You're Indestructible...GOLD

Ten years? Seriously? A decade of Attack Wing?

Two starter sets, 30 waves of individual ships, prize events, faction packs, a total rehacking of the points system... and that's just the scant surface moments I can recall from those times.

Now to commemorate the event we have These are the Voyages. Fortunately not a pack that focuses on the final episode of Enterprise but instead one that honours the legendary starship name.

Containing five golden models, this new pack includes the NX, Constitution refit, Excelsior, Galaxy and Sovereign Classes plus 115 new and updated options to outfit them.

Each of the classes can either be fielded as the Enterprise in its different registry guises or an alternative ship from including the NX-02 Columbia, USS Excelsior, USS Atlas or USS Galaxy. It also marks the first retail appearance of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A.

Some of the ships, such as the Enterprise-D have seen modifications to their existing cards and a significant number are now superseded by the contents of These are the Voyages.

As ship models go, there are no real surprises since these are repaints of the existing craft from older waves. My Constitution refit though does have horribly wonky nacelles which will require a bit of work to straighten out. That and the saucer is bent. 

Captain options are extensive with all possibilities including Styles, Harriman and Jellico included, each with their own neat twists to add. Crew options are exhaustive too with every canonical crew represented in almost every single way and that includes Porthos.

The pack also continues the new updates of Lower Decks, First Officer and Night Shift although the latter of those three only appears on a couple of cards.

That 115 card stack is something that might never make its way into your main card haul though because nestled into the bottom of the box is a brand new campaign that pits Enterprises of all generations against thew Q Continuum and some equally obnoxious foes. Taking it in turns to select a ship, captain and upgrades, players take on the Crystalline Entity, the Borg Queen's ship or the hard-as-nails Doomsday Machine in a battle for survival and bragging rights.

There are some "obvious" choices to go for such as the E or the D but the A, B, refit and NX-01 aren't without their advantages since a smaller ship score allows for more upgrades and a thoroughly packed out starship. 

These Are the Voyages is a very unique set though and one that players/collectors may not want to directly add into their big box of cards. The Q scenario actually turns this more into a set to have available for  one off game occasionally “stealing” cards from it to supplement an existing fleet.  It also shows that there is still life in the game after a decade. New features abound, there is still some expansive thinking as to how to keep the game alive and with Into the Unknown requiring a re-mortgage or the sale of a kidney you can understand why players are choosing to remain firmly in the Attack Wing stable.

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Set a Course...For Home: Lost in the Delta Quadrant

With the arrival of the Delta Quadrant's Adversaries there had to be a pack designed to take them on.

Lost in the Delta Quadrant provides just those ingredients. New versions of USS Voyager, USS Equinox, Delta Flyer  and a brand new Raven. The latter is the first time this ship has been available in the main catalogue believe it or not!

What we didn't mention in the review for Adversaries... was that a lot of the cards included with both of these expansions do effectively retire a chunk of older Attack Wing content. The costs of cards have dropped, the new features make these a lot more appealing to select and being in a set means there's some form of theme running through the options.

Unusually here there are two Voyager card options as well as USS Nova and the Delta Flyer II but let's not get bogged down in the names because there's a lot packed into this set that needs unpicking.

Aside from the cost changes which make Voyager an extremely appealing ship choice, the range of captains is certainly an eye opener with most of them also having the ability to double up as crew. Chakotay - in much the same way as with Turanj in the Adversaries... pack can be flipped to take command if the captain is lost. Big bonus there which keeps your ship with some form of command skill if things do go a bit pear shaped.

But the biggest newcomers here are the Lower Decks and Night Shift cards in terms of crew and the revamping of craft with a hull value of two or less becoming Auxiliary Ships. These ships can only be part of a fleet if there is at least one ship in the party that has a hull value of four or more.

But yes, Lower Decks and Night Shift. The former means that two cards bearing that text can take up a single Crew slot on your ship roster as long as they are from the same faction. With Night Shift, the text on the card listed under that heading is in play when your opponent has the Initiative Token. There are six of the Lower Decks cards in this pack offering the chance to disable opponent upgrades, take Time Tokens when another upgrade would be hit and even providing Free Actions. Night Shift seems to be limited to two cards in the form of Harry Kim as a Captain and the Elite Action, Coffee, Black.

Personal thoughts on both of these new abilities is that it does provide the Federation faction with even more advantages with no hint that these new inclusions will be available for other factions in the future.  It also seems these new features have really split the fanbase for the game with several notes that it's changed the dynamics completely. I guess sometimes you do need to stir things up and hey, it's not as if you HAVE to use these new packs or their additional spins. My thoughts would be to run this and the Adversaries pack as a campaign combo using the Delta Quadrant missions included. Then the new rules are kept enclosed to these ships. IF Wizkids do produce some more sets and further the Lower Decks and Night Shift rules into those then all the better.

