What If First Contact was with...

It's over 20 years since the arrival of The Next Generation's finest cinematic voyage. With April 5th 2063 some 44 years away I wondered what would have happened if things had gone another way.

We've seen two sides to humanity's first contact situation; one in which a hand shake and some Roy Orbison are the Vulcans' initial impression of Earth and the Mirror Universe where the visiting aliens are murdered and their ship pillaged.

But here's a thought, what would have happened if it had been another alien race that had been humanity's first meeting from the great beyond in 45 years time? Who would be the most likely culprits? Here are SKoST's suggestions for outcomes of that fateful day if things had been a little different...

1. Klingons

If these guys had been the first race humanity encountered then we might have gone straight back home, bolted the door and turned off the lights. Their warrior ways would have probably ended with the Earth subjugated into the Klingon Empire and enslaved for generations. Certainly the helplessness and poverty-ridden Earth would have been no match for a well-armed Klingon army. Likely that the Regency we saw in the Mirror Universe would have taken hold 300 to 400 years earlier...

2. Andorians

Suspicious of just about everyone and everything, first contact initiated by the Andorians might have seen a tentative partnership established but, as with the Vulcans its likely that we would be seen as a lesser race and one maybe to be exploited and used. Notably they could look to inhabit the Arctic and Antarctic as bases of operation but the rest of the planet might have been a bit too warm. For one thing, the connection between Vulcan and Earth would have evolved differently thanks to the Andorians suspicions as seen in Enterprise.

3. Tellarites

Could this have been the most frustrating of first contacts? A meeting that could have ended with neither side happy and humanity confused as to what is out in the galaxy? The ever argumentative (and pig-masked) Tellarites aren't the first race that would spring to mind as potential first visitors to Earth but don't forget they were one of the original founders of the Federation.  First contact might have been a part fraught with the Tellarites given their demeanour and might have set humanity back another 20 to 30 years on its space programme.

4. Orions

The doors of their ship open and half the population is under the spell of the women. The Orions quickly overrun the planet and have humanity under their thumb within weeks. While not violent as perhaps would be a Klingon invasion, the Orions' control over the human race means there is no resistance at all. On a good point there would have been a lot of dancing but not much more.

5. Ferengi

Declaring themselves as owners of half the galaxy, the Ferengi see Hew-mons as another business opportunity. Not worth conquering but certainly there are ways to exploit the civilisation and make a ton of profit. The relationship sours when the Human race starts meeting other cultures who give them a more realistic take on the nature of the Ferengi and the penny drops. The Ferengi wouldn't have presented an aggressive front but that might have meant leaving humanity open to another attack or colonisation by another major power.

What other civilisations could realistically have presented themselves at first contact if it hadn't been for the timely arrival of the Vulcans?

Live on YouTube
Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

Add us on Tumblr

Learn the Ferengi Way with Galactic Enterprises

After the joy that Fluxx brought into the Star Trek corner of my world i was skeptical to play Galactic Enterprises - how could this be as much fun to play? 

The Star Trek Club of Stoke on Trent stepped forward to help get this one checked over...   Coming from Wizkids who are more renowned for Attack Wing, Frontiers, Heroclix et al, Galactic Enterprises is a pen and paper/card game for 2-8 players focusing on the nefarious trading exploits of the Ferengi. 

Players become the large-lobed wheeler-dealers of the galaxy, bidding for technologies over a series of rounds as well as fixing prices with or without the help of your competitors to become the First Clerk of the Treasury aka the Grand Nagus.   

The fairly slim initial rule book makes it sound a lot more mind-bending than it is and once you’ve test played a couple of rounds it becomes a lot easier and also a lot more interesting. The way that a round works is that the same number of Market Cards (goods) are dealt out onto the table and players then bid for the items available such as PADDs, Replicator Units, Synthehol and even Tribbles. 

Each player can only acquire one card per bidding round and once that’s been completed you can then fix the prices. Now if a couple of players have the same item you could choose a combined price but all of those with that item need to fix the same price to make a financial gain otherwise the person with the lowest price is the winner - yes, you can undercut your opposition!   

Being the lowest or second lowest does mean there's some form of latinum payout but if you’re the highest you’re left with empty pockets. We played a full eight player game at last week’s meeting which was the first time id had it out of the box and after those first couple of rounds it became clear that bidding on items that no-one else had early on meant you could max the price as the only vendor and build up a bank against later rounds where everyone may have acquired said technologies. 

The end result is, of course, to make as much latinum as possible and it's a hell of a lot of fun getting there. As more players start acquiring assets the chances to maximise profits become less and the profits you've made early on become more useful to secure the rights to more items - do you spread your opportunities across multiple things or do you try and monopolise in one area?

Seems as straight-forward as you could wish for huh? Totally - until you include the Action Cards.  Each round an Action Card is auctioned off for a minimum of one latinum slip. You also get an Action Card once you've won an asset from the table and these can come in real handy. 

