Firehawk launched manned shuttles on impulses 7 and 12, and I ended up using 6 phaser-1s and a phaser-3 during the course of the turn to kill the 2 manned shuttles and the wild weasel. We ended the turn with the Lyran 4 hexes behind the cloaked Firehawk. I repaired the phaser-3 (1st repair).
Turn #5: I somewhat expected an anchor attempt, but felt that even if I were anchored for an EPT, I could give as well as I got. I plotted 5 moves (1-4:9, 5-32:4), refilled the phasers, armed 4 overloads, put 3 into tractor, held 1 wild weasel and started 2 more. The Romulan started the turn at speed 14, and on impulse 1 started fading in. On impulse 1 I announced 2 ESGs for the 4th time. On impulse 3, the Firehawk HET into me, obviously going for an anchor.
On impulse 5, the Firehawk went to range 1 on the Lyran centerline, still 1 impulse away from being fully uncloaked. Ralph’s HET made me flub the ESGs, and they came up at range 2 outside the Firehawk. It didn’t matter however, as during fire I alphaed the Romulan with 8 phaser-1s, 2 phaser-3s, 4 overloads (all hit), doing 78 damage to the Firehawk #2 after the +1 cloak adjustment. Ralph conceded before we rolled the internals.
By his own admission, Ralph played a game he was not comfortable with (the EPT game) and made several decisions on turns 2-4 which were probably not optimal. Some of those decisions were because Ralph was playing a style he was not comfortable with, and some of them he made consciously because he had got into an early hole by losing the 2 phaser-1s on a small, lucky volley. I knew I didn’t get Ralph’s “A” game, and was fortunate to win.
Captain’s Final (Sunday Morning)
Tim Linden, Orion (HHgBB); 8 turns
Tim and I played last in the Patrol Final of 2001, where his Orion and my Hydran literally blew each other up at range zero. I won only by virtue of the fact that after both our Excess Damage boxes were gone, I had more internals “left over.” I was assuming this Final would be just as close, and I was right.
Turn #1: Like the Quarterfinal, I wanted to engage on turn 1 if I thought I could get to range 4, so I allocated 20 to movement (1-19:14, 20-27:25, 28-32:26), armed 3 overloads and 1 standard, and held 2 wild weasels. The Orion doubled both warp engines (power=51) and went speed 31. By mid-turn it was apparent to the Orion that despite his 2 doubled warp engines I was not going to corner-dodge. Not wanting to engage this turn (hellbores not overloaded in EA, Lyran would not have to deal with drones on turn 1), the Orion turned to direction E and started slipping towards the western edge of the map. By impulse 24 or so, I realized that the Orion was not going to give me range 8 much less range 4, and I turned to direction B to delay the engagement until turn 2. The Orion turned back in to direction D and eventually direction C. Tim briefly considered range 15 fire on my rear shields with standard hellbores, but decided against it. I ended up in the middle of the map facing direction B, with the Orion about 9 hexes behind me facing direction C. On impulse 32 the Orion launched 2 type-I drones. The Orion burned 2 warp engines, and I discharged 4 disruptors.
Turn #2: I considered running to the northeast corner (28 hexes) or the eastern map edge (~20 hexes), but my maximum speed was 28 for much of the turn, and I decided that running was probably a good way to get myself overrun and killed. I decided to TAC, and the only question was where to put my power – overloads, reinforcement, or tractor? Ultimately I decided to Play Defense, the idea being to lock the Orion in a range 3 tractor, use radius zero ESGs for hellbore defense, and kill the drones with phasers. I hoped to make the Orion burn 3 engines, prevent crippling damage to myself, and keep him close for turn 3 when the overloaded hellbores were gone. I allocated 3 TACs (2 warp, 1 impulse), held 2 wild weasels, and allocated 31 to tractor (this would allow me to attempt a 36 point tractor beam from range 3 if I used the batteries). The Orion doubled all 3 engines (power=50) and went speed 31.