If new players are coming to the game with just a starter set and these packs then it's an even better deal to keep the game alive but that's just my own thoughts right now.

Some of the other cards in here are well worth a punt too. Seven of Nine allows use of the singular Borg upgrade buried in the set. The XO, pilot and CMO from Caretaker are all discards (well played once again, Wizkids). You can upgrade your ships defences with Ablative Armour, add weapons in the form of Transphasic or Gravametric Torpedoes. Changing speed can be made through Variable Geometry Pylons.  The Nova Class can benefit from Rechargeable Shield Emitters and even the Delta Flyer can pop some added Photonic Missiles.

The Raven does seem under represented here with nothing "anti-Borg" or able to slip past the odd Cube. Perhaps a missed opportunity not to double-side Magnus Hansen as a Borg drone? Nor are there any references to the creatures the Equinox used to speed up their voyage home. Erin Hansen interestingly can only be equipped to the Raven - which I also feel should apply to her husband!

Another point is that the symbol for the Luna Class turns up AGAIN on the Bio-Neural Circuitry card... surely this has to be a sign that the Titan is on the way? Otherwise, frankly what's the point.

Dominion Faction Pack: Cardassian Union

 

A break in the run of XL reviews to cover another of our popular topics - Attack Wing.

An eternity ago we discussed the excellent Starfleet, Vulcan and Klingon packs but were surprised that the Cardassian Union expansion was delayed in the UK. It's finally arrived on our shores and is sure to provide a new level of play to your existing Dominion faction.

Set up in the standard four ship faction box, the Cardassian Union set brings together various aspects of the DS9 storyline. Taking a piece from the Romulan/Cardassian alliance to destroy the Founders, another from Dukat's personal arc and a third that also encompasses TNG and Voyager, there's a lot going on just with the ships.

Providing a second side to your Dominion faction (if you're playing pure), the pack includes two Keldon Class ships, a Galor Class and Gul Dukat's Klingon Bird of Prey models along with 28 new cards and tokens.

The four ships are the standard versions of ships which already exist so we'll skip onto the upgrades. The highest costing ship is the Keldon Class Preloc at 24 points. Offering the same fie Attack, one Defence, four Hull and three Shields as the lower costing Orias, the Preloc increases the number of Attack die of Dominion faction ships within range one by one. The two Keldon Class ships both have options for two Tech, two Weapon and one Crew upgrade as well as Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battle Stations.

Strange thing is, I would have actually put the Orias as the more expensive of the pair since it gets to field the Cloak and Sensor Echo Actions as well if there are only Romulan or Dominion upgrades attached to it. If a friendly ship within range one cloaks then the Orias itself can do likewise as a free Action. Honestly I'd go with the Orias due to that extra standard Action ability. I only tend to play faction pure so this would be a huge advantage.

The Orias and the Galor Class Vejar both come in at a 22 point cost. The latter loses an Attack die but gains a Shield. Again, the Orias seems a better choice since the Vejar only carries Evade, Target Lock and Scan as standard abilities and four upgrade slots; Tech, Weapon and two Crew. Its Unique Action allows friendly ships up to range two can perform a Free Action from its Action Bar. 

Finally there's Dukat's Bird-of-Prey for a cheaper 17 points. With a four Attack, one Defence, three Hull and three Shields, the captured Klingon ship fields the Cloak and Sensor Echo features as standard as well as Evade and Target Lock. Operating as a dual faction vessel both as the named and generic versions, the Bird-of-Prey gets to either receive a Battle Station, Evade or Battle Station during combat or can increase the Captain Skill by three for that round. 

The Bird-of-Prey is a cool addition to the set and something a bit more curveball. Two Keldon Class could have seen one substituted with some Hideki fighters. If you are looking to reduce costs then the Bird-of-Prey general version comes in at 13 points with a single Tech, Weapon and Crew upgrade. The two generic cards for the Keldon Class both cost 20 points with two Tech, one Crew and one Weapon slot while the Galor Class is 17 points with a single Tech, Weapon and Crew slot. Each of them also loses its Unique Action from the named card and one Shield point. 

As for the Captains, we have four in the set enabling you to field every ship straight out of the box... well almost as for some reason I was missing one base!

Top dog here is Gul Dukat. Oddly there's no benefit to placing him on his own named Bird-of-Prey but he still proves an eight Captain skill plus, rarely, two Elite Action slots. 

He does also provide an enhanced attack feature which more than justifies his five point price tag. While modifying attack dice, an Evade or Scan beside the ship can be spent to convert up to three Battle Stations into two damage each. Now, logically I'd stick Dukat straight onto the Preloc or Orias to max those dice every time and if not, have him on a ship which comes into range of one of those on every turn just to max the hit chances.