Action Cards can be played in turn while others can be dished out at any time allowing players to steal or swap items from other players or counter other moves being played by opponents. A few of these did get played in the Stoke Club game including a rather confusing mirrored mirror move which meant that one of our more...junior...members ended up winning the game by a clear mile.

The rule book does make this game look a lot more complicated than it really is and we had a decent grasp of the rules within ten minutes. Playing with a big group will definitely mean there's less chance of early monopolies on assets but will take a much longer time (obviously) to run through a full eight rounds. 

Initial reaction was quite muted but once we all understood how it worked the game became a lot more lively. Absolutely one to recommend and I'd be getting this one on your Christmas list right this instant.

Thanks to Stoke on Trent Star Trek Club for their assistance in reviewing Galactic Enterprises.

Have you played Galactic Enterprises? What top tips do you have for success?

Live on YouTube
Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

Add us on Tumblr

A Spicy Dish: The Official Starships Collection Issues 117 and 118

The time of the kitbash continues as for the fifth subscription delivery in a row we have a ‘made up’ ship out of the gate.

This time it’s not from Wolf 359 but from the other big military encounter of Star Trek, the Dominion War in The shape of the Curry Class.

Featured once and only once in Deep Space Nine’s A Time to Stand pre-titles sequence, the USS Curry is another one of those oddments that fans have revelled in for years along with those Wolf 359ers. 

A clear combination of Excelsior Class parts, I was fully expecting the Curry to be a letdown; a horrid matchup of leftovers slammed together just to fill a screen gap. Now in the case of the original that might well have been the case but with the Eaglemoss replica there feels to be something more to this one the second you pull her out of the box.  

Just getting your hands around this one there’s an immediate sense that the Curry has been well-constructed. It feels solid, it looks detailed and not the hitch-potch it could have been. For starters the reconstituted Excelsior saucer section is a solid metal circle and you can appreciate how much more this model ‘gives’ in regards to detail as opposed to the very small scale Excelsior and Enterprise-B. That upper hull carries a rather gorgeous weathered aztec paint scheme coupling an off-white base colour with a mottled grey which adds depth to the hull.

The paint isn’t over-applied either as we have seen on multiple occasions where the panel lines have been almost lost under layers of grey. We also get to have a really close look at the impulse engine block to the rear of the saucer and the very impressive two-blue finish Eaglemoss have managed to work on here. The precision panelling is spot on with each piece defined by the tone on top of that base off-white coat. 

The raised detail is fantastic and I definitely recommend a quick compare of how well this scale has worked for the Curry as opposed to the same tiny and over cluttered section on the Excelsior. Eaglemoss even manages to work a third colour, gold, onto the bridge dome and add to the depth successfully because it's a clean marking up.

Ok, let's drop down slightly because the metal dome of the saucer also extends down onto the warp engine pylons. Good shout there because it adds to the overall strength of the ship and you can never have too much metalwork when it comes to engine attachment. The metalwork does end with the standard middle plastic insert into the underside of the saucer that connects the primary hull to the modified Excelsior Class Engineering section.

Again the scale here allows a much clearer analysis of the fan favourite starship class first seen in The Search for Spock and you can only imagine how great the XL version of the Enterprise-B will be. The hull plating is stunning, azteced and with a ton of colour and easter eggs to boot.

The secondary hull is connected by the chunky Excelsior Class neck but a close look and you'll spot a reconditioned half a hull from a Type 6 shuttle chucked in there as a greeble. cool move and it's mirrored on the underside of the secondary hull to the back with another butchered shuttle but hold that thought.

The fact that we have this recreated is amazing - it shows the attention to detail that Eaglemoss have gone to that even a really well hidden feature such as this is there to see. The upper part of the hull is again superbly finished with that familiar grey sectioned paint scheme in evidence but with the noticable difference of the shuttlebay being switched to the front rather than the rear. It also has the addition of the Starfleet delta emblem riding on the nose which wasn't evident in the distance shot from A Time to Stand thanks to the severe battle damage the ship had incurred. This model in comparison means that we get a complete vision of the "mint" version of this Frankenstein starship rather than the battered version we saw limping from battle.

The challenge with the secondary hull is that the placement of it - quite centrally under the saucer - means that the top detail is only just visible in the right light and up close. Flip over again and take a look at the rest of the hull. Marked up with the usual Starfleet pennants to both port and starboard, the deltas point the same way to the front and in the font you can make out the ship name and United Federation of Planets but it's hard to see even at this level. For once it's great to have a deflector that is accurately painted. It's a good, clean circle set slightly back from the lower edge of the recess with a lovely smooth finish wrapped around it. Here's one to check out on the bottom - those two red stripes are actually raised hull features and not just decals which I suspected before running a finger nail over them. They're actually raised and painted!

One more thing here is the quality of the finish on the deflector and the recess. It's just on more point as to why the Excelsior Class ships should have been just that bit bigger.