The pirate approached and crossed my #4 at around range 8. I did not TAC left to follow him, as it appeared from his maneuver that he had a brick (reinforcement) on his #6 shield and would be passing on to the right side of my ship. As he approached, I raised radius zero ESGs to come up before he got to range 5. At range ~6, Tim thought for a while, and decided to peel off to direction D and come back later when the ESGs were gone. His drones from turn 1 were destroyed by the ESGs, and on impulse 30 he launched 2 more type-Is. The Orion ended up in the southeast corner of the map at about range 9. At the end of the turn he burned 3 engines, and discharged 2 overloaded hellbores. At this point the Orion had burned 5 engines, and I was feeling pretty good about the game. I think Tim may not have realized until the end of the turn that he had overloaded the hellbores in EA, but in the heat of battle it is sometimes easy to miss things!
Turn #3: I plotted 5 hexes of movement (1-4:9, 5-12:4, 13-32: 2 warp and 1 impulse TAC), with 4 overloads and 13 in tractor. Later on in the battle I would regret not putting some energy into the ESG capacitors, but again, decisions are not always clear in the heat of battle, and hindsight is 20/20. The Orion doubled nothing (power=22), and went speed 12. I killed the turn 2 drones with the ESGs just before they went down, and leisurely followed the pirate into the southwest corner. On impulse 12 I spent 3 reserve warp to maintain speed 4. On impulse 29 the Orion launched 2 more type-I drones. We ended up in the southeast corner about 10 hexes apart, the Lyran facing direction D and the Orion having looped around to face direction F. At the end of the turn, I discharged 4 overloaded disruptors, and the Orion repaired a warp as an AWR (1st repair).
Turn #4: After 3 turns where no shield boxes were damaged, we were about to begin 5 straight turns of vicious knife-fighting. Turn 4 presented the same dilemma as turn 2, and I once again considered a massive tractor beam. The only reason I didn’t was because the ESGs as well as 3 of my batteries were dry, and I would have to power the ESGs to get the hellbore protection. I plotted 5 TACs (4 warp and 1 impulse), recharged the batteries, armed 4 overloads, put 10 into tractor, and held 2 wild weasels. While I could have diverted some of the tractor energy to ESGs, I was concerned about an Orion anchor after exchange of direct fire. In addition, I was planning on weaseling the turn 3 drones anyways. The Orion doubled all 3 engines (power=46) and plotted 14 moves (1-9:24, 10-17:14, 18-25:7, 26-32:6).
On impulse 1, I launched 2 manned shuttles for phaser support. The Orion approached Semi-Oblique off his #1/#2 shield spine, aiming for my #1 shield. On impulse 9 I used 1 lab on the 1st turn 3 drone, identifying it as a type-I. This was important because if I had a tractor blown off during fire, I wanted to make sure I would only get hit by a type-I drone and not a type-IV drone. It was clear that the Orion #2 was bricked, and on impulse 9, my manned shuttles (1 hex in front of my ship) fired from range 2 onto the Orion #2, doing 5 damage which was blocked by reinforcement. The shuttles could have shot at the turn 3 drones, but I was planning on weaseling the drones. The shuttles also could have waited until closer range to fire, but this impulse was the only one I was reasonably sure I could get the shuttles to fire at the same shield my ship was shooting, and I was certain I would need every last internal I could get on the Orion.
On impulse 10 the Orion went to range 2 on the Lyran centerline, still showing the bricked #2. At this point the drones were 1 hex away from me, but they did not move next impulse, nor did the Orion. During impulse activity, the Orion launched a shuttle which I was pretty certain was a suicide shuttle. After much thought on both sides, both sides unloaded pretty much a full alpha on each other. The Orion fired 4 phaser-1s, 7 phaser-3s, and 2 overloaded hellbores (both hit) – resulting in 36 from direct fire, followed by 25+25 from the hellbores. I blocked 2 damage with batteries, and took a volley of 4 internals and a volley of 25 internals, which netted Tim 2 disruptors, an ESG, 1 phaser-1 (LS), and 2 phaser-3s. My return fire was 7 phaser-1s, 2 phaser-3s, and 4 overloaded disruptors (all hit) – resulting in 76 damage to the Orion #2 shield, in addition to the 5 that the manned shuttles had already done. I had saved a FA/L phaser-1 to make the Orion HET to prevent the Mizia. The pirate blocked an additional 12 points of damage with reinforcement, and took 34 internals, which hit 1 phaser-1, 2 phaser-3s, the entire shuttle bay, and 2 (!) hellbores. While I have seen the Orion lose the shuttle bay with as few as 20 internals, it took the entire 34 to get the entire shuttle bay, and the 2nd Drone hit came very late in the volley along the “9” row of the DAC, past the Left Warp (underlined), Forward Hull, Cargo, Batteries, and Labs. Tim chose to keep the drone racks instead of the hellbores because he was essentially guaranteed of landing a type-IV drone later this turn – between the seeking weapons on the map and the drones in his racks, it was more than my 2 remaining weasels could deal with.