Enabran Tain can flip to either Fleet Admiral or Captain with a skill of eight. There are no penalities with him for attaching Romulan upgrades to his vessel and as a second ability, Tain lets you discard a Dominion Crew upgrade to attack with an additional attack die on your primary weapon. It does incur two Time Tokens but could up your fire power to six if you're staying with this pack.

The four point costing Gul Toran also has the Elite Action option and a Captain skill of six. Toran's action unusually gives a bit of added attack and defence for friendly ships within range two. As the Action for the round, he can select a faction and then all friendly ships engaging them will gain an attack and defence die that time round. I like this one because it's rare to get a good defensive option. Just remember it's there if you equip him - and I'd suggest to a support vessel.

Last up there's Gul Evek. While Tain and Toran are DS9 focuses, Evek actually appeared in TNG, DS9 and Voyager during the mid-90's aboard the Vejar - see it all links!

Skilled with a lowly four and costing a reasonable two points, Evek only operates his Action at range one but does take on all the Auxiliary Power Tokens that might be in play on those ships during the Combat Phase. While potentially incapacitating Evek's command, it may well open up other Action opportunities on more than one ship.

The four Crew for selection also give a broad pass across the DS9 Dominion story arc. The five point Tora Ziyal can act for either the Dominion or Bajoran faction. She targets an attacking ship during the compare results stage and if the enemy is within range one, she can cancel the attack completely and be discarded. Ziyal also allows her own vessel to then perform an attack on that same ship utilising one less dice than a primary weapon if possible. A good card to help live another day or stop that one huge attack that you know is likely to be coming.

Three point Korinas works a little harder out at ranges two and three. Disabled and incurring an Auxilary Power Token, she removes an in play Minefield token. Very subjective and a waste of points unless you know this is something that could be deployed. I'd probably leave this one aside.

Gul Damar (two points) although not a Captain himself is perfect to add to any ship since he ups the Captain skill by two. He also assists with a friendly ship at up to range two in that if they use a Weapon upgrade he can be disabled with two Time Tokens and up to three attack dice can be re-rolled. Very useful although the Weapon upgrades from this pack max out at three dice anyway. Last up is Gul Broca. The final puppet leader of the Cardassian Union during the Dominion War, his Action is another decent one worth considering. Two points for its use as well is very agreeable with him targetting all friendly ships within range two. All of those affected roll an additional attack die that round including the one Broca is equipped to.

As to those Weapon upgrades, the Cardassian Union has some interesting plays to use. Available only for Galor Class ships, Multiple Dorsal Arrays (three points) works at all angles of attack but only if your enemy is using Attack Squadrons (fighters). Disabled with two Time Tokens, it allows your vessel to perform a second attack against the same target. Now I like this because I also love fighters and understand how flipping annoying they can be. This does offer some protection and deterrent at the same time.

The Enhanced Resonance Field Grid is a bit of a sneaky attack for a cost of two points. When using the Primary Weapon and you have an uncancelled Damage result, the card is binned off and that Damage can be put straight onto the Hull rather than the Shields. I'm not sure if this will make much of a difference in the long run unless you use this multiple times to dodge the shields on your opponent. Plus you'll need to remain in range to make it work over several rounds.

Last up is Phase Disruptor Array which can be used on Galor or Keldon Class ships and will cost two points. Activated at ranges one and two, the card incurs three Time Tokens and you will need to spend an active Target Lock to re-roll any number of dice up to two times. Couple of BIG wins here. It's reusable and it's a multi-roll which is better than a standard Target Lock and is only actually costing one more Time Token (depending on if you're using that or Disable tokens). Ideal for close quarter combat, you will need to make sure that your attacking ship lines up with a target in the forward firing arc.

Tech upgrades in the faction pack range from four points down to one. Top price goes to Type-3 Galor Class which adds two points to the Shield value of your ship, making it more defensible than a Keldon Class. Legion Crew Module means you can add another two Crew slots to your ship for a cost of two points and Uridium Alloy (two points) can be disabled during the modifying of attack dice step to convert two Damage into Critical Damage.

Perhaps the most interesting of the four Tech cards though is Sensor Ghost. What looks like a lot of text for a two point price is another useful defence technique. Discarded, Sensor Ghost forces an attacking ship to roll one less attack die and if the attack doesn't destroy your ship then it can perform a "one" Sensor Echo move and get out of the way...hopefully.

Obsidian Order is the most expensive upgrade card in the pack at five points. Usable over all three range marks, it mirrors enemy ships. If they spend a Battle Station, Scan or Evade then you get to equip one. No disable or discard in play here either which means you can certainly use this to your advantage both on attack and defence. Another perfectly sneaky move from the Cardassians.

Interrogation for two points disables a Crew upgrade on an enemy ship at range one during the Planning Phase of the game and locks it out with three Time Tokens. Not a massive fan of this one as it need you to take a chance that your opponent will have something worth locking out for that period of time. Very risky but low cost so you could take a punt.