That underside on the secondary hull is awash with features. Immediately the unusual curvature of the hull draws you in and then back to the rear where the photon torpedo tubes are still evident but there's also, slapped right between them, another cut up shuttle section. Good reuse of materials and quite unexpected but that's some of the beauty of these replicas is that they contain the errors, the mini jokes and the outside-box-thinking that was all part of life on Star Trek when it came to building real, physical starship models. The inclusion of these two different shuttles is genius and for Eaglemoss to honour that is brilliant - it truly is trying to bring these to life in their most realistic form possible.

The stand positioning is decent with the Curry, with the clip sliding firmly over and under the saucer in that familiar position it seems 98% of Federation ships seem to have. No problems with this one keeping its place on the stand.

Finally the Curry is tipped with two warp engines. There's no translucent sections on these and the warp field grilles are opaque. In contrast to the rest of the ship these two propulsion units are from the older Miranda Class starships (ie USS Reliant, USS Saratoga...) but are in their largest reproduced form to date. The detailing is slick with the backs marked up with the ship registry. Also there's a lot of blue highlights on these engines and when you spot this it draws your attention to the colouring that's to the rear of the main hull and the paintwork at the back of the saucer. Must be one of the more brightly detailed Federation ships in t\his respect. Only minor gripe is the join lines around the engines are very visible and there were a few gaps around the edges on mine which were very noticeable when you look from the bottom.

Frankly though this is a magnificent kitbash and I'd say it's one of the best, certainly a better result than the lovely Centaur Class we've already had. The inclusion of these kitbashes is a brave move but it means we are getting to see some of the more weird and wonderful ship designs from the last 30 years of the franchise.

The magazine offers up the full backstory and reasoning as to why the Curry Class looks like it does and how it came about. Being from Deep Space Nine it allows the narrative in the ship profile to cover the events of the Dominion War and the part that the Curry played in at least one encounter. 

The CG images are wonderful with the plan views in particular emphasising the mottled paintwork on the hull as well as the multiple colour shades that are in play. 

The creation of the USS Curry model is well documented and it's a pleasure to see a ton of images of the finished, onscreen, starship replete with its extensive scarring and damage. The speed that Dan Curry came up with the design is incredible and this double page just covers off the details of that lightning quick process from concept to screen.

Closing out the issue is, in fact, a whole section dedicated to the starship;s namesake and the work he put into Star trek be it as an occasional director, the creator of the mek'leth and bat'leth or one of the original team that worked on creating the effects for The Next Generation, Dan Curry has had a huge impact on the look and feel of the 24th and 22nd Centuries of the franchise and this article goes some way to show exactly what impact that was.

Second up for this delivery is the Ferengi Starship from Acquisition in Enterprise's first season. Only the second Ferengi ship in the collection with the first being the Marauder back in issue 16 (102 issues ago!!!). I suspect the next time we see these guys will be the shuttle from Little Green Men and The Price.

I wasn't waiting eagerly for this one yet, as with most of the Enterprise entries it doesn't disappoint on the quality.

The overall golden brown paint scheme is a distant shot from the sandy brown of the Marauder but the metallic finish is spectacular especially plastered across the metal top section of the ship. It sparkles away nicely but don't get caught up in the funky paint because the hull has more to reveal. 

Afterall, there's that distinctive scarab beetle shape to the ship with the plating resting on each other in the same way as shell armour does on such a creature. It's a simple organic shape and given the single colour across the whole of that top surface, it needs something to give it some life and raise the interest. Fortunately it does and the metal surface works splendidly, giving rise to a rather intense collection of panel lines and surface features from front to back and side to side.

Right from the angular pincers at the front there's an overload of crisp etched markings across the top and over all of the varied structures that appear on the hull. About half way along on either side is a docking port with a golden hued hatch offering a quick way out or passage onto another craft to pillage. Even these have tiny hatch detailing on them which really surprised me when you think of all the things that Eaglemoss haven't marked correctly that would have been easier to do.

Y'see it bugs me that I love this ship not for the overall design, shape and feel but for the actual attention to detail that oozes from every millimetre of its hull. To the back of the smooth and sleek shape is the engine block which is highlighted with a touch of gold and stands out only slightly from the sandy (and still quite golden) main hull colour.

The top of the ship is a glowing advert for quick, sharp and futuristic tech but it's on the bottom that the Ferengi ship that everything really comes to life. That flat underside reminds me of how I used to draw spaceships at the age of five or six but while it is a very sharp edge and odd for a Star Trek craft to have a flat underside, check out all the detail that John Eaves managed to fire at her.

For a start there are the six distinctive landing legs which fold away underneath. Even the nuances on these feet are amazing - just squint closely and look at the panel lines on each of them, the recess around each of them which gives the feet that retracted depth and even the central tiny markings and alternate colour which stand each of them out against the hull. 

But just look at the work on this underside. Every millimetre carries some form of differentiation to the next millimetre and it's as though we have a ship of two very distinct halves; a serene upper hull and a belly that hides away all the workings and gubbins - very swanlike in its design and by that I mean graceful on the surface and paddling like f**k under the water. Somehow this one has managed to pull at my starship heart-strings and I kinda like it.