On impulse 11 Tim thought long and hard about HETing in place to prevent my phaser-1 Mizia, and eventually decided against it (a wise choice). I tractored both drones in order to be able to fire my last phaser-1 through the Orion’s down #2. The Orion then attempted a Hit and Run raid against the unfired phaser-1. While my 2 remaining batteries were powered and I could have stopped the H&R with General Reinforcement, I let the H&R go through because the phaser was guarded. Unfortunately for me, Tim rolled a 6 to disable the guard, and then rolled a 2 to destroy the remaining phaser!!
On impulse 12 the Orion turned in to direction A, and I TACed left to direction C, which was the wrong way! TACing right to direction E would have been much better because the Orion’s 3 unfired phaser-3s were LS and L/RA, but hey, what can I say? It was a tense, stressful situation, and I was being shot at!
On impulse 14 the Orion slipped right onto my down #1 shield, and because of my movement mistake on impulse 12 I was forced to take the impulse TAC back to direction D. At this point I was literally crapping in my litterbox – I had only 2 TACs left (earned on impulses 16 and 24), both my tractors were used, I had no way of dealing with the suicide shuttle on the map except by wild weasel, the Orion had 2 type-IVs in the racks and 3 unfired phaser-3s, as well as (I assumed) a HET available. While the Orion had taken more overall internals, a few more phaser or disruptor hits on the Lyran meant that I would no longer have enough weapons to penetrate Orion shields on future turns!
On impulse 15 I was torn between buying speed 2 in reverse from reserve warp which would save me from the Orion suicide shuttle for another 6 impulses, or launching a wild weasel. After some thought, I decided that I needed the flexibility of the remaining TACs, and launched a speed 2 wild weasel in direction C. On impulse 16 the 2 drones and the suicide shuttle destroyed my 1st wild weasel, and I announced Active Fire Control. On impulse 20 the wild weasel was gone, and the Orion launched a type-IV drone, and I promptly launched my 2nd wild weasel (last shuttle in my bay). By this time the Orion had slowed all the way down to speed 7, and was staying at range 1. The drone destroyed the weasel on impulse 21, doing 5 points of collateral to my #6 shield, and I announced Active Fire Control.
On impulse 23, the Orion was behind me, and did his HET to direction D. As he had over half his internal boxes destroyed by this time, he had lost his HET bonuses and had to roll for the HET. He did not roll a 6 however, and successfully pulled off the HET. On impulse 25, the 2nd wild weasel was gone. On impulse 28, the Orion declared Emergency Deceleration, and came to a stop at range 1, the Orion #5 facing the Lyran #3. On impulse 31, he launched his other type-IV drone, and I TACed right so that my #2 was facing his #5.
On impulse 32, the type-IV impacted on my #2, crushing the shield. I used my 2 remaining batteries to reinforce 2 points, and the Orion’s 3 phaser-3s did 10 points netting 7 internals through my #2, including a RS phaser-1.
The Orion burned 2 engines (the doubled impulse engine was a free hit since all the impulse engine boxes had already been destroyed by damage) and repaired another warp as an AWR (2nd repair). At the end of turn 4 the Lyran had 34 power, 5 phaser-1s, 2 disruptors, 1 ESG, and shields at 0/0/19/19/19/20. The Orion had 16 power, 3 phaser-1s, 4 phaser-3s, a gatling phaser, 2 drone racks, and shields at 30/0/24/24/24/30. However, the Orion was going to get 2 phaser-1s through the Lyran down shield on impulse 1 of next turn.