Third in the group of Elite Actions is Supreme Tribunal. One point is a good price if you need to fill up some points. It does incur a four Time Token penalty and the only result is that an enemy ship within range two receives an Auxiliary Power Token. Nice point filler to reuse if you have a gap.

The final upgrade card is Kanar which can be equipped on any ship without an upgrade slot. For one point it's a nice option to have as you perform your Action before moving with the penalty being twofold. First you have to reveal your manoeuvre face up and also take on two Time Tokens. However, very useful if you realise you're in an early tactical advantage before moving!

Two missions are also packed into the Cardassian Union box. The Simpler Times sees the Klingons chasing down Gul Dukat and his captured Bird-of-Prey on a straight forward seek and destroy. The Secret of the Orias Sector takes its lead from DS9's Defiant in that a Federation ship must escape from the Cardassians after completing scans of the sector. Its 60 points versus 40 points but more dicey for the Federation player who has a mission to finish before getting away.

This may well be my favourite faction pack to date. It's exciting, varied, sneaky, defensive and loaded with four ships that really do gel well as a force right out of the box. The upgrades here are exemplary and mixed in with the Jem'Hadar faction pack from a couple of years back, I can see this being one of the strongest armadas available.

The Keldon Class ships alone are worth the price and I'm looking forward to joining them up with the Dreadnought missile or even a Hideki fighter wing in combat. Definitely a must have pack that really could re-ignite a lot of passion for the game with its brilliant cards. Absolutely first class.

You can check out all our Attack Wing reviews over on the Gaming Section!

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To Boldly Go: Attack Wing's Federation Faction Pack

It feels like an eternity since the Vulcan, Klingon, Cardassian and Federation expansions plus the seemingly sold out Alliance were announced but at last...they're here!

With a universal sigh of relief there's some new packs for us tabletop gamers to chow down on and over the next few weeks we'll be looking at them each in depth.

First up on the schedule is To Boldly Go. Not exactly the most original name for a set but with it containing four Federation starships it does seem at least somewhat apt.

Longtime players will already have all of the ships in the pack; Galaxy, Akira, Miranda and Defiant although this time they're all spruced up in a nice silver finish. The detailing is fairly precise if basic but since none of these are new I'll refer you to the relevant reviews of the existing/original items to refamiliarise. 

Opening up my pack I was a wee bit disgruntled to discover that the Galaxy Class model had come battle damaged and was missing a nacelle. Not to worry though since there's another three in the collection but if you were buying this as part of your first steps into playing it would royally p**s you off.

One thing to note too is that this pack is heavily influenced by DS9 and some of its key moments. Point in case for that is the USS Odyssey as featured and as destroyed in season two's finale, The Jem'Hadar.

The picture on the card isn't the best but the stats are more important so we'll let that one slide for the minute. Sporting the average Galaxy Class 4 Attack, 1 Defence, 5 Hull and 3 Shields, the Odyssey can also take 3 Crew, 1 Weapon and 1 Tech upgrade for a 26 point cost. As you would expect and is standard across all 4 of the pack vessels, each comes with standard Actions of Evade, Target Lock, Scan and Battle Stations. Movement cards for each of the classes is also identical to existing packs so again we'll skip past!

As the Odyssey's free action you can place an Auxiliary Power Token on this vessel and then target a friendly ship within range 2 and with a Hull Value of 3 or less to provide it with 2 additional defence dice and the chance to convert a blank result into a Battle Station on that round. One for actioning on support craft but very selective as to when that can be used and would need a particular fleet dynamic to work perfectly. Both the Tian Na Men and Sao Paulo in this set would be eligible.

Just as notable a vessel as the Odyssey is the USS Sao Paulo. This, only the third named Defiant Class in the franchise, would be renamed Defiant after the original's destruction at the hands of the Breen. Coming without the cloaking device of its predecessor, the Sao Paulo attacks with 3, defends with 2 and has a Hull of 3 and 4 Shields. Her slots allow for 2 Crew, 2 Weapon and a Tech upgrade for a cost of 20 points. Her Unique Action sees you claiming a Battle Station token in play when you spend one. Not a stellar ability but one that might pay off in defence. Also, shame the card doesn't show the Sao Paulo but then we never actually saw her named that way in the show.

Third up is the Akira Class USS Spector. Costing 24 points you're expecting more for your money and you do get that with a 4 Attack, 2 Defence, 5 Hull and 3 Shield. She also punches a little more than the Sao Paulo with 3 Weapon slots, 1 Crew and 1 Tech. All of the Weapon upgrades utilised on her also cost one point less each. The Spector is a quality craft also packing a Unique Action that sees guaranteed Shield damage as long as there is an active Shield when using the Photon Torpedoes upgrade.