Centrally and protruding from the flat underside is what can only be described as a radar dish. Even that has some classy little finishing touches and you can't help yourself but love what's been done here. It actually puts some of the other ships to shame once you stop and take stock of what has been achieved on what should - and could - have been a mind-numbingly bland entry to the collection. I mean, come on, adding this in mid 110's isn't pushing it as a star attraction is it? 

But *sigh* once again, a ship from Enterprise has delivered and it hurts to say it but it's a visual masterpiece in regards to both the metal and plastic detail. The underside's more flimsy construction material suits the larger amount of ups and downs that the jigsaw feel of the floor gives off while the metal topside is perfect for the elegant curves of this Ferengi craft. It actually makes me want to see the shuttle even sooner because it's so ridiculously beautiful. I just can't stick it anywhere near the Vidiian or Kazon ships because this paintwork makes those two look particularly bad and I can guarantee it ain't sitting on the same shelf as the Malon freighter.


The stand arrangement goes for a normal rear grip over the engines and between the two raised shoulder sections to the back but what did give me a head-scratch moment is the height that the ship stands at when in place - it's very, very high given the slimline nature of the Ferengi Starship.

The magazine doesn't disappoint either because there's a full background on the ship and just how it was operated as well as how the internal space was divided up - let's say there's a lot of room for cargo in here.

John Eaves was once again called on to come up with this design and it was one of three that he initially proposed with some clear parallels to the 24th Century The Next Generation craft that we might be more familiar with.  

More unusually we have an in depth interview with the four actors who played the Ferengi in the first season episode which included three people who had previously worked in Star Trek namely Ethan Phillips, Jeffery Combs and Clint Howard plus newcomer Matt Malloy. It's a damn good read covering the making of the episode from the actors perspective and while there are mentions of other appearances in other series, the article remains nicely focused on the Enterprise story.

February will bring us the Freedom Class from Wolf 359's graveyard and the Hirogen Holoship from Flesh and Blood in Voyager's seventh season.

Live on YouTube
Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

+1 us on Google+

Add us on Tumblr

Mothering Instinct: New Voyages' The Holiest Thing

After an extensive delay it seemed that New Voyages' latest offering slipped on line with almost no fanfare whatsoever.

Which is an utter disservice because The Holiest Thing is a cracking hour of original Star Trek material; in fact one of the best they've produced. Be warned if you've not watched it yet, there will be SPOILERS as we examine their ninth installment. 

With a slight revamp of the ship, we find the USS Enterprise attending Lappa III and a terraforming project led by Doctor Carol Marcus (Jacy King). An apparently freak accident vapourises the Federation ground base and leaves a large crater prompting Kirk to launch a full scale investigation.

The episode, written by Rick Chambers, is the origin story of the Kirk/Marcus relationship that formed a central part of The Wrath of Khan and will no doubt be totally overlooked for the upcoming Beyond.  It also marks the first time Brian Gross took on the role of Kirk even though we've already seen him in Mind Sifter which was released last year. That episode was a lot darker than the material Gross is presented with in The Holiest Thing and acts as a great comparison to show the range he is able to carry in the lead role. I actually preferred Brian here in a story that felt much more personal which I suspect was helped due to the fact that this is a script which focuses on a select number of the crew.

It's been a long time coming for The Holiest Thing. Originally set to be uploaded for Valentine's Day 2014 - as promo'ed at the end of Kitumba - but the choice was made to hold the release, rework it, give it an even better polish and present it to the world in a format that the production team were happy with. I can't fault the decision because it's a great episode for the most part led by a top script and some of - if not the best - lead acting in an episode of New Voyages.

As I've noted, Brian Gross is exceptional as Kirk and suits the more intimate one-on-one material and certainly exploring the captain's softer side is something that he's nailed. Perhaps the bigger surprise - and a pleasant one - is Jacy King as Carol Marcus. Whether delivering technobabble or expressing her emotions to Kirk as their relationship develops, King is totally believable and may well be the real star here. I found her performance one of the best in New Voyages and certainly their strongest guest star to date.

Also returning are Brandon Stacey as Mr Spock and John Kelley as Doctor McCoy. Both are firm stalwarts of the New Voyages episodes providing their usual, excellent portrayals of the iconic characters. Oddly though, Stacey does seem to be opening up Spock's emotional side with a hint of his human half ebbing through in more than one scene. Both Spock and McCoy play critical roles here. The science officer leads the investigation into the events that have transpired on the planet surface with Doctor Marcus and stands to the "business" aspect of Kirk. On the other side we have the Chief Medical Officer who acts to calm the captain's emotions as he falls for Carol. Kelley always seems to revel in the role and his interactions with Kirk are particularly good to watch and balance against some of the conflict/uneasiness you can sense the captain has with Spock in this story. I kind of think the Vulcan is finding his bromance threatened with that discomfort more than evident.