I pointed out to Tim after the battle that he could have launched the type-IV on impulse 31 on my rear shields, and followed it up with an impulse 32 HET and a impulse 1 phaser strike from range zero. This game Tim opted for 2 smaller volleys on impulse 32 and impulse 1, rather than a single massive phaser strike on impulse 1.
Turn #5: I recharged phasers, plotted 2 overloads, 6 into tractor, and 5 reinforcement on the #3. I plotted 7 moves (1-3: warp TAC, 4-15:9, 16-23:4, 24-32: 1 warp and 1 impulse TAC). My plan was to take my internals like a Lyran, blast him on impulse 1, TAC once, and limp away to try to get some distance. The tractor energy was to make sure that he didn’t grab me at range 1, and the reinforcement was because I thought he’d shoot my #3 with the gatling phaser. Tim doubled both engines (power=32).
On impulse 1 the Orion shot me from range 1 with the 2 FA/L phaser-1s for 9 internals through my down #2, netting 7 power hits (!) but no weapons. In return I shot him with 3 phaser-1s (saving a LS phaser-1 and a RS phaser-1 for drone defense), 2 phaser-3s from the shuttles, and 2 overloads (both hit). This produced 41 total damage on the Orion #5 shield, which did 9 internals after 8 reinforcement. I rolled a 4, a 10, and 4 7’s in this volley, each of which was a phaser hit because the batteries and shuttles were gone! This one volley destroyed all 5 of the phasers bearing through the Orion #5, leaving him with only a RS phaser-3, a FA/R phaser-1, and a FA gatling. Later on, Tim told me he split his reinforcement this turn because he didn’t know what would occur, and this probably was the difference in the game.
On impulse 2 I TACed to direction E, showing the Orion my #3. The Orion also TACed to direction E, showing his #6 . On impulse 3, I announced speed 9, and the Orion hit me with the remaining gatling and phaser-1. With the reinforcement on the #3, the shield held at 5 boxes. I had moved several hexes away from the Orion with my manned shuttles looping around to join me, when the Orion announced speed 9 on impulse 14. With my speed decelerating down to zero, the Orion was closing on my #4.
On impulse 26, the Orion closed to range 1 (Orion #1 to Lyran #4), and I attempted a tractor beam on the Orion, with the tractor energy that was intended to fight his possible anchor attempt! He didn’t fight the tractor, which was essential in letting me keep the shield facing until the end of the turn. Had the pirate won the tractor auction, he would have got off my #4 and landed at least 1 of his remaining 2 drones. Also on impulse 26, the Orion fired his RS phaser-3 at my #4. On impulse 32, The Orion turned right to show his #6, and we ended at range 1. The shuttles ended at range zero on the Orion’s down #5, and he burned 2 engines. I repaired a LS phaser-1 as a phaser-2 (1st repair), while the Orion repaired a FA/L phaser-1 as a phaser-2 (3rd repair) and a shield box (powered) on the #2. I was down to 27 power, 5 phaser-1s, 1 phaser-2, 2 disruptors, 1 ESG, and shields at 0/0/5/15/19/20 while the Orion was down to 13 power, 1 phaser-1, 1 phaser-2, 1 phaser-3, 1 gatling phaser, 2 drone racks, and shields at 30/1/24/24/0/30. The Lyran won the tractor auction over the turn break for 1 point of energy.
Turn #6: Although I was winning internal-wise, the gatling phaser was ripping me to shreds, and it was getting to the point where I wasn’t sure whether my alpha with disruptors could get past the Orion’s pristine #6 and #1. I plotted 3 TACs (2 warp, 1 impulse), recharged the phaser capacitor, put 6 into tractor, and put a 10 point brick on my #4. I didn’t want the Orion doing internals on impulse 1 through my #4, even if it meant I didn’t power the disruptors. The pirate doubled both warp (power~26) and also plotted TACs. On impulse 1 the Lyran manned shuttles fired through the Orion down #5, doing 8 points but encountering 14 points of General Reinforcement, netting 1 internal. We both held fire until impulse 6, when the Orion vaporized the valiant Lyran shuttles with the gatling phaser. With the gatling fired, I used a warp TAC to show him my #5. The Orion fired his phaser-1 and phaser-2 at my #5 shield on impulse 25. On impulse 32 I used the impulse TAC, and we ended up #6 to #6. The Orion burned 2 engines at the end of the turn. I repaired a range 10 disruptor (2nd repair), while the Orion repaired another phaser-1 as a phaser-2 (4th repair). The Lyran won the tractor auction over the turn break for 1 point of energy.