Last in the box is the USS Tian An Men which would likely play a supporting role in any operations. A low 14 point cost comes with 2 Attack, 2 Defence, 3 Hull and 3 Shield. She also has only 4 upgrade slots with 2 Crew, 1 Weapon and 1 Tech option.  Its Unique Action also suggests that supporting role as a friendly ship within range 2 can be assisted. If that ship has an Auxiliary Power Token in play then the Tian An Men adds 2 Time Tokens to one of its Crew upgrades and that vessel can still perform an Action. It's one of those very specific events and would ensure the fleet does have full operational ability.

To Boldly Go manages to include a hefty 5 Captain cards. There's yet another Benjamin Sisko (skill 8) but this one works especially well against Dominion forces. In fact during Attack he'll automatically gain a Critical Damage result and during the End Phase he'll clean off an Auxiliary Power Token. If you're playing any form of Dominion War campaign this is the Fed captain to have in play.

Importantly, all 5 Captains have the ability to field an Elite Action although I tend to find I barely touch them - probably something I should look to change.

The second CO in the chair is the Odyssey's Captain Keogh. Bearing a skill of 7 for a cost of 4 points, Keogh's Action can only be used at up to range 2. He's very specific too with the ship he's commanding needing to have an enemy attacking another Federation ship in its forward firing arc (read that back slowly and it should make sense). As part of that Attack, one of the Damage results can be turned to a blank. Does seem a lot to save a single point!

Jadzia Dax can finally be added to the Captain ranks with her 6 skill and 4 point cost. Cleverly Dax can field a Klingon Unique Action without a faction penalty which would open a lot of different strategies - best get hold of the Klingon Faction Pack!

But aside from that benefit, she only allows your ship to perform a bank 1 left or right during the Activation Phase. Hmmmm.

The 86th Worf card made for the game is dual faction, allowing him either to play on a Federation or a Klingon fleet. His Action, for once in this pack, isn't a one in a million chance as spending a Battle Station will allow you to convert all your blank results into Damage. Have to admit, quite excited by this prospect as I have a notable ability for throwing rubbish attacks. Note too - no disable or Time Tokens for use here so it's usable every round.

Last up is the Captain/Admiral card of Leyton. Featured in Homefront and Paradise Lost attempting a military coup on Earth, Leyton skills up at 6 with the equally familiar cost of 4 points.He's all about the delaying tactics, forcing a ship at a maximum of range 2 to attack last in the round. Leyton himself incurs 2 Time Tokens but that's a decent price for a tactical advantage, especially if that ship has a higher Captain skill than your own.

Five Captains get 5 Crew and not necessarily who you might expect. The ever-reliable Kira Nerys costs 3 points and disables a Tech upgrade on an enemy ship within range one. She then rolls an Attack die and if there's a Damage or Critical Damage result, that target ship loses a Crew upgrade as well. Tough luck but she does have to receive 3 Time Tokens for this shattering blow. I am surprised with the choice not to make Kira dual faction when both Worf and one other card in the deck have this functionality.

Second we have Julian Bashir. Operating at range 1, the good doctor costs 2 points and can target a Crew upgrade during the Activation Phase. Note that it's any Crew upgrade since Bashir affects either friend or foe. If it's one of your own then he'll remove either 2 Time Tokens or a Disabled Token while if it's on the opposing team, the ship it's on rolls 1 less attack dice that round. Bonus note - he's reusable every round since the Bashir card itself doesn't get disabled or discarded.

Ezri Dax is your typical sacrificial card to take Damage for others. At least she adds a Crew upgrade to your ship and then will also mean that Captain or Crew cards will receive one less Time Token when their feature is activated.

Sarita Carson, again a 2 point Crew card, might leave you stumped where she's from. Featured in only Starship Down from DS9's 4th season, Carson allows you to move during Combat either 1 or 2 forward at the cost of 2 Time Tokens - which is precisely where you could combo it with Ezri Dax. Finally there's the tragic Enrique Muniz from Rocks and Shoals. 

Working at up to range 2, Muniz gains 2 Time Tokens so that the ship he is stationed on can utilise an Evade, Battle Stations or Scan token from the target ship as if it was on Muniz's ship.

To Boldly Go offers four different Weapon options for your fleet. Phaser Cannons allows for a double attack. Disabled with 3 Time Tokens, this card pumps 4 attack dice at an enemy followed by your standard Primary Weapon roll. Double trouble and no doubt wth a bit of digging there's the chance to increase that even more. It can only be equipped on a Defiant Class and to the forward firing arc. 

Offering a Weapon upgrade solely for the Akira Class is Dorsal Torpedo Pod. No need to disable or discard again since this one enhances your Photons allowing them to be fired through a full 360 arc. It does mean sacrificing a Tech slot to enhance another feature but counter to that it does provide full attack possibilities.