The choice to place Scotty, Sulu and Uhura (no Chekov this time) very much in the background does mean that their actors don't get a huge shot at the limelight here but it means the pacing is kept particularly tight and there's no baggage here. Everything just damn well works and it's a great episode from beginning to end. Chambers also drops in some key points that homage the second Star Trek feature film - terraforming, life from lifelessness, protomatter and more. The nice thing is that they actually work within the script and don't feel like the writer is just hammering them in for the sake of making fans go into continuity overload.

Graphically it's once again superb. The updated nacelles and forward torpedo tubes start to make the transition from TV to movie starship. For some this might seem a bit weird but I'd recommend watching the vignette Going Boldly which shows the upgrades taking place.  Sadly there's no CG Lieutenant Arex this time but we can hope for the future! The Ferengi ship too is very faithful to their species and the confrontation between the two vessels is stunning with the Enterprise emerging from the darkness to discover the hidden opponent. The environment of Lappa III is well realised in both the opening segment and in the away mission undertaken by Spock and Marcus. Nod for the homage to the forcefield spacesuits of The Animated Series too! 
However...


This is all well and good for the first 43 minutes but then things take a bit of a turn. For the first section of the episode we've been wondering what has been the cause of the explosion - an accident or outside intervention? When it's revealed that there's an alien ship hiding out we have some idea that there's more to this than we initially thought but the problem I have is who these aliens are revealed to be - the Ferengi.

While their motivations are feasible and trade with the outpost (unbeknownst to Doctor Marcus) to provide them with the ability to make protomatter makes total sense, I don't see why it had to be the Ferengi. It could have been a new race, even Romulans for instance but the appearance of the galaxy's most profit-hungry merchants doesn't seem to fit. The performance of guest star Clayton Sayre as the Ferengi Commander is spot on but they aren't a race I would associate at all with The Original Series.

The other challenge this episode has is the pacing of the last ten minutes. Chambers has done a magnificent job to this point but then we seem to have a lot that he wants to cover in a very short period of time; the reason for Carol requesting that Kirk leaves her alone and "stays away" and that she's pregnant. Hang on a minute - haven't these two only been together for a matter of days?! That's good going if ever...

I appreciate that the Kirk/Marcus origins story is something never covered onscreen but to ram such big plot points into a tight epilogue does make it feel very rushed. I actually believe they could have left off both these points and kept this story as an initial meeting and the start of a relationship. Certainly the concluding revelation does line up with the concept of Marcus as the "mother" of new worlds (if only she knew...) but this could have been explored in a follow up or even just a little vignette/afterwards.

One final point has to be to recognise Carl Sheldon who appears as the older Scotty in the prologue and epilogue of The Holiest Thing. Very similar to the wraparound of Captain Sulu in World Enough and Time it shifts the series firmly to the modern day and recognising the later spinoffs while adding a new twist to the classic series. It's also one piece of the episode that was shot long after the original material was filmed thanks to Kickstarter funds raised by fans.

New Voyages has played a blinder here. A truly great character episode that has evaded the screen for too long. Gross has certainly affirmed his abilities in the role of Kirk and I simply can't wait to see what the next story, Torment of Destiny, has to offer. This is set as a sequel to the classic For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky guest starring Battlestar Galactica's Richard Hatch. Plus it seems we may eventually get to see the lost Origins story written and directed by David Gerrold. Hopefully more on that one soon.

Did you enjoy The Holiest Thing? Is it one of New Voyages' finest hours?

Check out their website for more adventures and news HERE

Live on YouTube
Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

+1 us on Google+

Add us on Tumblr

Add to the conversation on Star Trek: Risa

Keeping it Fluid: Star Trek Attack Wing Wave 18

After the mixed bag of key races we received last month, September has introduced some really interesting dynamics to the Attack Wing mix.

I'll be honest, one of those evaded me until I sat down and read the cards properly but y'know what? This is a pretty neat trio and a lot better than I expected.

Box number one opens up to give us the USS Phoenix. A simple redress (physically) of the USS Sutherland OP prize from a while back which left me a bit grumbly because the flippin' sensor pod is wrong (OK, I'll stop going on about this now Instagram followers!). But hey, as I always say it's about the cards not the model...Honest.

The model itself is decent enough and is following the more recent trend to render Federation starships in silver rather than paint them up in a light blue wash. It works a lot better and the hull detail really does stand out. However, my saucer is out of kilter with the rest of the ship and sits at a slight angle to the right (check my video for a better look). The warp engines also seem to point in different directions to each other. Both of those issues do detract from the overall effect with clean painting, saucer detail of phaser strips and lifeboat hatches and a degree of "dirty" weathering. In comparison to the Enterprise-D model, the saucer is slightly larger and is a much better finish than the starter pack vessel.