Turn #7: I plotted 3 overloads, 2 TACs (1 warp, 1 impulse), 1 tractor, and 8 reinforcement on the #6. The Orion doubled both warp (power=20) and also plotted TACs. On impulse 1 the Orion fired the gatling phaser, 2 phaser-2s, and 1 phaser 1 on my 20 point #6. For some reason I did not fire back (I forgot Tim had repaired another phaser-2 and could breach the shield with good rolls). After 20 shields + 8 reinforcement on the #6, his 33 point strike did 5 internals, hitting the 2nd ESG as the only weapon hit. On impulse 2 I fired back with a phaser-2, 3 phaser-1s (saving 2 phaser-1s for those last 2 pesky drones which Tim refused to launch), and 3 overloads (2 hit), which did 36 points, which after ~10 reinforcement took the Orion #6 down to a handful of boxes but did not do internals. On impulse 3 the Orion TACed his #1 to me and fired his RS phaser-3, doing a handful of internals and hitting a LS phaser-2 that I had repaired. We ended at range #1, my #1 (down) to his #1 (30), and the Orion burned 2 engines. I repaired a RS phaser-1 as a phaser-2 (3rd repair). I was at 24 power and shields at 0/0/5/15/7/0, while the pirate was at 8 power with shields at 30/1/24/24/0/4. The Lyran won the tractor auction over the turn break for 1 point of energy.
Turn #8: I didn’t power the shields as my #1, #2, and #6 were all down, didn’t power Life Support as I was crippled, refilled phasers, armed 3 overloads, and put 6 to tractor. The Orion doubled both warp (power=16). Over the turn break I rotated the Orion to range zero centerline (after turn 7 I didn’t want any more disruptors missing!). Impulse 1 we alphaed each other from range zero. The Orion fired the gatling, a phaser-3, 2 phaser-2s, and a phaser-1 through the Lyran’s down #1, doing ~40 internals (including 6 points of disruptor feedback), leaving the Lyran with 3 Left Warp for power and 1 disruptor as the only remaining weapon. The Lyran fired 3 overloads, 5 phasers-1s, and 1 phaser-2, doing 71 points and blowing up the Orion with 36 internals. The Orion only had about 26 internal boxes left, so we didn’t bother to roll the Orion internals. Neither Tim nor I played the perfect game, but like the 2001 Patrol Final, it was very close, very bloody, very fun, and ended at range zero with no other units on the map!!
EPILOGUE
Winning the Gold Hat in the Lyran put me in a state of extreme shock for several days! While I feel I have always been very competitive in some of the upper echelon ships like the Firehawk and ISC, I consider the Lyran to be a good but not great, middle-of-the-pack ship, and my expectations were not high coming into Origins 2005. The competition was fierce, the overall level of play was very high across the field, and I was very fortunate to come out on top. There were several games where I definitely thought I was losing (specifically, vs Allen on turn 6, vs Ralph on turn 2, and vs Tim on turn 4). However, Star Fleet Battles is a fluid and unpredictable game, and the road to the Gold Hat sometimes means winning through solid play and by making fewer mistakes than your opponent, rather than out-strategizing your foe with perfect play on both sides. All my opponents exhibited good sportsmanship and were enjoyable to play – I’d like to thank them for their very competitive and exciting matches. I’d also like extend thanks to the judges for doing an excellent job, to SFBOL for giving us all a means of keeping involved with SFB even without a local playgroup, and most of all to ADB for creating Star Fleet Battles, which I consider to be the best tactical wargame ever made.
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