Experimental Torpedo Bay is a stroke of genius and one you'll definitely be wanting to put into play as much as possible. Costing just 2 points you can hide a Torpedo (doesn't specify Quantum or Photon) under this card until the Combat Phase and equip it. The Experimental Torpedo Bay is discarded but suddenly you have a five point card fitted that might take you over your points limit. Dead useful and very cost effective.

Finishing up the Weapons, To Boldly Go has two Photon Torpedo cards. These operate at ranges 2 and 3 and with an additional die to the ship's Primary Weapon. Working as standard, players spend a Target Lock, the card is disabled and all blank results can be switched to Battle Stations. Unusual to return to disabling rather than Time Tokens but it does mean they can be pulled back into action a lot quicker.

With three cards, Tech can certainly assist and Ablative Armour is a good choice to start with. Adding a defence die to your overall roll against attacks it also converts ALL Critical Damage to Damage reducing the risk of a crippling effect on your vessel. At a cost of 2 this is more than reasonable and it's about now you start to realise that the pricing on these cards is well under previous expansions. You can get a lot for your buck in the Faction Pack. Another way to strengthen that defence is with Advanced Shields. Only for use with ships of a hull value of 5 or more, it adds 2 Shield points on and when discarded repairs up to 3 Shield points. It's a bt more expensive than the armour, coming in at 4 points but for a larger capital ship this is a must for an extended lifespan.

Last up is the Metaphasic Sweep to allow a ship to perform a Target Lock as a free Action even if there's a Cloak token in play on the TARGET ship. Might not seem a lot but against an invisible enemy we all know how important it is to maximise that attack since the defensive roll adds a ton of dice to the equation. For a 1 shot card, the 1 point cost is insignificant but can't be underestimated.

As mentioned though, the massive new feature arriving with the latest Faction Packs is Ambassadors. Each fleet can only field one Ambassador and negotiations start from the beginning of the game. If accepted then the ship on which the Ambassador is equipped and a chosen opposing vessel there is an effect covering both ships. If negotiations are denied then the enemy ship receives a detrimental effect from the off.

In the case of Lwaxana Troi (3 points), whenever her ship moves within range 1 of the opposing target ship both the Captain of her ship and either the Captain or a Crew upgrade on the enemy are disabled. Should negotiations be denied with Troi then the opposing chosen ship has 3 Time Tokens and a Disabled Token placed on its Captain or Crew upgrade. 

Sarek - who can be either used for Federation or Vulcan factions (3 points) stops two ships from attacking each other if they are within range 3 or less unless there's nothing else to shoot at. If negotiations are denied with Sarek then all the opponent ship Weapon upgrades get 3 Time Tokens dropped on them. Of the two, Sarek is the more harsh option given his lengthy effect on Weapon upgrades. Game changer? Absolutely. Best start stocking up on cards that reduce the number of Time Tokens assigned to your ship just in case he comes calling.

To keep you nicely occupied with the new pack, To Boldly Go includes two scenarios; Insurrection! and Operation: Rescue. Both are 2 player missions utilising the ships from the set to help kick off your involvement with the game and for those of us who are a little more logical, it's the structure we love!

To Boldly Go has been, frankly a long, LONG, LONG time coming and a welcome return for Attack Wing. The reduction in costs for upgrades means you'll get a lot more on your ship and potentially fully equip every slot on every craft to maximise your battle opportunities. The ships themselves are nothing new - as none of the ships in the four most recent expansions are -  although each has some new Actions the price for them remains oddly the same. There's a decent mix of Disabled, Discard and Time Token use within the set which makes a pleasant change although it does suggest some disorganisation c. Wave 15/16 when Time became a factor over Disabling upgrades. At least now there's a mix of uses to liven things up. Ambassadors is a neat spin to each side although I can't see them getting a lot of love as they will hand tie a lot of players after they've spent an age selecting the right combos for the situation.

Have to say, great to have Attack Wing back and in good shape - at least better shape than my USS Odyssey model at the least...!

You can check out all our Attack Wing reviews over on the Gaming Section!

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The Wait is Over - Alliance is in the UK, Part I (Game Overview)

Followers of SKoST will know that I'm rather keen on Attack Wing, its expansions and beyond. I've played it for a fair few years but in a pandemic it's somewhat difficult to get a group together to play a physical game.

I've tried Zoom calls but it's a fiddly situation and less than perfect. Now you'll also know that Wizkids (the guys behind Attack Wing) have been working on another version for some time; Alliance. As long awaited as the Federation, Klingon, Vulcan and Cardassian Union faction packs, Alliance is, forgive the pun, game changing, when it comes to Wizkids' Star Trek offerings.

Those familiar with the set up of Attack Wing will have an easy time slipping into the new format. The way in which the game progresses is identical - Activation, Combat and End phases with players completing moves, actions and combat in sequence determined by Captain Skill. For more on the basics of Attack Wing, check out our review HERE of the original starter pack.