Featured in the fourth season episode of The Next Generation, entitled The Wounded, the Phoenix was our first look at a new ship class since the Galaxy Class Enterprise in the pilot of the show. What we got was a mega kit-bash from the behind the scenes team that became a bit of a favourite over time. Here in Attack Wing her stats do place her firmly middle of the road. Only a couple less than the Enterprise-D and two more than the Defiant. Packing four dice in attack, one in defence, four hull and four shields at least you have something to work with if a little poor defensibly. The Phoenix can carry two additional crew and weapon upgrades and a single tech upgrade when maxed out. Her maneuverability, giving you virtually every turn in ranges one to three plus a four ahead, is complimented with the unique ship ability to change your maneuver after selecting it on the dial but before moving. However, it can only be for one at the same speed (ie a three turn to a three straight) and does incur the penalty of an auxiliary power token, Does mean you could get yourself out of trouble if you're running a high captain skill and can see what everyone else does before you do.

Captaining the Phoenix is Benjamin Maxwell. A commander with a skill of six and an SP of four. Aligning with his love of kicking enemy ass, Maxwell offers the chance to re-roll one of your dice when making an attack with your secondary weapon. (Admiral) Haden is your alternative named captain (the pack of course comes with Generic Captain too for zero cost and no ability) with this expansion and his upgrade is similar to the Flanking Attack we saw with the Vrax in Wave 17 in that you can hit a ship that doesn't have you in it's forward firing arc, gain one attack and lose one defence die that round. Certainly the benefit of sticking him as an admiral will be huge and I can see this ability getting a lot of use across the board.

The solus Elite Action here is Prefix Code. A true classic from The Wrath of Khan it allows the player to disable two shields on an enemy ship in range one to two. It does cost you an auxiliary power token but it could let you get through to those important hull points and get rid of your opponent a little bit sooner.

In the weapons cards this time there is the obligatory Photon Torpedoes this time using the time token feature to re-enable the secondary weapon and Quantum Torpedoes. The former will convert a Battle Stations result into a critical hit while the more expensive Quantum option will add a damage point on as long as you hit your opponent. Both roll with five attack dice and work at the two to three range. Pretty standard so far on the weapons but the two cards that spice things up here are the Arsenal and Aft Torpedo Launcher upgrades. With Arsenal you add two further weapon slots to the ship plus the card takes one of your time tokens when you are re-enabling meaning you can "reload" one full turn faster. Very nice, reusable and only four Squadron Points. The rear firing arc is missing from the Phoenix which makes the Aft Torpedo Launcher useful straight away BUT the big piece is that if you couple it with Photon Torpedoes you're only restriction to firing it is not within the forward firing arc. This upgrade will go in any of your slots on the ship and certainly adds a new flavour to the ship. Imagine coupling this with Haden's ability to target a ship that doesn't have you in its forward firing arc - you could potentially end up rolling six in attack.

Moving on to the tech here and there's just one addition to the game in the form of High Energy Sensor Sweep. Disabling an active shield on your ship allows you to perform a free Scan action and combining it with the high offensive capabilities of the Phoenix will make this a hard ship to take on since it'll help reduce the opposition's chances of deflecting your firepower.

Let's not forget our two crew possibilities with the Phoenix either with Terry and Elizabeth Lense. Neither actually served on the Phoenix nor was either even in The Wounded but hey, who cares... Lense costs just one point to remove a disabled token from one of your crew or tech upgrades (but not weapons which is odd considering the offensive capabilities being pushed here) and replace it with time tokens. She is a discard but not a great cost to do so. Terry on the other hand is a four point throwaway to disable two shields and repair one hull. While it might take off a critical damage action, I'm not sure if I'd rather have two shields instead and last a little longer.

Finally alongside the standard Additional Rules cards the mission this time is The Wounded and sees the Phoenix taking out a series of Cardassian outposts before the Enterprise shows up (eight turns to do it) while avoiding obliteration from the Dominion floozies. 

So to the second ship and while you might think that the Phoenix is offensive, the Bioship Beta is very offensive. Attack Wing players tend to grump a lot about the Borg and their super-abilities which make them nigh-on invincible however Species 8472 are perhaps another matter entirely. This second retail version of the vessel from Scorpion slams a huge six for attack, two for defence with five hull and six shields. It might not pack a rear or 360 degree firing arc but it's an absolute beast topping out at 38 points just for the ship itself.

You also have the benefit of Regenerate amongst your standard actions which allows the player to top up your hull points one per round. She also carries three tech slots and two weapon slots and the unique ability to cancel one damage result during combat at the cost of receiving an auxiliary power token. Once again this shows how difficult it may well be to take this vessel out of the game given its properties.

The Bioship tops out at four but gives you every maneuver forward at two and three but there's no tight right and left at speed one plus there's an all important 180 turn at three. As to the generic bioship, you'll lose a weapon slot and a shield to reduce the cost to 36.

Species 8472 bring a generic zero point costing captain option to the table as always but their main pilot carries a skill of eight and lets you re-roll one of your blank results during combat. Fortunately there's no need to disable the card to use this ability and should the Bioship this pilot is on be destroyed (bear with me here) you can jump ship and put him onto another craft in your fleet. This is very similar (if not identical) to the ability carried by the Borg Queen.

The Species 8472 Elite Action in the expansion this time is Telepathy and allows you to change your maneuver before you move. It's a hefty cost of four points for a one shot discard and with the power of the ship anyway it might not be necessary. You can use your points more effectively elsewhere.

We have two weapon upgrades to discuss this time and it's good that neither involves the word "torpedo". The less horrific Biological Weapon does bear a pic of Harry Kim gungified and also reduces your attack role from six to five but if it hits you not only score the usual damage but you get to discard a crew upgrade for each Battle Stations result you roll (max of two). It does cost six points to tack onto your ship. I do like it but nowhere near as much as the stupidly powerful eight dice attack of Energy Blast which only has the spending of a target lock as it's sole condition. A one hit wonder it's a heavy priced discard at eight points but hey, if you're up against it this is going to make a big difference and really nails home the fact that you want to be taking these guys into battle if you know you're facing off against Borg.

In line with the significant three tech slots, Bioship Beta's expansion packs in four options;  Electrodynamic Fluid gives you the option for multiple use either to be disabled and allow a sensor echo side-slip action or be discarded and perform a second maneuver with a top speed of three. Nice to have the options and goes with the flexibility of the ship to go wherever it wants. Costing an equal five points is Biological Technology and activating this provides the chance to gain more attack or defence dice by spending mission tokens that you place on the card once per round. Basically it's a weapons recharge allowing you the occasional extra bit of "umph" to make a crucial attack. Imagine using this in conjunction with Energy Blast....

Both of those upgrades cost a steady five points while Fluidic Space and Biogenic Field cost six. Very similar to features we've seen on the Krenim Timeship and the USS Dauntless, Fluidic Space allows you to remove your ship from the playing field and place it back anywhere in the game outside of ranges one and two of any other ship. One note here is that it doesn't say to remove any tokens you might have attached to the ship as it does on other ships that can perform a similar move. It is of course a discard given the huge benefit it could bring.

The Biogenic Field on the other hand is something you can keep using as it provides an additional defence dice to the ship and three if it's the Borg taking pot-shots.If you are attacked by an enemy upgrade it even provides the chance to defend and roll a Battle Stations result to counter it. Again you get to use three dice against the overpowered cyborgs.

I have to say that the mission with the Bioship is superb. Placing a one-on-one scenario with Species 8472 already without shields and suffering one hull damage is a really good twist to the usual format and means the enemy player stands something of a chance at winning. It also offers an unusual away team opportunity I've not seen thought out in this way allowing you to win the game off-ship. Good thinking outside the box Wizkids, I hope we see more of these in the future.

So to the final ship of Wave 18 and most likely the smallest playing piece to be released to date (I suspect the Delta Flyer will be marginally bigger); Quark's Treasure. It's an utter curve ball of a ship and I wouldn't be throwing it straight into combat before completely understanding some facts about this minute expansion.

Two points is the standard across attack, defence, hull and shields here with just two crew and a single tech upgrade meaning you're not going to be putting this Ferengi shuttle on the frontline of your offensive anytime soon. The generic shuttle option will drop a shield point and a crew slot for 14 points.

Costing 16 points the shuttle will bookend two more powerful ships and only has the Scan and Evade options in it's actions bar. However, there's no penalties for any crew or tech upgrades you place onboard which makes up for something. In fact the unique action box for Quark's Treasure has a second feature letting you ignore the auxiliary power token requirements on both the Docking and Launching actions included with the ship. Unsurprisingly she's not a fast mover with a full range of maneuvers at speeds one and two but only a forward step at three. I wouldn't think you'll be letting her stray too far from the main fleet - if at all.

For such a teeny tiny ship you get a silly three choices for captain (plus Generic Ferengi zero pointer) with Brunt your strongest candidate for the top job with a Captain Skill of four. Instead of allowing you to change your attack results during combat, Brunt makes the opposing ship re-roll one of its attack dice. Plus Brunt will allow you to use the Grand Nagus Elite Action even though he doesn't have the Elite Action emblem on his card. For reference the Grand Nagus card is a brilliant fleet action allowing all Ferengi ships in range one to three to immediately perform an additional green maneuver. If ever there was a typically Ferengi action in the game apart from nicking stuff, being slimy has to be a close second.  

Quark, on the other hand to Brunt, does carry the emblem but only has a skill of three. He's also a bit of a sacrificial lamb, as he stops a ship at ranges one or two from attacking you at the cost of tossing all your upgrades overboard and means you can't attack or, in fact do anything apart from move.

Zek is your third captain who can also double up as an admiral for your Ferengi fleet. Skilled at two, Zek is a bit of a feeble card, only letting you disable an upgrade on a ship at range one at the cost of disabling one of your own upgrades. Potentially it's one that might be of more use as the admiral action than a captain given that trouble could be elsewhere. 