But in some respects you have to take Alliance as an entirely new product. It comes with its own manual - a lot of which is Attack Wing content updated - plus a Mission Book to start you off. Note too that this is the Dominion War Campaign which will become more evident shortly.

So as a new product the box is filled with everything you'll need to start off and for those scrabbling for a copy of Attack Wing's long sought, never seen Starter Pack, this will be the immediate go to as long as it stays in stock.

The five ships featured from the box lid have been available for some time as Attack Wing expansions. There are three Jem'Hadar Fighters along with Excelsior and Akira Class starships to represent the Federation players. All have received a slight upgrade on their paint jobs but nothing that's significant to write up about here. 

There's also a new set of maneuver strips, new dice, a torrent of Evade, Battle Station, Scan, Cloak, Target Lock, Time and Disable tokens to keep track of events. Wizkids have even chucked in some new obstacle pieces and a shiny new planet PLUS a new set of Damage cards. It really is the whole kit in one box which is good since Alliance does mainly rely on this single carton for all of its tweaks and tricks.

Sure, you can supplement tokens from Attack Wing if you need to but the Jem'Hadar Fighters here are totally unique because the Game AI plays as them against the Federation and their bases are used to help work this out. The two Federation ships are their generic versions with an initial Captain Skill of 2 however you can swap these out for other ship types after the first "test" mission so I might be dropping on the Defiant or a Nova Class just to change it up.

You could simply chuck in a Federation versus Jem'Hadar game as a one player against another but the twist with Alliance is that it's a co-operative game. This time you and any other players are on the same side with the Jem'Hadar's movements determined through your position and rolls of a six-sixed dice. The game itself controls your destiny if you will as each ship is activated in a pre-determined order and then carries out a series of points determined by the location of other items on the board - namely the Federation ship or ships!

Take the introduction mission that sees players picking up Mission Tokens to represent successful scans. Add in an asteroid field, spawning Jem'Hadar and suddenly it's a tense scenario to get in and out with minimal damage or cause a major galactic incident. I would however recommend that if you are one player definitely take both ships in as I only just made it out with the Akira and a single hull point.

There are teething issues in there too with a couple of the moves from the Jem'Hadar placing them in near peril or a collision situation. Also a few poor rolls (not on purpose) meant that my escape to Federation space was more down to luck than actual skill - but I'll still take the win thank you very much. 

The full 10 rounds lasted about 90 minutes and that was with me, an established Attack Wing player, picking up some of the new points around the AI and how it runs in the game. Fortunately there's a handy sheet with all the moves and combat decisions listed out so you're not left in the dark.

On Mission 2 I realised that as a 1 player scenario you're supposed to use both Federation ships so I activated the Excelsior Class. It made a huge difference, cutting the time to around 45 minutes and lasting just four rounds rather than 10. In, out, done.

The biggest challenge though is what's next. The Dominion War campaign is a great idea but once you've completed the six parts to the story (set after the destruction of the USS Odyssey) there's not exactly much to do unless you replay with different people and Federation ships. The next wrangle is that there's nothing saying there's going to be anything more in the future and as of now Alliance is a one shot. The £49.99 price tag might not be to everyone's taste or affordability but it does have absolutely everything in the box and ready to go right down to maneuver dials and stands for your little ships. 

Fingers crossed it doesn't go the way of one box and one expansion Frontiers that lasted all of five minutes a few years ago. While still available, that fizzled super quickly. Alliance has the benefit of Attack Wing's back catalogue to mine and with a crafty conversion kit, this could be the Version 2.0 that's needed to re-ignite the passion for the game and get us all back playing. 

Part 2 of this review will take us into a deep look at the new cards included!

You can check out all our Attack Wing reviews over on the Gaming Section!

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A Tangled Web: Tholia One Attack Wing Expansion Pack

Coming out of one of the best episodes of Star Trek's third season and, may I also say, one of the best classic episodes; is Tholia One.

Unnamed in the episode, only the race and the name of the first ship's captain, Loskene, are identified. Here with this pack, Wizkids have expanded the background to the secretive Tholians as well as drawing on key elements of the episode to make this quite a unique pack.

The blister-packed Tholia One is a striking replica of the craft from the remastered version of The Tholian Web. As with the (fairly) recent Eaglemoss edition, I'm still grumbling about the fact we don't have anything that provides a reproduction of the ship as seen in The original Original Series from the 60's.

However, what we do have is a very well presented starship utilising both translucent and standard opaque plastic parts to complete what is a very, very small ship - even smaller than the Maquis Raider but not quite as flimsy or microscopic as a shuttle or the Denorios solar sailor.

The colour palette is a mottled silver with fiery orange inserts representing the engines on the small, one man craft and even on this scale, the simplicity of the design and finish makes this one of the best in the game - and definitely head and shoulders above the recently reviewed Maquis Raider. The stats on the other hand don't match my level of excitement for this ship with Tholia One sporting two points for attack, defence, hull and shields. Good thing then that it's got exceptionally fancy footwork to... sorry what? Oh...right....erm...we;ll come to that in a second....

The named, unique vessel also has the advantage of being able to use the Energy Web as a free Action which does offer some mayhem on the board. Also Tholia One can add a further two Weapon upgrades as well as perform the Evade, Target Lock and Scan Actions. The generic ship loses one of those Weapon upgrades and one of the Shield points to reduce the cost from 16 to 14 points - not really worth it considering the power you ditch off. Loskene from The Tholian Web is the top captain option but with a skill of four and a cost of three points that's not saying a lot for him. 

Loskene can field the fabled Elite Action but he does offer more manoeuvrability to your fleet as long as its a ship outside of range three and has a lower captain skill than he does. That second part and potentially the first part are booth incredibly situational given the nature of combat in Attack Wing. Having a captain with a lower skill than a four would work in favour for moving but means your fleet may find itself outgunned very quickly.  If these conditions are met then Loskene provides the chance to perform an extra - and free -  one or two maneuver. 

The Tholian Pilot (cost of one and a skill of two) is an odd second choice in that his Action can only be utilised when on a Tholian ship making him only effective in one role on one craft.  Going green on your moves with this guy equipped allows one shield token repair as your Action which will aid in keeping this cannon fodder around a little longer.

Tholia One does come prepared to strike even if its basic levels are almost laughable. Out of the box we have three Weapon options with a cost of five, four snd three points individually. The three point Photon Torpedoes won’t be a shock and operate using the Disable feature since this is one of the earlier wave expansions before Time Tokens came in. It utilises the Target Lock and any blank results can be re-rolled. Usable at ranges one and two, Photon Torpedoes may have limited use due to the need to reactivate them rather than waiting for them to re-arm with Time Tokens. It also doubles the weapon effectiveness of a Tholian ship hitting an opponent with four attack dice instead of the standard two.

Tricobalt Warhead fills that range three gap missed by Photon Torpedoes and surprisingly offers a better hit ratio. Using six dice and operating at range three, this Weapon works the same as Photon Torpedoes with the card disabled and a Target Lock used. The Warhead is, given the range, a very powerful tool to have in your arsenal especially if coupled with Photons for closer range strikes.

Finally there's the iconic Energy Web and this is THE unique feature of the pack hands down. A five point cost is understandable given the importance of this weapon which can be reused throughout the game. By performing a forward ‘one’ maneuver you can then use your Action to place one of the included Energy Web threads onto the board behind your ship. So what is the benefit? Well, should one of your opponents cross the line during their turn then it acts as an obstacle and will cause damage to their ship. While its pretty cool to action in the game I would recommend having at least two of the Tholian ships in your fleet to properly instigate a network of these web threads in order to incapacitate your enemies.

Last up, unusually, are two Elite Actions. Given that this is a single person craft we are deprived of any Crew but also the Tech options. Tholian Assembly costs three points and acts on every Tholian ship within range three of your vessel. These can all then perform an additional ‘one’ forward. Of course this then means that they would ALL technically be able to place a web thread and fully utilise the key Weapon feature of the craft. Only a Tholian captain can field this one but it does lean to using the pack with a pure Tholian fleet mentality.

Tholian Punctuality (four points) does mean that even if you do choose to single ship the Tholians as part of an Independent fleet for example, it’s not going to be as outgunned as you might think. For a discard here you can add an extra attack die for one round bringing you up to a mighty three red cubes. One to have in the back pocket perhaps for an end of game move rather than blowing this one early on shield damage. 

The Tholian Web mission gets as close to the original episode as possible with a Federation ship attempting to retrieve a Starfleet captain from interphase utilising mission tokens to reflect attempts to get him or her back. To represent this, your Federation captain card is face down until successful - and you can only attempt a rescue at range one to the interphasic rift. The Tholian player has a hefty 50 points to use against the Federation player which has to include ships with a hull value of two or less - which would indicate at least two!

The Tholia One pack is, initially, a bit of a disappointment. The low starting abilities, the average to poor Captain skill and the minimal slots for upgrades do edge this craft more into a support role than a front line starship. I would feel the most effective way to use the Tholians would be as part of a swarm fleet that could all utilise the web feature in line with the Tholian Assembly Elite Action. The Energy Web is a neat draw to this pack but on a solo ship it’s near useless unless you’re very close. It can place obstacles across the board but with some planning these can be avoided.

As a fan of the Tholians it does pain me that this expansion isn't a more attractive offering. Running it as part of an Independent fleet it could be the annoying, buzzing fly BUT it would need to be paralleling something with at least twice its capabilities to make it worth while. 

What's been the best way you've found to use Tholia One?

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