Rom and Nog make up the Ferengi contingent for the expansion with Odo as a random Independent crewmember. I would have liked him to have been dual faction with the Bajorans especially with his ability to copy a crew upgrade from another ship at range one to three even down to whether it has to be disabled or discarded. It's a clever twist and in keeping with the character. Rom too keeps with his screen persona allowing you to repair up to two shield tokens as an action. Joy of joys too because there's no need to keep re-enabling this card or discard after a single use. Have to say this does make Quark's Treasure a much more playable ship since there are a lot of upgrades here to keep it hanging around in the game. Nog is also pretty useful even if it is a discard to force an opponent to roll two less die in attack. Only a cost of three points though and again another way to ensure the survival of the ship.

Inversion Wave is the first of two tech upgrades on offer. While it's not quite as forgiving as Fluidic Space, it does allow a total free move to any point within a radius of three at the cost of any active tokens and you do receive an auxiliary power token and have to discard on use. Certainly all the quirky upgrades with the shuttle make her a very unique playing piece. How appealing these choices will be to players more accustomed to Romulans or Klingons I'm not certain but at the least it's keeping Attack Wing fresh after 18 waves of expansions.

Cargo Hold only costs a point and adds two crew (and/or?) tech upgrades to the shuttle. I say and/or simply because it doesn't specify if they can be mixed or it has to be two of each only. For one point this is a good choice to add on since it will give you an additional four points to spend on extras. As with Cryogenic Stasis on the IKS T'ong last month though it, again, doesn't identify if it's a combined total of four points or four points for each upgrade. Being as it's a shuttle I would tend to lean towards the former.

Now you might have noticed that we've not mentioned the second Elite Action entitled Smugglers up to now so here it is. Somewhat wordy in its description, the card costs the same as Grand Nagus at five points and lets you steal a tech or weapon upgrade from a ship within a maximum range of three. However, the big twist is that it also plays into the use of the shuttle rules which are part of this pack.

As I said at the beginning of the piece, there's some new bits in this month's selection and the shuttle rules are the biggest thing by a mile. As with the new Borg rules, shuttles can only attack at range two and can be active or inactive. They also can't be equipped with a weapon upgrade costing more than three points if allowed and can only be included in a fleet where there is a ship with a hull value higher than four.

In reference to being "inactive", this is when the shuttle is docked with another craft. Yes, that's correct you can dock 'em. When docked they are removed from the board with all the upgrades and captain card placed under the docking ship's card and that ship in turn receiving an auxiliary power token. To dock the shuttle has to overlap the docking ship on it's move rather than the other way around otherwise it receives damage. Being docked also means you can swap upgrades between the two ships as an action during the game.

When launched each craft receives another auxiliary power token and the shuttle is placed within range one of the docking ship during the planning phase. It can then move about as normal. What isn't specified is whether the shuttle can only dock with the "Capital Ship" recognised by it's hull being greater than four. As I noted, the Smugglers card does include reference to the docking action as you can use the shuttle to steal upgrades however it can't use them and has to exchange them with the docking ship which can use them. 

How this new feature will play out and what use it will be should be fun to discover. I think you could use the shuttle to dive out and perform scavenging missions while your other ships tackle the battle side of the game and distract from your plundering actions. Can't wait to try it.

The final mission of Wave 18, called Smugglers, recreates the Little Green Men episode from Deep Space Nine as Quark, with Rom, attempts to deliver Nog to Starfleet Academy on Earth but also has a sideline to transfer some kemocite to a docking ship. Playing to the episode there's also a possibility of sabotage going on aboard the Quark's Treasure which affects the maneuvering of the ship and utilises Rom to cancel the effect. Ultimately the goal of the Ferengi player is to deliver both Nog and the kemocite while evading a patrolling Federation starship. Yet another nicely thought out scenario to complete the wave. Double points to WizKids.

OK so overall I think Wave 18 has to be one of my favourites to date. Each ship is distinct, each ship has some really great features and there's nothing anywhere near as precisely situational as we saw with Wave 17's trio. Here we have two extremely offensive ships with the Phoenix and the Bioship, both playing to very aggressive tendencies which will probably satisfy my thirst for obliteration and going out in a blaze of glory. Quark's Treasure is much more subtle and a playing piece that I think will take a while for players to master and understand how to use effectively. 

Perhaps she's something more useful in bigger games with four or more ships in your fleet where different plays might allow her a bit more running freedom. As I said I think she'll be good for quick runs out to steal upgrades but will need to have some serious protection which I believe you might be able to get from the recent Kreechta Marauder to divert fire - if not I'd perhaps look at the Ning'Tao for some of Kor's more suicidal actions that would benefit the shuttle.

Have you invested in Wave 18? What are the key pieces here and have you got any tips to use them well? Let me know!

Like our page on Facebook 

Follow us on Twitter

+1 us on Google+

Add us on Tumblr

Add to to conversation on Star Trek: Risa

We're also live on YOUTUBE with selected reviews and articles SOON to include the full Wave 18 ships!